1443 A Deal
Samantha's face was ghostly pale, devoid of color and vitality.
Her eyelashes quivered and her lips trembled. Like she was thrown naked into icy water, her body tightened.
"Gulp."
The sound of saliva being swallowed was so out of place that the Princess felt she had committed a great sin by making that noise.
"I…"
Samantha couldn't boast of being the oldest in the kingdom. But to get to the peak of rank 8, she had been through ordeals that even the best geniuses would hesitate.
She had seen countless people on her journey, battled numerous foes and gained a unique understanding of people's nature.
That experience helped her in many endeavours. It was the solid wall she could fall back on when faced with a difficult person.
Now, that experience was telling, no, screaming in no unclear terms, that this man meant every single word he said.
He didn't just believe it, he was certain of it, like he had seen the future.
But the Princess didn't want to agree. Her pride in the greatness of her mission was too great.
She could not imagine a future where the equal society she created would be tormented by a single man. If that happened, then wouldn't that the whole endeavour be pointless?
The dream she sacrificed everything for would be…pointless?
Samantha's cold expression twisted and a distorted chuckle.
"Y-You deluded fuckster. Do you think you can take on the king himself? And what if you can? Even Isadora herself wouldn't destroy the kingdom. She'd be hunted down by the divine rankers!"
Varian's eyes remained cold but a mean chuckle left his mouth. "Divine rankers?"
Samantha's eyes blazed with fury at his disdain. "You can't even stand a speck of their power! You are just an insect in front of them!"
"I might be an insect in front of them today. But I was also an insect in front of you a year ago. A year from now, those gods you worship will be insects at my feet."
"Hah!" A disbelieving laugh left the Princess' mouth. "Reaching the divine rank from rank 8 in a year? I thought you were something. You're just delusional."
Varian didn't care about her rebuke and said. "Princess Snow, I am giving you a choice. Pick wisely."
Samantha gnashed her teeth.
This man had a point.
She was here to fulfill her mission. It's the only thing she had to focus on.
Then what about the threats he gave?
Up until he threatened the entire kingdom, she grudgingly believed the judgement of her experience.
But when he ridiculed even the gods above, Samantha took comfort in the fact that this man was just delusional.
He had a way with his words to the point he decieved even her experience. Yet, that's it.
If this man didn't make that delusional remark, she'd have considered killing him at any cost—attacking Enigma and exploiting his attempt to rescue her.
Because an enemy who could destroy the dream you accomplished after a long march was dreadful.
It seemed now that that much caution wasn't necessary. She could kill him after this ritual ends.
Isadora?
If she wanted to take her life, Samantha would give it up. Moreover, didn't the Duchess say that Isadora might be bluffing the whole thing.
As long as an equal society gets established, such sacrifices wouldn't matter.
Divine rank or not, Princess Isadora could not destory an entire kingdom.
"Block. Give me the block you stole from the academy."
Varian took out the memory device.
<Palarians: Natal Treasures, Eugenics Factor, Distribution Patterns>
Samantha's breathing grew ragged and her eyes began were fixed on the treasure.
Varian took it back into his storage ring.
"You!" Samantha almost attacked him.
Unfazed, he looked at her with a sharp gaze. "So Prince Samatv should be your brother, huh. Your life signatures are too obvious."
At the mention of the dead prince, Samantha trembled in anger. "You killed him! You killed him! You kil—"
Despite her emotional swings, Varian didn't seem nervous. "You can kill her for revenge. But your brother still won't come back.
Or you can leave my wife, take this block and fulfill your dream. Your brother would've wanted the same, right?"
Caught up in her emotions, Samantha didn't realize it. Varian sounded like a devil inciting people to make choices he liked yet, but gave it a facade that it's in their best interest.
"Yes…my brother wanted equality…he wanted this madness to end. He put the dream above his own life. How can I disrespect him?" Even though tears were streaming down her cheeks, the Princess calmed down. It seemed that while her mind could discern the situation, her heart was weeping.
Varian didn't feel a shred of sympathy for the woman.
Prince Samatv was nowhere as moral as she thought. The moment he realized that Telor he helped, the Telor who should be grateful to him was stronger than him, he lost his marbles.
The guy wanted equality, only as long as he remained on top.
"Give me the box and I'll spare this bitch." Samantha said with a twisted smile.
"Take away your aura from her, build an aura link to the box."
Samantha agreed to the method.
Using her aura, she formed a strong chain to the box. Meanwhile, she allowed the space power to slowly envelop Enigma.
These two happened simultaneously and with nearly equal progress.
At some point, Samantha got confident she could drag the box to her safely even if Varian attacked the box.
So, she swiftly pulled the box and her aura reached for Enigma, intending to kill her since the box was already secured.
'You'll lose both the box and your wife! Hahahaha!'
She would've succeeded if Varian was using a space treasure for the teleportation as she assumed.
Unfortunate for her, the man was a space awakener himself. And a very good one at that.
The moment she pulled the box, the space around Enigma shook and she disappeared.
At the same instant, Varian, Sarah and Sonya too vanished.
"Pray you won't face me soon."
His harsh words lingered but Samantha no longer cared. Looking at the box in her hands, she cackled in madness and rushed to the guardian.
This box was instrumental to the mission. With it, the success rate would increase to a whopping 95%.
"For Equality!"
