Chapter 169 - What Is a God?

Garnet looked at Olivia with wary eyes and asked,

"What do you think Regent Ferda would think if he found out about this?"

Ferda had suffered greatly because of the scandal.

He had even been tormented by the fear that he might end up inflicting an undeserved wound on Grand Duchess Valdrova.

Thinking he couldn't resolve the matter alone, he had sought Olivia's advice.

The very act proved how much he trusted her.

And yet the source of the scandal was Olivia herself.

If Ferda ever learned that the very person he had trusted had been the one to stab him in the back, he would be angrier than ever before.

"No doubt it would damage the trust between us."

Olivia smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She looked far too calm for someone who should have feared the consequences.

"But you're not going to tell him, are you?"

A weakness was meaningless if it could never be used.

Olivia already had something she could rely on.

"The first—and final—Contract we made stands above even your loyalty."

"..."

"If you break that Contract, you'll disgrace your ancestors. And because of that, your organization's credibility will completely collapse."

The first—and final—Contract.

Garnet still remembered it vividly.

It had happened five years ago.

Though she had been an inexperienced leader at the time, Garnet had already been a cold, calculating businesswoman who led the organization skillfully.

The Black Bandana had become widely known behind the scenes, proving that they were accumulating information beyond anyone else's reach.

Naturally, such an organization was something every powerful figure desired.

Valdemar Golt had also tried countless schemes to bring the Black Bandana under his control.

But whenever anyone attempted to seize them, the Black Bandana always made an example of them.

They demonstrated that they were an organization no one could touch.

Everyone except one person.

The one who had shaken Garnet wasn't a famous ruler or an ambitious noble.

It was a young girl with golden hair and blue eyes, beautiful enough to resemble a doll.

To the public, she was a flower in full bloom—a princess with a bright future.

Olivia Arken.

The moment Garnet first met her, chills had run down her spine.

The girl possessed eyes far too mature and world-weary for someone her age.

And the words that emerged from those tiny, delicate lips were:

"I know that your Black Bandana used to be the Empire's Shadow Division."

It was a fatal secret that even the current Emperor did not fully know.

"So let's make a deal. I want this Empire to collapse just as much as you do."

That was how the first—and final—Contract between the Black Bandana and the Imperial Princess had been formed.

The Contract would only end when either the Princess or the Black Bandana ceased to exist.

"Besides, it's more beneficial if my relationship with Regent Ferda continues, isn't it?"

"..."

"If our relationship falls apart over something so trivial, who would actually benefit?"

"Enough of your smug arrogance."

Garnet lowered her voice.

"I've been watching your actions these past few days. You deliberately provoked Valdemar's jealousy and subtly tried to manipulate Regent Ferda. How long do you think I'll continue overlooking that?"

As an outside observer who had watched everything unfold from a distance, Garnet had been able to evaluate the situation more objectively than anyone else.

Even so, Olivia remained completely unfazed.

"Provoking Grand Duke Golt's jealousy was necessary. Regent Ferda had to see that man's ugly side so he wouldn't be deceived by him."

She admitted that she had deliberately provoked Valdemar's jealousy.

"But I never once tested Regent Ferda."

"That's a lie—"

"I'm serious."

Olivia interrupted firmly.

Even then, Garnet couldn't believe her.

"Are you saying you truly intended to marry Valdemar Golt?"

"Yes. Of course."

The answer came so cleanly that Garnet was left speechless.

As the leader of an intelligence organization, Garnet gathered information from everywhere.

She could distinguish truth from lies simply by observing a person's gestures and expressions during a conversation.

She was certain.

She means every word.

Garnet knew exactly what Valdemar meant to Olivia.

She hated him.

Despised him.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she had lived only to drive a blade through his heart.

She hated her own bloodline just as much.

She was the type of woman who would rather die than continue living as the Emperor's tool.

There was no way she would willingly become the wife of her greatest enemy.

The fact that such a conviction had changed was beyond belief.

Which made Garnet wonder.

"What kind of value... does Ferda have to you?"

