Aegon finished his meal first, as he just nodded at Liliana. He definitely wanted to talk to her about everything that happened sixteen years ago on his birthday, but food was more important.

Once he was done, he cleaned the dishes and invited her to the tents, saying, "I think a more comfortable place will be better for this, no?"

She nodded and followed him to his tent. It was pretty big, enough to house a small family actually. He didn't understand the need for it, but apparently the Red Viel wanted their Boss to live in the best condition, even if it was in the treasury.

He sat on his bed while Liliana took a seat on a comfortable sofa and turned towards Aegon. He noticed something peculiar in her eyes.

'She's looking forward to this discussion rather than fearing it and getting nervous. She wants to face it rather than cower away from the past.'

Aegon already liked her character, and the more time he spent with her, the more he realised how good she was and how similar they were to each other.

"You can ask me anything you want," Liliana said after a moment. "But tell me something first. Why didn't you ask Xiu or Father? Or did they not tell you? I'm confused because it doesn't match their nature."

"I didn't bother asking," Aegon replied calmly. "No offense, but I didn't care about my parents. Xiu worked hard so that I never felt your absence, so I wasn't even curious about what happened. I only knew a little, and that was enough for me."

He raised his head and continued.

"And I could see whatever happened hurt them deeply, so why should I hurt them further by reminding them of it? Just to satisfy a little curiosity? I'm not that cruel."

"So what made you discuss it with me?" Liliana asked, leaning back on the seat. "Either you don't care about me, or you don't think I'll be hurt by its reminder. Which one?"

"Neither!" Aegon replied flatly. "As I said before, I'm not a cruel person. I won't hurt others just to satisfy my curiosity, even if it's a stranger. I was raised better."

Liliana's calm expression crumbled away for a second upon hearing his words, but she soon reminded herself that she was indeed a stranger in his life and calmed down.

"I asked you because you reminded me of myself. I just thought you could handle it better and communicate it out without letting it get too much into your head."

He smiled at her and said.

"I mean, you controlled yourself well back in the Eternal Sanctum. It made me believe we can have a civil conversation without hurting each other. But we can forget this if you feel otherwise. I understand."

Liliana shook her head. "It's fine. I want to make everything clear so that I can interact with you without any awkwardness."

Aegon nodded in understanding and directly went to the point. "So, can you tell me what happened back then? What made Opa abandon his own son?"

Taking a cup of water from the table beside her, Liliana made herself comfortable and started her story.

"It was a deeply ingrained plot to bring Olena Valeria, the Last Valerian of her generation, orchestrated by none other than the demons. They pulled everything in their arsenal to do this one thing. In the end, they succeeded too."

Aegon wasn't surprised, as Xiu had already told him that the demons were deeply involved in that incident. That became the reason why Aegon hated them so much.

Meanwhile, Liliana continued.

"I almost had a miscarriage when your elder sister was born. That left me unable to ever conceive another child. I was fine with it, as I had two lovely children. But perhaps the world wished for something different and gave you to me as a miracle. You don't know how happy everyone was back then. They celebrated as if we had won the greatest war."

She smiled.

"It's still the best memory of my life, seeing everyone that mattered to me be happy, and I was the reason for their happiness in a way. I couldn't ask for more. The months that followed became the best time of my life as well."

She turned towards Aegon and said evenly.

"But miracles don't come without a cost. When I was in my seventh month of pregnancy, my water broke. It was so sudden and unexpected that nobody could react to it. Not even me. Worst of all, it was the worst possible time it could happen."

"Perhaps that's why it happened?" Aegon asked, trying to remain calm upon hearing that.

Liliana nodded.

"You're right. It was intentional. You see, no one was with me on that day. Father was in the Nightmare Desert, repelling a horrible abomination that could have ended all of humanity if left unchecked. As for others..."

She closed her eyes, lingering for a while. She hoped she could erase the memories of that terrible day, but failed every time.

"Demons suddenly launched a full-scale war in the State of Atlanta. Nobody expected that or could even predict it, as even our intelligence team failed to notice the gathering of such a large number of powerful demons. Even Dukes assembled that day, along with the Demon King."

Aegon winced upon hearing it. The Demon King was a Rank 9 existence who could end all of humanity in a matter of minutes. The only reason he hadn't done so was because of Samuel.

Imagining such a being standing against them, ready to wage a deadly war, chilled his heart.

"We weren't ready for a war of that scale, so the best course of action was to abandon the State of Atlanta. It's one of the smallest of ours, anyway. But that meant giving up on fifty million lives."

She couldn't help but chuckle dryly.

"How can an Augustus let that happen? Impossible! So when the emperor ordered Art to command the forces in the State of Atlanta against the demons, he left me. He chose to protect fifty million lives instead of being there for his wife."

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