Morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows, scattering across the gauze curtains.
The moment Louis opened his eyes, he instinctively reached to his side.
His arm soon brushed against a familiar softness.
It was Emily's hair as she slept, carrying a trace of morning warmth and the familiar scent of flowers and herbs.
The cool severity of her younger days had faded from her features, replaced by a reassuring maternal gentleness.
On her other side, the tiny baby lay curled against her chest, sleeping soundly. Every so often, he grunted and waved his little fists, as though fighting someone in his dreams.
"Well, look at you. Already training at just a few months old?" Louis chuckled softly and bent down to kiss the child's forehead.
He slowly sat up, draped the cloak beside the bed over his shoulders, and stretched in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The sky outside Red Tide City had yet to fully brighten, but the first plume of white steam was already rising from the workshops in the southern district. It seemed the Steam Team had spent another night testing some new contraption.
As he did every day, Louis gently raised his hand and swiped through the air.
With a barely audible hum, a translucent screen silently unfolded before his eyes.
[Daily Intelligence Update complete] [1: In the Red Tide Workshop District, Hamilton has successfully produced a prototype Steam-Powered Loom.] [2: The Fifth Imperial Prince, Lampard, has recently made repeated visits to the Golden Feather Flower Church's secret base in the Imperial Capital for confidential talks.] [3: Deep within Ancient Abyss Canyon, in the palace beneath the Snowfield Altar, a Brood Hive remnant core exists in a semidormant state.]
"Oh?" Louis raised an eyebrow at the first report, his eyes brightening. "He actually made