"The successor of the Magic Tower certainly has a lofty spirit."
Morico said with a smile. However, his eyes were still filled with bewilderment.
I felt the same way. Why on earth was Zenon stepping forward here?
If he had just stayed quiet, he could have driven a wedge between the Emperor and the Temple, and the Magic Tower could have slipped away at the right moment!
"Interesting. Very well, let him try this opportunity."
The Emperor nodded in permission, seemingly overcome with indignation. Zenon began his preparations as if he had been waiting for this.
"Lady Annelie."
At Zenon's quiet call, I somehow ended up moving to his side, though I was still in a daze.
"The Magic Tower's guarantee is absolute. If they still can't trust you after all this, then that human is a disbeliever and a rampant evil."
Zenon glanced behind me and raised his voice as if making sure he was heard.
Looking in the direction of his gaze, it seemed to be where Roam's people and Lilia were standing.
Thanks to that, I could imagine how absurd their expressions must be without even turning around.
"Zenon, you damned bastard! Is he really going to do this?"
The Tower Master, who had been watching Zenon with a dumbfounded face, suddenly furrowed his brow deeply.
Zenon, apparently not afraid of his own master, nodded absently and prepared the magic stone.
"Yes."
[Oh, he's become quite a courageous male!]
[Males always become braver than anyone when courting.]
The wolves were watching as if they were enjoying the spectacle.
[Make sure to defeat all the other males, little one! Don't forget to bring food when courting!]
Gamon's gaze, who had been going on about courting, shifted to me. The black wolf's eyes were filled with curiosity.
She was a beautiful female wolf with soft, lush-looking fur that had a glossy sheen. If this weren't such a situation, I would have greeted her and suggested we be friends.
If she was Neshi's mate, she must certainly be a fine wolf.
'No, now is not the time for escapism.'
Suppressing the urge to ignore everything, rush out, and wander with Durahan and the animals, I took a step toward Zenon.
"What are you doing?"
"You saw my master do it, didn't you? It'll be over soon. Lady Annelie, you just need to place your hand on it."
Zenon spoke as if all of this was nothing special. However, given that his master was now red-faced and on the verge of apoplexy, it was hardly nothing.
"Zenon! If something goes wrong while channeling magic power......!"
"Nothing will go wrong."
I stared blankly at Zenon's determined profile, then frowned and asked.
"Do you believe it?"
"Pardon?"
"That I received a blessing. Do you believe it?"
I couldn't even assert for certain that I was blessed, so how could he be so certain?
Facing my doubtful gaze, Zenon tilted his head slightly. After seeming to think for a moment, he answered without any difficulty.
"Of course. I think Lady Annelie is a blessed person."
Placing a magic stone between himself and me, he continued.
"You received a chance to make up for a life full of regrets. I don't think that could be something like a curse."
Just like earlier between the Tower Master and Samuel, the magic stone settled in the center. Without being placed on anything, it floated by itself.
"Now, you just need to touch it."
The magic stone was unpolished and uneven in shape, with an opaque color. If the guarantee wasn't properly established, Zenon would have all his magic power drained by this stone.
Its color would also lose its original hue, becoming murky or turning black.
"Zenon."
Instead of placing my hand, I called his name, and he looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"What happens if you lose your magic power?"
"Well..."
He blinked slowly, then parted his lips.
"I'd become a cripple, I suppose?"
"......Zenon, are you crazy?"
"I haven't lost my magic power yet."
"But you're definitely crazy."
At my words, Zenon's expression finally grew somewhat serious.
"Do you really think I'll lose my magic power?"
I couldn't answer. Because I couldn't find the right words to say.
He doesn't know that I'm God's proxy. He doesn't know who saved me.
It's true that God was involved in my resurrection, but honestly, I couldn't assert whether this was God's blessing.
I really didn't understand why Zenon was so certain about something that even I, the person involved, couldn't confirm.
'Is he not even worried?'
Looking at my serious expression, Zenon, who had been silent with an equally grave face, lowered his voice to a whisper.
"If I lose my magic power, please don't abandon me. My cooking skills are separate from magic power."
Even if he gave up now, I could understand, but he didn't seem to have any intention of doing so at all.
I swallowed dryly and finally slowly placed my hand on the magic stone.
'Anyway, this is guaranteeing the truth.'
Then if I speak the truth, that's all there is to it. Fortunately, it's true that I was resurrected by God's will.
