Robert always remembered the words his father had once told him:
Power is the number-one poison in the world.
Countless people find it as sweet as honey, becoming obsessed and possessed by it.
Even with half their bodies in the grave, they still cannot break their addiction to power.
As for the number-two poison, it is called love.
When he was young, he had also been poisoned by love.
He had acted like a madman, losing his appetite and unable to sleep, spending entire nights yearning for a woman whose face he could no longer clearly remember.
He had been willing to throw everything away to elope with her, and he had said many foolish things that he was too embarrassed to recall, yet remembered all too vividly.
Later on, many of those feelings faded.
He began to regret the stupid things he had done in his youth, started to shoulder responsibilities, and began to mature.
A few years later, he married the daughter of a noble family.
They were a perfect match in status and treated each other with mutual respect, but there was no love—they were simply family.
Now, hearing those two terrifying words from his niece’s mouth truly gave Robert a fright.
“Yuna, don’t be foolish,” he quickly reminded her.
Lowering his voice and leaning in close, Robert whispered his counsel.
“If you were choosing a good husband for the sake of benefit and picked the Hero, I would think your choice was stupid and wouldn’t support it, but at least I wouldn’t worry. But if you’re saying you fell in love with the Hero… then I really want to put you under house arrest until the water in your brain dries out.”
“Is it really that serious?” Yuna asked with a bitter smile.
“Love is irrational,” Robert lectured with a stern face.
“At our level, taking one wrong step leads to eternal perdition. We cannot afford to be irrational.”
Yuna remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, she asked, “But Uncle, could it be that our way of living is actually wrong? Since I was a child, you’ve educated me to do the ‘correct thing’… but after that day, I’ve been doubting. What exactly is ‘correct’?”
“I know what you want to say, and I know what you want to ask. The Goddess’s teachings are the ideal, but what is beneath our feet is reality. If you want to practice the Goddess’s teachings, you must first hold the high ground beneath your feet and not let it be occupied by the enemy.”
“I don’t understand.” Yuna looked dejected and lost. “Who exactly is the enemy? Demonkind? But Demonkind is a mess, and the God of Demons is just a bunch of selfish madmen. The Commoners? But the Commoners are already so wretched; what power do they have to threaten us?”
Yuna suddenly broke into a strained laugh because she found it all so absurd.
“It can’t be that my enemies are the Hero? Our own people? These sisters of mine who want to replace me?”
‘Almighty God, why did You so mercifully give us freedom and let us choose for ourselves?’
She prayed despondently.
It had been a long time since she had used such a tone with that ethereal Goddess.
The last time was during her childhood after she had been kidnapped.
“What on earth did that Hero kid do to turn you into this?”
Robert’s eyes widened.
“Perhaps it has nothing to do with Joen. It’s just that when I was close to death, I suddenly remembered a lot—including many things I was about to forget.”
Yuna subconsciously touched the wound that had long since been healed, leaving not a single scar.
She gazed distantly at the glamorous crowd dancing to the music, lost in thought.
‘Was my life really meant to be spent like this?’
I thought at the time.
‘If we all meet the Goddess after we die, how will she look at me?’
‘Will she approve of me? Or will she mercifully forgive me?’
‘Or perhaps, after I die, I won’t see anything at all, and there will only be an empty void?’
Robert frowned as he stared at Yuna.
“Thinking about death at this age is a real buzzkill. There’s no need to worry about things so far off.”
He leaned in a bit closer, his serious eyes as calm as a bowl of sacrificial holy soup.
“Besides, looking at it from another perspective, everyone does it this way. This also means the Goddess does not object to us doing things that violate the doctrines for the sake of the Church’s continued existence.”
“Perhaps.”
Yuna’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
She smiled, feeling somewhat relieved.
“Or perhaps the Goddess only feels contempt. She doesn’t care at all about this Church she left behind. She believes there will always be someone who practices her teachings, even if it isn’t through us.”
