Outside Saint Freya’s room, in the hallway.
“By the way, what about the Goddess and the hero…?” Lai’en asked.
“Don’t worry.” Xavier wore an expression of a master strategist.
“The hero and the Goddess are just pawns for us to use.”
“Just like the royals have done for centuries, we’ll make the commoners hate the gods and the hero, and shift the blame onto them.”
“But this time, it’s the Goddess personally enshrined by the First King…”
Xavier’s face slowly twisted into an ugly, scheming grin. “Heh, if she’s useful, then we’ll recruit her—tie the gods and the hero tightly to the name of me, Xavier, the Second Prince.”
“I will personally contact the Lady Goddess.”
Creak—!
Saint Freya’s door opened from the inside.
“S-Saint Freya?”
Hearing the sound, Xavier turned his head, a fair amount of surprise on his face. His sister, who was usually indifferent to worldly affairs, had always been unwilling to leave her room.
Or rather, she rarely went out.
Usually, she called people to her; she never came out herself.
“Second Elder Brother.” Saint Freya turned her head and returned a smile. “I plan to go to the courtyard to get some sun and take a walk. I’ll be going ahead.”
“Ah, ah…”
“Should I call a maid for you?”
Xavier watched his sister’s slowly receding figure, snapped out of it, and quickly asked.
“No need, Second Elder Brother. I can manage on my own.” Saint Freya waved her hand back, declining.
At that moment, a strange, dark expression appeared on Saint Freya’s face.
Personally contact the Lady Goddess?
This pig is worthy of that?
He’s nothing but an ant among garbage, a dwarf among trash.
Just then, a knight turned the corner of the hallway.
“Your Highness the Princess? What are you doing here? Are you going out?”
“Oh, is something the matter?” Saint Freya asked with a smile.
Seeing the Princess’s bright, sunlit smile, the knight felt healed.
He had been ordered by the King to inform Saint Freya to attend a meeting.
He happened to see Xavier as well.
“Second Prince, Your Highness the Princess, His Majesty invites you both to the council chamber for a meeting.”
Not long after.
Royal Capital Saint Roland, Supreme Council Hall of the Royal Palace.
Two heavy oak doors were firmly shut from the outside.
Two rows of fully armed Royal Knights stood outside the doors, not even a fly could get in.
Inside the council hall, at the head of the long redwood conference table, sat the current King of the Kingdom of Aezera, Richard Azer.
Richard was old. The crown on his head pressed down, making his graying hair somewhat messy.
He leaned back in his chair, his breathing a bit heavy.
On both sides of the long table sat the six most powerful elders in the kingdom.
If these people so much as stamped their feet, the royal capital would shake.
Saint Freya, dressed in a gorgeous white pleated dress, stood to Richard’s right.
In the traditions of the Kingdom of Aezera, women were not qualified to participate in high-level meetings of this sort.
But Saint Freya was an exception—this was a privilege Richard granted to his youngest daughter.
Because in everyone’s eyes, Saint Freya had a weak personality, understood nothing about politics, and posed no threat to the throne.
Richard kept her by his side merely for emotional comfort.
Saint Freya folded her hands before her stomach, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, a hint of obedient smile on her lips.
No one knew how venomous mockery lurked behind her pale red eyes.
At the seats closest to Richard sat three men.
The First Prince, Atticus Azer.
He wore a crisp military uniform, his chest covered with medals.
Atticus sat ramrod straight, his eyes constantly scanning back and forth between Richard and the elders opposite him.
He was impatient and always preferred to solve problems with force.
He knew very well what today’s meeting was about and had long grown restless.
The Second Prince, Xavier Azer.
His short, fat body almost seemed ready to burst the chair.
Xavier leaned back in his chair, a smile plastered on his face, his jowls jiggling, making him look like a friendly, wealthy merchant.
The Third Prince, George Azer.
He wore a well-tailored tailcoat, idly playing with a pocket watch chain set with a ruby.
George looked the most like Richard in his youth—handsome, but with a cold glint in his eyes.
Richard coughed twice, and the entire council hall instantly fell silent.
“You all know the news brought back by Maid Una of Saint Cecilia, as well as the specific reports from the lord of Tuttle Town on the border.”
Richard’s voice was a little hoarse, but still carried an undeniable authority.
The several elders nodded in unison.
“Father, this is wonderful news.” Atticus said. “We’ve waited three hundred years, and finally it’s here.”
Richard raised his hand, cutting off Atticus’s words.
“Then state your opinions.” Richard swept his gaze across the room. “The Lady Primrose, the Goddess enshrined by the First King, has descended with a hero. This is our Kingdom of Aezera’s opportunity.”
Richard paused, his tone turning grave. “The question now is, how do we approach this Lady Goddess, and that hero?”
As soon as this question was thrown out, the atmosphere in the hall shifted immediately.
Everyone knew what this millennia-old Goddess and the hero she brought meant.
Absolute power. The hearts of the people.
It could be said that whoever managed to win over the Goddess and the hero would effectively sit on the throne ahead of time.
Atticus’s eyes lit up.
George stopped fiddling with his pocket watch chain.
Xavier’s smile deepened.
Saint Freya stood beside Richard, still maintaining that obedient posture.
She knew that her foolish brothers were about to start tearing into each other.
For a chance to contact the Goddess, they would argue until their faces were red and their mouths sore.
An elder seated in the first seat on the left stood up.
His name was Howard, one of the most senior nobles in the capital and a steadfast supporter of the First Prince, Atticus.
Howard cleared his throat, ready to speak.
Howard straightened up, placed his hands on the tabletop, and put on an air of mature authority.
“Your Majesty, I believe that since the Lady Primrose has descended, we should offer the highest courtesies of the kingdom.”
Howard’s voice echoed in the hall. “We should immediately dispatch the most luxurious delegation, with the kingdom’s finest carriages, and go to the border in a legitimate manner to invite the Lady Goddess and the hero to the capital.”
“Let the Lady Goddess come to the capital and receive the worship of all the commoners and nobles. That is the most proper course of action.”
“The Lady Primrose was personally enshrined by our First King a thousand years ago.”
“The Kingdom of Aezera is deeply connected to the Lady Goddess.”
“We are the orthodox.”
“Since the Lady Goddess has descended upon our nation’s territory, she should return to the capital—this center of power.”
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