Chapter 40

The Delegation (2)

“-! -!!”

Katya’s eyes were expressing intense nonverbal protest.

Her face seemed to be screaming, asking what on earth he was thinking pulling such a stunt, but Aiden brushed it off and pushed her behind him.

‘…Her concern is valid.’

If one were to name the most powerful nation on the continent, the Holy Crown Kingdom would undoubtedly be among the top, and meddling with their royalty could mean making an enemy of such a country.

It wasn't just the political implications that were the issue. The immediate danger posed by Laila in this very moment was also a problem.

Not everyone who handled holy power could become royalty, but anyone bearing that title invariably wielded divine energy in some exceptional form or another.

Of course, the current Pontiff stood at the top, but that didn’t change the fact that every single royal member remained a formidable threat.

“You’ve got guts.”

Laila’s words slid out coldly.

The divine energy she had just drawn pulsed menacingly around her body.

“Think carefully before you act. Do you even know who you’re picking a fight with—”

“5.”

“…What?”

“4.”

“……”

“3.”

…Ah.

He did say he’d give her five seconds.

As if to reaffirm his earlier statement that this wasn’t a negotiation or a conversation, Aiden calmly continued the countdown, and a thick vein bulged on Laila’s forehead.

It must have been her way of declaring she’d now respond in earnest as well.

“Bring it.”

At her chilling command, the maid beside her quickly stepped forward with a box.

Inside was a bell-shaped ritual tool.

Everyone present grimaced the moment they saw it.

There was a story just as well known as the rule that royalty in the Holy Crown Kingdom handled divine power.

Royals recognized for their worth were each granted a unique holy relic, dramatically amplifying the limits of the divine power they could wield.

In short—

That item was what the royals brought out when they truly intended to ‘fight.’

“—Princess Laila, that’s enough! Anything more will truly be considered an act of hostility toward the Empire!”

Stella, startled by the sight, leapt to her feet, but Laila, who had taken it out first, still wore that deathly chill on her face.

“You were the one who stuck your nose into another family's business first. Weren’t you?”

“This is something we could have resolved through later dialogue. At this rate, it’s really going to be war—!”

Before she could even finish speaking, divine energy erupted from Laila’s body and surged toward Aiden.

It was an attack carried out without the slightest hesitation—so sudden that no one present could properly react.

Everyone present responded in their own way. Stella drew her sword, and Katya tried to pull Aiden behind her...

But they were all too slow.

Considering that only talents who would be called elites by the standards of their own countries were gathered here, it spoke volumes about the level of power that Laila’s divine power, enhanced by a holy relic, possessed.

In other words—

In that moment, only one person reacted properly to an attack that no one could have anticipated.

From the very beginning.

Aiden himself had braced for getting hit by such an attack.

Qi and divine energy simultaneously flared around his body. As if he had been prepared for battle from the start, his reaction was perfectly timed.

“—”

Yet even seeing that, a brief, twisted smile appeared on Princess Laila’s lips. He may have reacted, but she clearly didn’t believe it would matter.

In terms of output, deployment speed, and sheer power—her divine energy, bolstered by the holy relic, was overwhelming even by the standards of everyone in this room. She didn’t expect anyone to be able to respond to it.

A lethal strike was about to pierce through Aiden. That was the inevitable outcome.

“Law, I vow.”

…And yet.

“This humble one offers a prayer.”

If he weren’t a ‘variant’ capable of drawing divine power at the same speed as qi, it would have ended there.

As his lips recited a sanctification and a vow in unison—

Guardian’s Flame.

An ability unique to Aiden, one no one else across the entire continent had ever wielded.

The ‘pure white flame’ that erupted in an instant shredded the divine power that had drawn near to Aiden from Princess Laila.

“What…!”

Laila’s eyes widened in disbelief.

If the ability had merely canceled out hers due to similar output or had been defensive in nature, she might have understood.

But the ability Aiden had brought forth was, just like hers, specialized in offense. It clearly bore the properties of divine power.

And for her own divine power to be completely shattered in a head-on clash—

It was undeniable proof that his ability was ‘superior’ to hers.

“You said it yourself.”

Without giving her a moment to collect her shock, Aiden’s quiet voice followed.

“An apology—”

Guardian’s Flame surged forward.

Its target, like before, was Princess Laila’s leg.

“—should be done on your knees.”

Like a storm sweeping in, the flames rushed forward.

They scattered the paladins who rushed in to guard Princess Laila in a single blow, pierced through another divine energy she had hastily summoned,

and struck her leg with a forceful impact. Princess Laila, who had been standing, collapsed forward.

“……”

“……”

Leaving the princess kneeling.

A dreadful silence settled in almost immediately.

For quite a while, Laila simply stared blankly at the floor.

She looked like she couldn’t accept the reality of the situation.

Even after pulling out a holy relic and launching a surprise strike aimed at a weak point—

She had been completely and thoroughly overpowered from start to finish.

“……”

“……”

And it was clear that everyone present shared that same incredulous feeling.

Despite how urgent the situation was, no one moved first. That alone confirmed it.

Except for one person—for whom something else took precedence over the current tension.

Katya lunged into Aiden with a body slam, breaking his stance as he maintained his divine energy posture.

