1318 A Goddess
Varian wiped the blood running down his nose.
In front of him was a sphere formed of countless black and white threads. Inside were the treasures of Rudolph.
The signals from Rudolph's emergency devices were blocked off.
Just because a not-so-significant Princess died here, Varian had to take a huge risk, pull probably one of the boldest scams and still nearly died.
Rudolph's death news would shake the pillars of the kingdom. Throughout this entire fiasco, the only reason Kingdom didn't send rank 8s for protection was at the request of the candidates themselves.
They wanted to change their image. That they weren't a fragile seedling to be protected, but a nascent powerhouse of sorts.
The kingdom had been happy to comply so far. But a single death would shake up not just solar system, but all the duchies nearby.
This wasn't just a matter of another peak rank 7 death but the murder of the kingdom's future ruler.
There would definitely be rank 9s coming in. And when they would, unless he packed everything up and fled, death would be a mercy for every human.
Worse, Varian wasn't too sure if he'd be able to escape without any leaving behind any traces.
Hortus was a wonderful treasure but he was still too weak to fully harness its potential.
Facing off rank 9s, the beings closest to being termed 'divine', a small mistake would end up in a disaster.
As confident in his abilities, he knew too well that his uniqueness brought not just unprecedented opportunities but also unfathomable dangers.
'Logos, tell me, you aren't messing with this and leaking the signals just because you want Chaos, are you?'
[…]
'Logos, you fuckin—'
[No. This System did not do such thing.]
Varian released the breath he was holding and nodded. "I'll trust you for now."
— — — —
Maid Reina Astolf scanned through the capital planet once again, looking for any possible clues.
The envoy who sent her the message—Edison—just vanished! She couldn't find the other two envoys either.
More worryingly, there were no traces of any foreign aura in the guest palaces where they stayed.
Unless he's trying to play a prank on her—which that servile idiot wouldn't dare—the three of them were kidnapped.
But every evidence on the scene pointed out that no outsider approached this place. Caught between the impossible and improbable, Reina struggled.
'Something is wrong here. Something…'
The maid's eyes widened and a line of thought flashed in her mind.
'Daphne has upped the security of the fortress earlier. She's facing no threats. Then it must be for Prince Rudolph—he should've returned. And he's so injured she had to raise the defense systems.
It makes no sense. How could Prince Rudolph be that injured? But there's no other way. I'm sure of it.
That's why Daphne suddenly cut off contact with me and dropped the patrols to find those invaders.
We were lied to. The Zions…weren't an easy target like we thought.'
To be fair, Zions were a fairy easy target. Had it not been the incarnation of paranoia—Jataur, any other ruler governing the duchy, no matter how just or clever, would've been helpless in front of the monstrous princes.
Because no sane ruler would mortage his entire territory for super expensive single-use destructive weapons. It just couldn't happen.
The one reason Zion remained safe so far was precisely the one person everyone wished to get rid of.
But none of the candidates knew this. Being a subordinate, Reina knew even less.
"I should inform the kingdom…Daphne wouldn't like it and my prince wouldn't like it either. Then what should I do…" The maid searched for an action she could take.
'Yes! I could call her!'
Reina's eyes brightened before her fists clenched. 'But whenever I talk to that bitch, the memories of…her…return.'
She and Daphne were orphans, with an arm and leg deliberately amputed, thrown to beg in the streets by a notorious gangster.
They weren't a unique case.
After something big happened prior, poverty stuck many planets and like countless other children, they too were exploited by poweful, evil and hurtful adults.
'Why are you begging?'
On that fateful day, a voice addressed her.
Seeing the expensive black footwear, feet much cleanier and prettier than her face had ever been, Reina flinched instinctively.
Begging on the streets and surviving so far meant she picked up some lessons. One of it was reading people.
The woman speaking was young but authoritative. Her cold voice was filled with confidence unlike any other.
'Young, strong, from a good background.' Reina carefully withdrew her dirty begging bowl and distanced a few steps from her.
She had seen child beggers beaten to death because some of their 'breaths' touched the nobles passing by and contaminated their entire body.
Reina knelt and muttered in a quivering voice, despite trying not to. "I…I am so sorry for…di-disturbing your day, please spare me, your highness."
"Answer me, why are you begging?"
The voice was a bit softer this time but still authoritative, like the lord of the city questioning his subjects.
Reina didn't know what to answer.
She couldn't point out to the adult woman who was in charge of her and many other children like her.
One kid tried that. They poured molten metal into her eyes.
The children huddled together, shivering the whole night, as her screams continued until dawn.
Neither could she tell the obvious. She looked like a bag of bones with ugly, dirty skin.
Why was she begging?
The reason she survived so far wasn't because she gained enough from begging. It was because her teeth were more resilient than the stray dogs'.
"What's with the interest in a beggar, daughter? I don't even know why you wanted to visit a planet like this. Get away from that dirty thing and let's return to the city lord palace. I want to wash myself after walking in this filthy street."
"Even beggars have someone with them, but she is all alone. Even compared to all those children, she's even more pitiful."
At those words, Reina dared to lift her head and look up.
She only heard tales of goddesses. A beautiful face that went beyond all expectations appeared in front of her.
"A-Are you a…goddess?"
The words left her mouth before she knew it. It was an extremely disrespectful way of speaking.
Reina trembled in fear, wondering if it was better to just bite off her tongue and die than go through all the pain that'd soon drown her.
"Haha, I am a goddess." Isadora squatted in front of her and matched Reina's eye level.
Looking at the frightened little girl, she gave a kind, beautiful smile. "I will save you."
"There are hundreds of thousands like her in this city alone. Let alone the entire planet. And there many, many planets like this. You can't change the situation, daughter.
Everytime something big happens, poverty is inevitable. Things will get better after a few generations. Leave it be."
The older woman was pretty but she didn't bear any resemblance to the goddess.
Reina looked at her eyes accidently and shivered.
"You're right, mother." The young Isadora stood up and said. "I can't save everyone. Maybe not even a thousanth or even a millionth. Rank 4 is still too weak, right?"
The older woman nodded. "Yes, instead of this stupid charity, focus on your strength. Little girl, don't take this lightly because I'm repeating this again, but one day, you'll outshine everyone in this kingdom. I want to see that day sooner than later."
"Hehehe," Isadora giggled at her words before turning to the frightened Reina again.
"But mother, there's something I want to do. I can't save everyone but I certainly can save some, right?"
"Bu—"
"Just like you saved me." Isadora rested her head on the woman's shoulder.
The woman's stoic expression softened and a loving smile adorned her face. With a helpless shake of her head, she caressed Isadora's hair. "Have it your way then. You're already so stubborn."
"No, I'm always mother's obedient daughter. This one time, I'm a bit wilful." Isadora said with a cute expression.
Reina couldn't understand what exactly they were talking about. Or what they were going to do.
As she slowly tried to back off, a warm hand caressed her dirty, no, filthy hair, "Little girl, don't take this lighty since I'm saying it, but I think one day, you'll shine brightly in the kingdom. How about you come with me?"
"I…Wh-Wha…" Reina felt something blocking her throat.
Why was this noble lady touching her hair? Why was she soiling her hand? How many whip lashes would she recieve as punishment?
Those were all the reasons she should be afraid but why…
Why was she crying so happily…
"Then you're also family!" Under the setting sun, the noble princess hugged the dirty child.
That day, the gangsters of the planet and a hundred nearby met a horrible death.
An anonmyous woman made a generous donation to these planets. It was so much that all the children were not only fed properly, but also schooled in good academies.
No one knew her identity.
Except for a little girl.
