Chapter 80 80:Under Suspicion



Caressing the small girl squatting before her, the woman recited a poem.

When all hope is lost and blood soaks the land.

From the ashes will rise the harbinger of the end.

When the flames of loss and fury are fanned.

Darkness will begin its reign.

Only when the power of eight elemental kings will be united, the carnage coursing the land can be avoided.

"My girl, even though you are a favored child of the Goddess, you have a cruel fate ahead. Your Existence will be a source of peril for everyone around you."

Julian at 11 years on her first meeting with the Saintess was baffled and heartbroken as the person representing the voice of God, wrapping her arms around Julian, spoke melancholy.

"Why…what do you mean?" Julian's voice choked.

Though young, she could feel the severity of the situation from Saintess's tone. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she tried to hold her sadness.

"Julian, listen to this aunt's suggestion, I know you are too young to know something like this, but I don't think I would have a chance to relay this to you in the future."

"Your path is laden with peril. The first half of your life may be smooth, but in the second half, you will be pulled into an endless circle of treachery and suffering. You will hang in between the road of life and death, unable to take any more. You might want to kill yourself, but the situation will not let you die."

"My poor girl."

Tears trickled down from the Saintess's blank eyes.

Julian's heart wrenched, seeing the saddened expression on Saintess's. Her body froze, and she just stood there like a statue as her inner turmoil messed up her mind.

"Can I change the event?" Her voice quivered.

"Everything has a price, everything comes with a cost. The price of changing your destiny can't be paid by you. There is someone else who had to do this."

Julian's eyes brightened up momentarily. Her chest heaved up and down as she asked"Who is that?"

"I don't know. And even the chance of encountering that person is quite less, but it's not that hopeless." The Saintess replied.

"How can I find that person?"

"You can't my dear…you can't."

"You can't find that person, but you can identify if you ever encounter that person."

"How?"

The Saintess smiling at Julian's question, stared at her naively and pointed at her.

"The answer to your questions lies in your heart."

"The mind may forget, but no matter how many years pass or how many lives pass through, the heart will remember."

"No matter what, don't let someone snatch your power. Until that person arrives, you need to protect the power bestowed to you by fate."

Her words became faint by the end, and she lost consciousness in Julian's arm.

Julian, who had visited the Holy Land just for peace of mind, had never imagined that not only she would be called by the Saintess, but also she would be the last one whom the Saintess talked to before falling into a deep slumber.

......

Her eyes blurred, making her dizzy for a moment and causing her steps to stumble a bit.

"Your Highness…"

"Your Highness…."

The servants screamed in horror, seeing her pale expression.

Julian raised her hand and glanced at the golden eyes of the boy looking at her with sincere worries. There was a hint of admiration for her in those eyes for an unknown reason.

Julian massaged her forehead, wondering why she remembered such a troublesome memory at such a time.

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

Julian heard Lucas' worried voice and waved her hand.

"I am okay. It's just a fleeting headache."

"Let's have the conversation over the table. I will not take, no. Just think of it as a treat from your seniors."

Seeing Julian's pale expression, Lucas's anger subsided for a moment. He looked up to peek at Julian's pale face.

'She is quite tall, and her height seems to be around 180 cm.'

He felt embarrassed for some reason, seeing the height difference.

His face had already become red due to sheer embarrassment. Even if he was not the culprit, currently he wanted to find a hole to hide his face.

'In this whole world, there is only one bastard who could write such an embarrassing thing.'

'If I had to go through the tone of paperwork and then read an applicant like this, then I would just call the person and put him in prison… Just how in the world can someone write something like this?'

'I should strike first and clear this misunderstanding.' Lucas thought inwardly as he took a seat unwillingly.

While the servant served coffee, Lucas spoke with a slight hesitation"Hmm… President about that letter, I can explain."

"I swear, I did not write that letter. I don't even have any intention of joining the council, even as a worker." Lucas, speaking bluntly, waited for Julian's reply.

Julian, with an indifferent expression, took a sip and then stared at Lucas"Why don't you want to join?"

"You seem to be one of the very few who is unwilling to join. While there are a countable few who were also reluctant, they did not dare to refuse straight to the face."

"I don't have a family that pressurizes me to seek fame and fortune. From the start, my only goal was to outlive others and survive until the end, regardless of what the future holds for me."

Lucas's resolute voice echoed along with the soft bristles and rustling of leaves.

Julian's eyes, flashing with surprise, glanced at Lucas looking for any sign of falsity, making Lucas uncomfortable a bit.

Julian then, putting down her cup, flicked her sleeve with a simple gesture and commanded" Leave!"

The maids and servants nearby gave her a gentle nod and walked away, leaving Lucas in bewilderment.

As Lucas glanced around, his heart welled up with uneasiness. Seeing them leaving while he was still in the midst of speaking with Julian meant Julian was going to speak about something serious.

GULP!

Gulping his saliva, fidgeting his finger to shake away the nervousness, he turned towards Julian and almost screamed seeing her dead serious expression.

Resting her chin on her palm, and twirling her fingers over the cup, she spoke.

"The attack during the field test was preplanned."

His heart jumped out hearing this.

"The moment I received the signal, I rushed towards the spot along with other members. A total of 230 personnel infiltrated the academy."

"Irony, isn't it? For reputed institutions that have a lot of security measures, allowing many moles to pass by the check post, this is pathetic isn't it?"

Julian asked, waiting for Lucas to answer.

"Yea… Yes…" Lucas choked.

"Fighting my way out, I reached a trench. Tracing the spot of the battles, I arrived at a battle scene."

"Do you know what I saw?"

"Wh… What did you see?" Lucas asked innocently.

Lucas braced himself, knowing what was coming at him and ran the horses out of his mind so that he didn't spout some random bullshit out of fear.

"At the battle scene, I found a boy pinning the enemy underneath him, talking about something serious, and as I increased my hearing sensation with my mana…"

"I heard the boy saying that he didn't need to know that since he already knew about the internal information."

"So, tell me, Lucas…"

Julian pursued her lip forming a sweet smile.

But for Lucas, the smile felt quite devious and threatening.

Julian's eyes flashed with a crimson aura, locking Lucas.

"Kyakkmk!" Lucas groaned, almost falling from the chair as a suffocating pressure almost grabbed his neck.

A feeling akin to many invisible pairs of ice spikes resting on his neck that could stab him at any moment coursed through his body

"Tell me, Lucas, how much internal information, do you have?''