I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 252
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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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“…You came together again today.”
Airic and Seth, who had been greeting me warmly, instantly changed their expressions the moment they saw Rute.
Their ice-cold stares made me gulp involuntarily.
What on earth should I do about this situation?
“Of course. Someone of my caliber is the only one worthy of standing beside the Holy Maiden.”
However, Rute didn’t seem intimidated by his in-laws at all, grinning cheerfully as he provoked the two of them.
Their faces grew even colder, but they didn’t deny Rute’s words.
Honestly, he was right.
He was a duke with wealth, power, and honor, and had achieved the greatest merit alongside me in this war.
Even though Rute was good at getting under people’s skin, he never made up lies.
That’s what made him even more infuriating.
“No one is worthy of standing beside the Holy Maiden.”
Seth clicked his tongue while glaring at Rute with obvious displeasure.
“That’s true. Our Holy Maiden is so perfect, after all.”
However, instead of getting angry, Rute nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
“That’s right. Someone like the Holy Maiden won’t appear twice in this world.”
“Wise words indeed.”
Pleased by his honest acknowledgment, Airic and Seth nodded seriously with earnest faces.
What kind of conversation are you all having…?
“The Holy Maiden of the Eternal God is entering!”
As I stared at them in bewilderment, my savior appeared just in time.
I turned around with a bright face.
Jin, wearing a sensual dress, entered boldly alone without anyone’s escort.
I covered my mouth with both hands.
I thought she looked perfect when I saw her at the annex, but with all the lighting shining on her, she really looks amazing, my friend.
“My goodness, is that person the Holy Maiden of the Eternal God?”
“I’m seeing her properly for the first time. She’s surprisingly beautiful.”
“The Princess, no, His Highness the Crown Prince is also very beautiful, but that person has a different kind of charm….”
People murmured as they looked at Jin wearing the dress I had carefully prepared.
Every time I heard words like beautiful, pretty, and sensual, my shoulders rose involuntarily.
Everyone in the world should recognize how pretty my friend is!
“Ordel.”
Jin, who had been looking around with a haughty expression, smiled as brightly as a blooming flower the moment she saw me.
The people around us drew in sharp breaths.
“You look even prettier seeing you here.”
I immediately ran to Jin and clasped both her hands tightly.
“You too. I like this appearance even more.”
Jin smiled and caressed my cheek.
She seemed to really like my current appearance, which was mixed with my past life’s looks.
“…There was someone else who could fill the space beside the Holy Maiden most perfectly.”
“More perfect than when she’s with the Duke.”
Behind me, Airic and Seth muttered.
Though they spoke quietly, they didn’t seem to intend to hide it, so everyone who could hear did.
“A rival….”
I pretended not to hear Rute’s pitiful voice.
“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress are entering!”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is entering!”
The royal door opened and three people entered the banquet hall.
Bizra, who had always entered quietly after Feliks and left without properly showing her face, no longer hid but confidently held her head high and squared her shoulders.
The deep golden dress suited her perfectly.
Seeing her finally completely in her rightful place somehow made me feel overwhelmed.
“It has truly been a long period of hardship.”
The Emperor, standing on the stairs, began to speak.
“Due to the demons that appeared suddenly, we have suffered without understanding why. Even now in this place, there are still those who carry pain.”
At the Emperor’s words, several people’s eyes reddened.
Many people here had lost family members to the demons.
“However, after hundreds of terrible years have passed, we have finally reached the age of peace we so longed for.”
Evil had been annihilated down to its soul, and the demons had disappeared.
Though malice might gather again someday to create something similar, at least not now.
We had earned a long, long peace as the price of victory.
“We will reclaim our past glory. I pray this peace will last forever.”
Applause filled the banquet hall.
Several people remembered the incident that had erupted here just a month ago.
Though the banquet hall had been completely restored from the damage of that time, it hadn’t disappeared from people’s memories.
Everyone earnestly prayed that such an incident would never happen again.
“To all those who participated in the war and brought us victory, I express my sincere gratitude in the name of Braedon Alexio Carnus.”
As the applause began to subside, surprisingly, the Emperor bowed his head.
My goodness. For the Emperor to bow his head at such an official occasion.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
I wasn’t the only one surprised, as people looked shocked and didn’t know what to do.
