Chapter 40: The Delegation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: The Delegation (2)
“—! —!!”
Katya’s eyes screamed with silent outrage.
Her expression clearly demanded to know what in the world he was thinking, but Aiden simply ignored it and nudged her behind him.
…Her concern is valid.
The Holy Kingdom was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful nations on the continent. To antagonize its royalty meant risking the enmity of such a superpower.
It wasn’t just a matter of political relationships; the immediate threat Laila posed was a problem in itself.
Not everyone who wielded Divine Power became royalty, but those who bore the title were all masters in the art of its manipulation. Of course, the current Pope stood at the absolute apex, but that didn’t change the fact that every royal was a formidable opponent.
“You certainly have nerve,” Laila spat, her voice dripping with venom.
The Divine Power she had just summoned now surged threateningly around her.
“You had better think clearly before you act. Do you even know who you are picking a fight with—?”
“Five.”
“…What?”
“Four.”
“…”
“Three.”
…Ah.
He really had meant it when he’d given her five seconds.
Aiden nonchalantly continued his countdown, proving that this was neither a negotiation nor a conversation. A thick vein bulged on Laila’s forehead.
It was a clear sign that she was done talking.
“Bring it.”
At Laila’s chilling command, the maid at her side quickly brought over a box.
Inside was a bell-shaped ritual implement.
The moment they saw it, the faces of everyone present contorted.
Just as famous as the Holy Kingdom’s royalty wielding Divine Power was another truth:
Royals deemed worthy were each bestowed a unique Sacred Artifact, an item that dramatically amplified the limits of the Divine Power they could harness.
In short, it was the very thing a royal brought out when they genuinely wanted a fight.
“—Princess Laila, stop right there! Anything further will be considered an act of hostility against the Empire!”
Dame Stella sprang to her feet in shock, but Laila, having already made her move, remained chillingly calm.
“You were the ones who interfered in another’s family matters first, were you not?”
“That is something we can resolve through discussion! At this rate, it will lead to an actual war—!”
Before Stella could finish, Divine Power erupted from Laila’s body and surged toward Aiden.
It was an attack launched without a shred of hesitation, so swift that no one in the room could properly react. Stella reached for her sword, Katya tried to pull Aiden back… but they were all too late.
The fact that no one could react, despite the room being filled with elites of international standing, was a testament to the terrifying power of a Sacred Artifact.
Which meant—
In this place, only one person reacted appropriately to such an unexpected blow.
From the very beginning, it was Aiden himself, who had been prepared to take the hit.
Qi and Divine Power flickered around his body in perfect unison. As if he had been ready for battle all along, his response was flawlessly timed and precisely executed.
“—”
Yet, even seeing this, a cruel smirk touched Princess Laila’s lips. She didn’t believe any reaction would be effective.
Output, activation speed, destructive power—in every aspect, her Divine Power, amplified by the Sacred Artifact, was unmatched by anyone else in the room. She never entertained the thought that her opponent could successfully counter it.
A lethal strike plunging straight into Aiden—that outcome seemed set in stone.
“By the Law, I vow.”
…Or so it would have seemed.
“This humble servant offers a prayer.”
That would have been the outcome, unless the opponent was an ‘aberration’ capable of channeling Divine Power at the exact same speed as Qi.
The moment Consecration and Vow were murmured from his lips, Guardian’s Flame—a unique ability belonging solely to Aiden, one that no one else on the continent had ever wielded—erupted into existence.
The instantly deployed pure white flame tore apart the Divine Power that had surged toward him.
“What…!”
Laila’s eyes widened in sheer shock.
She could have understood if their abilities had canceled each other out due to equal output, or if her attack had dissipated against a purely defensive skill.
However, the ability Aiden had just unleashed was clearly a form of Divine Power specialized in ‘offensive power,’ just like hers. For her own power to be so utterly shattered by his…
—It was clear proof that his ability was inherently ‘superior’ to hers.
“You said it yourself,” Aiden’s voice drifted to her before she could even process her shock.
The Guardian’s Flame flared.
He targeted Princess Laila’s legs, just as she had done to Katya earlier.
“—An apology is done on your knees.”
Like a raging storm, the flames surged forward. They scattered the paladins rushing to protect the princess and pierced straight through another burst of Divine Power she hastily summoned to defend herself.
The attack slammed heavily into her legs. Princess Laila, who had been standing just moments ago, collapsed forward onto the floor.
“…”
“…”
Before the kneeling princess, a heavy silence descended.
For a long moment, Laila stared blankly at the floor, her posture betraying her complete inability to accept what had just happened. Even after using a Sacred Artifact and launching a surprise attack, she had been utterly overwhelmed from start to finish.
“…”
“…”
That same sense of disbelief was shared by everyone else in the room. It was obvious, given that no one moved a muscle despite the dire situation.
Well, except for one person who prioritized something else entirely.
While Aiden was still channeling his Divine Power, Katya slammed into him like a missile.
