Chapter 147

Chapter 147: I Need You

I Need You
Chapter 147. I Need You.
Olivia, who had shown a slightly surprised expression, rested her chin on her hand and asked:
— What do you mean by something to regret?
— Just because you were drunk and out of your mind doesn’t mean you have immunity for everything you said.
Dry eyes gazed deeply at Ferda.
An unreadable gaze.
Then, she said this:
— Let’s do this. Regent-nim, please become my first.
— … What did you say?
She set down the bottle and rose from her seat.
Holding a dagger in her hand, she approached Ferda with staggering steps.
— Men say that fooling around with a prostitute isn’t cheating. Since I’m going to become a prostitute with noble golden blood instead of a princess anyway, it doesn’t matter, right?
She spread her arms wide.
— Come here.
I know what that look in her eyes is.
They are the eyes of a thorn carrying poison.
Those were the eyes of Olivia that existed when Ferda was a mad mage.
Even if William was dragged along to put on a show to step on this land, these eyes right now were sincere.
She dragged the Crown Prince into the bedroom and killed him, and the Second Prince rebelled alongside her and was executed.
Half the empire burned, yet it still stood firm.
The royal authority of Emperor Godfrey Arken grew even stronger.
Ferda approached cautiously.
Like someone swayed by that flower.
Like someone taking off the mask they wear and showing themselves true to desire.
When the distance was close enough, Ferda moved swiftly.
The target was the dagger Olivia was holding.
However, Olivia’s reaction speed was also not something to underestimate.
Putting strength into the hand holding the dagger, Ferda’s surprise attack was blocked.
— Let go of this!
Olivia shouted.
He could not back down.
Ferda pressed forward just as he was, and it turned into a physical struggle.
— Let go! I said let go of me!
Olivia shouted and raged as if screeching.
Ferda struggled.
He cursed his own body that couldn’t even overpower a woman of the same age.
He recalled the martial arts he learned in the past, trying to resolve it somehow.
However, Olivia had also learned self-defense, so she was no easy prey.
Their messy exchange of attack and defense.
Putting an end to that situation where one side could shed blood.
Degureureu.
Olivia’s dagger rolled across the floor and fell far away.
Ferda threw Olivia’s body onto the bed and pinned both of her hands.
The two of them, a man and a woman drenched in sweat, stared intently at each other’s faces.
— Kheu… hehehe…
Olivia sneered at Ferda’s miserable appearance.
— Damned weak. Aren’t you embarrassed even though you’re a man?
— Shut your mouth.
— Why? Do you seem to like it rough? I agree too. That way I’ll look even more miserable—.
— Shut your beak.
Olivia was overwhelmed by Ferda’s energy.
Ferda’s eyes burned.
— Olivia Arken.
It was pure rage, not lust or anything of the sort.
— Until when are you going to keep spouting such nonsense?
— What…?
Olivia frowned.
Ferda continued speaking regardless.
— I know you played a huge role too. If it weren’t for you, those other bastards would never have achieved such feats.
Olivia was clever.
Ferda honestly respected that side of Olivia as well.
The ability to smile at someone she hates, and not hesitate to sacrifice herself for the greater good.
It was absolutely impossible for Ferda.
— Someone like you would have known well.
He belatedly understood the meaning of that smile he saw when he handed over his data.
— That you wouldn’t be recognized for this achievement either.
It was a smile of conviction.
A smile containing the conviction that this would never turn out well.
— Knowing that very well, you come to someone else’s territory, dare to seduce someone else’s knight, not only setting foot in the territory, but now threatening mutual destruction with me?
She seemed consumed by Ferda’s anger, but Olivia was no easy mark either.
Upon hearing Ferda’s words, Olivia frowned.
— Someone like you…
She also seemed purely angry.
— What the hell do you know about me to open your mouth like that?
She spat out the anger she had kept bottled up in her chest toward Ferda’s face.
— Even if you predicted that! Do you know how pissed off I get seeing you spout that nonsense right in front of me?!
I know.
— Do you know what it feels like to have my reason denied by the power lust of those bastards who are like trash?!
I know.
— You can talk so easily like that. Because you have zero interest in me. You treat me like an ordinary woman just like everyone else does. You only think about living well with your fiancée.
Yes.
Ferda had no interest in Olivia.
Whatever she did didn’t matter.
Whether she became the new successor to the Arken Empire or a loose woman.
All that mattered was that I lived well with Valdrova.
That’s what I thought.
But looking at my current actions, that wasn’t true.
If I didn’t want her to do well, there was no need to lend tactical infantry.
There was no need to document and hand over the achievements.
And instead of subduing her with bare hands like this, I could have used shadow arts to subdue her.
If it truly didn’t matter what happened to her.
— You still have a path.
Ferda spoke in a calm voice.
Along with that, Olivia’s voice also dropped low.
— What path…?
— Don’t you have something you planned?
