The three Empresses were different ages of the same person, so in terms of appearance, the only differences between them lay in temperament.
As for their figures, Evernight, who represented a fully mature woman, was naturally the most eye-catching and alluring.
Daylight was not far behind, but her aura was far too cold and severe, giving off an untouchable feeling that kept others at a distance.
Meanwhile, Dawn, who represented youth, actually possessed an excellent figure for her age. Front and back alike could be described as works of art.
Unfortunately, the people she was being compared to were the other two versions of herself, both absurdly overwhelming in presence...
As a result, Dawn, who by no means counted as an immature girl, was forcefully made to seem exceedingly youthful by comparison.
But looked at from another perspective, Dawn was the one with the brightest future ahead of her!
Because her future was literally documented and verifiable...
After the three Empresses took their respective positions, they sat down together.
Then Daylight spoke first.
"Hearn, how is the Special District?"
Anyone attentive enough would notice that the usually emotionless Empress Daylight's voice trembled slightly when she mentioned the words "Special District."
Count Hearn respectfully lowered his head and replied:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the foundation of the Special District still stands!"
Hearing this, all three Empresses visibly relaxed.
Although they had already received reports confirming that everything was stable, along with far more detailed information, only after hearing Count Hearn's personal report did they finally feel truly at ease.
Because they feared the earlier reports might have been fabricated misinformation meant to conceal the truth.
Even though the possibility was extremely small, whenever the matter concerned the Special District, their nerves became extraordinarily sensitive.
Especially because during their true younger years, similar incidents had repeatedly occurred around them.
For a very long period of time, the Empress had even believed there were no poor citizens left in the Empire.
She had believed that under her protection and rule, all her subjects had become the kind of upper-class people admired by foreign nations.
But reality?
Reality was that even after personally ruling for three hundred years, she still could not eliminate poverty from her lands.
The dream of ensuring that none of her people ever suffered from poverty seemed impossible no matter how hard she tried.
Even merely restraining the widening class divide and preventing the upper classes from excessively exploiting the middle and lower classes had already required enormous effort from her just to barely maintain.
Even after making such tremendous sacrifices...
Thinking of this, the eyes of all three Empresses dimmed slightly in silent mutual understanding.
Soon after, aside from the still comparatively immature Dawn, the other two flawlessly concealed the disappointment in their eyes.
They were the Empresses of Loren.
They had to remain forever confident.
Forever strong.
Just like their Sequence demanded.
Only then were they worthy of the title Eternal Monarch!
After a brief pause, Daylight continued:
"Hearn, the report mentioned that beneath the Old District lies a massive Elven ruin. And that within it was a terrifying Elven creation?"
"Explain everything to Us in detail."
Count Hearn immediately bowed his head and recounted everything according to his own understanding, from the underground hall to the Golden Legion and beyond.
The three Empresses listened quietly.
Hearing Hearn's firsthand narration was far more informative than reading cold words on paper.
After a long while, Daylight frowned slightly and said:
"So in other words, we still do not know who the true mastermind is?"
Count Hearn nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Mozo had indeed provided his account, and the black-robed leader had permanently remained within the Empire.
But all that accomplished was confirming that the enemy was not the Elves, and that the black-robed group was likely a covert force belonging to another Empire.
As for exactly which Empire...
In an almost comical twist, nobody knew.
Because there was more than one nation both willing and capable of doing such a thing...
Daylight nodded upon hearing this, then exchanged a glance with Evernight before issuing her final decree regarding the matter:
"Seal away the corpses of those villains. At the same time, return the remains of the Elven Master Craftsman to the homeland of the Elves."
"And remember to formally protest to the Elves and demand basic compensation."
Count Hearn did not respond, because the order was not directed at him.
The moment the Empress finished speaking, a white dove flew out of the Audience Hall.
It would carry the Empress's orders to the appropriate people.
Only after the dove departed did Count Hearn ask:
"Then, Your Majesty, what about that Elven Sealed Artifact?"
Daylight and Evernight smiled simultaneously.
"That is Our Sealed Artifact now. Let the Elves protest if they wish."
"After all, We already returned the body of their compatriot."
To the Elves, the Golden Legion was important, but not important enough.
It was something they would not willingly abandon, yet not something worth starting a war over.
It was easy to foresee that Loren and the Elves would spend quite some time wrangling over ownership of the Golden Legion.
As for returning the Master Craftsman's remains, aside from matters of etiquette, it was mainly intended to prevent the Elves from escalating the conflict further.
After casually deciding several major affairs in just a few sentences, Empress Dawn, who had remained quietly listening the entire time, suddenly spoke:
"That university student. The one named Mozo."
"Count, what kind of person do you think he is?"
Hearing this, Daylight first looked at Dawn with interest before turning toward the Count.
Meanwhile, Evernight continued gazing at Dawn with unconcealed affection.
They were indeed one person.
Yet they could also be regarded as three different individuals.
After briefly considering the question, Count Hearn gave his answer:
"A clever lucky man."
"Personally, I believe he has no subjective connection to this incident whatsoever. He was simply dragged into it by chance... and happened to play an enormous role through sheer luck."
As he spoke, Count Hearn smiled.
"A mere Sequence Ten has no qualifications to become entangled with the great Sun King and His Sealed Artifact."
Before the Kings, one must show reverence, just as one would before the gods behind them!
That was an ancient piece of advice.
And it had always been remembered and obeyed.
Afterward, the three Empresses discussed several political matters with the Count before finally watching him depart to return to the Special District and oversee the situation there.
However, just before leaving, the Count finally asked the question that had troubled him for many years:
"Your Majesties... what exactly is the value of the Special District?"
The official explanation given to the outside world was that the Special District existed to separate Beyonders from ordinary people and create a pure region in order to test whether humanity could develop better without reliance on the supernatural.
This had been one of the grand visions proposed by the great Saint of old, John Connor.
But neither the Count nor the other major powers believed the Loren Empire's Special District existed merely to verify a Saint's whimsical theory.
The idea was too absurd and far too costly to justify.
And as time passed, even the three Empresses themselves, despite receiving no "results," had begun preparing to shut the Special District down.
In response, Evernight exchanged brief glances with the other two before finally speaking seriously to Count Hearn:
"As you and those filthy hyena-like vultures have guessed... the Special District is part of a ritual."
The Count immediately understood.
The theory that the Special District was part of a great advancement ritual belonging to some major figure within the Loren Empire had long been one of the hottest speculations among the great powers and throughout the supernatural world.
It had practically become the default explanation accepted by the supernatural community.
But only today had the Empress herself personally confirmed it.