Part 2, Chapter 19
Part 2, Chapter 19
Translation: godsn
The dagger kicked by Dianzel clattered away, sending Joaquin sprawling to the ground.
He exaggerated his movements—slowly, deliberately—as he feigned pain.
"Very well, Your Majesty. Just kill me here and now! If I cannot remain in Valdina, death would be preferable. I no longer wish to li— sob!"
As Joaquin collapsed into another bout of weeping, Dianzel's face twisted in disgust.
'This bastard, truly...'
Had Joaquin—now discarding all dignity, groveling for mercy—actually slit his own throat, Dianzel wouldn't have batted an eye.
The Valdinans present felt no differently.
The only problem was that not everyone here was Valdinan.
Foreign envoys from across the continent, though startled by the Valdinans' palpable fury, privately felt uneasy.
"To not even pretend to hear his pleas... Three years have passed—are they not still family? The Valdinan imperial house is too heartless."
"Exiled from the homeland where he was born and raised, forced to wander foreign lands. And to think he can't even visit his parents' graves—isn't that pitiful?"
"The once-mighty Regent has truly fallen low... Tsk tsk..."
Most people naturally empathize with the weak rather than the strong.
There was a vast difference between experiencing the devastation of Claudio's rebellion firsthand and hearing about it in a few lines of text.
Moreover, hadn't Valdina only grown more prosperous afterward?
Having expanded its influence so fiercely that it now declared itself an empire, shouldn't they generously overlook such a minor disturbance from their small kingdom days?
The foreign envoys watched Pelleus's reaction closely.
How the Emperor of Valdina treated his fallen uncle might well set a precedent for how he would treat the continent's lesser nations.
Medeia sensed the tension thickening in the banquet hall. She swallowed a silent scoff.
'The Emperor has played his hand well.'
It wasn't hard to guess that Emperor Perdiccas II of Kazen stood behind the Claudios' deliberate provocation.
The spark the Emperor had cast today would linger in these envoys' hearts, hindering their relations with Valdina.
First Iason, now Claudio—Perdiccas II clearly couldn't bear to watch his brother's kingdom hold its coronation in peace.
Then, someone approached the prostrate Joaquin.
"Stand up. Take my hand."
Joaquin froze, dumbly staring at the pale hand extended toward him.
'Wh-what now? I still need to draw Pelleus's attention further...'
"Saintess, allow me."
Before he could think further, a firm grip seized his arm and hauled him upright.
"Dry your tears. The Goddess's love is boundless—no transgression is unforgiven if one truly repents."
A voice both mystical and tender spoke as a woman wiped away his tears.
"Who...?"
Joaquin lifted his head.
And found himself staring at a beauty regarding him with pitying eyes.
Her porcelain skin and delicate frame captivated him.
Her golden hair, cascading over cream-colored priestly robes, seemed all the more divine under the chandelier's glow.
Rachel.
"......"
The Valdinans' mood turned even frostier at the Saintess's appearance.
They remembered all too well what she had done to the Valdinan royal family.
'Sometimes I regret our empire's ascension. To think we must endure the sight of these inhuman wretches gathered in one place.'
Dianzel ground his teeth.
Unaware of the Valdinans' resentment, the foreign guests buzzed excitedly at the rare spectacle unfolding before them.
To witness the legendary Saintess—the subject of hushed rumors across the continent—in person!
"The Saintess? The actual Saintess is here?!"
"The Holy Knights came too!"
Behind Rachel stood High Priest Paolo and the Holy Knights.
Their silver plate armor, emblazoned with the Holy Kingdom's insignia, gleamed beneath flowing white robes.
A sacred aura, as if purifying the very air, filled the banquet hall.
"They say a single Holy Knight can repel a hundred Magic Beasts."
"No wonder you can't find even a claw mark from Magic Beasts in the Holy Kingdom, no matter how many Waves break out."
If Valdina's Agema—the Royal Guard—was renowned as the continent's finest cavalry, the Holy Kingdom's Holy Knights were famed for their specialization in suppressing Waves and exterminating Magic Beasts.
