Emilie looked at Haruto, slightly taken aback by the sudden intensity in his eyes.
"Why so many deep questions all of a sudden, Haruto?"
Haruto quickly caught himself, pulling his casual player expression back into place to smooth over his nervousness.
"Oh, well... you know how it is. I just realized I didn't know anything about the family's real history, so I got a bit curious. But hey, if it's forbidden or you can't talk about it, that's completely fine."
"No, it's not that," Emilie sighed softly, her expression turning distant.
"It's just that the full story is incredibly long and complex. I only gave you a rough, summarized outline just now. If you want every single detail, it will take quite a bit of time."
"I don't care how long it takes," Haruto replied, his analytical mind completely locked onto this deep lore drop. "I want to know absolutely everything from the very beginning."
"Alright then..." Emilie nodded slowly, pausing as she gathered her oldest memories.
"Let us start from the absolute beginning. Listen closely. It all began shortly after the King's marriages. He deeply desired to continue the royal lineage and expand the family name, but for a very long time, none of his wives could conceive a child. Desperate, the King performed a special, sacred ritual. Shortly after that, his third wife finally became pregnant, throwing the entire kingdom into a massive celebration. It was instantly predicted that the child would be a boy, destined to become the next Crown Prince."
She smiled faintly, remembering the old days.
"But the day he was born, the entire world was thrown into absolute shock. No one could comprehend how it was possible—the baby entered the world at Level 15. It was treated as a literal miracle from the gods themselves. Out of every hundred children born in this world, ninety-nine are born at Level 0. A starting baseline of Level 15 was completely unheard of. But over time, people simply accepted it as a divine blessing and moved on."
Emilie's eyes softened as she described the young prince.
"Khalid grew up surrounded by the absolute love of the entire royal family. Every single Queen loved him even more than if he were her own flesh and blood. They completely spoiled him. Absolutely no one in the palace had the heart to say no to him. Because of that, he became a notoriously mischievous little troublemaker. He would constantly move people's personal belongings around, hide important documents, and randomly barge straight into the King's top-secret political meetings. But despite his endless pranks, no one ever scolded him. He was the golden child."
She shifted her tone, looking at Haruto.
"Yet, despite all the attention, Khalid always carried a quiet sadness. He was completely lonely because he didn't have any siblings to play with. But then, when Khalid was three years old, a sudden announcement shook the palace—the First Queen was officially pregnant. By that age, Khalid had already mastered an incredible amount of basic combat and magic metrics. But the moment he learned he was getting a little brother or sister, he was utterly overjoyed."
"What did he do?" Haruto asked, listening intently.
"For the next nine months, he completely dedicated himself to the First Queen," Emilie said warmly.
"He barely let her lift a finger or get up from her seat. He would spend hours pressing his ear against her stomach, talking to the baby, making sure his future sibling was completely safe and healthy. He loved that unborn child with everything he had. But the day Lilith was finally born... things took a strange turn. Officially, the system registered her at Level 4. However... a bizarre rumor instantly began whispering through the dark corners of the kingdom. A few high-level observers claimed her true, hidden data metric was actually Level 99."
Emilie shook her head dismissively.
"Most people shrugged it off as a massive lie or an exaggerated rumor spread by enemy spies to cause panic. But regardless of whether it was a glitch in the rumors or the truth, one fact spread like wildfire across the borders: Lilith was an absolute, terrifyingly extraordinary entity."
Emilie took a deep breath, her face growing serious as she continued the story.
"Like I told you, because of how uniquely strong those two were, the entire world panicked. Everyone was completely convinced that the King possessed some sort of forbidden, hidden power that passed down legendary stats to his children. The neighboring empires literally threatened him, demanding that the royal family stop producing heirs altogether."
She shook her head grimly.
"The King had to attend over a thousand emergency global summits just to explain the situation. He told them the absolute truth about the ritual he had performed, but no one believed him. In the history of their nations, they had never seen a newborn beat the baseline—forget Level 15, they hadn't even seen a Level 1 baby! Everyone assumed the King was lying straight to their faces, so they put our kingdom under heavy surveillance. Our allies broke off their treaties one by one, and all international trade completely stopped."
