CHAPTER 91………………………………….
I could already guess what Cassius was going to say.
I had something I wanted to say to him too.
Our hearts were probably aligned.
He who had let down my hair spoke in a voice full of sincerity.
“I love you, Sonia.”
“…….”
“If I could be your partner, I would give not only my life but everything I have.”
I had anticipated his words and steeled myself, but no preparation could make me completely unfazed by such a shock.
I was already feeling warm from just sharing a breath with him. Now, receiving his confession made my entire body flush, and I pressed my lips tightly together.
He tilted his head lazily.
“I’m making a serious effort to court you, yet you give no reply?”
“…….”
“Then I will interpret it as I wish.”
“……How?”
“Sonia, you already belong to me. So now it’s my turn to claim you.”
I caressed his cheek. Feeling my touch, Cassius slightly tilted his head.
“Since I’ve received your heart, I can give you mine in return.”
Cassius’ eyes softened. Carefully, he embraced me.
I could feel his heartbeat unusually strong.
“It feels like I’ve obtained everything. I’m that happy.”
Hearing his slightly trembling voice, as if moved to tears, my own heart seemed to flutter in response.
His joy reached me. Overflowing with emotion, I hugged Cassius tightly.
“Sonia, let’s be happy together.”
“Yes, of course.”
He who had just released me pressed his forehead gently against mine.
“By the way, isn’t it about time you called me by my name?”
“Hmm…….”
Since I had always called him “Seongha,” it felt hard to change.
Also, calling his name made me a bit embarrassed.
“You did call it well earlier.”
When Lloyd attacked him, I had shouted Cassius’ name in surprise.
He kissed my cheek. He didn’t stop, instead planting short, pecking kisses like a bird with its beak.
I shivered slightly at the ticklish sensation and hunched my shoulders.
“Seo… Seongha.”
“Do you dislike it?”
“I don’t dislike it.”
On the contrary, it felt nice—but the constant sound of our lips touching made my heart flutter strangely.
“Sonia.”
He whispered my name in a clear, low tone right into my ear. That was unfair.
His voice felt like a trigger, making my heart race.
“Could you call my name?”
“…….”
“I want to hear it.”
He pressed my moving lips with his thumb as if urging me.
Every time he called my name, it made me feel good. I wanted him to feel the same way.
“Cassius.”
He smiled brightly.
Happiness didn’t need to be sought—it was right there in the moments we shared together.
I left the sanctuary with Cassius, having tied the horses.
Leaving him to tend the horses, I looked up at the sky.
Above the colossal healing sanctuary, the morning star shone brightly.
“How long is that going to stay up, I wonder.”
The announcement of the continent’s first fully awakened healing priest was surely already complete; it would be nice if it would disappear now.
At that moment, wind messengers resembling fireflies began gathering around.
Wind priests scattered here and there seemed to be urgently searching for Cassius.
He listened to a particularly large wind messenger and said:
“This is a messenger sent by Jurgen. It seems the palace has become chaotic because of the morning star. We need to return quickly.”
I actually wanted to return to the palace more slowly.
Everyone on the continent had likely noticed my final awakening.
As a healing priest, I would have many tasks ahead.
And Lloyd, who had fled, also had to be dealt with.
Since there were many urgent matters, I wanted at least today to spend time leisurely with Cassius.
That time of complete freedom was while riding back to the palace.
“Lloyd… I have to deal with that guy quickly too.”
He had been utterly useless to the very end.
Burning with anger toward Lloyd, we arrived at the palace with Cassius.
Jurgen, who was guarding Cassius’ room, greeted us as if he had come back from death. Wind messengers hovered around him, sent from various places.
He seemed to have received and sent the messengers alone.
“Seongha! We’ve been waiting! Reports are pouring in from the Emperor and across the continent.”
Jurgen handed over documents detailing the wind messengers’ reports.
Then he noticed the blood splattered on Cassius’ clothes and was startled.
His black paladin uniform had made it hard to see at first.
“Are you hurt? Should I call the priests skilled in medicine?”
“My wounds are fine. More importantly, the tower master has escaped, so take the paladins and go to the mage tower.”
“…….”
“Be careful; he possesses the sacred power of all four main elements.”
Jurgen blinked, staring at me in disbelief.
Judging by his expression, it was as if he were asking, “Are you serious, Your Highness?”