So if I exclude uncertain words like blessing and use a bit of wordplay to make it sound natural, there shouldn't be any problem.
With my hand on the magic stone, I turned my head to look at the Emperor. Tension was visible in the eyes of the Emperor, who sat on the imperial throne, gazing at me steadily.
Heinrich standing beside him was relatively calm, but the worry rising in his eyes was easy to discern.
"My God..."
I slowly parted my lips and shifted my gaze sideways. To the people of Roam watching me.
To those people who would be weighing my value even at this moment.
"Has chosen me as Your proxy."
Lilia, who had been standing with bated breath, swayed greatly.
"I am a resurrected one who represents God's will, and this is an evident truth."
"Lies!"
Lilia interjected sharply, but I had already withdrawn my gaze from her.
Morico, who had been watching me while trying to hide his tense complexion, looked at me with wavering eyes.
'Even the Temple harbored doubts.'
When even the Temple that received the oracle had a thread of doubt, I really didn't know what Zenon believed to make him suddenly do such a thing.
A smile inadvertently spilled out, and I lowered my head slightly.
I felt a hand containing warm warmth cover and envelop the back of my hand placed on the magic stone.
"That's right. Lady Annelie is a blessed person who was resurrected by God's will."
Along with the murmuring filled with laughter, a dazzling light burst from the magic stone.
* * *
"It doesn't make sense."
Lilia muttered blankly.
Why did it turn out like this? She couldn't understand at all.
Her foresight was certain. The Empress was attacked by monsters, and the Temple also declared Durahan a rampant evil.
'I knew everything.'
She knew that the Tower Master would visit the imperial palace today, that the Magic Tower would show hostility toward the imperial family, and that this would affect Heinrich, who employed wizards from the Magic Tower.
And when Heinrich, who needed new forces, would try to appease the Magic Tower, the Emperor would find that unsatisfactory and eventually extend his hand to Maxell again!
Everything, everything!
'They were all in the palm of my hand!'
Lilia bit her trembling lips hard.
The person who didn't exist in her foresight was Annelie. Annelie had no future.
Wasn't that obvious? She was originally destined to exit with beheading as her end!
Being resurrected like this and making all her painstaking efforts go to waste—such a future wasn't given to Annelie.
Moreover, she's God's resurrected one? Not some trick, but really?
"Lilia, what are you doing there?"
The cold voice of the Roam Duchess brought Lilia's confused mind back to reality.
Lilia, who had been breathing heavily, looked at the carriage open before her. The Roam Duke had stayed behind to meet the Emperor, and Annelie declared she would go separately to the Lindéa River.
What awaited Lilia in that carriage were the Roam Duchess and the youngest son, Seiri.
"Lilia?"
"I..."
Lilia trailed off.
If she returns to the Roam ducal house like this, what should she do next?
Preshey, her greatest supporter and right hand, was dead. The Magic Tower, which she believed would turn the imperial palace upside down and leave, certainly caused trouble with the Emperor, but that was all.
The Temple also showed some antipathy toward the Emperor, but didn't particularly cause any more problems.
What was the problem? If she had just left them alone, they would have fought on their own, and she had united groups that would cause trouble into one.
What they prioritized over conflict.
Ah, it was a problem that didn't even need contemplation. This was a painfully obvious answer.
"Lilia..."
"Mother, since I've come to the imperial palace, I need to see Lord Maxell."
At Lilia's sudden words, the Roam Duchess furrowed her brows.
"You wouldn't have contacted him beforehand, so you're going to visit so suddenly?"
"I'm his fiancée. I'll just see his face briefly and return."
Lilia smiled with a pale face. The Roam Duchess gazed at Lilia for a moment, then nodded.
The carriage door bearing the Roam ducal family's crest closed firmly, and the wheels began to roll slowly.
Lilia, who had been watching the Roam family's carriage grow distant, turned her body.
Her legs trembled uncontrollably from an uncontainable sense of crisis and fear, but she clenched her teeth and took a step.
All problems ultimately came down to Annelie Roam.
That Annelie was God's resurrected one and received God's choice no longer mattered.
'Annelie Roam has no future.'
Because she had no future, she could easily be thwarted time and again.
So if Annelie Roam just disappears.
'The future I know will unfold.'
A brilliant future where nothing is taken away. The future she was originally supposed to have will unfold.
She had to do whatever it took to make her foresight the truth.
'I have to eliminate Annelie Roam.'
Even if it meant using methods far more extreme than anything before.