Chapter 108

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 108

Chapter Title: Divine Relics and Duel Challenge

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Arpad held out his wrist as if to show it off, and there, still dangling from it, was the Agrippina's Tear that Hilia had given him.

As the two divine relics made contact, a resonance of divine power rang out once more.

Wooong.

A mystical humming sound, accompanied by bursts of light like flying embers.

Archbishop Vio's eyes gleamed sharply as he confirmed it.

"That pearl... is it Agrippina's Tear?"

"It is. My wife gave it to me as a wedding gift."

Arpad elegantly shook his wrist once. It was unmistakably a boastful gesture.

The teardrop-shaped pearl on its chain swayed with a soft clink, and Archbishop Vio's gaze followed its every movement.

"...To lay eyes on two such precious divine relics at once—it's an unparalleled honor."

The archbishop murmured as he stroked his smooth chin.

"Come to think of it, Her Highness the Crown Princess's maternal family hails from the descendants of the Iliaden royal family of that island nation in the east, doesn't it? It must be a treasure handed down from there."

This time, it was Hilia who answered.

"That's right. You know your history well. My maternal line was incorporated into the Delphin ducal house in my mother's generation, but since she passed away early, the details aren't widely known."

Arpad seemed eager to jump in again, but Hilia's slender finger lightly scratched the back of his hand.

'Let me handle this.'

Understanding the signal, Arpad closed his mouth.

Thanks to that, Hilia was able to poke at the question she'd been waiting to ask the archbishop.

"You seem to have a great interest in the relics of the five goddesses, Your Excellency."

"...!"

Archbishop Vio smiled smoothly.

"It's only natural for a priest to revere the fragments the gods left on this earth."

Hilia knew that was a lie.

'Why would a high priest of the Main God Church care about the relics of the five twin goddesses? Unless it was a relic of the Main God itself.'

In mythology, Agrippina and Statilia were two of the five sisters born between the Main God and the Earth Mother Goddess.

Even the churches of the Main God and the Earth Mother Goddess weren't particularly powerful on this continent.

What dominated the entire continent was the Estrid Empire.

And the authority of the Estrid imperial family stemmed not from the gods, but from their ancestor, the dragon Artanus.

'It's nothing like Earth's Middle Ages.'

At the coronation, the empire's emperor didn't need a priest's hand to receive his crown from the gods.

He donned the crown himself—crafted from dragon bone and scales, embedded with a fist-sized dragon heart.

All while the statue of Artanus gazed down from above the throne.

The bounty of the Artanus Plains, vast enough to feed the entire continent, was the promise the dragon Artanus had made to his descendants.

Thus, imperial authority stood tall, while divine authority remained low.

Unlike medieval Europe, the faiths weren't unified under a single monotheistic church, either.

With denominations worshiping various gods proliferating, divine authority couldn't unite as one.

Archbishop Vio was a man dissatisfied with that reality.

He often argued as much.

"The Main God is lord over all gods, so all temples should rightfully gather under the Main God Church."

His goal was to unify all temples under one banner called the "Pantheon Temple" and strengthen their authority.

And Ludwig, whose imperial blood was thin, clung to the temples to bolster his lacking legitimacy.

Naturally, the one pulling the strings from behind was Evangeline.

The archbishop deftly sidestepped Hilia's pointed remark.

"It's the most renowned relic in the world, after all. How could any priest not be interested?"

A textbook response.

Unlike the sharp glint in his eyes moments ago or the flicker of greed he'd let slip, Archbishop Vio backed off smoothly.

"Ah, but it seems I've taken up enough of your precious time, honored guests."

"Not at all. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Next time, I'll formally request an audience and apologize for this rudeness."

The archbishop vanished as suddenly as he'd appeared.

It was a brief encounter and an unremarkable conversation, but Hilia was certain.

'It's clear. When I asked if he was interested in the goddesses' relics, he dodged it.'

In her past life, she'd assumed his interest in the goddesses' relics was solely for Evangeline.

To offer them to the woman he worshipped.

But for the first time, she wondered if that might not be the whole story.

After Archbishop Vio departed, the tea party resumed in high spirits.

One of the invited noblewomen spoke up with flushed cheeks.

"It looks like those rumors were true after all."

"What rumors?"

"That if you attend Her Highness the Crown Princess's social gatherings, you get to see the faces of all those heartthrob hunks everyone's talking about."

The guests Hilia had invited today were middle-aged noblewomen close to the Duchess Muzen.

