Chapter 165
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
Anais staggered back, her face drained of all color.
Everyone around them was busy voicing their opinions to the emperor. Because of that, no one noticed the strange tension between Anais and Selina.
“I—I didn’t do it on purpose…!”
“I was only four years old back then, but the fact that you abandoned me is as vivid as if it happened yesterday.”
Anais parted her lips, but no rebuttal came. Seeing that, Selina twisted her lips into a crooked smile.
“You probably thought I’d forgotten because it happened when I was four. You were wrong.”
Selina stepped closer to Anais and murmured in a low voice.
“I will never go with the person who abandoned me.”
“Lin….”
“Don’t call me by that name. My name is Selina.”
Selina turned her back on Anais.
Ever since she had resolved not to get involved with the Hailers family, she had tried not to think about her biological mother anymore.
So she believed that if they ever met like this, she would be able to face her calmly, just as she had promised herself.
I was wrong.
She wasn’t as confused as she had been the first time they met. Instead, rage surged up inside her, making her feel as if she might vomit.
The anger boiling within her refused to subside.
Even the people standing in front of her now, trying to claim her, disgusted her.
What am I even doing here?
How long was she supposed to be pushed around by others? Was she supposed to live her entire life like this, being manipulated?
She would rather die than accept that.
Selina swept her gaze across the hall, her eyes sinking into a frightening calm.
“Lunios.”
[Why do you ask?]
“You said apostles can use divine authority, didn’t you?”
Luna flinched and looked up at Selina. Seeing the quiet fury in her, Luna nodded.
[That’s right. They can do things no human ever could.]
“…I see.”
[But think carefully. Every action has a price. The backlash might be far worse than what you suffered before.]
“That’s something I’ll bear myself.”
Selina began to walk forward. At some point, chaos had erupted around the emperor.
Harsh words flew between factions, as if they might come to blows at any moment. Caught in the middle, the emperor rubbed his temples with a weary expression.
Bang—!
A loud explosion rang out, drawing everyone’s attention to a single point.
A spherical glow of white light rippled around Selina, and her silver hair lifted and danced in the air.
Everyone present understood immediately.
She was using the power of a god.
“Are you truly fighting like this for my sake,” she asked,
“or…”
Her eerie violet eyes swept over them all.
“…are you fighting to satisfy your own greed?”
Silence fell.
The awakened Selina exuded a presence utterly different from the emperor’s. No one could bring themselves to meet her gaze directly.
Still, someone among the noble faction forced themselves to speak.
“Of course it’s for Lady Selina! Never in history has parental authority been transferred to someone other than a biological parent. For Lady Selina’s sake, isn’t this the best solution?”
“And what exactly do you mean by ‘the best’?”
“Commoners and nobles are worlds apart—like heaven and earth. If you become a noble, you’ll enjoy things you could never even dream of as a commoner. And now that you’ve become the Apostle of the Moon, you could be threatened at any time, anywhere. The Moon Temple cannot stay by your side every day of the year. You need a strong protector.”
“And that protector would be the Marquess Hailers family?”
“Yes, of course.”
Selina let out a hollow laugh and looked at the man who had been speaking so fervently.
At this moment, with all her abilities fully unleashed, Selina could clearly see the fates of everyone present.
There were nearly thirty people—it was enough to make her head feel like it would burst. Yet she maintained her sanity and scraped through their thoughts, peeling back every layer to the very bottom of their hearts.
That was how she knew.
They were lying.
They were merely dressing up their greed in pretty words, desperately trying to claim her.
“By now, that little girl should be easy to win over.”
The man who had been wearing a triumphant expression flinched at the words that slipped from Selina’s beautiful lips.
“She’s only sixteen, even if she’s an apostle. What can she do? We have to bind her to us somehow. How should we use her from now on? I looked it up—she can wield divine authority. She’d be perfect to send to the battlefield.”
A heavy silence descended.
Every word Selina had spoken was a thought that had passed through the minds of the nobles.
They were already acting as if Selina belonged to them, plotting how to exploit her.
Realizing their thoughts had been exposed, their faces turned pale.
Selina’s gaze settled on Arnold among them.
She narrowed her eyes.
Unlike the others, he didn’t intend to wring Selina dry. He wanted her to join his family, but more than that, he wished to protect her simply because she was Anais’s biological daughter.
That, more than anything else, irritated Selina.
“You already assume I’ve fallen into your hands. Or do you see me as nothing more than an object?”
“A-Apostle! Is what you’re saying true?”
“These insolent wretches! How dare they harbor such disrespectful thoughts!”
As expected, everyone from the Moon Temple erupted in fury, their faces flushing red and blue in turns.
At first, the nobles hesitated, then desperately insisted Selina was lying. They demanded to know how she could possibly tell whether those thoughts were fabricated or not.
Truthfully, Selina didn’t think much of the Moon Temple either.
They were different from the nobles, but at the end of the day, they too were thinking of ways to keep her close and use her for various purposes.
The only reason she didn’t lash out at them was because of Freiman.
Among all the ugly thoughts echoing around her, only Freiman brought her a sense of calm.
Selina looked at Freiman, closed her eyes briefly, then snapped them open.