"How did the kingdom survive that kind of isolation?" Haruto asked, his analytical metrics processing the political strain.
"Thanks to the massive resource contributions and management skills of the King and the Queens, our nation learned to become entirely self-sufficient," Emilie explained.
"We managed to survive on our own inside our borders. But thankfully, none of this political drama affected Khalid or Lilith while they were growing up. They were completely shielded from it."
A fond look crossed Emilie's face. "The two of them grew up beautifully. Lilith was registered at Level 4, but her actual comprehension and maturity completely eclipsed Khalid's. Like I mentioned, the very next day after her birth, she was already walking, speaking clearly, and casting basic magic spells. Khalid was absolutely thrilled to have her. They spent every single day playing together, completely inseparable, pulling pranks and enjoying their childhood to the absolute fullest."
Her voice dropped, turning cold and heavy. "But then, the gods brought a twist that no one could have anticipated. Suddenly, all of the King's remaining wives became pregnant at the exact same time. Lilith and Khalid were completely overjoyed, celebrating the fact that they were about to get ten new younger brothers and sisters. But the moment that news leaked across the borders, it triggered absolute madness."
Emilie gripped her hands tightly. "The neighboring empires realized that if ten more high-tier royal children were born into this world, our kingdom's military power would scale exponentially. They believed we would completely conquer the entire world. A dark age of paranoia started. Our citizens were kidnapped, backstabbing became common, and trust completely evaporated. We reached a point where we couldn't even trust our own military—we never knew if a soldier had secretly defected to an enemy nation and was waiting to stab us in the back. During daily operations or battle calibrations, no one could send backup or help each other out because the fear of betrayal was too high."
Haruto raised a hand, cutting in firmly. "Wait, hold on a second. I completely understand this phase of the political buildup. They launched a full-scale invasion because of that paranoia. Tell me what happened right after that. How exactly did Khalid die, and how did Lilith manage to survive? What went down when the Queens decided to terminate their own pregnancies in the womb? And why did they completely stop having children after that? Tell me the critical details—the variables I can actually learn from."
Emilie walked closely beside Haruto, her voice trembling slightly under the weight of the past. "We tried everything to stop the war from breaking out. Neighboring kingdoms had already launched targeted strikes against our borders. But if you truly want to understand Khalid and Lilith, you have to look at how they lived before the chaos. The Queens absolutely adored them. In fact, the Queens had this playful habit of dressing Khalid up in girls' clothing all day long, constantly fussing over him."
Ah... so that's where queens got that weird habit from, Haruto thought, his mind instantly flashing back to how they loved messing with him. It runs in the family.
"Even as children, their combat metrics were absurd," Emilie continued, a faint smile breaking through her grief. "They would play-fight and routinely break the training ground restrictions. Even though Lilith was registered at Level 4, her raw power potential was completely off the charts, far exceeding any standard baseline. She would easily counter Khalid's moves and pin him down. They were growing up so happily. Lilith was around three and Khalid was nearly six when the first tragedy struck."
Her expression darkened completely. "We discovered that the King's food had been laced with a high-tier lethal poison. The King collapsed and died instantly. Right there, in front of Lilith and Khalid's eyes, Lilith's own mother—who was heavily pregnant—triggered the blood-bond ritual. She sacrificed her own life force to pull the King back from the system graveyard. Khalid was absolutely furious, but as a child, he was powerless to stop it."
Emilie took a shaky breath. "But the enemy didn't stop. Not long after, the King was targeted again, this time struck down by a stray cursed arrow, costing another Queen her life for a second resurrection. Then came a third assassination via a hidden dagger. This time, Khalid's own pregnant mother stepped forward to sacrifice her life. Khalid completely snapped. He couldn't comprehend the grim logic of the system: to save the King's single life, three Queens and three unborn siblings had to be wiped out. Six lives traded for one. He isolated himself, deeply traumatized, and openly told the council that if the King fell again, they should just let him go instead of burning through their own family. But nobody listened."
She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Shortly after, a high-ranking defector within our own ranks lured Khalid into a targeted ambush. The traitor was a Level 20 vanguard who arrived with absolute confidence that he could execute the Prince."
