Unknown Factor

(Unknown Location – Society of Pure Humanity)

Beautiful serving girls walked silently around an open room that was the size of a banquet hall.

They handed out colourful drinks to over one hundred individuals sitting at a rectangular table.

Each chair was carved from expensive mahogany wood and adorned with gold and silver to demonstrate wealth and influence.

The members of this group were anonymous to all except the leaders of the society in order to prevent identity exposure.

One would be surprised to find out that beneath the facial modification masks hiding their appearances were several influential figures among the Earth Federation.

These individuals were from various economic, political, and manufacturing sectors and even belonged to different court factions but were calmly sitting down and talking with one another.

They were all united by the common dream upon which their secret society was formed.

One day the Earth Federation would fall entirely under human control.

This goal was still many years from being achievable, so the society had set a smaller goal of expelling hybrid citizens from positions of power.

Hybrids were even worse than the other alien races as they were living proof that a member of humanity had dirtied their bloodline.

They had largely succeeded in the years prior, but Duke Peterlor's decision to make his hybrid daughter the heir to a dukedom was a slap to their faces.

He had even allied with opposing voices in the court to stall various bills that would reduce the rights of hybrids in the Federation.

Speaking of Duke Peterlor made each member feel an intense mix of anger and alarm.

He was the youngest in the history of the Earth Federation to reach the god stage and the ascension realm seemed a matter of course.

Many wanted to see the duke dead before his potential could be realised as he presented an enormous stumbling block to their ambitions.

That wasn't to say that none tried but all assassinations had failed spectacularly, and the duke had even tracked down and killed the clients who commissioned them.

No one dared to send another attempt on his life after those warnings.

Duke Peterlor had taken a neutral stance in all matters unrelated to hybrids so the society was unable to influence others to make an enemy out of this powerful man.

But the holographic images now projected on the screen overhead made all the members contemplate deeply.

The images showed Duke Peterlor's daughter in apparent courtship with one of the royal princesses and the leaders among the society were very concerned.

Could this be a sign that the duke was involving himself in the war of succession?

"We need to be careful of this development. The duke has obviously decided to support a candidate as the next head of the royal family," a lady leaned back on her chair and spoke.

"But this makes no sense! Surely there were better options to pair his daughter with if Duke Peterlor really wanted to dive into politics," another man argued.

"Princess Cleo has no significant background and her potential in mech piloting is the only thing of note."

"Precisely! He wants a puppet that he can control to push his hybrid agenda!" came a loud retort.

Fierce arguments were heard from different sides of the table as this unexpected change in the situation made them all restless.

"Enough!" came the firm yell from a man who walked quietly into the room.

What was surprising was that none of the cultivators among the members sitting down were able to detect this man's movements.

"The spy I planted among duke Peterlor's death guards is still gathering information on the defenses protecting his lunar colonies."

"We can ignore the relationship between his hybrid bastard and that unknown princess girl. He will soon realise that he is nothing but an arrogant child who offended those he cannot afford to touch."

With just two statements, the man managed to calm down the anxious room and soon the members began to address other pressing matters.

The man remained silent for the rest of the meeting and his poker face prevented others from reading the dark thoughts hiding beneath.

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(Peterlor Mansion- Study Room)

"I've finished my investigations into Princess Cleo's background and family clan sir," the head butler stepped forward and presented several papers.

It was important to properly dig out intelligence on his daughter's potential partner as matters involving the royal family were quite complex.

There were dark undercurrents flowing beneath the seemingly peaceful exterior and the duke had no desire to see his daughter used a chess piece in the war of succession.

"Sir pardon my rudeness but is it wise to do this behind the young miss's back?" the butler hesitated briefly before speaking up.

The duke remained silent and rapidly scanned through the information presented on the papers with a guilty conscience.

Rokan frowned heavily once he turned the last page of the document and realised that there was nothing more on file.

"Is this all?" the duke asked curiously.

"Yes sir. Several gaps exist in the data gathered and even using the underground informant groups, we were unable to get any new information," the butler responded.

"I suspect that someone has modified or restricted access but my team was unable to determine who or what faction was responsible."

The documents had many details on princess Cleo as she was known as one of the high potential royals among the younger generation of heirs but there was little to no information on her mother or the family clan that stood behind them.

This made no sense.

Even though the current emperor was a lustful man, it was impossible for a mere commoner or a noble with no background to enter the imperial harem.

Behind every concubine stood an impressive noble faction with interlocking groups of interests which made the power dynamics of the court particularly treacherous.

Previous emperors of the dynasty had limited the number of women in the imperial harem, but the current head of state would accept any woman that qualified.

Concubine Sisrelis was the only name given when referring to Cleo's mother and no information could be found on her maiden or first name.

Rokan could understand if Cleo's mother were favoured by the emperor and her personal data was protected by the imperial authorities.

But all reports indicated that the emperor had not visited her palace once in the last fifteen years.

The duke was no stranger to the members of the imperial harem and had visited the palaces on many occasions due to his position but the picture of Concubine Sisrelis shown on the paper was still unfamiliar.

She was definitely just as attractive as many others in the harem with flowing dark hair, a modest figure and piercing green eyes, but the duke felt that there was something unsettling about her appearance that he could not describe.

He furrowed his brows and rubbed his temples a few times while thinking of what action to take next.

Should he forbid Sophie from interacting further with the princess?

As an overprotective father, Rokan was not comfortable with such an unknown factor interacting with his daughter but at the same time there was no reason to split them apart.

Why did his daughter have to get involved with a royal?!

Aren't normal girls good enough?

He sighed heavily and gave out a new order to the head butler,

"Don't stop the investigation into Concubine Sisrelis' background and I will also arrange a face to face meeting with her once Sophie leaves for university."

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(Frostwing Hatchling's POV)

I love my mommy!

My mommy doesn't look like me…. some bad guy must have stolen her wings! I will beat him up when I get bigger.

I remember swimming around happily in a small room when I saw a floating silver thingy entering inside the darkness.

It was very tasty and made me feel warm!

But my mommy isn't here right now. Where has she gone?

Maybe I should look for her!

Crack! Crack!

Two new lines appeared on the sides on the egg as the fierce baby clawed furiously to free himself from the shell.