"Those are faces rarely seen at official gatherings. They must have come to escort the Saintess this time."
"But can they really capture magic beasts with just their looks? How are they all so strikingly handsome?"
"And what about the Saintess? If I hadn't heard she was of common birth, I'd have thought her royalty from some frontier kingdom."
As attention poured toward the Saintess and the Holy Knights,
"Now then, this old man offers congratulations on the coronation with the sacred blessings of the Holy Kingdom. May Valdina overflow with unprecedented prosperity and abundance under the Goddess's guidance."
High Priest Paolo was the first to deliver the Holy Kingdom delegation's congratulatory address. His arrogant, affected speech remained unchanged, though there was a hint of impatience in it.
'That young Emperor hasn't uttered a single word to us since earlier. Is he trying to slight us because of that incident? Hmph, I won't let that stand.'
The Pope's repeated warnings and reprimands before their departure had long faded from the High Priest's mind.
When the Pope learned the full circumstances of Paolo's party being practically driven out of Valdina, he had sharply rebuked her.
Despite waiting so long for the Representative's appearance, the Pope still refused to revere the Saintess.
'His Holiness has grown old. His Holy Power hasn't been what it used to be for a long time... So without realizing it himself, he's grown envious of the Saintess's formidable Holy Power.'
Unlike others, the High Priest believed there was another reason the Pope still couldn't bring himself to trust the Saintess.
'Even His Holiness has ultimately become shackled by human limitations... I must regain my senses and reclaim leadership of the Holy Kingdom.'
For Paolo, the first step was this very place where people from across the continent had gathered—Valdina's imperial proclamation ceremony.
They needed to showcase the Holy Kingdom's prestige—no, they needed to present the Saintess's appearance before this continental gathering.
They needed to widely spread faith in the Representative, but that block-of-ice Emperor showed no signs of providing such an opportunity, so he had to take the initiative.
"That the Saintess would set aside all matters to attend in person is a blessing for Valdina that will be remembered for ages to come."
He piled praises upon the Saintess.
After leaving Valdina, High Priest Paolo's blind faith in the Saintess had grown even more unshakable.
Rachel's blood, sweat and tears had contributed to this.
She struggled tirelessly to regain the Holy Kingdom's trust.
By demonstrating increasingly powerful Holy Power each day, she solidified her position as the Goddess's Representative.
She made Paolo and the Holy Kingdom contingent believe even that disgraceful "incident" in Valdina had been a trial from the Goddess to test their faith.
"The Saintess prays daily for Valdina and this continent. Solely for the peace and love that will dwell within you all. Since arriving in the Holy Kingdom, she has even skipped meals to devote herself to prayer—can you believe it?"
Almost as if making excuses for that day's commotion, Paolo's impassioned speech was directed toward where the Valdinans stood.
Yet his efforts were unnecessary.
No matter what he said, the Valdinans would never forget the ugly truth the Saintess had revealed that day.
"You've arrived before your scheduled turn, I see."
Pelleus quietly pointed out how Rachel had abruptly inserted herself into the conversation with the Kazen delegation.
Paolo's face flushed red then pale in an instant.
"The Saintess could not turn away those who are rejected. Moreover, she shares deep ties with Valdina from before."
By "deep ties," he meant that the Saintess had awakened on Valdina's soil.
As people nodded in understanding, Pelleus replied indifferently:
"Then the one you serve should better recognize her position. This is no place for hiding like a child to shirk responsibility."
The socialites' eyes widened. They too had heard the rumors quietly circulating about the Saintess and the Emperor.
They'd heard they'd shared the moment of her awakening, that their bond was so strong the Saintess had even saved him—yet now the Emperor showed no sign of such feelings.
Rachel's face reddened at this cold treatment that showed no regard for her dignity.
How could any man be so consistently icy unless he were made of stone?
That this coldness melted only before his blood sister infuriated her even more.
"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say a word."
Suppressing her anger, Rachel turned toward Pelleus.
"These people are also Your Majesty's family. The Goddess said those bound by blood are connected by threads of destiny. Is it not the natural order the Goddess desires—to generously embrace faults and grow together?"