Chapter 164: Summer Flower (3)
As evening descended, casting Lindbloom in a fiery sunset, the Saint ran back towards the royal palace.
“Where is Her Highness the Princess?”
She grabbed the door, her breath ragged, and immediately cut to the chase.
Fortunately, Isoel, Oleciren’s knight, was at the palace, so she hoped Oleciren wouldn’t have gone far.
Isoel tilted her head at the sight of the Saint, who seemed to be in a hurry.
“She is in Ethelred.”
“What?!”
“She went down with Cain-nim this morning.”
“Then why are you here, Sir Isoel?!”
Caterina, the Saint, shouted.
Isoel frowned.
“Her Highness seemed to be depressed lately, but she felt better after seeing Cain-nim. And she said she would be back soon, so she told me to stay here.”
Isoel was a little frustrated by Caterina’s words, which were in contrast to Oleciren’s, but she answered calmly as usual.
Caterina barely managed to stand, her legs feeling like they would give out.
“Are…… are you alright?”
Isoel hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay to ask the Saint such a thing, but she did, and Caterina shook her head.
“No.”
“What’s the matter?”
“The witc━, it’s nothing.”
Caterina hurriedly closed her mouth.
After the Battle for the Throne.
Oleciren had become the clear successor to the throne, no matter who was asked.
She had won the fight and even earned recognition for saving Hybolt.
So Caterina thought there would be nothing more important than the fact that the witch would become king.
But it was only after spring passed that she realized.
“The witch?”
Isoel deduced from her single word. Of course, Caterina tried to gloss over it and brought up the next main point.
“Well, yes. Then how can I get to the Ethelred territory as quickly as possible?”
“The fastest way is to take the train to Lamaring territory and ride a horse from there……”
Isoel smiled bitterly and pointed out the window.
Rumble━.
Darker than the black of the night sky, ominous thunderclouds were spewing out, approaching from the south.
“It’s late, and with that much rain, the train won’t run, so it will take a few days.”
“A few days?!”
“Yes. If the rain stops in a day or two, we will go after that, but if it gets longer, it will take that much longer.”
“……”
“Even if the train manages to go somehow, there’s no other way to get from Lamaring to Ethelred except by land.”
Caterina was speechless.
She couldn’t believe there was a place in the world where traffic would be delayed because of rain.
It was frustrating for the Saint, who had only lived on the continent.
She clenched her fists and looked up at the sky outside the window, then nodded.
“There’s no other way.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s nothing. Thank you for telling me.”
Caterina turned and went out, and Isoel watched her back with an uneasy feeling.
She thought she could smell the wind that had blown on the day they left the Ethelred territory with Cain.
It was a dangerously alluring scent.
It was the smell of someone’s fate changing.
Caterina, who came out of the palace, hurriedly returned to the small chapel where she had been, and this time, she entered the communication room without even saying hello.
The priest who followed her made the sign of the cross behind her and asked,
“Should I connect you to the Cardinals like before?”
Thud━.
The Saint placed her hand on the communication device and shook her head.
“I will do it. This is a call I have to make myself.”
“……!”
The eyes of the priest in charge of the communication room widened. Realizing that this was not something he should interfere with, he hurriedly bowed his head and closed the door.
So that no one else could come in.
“Phew━.”
Caterina let out a big breath.
She recalled the one time she had used this communication device when she became a Saint, to register herself.
And she remembered the words of the former Saint who had told her about this.
━This communication code should only be used when there is a crisis in the entire continent.
━If the ‘Great Legacy’ begins to move, the whole world will be turned upside down.
━The eyes of the Holy See, which have been sleeping until now, will open.
━So think twice, three times. For the protection of the human world.
“Now is the time.”
Caterina made up her mind.
The owner of the holy sword, ‘Summer’, had appeared, and the most peculiar witch was alone with him.
If Oleciren awakened as the ‘Demon King’ after that, it would be too late.
She had to go and resolve this before that, no matter what.
Whooong━.
As Caterina’s fingertips trembled at the enormity of the task, a brown light began to emanate from her autumn-colored hair.
“Holy Crown, please support my decision. All things are for the ‘light’ and humanity.”
The light of the Holy Crown, ‘Autumn’, and the Saint’s dense divine power slowly began to settle on the communication device.
And breaking through the top-secret communication code.
[Current Greatest Divinity User, ‘Caterina Fiorelli’, is that correct?]
A mechanical voice came from the other side. When she saw the cardinals, they were accompanied by a video, but now it was just a voice.
“Yes. I am Caterina.”
[What is your wish?]
“A new hero has appeared……”
[What is your wish?]
The other side cut off Caterina’s words as she tried to explain the situation first.
It didn’t feel like a person.
It felt like a machine that only responded to commands, like the steam-powered machines common in the Henerali-fe of the Holy See.
Caterina felt the weight on her shoulders grow heavier and spoke calmly.
“I want you to come to where I am now. And take me to the hero, Cain-nim.”
[Your wish has been heard.]
[Celestial Temple Mimesis, ascending.]
[Two hours until arrival to the Greatest Divinity Candidate.]
The cold voice, which sounded like metal clashing, rang a few times before the communication was cut off.
At that moment.
Flash━.
The communication device, which had already been turned off, began to glow madly, and Caterina, drenched in cold sweat, connected the communication.
[Caterina!!]
On the other side was Cardinal Fiorelli in her pajamas, her hair disheveled. She must have rushed over, as her breathing was ragged.
[Did you just activate Mimesis?!]
Regardless of the hierarchy between the Saint and the Cardinal, she shouted.
