A week had passed since we dropped the papers.
The rich section of the city became a ghost town.
The gates were blocked, and guards were all over the walls.
Nobody was allowed in or out, and people were worried that an order would come for everyone in the city to be exterminated since they knew too much.
Curfews were imposed, with violators executed on the spot.
Gatherings of people were turned into illegal activities, with violators executed.
Talk of the story we released was classified as treason punishable by death.
Some people were praying to the "Lost Princess" to save them from the mad king.
Others were cursing her out for telling them something they didn't want to know.
Apparently, Lila's brother, Fredrick, took the throne when he turned 18, and people weren't particularly happy with him. Having hope of a lost princess to kill the mad king and take back the throne was something they were desperately wishing for.
I listened to some of the hushed conversations when we went outside to stroll around before the curfew time.
The streets were mostly empty, with people only going to necessary locations.
People started using the places they shopped to have short conversations with their friends and share recent information, no one daring to talk too long.
I heard about what has been going on since Fredrick took the throne.
He would take whatever woman struck his fancy for the day, and they were often found dead and tortured somewhere in the city within a few days.
No one was allowed to question the rules he introduced, and if they did, they were sent to "correction facilities" or executed.
No one knew of anyone who returned alive from these facilities.
People were rewarded for turning in their friends and family.
Taxes were exorbitant, prices rose, and people were having a hard time affording to live.
The government tried fixing prices to keep them in place.
Black markets formed all over the city to avoid taxes and price regulation.
Some officials were discussing how the country's income even dropped after the tax increases!
Lila and I were walking around listening with our sensitive ears.
The discussions from officials working in the palace were the most interesting.
Apparently, someone brought the king and his mother the paper. When she read it, she had a stroke on the spot and required the palace healers to be rushed over.
The king was furious and would randomly get angry enough these past few days several staff from the palace have nearly been killed in his tantrums.
Support from some officials has quietly switched to the lost princess, just in the hope they won't be randomly killed if she can manage to take power.
Of course, other ones hate her for upsetting their life.
"Would you like to go today or wait?"
"Let's go today, but I want to go back to the apartment for a bit. I want to get ready, just do something else for a bit."
"Alright, are you okay, though?"
"Yes, I just don't know what to wear."
I laughed, "Do you want someone else to help you with it?"
She hummed, "I'll have Alexis help me pick something out."
We teleported back to the apartment, Lila dragged Alexis off to our room where the door shut.
I figured I had a while, so I should check on Nyla since I haven't seen her in a while. I'd told Elaria to help her with cultivation and make her a top genius in magic then kinda forgot about her while spending quality time with Lila.
I went over to the room where my servants stayed and pushed open the door. The room was quiet spacious, and each girl had her own section where she kept her stuff.
In the middle, Nyla sat with her eyes closed and a few crystals in her hand, there were faint fluctuations in the lesser energy around her. Elaria was watching her from behind, making sure everything went smoothly.
Elaria looked up and was about to greet me but was stopped by my raised hand.
I used my method if an illusion of text in front of her so as not to disturb Nyla's cultivation.
"How's she doing? I see she reached Foundation Establishment; anything else I should know?"
She replied in the same manner, "She's doing very good Master. I took her out to an arena where adventurers train sometimes to make her foundation solid when she reached Qi Refinement, and it went very well. She just reached her new realm today. She is also now a 5th circle mage."
"How do you think she will do as far as what I need her to?"
"I think she'll be fiercely loyal to you as she grows up; you gave her a home and people she can call family. She seems happy."
"Wake her as soon as you can. We are going to the palace when Lila is done getting dressed."
"Yes Master."
She moved closer and softly called Nyla's name.
After a few seconds, her eyes opened, and she leaned back until she lay on the floor. She rolled over and propped her head up with her hands, "Are we going to the palace today?"
Though she was looking at Elaria, I answered, "Yes, I think so."
She jumped up smiling and turned to me, "Can I go too?!"
"Mhm, just watch though and don't wander off and get hurt."
She looked excited, "Yes sir, I'll stay close to someone."
