Isadora was done with this crazy couple.
If she thought the wife was crazy to ask for a match right after advancement to rank 7, the husband was asking when he just hit rank 5!
Crazy!
Absolutely crazy!
Thinking that she might have to spend who knows how long with these two, Isadora wanted to bash her head into a tree.
"Good work, girls." Varian grabbed his severed left arm and fixed it back in place nonchalantly. "Call me when you fight again."
Sarah had a distressed expression watching him limp away with a straight back.
Isadora looked at her lovesickness and cursed inwardly. 'You idiot! You're the one who cut his arm!'
Sarah thought Varian was teaming up with her. She was wrong. Varian fought both of them and both of them fought him.
It was an absolutely mess and things got out of hand as they pushed each other to absolute limits. Isadora's chances of winning against Sarah hit zero when Varian joined.
At the end of the match, everyone was exhausted. And no one won against anyone.
Varian avoided as many injuries as he could but the ones he couldn't, he didn't mind. To him, a severed arm was like a slap on the back and blasted lungs was a sharp pinch.
"Sarah, I—"
Oob landed out of nowhere and spoke. "Master, Master! Prince Rudolph is back! He is severely weakened!"
Varian's face paled and kicked the ground in dissatisfaction. "Fuck!"
The destroyed star system in Zion and the returned prince!
'I thought Rudolph was a clever one. Was it only for looks?'
He misjudged that Prince. Now he had to solve the problem before it became a danger.
"I'll be back in a bit." Varian chugged down a few healing potions and took a few steps away from them in a hurry to teleport.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Sarah appeared in front of him, her blue eyes staring right into his. "You're going to Rudolph, right?"
Varian was growing better at hiding his intentions. But Sarah was growing faster at reading his. 'How does she do that?'
"I just want to…" Varian didn't want to repeat the insults the maid used that day. "I want to kill him. Nothing more, nothing less. I'll deal with his maid later."
At the sudden reveal of his plan, not only Sarah but even Isadora was shocked.
"Are you crazy?"
"No. This is the plan."
"But this will mess everything up! You plotted everything to remove the focus from us. If a prince dies here, we'll be on the biggest spotlight!" Sarah grabbed his shoulders and looked at him with a solemn expression.
Varian looked away from her eyes and remained silent.
Sarah bit her lip with a confused expression. "So why are you still doing this? What's the reason…"
"One, he did something that is punishable by a harsh death. Two," Varian's expression grew grim.
"The man lost the match. He'd be furious now. He might vent his anger somewhere. There is no better target than me and my race."
"…Can you be sure that he'll attack us?" Sarah held him tight, as if she was afraid he would run away if she let him go.
"I don't know. But there's a good chance. I'd say 70% at least." Varian reported.
Since there was a recording of something shameful, the Prince wouldn't want it to leak. He wouldn't do something as lowly as striking a deal with Varian. Perhaps erasing him was the plan ever since he dared to record that conversation.
Sarah rubbed her forehead but didn't dare to let him go. Varian wasn't revealing why but he's dead set on killing that prince.
Left without any choice, she asked. "Can Oob block the traces of the Prince's death? Or at least, make it seem to happen on the Zion side?"
Oob who was preparing to fly away from this tense situation stiffened and answered in an awkward voice. "Ahaha! That'd be difficult. The prince must carry treasures that are too powerful for me to block."
"What if Var uses his slivers to help?"
"…Perhaps? But it'll be leaked out eventually. Suspicions will naturally arise if he's missing. And if it's an open battle with the prince, it'll attract the attention of the two maids. They'll relay the information back home."
Sarah pursed her lips and turned to Varian. "We'll have to plan this."
"But the longer we waste, the more Rudolph recovers. I can't take on him unless he's severely weakened like he's now." Varian argued, his fists clenched and his voice urgent.
"How do you know he hasn't recovered enough already?"
"…Well, I was going to judge his aura first. If he hadn't recovered, I'll attack."
Sarah hugged him and gently sat him down on the grass field and rested her head on his chest.
"Take a deep breath," She whispered. "…You're anxious now."
"I'm not."
"You're anxious."
"I'm not."
"You're an—"
"Yes, I am!"
Varian yelled and closed his eyes. His voice softened down and he sighed. "I didn't expect that bastard to be this useless after all the show-off he did. I wasn't worried when the princes came here because their focus was on the duchy. But now, he's a ticking bomb!
This isn't like manipulating the princes in Zion, this is dangerous…everyone's lives are at stake.
He could just order his maid and fifty billion lives will end in a snap. This is just like the time I faced Abyss Emperor as a level 9. I feel so…powerless!"
Sarah silently hugged him and patted his back. It was a wide back, but it was carrying so many burdens alone.
Her gentle touch and loving hug had an impact. Varian's restless heart slowly calmed down. Raising his arms, he hugged Sarah in a tight embrace, as if afraid that she'd vanish.
Isadora watched them with a neutral gaze. She'd seen many couples over the years. But somehow, this particular one felt very repulsive.
Varian was very stubborn and normally wouldn't change his decision. But he's willing to listen to Sarah.
Instead of ridiculing his crazy decision, Sarah acted in an understanding and gentle manner, calming him down and bringing him to rethink his decision.
As she watched them with complex emotions, an annoying voice rang in her mind.
'Sia, don't cheat! My time isn't up yet! I still have 15 minutes!'
'#@!%$'
'Huh? You're jealous of Sarah and want to hug him too?' Isadora's expression darkened.
'Stop this obsession! If you were up, you'd have followed him to kill Rudolph without questioning, you crazy girl!
You are smart when it comes to everything else. But why are you being so stupid regarding him?
Those two suit each other anyway. So, just leave them alone and come with me. We'll be on an epic adventure hitting the divine ranks.'
Her words directed at Sia garnered an unexpected reply from Enigma.
'^&@#!!!'
'Enigma, you should be better than her, but why are you behaving worse?! You're new to this anyway…so, just get your head out of that poison! Curse me all you want, that love is just poison!'
'@#-+*^!'
Isadora smashed the rock in her hand to pieces. 'Enigma, you really have the guts! Even though he progresses fast, he can't reach divine rank as quickly as me. He can't, he…'
The Princess faltered. As such, for the thirtieth time this week, the trio had another mental brawl on their future.
Even though Isadora might not admit it, she was growing closer to the two younger sisters whom she was determined to save from Varian's clutches.
Unaware of the mental brawl nearby, Sarah comforted her husband.
"You aren't like you were back then. In the worst case, we'll just evacuate everyone to Hortus. Still at risk of being found, but that'd take a few weeks. I'm confident you can turn around the situation in those few weeks.
…And even if you can't, I will. The legacy isn't for show. Don't carry the burden alone. Have some faith in me."
Varian's clenched fists relaxed and he slowly closed his eyes.
'I should be more cool-headed. Even though I am not like this most of the time, losing control one bad time is enough to screw everything up.
But the longer I take, the worse death I'll give him. And anyone who supported this crap of a prince can forget living a peaceful life.'
