CH 11

‘What’s going on?’

I opened my eyes wide and turned around.

But Kyle, who placed his hand on the handle of his sword, suddenly stepped out in front of me. He reached out one arm and pulled me back behind him

A fluttering cape blocked my vision, and the scent of musk permeated through my sense of smell.

“What’s going on?!”

The emperor got up and gave orders to the soldiers, and they ran hurriedly.

“Oh my gosh…”

The empress covered his mouth with his hand and gave a shocked look. I could see a cloud of dust and scattering in front of me.

“L-Lightning!”

“A thunderbolt struck the statue!”

The circular banquet was half-roofed and half-open, it also was divided from the first emperor’s statue. And when I came in earlier, the statue of the first emperor, who was boasting its dignity with copper, was fragmented and scattered on the floor.

“Suddenly, lightning struck from the sky! And the statue became like this!”

Kyle slowly took his hand off the handle of his sword, thinking that the threat had disappeared.

However, the sight in front of me was literally devastating. It was because the statue was shattered as if it had been hit by a bomb.

“Is there any injured person?”

The Emperor asked in a heavy voice.

The knights looked at the people around the shattered statue of the first emperor, and fortunately there were no injuries.

No matter how hard the lightning struck, the copper was still shining red.

“How come something so inauspicious…”

The Empress furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hand on her forehead.

“Empress, are you okay?”

“I’m dizzy. Phew.”

Suddenly I thought of something as I muttered a little.

“…Hessed, it’s you, right?”

After a while, a blue chat window appeared in front of her.

[The God of Art, Mond, is uncomfortable with your smack.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, denies that it really wasn’t him and just pretends to be struck by lightning.]

“Haa… I didn’t think so.”

It seems that the main culprits behind all this were the Gods.

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, is feeling unfair.]

“What do you mean unfair!”

I let out a small sigh and put my hand on my forehead.

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, has become depressed.]

[The God of Art, Mond, clicks his tongue while looking at Hesed.]

“It’s an ominous sign.”

“If the first emperor statue is shattered, maybe it means that the Empire will be shattered when the Crown Prince ascends to the throne.”

Meanwhile, I could hear the nobles talking in low voices behind me.

I looked around my surroundings.

Everyone had eyes full of fear at the unexpected situation.

And I could see the back of the prince standing with his cool eyes.

What is he thinking now as he sees the statue that has been shattered?

“…”

A strange feeling pierced my chest.

Maybe because it was Ariel’s body who liked him.

Then, the Empress’ voice was heard again.

“I don’t know why God was angry when the Saintess visited and even gave blessing for the first time in a long time.”

She shook her head with her fan open and mixed her sigh as she said.

The roaring of the nobles grew louder, and Kyle stood still with his cold eyes shining.

Mm. But come to think of it, it seems that the two of them are not on good terms with each other.

Well sure enough, how close would he be with his father’s second wife?

“It’s an ignorant request, but Saintess, please pray for the Empire when you come back to the temple.”

The Emperor’s voice was heard.

All of a sudden, this series of lightning events was becoming a reality as a result of God’s wrath.

But I couldn’t get over this situation like this.

What if he had a grudge against me because this happened after receiving my congratulatory speech?

In the original story, Kyle Alexis played a decisive role in Ariel’s death. I had to keep a good relationship with Kyle to avoid the death route.

I opened my mouth as everyone looked at me.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

He turned around slowly with his eyebrows hardened, his eyes glaring coldly.

“God expressed His satisfaction.”

“…Satisfaction?” Kyle asked with a firm face, as if asking what that meant.

In the chilly atmosphere of the hall, my words spread and the atmosphere became quiet as if I had sprayed water.

The Empress opened her lips as if that was nonsense.

“I don’t understand the meaning of the words of the Saintess.”

The Emperor also added a word.

“Saintess. What do that mean?”

An angry expression as if I was fanning a fire.

Of course, the banquet had reached this point, and I understood how absurd it was when I said that.

But I didn’t care and opened my mouth.

“His Highness was born in Ciel’s month with Ciel’s blessing. Destruction is creation, and destruction is the source of all great things. That’s its mother.”

All people in this world have different gods protecting them depending on the month they were born, but in Kyle’s case, it was Ciel, the God of Destruction. That’s why the congratulatory speech also included Ciel.

In other words, the fact that the bronze statue was destroyed by lightning strikes could be a plausible reason that Ciel was satisfied.

The omnipotent power that destroys everything!

That is the power and blessing of Ciel, the God of Destruction.

“W-what such nonsense…”

The Empress’s bewildered voice was heard, but it was buried in the Emperor’s exclamation.

“Ciel’s blessing! Is that what it looks like in the Saintess’ eyes?”

I nodded at the Emperor’s words. Fortunately, as expected, the crowd was easily swept away.

“Indeed…!”

“You mean we saw divine power?”

“Surely, it is true that His Highness was born on Ciel’s moon. No one was injured too.”

Public opinion quickly changed and the nobles were congratulating Kyle. And at that moment, a strange light seemed to pass through his eyes.

“It seems that Ciel is overjoyed to celebrate Your Highness’ birthday. Your Highness.”

“I congratulate you, Your Highness.”

The scene of the bloody banquet warmed up quickly again.

The Empress, whose expression wasn’t so good, could be seen rising as if to leave her seat.

The atmosphere was buzzing, music was playing, and some old nobles approached and talked to the Emperor.

In a quickly disorganized atmosphere, Kyle looked at the Empress with a cool expression and turned to me.

“Then enjoy the banquet.”

I quickly lowered my gaze a little before he said anything.

Now that Hessed has dealt with the situation, it is time for the fake saintess to leave.

I bowed my head to him once more and turned back quietly. I felt his gaze on the back of my head.

“Phew.”

I have to tell the Gods one word at a time to never hit anything with a thunderbolt again. And I thought I should investigate the relationship between the Empress and the Crown Prince.

The complicated thoughts made my steps faster, yet Kyle’s sudden voice stopped me.

“Saintess.”

A loud, low-pitched sound pierced my ears.

Standing still, I agonized for a moment.

‘Should I pretend I didn’t hear it and leave?’

But as his footsteps drew closer, my options were diminishing. Soon, I heard a low voice near my ear.

“The banquet has just begun.”

In the original story, Kyle had no interest in Ariel. If anything, it was close to contempt. But today he stopped me as I left.

“…”

I looked back at him with an awkward expression, and a strong gaze from his deep red eyes caught my eye.

Then came a soft voice that I never imagined would come out of his mouth.

“You’re not going to go and leave me like this, are you?”

What is this? What else is wrong with him?