FVB - Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Theo seemed to be pondering the same thing, muttering quietly.

"Then what did the Empress gain?"

At this point, what the Empress needed was obviously to check Theo or even bring him down completely. And the biggest obstacle to such a plan was me.

"Is there anything she could gain from the Order? Most of what the Order does is tear rifts. I don't see how tearing rifts would benefit the Empress."

Liam, after a moment of thought, answered instead.

"Could she be trying to show off the First Prince's achievements?"

He said what seemed like the closest answer he could think of, but Liam frowned, as if even he didn't think it made sense.

"There are natural rifts, so there's no need to gamble by borrowing dirty hands."

"Could it be... that they were targeting Shuian?"

Theo and I snapped our heads up. I reacted reflexively to the mention of targeting me, but that didn't make sense either. The Empress was one of the people who had seen with her own eyes at Count Elmore's exhibition that even if a monster touched me, it would melt away from the divine power.

"The Empress knows very well that it's useless."

"...What about a stronger monster?"

Orca's question suddenly reminded me of the chimera we had encountered today. The chimera, created by combining a high-ranking monster and a knight, seemed like it would be difficult to melt away instantly with divine power, even if we hadn't tried it. 

My always-accurate intuition told me so. Even if it wasn't a complete monster and could withstand divine power a little more, it wouldn't make a big difference. It might be different if I fully recovered my divine power.

In other words, as long as it didn't kill me instantly, there was a way to deal with it, so even a high-ranking monster wasn't fatal to me. At least, a high-ranking monster wouldn't be enough to cause enough damage to make me feel endangered.

"That's hard to say, but it's still dangerous. If they tear a bigger rift to fight the Divine Beast, what's next?"

"I suppose so. If it's a monster that could threaten Lord Shuian, a Divine Beast, it would rather be a disaster. We'll keep an eye on it a little longer, since the spirit stone we found might not be the First Prince's."

While nodding at Orca's words, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in my heart. If the previous Empress seemed like she had trapped molten lava inside a cracked iceberg, the current one was more like watching a ticking time bomb that was constantly counting down. 

It was precarious either way, but if I was anxious before because I didn't know when it would break, now I was anxious because I knew it would explode soon and I didn't know how much damage it would cause.

I only hoped that she wouldn't cross the point of no return. It would be harsh on Ricardo, including us.

After the meeting, Theo and I went to bed early. It was because Theo was being unusually insistent that I needed to rest. Even though my complexion wasn't as good as usual, I wasn't particularly sick or tired. I jokingly tried to go for a walk in the garden, but I was helplessly caught by him and buried in the blankets.

"Are you really okay? Did the doctor say there was nothing wrong?"

Uh... I didn't expect him to check that... I couldn't answer the sudden question and hesitated. Seeing this, Theo jolted in alarm and sat upright.

"Don't tell me, you didn't go to the doctor? This won't do. It's not the time for this..."

I hurriedly hugged his waist, trying to pull the bell cord right away, and made excuses.

"Ah, no, I'm just tired! If Theo hugs me tight and I sleep well, I won't need to call a doctor!"

However, Theo didn't seem to be listening to anything I said. He was just trying not to hurt me, who was holding him, by moving with force. I had no choice but to put on a pitiful face and droop my eyebrows.

"No... Theo knows I hate people. That's why I don't want to meet them for such trivial things..."

It wasn't entirely a lie, but I was also worried about rumors that Theo was overprotecting the Divine Beast, which would shock others if they heard it. Overprotecting the Divine Beast? They might say that Theo had really gone crazy.

Theo hesitated, looking flustered, and released the strength in his body.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't think that far. Forgive my carelessness."

"W-wait, there's no need to ask for forgiveness... I know Theo is worried about me. Let's lie down again."

Theo's face, who was lying back on the bed and hugging me like before, looked very gloomy. In times like these, it was best to change the subject quickly.

"I was surprised when you caught the chimera earlier. You were really cool. Amazing! Aren't you tired, Theo?"

"That's nothing. I've almost forgotten what fatigue is like these days."

It wasn't an empty compliment. As Orca had mentioned, the Empress's schemes had decreased, he wasn't on edge from distrusting people, and he didn't suffer from demonic energy after subjugation thanks to me. I couldn't help but feel proud that I had a significant part in his peace. A capable Divine Beast... is thrilling...

"I said it back then. I always save my strength because I'm worried about what the Empress might do."