"Alright then, let's go see how Lila is faring."
I led the way out of the room, we waited for about 15 minutes at the table for Lila to finish.
When she came out, she wore a beautiful white dress with a fur collar, purple gems and a blood red bow in front.
She had a flower in her hair and a large fancy gold and silver necklace with the largest gems I'd ever seen resting on her chest.
I was kind of surprised that what she wore made her look like a princess; I thought she was going to wear something like jeans and a t-shirt.
"You look very beautiful."
She gave a little spin, "I never wore nice things at the palace before; now I will today."
I held out my hand with a little bow, "May I have the honor of escorting the princess to the palace?"
Her face turned slightly embarrassed but she took it, "This princess will allow it."
I heard Nyla's whisper from behind, "It's so perfect, isn't it?"
Thump
I glanced back at the sound and saw Elaria's fist over Nyla's head, Nyla looked at her scowling while rubbing the top of her head.
I ignored them, "would you like to teleport or fly?"
"Hmmm, what do you think?"
"Well there is going to be lots of guards trying to kill us, either way, they don't pose a challenge for us. It just depends on the image you want to portray."
She thought about it before deciding, "I want them to feel fear and helplessness as we effortlessly walk in killing guards like chickens."
"Teleport us to the starting place, and we'll walk right in then."
The surroundings shifted, and we appeared a few blocks away from the gate to the palace grounds. The area surrounding the palace grounds had become a restricted zone where no one was allowed.
The other girls showed up shortly after.
We each cast a personal shield around ourselves, with Elaria helping Nyla, and started walking.
We were spotted almost immediately, and guards started rushing us from all sides.
I glanced at them, and they suddenly were shredded with ice needles. The ones further behind stopped moving closer, seeming to realize that quantity was going to be useless.
Of course, if they threw enough people at us, we'd eventually run out of mana, but that'd take like the whole country.
The officers in charge got on their communication artifacts calling for the high-level mages to be sent.
They all burst into flames, turning to ash before they could even scream.
We kept walking at a pace like we were on a stroll down the beach; mages appeared in front of us, they suffered a sudden death, and a strong wind swept their bodies out of our path.
We kept walking, beheading, shredding, and burning.
Lakes of blood soaked the cobble streets, seeping through the cracks.
We reached the palace grounds; a single mage appeared in front of us, blocking our way.
"This is where you stop, Princess Lila; you have betrayed your country and caused havoc in the country. I will carry out the king's judgment and execute the traitor."
Sure enough, there is a hidden 10th circle in the kingdom. He looked ancient and about to die of old age.
Lila raised her hand and made a flicking motion towards him.
Cracks appeared on his shield, spreading across it.
His face turned horrified, "You're a 10th circle?! Impossible! You're only 20!"
He hurriedly tried repairing his shield and simultaneously started casting an attack spell.
A large wind blade flew towards us; Lila made another flick.
The blade shattered to pieces, his shield cracked completely.
His body exploded; our path was now unblocked, and we continued.
An old, about to die 10th circle is no problem for us. A 10th circle isn't much of a problem at all, maybe just a little delay if they are still in good shape.
Apparently, they'd given up on trying to stop us with quality now; hordes of soldiers rushed at us, throwing themselves at death trying to drain Lila's mana.
They must think Lila is the only powerful person and if they can drain her mana, they'll win. If the dead guys knew all 4 of us were, hahaha it was funny to think about, they'd have a stroke and die again, or wonder what they did with their life.
I wondered if people would try to escape, so I cast a barrier around the palace; no one will be leaving unless I allow it.
The number of guards rushing to their death dwindled; apparently, they were running out of people to throw at the problem, or they got smart and decided to live.
We reached the main doors; Lila made a motion at them, and they burst into splinters flying inside as if a bomb had been placed on the outside.
We walked through the halls, scanning the surroundings with our divine senses, ensuring not to pass anyone Lila cared about killing. Just some of the palace staff hiding in rooms, hoping we pass by. I saw someone hiding in the closet and another under a table.
Ignoring the unimportant people, we walked further into the palace.