Indeed, even I wouldn’t have believed that the tower master had escaped and possessed sacred power if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
Moreover, having all four elemental powers probably sounded like nonsense spouted by a drunk person.
“Unfortunately, it’s all true.”
I slowly nodded, revealing the truth to Jurgen.
“I will follow your orders!”
Understanding the reality of the situation, Jurgen bowed and went out.
Cassius, reading the documents Jurgen left, called a paladin standing at the room’s entrance.
“Notify the Emperor that we need a meeting, and gather all the high-ranking priests at the secondary palace in the lobby.”
“Yes, sir!”
The commanded paladins and priests moved busily, and the previously quiet palace became bustling.
Outside the window, the main palace’s lights began to shine brightly.
With my awakening, many things were changing.
Although I had expected it, seeing the commotion still unsettled me.
“Will it be okay?”
I had gained immense power from my final awakening.
Lloyd, struck by my attack, couldn’t retaliate and ran away in a panic.
Yet, I still felt some inexplicable anxiety.
Cassius, having changed into fresh clothes, held my hand tightly.
“No matter what happens, I will stay by your side.”
Only then did my unease vanish as if it had never existed.
Using warp, Lloyd barely escaped from the sanctuary and collapsed the moment he reached the mage tower.
“Damn it……”
Having broken the seal, his body couldn’t withstand the sacred power, leaving him half-collapsed.
Additionally, where Sonia’s healing power had struck, black smoke rose and his strength leaked away.
The loss of power was accompanied by excruciating pain.
“I underestimated that woman.”
Sonia’s awakened healing elemental sacred power far exceeded even Lucius, who had once been praised as unrivaled.
If he met Sonia like this, he could be obliterated next time.
Covered in humiliation and pain, Lloyd couldn’t even rise, scratching the floor with his fingertips.
“Finally returning, huh? Took you long enough!”
Shane, an unexpected guest, was waiting in the tower master’s room.
Since Lloyd didn’t answer, Shane went straight to the point.
“Have you seen the morning star in the sky? The palace is in chaos because the healing priest has fully awakened. At this rate, Sertina’s leg might heal!”
Shane had rushed to the tower, worried that Sertina would become his rival.
“Hey, why are you silent?”
In the darkness, Lloyd’s crouched figure was hard to see.
A groaning sound came, and as I frowned toward Lloyd’s direction, his voice was heard.
“Just when I needed it most, Your Highness, thank you for coming personally.”
Muttering, Lloyd used the power of the earth to bind Shane’s feet.
“What?”
Lloyd’s goal was to obtain eternity.
To avoid the hassle of constantly finding a new body, he had focused on research for a long time and discovered one solution:
He could parasitize the bloodline instead of the body.
But finding a bloodline that met the conditions was nearly impossible.
After wasting so many years, the solution he finally found was Shane.
By parasitizing Shane, he could eventually move into Shane’s descendants’ bodies and live forever.
Moreover, Shane was royalty, with power and wealth.
So he had helped Shane become Emperor.
He had disabled Princess Sertina’s leg and eliminated all other Omega rivals to help Shane defeat Schwarz.
Yet, despite all that, Shane had not been crowned Crown Prince.
“Troublesome, but I’ll just become Emperor myself.”
Having calculated everything, Lloyd’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
His grotesque appearance became even more bizarre.
Lloyd enlarged his body and approached Shane.
“You… you! What happened to your appearance?”
“If you’re curious, I’ll explain. Every time I transfer my body with my ability, there’s a rejection reaction. With each new body, I gradually change.”
“W-What are you talking about? Let me go!”
Sensing the dangerous situation, Shane tried to escape, but his feet seemed glued to the ground.
“Since you’ve devoted yourself to helping me, I will fulfill Your Highness’s dream.”
“What!”
“I will become Emperor.”
Lloyd, having enlarged himself, swallowed Shane.
Shane drew his sword to resist but couldn’t escape and was consumed alive.
All of Shane’s experiences and thoughts flowed into Lloyd.
Lloyd’s grotesque body gradually transformed into Shane’s form.
Now fully in Shane’s body, Lloyd retrieved a spare seal from a drawer and placed it on his ear.
The overflowing sacred power began to stabilize.
He quietly left the mage tower and mounted the horse Shane had arrived on.
The hateful morning star flashed in the sky.
“Next time, I won’t lose.”
For opponents you cannot defeat with strength, crush them with power.