"Yeah."

"Of course, it's also thanks to having trustworthy people like Orca and Liam by my side..."

Oh my god. The word 'trustworthy' came out of Theo's mouth. It was an unbelievable change compared to the original story. I was proud for a moment, but I waited quietly for the words that would follow. Theo stared at me for a long time. It seemed like he was thinking about what happened when he fought the chimera.

"Because Shuian is here. I don't think I need to be so on edge anymore."

"Me?"

"If Shuian wasn't here, it would have been quite difficult to deal with that chimera."

It was a very humble statement for the final villain to make, so I smiled and replied.

"You would have done well without me."

That was actually the case. The fact that Theodore was the one who burned the Empire to the ground in the original story meant that he had survived all of the Empress's schemes in the end. 

There was no way such a person would be easily defeated by just that one chimera. I couldn't say that my help wasn't needed today, but it wasn't absolute. He would have somehow solved today's problem even if I wasn't there.

"...As always, it was my daily life to struggle fiercely and persistently to barely make it. Even in 'today' without Shuian, it would have been the same. Tomorrow too. The day after tomorrow. Throughout countless days. I would have struggled like a person being strangled, unable to even catch my breath."

I didn't answer and just looked up at Theo quietly. His face, calmly assessing his past, was as serene as ever. Like someone who had forgotten what pain and despair were.

"I thought that was natural, but after meeting you, I realized that it wasn't. Now I can't even imagine going back to my past life. So, even though I would have somehow managed without you, it's wrong to say that I would have done 'well'."

Only after he finished speaking did I stare, mesmerized, at the gentle curve of his lips that were slowly rising. I had to admit it again.

Yes, I even found this man's obsessive, blind devotion endearing. Though I might be his 'one and only' right now, the day would inevitably come when I'd have to surrender this place by his side to someone else. And yet... I absolutely refused to surrender this blind devotion of his. To the very end, I wanted to be the only existence capable of holding such meaning for him.

"Theo, you can't take that back."

"What?"

Even if you fall in love with someone else someday. Even if you take back all the affection you poured into me. You have to leave this behind.

"It's mine. I'm not giving it to anyone."

I snuggled into Theo's arms. Even though he clearly wanted to ask what I meant, Theo didn't try to wake me up, since I already seemed to be drifting off. Instead, he gently patted my back until I fell asleep. Like every night.

I felt that tenderness for a very long time before falling asleep.

***

Upon seeing the person who appeared at the meeting place, the Empress reflexively rose from her seat and tried to throw her teacup, but Raymond grabbed her arm. Raymond's intention was not to be considerate of the other party, but simply to avoid dirtying the Empress's hands.

While seating the Empress, who was snickering, back in her seat, Raymond himself was fiddling with his sword hilt. It was harder than he thought to do nothing while having someone in front of him whom he would not have spared under normal circumstances.

"I am sorry for making such a precious person wait."

"Shut your disgusting mouth. I know exactly what you've done, are you trying to insult me?!"

Even in the face of the Empress's wrath, the man wearing a black hood remained calm.

"Calm yourself, Your Majesty. Our transaction was strictly for the spirit stones from the very beginning, so what is there to worry about? I don't want to dwell on trust in a simple transaction, but we are not so unscrupulous as to involve innocent people."

He was completely drawing a line that the Empress had nothing to do with human experimentation, but the Empress couldn't calm her anger. It wasn't like she didn't know that in the first place.

"You bastards who talk about trust are involved in human experimentation?! On top of that, I had to give credit to that bastard I want to tear apart and kill because of you!"

The Empress tried to give Ricardo the right to investigate first, in case someone investigating human experimentation might find evidence that she had traded with them. It was in preparation for a possible situation.

In fact, she naturally expected Ricardo to fail. She even anticipated that Theodore, who would receive the right to investigate next, would be satisfied with just cracking down on black magicians without overdoing it. 

She didn't step forward because she judged that there would be no intact evidence by the time this matter reached Theodore. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel disgusted and grind her teeth.

"Do we truly appear as careless as common fools to you? Naturally, we have already taken measures. You will have no need to worry in the future either. So, don't be too angry, and how about listening to the good news first?"

The corners of the mouth of the man with black blood vessels curled up coolly. Even in a situation where he was in front of people who could cut off his head with a flick of their fingers, the man maintained a relaxed attitude throughout. Like someone who was sure that the people in front of him couldn't harm him.