Chapter 110 - Embracing a God

The Arken Empire must be superior to all things.

That was why the imperial carriage was about half again as wide as other carriages, boasting a cloud-like comfort inside.

That carriage, which burned through a village's monthly operating budget just by moving once, had set out on a long journey.

The carriage's destination was a massive dome resembling a birdcage in a secluded location.

"We have arrived, Princess."

The person who stepped out of the carriage was Olivia Arken.

She possessed a beautiful appearance befitting the Flower of the Empire.

Stepping inside, it held a verdant spring rather than the dry winter.

"I will take your coat."

"No. I will keep it on. It might be cold, you know?"

"It is the dress code set by the Grand Duke, so we ask for your cooperation."

"..."

Olivia took off her thick coat and moved along the paved path.

She passed by flowerbeds where rare flowers from across the continent were lovingly cultivated, heading toward the artificial lake at the end.

At the edge of the land was a table overlooking the lake.

"Oh, welcome, Princess."

An old man with white hair and age spots, contrasting with the vibrant spring garden, welcomed her while straightening his back.

It was Grand Duke Waldemar Gold, a great noble of the Arken Empire.

Olivia skillfully put on her mask and smiled.

"I greet you, Grand Duke Gold. As expected of the Empire's most prestigious family, you are enjoying elegance in such a wonderful place."

"Haha, you flatter me. The scenery is nice, and isn't this exactly the kind of place to drink while playing in the water? Now, please have a seat here."

Waldemar pulled out a chair for her himself.

As Olivia sat down, Waldemar's hand subtly touched her shoulder.

"Cough, cough."

Olivia coughed and leaned forward.

She smiled sweetly and spoke playfully.

"Perhaps it's because I've traveled a long way, but my throat is so dry."

"Oh my, what were they doing inside not even serving tea? Let me pour you a drink."

Waldemar moved to the refreshment stand himself.

"What kind of alcohol would you like?"

"Alcohol? That is a bit difficult..."

Olivia showed her reluctance with moist, teary eyes.

"Because I cannot drink..."

"Then how about taking this opportunity to learn today?"

"Well. I am a bit worried. Don't they say a woman who enjoys alcohol is a wicked seductress? I have no desire to become such a seductress."

"You should call it a wise woman who knows how to enjoy elegance with a gentleman."

"I do not think I could ever become a wise woman in my entire life."

Waldemar persistently pushed her, but Olivia refused to the very end.

Having no other choice, he offered her warm tea.

However, Olivia only pretended to sip it and did not actually drink.

She did not touch any of the drinks or food Waldemar had prepared.

She was just like a doll.

Though she was smiling, her eyes did not meet Waldemar's, nor did they hold any vitality.

Such a haughty attitude would normally be offensive, but Waldemar's eyes, curved like half-moons, stared at her piercingly with pleasure.

His sticky, clinging lips parted as he let out an exclamation of admiration.

"Stella was exactly this age."

FLINCH.

Olivia's face hardened for a moment.

"That child was also truly beautiful at this age, but you, Princess, become more beautiful as time passes."

Olivia covered her mouth with her fan and smiled with her eyes.

"Hoho, my mother was a woman called a beauty capable of toppling nations. With golden blood and peerless beauty combined, isn't it only natural that I am beautiful?"

"Haha! That is correct!"

The old duke chuckled and slyly reached out his hand.

"They say you still have no man even though you are of marriageable age, correct?"

Olivia grabbed her teacup.

"Yes. It seems I have not found one yet."

"Do not search too far. Your future partner is closer than you think."

"Oh, is that so?"

"What do age and appearance matter? If it is a man who cherishes you, a man with power, you must catch him no matter what."

"I will take those words to heart. I will be sure to look for him."

They were conversing, but the words were empty.

It was a situation where both Olivia and Waldemar were fully aware of it.

She hoped he would get sick of it and give up, but Waldemar was not an easy man.

Only after three hours of courtship and conversation did he finally let her go.

"Shall we wrap up our enjoyment here?"

