Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Rejection

The moment Eren looked at the girl, his expressions became still. He couldn't understand what that woman was doing here. She was supposed to be in the Eastern Continent, so how could she be here?

Even in the novel that the Holy Emperor had read, she was supposed to arrive at a later date. Did something change because of him? She was sent much earlier to investigate?

If he had known that this was going to happen, he would have done some preparation for it. However, it was too late now.

At this point, there were three envoys in the Western Continent, and only one of them was supposed to be the real one. It was the one that had arrived.

Eren observed Xiu Ying, wondering if she was going to recognise him. If she recognised him and saw him proposing to the Holy Priestess, it was going to become a big mess.

Fortunately, her gaze was less focused on him. Instead, she was looking at his clone who was standing with Zia.

Eren also followed his gaze and looked at Eren, almost facepalming himself. Zia was standing right next to Eren, her arms wrapped around his arms.

Although it was something that Eren told her to do so she could protect his clone from getting hurt and disappearing but it couldn't have been at a worse timing.

"What do you think you are doing?" the Holy Priestess asked Eren who had just finished proposing to her. She didn't understand what his intentions were. Just what was he planning?

It was especially strange since he wasn't even looking at her after proposing to her. Instead, he was glancing at the Great Elders behind him as if he was looking for their confirmation.

She wondered if they were the ones who asked him to do something like this.

At this point, she couldn't think about it. She simply turned around to leave amidst the watchful gaze of everyone present there.

He had expected the rejection. The Holy Priestess should not accept his proposal even if she wanted to. If she agreed to marry him and he died after that, it was going to be even worse for her reputation.

Not being able to protect her husband was worse than not being able to protect the Emperor.

For now, more than the rejection, Eren was concerned about the unexpected presence of Xiu Ying.

As the silent mumblings grew louder in the Grand Hall, any nobles exchanged wary glances. They wondered just what was going on with the Holy Emperor.

They were aware of the Holy Emperor's recent chance but they were finding it hard to come to terms with it. He wasn't even scared when standing before the Holy Priestess and proposing to her.

He wasn't worried when killing almost half his army because they supposedly supported the Holy Priestess. What if he targeted them next?

Those who were close to the Holy Church were starting to worry about their own future, wondering if they needed to maintain some distance from the Holy Church.

Now that the two powerful sides were against each other, they couldn't get dragged in the mud. No matter which side they chose, they were going to be in trouble. -verified

Even though the Holy Church was stronger, no one knew how the equation was going to change with the Demon Sect's involvement.

While the guests left the Banquet that had come to an end, they knew they had a lot to think about.

Before long, the entire grand hall was left empty with only the Royal Family and the guests from the Demon Sect being left behind.

Xiu Ying was still standing at the entrance of the hall, looking at Eren's clone with a narrowed gaze. Her eyes were particularly focused on Zia's hand which was holding onto Eren.