“I told you to stop!”

A scream burst out as she pressed him down with her weight.

Her golden eyes shimmered. She wasn’t just angry—she was furious.

“I told you not to get mad! Something really bad could happen—! I told you I’m fine—!”

“……”

…The fact that she was angry because she was worried about Aiden was actually kind of touching.

But in contrast to that concern, Aiden blinked calmly and replied with composure.

“You really don’t have to worry so much, Katya.”

“…What?”

As Katya responded in stunned disbelief, Aiden gently pushed her aside and rose to his feet.

The momentary lull that had followed the explosive standoff made the surrounding silence even more dramatic, and thanks to that, Aiden’s voice rang out clearly.

“Princess.”

“……”

“Bring only one escort with you. Let’s not escalate this further—let’s settle it between the involved parties.”

“You—what are you—”

Katya started to protest in alarm, but Aiden raised his hand slightly.

It was the same gesture Katya had made earlier when she tried to stop him.

It likely held the same meaning too.

I’m fine—don’t interfere.

That’s what he seemed to be saying.

“I’ll be back. Just cleaning up.”

…Though calling it “cleaning up” was generous.

To Katya’s ears, it sounded more like he meant to teach another mouthy troublemaker a lesson.

▣

Fortunately, Princess Laila complied with Aiden’s words without further resistance.

She must have realized that continuing hostilities here would get her nowhere—there was no breaking through Aiden.

And so—

Aiden, Stella, Princess Laila, and her maid stood atop the government office roof, silently facing each other.

A cool night breeze blew over the rooftop.

…Though between the four of them, an icy tension was rising—chilling enough to turn that breeze into a tropical storm.

“You will pay an appropriate price for this, Princess Laila.”

Sir Stella was the first to speak.

He was usually someone who acted like a block of wood, so his demeanor often came across as cold but now, it was as if his presence alone could flay skin. The chill he radiated was clearly responsible for lowering the surrounding temperature...

“The ones who clearly acted with hostility were you. There will absolutely be consequences for that—”

“No, Sir Stella. There’s no need for that.”

…And though it was rude to interrupt while she was in the middle of a fiery tirade,

Aiden scratched his head and cut her off.

Sir Stella, still maintaining her cold stare, snapped her head toward him.

“Excuse me?”

She meant, don’t interrupt and stay out of it but unfortunately for her, that was a demand Aiden simply couldn’t comply with.

Because—

“There’s no way to hold anyone accountable. The person called ‘Princess Laila’ doesn’t exist in the first place.”

“…What?”

“In the Holy Crown Kingdom, as long as someone can handle a certain level of divine power, they’re granted royal status. That’s why they have the most complex family tree on the entire continent.”

Aiden spoke calmly and turned his gaze slightly.

“It means if someone high up inserts a fake royal under a false identity, it’s hard to detect.”

“……”

Stella blinked in a daze.

She clearly couldn’t follow what Aiden was saying.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“I mean the person called Princess Laila only exists on paper. The one here as a representative isn’t actually her.”

He had thought something was off from the start.

No matter what, as someone who knew critical information from the original story, there was no way he could forget someone with such a vivid presence.

‘The problem was the assumption from the beginning.’

It wasn’t that he had overlooked information.

It was that a person who didn’t exist had suddenly been ‘created.’

“So… anyway, you can drop the act now. You had everyone else leave so we could speak candidly, right?”

“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Laila’s face remained expressionless, but Aiden, staring at her indifferently, answered casually.

“You’re a puppet.”

Assuming she wasn’t royalty from the start,

it quickly explained the strange sense of discord he’d felt upon first seeing her face.

Aiden knew this person.

She wasn’t particularly important, so he only remembered her vaguely and she was someone who was never supposed to appear in a place like this, so it had taken him a moment to recognize her.

“You’re not royalty. You’re not even human. You’re an illusion being controlled by someone.”

This was one of the ‘faces’ frequently used when someone tried to deceive others.

A mask worn by a person who absolutely shouldn’t be showing up here.

“What are you even—”

Ignoring Laila’s words, Aiden’s gaze subtly shifted to the side.

“So, let’s stop here and have a real conversation.”

He sighed as he spoke.

“I’m talking to you.”

…Aiden’s gaze was fixed on the maid quietly standing upright beside Laila, her head bowed.

She was the same maid who had handed the holy relic to Laila earlier.

The maid’s eyes widened at his words.

“M-me?”

“……”

“Um, excuse me, I don’t know what you’re talking about—I’m just a maid—”

Her voice was truly flustered. To an outsider, it might look like Aiden was just spouting nonsense at an innocent woman.

But regardless—

Aiden continued, now sounding outright irritated.

“This is in very poor taste.”

“……”

“Let’s stop with the tests, shall we?”

Silence.

A curtain of stillness descended so heavy, one could’ve had tea and finished it in the time it lasted.

Sir Stella, still unable to catch up with the conversation, darted her eyes back and forth between Aiden and the maid with frantic confusion.

Aiden, now seeming unwilling to entertain this further, spoke again.

“How did the leader of the Holy Crown Kingdom secretly enter the Empire?”

“……”

“Your Holiness the Pontiff.”

—The maid’s movements froze completely.