Sword of Salvation-Chapter 112: - Battle; Pawn and Bishop (3)

—ooO[ City of Eolamoza ]Ooo—

Stewart couldn’t say anything as he watched Viertino and the other undead disintegrate into dust. It was too surprising. He could only stand in silence, watching as the red chains dissolved into particles of prana.

He had no idea what had happened. Had the necromancer controlling them left? Or had someone eliminated the necromancer? What had happened?

Stewart didn’t know.

However, one thing was certain—it worked in his favor. Stewart immediately searched for the three soldiers who had infiltrated the city with him. Then, he ordered them to cause chaos inside the city. Only after that did Stewart hurry out of Eolamoza.

With the undead gone, they would be able to seize the city by this evening. Now, he should focus on his next step. Perhaps the will of world was currently on his side, he should not waste this golden chance.

—ooO[ Capital of Vallhamoza ]Ooo—

Mariel returned to Athenia’s palace when night fell.

He had previously told her he would be back within an hour or two, so he wasn’t surprised when Athenia looked at him with concern. He gave her a brief explanation. Anzu had already informed him that there were no issues, so he didn’t ask about the empress’s progress.

After cleaning himself up and filling his stomach, Mariel went to see Athenia again. It was time for her to learn about World Order and the Great Human Council.

She was in her late father’s old office. Mariel saw piles of papers stacked everywhere. It seemed Athenia wanted to change the room’s interior to better suit her comfort. However, the moment Mariel arrived, she stopped what she was doing and asked,

"So, is it time for you to tell me the real reason why you offered to help me?"

Without a word, Mariel sat down on the sofa. He gestured for Athenia to sit across from him.

"Didn’t you say you were helping me because you wanted to see what my utopia would look like?" Athenia asked, slightly confused as she sat down in front of him. "Was that a lie? So you actually have a hidden motive? What do you want? Money? Power? Or... were you after my body all along?"

Mariel immediately smiled. But it wasn’t a warm or friendly smile. It was a smirk—but not quite a smirk.

"What if I want all three?" he challenged. "Would you grant them to me?"

Athenia was startled by Mariel’s reaction and how casually he said that. But she quickly composed herself and steeled her resolve.

"I can give you money," she said. "I can also make you the prime minister. But as for the third one...."

"Oh? So you’re unwilling to offer it, even after I nearly sacrificed my life?"

"That’s not it," Athenia denied hastily. "I-If you really want it...." She averted her gaze from Mariel. "You... you have to marry me first," she added in a barely audible voice.

"Your voice is too soft. But never mind what I just said. It was only a joke. Don’t take it seriously."

"Huh...?"

"The main reason I’m helping you is to stop the emperor from taking over the Kingdom of Mangolla and the Kingdom of Denland," Mariel said with a serious expression. "I came to this land to make sure that doesn’t happen. I want to prevent Great Human Council from doing whatever they please."

"Who are they? What do they have to do with this?" Athenia asked, her attention now completely focused on Mariel. "Are you implying that my father was acting under their orders?"

Mariel then explained everything about the Great Human Council to Athenia. He told her about their plans for the Western Continent. Then, he informed her about World Order and explained that he had left earlier to confront one of their members.

Mariel didn’t know if Rahvada was dead or not, but he hoped that troublesome man had perished. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"...I knew nothing about any of this," Athenia murmured after he finished speaking.

"I’d actually be surprised if you did."

"But Mariel, you’re even younger than me."

"Age has nothing to do with things like this. You’ve lived in the comfort of the palace complex. It wouldn’t make sense for you to know much about the world. But that’s not important. What matters more is what you plan to do now that you know all this. I’ve already informed King Maggio, and he has decided to gradually eliminate Sterminatore from his kingdom. He has also allied with Lasyana, the ruling empress of the Neiracian Empire."

Athenia didn’t respond immediately. She remained silent for a while, her eyes seemingly lost in thought. Nearly five minutes passed before she finally spoke.

"I think I’ll make the same decision as King Maggio. I also want to ally with him and Denland. If they truly control the economy, I can’t allow them to disrupt everything. The first step I’ll take is establishing an imperial bank to compete with theirs."

"But by the way, Mariel," Athenia continued, narrowing her eyes, "what’s your relationship with Empress Lasyana? Earlier, you referred to Maggio as ’King Maggio,’ but when you mentioned her, you didn’t say ’Empress Lasyana.’"

"Oh, we’re close. I occasionally have dinner with her at her palace," Mariel answered casually. "Ah, you’re both empresses. Do you want to meet and talk with her? You could learn a lot from her."

"...Do you like her?"

"Of course. Lasyana is an amazing woman. As her subject, I admire her just like any other citizen. She is the guiding light of Neiracia."

"...Oh."

Mariel raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "You don’t seem happy with my answer," he commented. "If you weren’t interested in hearing it, you shouldn’t have asked."

"That’s just your imagination."

Mariel shrugged. "Tomorrow, I’m going to meet Stewart to stop him from continuing the attack," he said, turning serious again. "If the emperor and his army return—which I doubt—we can rely on his forces to face them. So, I need you to write an official letter to convince that man."