Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 70

“Oh, no! He wasn’t a very threatening attendant at all. He didn’t look strong either, and he didn’t harm me on the way here.”

I added what wasn’t quite an excuse while seeing his face turn cold at the mention of the Imperial Guard, but Adam’s hardened expression showed no signs of softening.

Seeing his face wrinkled with worry, Iberis became restless instead.

Perhaps thinking she should speak up to ease Adam’s concerns, she hesitated before opening her mouth.

“Really! How desperate must he have been to come disguised as a woman!”

“Disguised?”

“He was walking around with his knees bent, pretending to be a woman! Still, he couldn’t hide his original build, so I recognized him immediately! Anyway, I didn’t receive any particular harm on the way here. So cheer up!”

Iberis, who deliberately described the situation in a comical way, didn’t seem like someone who was lying.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a knight.

Adam let out a sigh of relief that the Emperor had sent someone who didn’t seem to have any immediate intention of harming her.

Judging by the fact that he hadn’t sent a threatening figure, the Emperor seemed unaware that she was an important card capable of shaking Adam.

“Eve, I’ve told you repeatedly not to follow strangers.”

“Of course, but…”

You said Adam was at the Imperial Palace too, so I came.

If I had been alone, I wouldn’t have even thought of coming.

“Sigh… But why did you follow him? Didn’t you think it was dangerous?”

At his reproachful tone, Iberis made an aggrieved expression.

However, instead of making excuses, she whispered softly as if to ease his anxiety.

“The dangerous one is the Hero who’s alone in enemy territory. And two is better than one, right? Fortunately, nothing happened!”

“…”

Whether someone had deceived her or not, it was fortunate to see Adam safe before her eyes.

‘Just this morning he was burning with fever.’

He had been talking deliriously as if tormented by nightmares until dawn.

Though the pronunciation wasn’t clear, voices calling ‘Iselda’ or ‘Kiril’ occasionally flowed out.

Could there be some past connection he hadn’t told her about in detail?

Though for that to be the case, he had been muttering words that seemed quite friendly.

‘Surely in this cycle, since he didn’t take any companions, there shouldn’t have been much contact with Iselda.’

And sometimes he called for God too.

Each time, Iberis could only move her lips.

Your one true God watches over your Hero.

And the oblivious Sacred Relic only displayed messages that the sleeping person couldn’t see.

Still, Adam’s face became much more peaceful right after those messages appeared, so it wasn’t completely useless.

‘And fortunately, his condition seems much better now too.’

Iberis raised her hand and touched his furrowed brow.

“Your fever seems to have broken!”

“…Just because of this.”

Adam touched his forehead where her hand had been and muttered quietly.

Meanwhile, Adam’s eyes caught sight of his finger brushing across Iberis’s cheek.

“This is…”

Once he saw one, others came into view. When he saw similar wounds on Iberis’s arms, he narrowed his eyebrows.

They were marks from being pricked by something sharp like needles.

Small but undeniably present in several places.

It must have been done deliberately.

And yet she said nothing had happened.

Adam felt his throat burning with a parching pain for some reason.

It must be anger.

However, the target of that anger was none other than Adam himself.

He had kept his distance as much as possible because he lacked confidence in protecting her, and this was the result.

But judging by the fact that they weren’t making serious moves yet, it seemed they still didn’t think she was someone special to him.

If they just thought of her as a maid who happened to be staying at the Demon King’s Castle, that would actually be fortunate.

However, the fact that the Emperor had become aware of her was enough to make him anxious.

He needed to ensure that only he would be targeted.

After sending Iberis away so no sparks would fly her way.

‘Maybe I should send her back entirely…’

Adam slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

When he imagined Iberis not being by his side, he realized how empty he felt just from that thought alone.

It was Iberis’s voice that brought him back to his senses after being startled by his own change.

“I didn’t want to come either. But that attendant threatened me so much.”

The moment I showed any sign of refusal, he mentioned Adam.

I didn’t want to cause him any trouble for this or that reason.

Adam opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“Next time, slap him across the face.”

“How could I do that…?”

You’re joking, right? Iberis thought he was saying it as a joke.

However, seeing his serious face, she closed her mouth.

“What if they accuse me of disrespecting the Imperial Palace!”

“So what if they do. I wish Eve wouldn’t worry about such things.”

“…”

Just then, the Emperor, who always appeared late, made his entrance.

The Emperor, who appeared on the dais being attended by servants, leisurely surveyed the hall.

Finally, his gaze turned toward Iberis and Adam.

Receiving that gleaming stare, Iberis rubbed her arms as goosebumps rose.

Adam instinctively hid her behind him as if to protect Iberis.

“I sincerely welcome you to my birthday party. Even that precious Hero, whose face is so hard to see, has graced us with his presence. Could there be such a joyful occasion?”

The Emperor gestured toward Adam as he spoke.

“Come and kneel.”

“What are you doing! Not bowing your head to His Imperial Majesty!”

“This is why uneducated commoners are…”

The nobles whispered among themselves while looking at Adam.

“What’s so great about the Celestial Temple that they put forward a commoner as Hero? All that talk about God’s choice and whatnot is lies, and it’s clear the Elderly High Priest conspired with the Pope behind the scenes.”

“Still, isn’t it fortunate that the Hero is a commoner? If he had been the heir of a ducal house at least, the throne might have been in danger… Ahem.”

“Shh, keep it down. Even so, after the late Emperor passed away and his son disappeared like that, that person is the only legitimate imperial family member left.”

“That’s true.”

Whether the nobles chattered or not, Adam moved his steps.

If he wanted a spectacle, Adam was prepared to provide one.

‘As long as he doesn’t touch her.’

He was perfectly willing to bow his head as the Emperor desired.

Adam slowly stood before the dais.

This place was a grand theater meant only for the Emperor and Adam.

He seemed to think he would gain some sense of superiority from watching Adam kneel before him, but Adam himself felt no particular shame.

[Your one true God gazes at you intently.]

Adam pulled up the corners of his mouth in a smile.

My God had a particularly soft heart.

Even though groveling and licking the feet of the Emperor who had killed him was now a matter of no interest to him.

Your Hero smiles.

Rather, he was pleased to receive your attention.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Is there any reason I should feel bad about paying respects to Your Great Imperial Majesty?”

Rather, the Emperor seemed displeased by Adam’s nonchalant attitude.

Adam slowly stood up and spoke with a smile.

Though his voice wasn’t loud, it was clear enough for the nobility below the dais to hear.

“In fact, we could also honor the soul of the late former Emperor, whose birthday it is today.”

“How dare you…!”

When the story of the former Emperor came from his lips, the Emperor’s eyes widened in fury.

At the attitude of daring to speak the truth without evidence, Adam hid the bitter laugh that threatened to escape.

“Surely Your Majesty called me here on the former Emperor’s birthday to honor your deceased brother?”

“…”

“I heard from the Elderly High Priest. That you were exceptionally close, so devoted that you would share life and death together.”

At the Hero’s softly continuing voice, the nobility also began murmuring among themselves.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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