TGS - Chapter 42
Chapter 42: The One Who Writes History
Lotus walked along the reception hall of the Lord's manor, all the way to a room at the end of the corridor.
This was a study. Scrolls and official documents were stacked neatly on one side of a long table. It was likely the place where the Lord of Yilulaila handled his administrative duties.
However, at this moment, the Lord probably had no mind for those documents. He sat behind the table, his fingers incessantly rubbing his temples, his expression slightly weary.
Luca, on the other hand, stood opposite him, his expression showing its usual stubbornness.
Lotus hid to one side, listening to the conversation between the father and son.
"...This time, you followed Her Highness to guard the caravan under military orders, so I won't pursue the matter. Once the caravan reaches Akhet, you are to return immediately."
Lucreta said.
"Why?" Luca asked. "I am Her Highness's personal guard now. I go where Her Highness goes."
The Lord said, "Do you intend to keep following the Princess?"
"What's wrong with that?" Luca was genuinely puzzled. "Before I succeed you as Lord, I can follow the voice of my heart and do whatever I want, as long as it doesn't violate the law or morality. You promised."
The Lord said angrily, "The premise is that you don't give away your loyalty! As the guardians of Yilulaila, we can only pledge our allegiance to the present and future king. What nerve of yours got crossed that you actually ran off to the border to find the Princess?"
"But Her Highness the Princess is the future king!"
Luca said, full of self-righteous confidence.
Hearing this, Lucreta's expression changed instantly. He immediately stood up, strode to the door and window to check if anyone was around, then closed the window and drew the curtains, reprimanding in a low voice, "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you mad? At the very least, think before you speak and don't cause trouble for the Princess—"
Luca, however, was quite confident. "I checked before I came over. There's no one nearby, don't worry."
The Lord took a deep breath and put his hands under the table, probably afraid he would strike and kill his own son in a fit of anger.
"..."
Lotus almost thought she was watching a family drama titled The Foolish Son and His Painstaking Father.
The father and son fell silent for a moment, as if each was trying to calm their emotions. Finally, the Lord spoke again. "If you want to follow the Princess, you must at least give me a reason."
Luca immediately said, "Well, it's all thanks to your teachings."
The Lord's blood pressure showed signs of rising again. "When did I ever teach you this!"
"Have you forgotten?" Luca was slightly confused, seemingly not understanding how his father could forget something so important. But— "It's alright, I remember every single word clearly. Let me repeat it for you."
Under the gazes of the goddess and the mortal, Luca imitated his father's tone from his childhood memories and said seriously:
"The one who is destined to write history..."
Lucreta listened, his expression cold and hard, but his memory was pulled back several years.
At that time, he had just received news of the former king's passing. He sat alone in his study, drinking. He had always been self-restrained, so even in his extreme grief, he did not allow himself to get drunk.
His wife, worried about him, had sent Luca to bring him hot tea to sober up.
Under the influence of the alcohol, he had said to his son:
"The king I followed has departed, but Luca, you still have a chance..."
"My son, remember my words. Know that those destined to write history are very rare. The moment you see him, you will feel it. What you must do then is to follow him to the death, to become his sword and shield."
"—And so your name, too, will be carved into the history he creates!"
The memories came flooding back. Lucreta closed his eyes, suddenly feeling powerless. He could no longer remember what mood he had been in to say such words back then.
But Luca had engraved those words in his heart.
"I admit I said those words, but she is a princess," Lucreta said slowly. "Not His Majesty Horst, nor the Crown Prince. Do you understand my meaning, Luca?"
Luca's eyes widened. "You didn't say it couldn't be a princess back then."
He pondered to himself for a moment, then said solemnly, "Father, you surely don't understand how formidable Her Highness is. You'll know as soon as you spar with her. Her Highness is the one who can write history."
"How can martial prowess represent everything..." Lucreta sighed deeply, then suddenly thought of something, and his face turned grim. "How do you know? Don't tell me you've done something as discourteous as challenging Her Highness to a fight?"
The two stared at each other. Luca took a step back. "Ahem."
Lucreta gave him a benevolent smile.
The next moment, Luca was chased out of the study by the Lord, his voice echoing in the room:
"If you don't want to, then fine! Anyway, Her Highness trains and spars every day without slacking. Just find some time to go and watch, you'll understand once you see!"
Lucreta cursed with a powerful voice, "Scoundrel! Unfilial son! You ill-mannered brat!!"
"Father, etiquette, mind your etiquette—"
Lotus, a lone spirit, floated in the room, watching the backs of the father and son as they chased and fled. She suddenly felt she ought to be holding something, like melon seeds or tea.
But from the looks of it, the Lord of Yilulaila himself was perhaps not as rigid as outsiders believed. His heart was still filled with a yearning to follow an enlightened ruler; he just never showed it easily.
After a while, the Lord returned from outside the door.
Lucreta was in the prime of his life, yet he looked older than his actual age. The lines on his forehead and his deep nasolabial folds shamelessly proclaimed the passage of time. He leaned back in the high-backed chair with his eyes closed, looking exhausted.
