Chapter 298: Chapter 166: I Found It, My Own Happiness (Two in One)_2
The Lament of the Divine Realm.
Whether it was a Godly Descent’s Body, which carried a part of a True God’s Divinity, or a Demigod, they had indeed set foot in the Divine Realm.
But at this moment, so many who had reached the Divine Realm had fallen.
The Empire Capital was a vortex of turbulent undercurrents and converging forces. In the Lost Realm, various evil cults frequently mobilized and held meetings. Is the Fresta Empire, one couldn’t help but wonder, truly going to see a resurgence like the Knight King of old?
...
「Silent Forest.」
Augutina, wearing a layered but not overly complex dark gown, suddenly lifted her gaze toward the south of the continent, where the most flourishing kingdom of Humans—the Fresta Empire—was located.
Have you returned?
In those red-gold eyes, the image of a meteor shower falling upon the night sky was reflected, brilliant as a river of stars.
Although this place was extremely far from the Fresta Empire, separated by the entire Grant Sea, Augutina seemed to witness the event firsthand as she murmured to herself.
You’ve only just returned and already made such a big fuss. Your penchant for dramatic entrances hasn’t changed at all.
However... Her words paused slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile. If you weren’t like this, you couldn’t have been my Dragon Knight.
...
"Why are you trembling?"
"Do I really look that intimidating?"
In the suburbs of the Empire Capital, Shiayar’s spiritual power also stirred slightly, observing the falling meteor shower.
He really hadn’t known that killing several Godly Descent’s Bodies would coincidentally include such flashy ’kill effects.’ However, since he was presently ’persuading with virtue’—no, ’persuading a serpent with virtue’—such a flashy background was just the thing to enhance his persuasive power. The special effects team had done their job well; they deserved an extra drumstick.
"You see..." Shiayar continued to gently pat the head of the tiny mercury snake. "How beautiful those meteors are. I just want to chat with you, ask some questions, that’s all. You wouldn’t want to become one of those meteors, would you?"
The tiny mercury snake cowered further, its repeated plea a rasped whisper, "Just kill me."
This left Shiayar somewhat helpless. He was indeed curious about this tiny mercury snake. After all, although he had had numerous encounters with True Gods, they were almost always in a purely adversarial context. Those Evil Gods from the Abyss would blaze with fury upon seeing him, wishing they could slaughter his entire family. Normal conversation was simply impossible. It left him without a chance to uncover any hidden secrets from the Age of Gods.
And now that he had caught a living Fabled Creature that appeared mentally sound—perhaps even one from the side of order with whom he could communicate—Shiayar naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to thoroughly ’fleece’ it for information.
But for some reason, this little snake just kept repeating, "Just kill me."
Shiayar certainly didn’t believe the snake’s bluff. He didn’t think these Fabled Creatures were truly fearless of death; otherwise, this one wouldn’t have managed to survive from the First Era until now. Most likely, even if he killed its physical body now, it still had some sort of trump card for resurrection.
Other True Gods were still trapped deep within the Astral Realm. They found it incredibly difficult to interfere with the present world, relying on their disciples and Religious Orders for any influence—a Godly Descent was extremely taxing for them. Yet this tiny snake had managed to appear in the Main Material Plane in its true physical form, doing so quietly and with the help of just a few remnants of the Angel Families, none of whom surpassed 4-Ring.
However, finding the tiny mercury snake’s weakness was clearly not an easy task.
Thankfully, if Shiayar himself didn’t know, there was someone—no, something—that did: the Chalice. If the Chalice proved unhelpful, his last resort would be to ask his mentor. Given how the Crimson Red Moon had instantly buckled at the sight of his Golden Elf Instructor, she truly seemed to be the bane of these Fabled Creatures. He wondered if Hathaway’s reputation alone was enough to silence a crying young Fabled Creature.
...
As he was thinking this, Shiayar heard soft footsteps approaching from behind. High heels clicked on the derelict paving stones as someone walked step by step towards him.
