"The successor of the Magic Tower truly possesses lofty spirit."
Moriko said with a laugh. Yet her eyes were still filled with bewilderment.
I felt the same. Why on earth is Xenon stepping forward here?
If we had just stayed quiet, we could have nicely driven a wedge between the Emperor and the Temple, and the Magic Tower could have slipped away appropriately!
"Interesting. Very well, let's give it a try on this occasion."
The Emperor nodded as if his pride was pricked and granted permission. Xenon, as if he had been waiting, began his preparations.
"Lady Anelli."
Hearing Xenon's low call, I reflexively approached his side, but I was still in a daze.
"The Magic Tower's guarantee is absolute. If even after going this far they do not believe, then that person is an unbeliever and a rampant evil-doer."
Xenon glanced behind me and raised his voice as if for them to hear.
Judging by the direction of his gaze, it was likely toward where the people of Roam and Lilia were standing.
Thanks to that, I could imagine how absurd their expressions must be without even turning to look.
"Xenon, you damned fool! Are you really going to do this?"
The Tower Master, who had been watching Xenon's antics with a stunned face, suddenly scowled deeply.
As if unafraid of his own master, Xenon nodded nonchalantly and prepared the magical power stone.
"Yes."
[Oh, he's become quite a courageous male!]
[Males become braver than anyone when courting.]
The wolves were watching as if it were a spectacle.
[Make sure to defeat all the males, little one! Don't forget to bring food when you court!]
Gamon, who had been talking about courtship, shifted his gaze to me. The black wolf's eyes were filled with curiosity.
She was a very pretty female wolf with soft, abundant-looking fur that seemed to glisten. If it weren't for this situation, I might have even greeted her to become friends.
If she was Nessi's mate, she must surely be an excellent wolf.
'No, now is not the time for escapism.'
Suppressing the urge to ignore everything, run out right now, and wander with the Dullahan and the animals, I took a step closer to Xenon.
"What are you doing?"
"You saw what the Master did, right? It'll be over quickly. Lady Anelli, you just need to place your hand on it."
Xenon spoke as if all this were nothing. But for it to be nothing, his master's face was now beet red, looking as if he might choke.
"Xenon! If you cast the magic and something goes wrong...!"
"Nothing will go wrong."
As I stared blankly at Xenon's resolute profile, I frowned and asked.
"Do you believe it?"
"Huh?"
"That I have received a blessing, do you believe it?"
I myself cannot definitively say I am blessed, so how can you be so sure?
Meeting my gaze full of doubt, Xenon tilted his head. After seeming to ponder briefly, he answered without much difficulty.
"Of course. I believe Lady Anelli is a blessed person."
Placing the magical power stone between us, he continued.
"You gained a chance to make up for a life of regret, didn't you? I don't think that could be something like a curse."
Just like what had happened earlier between the Tower Master and Samuel, the magical power stone settled in the center. It floated on its own without being placed on anything.
"Now, you just need to touch it."
The magical power stone was an unrefined, lumpy shape with an opaque color. If the guarantee did not hold, Xenon would have all his magical power drained by this stone.
Its color would also lose its original hue, becoming murky or turning black.
"Xenon."
Instead of placing my hand, I called his name. He looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"What happens if you lose your magical power?"
"Well......"
He blinked his eyes and slowly parted his lips.
"I'd become a cripple, I suppose?"
"......Xenon, are you insane?"
"I haven't lost my magical power yet."
"But you must be insane."
At my words, Xenon's expression finally grew a bit serious.
"Do you really think I will lose my magical power?"
I couldn't answer. Because I couldn't find the right words to say.
He doesn't know I am the goddess's proxy. He doesn't know who saved me.
It's true that a god is involved in my resurrection, but in fact, I couldn't assert that this was the god's blessing.
I truly don't understand why Xenon is so certain when even I, the person involved, am not sure.
'Is he not even worried?'
Seeing my serious expression, Xenon, who had fallen silent with an equally grave face, lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Even if I lose my magical power, you mustn't abandon me. My cooking skills are separate from my magical power."
Even if I gave up now, he would understand, but he showed no intention of doing so.
Swallowing dryly, I finally slowly placed my hand on the magical power stone.
'After all, this is guaranteeing the truth.'
Then all I have to do is speak the truth. Fortunately, it is true that I was resurrected by the goddess's will.
So, if I omit uncertain words like 'blessing' and play with words a little so it doesn't sound strange, there shouldn't be a problem.
