Chapter 97

Aria turned her gaze and said to Cloud.

"I guess I'll have to find the man who sold me the pearl before."

Then, before Cloud could even speak, Vincent answered.

"What? That madman?"

Aria nodded her head.

At the time, she thought he was some kind of big talker who had gone crazy, so she paid for the Conch Pearl and let him go....

'If Vincent's conjecture is true, then there may really be someone in his family that has inherited the conch pearl from generations to generations.'

Perhaps not a descendant of the royal family. For now, he was the only one holding a clue to Atlantis. She needed to keep him close for now

"Maybe he has more information than what we found."

It wouldn't hurt to try.

Aria ordered Cloud to find him.

'What is there in Atlantis?'

Sirens living in hiding? Or the sheet music for many songs that Aria didn't learn? Or is there a treasure as rumored? Atlantis was uncharted territory.

So, Aria had no choice but to head there even more.

***

The usual time.

Conrad III opened his eyes.

If there was anything different about him, it was that he had a nightmare he couldn't remember.

"...Gasp!"

The Emperor took a deep breath and jumped out of bed.

Cold sweat dripped down like rain. It was a terrible nightmare.

He could not remember the contents of the dream at all, but only the eerie fear remained clear and brushed his spine.

"Your Majesty, I'm glad you're safe."

But as soon as he woke up, he saw a doctor who he didn't even call. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if the Emperor had risen from the dead.

"What do you mean?"

Conrad raised an eyebrow and asked.

What is the reason he was not safe?

"Since Grand Duke Valentine's visit, you've been asleep like he's fainted, so I only know that happened…"

Conrad traced his memory.

He remembered being threatened by Valentine's kin, then the Grand Princess asked for a private audience....

After that, there was a blackout.

'What did Grand Princess Valentine do to me?'

Scared to think so, the doctor added,

"There were no internal or external injuries, but you didn't wake up, so everyone was very worried."

There was no external trauma or internal trauma? The Emperor felt even more uneasy.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days. Your Majesty."

"What?"

The Emperor, who just had a nightmare and woke up wildly, then greeted the morning as usual, was dumbfounded.

'Did I pass out because I was scared of Valentine? Me?'

It was absurd. But in the circumstances it was.

Or, there was a possibility that the Emperor was forced to pass out by getting hypnotized or some special tactic.

Either of them were teeth grinding, but it was better than dying and letting a doll just like him rule the empire.

'They said there were no internal or external injuries... I should be grateful to the Grand Princess'

He doesn't know why there is such a good girl who is born with that beauty as the wife of the cursed Grand Prince. They said she was adopted by the Angelo family, but her origin is unclear....

It was when Conrad was carrying on his thoughts.

"You will die."

He heard hallucinations.

"In endless pain."

A small whisper was heard. Two times, three times, endlessly overlapping. It stuck to his ear like mucus that didn't fall off.

He trembled and looked around.

Nothing was there.

"If you can breathe, you will be thrown into the fires of hell, and if you just want to die like this, you will see futile hope."

The sound grew louder and clearer. As if someone was talking into his ear.

He let out a cry.

"Wh, what. Who are you!"

But, looking around, there was no one there.

The Emperor drew his sword and put it on the neck of the doctor who was right next to him.

"Gasp, Your, Your Majesty?"

"Is it you?"

"What?"

The doctor asked in a hoarse voice. He couldn't figure out why the Emperor suddenly went mad.

"I asked if you mocked me?"

"How, how could that be! I didn't say anything. As always, I just checked your Majesty's condition!"

In Conrad's ears, the doctor's desperate clarification voice and auditory hallucinations overlapped.

"You will be destroyed."

With that said, he clenched his teeth.

Feeling fear at the sound of coming from nowhere, anger suddenly rose for a moment.

"Destroyed! Funny!"

The Emperor raised his sword and cut off the head of the doctor at once. The doctor who died without even making a single rebellion fell to the floor.

"I will enjoy eternal power and glory! I will make a name for myself as the greatest Emperor of Fineta ever!"

He shouted out in a groan.

Then the auditory hallucination that had been ringing like a bell in his ear faded slightly.

"Hoo...."

He let out a low breath and lowered his wet sword to the floor.

The attendants around looked at him with blue faces and dragged the doctor's body as if they were familiar with it.

"A promise is a promise isn't it…"

Conrad had to make Valentine a hero. He had survived in the name of it, so he did not know what would happen if he broke his promise.

"Well, Garcia's side will rush at you like a feral dog."

But, what to do? Even if it escalated into problems between empires, he had to do this. In order not to become a puppet Emperor.

It was not a metaphor, she was going to be a real puppet.

"Call the aide and tell them to prepare the ceremony."

The Emperor ordered his servants.

And he thought to himself. Soon, there will come a time when Valentine will no longer be arrogant.

Someday, for sure.

Valentine will be left only as a family of devils that have disappeared from history.

He will make it with his own hands.

"You will perish and die."

