Chapter 455: Thats It? |
Chapter 455: …That’s It?
“Who…!?”
Just as a cold glint flashed in Wolram’s eyes, Diere suddenly shuddered, as if sensing something, and turned around, her eyes sharp.
However, as Diere reached for her weapon, she realized she wasn’t carrying any.
Dressed in a formal gown, Diere naturally couldn’t carry her weapons.
Diere’s heart sank, but she didn’t overreact. Instead, she quickly calmed down and stared at the figure before her.
Wolram was also a little stunned.
“I didn’t expect her intuition to be so sharp.”
No wonder that person wanted her, even if it was just her corpse.
Because he had entered the royal palace “openly and honestly.” No one would question or suspect his presence.
Otherwise, the Royal Knights, led by Aldia, weren’t to be trifled with.
Therefore, Wolram slowly walked towards Diere.
Wolram was wearing the standard armor of the Royal Knights, with a sword at his waist.
“A Royal Knight?”
Diere looked at the unfamiliar “old man” before her, a hint of doubt flashing through her mind.
Diere hadn’t expected the person watching her in secret to be a Royal Knight.
But the “old man” smiled at Diere, a hearty smile, but for some reason, it made Diere very uncomfortable.
Because although he was smiling, there wasn’t a hint of mirth in his eyes.
That gaze was like looking at prey, or an enemy he disliked.
This alone gave Diere reason to believe that he was up to no good.
“Who are you?”
Diere asked in a deep voice.
The “old man” didn’t answer, but simply said nonchalantly,
“Come with me, Diere Elvenbein.”
He said these words right from the start.
Diere frowned, not speaking, or rather, not bothering to speak.
Since he didn’t intend to reveal anything and was clearly hostile, she could just subdue him directly. There was no need for further nonsense.
Wolram seemed to see the killing intent hidden beneath Diere’s silence. Although he felt quite displeased with Diere’s existence, he had to admit that she did possess qualities valued by the Raifurut family.
Not only her talent, but also her ruthlessness and indifference, which were rare for an assassin.
Perhaps this “half-blood” was a natural-born killer.
He just didn’t know why the Raifurut family wanted her, and what that person wanted her for.
Thinking of this, Wolram suddenly said,
“Don’t be so quick to refuse.” Wolram said calmly, looking extremely confident. “This might not be a bad thing for you.”
Diere still didn’t speak, just stared coldly at Wolram.
Her cold and merciless demeanor dispelled some of the prejudice in Wolram’s heart, replaced by appreciation.
As one of the most elite assassins trained by the Raifurut family, Wolram disdained Harvis’s amiable and gentle approach to everyone.
For him, there were only two kinds of people in this world: those he could kill, and those he couldn’t.
There was no need to show emotions or a friendly face to those he could kill.
And there was no need to interact too much with those he couldn’t kill, because they wouldn’t cross paths.
This was also the reason why Wolram was so arrogant in front of Shien.
He wouldn’t be polite to anyone, only judging their value, whether they were the first or second kind of person.
Therefore, Wolram didn’t need others to be gentle to him. That was worthless. On the contrary, this coldness and indifference allowed him to quickly judge what kind of person the other party was, which was “convenient.”
Coupled with his pride as an assassin, Wolram not only wasn’t disgusted by Diere’s coldness, but appreciated it.
Thanks to this, Wolram chuckled.
“Actually, I’ve been ‘watching’ you, Diere Elvenbein.”
Wolram said, as if talking to himself.
“Others think I’ve been obediently waiting for reinforcements, or even that I’ve already left the capital, but actually, I’ve been by your side all along. Did you notice?”
Saying so, Wolram gave some examples.
“A week ago, you and the women in your squad carried out a patrol mission in the commoner residential area of the eastern district. At that time, a child kept running past your patrol route. Did you notice?”
“Five days ago, you, the dog-person, and the elf in your squad purchased some items in several shops in the southwest district. At that time, a shopkeeper kept looking at you. Did you notice?”
“And three days ago, two days ago, even yesterday, there was a pair of eyes watching you.”
“Did you notice any of this?”
Wolram’s playful words made Diere’s expression increasingly grim.
“What’s your purpose?”
Diere’s voice finally turned cold, filled with killing intent.
That killing intent, as if she could attack at any moment, didn’t scare Wolram, but instead excited him, a pleased expression appearing on his face.
Therefore, Wolram didn’t hide his intentions either.