If Olivia's heart had truly changed...

Then Ferda was the reason.

Was he really worth that much?

Olivia answered calmly.

"...Do you believe in God?"

It was an unexpected question, but Garnet answered nonetheless.

"No."

"When I was young, I believed in God. I was a devout follower of the Alte Religion. Alte's teachings were so warm... so beautiful. I truly believed that my mother, who died giving birth to me... had been embraced by His light and gone to the realm of angels."

She folded both hands over her chest and smiled peacefully.

"But..."

Her smile shattered.

"...When my older sister died, I woke up."

"..."

"Do you know what I did while my sister had thrown herself from the balcony and all the adults were busy making political calculations?"

"..."

"I went to the cathedral and prayed. According to the miracle of a saint, his daughter had prayed faithfully to Alte and was resurrected after a week."

Olivia recalled those days.

The little girl had prayed so fervently that she forgot to eat and even neglected to brush her hair.

"So I believed that if I prayed with all my heart for one week... my sister would return from Heaven together with the little angels, just like in the stories, appearing beyond the cathedral's stained-glass windows."

Day after day, it felt as though the little girl's dream was gradually becoming reality.

"But it never happened."

Reality was always cruel.

"Alte never answered."

Even though her beautiful hair had become so tangled and damaged that half of it had to be cut away...

Even though her knees had turned blue from kneeling until they nearly became paralyzed...

Even though she had endured pain far beyond what a little girl should ever have borne...

Alte never answered.

That day, the innocent lens through which she viewed the world shattered.

The ugly truth revealed itself.

And the deeper she dug, the more she realized how filthy the world she had lived in truly was.

"When people do good, they should be rewarded. When they do evil, they should be punished. But God never once punished this Empire. That's when I finally realized."

Words no saint should ever utter.

"There is no such thing as God."

"Hard to believe those words are coming from an apprentice saint who reached the Fourth Circle."

"I know."

Olivia smiled happily as she rested both hands over her Dantian.

"I... thought I might have to give up on my dream."

The heartbeat echoing inside her Dantian.

No matter how devout she had been...

Alte had never chosen Olivia.

"Then... Lord Ferda came."

It had been Ferda who elevated her to the position of apprentice saint.

"He never gave up on me... even when it meant sacrificing me."

Her thoughts became filled entirely with the man named Ferda.

As she respectfully clasped her hands together, Garnet witnessed something unbelievable.

'That was... a halo?'

A sign of faith said to appear only around saints.

Thinking she must have imagined it, Garnet looked again.

It had vanished as if it had never existed.

"A god... is someone who answers my faith."

Alte had never answered everyone's faith.

Ferda had always answered Olivia's.

"He... was the god I was meant to worship."

The expression of complete ecstasy on Olivia's face sent chills down Garnet's spine.

"How... did you become like this, Your Highness?"

She had seemed unsettling even when they first met.

But never like this.

It was as though the brighter her light became...the darker the shadows within her heart grew.

As Garnet spoke, Olivia simply smiled softly.

"You wouldn't understand, even if I told you."

Turning on her heel, Olivia walked toward the shelves lined with medicine bottles.

Glancing toward Akard, Garnet asked,

"What are you going to do with him?"

"We'll follow the law."

Olivia answered calmly.

"When people see this room, they'll come to one of two conclusions about Marquess Akard Dvelung."

She raised one finger.

"First—they'll believe he was inherently evil, someone who felt no guilt while torturing and murdering commoners. In other words, a typical Demon Follower."

Garnet knew Akard wasn't actually a Demon Follower.

But to the public, a simple explanation was necessary.

The words Demon Follower were easy to understand and easy to hate.

And they would be enough to damage Valdemar's reputation.

Still, there was no way Valdemar hadn't anticipated this.

Olivia raised a second finger.

"Second—a perverted follower of the Demon Race impersonated the virtuous Marquess Akard Dvelung and acted as his right-hand man. That version would minimize the damage to Valdemar's image."

"And both versions prevent the Alte Church's authority from weakening."