"Thanks to you, I feel I have had a very enjoyable time before leaving."

She did not even offer empty lip service saying she wanted to stay longer.

As she exchanged pleasantries and rose from her seat, Waldemar slyly held out his hand.

Olivia looked down at that hand and tilted her head.

"What is the matter? Reaching out your hand so suddenly."

"Isn't it an invitation to shake hands?"

There was no way she didn't know.

"Oh, I see. Understood."

Olivia reached out to hold that hand.

"Ahem, it is proper etiquette to grasp bare skin when shaking hands."

"It is awkward and burdensome for a maiden of marriageable age to hold hands with a man."

"You didn't even touch the food and alcohol I prepared, and you were half-hearted with my words; shouldn't you at least grant this simple request to hold hands?"

That was a threat.

A threat to grant his final request before he threw a fit to the Empire's emperor about being offended.

Olivia felt the flow of the situation would not allow for any further refusal.

Having no other choice, she took off her glove, grabbed his hand, and gave a short handshake.

No, it was a long handshake.

When she subtly tried to pull her hand away, he pushed back with his grip strength.

Despite being an old man on the verge of dying, his grip strength was far too strong.

Her hand hurt so much she felt like screaming.

"Would you please let go now?"

"Haha, I've held on for too long. My apologies."

Only then did Waldemar let go.

She gave a light nod and left the greenhouse.

Before heading outside, she subtly looked at a ceramic flowerpot.

It was glazed and so smooth on the outside that it could be used as a mirror.

Grand Duke Waldemar Gold's face could be clearly seen in it.

His eyes were smiling wickedly, and he was greedily licking the hand he had just used to hold hers.

Returning to her carriage, Olivia spoke to the escort knight who was about to close the door.

"Could you give me some perfume?"

"Yes."

The rose perfume that Olivia frequently used.

She opened the bottle and poured every drop of its contents onto her right hand.

The slippery oil flowed down her hand and dripped onto the floor.

A thick rose scent filled the inside of the carriage.

She didn't care about the suffocating fragrance.

She wiped her hand over and over with a silk handkerchief embroidered in white.

Grand Duke Gold's face flashed in her mind.

That greedy face seemed to overlap with the Great Demon, Morax.

'Disgusting.'

SCRUB, SCRUB.

'Disgusting, disgusting.'

SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB.

'Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!!!'

She wiped and wiped again.

Eventually, her once white-jade-like hand turned bright red and stung.

Couldn't she just peel this skin off instead?

She wanted to completely carve out every part that Waldemar had touched.

'Grand Duke Gold...'

The handkerchief crumpled in her grasp.

There was a limit to wearing a mask.

Her porcelain mask shattered, contorting in anger.

'How dare you even mention that name?'

Stella Arken.

She was an older sister who was eight years her senior and sweeter than anyone else.

Blessed with both intelligence and beauty, she even had an excellent fiancé she had chosen herself.

She was exactly Olivia's role model when she was young.

However, at a certain point, Stella changed.

It was from the day her engagement was broken.

Because her fiancé was arrested for treason and vanished as dew on the execution ground.

It was from then on.

The flower that had always been bright and beautiful withered away and grew haggard.

In Olivia's final memory, Stella's hair, once like golden silk threads, had been cut short into a bob.

["Olivia."]

A cracked voice.

["The scenery of the Empire is truly beautiful, isn't it?"]

Her body was precariously draped over the terrace.

Olivia spoke to her with a distressed expression.

["Sister, it's dangerous to be in a place like that."]

["Fufu, that's why you should step back from my side, Olivia. Just for today, you must."]

["Come down, Sister."]

["Stand over there and listen closely to my words. Olivia is a good girl, okay?"]

["Yes, Sister..."]

She smiled.

There was no warmth in it.

Olivia did not throw a tantrum.

["What flows in our bodies?"]

Stella asked.

["Golden blood. I heard our blood flows golden."]

["Fufu, naive Olivia. It would be wonderful if you could preserve that innocence forever... but now you must wake up from the dream."]

Stella's body leaned forward.

