That had been the excuse for her absence when the nagas attacked Fortified City 89 and the top three universities asked for her reinforcement.
If she had truly been training in her seclusion, her sudden arrival here didn’t make sense.
"Greetings to the Overlord," Catherine said with a faint smile. "You were supposed to be locked away in seclusion. That’s why you didn’t join the fight against the nagas, isn’t it? So how did you come here?"
Aurora didn’t respond.
The silence lingered long enough to feel deliberate.
Catherine studied her carefully.
The Overlord’s calm gaze, and the absence of any explanation was already its own kind of answer.
In that quiet moment, Catherine’s thoughts drifted to an old memory. Of the envoy Elira Vance from Fortified City 22.
That woman had once tried to recruit Isaac away.
Later it had been revealed that the Elira they met was a naga spy wearing her face, intent on kidnapping him.
Which meant the real Elira Vance had been killed by nagas before.
But now, seeing Overlord Aurora here, a hypothesis appeared in Catherine’s mind.
Fortified City 22 was working with the governor. The nagas never killed Elira Vance and took her disguise on purpose.
If that was the case, then Fortified City 22 might have been playing a deeper game with the governor all this time.
Catherine shifted her weight slightly and asked, "Can I ask why an Overlord like you is helping the governor? From what we know, you never liked interfering in political matters."
"I wasn’t helping him much before. But then that Farmer appeared and started trying to become a True Lord," Aurora finally spoke.
Catherine raised a brow. "So you want to stop Isaac from becoming a Lord?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"If he becomes the Lord of this city, humanity will end up under his control sooner or later. I don’t plan to serve anyone, especially not a kid who isn’t even twenty," answered Aurora in a languid tone.
Catherine let that answer settle before she spoke again. "So you just don’t want to lose authority over your own city to Isaac?"
"Yes," Aurora said plainly.
Her tone made the governor stiffen.
He had been watching from the side, clearly expecting her to leap into action, cut down Catherine, and rescue him without delay.
Her laziness, however, grated on him.
But he knew better than to scold someone like Aurora.
Strength excused a great deal, and hers was unmatched in this room.
Catherine reached for a folder stacked neatly beside her.
She placed it on the desk and slid it toward Aurora.
"Please take a look at this."
Aurora gave her a flat look. "What is this supposed to be?"
"You’ll understand once you read it."
Aurora raised an eyebrow.
She had expected Catherine to fight, to summon her master, or at the very least to flare up with anger at an outsider meddling in her city’s affairs.
Instead, Catherine remained calm, almost disarmingly so.
Curiosity won out.
Aurora unfolded the top sheet, scanning line after line.
The more she read, the slower her fingers turned the pages.
The boredom slipped from her expression, replaced with sharp focus.
Finally, she looked up. "Is this true?"
"I’m afraid it is," Catherine replied. Her voice carried no hint of triumph, only the weight of grim certainty. "Many monsters are spilling out of the Mourning Frost Mountains. Our scouts believe it’s the early sign of a thousand-year stampede. According to the records, the last time such an event happened, two hundred species were wiped out."
Aurora tapped the page with her finger. "What makes you think it isn’t just a surge of beasts? I don’t know what stampedes are, but from what I can read on here, they are events that occur once a thousand years. Are you sure you not mistaking an unusual monster activity as signs of stampede."
"The naga city was wiped out completely," Catherine answered. "And the Florathi race, who usually spend their days expanding and conquering anything in reach, have suddenly stopped and are fortifying their borders. That doesn’t happen without a reason."
Aurora lowered her gaze to the paper again.
The room grew quiet until she muttered, almost to herself, "...So this is why the Sword Empress has been pushing for that kid to become a Lord."
"Yes," Catherine said, seizing the chance. "Without a proper Lord, and without being able to use Fortified City to its full extent, humanity won’t stand a chance once the stampede begins."
Aurora didn’t reply right away.
The governor’s face grew tense.
He realized the conversation was turning against him. His position was slipping further with every passing word.
"Don’t forget our contract," he spoke coldly, gripping the edge of his chair. "You must protect me. If you don’t, the contract will trigger."
Aurora gave him a side glance before turning back to Catherine. "You heard him."
"Is the contract penalty death?" Catherine asked.
"No. It only seals my strength for a few weeks."
It was a huge problem for someone line Aurora.
She was the last defensive line of her city, and their strongest shield.
If monsters attacked while she was weakened, her whole City would be wiped out.
"In that case, we’ll protect your city until you recover," Catherine said.
"Don’t listen to her—" the governor began, voice rising.
"Silence."
The single word from Aurora crushed the air in the room.
The governor froze instantly.
His throat tightened as if invisible hands had locked around him.
He couldn’t move, and couldn’t even draw a full breath.
His face reddened, but no sound escaped him.
Aurora looked back at Catherine, her tone calm again. "And what makes you think I’ll agree to betray the governor? Even if humanity is in danger, I have no interest in working under anyone else."
Catherine kept her eyes steady on Aurora. "Then you can side with the governor if you want. But keep in mind, my master will come for you."
She allowed herself a small smile.
Normally, Aurora wouldn’t have flinched at the mention of the Sword Empress.
They had fought before, and though the Empress was powerful, Aurora wasn’t easily cowed.
But the possibility of a thousand-year stampede weighed differently.
If it was true, then she had to make a careful decision now.
Her expression hardened.
"...Fine."
Slowly, her body lifted a few inches off the ground.
The air rippled faintly as her figure began to levitate.
"You’d better send strong guards to my city," she said flatly. "While I’m recuperating from the contract backlash, I won’t be able to defend my people."
With a sudden rush of force, she shot upward, tearing through the hole in the ceiling she had created earlier.
A booming crack echoed through the chamber as dust and fragments of stone fell around them.
The room shook, and then silence followed.
The governor stared blankly at the gap in the ceiling.
His face was pale.
He had never expected Aurora to abandon him so abruptly.
To him, it felt like betrayal, a cold dismissal of all the reliance he had placed in her power.
Catherine brushed a few specks of falling dust off her sleeve and straightened.
Then she turned to face him with a faint smile.
"So, Governor, where were we?"