However, the Emperor’s face was resolute.
“Without all of you, the Imperial Family would have been branded as the worst criminals. Bowing my head a hundred times wouldn’t be enough.”
This is even more surprising.
To think the Emperor would personally apologize for the Imperial Family’s disgrace, for Feliks.
The royal family’s sense of duty was surprising every time I encountered it.
“The Karnuss Imperial Family will never forget the sins committed against everyone, and I swear here that we will always work for the peace of the Empire and continent with a repentant heart.”
“I swear in the name of Empress Sophia Roan Karnuss.”
Following the Emperor, the Empress also nodded and solemnly declared.
While people were at a loss for words, Bizra, who had been standing behind them, stepped forward.
She spoke with an unprecedentedly firm and strong voice.
“I pledge in the name of Crown Prince Bizra Voljia Karnuss to create an Empire we can be proud of.”
People applauded loudly at the Imperial Family’s apology and the next Crown Prince’s firm resolution.
I saw it.
The faces of people as their last traces of suspicion toward the Imperial Family disappeared, replaced by pride and self-respect.
The Imperial Family had truly made the right choice.
I had an intuition that from today onward, the Karnuss Empire would develop even further.
* * *
After the Emperor’s surprising declaration ended, the full-scale party began.
Though hosted by the Imperial Family, since it was a victory party, the protagonist of the first dance wasn’t the imperial couple but Ordel, the Holy Maiden of the Sun God who was the victorious general.
Ordel joined hands with Rute, who had achieved the greatest merit alongside her in the war, and danced in the center of the banquet hall.
Though they had learned to dance intensively in just three days, their dance was elegant and perfect enough that it wasn’t obvious.
Unaware that Ordel had already stepped on Rute’s feet five times under her long skirt, people watched the two with envious eyes.
“Those two really seem to be dating, don’t they?”
“Of course. Look at the Duke’s expression. It’s exactly like his father’s. I thought he only inherited the previous Duke’s blood, but besides his looks, there are other similarities too.”
“I never knew Duke Sieri would be such a romantic.”
Ordel and Rute dancing in the center of the banquet hall really looked perfect together like a painting.
The currently most successful artist, specially invited by the Imperial Family, was diligently capturing them in a painting without taking his eyes off them even once.
They might become the couple of the century, remembered throughout history.
“Fortunately, both the Sieri Duchy and the Sun God’s Main Temple are in the western region, so even if they marry, they can easily visit each other.”
“Now that you mention it, I’m curious. If they marry, they’ll probably mainly stay in one place. Where do you think they’ll reside?”
People couldn’t readily give an answer.
Normally it would be right for her to stay at the Sieri Duchy, but now Ordel was the most renowned Great Holy Maiden not just in the Empire but across the entire continent.
She couldn’t live solely as the wife of Duke Sieri.
“…What will happen?”
Unlike those who were merely curious, there were others who had to worry about this realistically.
Airic and Seth watched Ordel and Lute dancing with complicated expressions.
Apart from feeling proud of Ordel, who had a presence that didn’t fall short even compared to that Lute, their feelings were truly complex.
“Though they haven’t said anything directly, it does seem like the two of them are meeting.”
The two weren’t fools, and it was as clear as day that Ordel and Lute had become lovers.
Not only Lute, but Ordel was also looking at Lute with tender, affection-filled eyes.
Setting aside personal bitterness, they couldn’t help but be concerned in various ways.
“…How could we dare to criticize what the Holy Maiden has decided.”
Seth was willing to respect Ordel’s wishes whatever choice she made.
Though the day when the strand of emotion he harbored would be reciprocated would never come in his lifetime, it didn’t matter.
It wasn’t a feeling he had developed while hoping for something in return from the beginning.
What he wanted was solely Ordel’s happiness.
So whatever Ordel chose would be fine as long as she could be happy, but….
Since he was also a Holy Knight Captain who followed the Sun God’s will, he had a desire for Ordel to remain at the Grand Temple as the Sun God’s Holy Maiden rather than becoming the wife of Duke Sieri.
Seth, who still knew nothing about how Ordel wouldn’t become a duchess but rather Lute Sieri would be entering the Sun God’s Grand Temple, could only sigh again today.
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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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