["Please, see it clearly with your own two eyes."]

She threw herself right over.

Young Olivia thought that wings would suddenly sprout from her sister and turn her into an angel.

However, there was no angel.

Instead, only her sister's corpse, which had crashed to the ground, was etched into her eyes.

It looked as if a single flower had bloomed.

Her short yellow hair was the center of the flower. The blooming red petals.

Having finally attained her freedom...

She watched it bloom completely until a servant ran over and covered little Olivia's eyes.

Stella was the worst sister.

A cruelty that should never have been shown to a younger sibling.

But it was a final kindness, revealing the even crueler truth and destiny of the Arken bloodline.

And through Stella's favored servant, she learned even the secret of that death.

The cause of that death was Grand Duke Gold.

He had lusted after young Stella early on and wanted to possess her.

That obsession led him to frame Stella's fiancé and have him brutally executed.

Then he sent a message.

That he would ruin everything she loved in order to attain her.

The one who cooperated with him was the Emperor.

Even the power-blinded 1st Prince and 2nd Prince tried to seize immense authority by selling off their own sister.

That was the fate of those called the Flowers of the Empire.

Innocence was a luxury a Princess could not afford.

'My sister, who died because of you.'

With that filthy mouth, how dare he.

How dare he!

She forcefully choked back the urge to scream in hysterics.

Even if there were no watching eyes right now, there were listening ears.

The truth behind this mask of innocence she wore must not be discovered by anyone.

'This is the only weapon I have.'

She resolved to walk around wearing the mask that all men loved.

And by wearing that mask, she would use them as her limbs.

'That wasn't enough.'

Using men ultimately meant that she could not escape from them.

She simply wanted to spread her wings freely in the truest sense.

To do that, she found only one breakthrough.

'A Saintess.'

To become a devout believer of Altes and seize a position on par with the Pope.

That was the only means to resist this cursed bloodline's destiny.

She was able to harbor such a possibility because Olivia possessed divine power.

It was publicly known that she had attained enlightenment while comprehending the doctrines of Altes, leading to divinity dwelling within her.

However, as is always the case, history is bound to be embellished, and Olivia's actual awakening began from a tragedy.

On the day she witnessed Stella's death, Olivia felt something rotating deeply within her chest.

She was naive and didn't know it back then, but as she grew older, she was able to conceptualize it.

A Red Circle had been circulating within her body.

'What is needed to ascend to the position of a Saintess is at least the fifth stage of enlightenment.'

In terms of a mage, it was only possible upon reaching the 5th Circle.

Olivia had currently reached the third enlightenment.

It was at the level of a village-touring evangelist who could wield simple healing arts and light magic.

Since she could not gain enlightenment on her own, she needed someone's help.

The religious leader's help was out of the question.

Because that bastard was also still in cahoots with the Emperor.

Therefore, she needed the help of the Holy Emperor of the Odograsado Holy State.

He was a true saint who broke her prejudice that all men were the same.

Olivia sought his advice, and his answer was this.

["For a god to dwell within you does not simply mean staying inside a cathedral. You must feel and accept that He is always watching over you, right behind your back."]

Hearing those words, Olivia thought.

I have a carriage full of guys like that around me; were they gods?

It's sort of true.

Fucking idiots.

Because such sarcastic thoughts preceded everything, accepting the existence of a god became even harder.

That was why she cautiously asked him for more advice.

At that, the Holy Emperor replied like this.

["It is difficult because you feel you must simply believe in the god. Try to love the god, Princess. If you do, the call of the god will surely reach you as well."]

He said that love comes from keeping the commandments.

Even after swearing an oath of revenge against her blood relatives and dedicating years to acting according to Altes's commandments, her mana circuits showed not a single sign of movement.

The god's call was never heard.

It was only natural.

Because something like that could not be called love.

'Love, huh...'

What exactly was love?

They said it would come to her if she loved, but she didn't understand the emotion called love.

They said you could feel it from a gaze, but the eyes directed at her always passed over her breasts.

Even the man calling himself the religious leader of the Order of Altes was like that.

