Chapter 169

Proofreader: somnium

Lysia had a dream.

In the dream she was standing overlooking the wilderness.

No, it’s not a wilderness. It was originally a fertile wheat field.

But the uncultivated land turned into a wasteland, instead of a wheat field.

The ruined village was full of abandoned houses, and where the road once stood, the broken wagons and the stone pillars that marked the village had fallen.

It was rather miserable than the land that had never been cultivated.

Lysia was well aware of the land that was never cultivated. Because the village of the rebels she lived in was on such land.

There were many such places in Evron. A land that has never been plowed because humans have not dared to touch nature. A land with no roads and no villages. Frozen plains that remain as they were.

And as she stood before it, she might have felt fear, but she never felt miserable.

But this place was miserable.

“I am the opposite.”

A heavy voice came from behind.

Lysia looked back. She pulled her hair with her two hands as the wind ruffled her hair.

Cedric looked at her with dark eyes.

Not all blacks are equally dark. Cedric’s eyes that Lysia knew were originally a gentle night shade.

But now standing in those eyes was a frozen shadow. The old feelings of loneliness and despair were deposited from the depths, and now they have a color as cold as a stone.

Lysia felt sorry for it.

“There is nothing I can do now. Should I gather my followers and go to war with the temple?”

“That might be viable, too.”

“It’s really scary when Lord Ced said that.”

“If a saint joins Evron’s efforts, it will be quite worth a try.”

“You may struggle for a few years. It looks like the temple can be finished, and Evron will be destroyed. Karam will come down after you.”

Lysia replied that way.

“Well, I know that Lord Ced wasn’t really meaning what he was saying.”

“…….”

“I’m fine.”

Then Cedric let out a long sigh.

“Lysia.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“Lawrence is a cruel man. More so to women.”

“Lord Ced.”

“Think again. The oracle is not real. It was manipulated by Marquis Rosan.”

“Yes. I know it best. Because I am the one who hears the voice of God.”

Lysia turned her gaze away from Cedric and looked back at the wilderness.

“With your mouth, you reveal that it is a false oracle. That’s all you need to do. No matter what Bishop Akim and his ilk may say, no matter what the temple unitedly claims to be and argues, you are a saint. If you survive and say it’s a lie in front of people, that’s the end of it.”

“How many more sacrifices will I have to make to survive like that? Will I be able to escape the trap of Marquis Rosan by doing that?”

“…….”

“If I exposed this oracle to be a lie and fight the temple and win, will this disgusting affair be over?”

Cedric did not respond to that.

“And it’s not entirely a lie. In the end, I have to change the Emperor’s mind.”

“Lysia.”

“If it’s not the current Emperor, then the heart of the next Emperor. If that doesn’t work, then the heart of the Emperor after the next.”

said Lysia.

She said that the oracle she received was to look after the poor and in need.

The words were not entirely accurate. To protect her life, she created an interpretation that would pose the least threat to the temples and those in power.

The original oracle is not something that can be accurately translated into human words.

The words that Lysia heard from God were not just one word, but everything.

To save those who live in this world, to save those who suffer from tribulation.

And that she is someone who does not change for it, believes in sincerity and can change others.

Her holy power is nothing but incidental. Even if Lysia heals tens or hundreds of thousands of sick people with her power, if the world doesn’t change, the sick will only reappear.

It was the world that had to be healed.

So, her holy power was only a help so that she could shine a light without losing hope on a long and difficult road.

“I’m going to change Sir Lawrence. The reason that person treats me sweetly now is to get a saint on his side, and I know that he was originally a cruel and selfish person.”

“Lysia.”

“Still, that person loves me.”

Lysia smiled sadly.

She thought maybe that’s why she became a saint.

“People can change. The truth will prevail, I believe. And if that person can change, that will be the fastest way to save the Empire.”

“I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“Even if that doesn’t happen……, at least I can give birth to an heir to the imperial family.”

Lysia said with her fists clenched. And she looked back at Cedric.

“Even if we fail, there will be another 20 or 30 years later. I am a saint. No one can threaten my life and position so easily.”

“…….”

“Lord Ced knows it too. Somebody has to go. Whether it’s Sir Lawrence …… or the Marquis of Rosan, we’ll have to see what happens inside the imperial court.”

“…… Can’t I ask you not to leave?”