Unlike the young ladies who blushed shyly at the sight of Arpad or Young Duke Muzen, these women were far more direct.

"My eyesight's been failing me lately, but this feels like it's been restored."

"Exactly. And we even got a glimpse of that rare sight, Archbishop Vio himself."

"He must have heard the rumors about Your Highness and wanted to confirm them."

At those words, Arpad's eyebrow twitched.

It was such a subtle change that no one noticed.

The noblewomen's chatter, filled with ha-ha-hos, finally reached the main topic of the day.

"By the way, Duchess Muzen, becoming Her Highness the Crown Princess's chief lady-in-waiting—I'm so jealous."

"Yes, congratulations, Duchess."

"It's the greatest honor; I'll do my utmost."

The purpose of today's tea party was to spread the word far and wide that Hilia had taken the Duchess Muzen as her lady-in-waiting.

Following her acquisition of the platinum key, this move absorbed the Muzen ducal house, masters of the south.

These invitees would spare no effort in carrying the news to social circles across the capital and the empire.

Watching them, Hilia should have been basking in satisfaction—especially now that the archbishop, who stirred up bad memories, was gone.

Yet here she was, eyeing one corner of the tea party venue with unease.

In a gathering dominated by women, two high-ranking men were conversing apart.

Arpad and Aaron.

And it was Arpad who had called Aaron over first.

"Young Master Muzen. Care to step aside for a chat?"

"It would be my honor, Your Highness!"

Arpad was a breathtakingly handsome man with lines as if sculpted by the gods themselves, while Aaron was the quintessential southern beau—rugged lines, cheerful demeanor, and sun-kissed skin that added to his charm.

The sight of these two handsome men standing together was like a painting come to life.

No woman could resist stealing glances.

Especially since most of those present were noblewomen favorable to Hilia and Duchess Muzen.

They admired them with pure, genuine awe, without any ulterior flattery.

"They say when Artanus descended in human form, his beauty was beyond words—perhaps he looked something like Your Highness."

"Truly, Your Highness has such an otherworldly beauty that it's even harder to approach him up close."

"Yes, and with his overwhelming dignity, it's only natural he's intimidating to speak to."

Hilia smiled back at them.

'They're politely saying his personality's a total mess.'

Still, when it came to praising his looks, no embellishment was needed.

He really was that handsome.

Then came words Hilia hadn't anticipated.

"But I never imagined His Highness would make that kind of face."

Hilia blinked in confusion.

That kind of face? What face?

"Lately, he's been showing such surprisingly gentle and affectionate expressions that I almost forget he's the successor to the dragon's blood."

"He only does it around Your Highness."

"It's like he turns into an ordinary husband in front of you."

"......"

Hilia couldn't stop the blush creeping across her face.

Her chest tickled.

It sounded exactly like... Arpad truly loved her.

The tickle started in her heart, traveling through her veins to her left ring finger—the one wearing Statilia's Star.

For some reason, that finger felt like it was throbbing.

She quickly denied her own fluttering feelings.

'No way. I can't let what others say make me delusional. This is just a gift to a capable partner.'

And probably a means to flaunt 'we're on great terms' to everyone around.

She couldn't flatly deny it, though.

Doing so would shatter the image of them as a lovey-dovey couple.

'Right. I'm definitely not staying quiet just because I like hearing it.'

Before Hilia realized why she was embarrassed, the chatter continued.

The noblewomen were busy with praises and well-wishes for the crown prince.

The next topic was Aaron Muzen.

"To see Young Duke Muzen all grown up like that. You must feel so secure, Duchess."

"He won the tournament at just fourteen, so calling him the empire's greatest knight wouldn't be amiss now."

"You're too kind."

The duchess demurred, but couldn't hide her pride.

"We came to the capital because it was time to start arranging his betrothal, and Her Highness has granted us the honor of serving close by—I'm truly grateful."

Hilia responded naturally.

"Even without me, the young ladies eyeing Young Duke Muzen would be lining up, but I'll help out. Once a bride is chosen, I'll take her as my lady-in-waiting and give her a gift."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The jovial atmosphere shattered in an unexpected place.

Right between the two men the noblewomen had been gushing over tirelessly.

Before long, Arpad's brow was furrowed.

In front of him, Aaron Muzen wore a combative grin as he formally dropped to one knee and made a bombshell request.

"Aaron Muzen, heir to House Muzen. Might I have the honor of receiving Your Highness's guidance?!"

It was a sudden challenge to spar.