Chapter 147

I Need You

Olivia looked slightly surprised before resting her chin on one hand.

"What exactly am I going to regret?"

"Being drunk doesn't exempt you from responsibility for everything you say."

Her dry, lifeless eyes studied Ferda intently.

Their meaning was impossible to read.

Then she spoke.

"Then let's do this."

"You can be my first."

"...What did you just say?"

She set the bottle down and rose unsteadily to her feet.

Still clutching the dagger, she staggered toward him.

"Men always say sleeping with a courtesan isn't cheating."

"If I'm no longer going to be an imperial princess but merely a courtesan with noble golden blood..."

"...then it shouldn't matter, should it?"

She spread her arms.

"Come here."

Ferda knew that look.

Eyes filled with poisoned thorns.

It was the same look Olivia had worn in the future, back when he had been known as the Mad Mage.

Even if bringing William here had been part of some elaborate act, those eyes were genuine.

She had lured the Crown Prince into her bedchamber and killed him.

The Second Prince had joined her rebellion and been executed.

Half the Empire had burned.

Yet the Emperor had survived.

Emperor Godfrey Arken's authority had only grown stronger.

Ferda approached her cautiously.

Like another fool bewitched by the flower.

Like someone casting aside his mask to indulge his desires.

When they were close enough—

he moved.

His target was not Olivia.

It was the dagger in her hand.

But Olivia's reflexes were just as sharp.

She tightened her grip, stopping his surprise attack.

"Let go!"

she shouted.

There was no backing down now.

Ferda forced his way forward.

The struggle became a full-fledged grapple.

"Let go!"

"I said let go!"

Olivia screamed as she fought desperately.

Ferda cursed his own weak body.

Unable to overpower a woman his own age.

He desperately recalled the martial techniques he had learned years ago, trying to gain the upper hand.

But Olivia had learned self-defense as well.

Neither yielded.

Their frantic struggle continued—

until it ended.

Clatter.

The dagger rolled across the floor, far out of reach.

Ferda forced Olivia backward onto the bed and pinned both her wrists.

Covered in sweat, the two stared directly into each other's eyes.

"Heh..."

"Hehehe..."

Olivia looked at him and laughed mockingly.

"You're so weak."

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"You're supposed to be a man."

"Close your mouth."

"Why?"

"You like women who struggle?"

"I don't mind."

"That'll only make me look even more pitiful—"

"Shut your mouth."

Olivia froze beneath the force of his voice.

Ferda's eyes burned with fury.

"Olivia Arken."

There was no lust in his gaze.

Only pure anger.

"How long are you going to keep saying such idiotic things?"

"...What?"

She frowned.

Ferda continued anyway.

"I know what you accomplished."

"I know that without you, those men could never have achieved what they did."

Olivia was brilliant.

To be honest—

Ferda admired that side of her.

The way she could smile even at people she despised.

The way she willingly accepted sacrifice for the greater good.

Those were things Ferda himself could never do.

"So someone like you..."

"...must have known."

At last, he understood the meaning behind the smile she had worn when he handed her those documents.

"You knew from the very beginning..."

"...that they would never acknowledge your achievements."

It had been the smile of certainty.

The smile of someone who already knew everything would end this way.

"And despite knowing all that..."

"...you came into another man's territory."

"You manipulated one of my knights."

"You set foot in my domain."

"And now you're trying to drag me down with you."

For a moment, Olivia seemed overwhelmed by his fury.

But only for a moment.

She glared back just as fiercely.

"You..."

"What could someone like you possibly know about me?"

At last, all the anger she had kept buried burst out.

"Even if I expected this!"

"Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to hear people say those things right to my face?!"

"I do."

"Do you know what it's like to have your reason and judgment denied because of those bastards' hunger for power?!"

"I do."

"Of course it's easy for you to say!"

"You've never cared about me."

"You looked at me the same way everyone else did."

"As just another woman."

"You only cared about living happily with your fiancée."

Yes.

Ferda had never cared about Olivia.

He hadn't cared what became of her.

Whether she inherited the Arken Empire...

Or threw her life away...

All he had wanted was to live peacefully with Valdrova.

That was what he had believed.

But thinking back on everything he had done...

it wasn't true.

If he truly hadn't cared whether she succeeded, there would have been no reason to lend her his tactical infantry.

No reason to compile evidence supporting her achievements.

No reason to subdue her with his bare hands instead of simply restraining her with shadow magic.

If he truly didn't care—

none of it would have mattered.

"There is still a path open to you."

Ferda's voice became calm.

Olivia's gradually did the same.

"...What path?"

"The one you originally intended to walk."

The Saintess.

She had spoken of it during the Grand Council.

"Instead of drowning in despair over this impulsive failure..."

"...isn't it time to pursue the plan you've spent years preparing?"

Olivia's expression darkened.

It wasn't as though she had never considered it.

She simply looked away.

"It's impossible."

Her voice trembled with frustration.

"There hasn't been a single Saintess since the Dragon-Demon War."

"Reaching the Fourth Enlightenment is already unimaginably difficult..."

"How could I ever attain the Fifth?"