Just as Lotus thought he was about to fall asleep like that and was considering going over to see if she could enter his dream, the Lord suddenly muttered to himself:
"This can't go on. So what if she's of the direct royal line? When the day comes that intentions are laid bare, how many people will stand on the Princess's side?"
"Only those who survive have the right to write history. My son, how can I let your name be carved into the record of crimes as a treacherous official who committed treason..."
"Merciful Goddess of the Yilu River, please cast your gaze upon Luca and stop him from doing foolish things!"
In fact, the merciful Lotus was right beside the Lord, and she was contemplating how to pull the Lord into "doing foolish things" with them.
The night was deep. Lucreta, by candlelight, dealt with half of the official documents piled on his desk before hastily falling asleep on the bed in the back of the study, meant for temporary rest.
Although she already had a premonition of sorts, Lotus still attempted to enter his dream. As expected, she did not succeed.
Lucreta believed in the River Goddess, but his faith was not devout enough to allow a god to enter his dreams.
Lotus didn't find it strange. After all, even in the Kadera temple back then, only a handful of people were truly devout to the point of pure sincerity. How could one expect a city lord outside the priestly system to possess sufficient faith?
It was already very late when Lotus left the Lord's manor. She didn't immediately return to the caravan's temporary lodging, but instead let herself float above the empty streets.
The fixed torches for illumination on both sides of the road burned quietly, their light reflecting in the goddess's clear blue eyes.
In Solancian mythology, Nierde, the God of Wisdom and Knowledge, presided over the day of fire and was the master of the planet Mars, because people believed that thought was an inextinguishable flame. From a certain perspective, this was a very vivid metaphor.
Lotus wondered, if she had been able to enter the Lord's dream this time, should she have instructed Lucreta to become Alyuin's supporter, just as she had once done with the priestess?
For the Princess, was this kind of "help" truly reliable?
In truth, even if she couldn't enter his dream, there were other ways to let the Lord know which side the gods were on.
Lotus could revert to her divine form at any time, appearing before the Lord with silver hair, blue eyes, and draped in silk stoles. It would be more real and effective than a dream; there would be no fear of him not believing.
The problem was, if she could do this, it meant all gods could do the same.
Anmila, Suriel, Adia, even En, the King of the Gods—any god could descend to the mortal world or enter dreams to help any mortal they favored.
But they didn't.
The gods resided high in their divine kingdom, indifferent to the succession of human kings. Could it be as the Sun God had said, that the gods did not care about the fate of individual humans, only the development of the species as a whole?
However, thinking back to when she was in her temple in the Kingdom of the Gods, unable to even send a single word to the young princess, Lotus had a gut feeling that this wasn't the only reason.
The most important point...
In a deserted spot, Lotus changed back into her incarnate form, brushed her black hair to one side, and sighed silently.
With divine authority comes divine responsibility.
With royal authority comes royal duty.
Whether it was using faith to rally forces for someone, or relying on a god's power to win the hearts of the people, neither could be considered "correct."
The moon gradually moved westward. As dawn approached, Lotus finally returned to her lodging.
The oil lamp in the room still cast a dim, yellow light. Alyuin was sitting up against the headboard, a book overturned on her lap. Her face was turned slightly to the side, her breathing even, sound asleep. She had clearly fallen into a slumber while waiting for the goddess to return.
However, Alyuin had always been extremely vigilant. The moment Lotus stepped into the room, she startled awake.
The Princess covered her lips with her hand and let out a soft yawn. "You're back."
Lotus nodded. "I went to the Lord's manor."
She briefly recounted the conversation between the Lord and his son. The Princess listened intently, her eyes clear and bright, showing no trace of sleepiness from just having woken up.
"So that's Lucreta's attitude. He's concerned with propriety and is also afraid I'll lead his son to his death." Alyuin tapped her chin and chuckled. "Same as always. If he wants proof, I'll give him proof. But if he's truly unwilling to believe, then I'll have no choice but to give up on Yilulaila."
"Give up?" Lotus frowned.
"There will always be factions I can't win over. The major cities along the way are easier than Akhet, I'll admit, but if I really try to win them over, I'm afraid more than half will just choose to wait and see." Alyuin shrugged and made a joke, "After all, I'm not a gold coin. Not everyone is going to like me."
Lotus remained silent.
That may be so, but this was a major city that believed in her, yet it couldn't help the Princess. She couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
Alyuin tilted her head. "Why have you gone quiet?"
Lotus said, "Perhaps it's helplessness. This is Yilulaila, after all."
Alyuin paused for a moment, understanding the meaning behind the goddess's words, and couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
"From the very beginning, I never intended to gain Lucreta's approval through you... Lotus, you've already helped me so much. Let me handle the rest, alright?"
Lotus sighed. "When it comes to the affairs of mortals, I'm afraid I can't help much more."
"No, that's not right."
Meeting Lotus's gaze, Alyuin leaned in, pressing her lips to the goddess's ear, and murmured, "Watch me. Just watch me. Nothing gives me more strength than your gaze."
The warm breath brushed against the shell of her ear. Lotus subconsciously wanted to pull away but forced herself to stop. The girl's lips were tantalizingly close, like a falling petal grazing past her ear.
Lotus lowered her eyes.
"I will watch over you, Alyu."
A goddess's gaze will rest only upon you.
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