Chapter 104
Shah-Naz took a deep breath.
“What exactly do you want? What do you gain from all this?”
Aligning with the Saintess had indeed given him an advantage over other kings, but that was all.
In this world, one cannot recklessly conquer or destroy another country without risking the wrath of the goddess.
“Gain? There isn’t really any.”
“You’re doing all this for nothing?”
“Well, there is one thing. Amusement.”
“What?”
For a moment, Shah-Naz thought he misheard and smacked his ear with his palm, but he hadn’t.
Shah-Naz had heard him correctly.
“You’re doing all this just for amusement?”
It was unbelievable.
“If that’s the case.”
Grinding his teeth, Shah-Naz looked at the composed Burt.
“I will make sure you regret what you just said.”
“How?”
“Somehow! It was foolish of me to even consider seeking your help.”
With the sound of the door slamming, Shah-Naz disappeared from the room. Only then did calm and peace return.
“Irene.”
In the now quiet room, Burt called out a single name.
The Saintess, who had been consumed by revenge, was slowly changing. Whether it was for better or worse was uncertain, but one thing was clear.
His interest had not waned, and that was enough.
“Crazy, they’re all crazy!”
Shah-Naz stomped down the corridor.
The Saintess, Burt, and everyone else surrounding them were all mad. Why had the goddess chosen such people?
“The goddess must be insane!”
He stopped abruptly, the chilling realization hitting him.
‘Just now.’
He had not only doubted the goddess but outright insulted her.
He often proclaimed that the goddess had made a mistake in her choices, but now he was having such extreme thoughts?
Lifting his head, Shah-Naz looked around fearfully. Fortunately, there was no one around.
‘Be careful, be very careful.’
No matter how much of a king he was, he could not afford to be seen insulting the goddess.
‘Thank goodness.’
With that thought, Shah-Naz began walking again.
But perhaps in his haste, he didn’t consider that someone might have been secretly listening.
“Wow!”
Luciel, who had been hiding, revealed himself only after Shah-Naz disappeared.
The king of another land was drawn to his plan but couldn’t openly support him because his faith in the goddess still held strong.
Or so he thought.
‘A king who insults the goddess.’
Things were getting interesting. It seemed like the perfect time to approach and tempt him, as he appeared ready to fall for it.
‘That would make things easier.’
With a spring in his step, Luciel followed after the vanished Shah-Naz. He intended to make an offer for him once more.
* * *
Two days passed quickly, and the day of the welcome party arrived.
During that time, Shah-Naz was plagued by a constant headache. He had never experienced such pain before, and it was unsettling.
‘Come to think of it, Sage also complained of severe headaches. It must be from overthinking.’
He wondered how Sage was faring now.
Taking a deep breath, Shah-Naz straightened his back. Despite the pain, he had his duties to fulfill.
One of those duties was to escort the Saintess.
‘Ideally, I would have preferred to escort Ramiel.’
Reality, however, was different.
Dressed more impeccably than usual, Shah-Naz made his way to the Saintess’s quarters. But what he encountered was Irene with her hand on Burt’s arm.
“Saintess, I will be your escort today.”
Shah-Naz tried to say, but Irene acted as if she hadn’t heard him. It felt like he was an invisible, transparent being.
Rubbing his forehead where the subtle pain lingered, he called out again.
“Saintess.”
“Burt, have you heard something?”
Though somewhat childish, Burt played along.
“Indeed. I wonder where it’s coming from.”
Listening to their conversation made his headache worse.
At the same time, he recalled the man he had met in the palace recently.
‘You won’t regret taking our side.’
The man had shaken Shah-Naz with his sly tongue. The troubling part was that Shah-Naz found himself intrigued by the idea.
‘If we just keep her confined and ensure she doesn’t die, it should be fine, right?’
He harbored such thoughts even with the Saintess, Irene, right in front of him.
It was a bizarre scheme, but Shah-Naz felt nothing strange about it.
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