Saintess.
It was what Olivia said during the Grand Council.
— Instead of despairing over this makeshift plan and lamenting your fate, isn’t it time to move forward with that plan you built over many years?
Olivia’s expression wasn’t very bright.
It probably wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it.
Olivia avoided Ferda’s eyes.
— It’s impossible.
A voice mixed with resentment.
— The Saintess either… not a single one has appeared since the Dragon-Demon War. It is that difficult just to reach the fourth realization… how could I reach the fifth?
Olivia was remaining in the third realization, 3rd Circle.
In reality, the limit for most nuns was almost the 3rd Circle.
Even those who enter deep into monasteries, cut themselves off from the secular world, and praise God find it difficult to surpass the 4th Circle; that is faith.
For Olivia, it could only be infinitely difficult.
In a place full of desire, having to hide her true feelings every time, how could she focus on serving God?
— Find a way no matter what.
— Such irresponsible coercion—.
— If you just say you will become a Saintess, I will help you no matter what.
To oppose the Empire, power is needed.
After the monster subjugation war, who knows what will happen, what tricks they will plot.
The one who can help there is someone who has observed the depths of the Empire for a long time.
Only Olivia.
— I need you.
The empty eyes found color and gazed at Ferda.
Because she was born of the Arken Empire’s bloodline.
Because she desires the downfall of that very empire.
That is why Ferda told her:
— Move according to your original plan. Become a Saintess. If you move to become a Saintess, I will become your ally.
Olivia stared only at Ferda.
And then,
— … Sh.
She spoke again with a voice like the buzzing of a mosquito.
— Say it again. What you said before.
— You become a Saintess—.
— Not that, what came before.
— According to the original plan—.
— Further back.
— I need you.
Upon hearing those words, Olivia’s body shuddered once more.
— Again.
Olivia repeated the futile demand again.
— What are you trying to do?
— You said it. That you have to make me a Saintess?
She spoke clearly, not like someone who was drunk until a moment ago.
— Right now is that moment.
What the hell is this nonsense,
he tried to retort, but Ferda also felt it clearly.
A vibration flowing from the hand pressing her down.
That vibration was surging from the dantian area.
The Ring of Faith that clerics speak of, the Red Circle began to stir.
I don’t know what emotion was stimulated, but Ferda’s words definitely touched her circle.
“What is needed to become a Saintess is the 5th Circle.”
Ferda had to make her a Saintess.
Riding this momentum now, she will reach the 4th Circle.
— You just have to whisper like that. Just say you need me… just say that.
Ferda did as Olivia desired.
Ferda didn’t put on any sweet tone he didn’t feel.
He merely repeated mechanically “I need you” over and over again.
However, the effect was sufficient.
Like a river struck by seasonal rains, it swelled instantly, turning into a torrent that could even swallow Olivia herself.
Olivia focused on her dantian.
But she wasn’t skilled at it and struggled.
It showed that she hadn’t operated it properly for a long time.
— Concentrate slowly.
She looked like she would surely die, so Ferda decided to guide her.
— Think of there being another space inside your dantian, and think of there being a hand. Do it with the sensation of shaping it with that hand.
— Uht… eueut…
Ferda read her flow, and Olivia focused as Ferda’s voice guided her.
Just as she kindly taught him how to dance awkwardly, Ferda also did not give up on her and whispered the method into her ear.
After an hour of that, the roughly moving shape gradually settled and compressed.
— Ah.
Olivia let out an exclamation.
The shape of the swelling Red Circle molded into a perfect circle.
The catharsis that followed filled the previously empty eyes.
— Aah…
What was caught in those eyes was a man.
Gray hair, blue eyes.
Those eyes captured in ecstasy turned toward Ferda with affection.
— My…
Olivia couldn’t continue speaking and simply closed her eyes.
He wondered if she lost consciousness, but she had only fallen asleep.
Ferda left Olivia as she was and went down.
William was there.
Having finished stopping the bleeding, he waited even with Ferda’s dagger wiped impeccably clean.
Since it was caused by him, the cleanup must be handled by him as well.
— Take the princess and follow me to the castle. You are still my person.
— Yes…
William silently followed his order.
The next day, in the morning.
— I’m sorry, Regent-nim. I showed you an unsightly scene.
It wasn’t the princess’s clothes, but one of the spare clothes in the castle.
The smell of alcohol on her body was erased with perfume, and the hangover was meticulously hidden behind a trained mask.
Ferda replied to her apology like this:
— Did something happen?
Upon hearing that, Olivia’s eyes widened.
Then she let out a laugh.
— Yes, nothing happened.
— Yes.
That day, no such thing as a story between a man and a woman existed.
That was beneficial for both.
— Did you report that I am here?
— Yes.
The fact that William redirected her was deliberately omitted.
He explained that he didn’t realize, and they found out while reinvestigating after the incident broke out.
Even if a mistake is fatal, it is less than something intentional.
