"I don't know for now, probably wait to see if her feeling is something deep or are just superficial. Originally I wanted to take even Eto with me. Still, seeing her mental state deteriorating every day would be impossible, I see, but my feelings for her were just from pure physical attraction, nothing too deep."
Lucien explained to Itori his current situation.
It was the same with Itori because, at first, he was attracted to her mainly physically, but after some time, he developed deep feelings of love for her, and now he couldn't even imagine his life without her. She already became an irreplaceable part of him.
Itori tilted her head, not knowing what to say to his explanation. On the one side, she was happy, as she won't have any rivals, but on the other side, she was a bit sad, as Lucien was sad because all of this was happening.
***
Lucien went to the training field to find Zelilios, who was as always, training in his spear. Zelilios spent almost all his time training his spear mastery or doing other activities to increase his strength and power. The only purpose of the Sternritter was to get stronger and be able to protect the Empire from its enemies.
"Zelilios, come here for now."
Said Lucien, after he observed Zelilios training his spearmanship for around half an hour. Zelilios stopped and then came to Lucien, giving him a light bow.
"How much time do we have before the portal on Blood Island expands too much for us to handle?"
Questioned Lucien after a short time.
"Unknown, several years at best."
Answered Zelilios to Lucien, to which he frowned lightly.
"Your Highness, I have something more to report. From our spies in the Vasuki, we have found that Kano Akihiro is close to the finishing process of ghoulification. After reporting this to the Emperor, the order was given to kill Kano Akihiro and secure his research. Soon we would have the location of one of his laboratories which we could raid."
Lucien was rather displeased with the fact he must go search after Kano. That man was very good at hiding and not leaving traces after his move. He knew that killing him was something he must do, and he was too dangerous to leave him to do as he pleased.
On top of that, he would then obtain his research on the ghoulification, which could be used to create ghouls, but not like in this world, but rather mindless flesh eaters that would devour everything in their path.
Wandenreich could give good use to them in the future. Especially when they would want to exterminate the population of some planet, then the upgraded virus would be the best option.
After a short talk with Zelilios, Lucien left the manor and went to the 24th Ward to check on the reconstruction and fortification of the 24th Ward.
***
July, Year 1 ASBI, 24th Ward
Lucien arrived at the 24th Ward and was very pleased seeing all those works. The entire ward looked totally different compared to the past. All hidden exits that led to the 24th Ward were now sealed, and only a few of them were left.
Those who were left were guarded non-stop by the Aogiri Tree, and each of them was under was of the SS-Rated ghoul. Now thanks to Lucien's help, the Aogiri Tree had more than 10 SS-Rated ghouls, which was an astonishing number.
More than a thousand people were working on the reconstruction, and one must say that this force was extremely formidable because the physique of the ghoul is many times stronger than the physique of a human; they could work more and aren't that tired.
Thanks to this, they managed to remove many half-destroyed buildings and ruins from the existence of the 24th Ward. Many of those were now replaced with guardian towers, outposts, and many others.
The main focus of the renovation was the outer circle of the ward, where the exits were located; the inner circle was still as it was before.
Lucien was already ready to start the second part of his plan, which was to use the Aogiri Tree against the Washuu Clan and the Vasuki to hunt them down. Now the Aogiri Tree was many times stronger compared to the past; it was a perfect opportunity.
For example, Tatara was already at SSS-Rate, which was a bit scheme from Lucien, as he started to give him blood essences infused with his blood, thus changing his view of him and also creating something like natural loyalty.
One must know that if normal ghouls eat a lot of blood of the Noble Ghoul, they would naturally listen to him, but the number of blood must be around one or two liters.
Even with Lucien's strong regeneration, it took around a year to produce enough blood. He knew that Tatara was eternally loyal to the One-Eyed King, Arima Kishou, so this would change it bit by bit.
As he observed the 24th Ward, he knew it wouldn't take long before the works would be completed. At most, the entire ward would be completely renovated and fortified in two years. Afterward, he went to the place where Eto was staying and found her talking to some of her subordinates.
They hastily left the moment they saw him, and Lucien and Eto started talking about the state of the 24th Ward and the process of the reconstruction and fortification.
After finishing the talks with Eto, she returned to her own responsibilities and managed the works on the 24th Ward, and Lucien returned to the surface. Before that, he checked on Kaneki Ken and how he was doing with training, and then he left.