Chapter 69: Western Fantasy Romance (XI)

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Chapter 69: Western Fantasy Romance (XI)

“Of course. It would be my honor to be of service to Your Holiness. However, this little one doesn’t seem particularly willing.” Caelric suppressed the urge to step backward. Within that chilling aura, he could clearly sense a trace of killing intent. It was the kind of killing intent that made him instinctively want to flee. Yet the source of it all was a child no more than four or five years old.

“You’re leaving on your own?” Servius narrowed his eyes slightly, concealing the change in their color. Beneath those obsidian-like pupils, the deepest crimson had already spread. Aesop intended to leave by himself and entrust him to this human who might very well be the Elf King?

He could clearly feel the darkness rising within his heart, so similar to when he had first awakened to his instincts. It was the same feeling he had experienced when he could no longer restrain a demon’s nature. His heart was as dark and cold as the darkness he commanded, wishing to reduce everything before him to ruin. Back then, his consciousness had been unable to control his power. Now, his reason remained intact, yet he simply had no desire to restrain it.

“Mm. Little Arthur will remain with Prince Caelric for the time being. I still don’t know the situation at the Sacred Mountain, so you can’t stay by my side.” Miao Lichen glanced at the sleeve that had been torn away, leaving half of his arm exposed. The icy aura brushed directly against his fair skin, carrying away the last traces of warmth from his body. He reached out and gently stroked Servius’s hair, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness. It successfully dispersed the darkness in Servius’s heart, replacing it with a quiet warmth. “Don’t make me worry.”

Servius wanted to tell him that he would not be a burden, not even if he had to face Sathalia. Yet the truth was that he still might not be a match for Sathalia at his full strength. He could not yet fully command the original Laws of Darkness, whereas Sathalia, though suppressed below the Divine rank, could still wield the complete Laws of Light. His fingers tightened around Aesop’s cool arm. The cold touch made everything feel painfully real. “When will you come back for me?”

“When I’m certain the Holy Church is no longer in any danger.” Aesop lifted Servius’s small body into his arms. Servius naturally wrapped his arms around his neck, his dark eyes meeting those pale azure ones. He rested his head against Aesop’s shoulder, his breath brushing softly across the man’s neck. Beneath the pale skin, the faint outlines of blood vessels were visible.

Without warning, Servius opened his mouth and bit down on the side of Aesop’s neck, leaving behind a neat row of teeth marks. It was enough to remind one of the legendary vampires—though this was an age with no tales of vampires, only demons. And the blood welling from the bite had nothing to do with blood loss alone.

Satisfied, Servius raised a hand and used the light magic he had only recently learned to erase the wound he himself had created. The bite mark vanished from Aesop’s neck without leaving the slightest trace. The careful way he tended the wound made it difficult to believe he had been the one to inflict it. Using his fingertips, he wiped away the last smear of blood from the unblemished skin until there was no sign that Aesop had ever been injured.

Yet in truth, an indelible mark belonging to Servius had already been left within Aesop’s body. No matter where he went, he would never escape Servius’s awareness. It was a demon’s mark. Once a demon set its sights on someone, there was no escaping it—let alone when the mark had been personally branded by the Demon King. Had Servius been in his complete form, a single touch would have sufficed. But in his current state, another’s blood was required.

Miao Lichen shook his head slightly and set Servius back onto the soft bed. “Get some rest. Tomorrow, have Prince Caelric show you around Lopa County. It may not be a large place, but there’s no shortage of good food.”

Servius obediently slipped from his embrace and leaned against the bedside. His gaze lingered briefly on Aesop’s neck before the corners of his lips lifted in a faint smile. “Mm.”

“Your Holiness still has a long journey ahead tomorrow, so I won’t disturb your rest any longer.” Caelric glanced at Servius. The cold indifference in those obsidian-black eyes was nothing like that of a child barely four or five years old. Yet whenever Servius looked at Aesop, that same gaze naturally softened, revealing a child’s possessiveness. It could only be said that he truly was the successor Aesop had chosen.

The Pope truly lived up to his title as the greatest genius in the Holy Church’s history. Nor was he the cold, emotionless servant of a god described in the rumors. There was a gentleness in Aesop that far exceeded Caelric’s expectations. For a ruler, such tenderness might well be fatal, yet it was also what people longed for most. Many years ago, he too had wished for someone who would care for him like this. But that had long since become nothing more than a forgotten dream. Now, he no longer needed such things.

A faint smile curved Caelric’s lips, carrying with it a trace of wistfulness that even he himself failed to notice. It vanished in an instant, replaced by the same proud elegance he had worn the day before.

∇ Capture Target Caelric Gerald (Caelir Andreas) Favorability: 30.

Miao Lichen nodded as he watched Caelric depart, leaving only himself and Servius in the room. Reclining casually upon the bed, Servius unceremoniously settled himself into Miao Lichen’s embrace, holding him tightly without the slightest gap between them. Resting his head against Miao Lichen’s chest, he soon drifted off, and before long, the room was filled with nothing but the soft, even rhythm of their breathing.

The next morning, Servius opened his eyes the instant Aesop stepped out of the room. Those eyes had already turned completely red, the unmistakable color of a demon. His fingers clenched tightly before slowly relaxing. Resting his left hand over the storage bracelet on his right wrist, he examined its contents. Inside were enough daily necessities for an ordinary person to live comfortably for ten or even twenty years, along with piles of gold coins. Yet none of it was what he truly wanted. At his current strength, he simply could not obtain it. Power…

Servius climbed out of bed. As he was about to leave the room, his gaze happened to fall upon the torn sleeve he had ripped off the day before. It was the only thing Aesop had left behind. Bending down, he picked it up and tucked it carefully inside his clothes.