Caterina managed to nod.
“Yes.”
[You━!]
“This is the only way.”
Flash━.
And as if to support her words, the Holy Crown blinked again.
Only after seeing the Holy Crown’s reaction did Fiorelli breathe out a sigh of anger and manage to speak in her usual tone.
[I will speak to His Holiness myself. I will also send the Master Paladin and all of the first unit of the 〈Order of Autumn〉. Ensure the hero’s safety at all costs.]
Caterina made the sign of the cross and her blue eyes twinkled.
“All things are by the light.”
[The light is ours.]
🔹🔹🔹
A few hours before the Saint summoned the Celestial Temple Mimesis.
[25% of the world is watching you.]
Cain tilted his head.
He was used to the messages from ‘Winter’ and ‘Summer’ that popped up whenever they had the chance, but the World Line Fixation message that suddenly appeared felt awkward.
Rumble━.
And the dark clouds that had been visible in the distance when they entered Ethelred were now close.
[‘Winter’ has a bad feeling abo━━━]
[‘Summer’ thinks that maybe━━━]
And at the same time, both of their messages appeared, then stopped and disappeared.
‘Something’s strange.’
Something clearly different from usual was about to happen.
“What are you looking at?”
It was Arna.
It was she, the new mistress, who welcomed Cain and Oleciren back to the Ethelred County.
Thud━.
Dishes, so luxurious that the legs of the wooden table seemed to groan, began to appear one by one.
“I apologize for the lack of preparation, as you came without any notice, but please enjoy your meal.”
Twitch━.
Arna’s ears, which were slightly pointed like a half-elf’s, twitched. Like a puppy wagging its tail, her joy was evident.
Cain and Oleciren, seated side by side, looked at each other, smiled slightly, and picked up their forks.
“I like Lady Arna’s apple pie the best.”
Oleciren put a few pieces of apple pie on an empty plate.
Slide━.
She put back a few of the smaller pieces she had set aside and took the larger ones.
“You like my pie that much?”
Arna smiled brightly.
Oleciren stuffed her mouth with pie, chewed vigorously, and nodded fiercely.
“Even the pastry chefs at the royal palace can’t replicate this tangy, stimulating taste.”
“Well, that’s because……”
Cain opened his mouth to speak.
Swoosh━.
He closed his mouth at Arna’s sharp gaze, as sharp as an arrowhead.
He reminded himself that sometimes silence is more valuable than saying everything.
Creak━.
At that moment, the dining room door opened.
It was Abel and Edmund, fresh from washing up.
They sat across from Cain, and Abel picked up his fork and opened his mouth.
“You didn’t even tell us you were coming.”
“Do I have to call ahead to come to my own house?”
At that, Edmund said bluntly,
“No, it’s my house.”
“You’re not the Count, are you? So you’re not the owner of the Count’s castle.”
“……You’re right.”
Edmund couldn’t even get his money’s worth and just shrugged. Arna chuckled at the sight, and Abel also smiled and chose his dish.
Cain took a bite of the well-cooked pork and asked,
“Did the other knights acknowledge Abel becoming the next Count of Ethelred?”
“Of course. If they didn’t, I would have skewered their heads.”
After the Battle for the Throne, the standing of Airian’s high nobles had changed a lot.
The Ethelred family in particular had changed.
Edmund, who had returned, no longer wanted to be bound by the title of Count, and the position was to be taken by one of his two sons.
And so, Abel became the next Count of Ethelred.
However, as he couldn’t immediately take on the duties of a Count, he was currently undergoing training and building his foundation as the successor.
Slice━.
Abel, who was cutting his steak, added the truth to Edmund’s radical statement.
“The fact that my brother had already promoted me to vice-knight commander was effective. Moreover, Father returned alive and acknowledged it, and since you are going straight to becoming a Duke, there was no one who could say anything.”
The Ethelred Knights had two choices.
Cain and Abel.
No matter how great Abel was and how much Edmund pushed him, if Cain had said he would be the Count, he could have been.
But Cain firmly refused. Or rather, if he had said he would do it, the knights would have stopped him.
He was in line to inherit the title of Duke, which had been vacant since the founding of Airian, so there was no way he would accept being a mere Count.
Of course, he could hold both positions concurrently.
However, since Cain had been openly supporting Abel from the beginning, and Abel himself was an excellent knight, there was no opposition.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all been together as a family, shall we have a drink?”
Arna picked up one of the wine bottles displayed on the wall.
Oleciren scratched her cheek.
“Then should I leave?”
“I told you before. There is a way to become family.”
“……!”
At that moment, Oleciren’s face turned bright red. It was even more noticeable against her black eyes and hair.
As she stammered, Arna chuckled, and Edmund brought five empty glasses.
Glug━.
Arna gently poured the ruby-like sparkling wine into the glasses. As everyone raised their glasses, she smiled.
“To peace.”
The peace of Airian, earned through killing countless enemies and shedding blood.
The Black Fox, Sir Philip.
The witch Primundi and Arthuan.
“To peace.”
Abel, who had walked that bloody path, was the first to respond, looking at the sparkling past in the glass.
The former Count of Lamaring.
Arian and Daybreaker.
“To peace.”
Then Oleciren.
The devil Ballam.
The former Marquis McLoud.
“To peace.”
Count Edmund.
The Elf Queen, Glumiêm.
The Apostle of the Commons, Golden Dawn.
“To peace.”
The last was Cain.
And so they all smiled and toasted to peace.
It was a peaceful and warm time, the blue chrysanthemums decorating the dining room, borrowed from the changing seasons, sparkling, a time that would never come again.
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