"If I leave with you, Theo, will I become a sea urchin?"
Medea's voice was calm.
Everyone said nothing.
"There is no God. We have no hope..."
"I don't care."
Can you avoid it if you avoid it?
In her previous life, she tried to escape.
But neither fate nor her enemies would let her go. Instead, they pursued her as she retreated, stabbing her even more painfully with their swords.
"..."
Since when did I start hoping for God?
The life that was given again, the favor that the goddess bestowed upon her, was enough.
Starting from the bottom, she retrieved each and every one of the lost beings.
“Just as we prevented the destruction of Valdina, it is no different now.”
“I don’t give up.”
Medea spread out her hands.
She was drawn to the golden necklace hanging around her white neck, which the old man of Shadeia had once given her.
A token passed down through generations to the priestesses of Shadeia.
She instinctively knew that now was the time to use this necklace.
"If there is no relic that can neutralize this truth, then I will become that relic."
Bang-!
A wing-shaped pendant containing a transparent crystal shattered beneath the statue of the goddess.
"Your Highness-!"
The three men were stunned. Medea raised her other hand to stop them.
"You all know, my blood can cleanse evil. It just takes a little time."
The shattered fragments also formed Medea's hand.
Tap tap, a red drop fell from Medea's fingertips onto the sculpture.
Her gaze swept over Theo, whose face had turned pale.
Medea slowly looked up.
The statue of the goddess looked down at everyone with a constant smile of mercy, but at the same time with an indifferent face.
As if this great evil that awaits them right before their eyes has nothing to do with them.
"I won't run away."
Medea's green eyes spoke as she faced the statue of the goddess.
If this is the test and destiny given to me, I will accept it with pride.
If the goddess is absent, I will take your burden.
If darkness suppresses the light and tries to swallow this world.
I will gladly shed my blood and flesh to become a barrier to block its path.
"I will protect it. I will not hand it over to anyone."
I will never give up until this hot pulse flowing through my veins is gone.
The strongest resolve, hardened through two lives, burned within Medea.
At the same time, the floor began to vibrate.
Kwaaaaang!
An overwhelming force shook the entire cathedral.
An invisible, unspoken force of unknown form swept through like a typhoon.
The three people, overwhelmed by wonder, knelt down without realizing it.
'Oh, that's ridiculous. What I'm seeing right now...'
Faaaa!
A flash of light burst out.
"Ah...!"
Theo looked.
From between Medea's spine and her shoulder blades, something like huge white wings spread out and wrapped around her.
A golden radiance spread before Medea, shattering their vision once again.
No one knew about it like this.
The goddess who borrowed the darkness of the beginning.
The meaning of Venus, which holds the brightest light in the universe.
At this very moment, it is being realized again in Medea.
***
Deeng. Dang.
The bell sounded heavily.
The black cloth fluttered in the wind, and the mourners paid their respects in silence.
The funeral of Perdiccas II and Eratosthenes was held with restrained solemnity.
The magnificent and grand ceremony he had dreamed of during his lifetime was never realized.
Even the white chrysanthemums placed on the coffin were piled higher and more numerous on Eratosthenes's side.
Not only Eratosthenes's disciples, but even the courtiers who paid only a formal obeisance to the Emperor's coffin, carefully placed flowers in front of his coffin.
They sincerely mourn the loss of a renowned scholar and pillar of the nation.
If Perdiccas II had seen this stark difference, he would have leaped from his coffin and vomited blood in anger.
The long funeral march soon came to an end, and those who had paid their respects dispersed.
But no one spoke up.
People's attention was focused on the next Emperor, not the late Emperor.
"Has the 1st Prince not woken up yet?"
Because today, the First Prince and his wife were nowhere to be seen in the director's office.
"No way. On the day His Majesty passed away, the First Prince clearly stood up and took control of the situation. His absence from the funeral may have been due to coronation preparations, but perhaps he had other plans."
The nobles murmured in low voices. Their eyes followed the crowd leaving the funeral hall, glancing around.
"The Count of Montere had a secret meeting with the Third Prince's faction ministers outside the city not long ago. I thought he had completely bowed down after the fall of the Western Empress, but he was still young."
The nobles of the 1st Prince's faction were also glaring at Count Montere and the 3rd Prince's faction with sharp eyes.
"They say the 5th Prince, who was banished to the eastern corner, is recruiting people."
"Ha, is that all there is to it? Did you hear that the 6th Princess's uncle, Admiral Albain, gathered the ships?"
The ministers of the First Prince faction pretended to be calm on the outside, but they could not suppress their anxiety.
"Your Highness, you must wear the crown as soon as possible. If you are not careful, we may end up fighting that arduous battle for the throne again."
An empty throne was a coveted fruit that everyone dreamed of at least once, even if it meant risking their life.
"Holding a coronation alone won't solve anything. Things are much worse now than they were three years ago. Back then, we weren't oppressed by religion!"
The second oracle was the problem.
"How can the continent acknowledge an Emperor who rejects the will of the goddess? To secure the throne, even the oracle must be accepted. We cannot give you a justification to drag His Highness out."
As the young ministers' voices rang out sharply, the older minister waved his hand and tried to calm them down.
"I know you're worried, but don't be too anxious. Didn't the late Perdiccas II himself acknowledge the oracle?"
"His Highness seems to have made up his mind. Marquis Leniard, is that so?"
All eyes were focused on the leader of the First Prince faction, Marquis Leniard.
"You sent the robes to the Saintess, right? She will be crowned as a member of the Katzen royal family. Is that what the First Prince ordered?"
"..."
They asked Marquis Leniard's back, but received no answer.
The First Prince's ministers also knew that the coronation robes had been sent to the Saintess.
The First Prince, who had refused the oracle without even paying attention to it, finally changed his mind.
Although they were secretly relieved, they couldn't help but feel shocked.
"Or was it the will of Her Highness?"
They interpreted the Marquis' silence differently.
"Oh, come on, speak clearly."
"...The coronation will take place as scheduled."
At that moment, the escort of Marquis Leniard approached and bowed to him.
"The Holy Nation party has arrived."
Although he whispered softly, he didn't hide his anger completely, so everyone around him could hear.
The Marquis de Leniard's wrinkled hand seemed to rub the signet ring on his hand for a moment, then he nodded.
"Understood. Prepare the carriage."
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The ministers of the 1st Prince faction exchanged glances.
It is said that Leniard, the main force of the 1st Prince faction, welcomes the Saintess and the Sainteas's party.
"So, Your Excellency, is it really true that the Saintess will become Your Highness's consort?"
"Did the First Princess give her consent?"
"You must not forget your duties and be careful of yourselves."
But Marquis Leniard only left them a warning not to act rashly.
"Everything depends on Our Highness's will, so we simply follow."
"..."
The ministers swallowed a sigh. A heavy silence fell between them as they looked at each other.
Not realizing that it was not clear whether the 'Highness' that Leniard spoke of was Cesare or Medea.
"Then it really will be carried out as promised."
The Katzen nobles, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation of the First Prince's faction, were murmuring as they watched Marquis Leniard leave to greet the Holy Nation.
"Even the First Prince can't help it. It's not just the Crown Prince, no matter how important youthful romance is, how can he give it up?"
"That's why it's just a pity. How can the First Princess be watching with her own eyes as her husband tries to take in another woman with his own hands? She's even holding a baby in her arms..."
It was then.
The sound of loud horse hooves was heard from somewhere.
It was a heavy and rough climb that shook the ground to the point where even the candles at the funeral hall swayed.
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