LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 52
For a moment, Zebeline, who had stayed in the Marquisate of Hohenberg, was feeling perplexed by the news that the train services to the Imperial City had been canceled.
What am I supposed to do…
If I dawdle, the old maid will devour Edanant.
Her journey had been delayed while inspecting the Scepter of White Night kept in the Fairies’ Paradise. Zebeline furrowed her brow as she rented a carriage from the Marquisate. Using a carriage would undoubtedly delay her schedule a lot, but now was not the time to complain. She expressed her impatience, recalling the Platinum Princess who had left without a word just a few days before.
“Saintess!”
Just as she was about to depart in the carriage, a Holy Knight clad in full armor came rushing over in a flurry.
Is something wrong?
The Holy Knight’s complexion was pale as if he had seen a ghost.
“T-the Holy Kingdom sends urgent news…! A Meiros worshiping the Disaster God has appeared!”
“The Disaster God?”
A sense of foreboding crept in.
A Meiros of the Disaster God.
Just hearing that sent an unsettling feeling through her.
The Holy Kingdom reveres the Earth Mother, a deity related to the Creator Deity. Naturally, the followers of the Disaster God were deemed heretics that must be eradicated. Until now, the Holy Kingdom had been joined with the Empire to continue purging Meiros and Cultists to prevent the Disaster God’s rampage.
“Sir Alferid has been attacked by the Disaster God’s Meiros. The purging forces that set out to defeat the Meiros have been annihilated.”
“This is no trivial matter.”
The sword of the Earth Mother had fallen to those who followed the Disaster God.
It was indeed a humiliating outcome.
A holy knight serving the Holy Kingdom had been brutally defeated.
The cardinals, upon learning the news, must be fuming and reorganizing the purging force again, as it was a disaster that had thrown the prestige of the Holy Kingdom into the mud. They might even call the First Saintess, dispatched to the Empire, back in haste.
“However… there were no fatalities.”
“Is this not a cunning ploy by the Cultists to drag the honor of the Holy Kingdom through the mud?”
“Perhaps it’s a peculiar Meiros that has never killed anyone before.”
“W-what? Is there even such a Meiros?”
Despite the horrible damage inflicted by the defeat of Holy Knight Alferid and the annihilation of the Holy Kingdom’s elite, unbelievably, there were no fatalities. They had only sustained severe injuries and fallen into a state of incapacitation.
Why is that?
Surely the Cultists would see the Holy Kingdom as a mortal enemy.
Could it be that the Meiros worshiping the Disaster God follows a non-kill policy?
Until now, the Cultists had mercilessly slaughtered anyone associated with the Holy Kingdom, even civilians unrelated to it. Thus, the Empire and the Holy Kingdom had labeled the Meiros as ruthless monsters.
‘The Disaster God… of all times for a Meiros of the Disaster God to appear.’
While the Empire’s unsavory elements were continuously causing disasters, a Meiros worshiping the Disaster God had appeared, creating a moment of utmost tension.
Is it merely a coincidence?
A gloomy feeling began to coil around her gut, pressing against her intuition.
*
Isabel sent an invitation.
It was a request for her to attend a tea party.
With no reason to refuse, Zebeline accepted the invitation. Of course, she made this decision knowing Isabel’s true intentions.
As expected, Ludmilla also attended the tea party.
Hmm.
How could it not go as forecasted?
Could she be so blatant in pushing for a meeting?
She sat stiffly, like someone attending a matchmaking session. Perhaps Ludmilla thought the same, as she showed a tense expression.
“Ahem! So you’re the guest, after all.”
“Well, it’s an invitation from Princess Isabel.”
It was clear to anyone that the tea party was a pretext for matchmaking. Hence, it couldn’t help but become awkward between Zebeline and Ludmilla, who had been close friends.
What should I say?
It felt like my lips were parched for no reason.
On the other hand, Rue entered the tea party with a cheerful stride, munching away at butter cookies and refreshing the atmosphere that was thick with awkwardness.
“Oh my, you already have a cute daughter between you two…”
“No!”
Isabel clapped her hands in delight.
Then Ludmilla, blushing, yelled in an agitated voice.
“….”
“Why are you staring at me so intently?”
“Oh dear, just imagining it is horrifying.”
“Hyah!”
I pondered what it would be like if that mischievous fairy were my daughter.
It’s dreadful.
Just imagining it sent a pulse of pain through my head.
Sighing heavily, I shook my head. Then Rue jumped, startled by my reaction.
“I’ve invited the main characters of the scandals to the tea party because I wanted to hear many stories. As the eldest daughter of the Imperial Palace, I’m encouraging my sister to share a healthy love. I secretly wish they would just make it a foregone conclusion.”
“W-wait, sister!”
While Isabel was a gentle lady, she held a surprisingly fierce stance on love. Truly, she showcased the passionate values of a princess who had successfully experienced a love marriage.