Robert’s tone turned a bit cold, a mix of emotional sighing and regret.
“Yuna, do you know? Right now, you look like you already have one foot in the grave.”
Yuna blinked and suddenly laughed quite vibrantly, her tone rising.
“Uncle, on the contrary, I feel like I’ve finally come to life. I want to experience more things that make me feel alive, like… having a romance that has nothing to do with anything else?”
“It’s over; you really are going to die,” Robert said, sighing deeply.
“Uncle, can you do me a favor?” Yuna quickly tugged on Robert’s sleeve.
“Tell me what it is first.”
Robert looked at her warily, a flicker of intense fire dancing in his eyes.
“I want you to… help me seek a Grace of the Goddess of Love,” Yuna said, her red lips parting slightly.
“To use it on Joen.”
Robert’s amber-gold pupils gradually widened. He was speechless for a long time before he burst out laughing.
“Heh heh heh… after saying all that, you’re still you in the end.”
“Uncle?” Yuna asked, confused.
“It’s nothing.”
Robert looked much more relaxed.
He looked down at his toes and said nonchalantly, “Then seek it. We’ve already gone this far; it would be a shame to get nothing back, wouldn’t it?”
“I just want to make a slightly better impression on him…”
Yuna defended herself guiltily.
“I know.”
Robert nodded.
Outside the window, fireworks bloomed in full glory as expensive Magic exploded into smoke 200 meters above the Empire Capital.
As the flames faded, only the stars and moonlight remained, adorning the autumn night.
Joen didn’t have time to appreciate the fireworks outside.
He hurriedly searched for the Emperor’s trail among the crowd.
The Castle here was vast and complex, larger than any place he had ever seen.
He was like a mouse that had wandered into a giants’ feast; the more he searched, the more disoriented he became, even accidentally stumbling into the kitchen.
Just as Joen was feeling discouraged, a plump, kind-looking old man appeared beside him out of nowhere.
“Is the Duke of White Wolf looking for someone?”
Joen turned and recognized him as the notoriously “infamous” Grand Tutor—Anthony.
Although everyone said he was a great traitorous official, Joen’s first impression of him wasn’t bad; he even had a welcoming, refreshing charisma.
“Grand Tutor Anthony.”
Joen gave a bow.
“I wish to see the King. I have important matters to report.”
“It’s about the Dry River Territory, isn’t it?”
Anthony nodded with a smile, as if he could see right through him.
“Follow me. The King should be in the Rear Garden getting some fresh air right now.”
Joen was overjoyed and quickly followed.
Passing through the noisy banquet area and along the quiet corridors, they arrived at the Rear Garden.
Under the moonlight, the Emperor was talking in a gazebo with a burly, cold-faced man.
Caesar Arenix, the Empire’s Eagle General.
Joen recognized him as well, having crossed paths before.
He commanded a special army corps, which was the first prince’s Elite force, and he held quite a reputation in the Army.
“Father Emperor, that batch of magic-conductive equipment needs to be replaced. The North Realm Orcs are growing restless. If we try to take those old goods into a blizzard, I’m afraid half of them will break down on the spot,” the prince’s voice rang out powerfully.
“Caesar, I have already made a decision on this matter.”
The Emperor pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone weary and stern.
“The Treasury isn’t that flush with cash. Though the accounts haven’t been settled for this year, we will likely still be over budget. The 2,000,000 Gold Kuron Little Maggie sent over has to fill last year’s Royal Treasury deficit.”
“But —”
“Enough, I don’t want to talk about this today.”
The Emperor waved him off, interrupting him, and then softened his tone slightly.
“The Grand Tutor and I are trying a new policy. Once there are results, I will consider you first. You may leave now.”
At that moment, Anthony lightly tapped on the garden’s picket gate.
“King, the Duke of White Wolf requests an audience.”
The Emperor looked up, his gaze sweeping over Joen, and a warm smile returned to his face.
“It’s Joen. Come in; there’s no need for formalities.”