The cabin doors opened and out walked a tall, slender man with silver hair. He was clad in a black, stiff-collared uniform characteristic of the Empire but no military insignia.

His face didn’t look too old, but he wasn’t young, either. Time itself had little meaning on his body. His eyes were deep, clear, and as calm as still water, almost as though they were reflecting the world itself. A single glance would draw the spectator’s eye and make it difficult to cast their gaze away.

The frustration and jitter Habsburg had accumulated to the point of explosion suddenly disappeared, replaced by his usual indifference and calm.

He gazed deeply at those eyes and said after a good while. “Why must it be at this time?”

Lin Xitang didn’t look at Habsburg after walking out. Instead, he observed the surroundings carefully, almost as though the vast emptiness was filled with myriad scenery. His eyes, when they looked towards the Empire’s direction, were filled with undisguised familiarity and love.

He said slowly, “Why would I be in this state if not for the time?”

At this moment, an...