"Get through this for now, we’ll discuss it later."
The system added one last sentence.
Selene Kane forced herself to swallow back the sarcastic remark.
She lowered her head, her shoulders trembled slightly, and she pulled the corners of her mouth into a pitiful expression.
"Your Majesty, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."
"Spiritual power is innate, after all."
She bit her lip lightly, and tears finally fell.
"I was just an ordinary person before. If it wasn’t for you offering free testing, I wouldn’t even know I was S-level."
Eliza Windsor sneered.
"Generally, beastmen awaken their spiritual powers before the age of three, showing obvious talent fluctuations. But you? You didn’t show until you were sixteen, which in itself is not normal."
"If you were truly born S-level, with such an outstanding talent, I wouldn’t have just discovered you now."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Your data is too strange. The timing, frequency, energy waveforms... none of them fit the known patterns of S-level awakening."
She shook her head wearily, her tone filled with deep suspicion.
"No matter what methods you’ve used to cover it up, or if there’s some hidden story behind it, your test results indeed show S-level. But the problem is, your Spiritual Sea is completely lifeless, with no active fluctuations, like a dried-up spring. This state... shouldn’t appear in a true S-level."
"So, Selene Kane, I can’t trust you anymore."
She paused, and suddenly changed the subject.
"My daughter, Princess Kate, you should have met her, right?"
Selene Kane nodded gently.
"Yes, the princess is quite nice, speaks gently, and never puts on airs."
At least, in the limited interactions they had, Princess Kate had never shown any hostility toward her or used power to pressure her.
In Selene Kane’s view, not harming others on purpose was already a rare baseline in this world.
Eliza Windsor slowly extended her hand, a pair of well-maintained hands.
Her fingertips carried a slight chill as they gently brushed against Selene Kane’s cheek.
Selene Kane almost instinctively shivered.
She fought the impulse to retreat, trying hard to maintain outward calm.
What does this woman want to do?
"Speak directly if you have something to say."
Selene Kane forced herself to speak.
"I’ll be honest about whatever I can answer."
The Empress withdrew her hand, her fingertips lightly closing in the air.
She stood upright, her aura suddenly turned icy, like winter arriving abruptly, snow and wind pouring in.
"Kate Windsor will one day inherit the throne and become the next ruler."
She said slowly, her tone solemn.
"But her spiritual power is only A-level, which in a world where power is respected, falls far short of intimidating the court, and cannot suppress the scheming clan forces."
She looked Selene Kane straight in the eye.
"That’s why I need a truly powerful spiritual power core, to support The Royal Family. Yet now, in your body, you clearly have S-level abilities, but your spiritual power is dormant."
"I want that ability of yours."
Selene Kane almost spat blood.
She never expected that the other party had such an intention!
Not doubting her impersonation, but directly targeting her ability?
"You should have said you wanted this thing earlier!"
She grumbled wildly in her heart, almost crying without tears.
"I thought I would at most be monitored, watched, never expected to have my talent ’expropriated’?"
Her heart was in turmoil.
I don’t need this so-called S-level spiritual power at all!
With the system at hand, I can make High Rank Soothing Potions to calm others’ mental agitation.
More importantly, I can use the Pure Yang Soul from my children as a ’battery’ for energy.
As long as I have two more children, taking turns to recharge, efficiency will double.
I can not only supplement Kate Windsor’s spiritual power but also maintain the entire Royal Family’s shield over the long term!
But these words, she dared not utter a single one.
Exposing the existence of the system would lead to a fate more terrifying than ’expropriating abilities’.
"System, is it feasible?"
"Rest assured, host, it’s completely feasible. According to the current spiritual power inheritance model projection, your genes have a special condition for cross-generational stable transmission of S-level spiritual power, with a success rate of 97.6%. As long as you conceive again and successfully give birth, the newborn will directly inherit your complete S-level spiritual power talent."
Selene Kane turned to look at the Empress, saw the suspicion on her face, and grabbed her hand.
"Your Majesty, this is truly not an issue. Trust me, once I conceive again and give birth, I can raise Princess Kate’s spiritual power. It’s not just a minor improvement, but a qualitative leap, from A-level directly to S-level! It’s the only way to save her."
The Empress squinted her eyes, full of disbelief, her pupils narrowing.
"What does childbirth have to do with spiritual power enhancement? An S-level spiritual power only appears once in many years. There are fewer than ten registered across The Empire, each one a prodigy, confirmed through countless trials. You claim you can elevate her to S-level just by having a child? That sounds utterly absurd!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
She sneered, her tone caustic.
"Who can’t have children? Every year, The Empire sees thousands of female offspring born; none have resulted in such effects. Spiritual power levels depend on talent, training, and genetic optimization, not something that can leap forward with just childbirth."
"On the contrary, many females experience a crash in spiritual power post-childbirth, dropping from A-level to B-level, unable even to calm their A-level partners. Postpartum weakness, mental exhaustion, hormonal imbalance, all seriously undermine the stability of spiritual power. And yet, you aren’t avoiding them and are actually requesting to be pregnant again?"
Selene Kane was on the verge of tears, her eyes reddening, tears pooling.
"My situation is different! It may sound far-fetched, but I’ve been chosen; within me lies the awakening mark of ancient spiritual bloodline; my children will fully inherit my spiritual power! This isn’t ordinary heredity; it’s directed inheritance, a mission bestowed by fate!"
"I’m S-level, and my child will also be S-level! Killing me is like The Empire cutting off its own arm! You’re now killing not just a female, but the future pillar that could support the entire Empire’s mental defense network! Princess Kate doesn’t just need an ordinary Healer; she needs an S-level symbiotic entity capable of spiritual resonance! Only my child can achieve this!"
The Empress’s lips twitched slightly, her expression complex.
"I’ve never heard of such a theory. I used to be an S-level female myself, once hailed as the ’Daughter of Starlight.’ My most excellent child barely approached S-level, ultimately rated as A-level peak. If you really can achieve complete inheritance, it’d be unprecedented, something even the Empire Academy of Sciences wouldn’t dare claim as technology."
The dungeon was dark and damp, moss creeping along the walls, water droplets constantly dripping from the stone crevices.
Cold winds gusted in, slicing like a knife against the skin.
Selene Kane, already frail, suffered from long-term malnutrition due to imprisonment, now shivering, lips turning blue, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
"You only need to check my child’s data to find out... The system can pull up the mental power scan records of my firstborn; rated S-level within seventy-two hours of birth, without error. Now, could I please have some clothes? I’m so cold. I can’t hold on much longer..."