With my hand on the stone, I turned my head to look at the Emperor. In the eyes of the Emperor, seated on the throne and staring intently at me, tension was evident.
Standing beside him, Heinri was relatively calm, but the worry surfacing in his eyes was easily discernible.
"My goddess......"
Slowly parting my lips, I shifted my gaze sideways. Toward the people of Roam who were watching me.
Toward those people who, even at this moment, would be weighing my value.
"Chose me as your proxy."
Lilia, who had been standing holding her breath, staggered heavily.
"I am the Resurrected One who acts in place of the goddess's will, and this is an unequivocal truth."
"Lies!"
Lilia sharply interjected, but I had already averted my gaze from her.
Moriko, who had been watching me while trying to hide her tense expression, looked at me with wavering eyes.
'Even the Temple harbored doubts.'
Even the Temple, which received the oracle, held a thread of doubt, so I don't know what Xenon believed to suddenly pull such a stunt.
A wry smile involuntarily slipped out, and I slightly lowered my head.
I felt a warm hand, full of gentle warmth, cover and envelop the back of my hand resting on the magical power stone.
"That's right. Lady Anelli is a blessed person, resurrected by the goddess's will."
Along with the murmur tinged with laughter, a dazzling light burst from the magical power stone.
* * *
"This is impossible."
Lilia muttered blankly.
Why did it turn out like this? She couldn't understand it at all.
Her foresight had been certain. The Empress had been attacked by Monsters, and the Temple had declared the Dullahan a rampant evil.
'I knew everything.'
That the Tower Master would visit the imperial palace today, that the Magic Tower would show hostility toward the imperial family, that this would affect Heinri who employs a mage from the Magic Tower as a subordinate—she knew it all.
And that Heinri, needing his own faction, would struggle to appease the Magic Tower, and the Emperor, seeing this, would find it displeasing and eventually reach out to Maxel again!
Everything, everything!
'They were all in the palm of my hand!'
Lilia bit her trembling lips hard.
The person who did not exist in her foresight was Anelli. Anelli had no future.
Of course, right? She was originally destined to exit the stage after being beheaded!
A future like this, resurrecting and rendering all the efforts she had barely built up futile, was not something given to Anelli.
Moreover, that she is the goddess's Resurrected One? Not some trick, but truly?
"Lilia, what are you doing there?"
The cold voice of the Duchess of Roam snapped Lilia out of her confused thoughts.
Panting heavily, Lilia saw the carriage door open before her. Duke Roam had stayed behind to meet the Emperor, and Anelli had declared she would act separately, heading straight for the Lindea River.
Waiting for Lilia in that carriage were the Duchess of Roam and the youngest prince, Sayri.
"Lilia?"
"I......"
Lilia trailed off.
If I return to the Roam ducal house like this, what should I do next?
Her greatest helper and right hand, Fressian, was dead. The Magic Tower, which she believed would turn the imperial palace upside down and leave, clearly caused a rift with the Emperor, but that was all.
The Temple also showed antipathy toward the Emperor, but didn't cause any further trouble.
What was the problem? The groups that would have fought and caused discord on their own if left alone were united into one.
What they prioritized over fighting.
Ah, it was a problem that didn't even require pondering. The answer was all too obvious.
"Lili......"
"Mother, since I'm at the imperial palace, I should pay my respects to Lord Maxel."
At Lilia's sudden words, the Duchess of Roam frowned.
"You haven't contacted him in advance, have you? To visit so suddenly?"
"I am his fiancée. I'll just see his face briefly and return."
Lilia painted a smile on her pale face. The Duchess of Roam stared intently at Lilia for a moment, then nodded.
The carriage door bearing the Roam ducal crest closed firmly, and the wheels began to roll slowly.
Lilia, who had been staring at the gradually receding Roam ducal carriage, turned her body.
Her legs trembled uncontrollably from an overwhelming sense of crisis and fear, but she clenched her teeth and took a step.
All problems ultimately stemmed from Anelli Roam.
That Anelli was the goddess's Resurrected One and chosen by the goddess no longer mattered.
'Anelli Roam has no future.'
It was clear that she could easily interfere time and again because Anelli had no future.
So, if only Anelli Roam were gone.
'The future I know will unfold.'
A brilliant future where nothing is taken away. The future she was originally meant to have would unfold.
She had to do anything to make her foresight come true.
'I must eliminate Anelli Roam.'
Even if it means a method incomparably more drastic than anything before.