Chapter 39: Venting

“Lothar was already a dead man. Even if Belinda were killed, it wouldn’t affect her at all. On the contrary, as long as Belinda is alive, Lothar’s existence might never descend.”

“If Belinda is killed directly, when the time comes, Lothar will still be reborn, but Belinda will truly die.”

Alexia spoke, sighing softly.

“To be honest, my hands are already stained with too much blood. Even though Belinda and I don’t share a deep bond, and she’s not even my mother’s child but the result of the king’s indulgence, I really can’t bring myself to do it.”

She had already ended the lives of many relatives with her own hands.

If this continued, she feared she would end up alone, with no siblings left.

Then, she turned to Simon.

“Call a maid. Bring me a bottle of red wine, not chilled.”

Simon nodded, walked out of the hall, and called out.

Soon after, a bottle of red wine was brought to Alexia.

She examined the wine again.

“Would a gentleman ask a lady to open the wine herself?”

“That was indeed my oversight.”

Simon smiled lightly and stepped forward to open the wine for Alexia.

Just as he was about to pour it into a glass, Alexia suddenly reached out, grabbed the bottle, and drank it straight from the bottle.

“Alexia…”

Simon stared in astonishment at Alexia’s boldness.

“I’m fine.”

After swallowing the wine, Alexia let out a long breath.

“Ah! Damn it! That damned father! Pandas, who has always been against me! And that meddling witch! They all deserve to die!”

“Damn it! Damn it! I’m sick of this! I never even provoked them, yet they insist on making trouble for me. For what? Aside from making the empire more chaotic, I can’t imagine what benefit it brings them.”

She took another swig of wine.

“If I ever catch them, I’ll tear them apart alive!”

“Why does it have to be so hard for me? I wasn’t even the one who originally wanted to inherit the throne! Ah! Why?!”

Alexia cried out.

Living in the imperial city every day, a single thought could decide the life and death of tens of thousands.

The pressure she bore was unimaginable.

Yet there were always uninvited troubles, bringing endless problems to her.

Other than Simon’s company, which gave her a bit of relief, her mind never stopped.

For this reason, she cherished the time alone with Simon even more.

In front of Simon, she could vent her emotions without worry, without fear of being used by others.

After Alexia finished venting, Simon asked softly,

“Feeling better now?”

Everyone has their limit for enduring pressure.

Alexia’s nerves were always taut, ready to snap at any moment.

Compared to the burden of the entire empire on her shoulders, what Simon endured was much less.

He only needed to pay attention to the situation in the imperial capital and Alexia’s safety.

So, in such moments, he allowed Alexia to release her emotions freely.

He also understood that these complaints and discontent would never become reality.

This scene, of a girl innocently venting her emotions, would never be known to the outside world.

“Much better.”

Alexia wiped her face, her mood clearly more stable than before.

She stood up and waved her hand forward.

The entire map of the imperial capital was projected before them by magic.

Her expression grew serious.

“Simon, tell me everything you know. I need to mark it on the map of the capital for future arrangements.”

After venting, she was once again the lofty Empress of the Empire.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

This time, Simon held nothing back, laying out the situation outside the imperial city for Alexia.

—

“Huff… Ha… Huff…”

Belinda panted, eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at the ruined city slowly appearing in her vision.

She pinched herself hard.

Pain shot through her nerves clearly, but the scene before her remained unchanged.

“I remember I was sleeping… What is going on?”

All around was an expanse of white, with only the ruined city ahead.

She distinctly remembered always staying in Simon’s manor, never leaving.

Before this, the last thing she did was sleep.

“Was I pulled into a dream by someone?”

From the books in Simon’s study, Belinda had crammed a lot of knowledge, learning that in this world, some people could enter others’ dreams at will.

Thinking of this, she began to imagine Simon appearing.

But no matter how she imagined it, Simon never appeared.

This made her uneasy.

“What’s going on? I remember that if this is my dream, anything I imagine should become real.”

As the dream’s master, Belinda should have been able to control its contents freely.

Lost in thought, she looked up at the blurry city again.

The city resembled an abandoned ruin depicted in books, hazy and mysterious.

Every detail she saw seemed made up of countless pixels.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see the city clearly.

Soon, a few figures emerged from the city gates.

They waved at her, as if beckoning her to follow them inside.

Belinda instinctively resisted the sudden city, but she had no choice.

Because except for white all around, there wasn’t even a road.

So, if she wanted to leave, clearly, the answer lay within.

Clutching her arms, Belinda moved forward hesitantly.

“Simon, where are you? Didn’t you say you’d appear if I was in danger?”

As she walked, Belinda looked back.

The city remained blurred.

It wasn’t because it was far, but rather that she simply couldn’t see it clearly.

The people waving at her were the same.

Even up close, they remained a mess of pixelated forms, strangely unsettling.

Her fear only grew.

Just as she was about to follow those people into the ruined city, a beam of light shone from behind.

Belinda turned sharply, just in time to brush past someone.

Unlike the blurry pixelated figures, the face before her was clear.

It was the Simon she’d been hoping for.

Simon swung his sword like the wind, swiftly cutting down the forbidden soldiers trying to take Belinda.

In his other hand, he gripped a candelabrum radiating holy light.

“Hold on to me.”

Simon wrapped his arm around Belinda and instructed, leaping toward the flood of holy light behind them.

The moment Simon leapt, a long spear flew from above the city.

“Bang!”

The spear pierced straight through the gates.

A figure, exuding a power completely different from the other forbidden soldiers, looked up at Simon and Belinda as they vanished.

Midair, Simon could clearly feel the endless fighting spirit burning in the other’s soul.

He had obviously been targeted.