Haruto interrupted, his analytical instincts kicking in. "Wait. A Level 20 vanguard? That level seems incredibly low for a major assassination plot."
"You only see it that way because you operate on a different scale, Haruto," Emilie explained, looking at him earnestly.
"In this world, rapid leveling is restricted to active adventurers who hold official permits to clear the high-tier dungeon layers. A standard kingdom soldier stationed in Layer X rarely needs to surpass Level 5. To them, Level 20 is an absolute powerhouse. The Queens and the King, however, were seasoned high-tier adventurers in their prime, though the King's actual, official level remains a strictly guarded state secret. You would have to ask Lilith about that."
She cleared her throat, returning to the grim memory. "When the trap sprung, both Khalid and Lilith were caught out in the grand palace gardens. Suddenly, over 200 of our own defected soldiers surrounded them, completely cutting off their escape routes. Their sole objective was the total elimination of the royal bloodline. Khalid instantly recognized the scale of the trap and knew he had to get Lilith back to the inner sanctum. Even under massive pressure, he fought like a demon, striking down waves of attackers to shield his sister. But as they tried to break through the perimeter, the enemy unleashed a barrage of targeted tracking magic and heavy crossbow fire. Khalid was completely pierced through."
Emilie's voice broke, tears flowing freely now. "Even with mortal wounds tearing through his frame, he didn't allow a single drop of blood or debris to touch Lilith. I can still vividly feel the horror of that day. The very hair I used to gently style and oil every morning was completely matted with dirt and crimson. The boy I used to hold in my arms was broken, his body completely giving out. With his remaining strength, he carried Lilith over to where I was hiding, handed her to me, and whispered his final command: 'Lilith has to live. We will meet again.' And then, his lifelines completely went dark."
She sobbed softly, steadying herself against the stone wall. "He ordered me to run and hide, so I took Lilith and fled deeper into the sub-sectors before the enemy reinforcements could flood the courtyard. To this day, many people whisper rumors that Khalid is somehow still alive. The Queens could never truly accept that their golden boy was gone. Even now, the Main Queen firmly believes he survived, simply because his official dead body was never recovered from the chaotic battlefield.
And as for why they never had children again... Haruto, think about the sheer psychological trauma. The remaining pregnant Queens genuinely believed their unborn children were a curse that brought ruin to the kingdom. They forced themselves to terminate their own pregnancies in the womb out of sheer guilt. How could they ever wish to bring another life into this world after that? They aren't unfeeling birthing machines; they are mothers who had to destroy their own children without ever seeing their faces."
Emilie slowly wiped her eyes, taking a deep, exhausted breath.
"I cannot tell you any more than this, Haruto. My duties were strictly limited to caring for their daily lives and well-being. I don't know the deeper secrets or the hidden political frameworks they hold."
Haruto stood silently for a moment, processing the massive data dump. The heavy, dark history of the royal family finally made sense, and his analytical brain registered the key variables.
"Emilie, you've given me an incredible amount of critical information," Haruto said, his voice soft but firm.
"But the most important takeaway here is that Khalid rejected the system logic of trading multiple lives for one, and his dead body was never actually recovered. No body means no confirmed elimination. If he is out there somewhere, still alive, I am definitely going to track him down and meet him. And as for the Queens... you're entirely right. They aren't machines. They went through absolute hell."
Emilie looked at him, her tear-filled eyes softening with deep emotion.
"If I may tell you the absolute truth, Haruto... whenever I see any of the Queens looking at you now, I see the exact same warmth in their eyes that they used to have for Khalid. They look at you with the same pure, unconditional love."
A small, genuine smile broke across Haruto's face, his active emotional pack making him feel the weight of her words. "That's because they are my mothers now too. They are my moms."
As they talked, they finally reached the outer palace gates where the royal transport was waiting. Kobi was already standing by the grand carriage, holding the reins and looking ready to move.
"Hello, sir!" Kobi greeted him with a sharp bow. "Where would you like to head first today?"
Haruto stepped up to the carriage, keeping his hidden left hand steady.
"Take us straight to my mansion first, Kobi. I need to drop by, check on something, and see how Toya and Aetherna are doing before we head out to the academy."