Don't Tell Her. (cont.)

The little girl gripped the staff tightly with both hands and cautiously asked a question.

Meanwhile, Maria was leaning on her knees, gazing at the sky.

Blink.

Maria still remembered her.

She's that little fangirl who interned at Warfarin.

Only...

You look like you've grown a lot.

Maria blinked, her tone calm.

Are you still interning with Warfarin?

The girl was stunned for a while before she smiled helplessly.

"That was almost fifty or sixty years ago, ma'am."

Now, the naivety on her face is gone, and her speech carries a brighter meaning.

She became very confident and self-assured.

Meanwhile, more members of the Babel were moving around nearby.

They appear to be moving supplies.

"Here it is..."

"This is the border region of Kazdel."

The girl spoke slowly, carefully trying to help Maria up, but Maria waved her hand, indicating that she wasn't that weak.

She could feel a subconscious nausea and discomfort in her body, but this was mostly due to the power she had forcibly taken from her, a power called Gordan.

It must be admitted that, in terms of pure ability, the two seem to be no different, but in terms of accumulated power, Maria is still far weaker than Gordan.

After all, he was a newly born Great Ones who hadn't even lived through his first millennium.

In the presence of those truly in Great Ones, Maria might not even be considered as important as an infant.

Therefore, the power plundered from the other party was completely blocked in Maria's body... not in a real sense, but in a more illusory feeling.

Maria felt as if invisible crystals were obstructing the flow of blood through her body.

In other words, Maria's body is special and she is not affected by this kind of thing. If she were just an ordinary person, she would probably be experiencing all sorts of problems by now.

Even so, Maria still felt a sharp pain between her eyebrows.

The Doll lost contact once again... It seems it will take more time to reconnect them.

This made Maria somewhat uncomfortable.

The girl beside Maria, after taking a closer look at her, also smiled with her eyes narrowed.

You look younger than you did back then.

She spoke, her voice calm, while Maria looked at her with a hint of confusion.

The girl understood why Maria was so confused, and with a smile, she reached out and pointed to the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not young anymore..."

As she herself said, it had been more than fifty years since she and Warfarin interned.

In most families today, she would probably be a grandmother or maternal grandmother.

"Age is never the only criterion for judging beauty."

Maria shook her head, her tone calm.

The girl was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"Your words might make me mistakenly think you're interested in me~"

As she spoke, she raised an eyebrow at Maria.

"I didn't..."

No need to say more.

Over the years, the girl has not only shed her naivety, but her actions have also become more composed.

She smiled and shook her head, understanding what Maria was trying to say.

But she didn't care.

"You don't need to explain anything to me, ma'am."

The girl spoke, then stood up again.

Maria followed him, walking step by step towards a campfire that was still burning, and the two sat down.

"Although I really want to ask you why you're here, and why you left without saying goodbye... none of that matters now."

The girl looked at Maria and handed her a cup of warm tea.

Do you know why you're unconscious here?

This is the border region of Kazdel. Although she knows Maria is not Sarkaz, in this place, not many people care whether someone is Sarkaz or not.

The fighting never stopped, and if you weren't careful, you might not even know how you died.

When she found Maria was all alone.

This is quite surprising.

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

Faced with the girl's question, Maria hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head slightly.

"Is that so?"

The girl hesitated for a few seconds after hearing Maria's words, but did not ask any further questions. Instead, she continued to speak.

"But anyway, at least you're safe now... aren't you?"

The girl smiled.

Maria then looked around.

"Here it is?"

"This is the stronghold of the Babel."

The girl blinked, her tone calm.

"With the current dual rule of the kings, the duties of the Babel have increased considerably... and we are now responsible for handling the border conflicts."

"Dual rule by two kings? Border conflict?"

The girl's words puzzled Maria. The world she had finally become familiar with had suddenly undergone many incredible changes... This gave her a headache.

The girl noticed Maria's confusion and offered an explanation.

"The Four Emperors War ended roughly fifty years ago... After the war, His Highness felt deeply about the instability of the situation in Kazdel, so he ordered the Regent... that is, His Highness Theresis, to unite with the Royal Court and organize an organization called the Kazdel Military Committee."

"The Military Committee is responsible for military affairs, while we, the Babel, are responsible for the economy and diplomacy... Although it's not exactly divided according to these specifications, it's roughly the same."

"And now, with them working together to govern, the situation in Kazdel is improving day by day..."

"But skirmishes still break out from time to time along the border..."

"His Highness believes that such a matter does not require the direct involvement of the Military Committee, so he has entrusted Babel with handling it. The Military Committee will only intervene if the situation escalates."

As the girl spoke, she gradually filled in the gaps in Maria's memories that had been lost over the years.

After thinking about it for a while, Maria understood.

Clearly, Dukale's rebellion made them truly determined.

We cannot allow the Royal Court's power to continue running rampant!

The so-called Military Committee is probably just a means for Theresa to weaken the power of the Royal Court and consolidate the power of the Sarkaz.

The reason for choosing Theresis is quite simple.

Because they are siblings...

This might sound like nepotism, but it is indeed the best solution at present.

Although both of them knew that they would eventually go astray, until that turning point arrived, they were each other's most reliable support.

Only...

How long can this last?

The long-term peace between Theresis and Theresa was possible not only because both sides made concessions to some extent, but also, and perhaps more importantly, because the rightful ruler of Kazdel was in the hands of the Demon King Theresa.

Now that she has promoted Theresis to the position of regent, it means that Theresis has, to some extent, shared the Demon King's power.

And power can expand his will infinitely.

Before long, Theresis will grow to a level where she can rival Theresa.

Will their peace be able to continue by then?

Maria sighed softly.

The girl beside her blinked, then shook her head.

"Is that what you think too?"

"Um?"

"In fact, many people have had this doubt since the establishment of the Military Committee."

The little girl's legs were slightly curled up, her hands were clasped on her knees, and her tone was calm.

"After all, it's obvious to everyone that these two have completely different governing philosophies, making coexistence virtually impossible... But undeniably, this arrangement has truly made Kazdel even more powerful..."

"We are also moving forward step by step, exploring step by step..."

"As for those people's concerns... who knows what the future holds?"

As the girl spoke, there was no hint of disappointment or regret in her words; on the contrary, she remained full of hope for the future.

This is probably a consistent feature of the Babel.

The people here all harbor some unrealistic idealism.

Maria didn't know how to judge these people, and in silence, she could only sigh.

"I hope so."

"Oh, speaking of which..."

Looking at Maria, the girl suddenly came to her senses. "I haven't asked you why you're here yet."

Although she had just asked Maria why she was unconscious there, at that moment the girl only wanted to ask Maria if she had been attacked.

The question now is why Maria was in this border region.

Logically speaking, not many people should like coming here, right?

"..."

Maria hesitated.

After a few moments of silence, the girl shook her head helplessly.

"If you really don't want to say, then you don't have to explain."

Don't you care?

"No... I just believe you."

The girl smiled, her eyes narrowed.

"You are a good friend of Dr. Warfarin, and Dr. Warfarin is a trustworthy person... In that case, I also believe that you are trustworthy..."

"However, it seems we won't be able to travel with you anymore."

The girl sighed regretfully as she finished speaking.

Noticing Maria's gaze, she pointed to the black dot in the distance that was gradually approaching.