The Billionaire CEO Becomes the Youngest Emperor-Chapter 14 - : Astrid Valessia

20 seconds earlier

The armored knight approached Lucian and his guards, holding the child firmly in one hand.

One of the guards' eyes widened as he recognized the lion emblem engraved on the knight's chestplate.

"The... the 11th Empire?" he whispered, stunned.

The knight, clearly in a hurry, lifted their head. From the tilt of the helmet, you could tell they were looking directly at Lucian.

"You're..." Their eyes widened slightly before a mocking smirk spread across their face. "Wait... You... You're that asshole Lucian?"

Ah, this ***** knows Lucian?... Shit, this is bad.

Lucian narrowed his eyes, already irritated. And on top of that, she just called me an asshole... I knew we wouldn't get along.

"Uh... Yeah, so what?" he answered with a shrug.

The knight ignored his nonchalance and continued with authority:

"Alright! Five of your knights will guard this child, and another five will join us on the battlefield immediately."

Lucian didn't even bother responding.

"Guards, take the child."

"At your command!" one of the soldiers replied, gently taking the baby from the knight's hands.

"Hey! Wait—" the knight started to protest, but Lucian didn't give her the chance to finish.

He spun around swiftly.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" he ordered.

"At your command!"

The guards dashed at full speed, but despite their daily training, they were quickly left behind. Lucian was already two steps ahead.

"Son of a b—"

A beastly roar drowned out the curse.

Arrrrrrgh!

"Empress! Empress!"

The battlefield was in chaos. The cries of soldiers and the roars of monsters echoed from all sides, dragging the knight back to reality with brutal force.

Seeing half her troops down, writhing in pain, she clenched her teeth so hard that blood trickled from her lips.

"Damn it... I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

I have to kill them and get the child treated... fast.

The murderous aura she released was so intense that even the monsters trembled, seized by an instinctive fear.

The knight had entered a trance.

A soldier, likely the commander, shouted:

"The Empress has entered the state! IMMEDIATE DISPERSION!"

"At your command!"

In an instant, the soldiers stopped their attacks and scattered in every direction.

But the monsters didn't chase them. Their focus was entirely locked on the knight. Something deep in their instincts screamed at them to kill her... right now.

With a single movement, the horde charged.

The knight, unfazed, whispered:

"12th Chromatic Technique: Purple."

A purple aura burst forth around her, wrapping her body in an otherworldly light.

The beasts were just a step away.

"Royal Cleave."

In the blink of an eye, the five wyverns and two black wolves vanished... as if they had never existed.

All that remained were traces of sword slashes glowing with purple energy, scattered across the battlefield's perimeter.

It was...

---

The goddamn cheat code this shitty author gave the MC...

I knew that if she entered the Chromatic state, we'd all end up as prey. And since I wasn't rich yet, dying in such a stupid way was out of the question.

Lucian sat on a large tree trunk while the little girl lay beside him, wrapped in the emperor's cloak spread over the wood.

Meanwhile, his guards still formed a tight circle around him, maintaining their protective stance.

I see... Trying to make a good impression, huh? Fine. I'll rate your efforts 0.5/100 dollars.

Rustle... rustle...

Everyone stayed on high alert, listening for approaching footsteps, and then suddenly—

"EMPRESS, THEY'RE HERE!" one of the knights still on the battlefield cried out. He was in bad shape, his body covered in wounds.

Sigh.

"Ah... Where are they?"

"Over there." The soldier raised a trembling finger, pointing toward their camp.

The knight and the remaining soldiers finally appeared, the less injured ones carrying the more seriously wounded, supporting them however they could despite their own injuries.

Judging by the number of survivors... not a single human casualty. As expected from the author's favorite.

When the exhausted knight saw the sleeping child on the tree trunk, she unconsciously let out a long sigh of relief and gestured for the men behind her to move forward.

They approached our position.

Lucian's guards, still on edge, only lowered their swords at his command.

Without warning, the knight sat heavily on the tree trunk, right next to the unconscious child, leaning forward in silence.

The only sound that filled the air was the labored breathing of the injured soldiers. The forest, usually so lively, had fallen into an eerie stillness.

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A minute passed...

Sigh...

Then, without a word, the knight raised her hands to her helmet and slowly removed it.

"Ah..."

"Whoa..."

...

...

...

Click! Lucian clicked his tongue, irritated.

His guards stood frozen, mouths agape. Even the wounded soldiers managed faint, admiring smiles despite their pain.

The reason was obvious.

This girl was stunning.

Platinum blonde hair, slightly wavy, cascaded around her face. Her pale, almost ethereal skin contrasted with the battle marks still etched into her armor. But what captivated everyone the most were her eyes—deep blue with striking emerald-green flecks, sharp and hypnotic. Even in her exhaustion, she radiated an almost otherworldly beauty and presence.

That crazy author had even dedicated an entire "Bonus" Chapter just to describing her. Unbelievable.

But my guards... you just lost your 0.5 dollars. She's 16, for crying out loud—still a minor. (On this continent, you reach adulthood at 15. And Xavier—no, Lucian—knew that damn well.)

She slowly opened her mouth and, with a regal grace, declared:

"So... who was it that cut off that asshole Lucian's arm?"

Lucian's eyes narrowed.

...I'm gonna fight. I swear, I'm gonna fight!!!

After a brief internal struggle to control his anger, he responded—

...

"It's life."

Just kidding, of course. How could I possibly fight this lunatic? This girl just wiped out seven monsters. Seven goddamn beast-class monsters, each three meters taller than the largest animals on Earth.

Her eyes trembled slightly, betraying a fatigue she tried to hide.

"You seem... different. Whatever. Thanks for protecting her. We need to leave now... I owe you one."

With that, she stood up, lifting the child into her arms with an almost unnatural ease.

...Wait, wait, wait...

"Tell me... the place you're heading to—could it be the Fifth Empire, by any chance?"

Even though we were in the middle of nowhere, I was pretty sure she had used the same teleportation portal as us. There was no trace of carriages or horses... which was unheard of for a knight in this world. Meaning her means of transport likely stayed behind at the previous administration point...

Then again, I could always be wrong.

"Even if I owe you... I have no reason to tell the emperor of a rival nation where the Empress of the 11th Empire is going, do I?"

Lucian's guards frowned.

"What... an Empress?" one of them whispered, clearly shocked.

Without even looking at him, Lucian answered casually:

"Yeah, the girl you were drooling over? That's the Empress of the 11th Empire. Valessia."

Astrid Valessia.

"Astrid Valessia?!"

The name sparked a wave of disbelief among the knights. Even injured, they seemed to regain some energy just hearing it.

Lucian, however, kept his eyes on her.

Look at this girl...

A slow, professional smile spread across his face.

"Sorry if I offended you. We're a bit lost... and we thought maybe we could travel with you to our destination—the Fifth Empire." He glanced at his mutilated left arm and then at the still-gasping, wounded soldiers.

"...And maybe stop by the Holy Clergy on the way."

The Empress's eyes narrowed dangerously. Even in her exhausted state, she exuded a sharp and imposing aura.

"Ah... Just as I thought. You're even dumber than the first time I saw you."

...Ouch.

"You really think you can enter the Fifth Empire when you're nothing but the little emperor of the last empire on the continent?"

...

...

That confirms my suspicion—you can lie with words, but never with your eyes.

Ah.

A small grin tugged at Lucian's lips.

That sweet scent...

"Why are you smiling, asshole?"

Lucian raised his thumb... and slowly lowered it, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"It's the scent of money."