He sighed again and looked around. He still couldn't see anything, but the evil whispers continued to ring in his ear.

It was a feeling of misfortune and destruction eating away, smacking their lips, aiming for a gap.

"Stop, stop…"

The Emperor muttered desperately, covering his ears with both hands.

However, for a long time, he could not completely shake off the fear that became entangled in him like a snake.

***

"…Thank you for your hard work, I confer this medal and trophy to Valentine, who became a hero of our country."

Lloyd, who was listening quietly, turned to Aria. She stood with a happy expression on her face, ready to clap her hands.

He hurriedly approached the Emperor's neck with force. And he quietly received a medal from the Emperor, who shuddered alone for nothing.

Even so, it was only surprising to see how it looked as if it was stolen.

The applause of the nobles with astringent expressions echoed hollowly in the hall filled with silence.

– Wow! Congratulations Lloyd!

Aria was the only one who was truly thrilled by this situation. She smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

The recipient of the award must wear a white robe. And wearing a robe adorned with golden epaulettes and golden thread, he was shining like a star just as she had imagined!

'Ahh, pretty.'

However, there was a moment of wonder as well as joy.

Aria whispered in Tristan's ear secretly.

"Isn't that what Father should receive?"

Although Lloyd killed the gutter rat, it was still Tristan who represented the Valentine's house. Then Tristan answered.

"That kind of skit…"

He glanced at Aria instead of speaking his words, and then suddenly changed his words like flipping the palm of her hand.

"…that's too much of a reward for me."

When Aria's request is finished. Vincent also attended the award ceremony.

He took a video ball and carefully filmed the scene where Lloyd was awarded the prize. He was thinking of making fun of Lloyd over and over again with this video.

"Wow, look at his face."

Vincent mumbled in admiration.

"Sister-in-law, that's the expression on Brother's face that I mentioned earlier. That expression that looks like it's possessed by the devil."

– I see only an angel?

"…? Aren't the glasses supposed to be worn by Sister-in-law, not me?"

Vincent stopped filming and looked down at Aria and said seriously.

However, Lloyd, who returned after receiving the award, took the video ball naturally.

Crash–

And smashed it. With just one grip.

The image went away little by little, and then in an instant, it cracked and shattered into pieces.

Vincent looked down with tired eyes at the shards of glass that had once been a video ball.

"Brother, did you know that the video ball was made so that it would never break even if dropped from the top floor of the tower?"

"So."

"No, I'm just saying."

After Vincent mumbled back and forth, he gave Aria a pleading eye.

Aria blinked her eyes and asked Lloyd.

– Why? Don't like it?

– No, it's....

Lloyd said with a look of disgust, no. Aria said as she reached out and tidied up his messy hair.

– Thank you. For listening to me

– ....

– Actually, it was just self-satisfaction. One day, I want to get rid of Valentine's devil's stigma.

Even if they only get one award, it doesn't change anything. As if to prove that fact, the nobles were still far away and pretended to be the wallflowers.

'I don't know why they attended the award ceremony in the first place.'

Today, since the foundation ceremony, it boasted the highest attendance rate of any other ceremony. Most of the nobles who came to the capital from the estate for the social season appeared at this award ceremony.

'Scary is scary, and curious is curious, right?'

As the object of envy.

Even if they can't even make a sound right now, after today, Valentine will be on the lips of many nobles.

Aria frowned and lifted her head, laughing at their duality.

At that moment, their eyes met.

A girl without any decorations, wearing the coat of arms of the Holy Empire.

'Saint Veronica.'

The blonde hair was gently braided to one side, and the eyes were darker than Aria's memories.

Appearing in the banquet hall with an unadorned, modest appearance, she was surrounded by people. The nobles, who had stuck to the wall and did not think of falling, were flocking like swarms around only that area.

"Oh, this time I donated money to the temple…"

"I want to say hello to the new saint from Garcia…"

"Thanks to the Saint, peace and quiet of the family has come…"

Although she was a foreigner from a foreign country, she had naturally gained the absolute trust and affection by the single position she held.

Aria didn't move right away.

'Actually, I still can't believe it. The fact that all the misfortunes that have happened to me in my past life were planned by Veronica....'

That moment, Veronica smiled broadly.

"Grand Princess."

After she apologized to the people around her, she came to Aria's side.

"You are taking care of my knight, so I always wanted to say hello."

Neatly curved eyebrows.

A smile that is unbelievably holy.

A soft hand gently wrapped around Aria's, which had been lying defenseless.

'My knight.'

Aria was certain of the single word that could be passed on by dismissing it as a trivial matter.

She was keeping her in check.

Aria looked up at Veronica for a moment, pretending she didn't know, and she smiled brightly and rolled her eyes.

– Oh, you mean Gabriel?

"…!"

– I also wanted to say hello to the saint once. Your knight is an upright and loyal person. Thank you for sending me a nice person.

And once again, she showed a flawless, clean smile.