Olivia had reached only the Third Enlightenment—the Third Circle.

In truth, that was where almost every nun reached her limit.

Even those who secluded themselves deep within monasteries, abandoning the secular world to devote themselves entirely to God, struggled to surpass the Fourth Circle.

For Olivia—

it was even more impossible.

She lived surrounded by ambition and deception.

How could she focus solely on serving the divine?

"Then find a way."

"Don't ask something so irresponsible—"

"If you decide to become a Saintess..."

"...I will do everything I can to help you."

To stand against the Empire—

they would need allies.

No one knew what schemes would follow the monster subjugation campaign.

Or what the Empire would do next.

Among everyone Ferda knew, there was only one person who had spent years watching the Empire from its very heart.

Olivia.

"I need you."

The emptiness faded from her eyes.

For the first time that night, life returned to them as she looked directly at him.

She had been born with the blood of House Arken.

She wished to see the Empire fall—

just as he did.

That was why Ferda spoke with absolute conviction.

"Follow your original plan."

"Become the Saintess."

"If you choose to walk that path..."

"...then I will stand on your side."

Olivia stared blankly at Ferda.

Then, in a voice barely louder than the flutter of a mosquito's wings, she murmured,

"...Say."

She spoke again.

"Say what you just said."

"If you become a Saintess—"

"Not that."

"The part before it."

"Follow your original plan—"

"Earlier."

"I need you."

At those words, Olivia's body trembled once more.

"Again."

She repeated the pointless request.

"...What are you trying to do?"

"You said it yourself."

"You said you were going to make me a Saintess."

Her voice was astonishingly clear, nothing like that of someone who had been drunk moments earlier.

"This is the moment."

What kind of nonsense is that?

That was what Ferda wanted to say.

Yet he could feel it himself.

A vibration traveled through the hands pinning her down.

It originated deep within her dantian.

The Ring of Faith—the Red Circle spoken of by the clergy—had begun to move.

He didn't know what emotion he had stirred.

But there was no doubt that his words had reached her Circle.

To become a Saintess... she must reach the Fifth Circle.

Ferda had to make her a Saintess.

If he kept this momentum going...

she would at least reach the Fourth Circle.

"Just keep whispering it."

"Just tell me you need me..."

"That's all."

Ferda did as she asked.

There was no tenderness in his voice.

No affectionate inflection.

He simply repeated the same mechanical words.

"I need you."

Even so...

the effect was immediate.

Like a river swollen by the summer monsoon, the power surged uncontrollably until it threatened to swallow Olivia herself.

She focused on her dantian.

But she struggled.

It was obvious she had neglected this kind of cultivation for a long time.

"Concentrate."

"Slowly."

Seeing how close she was to losing control, Ferda decided to guide her.

"Imagine another space existing inside your dantian."

"Imagine there's a hand inside it."

"Use that hand to shape it."

"...Mm..."

"...Ugh..."

Ferda followed the flow of her energy.

Olivia focused exactly as his voice guided her.

Just as she had patiently taught him to dance despite his clumsiness...

he refused to give up on her, quietly explaining each step into her ear.

An hour passed.

The chaotic flow gradually stabilized.

Compressed.

Refined.

Until—

"...Ah."

William stood quietly nearby.

His bleeding had already been stopped.

Even Ferda's dagger had been carefully cleaned and returned to its sheath.

Since this had begun with William...

it was only fitting that he see it through.

"Carry the princess."

"And follow me back to the castle."

"You're still one of my people."

"...Yes."

William silently obeyed.

Olivia let out a soft cry.

The swollen, unstable Red Circle finally settled into a perfect circle.

The catharsis that followed filled the emptiness that had clouded her eyes.

"...Ah..."

The only thing reflected in those eyes...

was one man.

Gray hair.

Blue eyes.

Lost in a blissful trance, she looked gently at Ferda.

"My..."

She never finished the sentence.

Instead, she closed her eyes.

At first, Ferda wondered if she had lost consciousness.

But she had simply fallen asleep.

Leaving Olivia to rest, he quietly went downstairs.

***

The following morning.

"I'm sorry, Regent."

"I made a fool of myself."

She was no longer wearing an imperial princess's dress.

Instead, she wore one of the spare outfits from the castle.

The smell of alcohol had been hidden beneath perfume.

Any trace of a hangover disappeared behind the perfectly composed mask she had worn for years.

Ferda answered her apology with a question.

"What happened?"

Olivia's eyes widened.

Then she burst into laughter.

"That's right."

"Nothing happened."

"Correct."

Nothing had happened between them as a man and a woman.

That was better for both of them.

"Did you report that I was here?"

"Yes."

Ferda deliberately omitted the fact that William had helped her escape.

Instead, he explained that no one had realized she was here until after the incident, when a second investigation uncovered her whereabouts.

Even if it was a serious mistake...

an accident was far preferable to deliberate treason.

Naturally, Alexander had been furious.

He had demanded to know how they could possibly have overlooked something like this.

Ferda had simply replied,

"If even the Imperial Court Mages couldn't find her, how were we supposed to?"

