"Your Highness, what do you think... are the chances of this operation succeeding?"
Adeline held reports from various departments in her hands, her heart heavy with weight.
Honestly, this plan was full of risky elements.
But this risk was one they had to take.
There were many reasons...
The most direct reason was that the [Blood Tax] was about to begin collection...
To supply large amounts of fresh blood to the Blood Clan, the Holy Court had designed a quite complete taxation system.
First, they set tax amounts far beyond the people's normal economic capacity, ensuring that people basically couldn't meet the tax requirements.
And if people couldn't pay these terrible taxes, they would have no choice but to use their own blood to pay the debt...
So the Holy Court's tax earned the name "Blood Tax" among the people...
Most deadly was that every "Blood Tax" collection period was in winter, and many people would freeze to death in the Holy Kingdom's terrible cold winter after having their blood drawn...
Every member of Northern Fire was very clear—if this year's Holy Court blood tax could be collected smoothly, it would not only greatly benefit the Blood Clan riding on their heads, but would also cause vast numbers of innocent people to die in the cold winter...
"The possibility of this plan succeeding completely isn't great, after all the Holy Court people aren't fools either."
Ileina looked very calm, as if she had already prepared to accept all outcomes.
"War is always accompanied by countless risks and sacrifices, you know this too..."
The golden-haired girl's overly mature eyes stared intently at Adeline.
"All these years, haven't we walked this path just like this..."
Adeline nodded painfully.
After Ileina agreed to Catherine's plan, she and Caroline, who was responsible for military affairs, never mentioned a word against executing this plan again...
The reason was simple—they couldn't come up with an alternative plan.
Although Catherine's plan was risky, it was the best plan Northern Fire could produce right now...
Seeing Adeline's pained expression, a flash of reluctance appeared in Ileina's eyes.
Of course she didn't want to do this.
Catherine, who was almost certain to die in this plan, was the person she trusted most after coming to the Holy Kingdom. Of course she was reluctant to let Catherine sacrifice herself for the plan...
But... there was no choice.
This attack had to be carried out.
Even if it could just push back the blood tax collection date a bit, that would be good...
That way, hundreds of thousands of people could survive this winter...
Ileina didn't understand why the Holy Court insisted on collecting this damned blood tax in winter, but she knew—Northern Fire had to stop the Holy Court from collecting blood tax at this damned time.
This was what an organization that claimed to save this country and rescue these people struggling in suffering had to do...
Ileina was too clear about what Northern Fire relied on to stand against the Holy Court in this country...
It wasn't her half-learned [Qi-Transformed Sword], nor her reformed version of the original Holy Kingdom doctrine, and certainly not her status as Holy Princess...
She relied on people's hearts.
Just like the organization's name, on this land filled with tragedy, what Northern Fire and she could only rely on was the burning hearts of the common people that were scattered like wildfire but would never be extinguished!
These hearts were Northern Fire's true foundation! The fundamental power for the Holy Kingdom to emerge from this terrible era!
So she was clear—Northern Fire had to act!
Even if this action caused Northern Fire to suffer heavy losses, she had to do it!
Even if "Ileina" failed, it would still be "Northern Fire's" success! It would still be the Holy Kingdom people's success!
After firming her resolve once again, Ileina took a deep breath.
Looking at Adeline with determined eyes, Ileina said resolutely:
"Alright, you know we don't have time to waste."
"We must carry out our operation before the Holy Court acts. Since we've decided to act, we must be firm!"
"Yes, Your Highness... I understand..."
Adeline nodded heavily and turned to leave Ileina's office.
"Phew..."
Seeing Adeline finally leave, Ileina let out a long breath.
Adeline was finally gone...
The expression Ileina had worn to give her subordinates confidence instantly disappeared...
She stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, white snowflakes were already falling with the north wind.
She murmured:
"This year's winter... came so late..."
According to Holy Kingdom records, the later winter arrived, the colder it would be...
The Holy Kingdom was already located in the northernmost of the three human nations, and this winter would be the coldest winter the Holy Kingdom was about to face...
Somehow, this was almost like heaven forcing her to act...
Unlike the forced calm and determination she had shown in front of Adeline, looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky, the golden-haired girl's face was full of helplessness.
Honestly, she had absolutely no confidence in this operation...
Shaking her head and forcing herself to pull together, she opened the window.
Cold wind poured into the room like a flood, but the golden-haired girl didn't feel cold because of it.
Because under her military uniform she wore the [Seraph] that her best friend had sent her.
This garment had really helped her tremendously these past six months.
In the extremely cold Holy Kingdom, this garment was like a mother's hand, giving her warmth at all times without making her feel stuffy.
Looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky, Ileina unconsciously reached her pale little hand toward the sky.
The goose-feather snow falling from heaven, the reality of not knowing where the path ahead lay, the confused her...
This scene was so familiar...
Her thoughts returned once again to that winter night years ago...
In the cold air, she sat outside that small courtyard on a chair, crying loudly with completely lost emotional control.
Ileina had always considered herself a resilient person, so she was ashamed to recall those memories of her crying.
But that crying was what she was most grateful for in her life.
Because her crying attracted her angel...
She could still clearly remember that scene from back then...
The pink-haired young girl opened the gate and saw her, who had almost become a snowman outside the door...
In the young girl's startled cry, she was directly pulled into that small courtyard without question.
Sitting around the fire, that young girl asked her name and where her home was.
But in her despair, she didn't respond, just sat silently.
Soon, that pink-haired young girl stopped asking anything.
And in the brief silence, feeling someone in front of her, she moved her gaze upward...
Soon, she felt something warm embrace her.
Looking up, she saw that pink-haired young girl gently embracing her...
That embrace was as warm as a mother's, as comforting as a mother's...
Elashia's wordless embrace lasted a long time, and Ileina fell deeply asleep in her arms...
Their bond began from that moment...
...
A snowflake landed on Ileina's hand and quickly melted.
The snowflake's cold touch brought her back from memory to reality.
Drawing her hand back, she found tears had welled up on her face.
This time, she didn't hurriedly wipe away the tears in her eyes as before.
The golden-haired girl's gaze moved to the sky again.
With a tearful voice, she murmured to herself:
"Elashia... will you save me once more..."