A small ripple spread from her.
In an instant, the clamor died down.
“If you intend to control me as you please, I suggest you stop now. Otherwise…”
When Selina’s eyes flashed, everyone froze in identical poses, staring at her in tense silence.
All the people present—and even the surrounding air—were frozen solid.
At this moment, the only ones who could move freely were Selina, Luna, and Emperor Simon Leonhardt.
Confronted with this bizarre sight, the emperor’s eyes widened as he looked around. Finally, he dropped his languid posture and began to regard Selina warily.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“It was a bit noisy, so I stopped time for a moment.”
“…That’s possible?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? An apostle can freely wield divine authority. Things like this are well within reason.”
Selina snapped her fingers, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared directly in front of the emperor.
“I dislike people who stand in my way.”
“………”
“So I’m not particularly pleased with this situation.”
An intangible pressure radiated from Selina, forcing everyone to bow their heads. The emperor, receiving it head-on, broke into a cold sweat internally—but he did not back down.
“Even if you attack me with that, it won’t work.”
The emperor flinched as his hand had been inching toward the hilt of his sword.
“I can see exactly what Your Majesty is thinking right now.”
“So everything you said earlier was you reading their thoughts.”
“That’s correct. So it would be wise not to entertain any futile ideas.”
The emperor smiled crookedly and leaned back against the throne.
“Very well. What is it that you want?”
“All I ask is that you support my opinion.”
“You want me to transfer parental authority to Cardinal Freiman?”
“Yes. And if you also promise not to interfere in my life in any way, I will quietly withdraw from this place.”
“Hmmm…”
From the emperor’s hesitation, Selina read something else.
He believed he needed to keep a leash on Selina now that she had become an apostle—not to wield her at will, but as a measure of control.
Since the Moon Temple was not designated as the state religion, Selina could leave for another country at any time if foreign powers approached her.
From that perspective, having her adopted into the Hailers family made her much easier to keep under watch, which was why he had readily agreed to Ardan’s proposal.
From the emperor’s point of view, it had been a perfect deal.
“That won’t be necessary,” Selina said, reassuring him.
“This is where I was born and raised. Everyone precious to me is here. I have no reason to leave. But if Your Majesty attempts to restrain me, then that will be a different matter.”
“Hah. If you can read my mind so easily, there’s nothing I can hide.”
“So, what do you think of my proposal?”
“Well, I don’t see any reason to accept it so readily.”
As expected, the emperor was not an easy opponent.
Selina hadn’t expected to sway him this simply. She narrowed her eyes, stared at him for a long moment, then spoke.
“You harbor doubts about the death of the late empress.”
At last, a crack appeared in the emperor’s composed expression.
“With my ability, I can find the answers you seek. What do you say? Will you join hands with me?”
The emperor glared at Selina, his face hardening, then fell into deep thought.
From the day the empress died so suddenly, he had suspected there was someone behind it.
But he had only circumstantial suspicions—no concrete evidence. He hadn’t been able to uncover the truth.
What if this girl is telling the truth?
When the emperor looked at Selina, she smiled sweetly. After a moment of silence, he smiled back.
“I will seriously consider the proposal of the Apostle of the Moon.”
It wasn’t a definite answer, but it was more than enough.
Satisfied, Selina straightened from her bent posture.
Then, instead of leaving the emperor’s side, she stepped closer and placed her hand around his neck.
Since there was no killing intent, the emperor remained still.
“And what is this supposed to be?”
“Shouldn’t I give them a little scare? I need at least one safety measure for myself. Don’t worry—I won’t harm Your Majesty.”
Selina laughed playfully and turned her gaze forward. The emperor, still not understanding her intention, suddenly felt the once-silent space erupt into noise.
Time began to flow again.
“…Taking your lives would be easy enough, you see.”
You said you wouldn’t harm him?
The emperor stared at Selina in disbelief.
Continuing the words she had spoken just before stopping time, she threatened the nobles like a villain.
They had been standing right in front of Selina just a second ago—now they saw her gripping the emperor’s neck as if she might snap it at any moment. They turned pale with shock.
Ignoring whether they collapsed or not, Selina held her head high with unwavering dignity as she walked forward.
The emperor rubbed his neck and watched her head toward the door.
She brushed past the flustered knights, opened the door herself, and disappeared into the corridor.
Simon and Veronica, who had arrived with her, followed close behind.
“…Ha.”
Was that really a sixteen-year-old girl?
Her unyielding confidence and overwhelming charisma made it impossible to believe she was only sixteen.
“She’s tempting.”
As the emperor muttered softly, the nobles hurried to check on him.
“Your Majesty! Are you unharmed?”
“That girl—no, that apostle—didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
The emperor raised a hand to silence them.
“Enough of the fuss. Nothing happened. It seems this matter will have to proceed through the noble council.”
“Your Majesty!”
Ardan called out urgently, but the emperor remained firm.
“Let it be so. We’ll adjourn for today. The Moon Temple will also attend the next noble council meeting as a special case.”
“…Yes, understood.”
Freiman bowed in respect.
But his mind was completely filled with thoughts of Selina.