"Are you done?" a crisp, pleasant voice rose beside Shiayar’s ear.
"Mmm." Shiayar nodded, placed the tiny mercury snake into his Spatial Pocket, and turned his head to look at the Silver-haired Empress behind him.
"You really are..." he began, then finished, "as reliable as ever."
Isadella stretched out her delicate fingers and smoothed the silver strands of hair that had been tousled on her forehead, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward. Unlike the worried Dyres, or those fickle nobles who swung like weathervanes between allegiance and betrayal, Isadella had never doubted Shiayar’s victory, from beginning to end.
Though such trust seemed emotional, even illogical, Isadella always harbored a firm belief in her heart. From the moment Shiayar appeared before her under the blood moon of Camelot, it had always been this way. Even a thousand years could not alter it.
Isadella stretched languidly, her military uniform outlining a languid curve.
As the Empire’s Second Princess, gifted with exceptional talent, Isadella had borne the expectations and scrutiny of countless people from the moment her Beastmaster talent was detected. Her supporters hoped she would become an excellent Queen, leading the Empire to greatness again. Her opponents, meanwhile, observed and scrutinized her every word and action, day after day, year after year. They sought to discover her flaws and vulnerabilities, to eliminate the young heir to the throne in one fell swoop.
Therefore, to meet others’ expectations, Isadella had always held herself to the strictest standards. While other noble girls her age gathered to discuss the latest gown fashions and the newest romance novels from the Royal Book Society, Isadella was navigating the Military Department, the Jurisdiction Bureau, and the Adventurers Guild, enduring the most demanding imperial education. Her constant companions were not the teddy bears, fresh flowers, and pretty dresses of other girls her age, but rather cold military communiques and the icy gleam of her practice sword.
She forsook the leisure to admire flowers and chase butterflies.
She forsook any romance of whispered endearments.
She didn’t have close girlfriends like other girls her age—because a so-called ’ideal King,’ one who perfectly met the expectations of ministers and her Emperor Father, was not supposed to have such a weakness as relying on others.
But.
Now, looking back—
Isadella’s gaze shifted slightly. It landed on the back of the black-haired, dark-eyed figure before her.
At this moment, memories sealed deep within her heart suddenly surged forward like a tide.
Those were memories from long, long ago, weren’t they? It was so long ago that her mother had not yet passed away from illness, and she herself was just a carefree little girl of seven or eight in the Royal Palace.
Her mother, whose image was now hazy, held young Isadella in her arms. They sat on a somewhat worn swing in the Royal Palace garden, swaying gently.
"Your spiritual power test results came back; they were excellent. You’ve broken the Royal Family record—a talent comparable to the Knight King who founded the Empire. Your father and the ministers were overjoyed. The head of the Beast Taming Academy even said he would specially cultivate a perfect Black Scales Drake hatchling for you to contract when you ascend to Legendary status.
"But I... I didn’t really want that for you. As a mother, all I hoped was for you to grow up safe and happy. And if you ever found yourself trapped in danger or a mire you couldn’t escape, it would be best if there was a man who could pull your hand and save you from the abyss.
"I fell in love with your father because he saved me from a group of bandits, and that’s how we came together. That has been the happiness of my life. Even though marrying into the Royal Family meant being at the heart of power and conspiracy, where every step had to be as cautious as treading on thin ice, always guarding against schemes from all directions... I’ve never regretted it.
"Little Isa," her gentle mother said, softly stroking the little girl’s head, "I hoped that one day, you too would encounter your own happiness..."
My own... happiness? Mother, at that time, I didn’t quite understand what you meant—
But, I think... now, I’ve found it.
The evening breeze carried away Isadella’s murmur, unheard by anyone.
At the far end of the horizon, the first faint light of dawn began to appear.
The long night was scattering, and a new Chapter was dawning.
...
(End of Volume 2 "Throne of Thorns")