“My original purpose was to simply kill you and bring your corpse back.” Wolram licked his lips and said with a hoarse laugh. “But the power displayed by Shien Buztout really scared me. If I rashly attacked you, I probably wouldn’t be able to leave the capital alive.”
Although Wolram was arrogant and rebellious, he was an assassin who would do anything to complete his mission. He naturally wouldn’t continue doing meaningless things when he knew it was impossible.
Therefore, Wolram decided to abandon his original plan.
“Now, in the eyes of others, ‘I’ should have already left the capital.” Wolram sneered. “But I’ve been by your side all along.”
His purpose was self-evident.
Since force wouldn’t work, Wolram could only use soft tactics.
That’s right.
Wolram intended to make Diere willingly follow him.
That way, even Shien couldn’t do anything.
For this purpose…
“Let me tell you something good.”
Wolram smiled slyly and slowly began to speak.
As Wolram spoke, Diere’s initially cold expression froze, then her face was filled with shock, disbelief, and even speechlessness.
After Wolram finished, Diere lowered her head, clenched her fists, and remained silent.
“Tell me your choice, Diere Elvenbein.”
Wolram looked at Diere, the sly smile never leaving his face.
Diere was silent.
And she remained silent for a long time.
Until, after a long while…
“Don’t lie to me.” Diere said in her coldest voice yet. “If I find out you deceived me, I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces.”
Hearing this, Wolram nodded nonchalantly, thinking to himself,
“Mission accomplished.”
…
“Hmm?”
At the same time, Nadue seemed to sense something and was surprised.
“Did he say something to Diere Elvenbein?”
Nadue was aware of the situation on Diere’s side.
This Goddess of Nature knew about Wolram’s actions.
However, Nadue thought that Wolram was doing all this to discreetly approach Diere and attack her.
Who would have thought that he didn’t attack, but chose to talk to Diere instead?
This gave Nadue a bad premonition.
However, Nadue’s attention was soon drawn to the situation before her.
It couldn’t be helped. This situation wasn’t something she could easily ignore.
“I’ll be frank!”
In the side hall, the most luxurious reception room in the palace, Lildas slammed her hand on the table and said in a tone that brooked no argument,
“I don’t agree to this marriage! Absolutely not!”
The strongest goddess was causing a scene here, leaving Ancil speechless.
Sara rolled her eyes.
“I say, Goddess of Fate, making such a fuss is quite embarrassing, don’t you think?”
Sara said pointedly.
“Whether they get married or not, what does it have to do with you?”
Airi added sarcastically without mercy.
“Mmm-hmm!”
Lilith also nodded seriously.
Even Anima looked troubled.
“Alright, stop it, Lildas.” Anima patted Lildas’s shoulder and said gently, “I know you value Lucy and even consider her your own daughter, but as goddesses, we shouldn’t impose our own preferences on the lives of our blessed ones. That’s not right.”
Anima’s tone was like she was persuading a child.
“But…!”
Lildas’s eyes teared up, as if she felt wronged.
Shien and Lucy stood aside, not having said a word since they arrived.
“That’s what she said.” Shien said listlessly. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
“…It’s useless.” Lucy said with a resigned expression. “Once she gets like this, no matter what I say, Lady Lildas won’t listen.”
Clearly, this wasn’t the first time Lucy had encountered this situation.
It was because of this that after Lildas appeared, Lucy chose to remain silent and observe from the side.
It wasn’t that Lucy didn’t want to express her opinion, but she knew very well how stubborn this strongest goddess, who had bestowed her blessing upon her, was.
“Lady Lildas is the first goddess born, the first life, so she always feels that she should guide others’ growth and be responsible for the development of the world and the growth of life. Over countless years, she has developed a very strong sense of mission and responsibility, believing that she has a duty to shoulder everything.”
Lucy sighed.
“But this overly strong sense of mission and responsibility sometimes gets out of control, making her act recklessly, not listening to others, and causing a lot of trouble.”
This time, it was probably because she considered herself Lucy’s benefactor, like a mother figure to Lucy, that she lost control.
After all, if her daughter was getting married, and she was the last to know, it would be impossible for her not to worry about her daughter marrying a bad person, or being deceived and taken advantage of.
Therefore, Lildas exploded, rushing to the human world without thinking and trying to stop this engagement ceremony.
However…
“I just don’t agree! I don’t agree!”
Seeing Lildas throwing a tantrum, Shien only had one thing to say in his heart.
“The strongest goddess… huh?”
…That’s it?