However, he still had to act in a manner befitting of their uncle. He could not let their deeds go unpunished. Thinking for a moment, he eventually said, "Your punishment will be one week of solitary confinement. I hope you two will properly reflect on your actions during this time."
"We will obey," the girls replied.
"Stand up. What I wanted to discuss with you two wasn't about this, but they are related. The Li Family has decided to officially open negotiations with the Alzar Kingdom. You two are to be the representatives of the Li Family's will."
Xiuying's expression soured and she was about to go crazy. They went through all that trouble to send a letter behind the Li Family's back to the Alzar Kingdom. They agonized over it, debated over it, and fought over it. Chang and Tai even risked life and death to succeed, and the assassins nearly killed Ming! For all their work though, Elizabeth and the Alzar Kingdom ultimately did not respond. Of course, Xiuying and Ming could understand. The Imperial Princesses, without the support of the Li Family, were only two girls lost in a sea of war. There was nothing they could offer that would benefit the Alzar Kingdom. They were asking for too much from Elizabeth. However, now that they sacrificed so much and failed completely, the Li Family suddenly turned around and changed their attitude? It felt like two slaps to her face, her cheeks burning red hot! It almost felt like the Li Family was intentionally toying with them! Otherwise, how else could they explain this?
Ming was steady as a mountain as she pondered over this quietly. It was surprising that the Li Family changed their attitude so quicky, especially after Aunt Hong-Lan Li's firm stance, but upon further thought, she did not find it too surprising. The hatred between the Li Family and the Alzar Kingdom was initially founded on the principle that the Alzar Kingdom assassinated Empress Mei Li, the former matriarch of the Li Family. After her and Xiuying's extensive investigation though, they were able to uncover the truth that the Imperial Council and Minister Linshi was behind it. In theory, there should be no bad blood between the two now. The Li Family's elder council was composed of level-headed, broadminded, and far-thinking individuals. To be the supporting pillar of the Li Family, this much was expected. They must have realized the tides were turning against their favor. Fighting the Alzar Kingdom and the Imperial Council was too much for them, hence, they decided to go along with the flow. They decided to negotiate with the Alzar Kingdom!
But in the end, we're still pawns of the Li Family, Ming remarked silently.
"When will the negotiations take place, uncle?" she asked.
"The elder council has already sent an envoy to the Alzar Kingdom. We should hear back from them within a week or two," he said with a hint of mockery. He was the patriarch of the Li Family, but the elder council already made their move, and informed him after the fact. They disregarded his authority completely.
"We understand," Ming glanced at her stiff sister. She would have to lecture her sister later.
"Very well. For now, you'll be placed in solitary confinement. When we receive updates from the Alzar Kingdom, we will inform you. That will be all."
Once he was left alone, he shook his head with a troubled expression. He massaged his forehead in frustration. There were a lot of details that he omitted to his nieces, details that were nothing but trouble. For example, they avoided the most obvious question: how would the Imperial Council react? If the Li Family really struck a deal with the Alzar Kingdom, the tables would turn against the Imperial Council's favor. Especially after they unveiled such a flashy display of strategic-level magic, it was not unusual that the Alzar Kingdom would agree. They would not let the Imperial Council fish up the spoils of their fighting. That naturally meant that it was in the council's best interests to stop this negotiation at all costs! Qiang had a feeling that this would be a key turning point in the Second Great Kingdom War. Whatever resulted would change the war forever!
***
Sometime later in the Yunyun Stronghold, servants would hear the ringing of a bell whenever they passed Elizabeth's room. They were instructed not to interrupt her, but that did not satiate their curiosity. What was the heir apparent doing? Either way, they dared not overstep their bounds and investigate too deeply because Sir Winstin and the other Royal Guards were present. This strange occurrence just reaffirmed the servants' belief that Elizabeth was an odd one, otherwise why would she volunteer to come to the frontlines? The servants decided to shake their heads, seal their thoughts, and carry on as if nothing happened. Ignorance was bliss!
Contrary to their imaginations, Elizabeth was training. She was seated at a table with a small metal bell in front of her and her brow locked in frustration. She looked like she ate a sour lemon. The task was truly hard! Her teacher, the elusive spirit Rena, was a spirit of few words. It was bad enough that Elizabeth could count the number of conversations they had; however, everything that Rena said was extremely deep and cut straight to the heart of the matter. They were worth their weight in gold! The spirit recognized that Elizabeth needed to train her magical dexterity and control. Magic was a complex art and strength did not decide everything. Elizabeth had the potential to transcend ranks as a Rank Transcendent Lord, but her foundations were too rocky. After all, she only officially learned Arcania half a year ago. When she compared to someone like Freon, who trained in Arcania for over six years, she was far too lacking.
She caressed the ring on her finger with a wry smile. This was her magical tool, which replaced the traditional wand that Arcanists used. It was also the same tool she used to escape from the Lannisail Household months ago. Raising her hand, the girl constructed a small Magic Circle from her ring and invoked the spell. With gentle movements, the bell floated off the table without a rattle. Elizabeth began to count in her head as she activated the next part of her spell. The Magic Circle transformed and revolved the bell in a laboured motion in the air. It was painfully slow and shaky, but it never made a noise. One revolution, two, three… After the sixth revolution, her Magic Circle wavered, and her concentration slipped. The imbalance of Magic Energy shook the bell and rattled it! It was a failure!
Elizabeth stopped her spell and stared at the bell hatefully. For the last several hours, she persisted in this training exercise from her teacher without success. It was terribly embarrassing and frustrating how easy it sounded, but how hard it was to execute. This task was truly an example of appearances can be deceiving! The current task was to lift the bell up, complete ten revolutions in the air, and lower it back down. This needed to be done within one minute and the bell was not allowed to rattle. For a Rank Transcendent Lord and a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist like herself, it sounded straightforward, yet Elizabeth painfully learned it was not so simple. Too little power and she would be too slow. Too much and she would rattle the bell. She needed complete control over her spell strength, while maintaining a constant speed and rotation. It encapsulated many of the challenges that an Arcanist struggled with!
Deciding that today's training was over, she moved the bell aside and slumped on the table in defeat. This was her daily routine for the last two months and her record was seven-and-a-half revolutions, which was a far way from the goal of ten. Despite that, it was not without benefits. Elizabeth could feel that her control and technique over Arcania was improving, smoothing out the flow of Magic Energy inside her body. Her spell casting ability was moving to the next level! It even had the subtle effect of improving her Core Level as she shuffled ever closer to the boundary of Half-Condensed Drop Core Level. The difference between Gaseous Fog and Condensed Drop was vast, incredibly vast. The Ten Dawns were the Zino Kingdom's secret weapons for this reason. Once she makes that final step, she would become one of the strongest people in the world too!
"But I still have a long way to go," Elizabeth muttered half-heartedly.
In universal terms, she was considered a Grand Rank 1 Mortal and a Rank Transcendent Lord. Although they sounded impressive, the word 'mortal' revealed everything. Her strength was insignificant, far too insignificant for concern. As meager as an ant, one would not even know they stepped on her. That was what being mortal meant in this world! Just the two birds from the Featherwind Sect were capable of trampling over the massive Alzar fleet with her included, and they were only Grand Rank 2 Lords at most. Furthermore, with the Sword King and the Arcellius Family returning, Rank 3 Kings were making their appearance too. This reaffirmed her desire to grow stronger. She needed to grow stronger! Alas, haste makes waste. It was important to lay a proper foundation so there was no need to rush things. Considering that she earnestly began training half a year ago, her journey was just beginning.