It was already the end of November. The Rose Palace was decorated with frozen green branches and leaves, the top of the courtyard was covered with white snow, and the garden that used to compete with each other for beauty was now covered in snow-white. From time to time, the sound of water dripping from the eaves could be heard.

Lily was sitting in her study, a brazier beside her radiating a warm glow. While the palace had arrays and facilities to maintain temperature, she was accustomed to the subtle warmth of such flames, rather than the cold, unchanging surroundings.

Placing an orange next to the brazier, Lily gently rocked the cradle beside her, watching her child sleeping peacefully inside, her heart filled with joy. She remembered how she used to do this as a child, sitting around the fire with her family, talking about the happy things they had experienced.

Although they were of noble birth, Lily's family was not of the highest rank, but rather an ordinary, lesser noble family. Their fiefdom was only a small plot, sufficient to support only two knights. Their most valuable possession was the vineyard on the plain at the foot of the mountain.

Relying on brewed wine, the family can obtain a stable income every year, and on the day of the winter festival, the father will also buy various gifts for his brothers and sisters.

Compared to those young ladies from large families who were restricted, Lily had a much easier life as a child. As the youngest, she was taken care of by her older brothers and sisters, and she did not bear any high expectations or responsibilities.

In her father's words, as long as she grows up healthy and gets married, that's all that's needed.

Her brothers ran the family business, and her sisters had already taken care of the maintenance and building of family relationships, all of which were doing well, so she didn't have any worries. As a child, she often visited her brothers-in-law's homes, traveling and enjoying the scenery, which broadened her horizons.

As a result, Lily was neither like the children of endangered aristocrats, who had a passionate desire for power and status, nor like those young ladies who had been living in seclusion for a long time, who were full of fantasies and high expectations of the outside world.

Well, I don’t have any big aspirations anyway. Lily has been living a simple life without any high expectations and is quite content.

It’s a pity that reality develops too fast. In the two or three years of her marriage to Amank, she often wakes up from her dreams and doubts whether everything is true.

I am just the daughter of a small country noble in the southern part of the empire. How could I suddenly become the highest-ranking queen in the empire? What exactly happened?

Sitting beside the quietly burning brazier, Lily gently rocked her sleeping basket, her eyes following the flames as she recalled the figures of the past.

"Your Majesty, Lord Sifley is here." A maid in the study whispered in the queen's ear.

"Well, let him in." Lily straightened the wrinkles on her clothes and then sat on the wooden chair next to the brazier and waited.

After a while, the maid gently pushed the door open, and then a man in military boots walked to the door, saluted first, and then saw the queen and cradle in the room, then slowed down his voice and introduced himself.

"Your Majesty and His Royal Highness are well. I am Sifley, commander of the 56th Imperial Legion. It is a great honor to meet you."

"Come in, Junior Sifrey." Lily smiled and waved.

Then the officer came into the room and felt a little awkward for a moment, not knowing whether to stand or sit, even though the maid had considerately placed a chair there.

"It's better to sit down. It's tiring for me to look up and talk to you." Lily looked at Severi and soothed him slowly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The legion commander sat down with some excitement.

"I called you here in such a busy time, and I don't know if I disturbed your work." Lily asked the maid to bring hot tea to the officer.

"Thank you. I'm not disturbed. On the contrary, I feel very honored." He took the teacup and placed it carefully on the coffee table in front of him.

Sifrey once studied at Emenas and was also a student of the Walled City College. After Roland and Bumansa graduated, Lily, as a veteran of the club, briefly served as president for two years.

Although she felt she wasn't as good as Roland and Bumansa, she was fortunate that the foundation of the club had been laid, so she only needed to maintain it. And this Sifuli junior was the rising talent of the Walled City Academy during those two years, and he won third place in the Winter Festival Gala.

"I'm very grateful to Senior Lily for accepting me into the club and giving me a lot of help." Sifley recalled the past and said with emotion. Although he was a genius, he started too late. Coupled with his low status, he has always been a marginal figure in the aristocratic City Academy.

It was not until he joined the 'Black Water Lily' club that he was recognized by many classmates in the same college and gained rare experience exchanges, competitions, and extraordinary potion assistance. It was also during those two years that his strength grew rapidly and he became famous at the Winter Festival Gala.

Although some senior students had a mediocre attitude towards Lily, the president, in his heart, this senior student had always been a person worthy of respect.

"That's all in the past, and it's all thanks to your own hard work." Lily shook her head, repeating what Roland had said to the club members. She had little experience back then, and many of her methods and words were copied from the notes Roland left behind.

"Actually, I called you here this time because I hope to get your help." Lily slowly got to the point.

"I am willing to go through fire and water for Her Majesty the Queen." Upon hearing this, Sifley stood up at attention. Because his voice was too loud, the baby in the cradle was woken up.

"Be good, it's okay." Lily whispered to comfort her child, then gestured for Severi to sit down first.

"In fact, it is indeed a dangerous and difficult task." Seeing that the child was stable, Lily asked the maid beside her to continue rocking the cradle, and then turned around to talk to Severi.

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