I didn’t expect to see such an intense side of her.
After all, she is the first daughter of the Emperor, known for her bold temperament.
The oddly tense tea party continued.
After I conveyed my feelings for Ludmilla, Isabel began showing favorable reactions. Even as they continued their conversation, she subtly hinted at supporting me and Ludmilla.
“Are the refreshments to your liking, little fairy?”
“The cream cake topped with fruits is sooo delicious! I want to tell the Ruinong folks who have just stepped outside!”
“Fufu, I am honored by such high praise. I made the refreshments myself.”
“Really?! Your skills are amazing!”
As Rue’s eyes sparkled while she spoke, Isabel smiled knowingly and took out a handkerchief to wipe the cream smeared around Rue’s mouth.
They looked like a mother and daughter.
Isabel looked at Rue with maternal affection, yet there was a strong sense of sorrow beneath it.
“Will you be attending the banquet too?”
“Yes, of course.”
I felt a moment of doubt when I noticed the sorrow seeping into Isabel’s smile when suddenly, Ludmilla spoke up in a hurried voice, as if she wanted to change the subject.
There must be a secret she wants to hide.
Not wanting to pry into a traumatic secret, I complied with her intention.
“Your Highness.”
A maid serving Isabel approached her.
She bowed her head and conveyed the news.
“Your Highness Elizaveta has just arrived.”
“Liza?”
Upon hearing the news, both Isabel and Ludmilla showed surprised expressions. I was no exception.
How did she arrive so soon?
The train services must have all been canceled.
It would be impossible to have reached the Imperial City from the Marquisate without using the short-distance teleportation spell multiple times, which was practically impossible.
Could it be that the fairies had cast some magic…?
“Elizaveta!”
The beautiful blonde princess gracefully stepped in, surrounded by several fairies who helped with the wedding as if they were attendants.
She must have borrowed power from the Ruinong.
The fairies’ magic could turn the impossible into reality.
I greeted the smiley Elizaveta warmly.
*
The apostle of the Disaster God had tortured the Holy Kingdom’s purging forces to test the power of the sages and then leapt through space to the Empire.
Meanwhile, another apostle lurked in the shadows, controlling puppets filled with vengeance.
All to bring down the Empire.
And to avenge the siblings slain by the Empire’s bloodthirsty beings.
Finally, the returned apostles of the Disaster God prepared for their revenge. If they utilized the new divine status and powers granted to them from the Chaos Realm, they could certainly drench the Empire and the Holy Kingdom in fresh blood.
“Tomorrow, there will be a banquet at the Imperial Palace! We will strike when the opportunity presents itself to eliminate Barbarossa!”
Some of the nobles attending the banquet promised their involvement.
The rebels, hiding near the Imperial City, were waiting for the order.
Moreover, preparations to lure out the Empire’s Red Dragon had just been completed.
Perfect.
The chances of failure were slim.
The puppets blinded by vengeance against the Valtarian Imperial Family moved like cogs in a well-oiled machine. This was naturally possible due to the presence of a strategist with foresight.
“Strategist, we will launch our operation tomorrow!”
“Indeed, do not forgive even the insane Emperor who mercilessly slaughtered your kin.”
The elderly man known as the ‘strategist,’ laughed boisterously.
His face was filled with wrinkles.
But his eyes shone sharply like a hawk.
The old man, who commanded the puppets to refer to him as the strategist, was an apostle serving the Disaster God. Having successfully infiltrated the Imperial City, he injected the final doses of brainwashing into the puppets while amplifying their desire for revenge against the Valtarian Imperial Family.
“To humans, revenge is the greatest motivator. It will burn fiercely, like an eternal sulfur fire.”
The elderly man had also lost precious blood relatives to the Valtarian Empire.
He had lost them all.
Not a single one remained.
He had to scream without even being able to collect their corpses.
Returning from the Chaos Realm with the determination to drive the Empire and the Holy Kingdom out and revive his faith, he found it too late. Three years had already passed.
The elderly man understood the feelings of the noblemen who had joined the rebellion better than anyone. Therefore, he sought to utilize them as puppets to manifest the Ascension of Evil.
“Something has felt off for a while. The Blessing isn’t functioning properly. It feels like something is obstructing it.”
The once smooth-flowing Blessing of the Disaster God had been repeatedly interrupted and resumed as though it was hitting some unseen barrier.
It was a phenomenon he had experienced before.
It typically occurred when an apostle of the Disaster God was nearby.
For that reason, the old man sensed an even greater oddity.
“Ariel shouldn’t have crossed over to the Empire already… What on earth is happening? Could there be another apostle in the Imperial City?”
It was impossible.
Other than Ariel, the other apostles were in the Holy Kingdom.
There shouldn’t be a new apostle in the Imperial City. The apostles who had led the Ascension of Evil had all perished in the Racial War.
Thus, the elderly man completely ruled out the possibility of a new apostle’s existence.