“—I told you to stop!” she screamed as she tackled him to the ground. Her golden eyes blazed with fury. “I told you not to get angry! This is going to turn into a huge disaster! I said I was fine—!”
“…”
…The fact that her anger stemmed from worrying about him was, admittedly, a bit endearing.
Despite her intense reaction, Aiden merely blinked and answered calmly.
“You really don’t need to worry that much, Katya.”
“…What?”
As Katya stared back in bewilderment, Aiden gently pushed her aside and stood up. The explosive situation had given way to a tense lull, and the resulting silence made Aiden’s words ring out with perfect clarity.
“Princess.”
“…”
“Bring just one escort. Let’s not make a bigger mess out of this. We can resolve it between the parties involved.”
“What on earth are you—?”
Aiden held up a hand, cutting Katya off as she started to protest in horror. It was the same gesture Katya had used to stop him earlier, and it carried the same meaning:
I’m fine. Don’t interfere.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Time to clean this up.”
…Though he called it “cleaning up,” to Katya, it sounded like nothing less than a promise to teach a lesson to the fools who kept picking fights with him.
* * *
Fortunately, Princess Laila complied with Aiden’s request without further resistance. She had likely realized that continuing her assault would never breach his defenses.
And so, the four of them—Aiden, Stella, Princess Laila, and her maid—stood facing one another on the quiet rooftop of the headquarters. A cool night breeze washed over them.
The chill between the four of them, however, was so biting it made the night breeze feel like a summer heatwave.
“You will pay a price for this, Princess Laila,” Dame Stella was the first to speak. She was normally a stoic, almost wooden figure, but right now, she radiated a cold fury that could slice skin. She was certainly doing her part to lower the ambient temperature. “You were the ones who committed an explicitly hostile act. We will hold you accountable—”
“No, Dame Stella. There’s no need for that.”
…Sorry to interrupt when she was so furious, but—
Aiden scratched his head and cut her off.
Dame Stella, whose icy glare had been fixed on Laila, snapped her head toward him.
“Pardon?”
Her look screamed that he should stay quiet, but unfortunately, that was a request Aiden couldn’t oblige.
After all…
“We can’t hold her accountable. Because, in the first place, the person known as Princess Laila doesn’t exist.”
“…Pardon?”
“In the Holy Kingdom, anyone who can handle Divine Power above a certain threshold is granted royal status. That’s why they have the most convoluted family tree on the entire continent,” Aiden explained calmly, shifting his gaze. “Which means it’s hard to notice if someone high up slips a fake royal into the mix.”
“…”
Stella blinked, completely unable to follow what he was saying.
“Meaning…?”
“The person named Princess Laila exists only on paper. And the person who came here as her representative isn’t her, either.”
He had thought it was strange from the very beginning. No matter how much time had passed, as someone who possessed crucial knowledge of the original story, how could he have forgotten a character with such a distinct personality?
Because the premise itself was wrong.
It wasn’t that he had missed the information. It was that a person who shouldn’t exist had simply appeared out of nowhere.
“So, you can drop the act now. I sent everyone else away specifically so we could speak candidly.”
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Laila replied, her face an emotionless mask.
Aiden gave her a casual look. “You’re a puppet, aren’t you?”
Once he assumed she wasn’t a royal, the strange sense of dissonance he’d felt upon seeing her face was instantly resolved.
Aiden knew this person. She just wasn’t important enough for him to clearly remember, and she was someone who should never have appeared in a place like this. That was why he hadn’t recognized her right away.
“You’re not royalty, nor are you even human. You’re an illusion controlled by someone else.” This was one of the ‘faces’ a certain someone often used to deceive others. A mask of a person who, by all rights, should never have appeared here.
“What in the world are you—”
Brushing Laila’s words aside, Aiden shifted his gaze slightly to the side.
“So, let’s stop playing around and talk properly.” He let out a sigh. “I’m talking to you.”
…Aiden’s gaze was fixed firmly on the maid standing quietly beside Laila with her head bowed—the very same maid who had handed her the Sacred Artifact.
Hearing his words, the maid’s eyes widened in surprise.
“P-Pardon?”
“…”
“E-Excuse me, I have no idea what you are saying. I am just a maid—”
Her tone was one of genuine panic. To an outsider, it would look as though Aiden were harassing an innocent woman.
But whether that was the case or not, Aiden’s expression shifted to one of outright annoyance.
“Your tastes are twisted.”
“…”
“You’ve tested me enough. That’s far enough.”
Silence. A heavy quiet settled over the rooftop, long enough to leisurely finish a cup of tea.
While Dame Stella, still lost, darted her eyes frantically between Aiden and the maid, Aiden continued, his tone suggesting he couldn’t be bothered to entertain this any further.
“How on earth did the ruler of the Holy Kingdom sneak into the Empire?”
“…”
“Your Holiness.”
—The maid froze instantly.