Whether a Demon Follower or a follower of the Demon Race...

Neither had any place within the Empire.

And either explanation made it clear that corruption extended beyond religion alone.

"And in either case..."

"...There's no reason for him to remain alive."

She picked something up from among the countless medicine bottles.

It was an oil lamp.

Removing the oil container, she placed it on the table before Akard.

"You should leave now. Go summon the priests of the Church and inform them of this tragedy."

"What are you planning to do?"

Garnet glanced toward the oil lamp.

"I'll perform a purification. Saints are meant to protect the innocent from evil and burn away wickedness. I may only be an apprentice, but I still have duties as a saint."

"..."

Because Garnet understood humanity's darker side better than most...

She knew exactly what Olivia intended to do.

"Then..."

Garnet quietly withdrew.

Now Olivia was the only person left free to move about the room.

She looked down at the puppet-like Akard.

She was smiling.

Yet the smile held no emotion whatsoever.

It was completely empty.

"Merciful and holy Alte..."

Her hand tilted Akard's head back.

"Compassionate Alte, who watches over us... grant Your sacred light to those who follow You and drive away the temptations of darkness."

She tipped the oil container into his mouth.

Golden oil poured down his throat without restraint.

Olivia continued praying.

"Save us from temptation and sin through Your holy light."

She dipped her finger into the remaining oil and carefully rubbed it over his eyes.

"Even if darkness falls and trials imprison us, let us realize that Your light still burns within us, and proclaim that evil is destined to perish."

Both her hands gently held Akard's face.

"Purify all evil with Your sacred flames."

Golden fire bloomed from her fingertips.

"Divine Judgment."

Golden light exploded from Dvelung's body.

Flames burst violently from every opening in his face, consuming him from within.

Fwoooooosh!

The fire surged up through his throat with a deep, roaring sound as his body trembled violently.

"Ah..."

Olivia let out a breath of wonder.

Akard Dvelung...

The vile deceiver.

Valdemar's loyal subordinate.

He was burning by her own hands.

The revenge she had once believed she would never achieve...was finally becoming reality.

The Circle within her chest pounded wildly.

Its golden light filled her with ecstasy.

Lost in that bliss, only a single name echoed in her mind.

"Lord Ferda..."

She whispered his name again and again.

"Lord Ferda... Lord Ferda..."

As though whispering lovingly into the ear of the man she had cherished for years.

"...I will make your dream come true."

She offered her prayer to her god.

The Empire awoke to complete upheaval.

Only yesterday, the revelation that a bishop of the Grand Cathedral had been a follower of the Demon Race had thrown the Empire into chaos.

Everyone believed things couldn't possibly become any more shocking.

They were wrong.

Another unbelievable announcement spread across the Empire.

"People of the Empire! Another follower of the Demon Race was discovered last night! His name is Marquess Akard Dvelung! The one who uncovered him was Princess Olivia Arken!"

The agitators moved faster than anyone else, spreading the news throughout the Empire.

The inn where Ferda was staying was no exception.

He spent his morning listening to the commotion.

'They chose the version that minimizes the damage to their image.'

Ferda already knew the agitators worked under Valdemar.

The moment the Church learned of the incident, they had immediately prepared their response and mobilized their organization before dawn.

Their speed made them difficult to catch off guard.

"Regent, you have visitors."

Arwen couldn't hide the bewilderment on his face.

Ferda already knew who it was without asking.

"Show them in."

"Y-Yes...!"

Arwen hurried downstairs.

Soon, the sound of several footsteps climbed the staircase.

An elderly man entered first through the open door.

The expression on his face was worth seeing.

Like adding sugar to the bitterness of a cup of black tea.

"Welcome, Grand Duke."

"...You've certainly stirred up something interesting."

Ignoring the greeting, Valdemar walked in and seated himself without invitation.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

Feigning ignorance, Ferda lifted his teacup.

"From what I've heard outside, it seems your own subordinate is the one who caused something far more interesting."

For the first time that morning...

Valdemar's ironclad expression twisted.

It was the perfect accompaniment to morning tea.