Naturally, Alexander became furious.
How could he not know that.
But when I replied that not even the mages of the Imperial Palace knew, so how would we know, he stayed quiet as a mouse.
And he only left saying he would come to receive her tomorrow morning.
— I explained that the reason was not a simple escape, but that you came for negotiations.
Olivia tilted her head.
Is there a part that can be explained there?
— I explained that there was something the princess was aiming for, and snuck in to negotiate for it.
— What I was aiming for?
Ferda snapped his fingers.
Then Ruri opened the door, and a man waiting there walked in.
— Sage of Water, Helus Povidas.
Olivia skillfully put on a smiling mask and welcomed him.
— I greet the Sage-nim. I am the Princess, Olivia Arken.
— I am flattered. You are truly beautiful as the rumors say.
Helus’s eyes seemed to hold indecision.
They flickered crazily going between chest and face.
Suddenly, the abusive language Olivia had poured out came to mind.
Skillfully hiding that disgust, she smiles naturally.
Ferda cast a glance at him.
Drop the useless things and speak quickly.
— Regent Ferda-nim said that, if not for the princess’s operation, he would have met a bad end too.
— No. My purpose was to rescue the commoners, and in the process I merely stopped by the Sage-nim’s house by chance.
— If one is human, it is right to willingly reciprocate. Since you said the Empire wants my wisdom, I will lend that power.
Olivia showed a surprised expression.
— Are you saying you will withdraw your declaration of non-involvement and become the wisdom of the Empire?
— Yes. Judging by the current situation, I foresee a great crisis approaching not only the Empire, but across the entire Serdes Continent.
Helus placed his hand over his chest and spoke:
— Since these are such times, shouldn’t we cooperate for the peace of the Empire and the Continent?
— Heavens…
With a face showing she was moved, Olivia took Helus’s hand with enthusiasm.
— I truly thank you. In the name of the Empire, I sincerely thank you for the Sage-nim’s choice.
— Hahaha!! It is natural, so there is no need to thank me!
Even though he seemed to be trying hard to hide his emotions, it seemed impossible to hide his overflowing feelings.
Receiving the promise to go together to the Empire, Helus stepped down from his seat.
Olivia, who had been smiling with a good-natured smile, silently returned to her seat, sprayed perfume on a handkerchief, and wiped her own hands with it.
It is the action done when touching filth.
— That pig is a body double, right?
As expected, her sense is top-notch.
— If we bring a guy like that, we’ll hear that the princess brought a pig, but are you sure you want to support me?
A faint resentment was mixed toward Ferda as well.
But if he had wanted to screw her over, he would have used another method.
— He is the Helus Povidas the world speaks of.
— Truly the person himself?
— Yes. He can produce wisdom up to the reputation of a Sage.
Olivia compared the Helus she saw with his reputation.
No matter how she looked at it, he felt like a local notable faithful to desire without a shred of wisdom.
— If you don’t take him, I won’t stop you.
— Mmm, I don’t know how to use that ability… but we’ll need it anyway.
She left the house arbitrarily, but if there is a separate reason for that arbitrary action, it changes things.
The fact that she recruited the Sage of Water cannot be easily dismissed as an achievement reduced by 3%.
— Truly thank you. Everything is…
Olivia conveyed her thanks like that.
Court mages deployed a teleportation magic circle and arrived.
With their faces pale halfway, they paid their respects and hurried away with the princess and Helus back.
Olivia waved her hand looking at Ferda until the end.
Thus, the commotion with the princess was resolved for now.
Alexander Arken was holding a secret meeting with his close aides.
An aide in charge of intelligence carefully delivered the news.
— It seems this incident will be handled severely.
An aide spoke with a trembling voice.
No matter how much he is the Crown Prince, since the Emperor is in seclusion, he can exert power comparable to his.
But comparable is not enough.
— D-did that… get formed?
— Yes.
Because that comparable level cannot stop them.
— The Arken Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters will move now.
Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters.
Those who possess immense power to the point where it wouldn’t be strange to say they are just below the Emperor.
They can’t even recklessly touch the Crown Prince.
— Just because a single legion disappeared…
Alexander muttered as if to be heard.
The closest aides swallowed their stunned reactions inside.
It was enough for the Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters to move; in fact, it wouldn’t be strange if heads rolled.
Fortunately, however, that was not necessary.
Because someone else already took the blame.
— Those bastards who spread the plague?
By plague, he refers to the generals who suddenly fell ill and couldn’t deploy.
— No need to worry. We eliminated their families and their entire estates.
By dumping all the accumulated sins up to now onto them at once, they had to be burned alive.
The worst ending.
Normally he would feel refreshed, but Alexander did not.
Regardless, if the Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters is formed, they will hold a hearing, and Alexander’s discipline will be decided there.
To avoid it, he must pin it on someone somehow.
Someone close, and the person with the heaviest responsibility.