“Little Arthur, you’re awake? Lord Leslie, he…” Just as Minea was about to enter the courtyard, she spotted Servius standing there. This child, who was always inseparable from Aesop, was alone for once. Was it because they were no longer in the Yas Forest but within a human city? Then perhaps Arthur had stayed by Aesop’s side only because he feared the magic beasts of the forest? Since Minea knew nothing of how Arthur and Aesop had met, the conclusion seemed perfectly reasonable. From every angle, the little boy looked completely harmless.

“Aesop has already returned to the Holy Church.” Arthur walked toward Minea and stopped just before reaching her. “Some people are not yours to use, nor are they someone you should dare covet.”

Minea’s fingers tightened ever so slightly before slowly relaxing again. The sound of Arthur’s footsteps gradually faded into the distance until it disappeared completely. The smile on her lips slowly vanished. Rather than entering the courtyard, she turned and stepped into the room where Aesop and the others had spent the night. A faint floral fragrance still lingered in the air. She pushed open the window and gazed at the blue sky outside. Only after a long while did she finally turn and leave.

There was no one she could not use, and no one beyond her reach. She possessed something that no one else in this world did. Others might already be destined to halt at Saint, but she was different. Even if Aesop truly were the legendary Divine King, she was confident she could stand beside him. Perhaps she should even thank that little boy named Arthur. Had it not been for him, she never would have realized the faint interest she held toward Aesop. It was the first time she had ever developed feelings for a man, though those feelings were still slight.

∇ Capture Target Shu Guyun (Minea Griffin) Favorability: 50.

∇ Warning: Target favorability is unstable and may naturally decline.

A faint smile curved her lips as she pushed open the door and stepped outside. Youthful vitality surrounded her, making her appear no different from an innocent young girl. Gone was the composed, cold-hearted woman who had occupied the room moments before. Her true self would remain a secret forever. For an assassin, the moment someone saw her true face was often the moment they were about to die.

The heart of the Holy Church and the sacred land revered by its believers stood upon the Holy Mountain, where light elements were most abundant. Ivory-white buildings radiated solemn majesty from every corner, while the towering walls shimmered with a faint golden glow. A red figure appeared atop the Sacred Mountain. The guards stationed there made no move to stop him. Instead, they watched the departing radiance with reverent eyes.

“Your Majesty, the Divine King.” Miao Lichen appeared beside Sathalia like a shadow, bowing respectfully. Although it had been many years since he had last performed such a gesture, there was not the slightest reluctance in his movements. Even if the person standing before him had not been the Pope, showing respect to the strong was perfectly natural on the Kedor Continent.

Sathalia lifted his gaze from the “History of the Kedor Continent” in his hands and took Aesop in from head to toe. Unlike the robes worn by previous Popes, the red vestments he wore seemed slightly disheveled from traveling through the night, diminishing some of the Church’s rigid solemnity while adding an air of effortless ease. Oddly enough, Sathalia found this version of Aesop more pleasing than the impeccably proper image he had seen through the luminous screen. At least, it no longer felt as though he were looking into a mirror.

“You arrived quickly. Was it because you obeyed the divine decree, or because you feared I might overturn the Holy Church you labored so hard to build?” Sathalia regarded Aesop with amused curiosity. There was no trace of panic on the man’s face. Even the curve of his smile remained unchanged.

“The Holy Church exists for Your Majesty, the Divine King. You are our faith.” Miao Lichen inclined his head and raised the scepter with both hands above it. The scepter was the symbol of the Holy Church’s authority. Only the Pope who wielded it was recognized by the Holy Church as its rightful leader.

“I am their faith, but I am not yours.” At last, Sathalia caught the briefest crack in Aesop’s flawless smile. It lasted only an instant, yet it could not escape his notice. “Still, it makes little difference. What you believe in is pure Light, and I am the Lord of Light. Fundamentally, they are one and the same. The scepter is the symbol of my Envoy. It belongs in your hands. Unless I personally command otherwise, that scepter shall remain yours.”

Naturally, Sathalia had already guessed why Aesop had left Servius behind. That was precisely why he had spoken those words. In truth, he could also see that Aesop already possessed the temperament of someone prepared to relinquish the papal throne and become an ascetic. There was no way Sathalia would allow such an extraordinary talent to slip away.

Indeed, just as the legends of the Kedor Continent claimed, no one in the history of the Holy Church was more suited to the office of Pope than Aesop—not only in the present, but throughout history as well. As for the future, as the Divine King, he needed only concern himself with the present.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Then where shall we begin our tour of the Kedor Continent?” Sathalia finally closed the book. He had just turned its final page and now possessed a general understanding of the continent’s history. The so-called historical records preserved within the Holy Church focused almost exclusively on the histories of the Holy Church and the Dark Church, with scarcely any mention of local customs or everyday life.

“What kind of places does Your Holiness prefer?” Miao Lichen put away the scepter and raised his head. Their sky-blue eyes met briefly before Miao Lichen lowered his gaze again, expressing the proper respect due to a god.

“So long as the light reaches it, there is nowhere I would dislike.”

“Then Your Majesty will need ample time. This will be a long journey.”

“Of all things, time is what the gods possess in greatest abundance.” Their time was so plentiful that the emotion most often found in a god’s eyes was neither arrogance, contempt, nor disdain, but emptiness—an emptiness devoid of all color. That was why Sathalia could slumber for a thousand years without hesitation. Why Servius had become so bored that he answered a mortal’s sacrificial summons. Why Caelir had chosen reincarnation, suppressing even his own nature in the process.

It was a journey without a destination, one that, in the end, would never set foot upon every land touched by the sun.

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