Alexander had fallen silent.

All he said afterward was that he would personally come for Olivia the following morning.

"I explained that this wasn't merely a runaway incident."

"I told them you had come here to negotiate."

Olivia tilted her head.

"Negotiate... what?"

"I told them there was something you wanted."

"And that you had secretly come here to discuss it."

"...Something I wanted?"

Ferda snapped his fingers.

The door opened.

Luri stepped aside as a man entered.

"I am Helus Phobidas."

"The Sage of Water."

Olivia immediately slipped her perfect social mask back into place.

"It is an honor to meet you, Sage."

"I am Olivia Arken."

"The honor is mine."

"You are every bit as beautiful as the rumors claim."

Helus looked utterly incapable of deciding where to focus his eyes.

They darted frantically between her face...

and her chest.

Olivia suddenly remembered the drunken curses she had poured out the night before.

She concealed her disgust flawlessly behind an elegant smile.

Ferda shot Helus a meaningful glance.

Stop gawking and get to the point.

"Hm-hm."

"Regent Ferda told me that without Your Highness's strategy..."

"...I, too, would surely have perished."

"Not at all."

"My objective was simply to rescue the civilians."

"It was only by chance that I reached your residence."

"It is only proper for a man to repay such kindness."

"I've heard the Empire seeks my wisdom."

"If that is so..."

"...I shall lend it my strength."

Olivia's eyes widened.

"Are you saying..."

"...you've changed your mind?"

"That you'll become the Empire's Sage after all?"

"Indeed."

"Judging by the current state of affairs..."

"...I foresee a great crisis approaching—not only for the Empire, but for the entire continent of Cerdes."

Placing a hand over his chest, Helus continued,

"In times like these..."

"...shouldn't we all work together for the peace of the Empire and the continent?"

"Oh..."

Looking genuinely moved, Olivia grasped his hand.

"Thank you."

"On behalf of the Empire..."

"...I sincerely thank you for your decision."

"Hahaha!"

"There's no need for thanks!"

Though he tried to appear composed...

he couldn't conceal how pleased he was.

After securing his promise to accompany her back to the Empire, Helus took his leave.

The warm smile immediately vanished from Olivia's face.

She returned to her seat, sprayed perfume onto a handkerchief, and meticulously wiped her hand clean.

The sort of thing one did after touching filth.

"That pig..."

"He's a stand-in, isn't he?"

As perceptive as ever.

"The man known publicly as Helus Phobidas is indeed him."

"Really?"

"That was the real Helus?"

"Yes."

"He is capable of producing wisdom worthy of the title of Sage."

Olivia compared the man she had just met with his legendary reputation.

No matter how she looked at him...

he resembled nothing so much as a lecherous provincial noble ruled entirely by his desires.

"Well..."

"If you aren't taking him with you, I won't stop you."

"...I don't know how you intend to make use of him..."

"...but I suppose we'll need him."

Sneaking away from the palace was one thing.

But if she returned with a legitimate reason—

having successfully recruited the Sage of Water—

then even those who had reduced her military contribution to three percent would find it difficult to dismiss such an accomplishment.

"Thank you."

"For everything."

Olivia bowed her head in sincere gratitude.

Shortly afterward, the Imperial Court Mages arrived through a teleportation circle.

Their faces were pale with anxiety.

They hurriedly escorted Olivia and Helus back to the Empire.

Until the very last moment...

Olivia kept looking back at Ferda, waving to him.

Thus, for the time being...

the princess's disappearance came to an end.

***

Alexander Arken was holding a secret meeting with his closest advisers.

One of the officials responsible for intelligence spoke cautiously.

"It appears this matter will be treated with the utmost seriousness."

His voice trembled.

Even as Crown Prince, Alexander's authority approached that of the Emperor while the latter remained secluded.

But approached was not enough.

"...Has it been formed?"

"Yes."

Because that level of authority would never be enough to stop them.

"The Arken Emergency Response Headquarters will begin moving."

The Emergency Response Headquarters.

An organization so powerful that placing it directly beneath the Emperor himself would not have seemed inappropriate.

Even the Crown Prince dared not interfere with them.

"...Over the loss of a single legion..."

Alexander muttered bitterly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

His closest advisers quietly swallowed their disbelief.

The formation of the Headquarters was entirely justified.

In truth...

losing one's head over this affair would not have been surprising.

Fortunately for Alexander...

that punishment would fall upon someone else.

"What about the ones who spread the plague?"

He meant the officers who had suddenly fallen ill and been unable to participate in the campaign.

"There's no need to worry."

"We eliminated their families..."

"...and wiped out their entire households."

By pinning every crime accumulated over the years upon them all at once...

they had been sentenced to death by burning—

while still alive.

It was a horrific end.

Ordinarily, Alexander would have found that deeply satisfying.

This time...

he did not.

Once the Emergency Response Headquarters had been convened, there would inevitably be an inquiry.

And at that inquiry...

his punishment would be decided.

If he wanted to escape responsibility...

he needed someone else to bear the blame.

Someone close enough.

Someone whose responsibility had been even greater than his own.