“Poor man.”

Lysia let out a sigh.

Her holy powers do not include foresight. But Lysia still seemed to know Cedric’s future.

No pillar in this world can hold up the sky alone forever.

Cedric had no one to accompany him. Many were loyal, but none he could lean on equally.

He had many who would risk their life to carry out his orders, but none with whom he would confide in his heart.

If even she herself leaves, he will be left alone for a very long time.

“Or would you like to do the opposite?”

Lysia smiled brightly and said it like a joke.

“The opposite?”

“I will act as a saint who heals the sick. Lord Ced seduces and persuades Marquis Rosan.”

“What nonsense.”

“Make her Lord Ced’s person. You can get married. Then, I think everything will go smoothly, right?”

Cedric chuckled.

Lysia smiled and said.

“Good days will come. Trust me. It is a blessing from a saint.”

“Lysia.”

“The day will surely come when you will think that all of this was just an ordeal to overcome.”

The wilderness was tinged with the sunset, and the wind smelled of dust.

The only comfort was that there was no sign of an epidemic anywhere in the wilderness.

Lysia opened her eyes on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Her tears didn’t stop.

＊＊＊

Cedric had to leave that morning.

He was tired both physically and mentally. It was as if decades of exhaustion had come all at once.

He was also anxious to leave Artizea’s side now.

But he had to do what was commanded. He could not disobey the Imperial order. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but not doing it was also dangerous.

“His Majesty isn’t suspicious of me, but it wouldn’t be wise to show off that I talked to you too long before I left.”

Cedric caressed Artizea’s hair and sighed.

“Until I get back, don’t think about anything.”

“…….”

“Your body is not your own. You should also know that you cannot control everything in the world on your own.”

“…… I understand.”

“This is not just what I say as your husband……, it is also an order issued as a lord.”

“…… Yes.”

Cedric gently stroked her stomach.

The child was quiet for a while after the first few months. But it struggled that night.

Perhaps, it was because of surprise, or perhaps, in the meantime, it knew that its mother was not pleased with its existence, so it was deliberately holding its breath.

“Don’t come out. It just complicates my mind.”

After a few urges, Cedric said so, and he went out alone.

A small commotion was heard outside. Soon the footsteps of the horses disappeared.

Artizea saw the dawn light dye the window.

Even then, her thoughts did not come together. It was an ecstatic sense of despair that filled her chest.

‘I shouldn’t have gone to you.’

That’s what Artizea had been thinking all night long.

The day she returned, she shouldn’t have gone looking for Cedric.

In her memory, she shouldn’t have even given him a chance to break her mind by proposing a marriage contract to him.

It would have been better if she just poisoned Miraila and Lawrence and ended with that.

If Cedric didn’t accept her offer that day, she originally intended to do so.

Grand Duke Roygar would have been the Emperor. But wouldn’t that work out in the end?

Evron would not have fallen, and Cedric would have had the strength to resist.

She should have done it right away that day instead of looking for him.

Before she falls in love with him without knowing anything. Before anguish and conflict arose in her heart.

It would have been nice if she had just finished everything.

But it’s already too late.

Cedric and her.

Cedric is right. It never happened.

And to love each other like this will never happen.

Even if she died, there were no regrets.

Her mind was so complicated that nothing seemed to go into her mouth, but in the morning she was hungry and thirsty.

The maids have been preparing small sausages. Artizea washed her face and had breakfast.

As soon as morning came, Hayley came to see her with blank eyes. It was a face that hadn’t slept.

“I want to ask you more about what you said yesterday.”

“…… yes.”

“You haven’t already reached an agreement on the matter of the Grand Duke and his successor, have you?”

“Yes.”

Hayley let out a sigh.

“Isn’t it the order that comes after you decide that first? I don’t think it’s something I can answer first.”

It was a decision that Hayley had been thinking about all night. In fact, it was just to delay the reply.

“I see.”

Whether or not she understood Hayley’s anxieties and tensions, Artizea readily answered.

And she asked.

“But where is Lysia?”

Usually, Lysia was the first to wake up in the morning to greet her.

In fact, Lysia would get up at sunrise a few hours before Artizea would and finish light exercise and practice by the time she woke up.

But today, she didn’t come to greet.

“She said she wasn’t feeling well.”

Hayley answered instead.