However, because of those gazes, she was a bit confused whether the saying that 'love comes from the heart' actually meant loving her chest.

'Love is nothing but a lump of tumors born from lust.'

All men possessed one of those tumors.

Since all she accumulated was disgust, she had assumed she would never understand what love was.

However, even that thought had recently been disproven.

'Ferda Valdrova.'

His image suddenly came to mind.

A tall stature, gray hair, and blue eyes like deep lakes.

A seemingly pessimistic expression and resolute actions.

'That's partly because his authority backs him up, but...'

He possessed the drive to execute his plans, and the people around him were both outstanding and virtuous.

As the perception grew that the far east was somewhat safe, there were even young people within the Empire leaving to work there.

Those were not phenomena that could be achieved simply by riding on someone's prestige.

'Above all...'

His eyes had never once shown lust.

At first, she was curious.

Wondering how long he could keep up that act.

She had done things that would have slightly shaken even married men and knights devoted to their vows, but his heart remained completely unfazed.

That was why she was annoyed.

It felt like she was the only fool for thinking all men were the same.

No, she actually was a fool.

Ferda was currently striving to turn the far east into a second capital.

Wasn't she the only one failing to keep her promise of becoming a Saintess and being of help?

'If this keeps up, how am I any different from those air-headed noble ladies?'

For Olivia, it was an unacceptable matter.

She was merely standing still, offering zero help to him.

She was a collaborator supposed to stand on barely equal terms, yet he was pulling ahead.

'Men really are all the same.'

They were all the same in the sense that they somehow managed to piss her off.

The irritation bottled up inside her felt like it was jabbing at her head.

She looked out the window to at least change her mood.

The blue sky and the dry winter earth.

While things were passing blurrily through her vision, a single distinct speck caught her eye.

"Stop."

Hearing her order, the carriage came to a halt.

Driven by a 'just in case' feeling, she stepped out of her seat to check again.

Perhaps she was mistaken.

However, upon looking closer, she realized it was no mistake.

'That man is...'

It was Ferda Valdrova.

And the person beside him must be Valdrova's maid.

'Why is he in a place like this?'

Rummaging through the map in her head, House Rosnova was indeed nearby.

Did he stop by his family home for a moment and then sit down over there?

She took a step toward him, figuring she should at least say hello.

However, her feet did not move any further.

Ferda's state, upon checking again, looked incredibly heavy.

He was uncharacteristically helpless, completely unlike the person who always stood with his back straight and bore a cold expression.

'A weak display...'

Olivia despised such displays.

To her, someone revealing their wounds was tantamount to showing their weakness.

In aristocratic society, a weakness is like a chunk of meat reeking of blood.

The piranha-like nobles would instantly bite into that wound.

She had no need for someone who could not endure the weight of being a noble.

"... How pitiful."

Olivia was startled even as she spat out those words herself.

Did she just say he was pitiful?

Was she truly sympathizing with that man?

She wondered if she was misunderstanding something.

But instead of letting out a sigh of pathetic disappointment, her heart began to ache.

'Why?'

Olivia mulled over it, trying to find the meaning of this unfamiliar emotion.

What am I hoping for from that man?

It terrified Olivia herself, but she didn't let go of that sensation.

Unconsciously, she brought both hands to her chest and folded them together.

Olivia's gaze remained fixed on him, and she let her emotions guide her.

Licking the tears he would shed, she savored his sorrow.

That feeling swelled more and more, and eventually, the two hands resting on her chest clasped tightly together.

As if offering a prayer.

'I...'

Olivia felt it for the first time then.

'If only I could become that man's pillar of support...'

Sympathy, not contempt for his helplessness.

It was then.

"Ah."

She began to feel a strange sensation inside her body.

The biggest reason why she couldn't become a Saintess,

The thing that wouldn't budge no matter how much she deceived herself into being a devout believer,

That very thing was moving.

This was undeniably the love for a god that the Holy Emperor had spoken of.

She finally realized.

'Ferda...'

That he was the very god she must embrace in her heart.