In this world, seven divine weapons existed and each of those weapons were bestowed to the seven blessed.
In a way, this weapon was a shortcut that could greatly boost the power of the one wielding it. But, only a blessed person could use it and his blessing needed to correspond to the sin of the weapons.
As such, in this world, the only one who could use the holy sword of Lustburg was Sol.
Then why would the wings steal this weapon?
Sol of course had few ideas.
For one, it was possible that they just wanted to weaken the power of Lustburg. Though this was a rather weak possibility.
The second possibility then, was that they could use the sword one way or another.
Perhaps as a key?
This was the possibility with the highest probability.
If he was right then, this would mean that not only the sword of Lustburg, but even the other godly weapons would be targeted.
Sol shared his thoughts with the other Duke who then nodded,
“Your highness is wise. But what could they possibly do?”
Hermes asked as he looked at Camelia, “Supreme daughter Camelia, do you have an idea? Is it perhaps related to the Goddess of Chaos?”
Camelia was a Blessed and, different from Sol, she was officially the Supreme Daughter.
The level of information she had access to should be way higher.
Sol meanwhile fell silent as he looked at Camelia waiting for her to answer.
“You are mistaken. Even though the seven weapons are indeed related to the goddesses. The seal can’t be related to them.”
Camelia chuckled bitterly,
“If that was the case, it would be equal to saying that the seven sins are superior to the seven virtues. There’s no way those arrogant bit*Ahem* I mean there’s no way the goddesses would let their honor be tarnished in such a way.”
‘She was about to call them bitches, right?’
Everyone thought at the same time.
Camelia ignored the weird gazes and continued,
“I think that getting all the godly weapons could indeed be one of the steps for the final goal of the Wings. But we shouldn’t be in a hurry to decide their final goal. For all we know, getting one weapon is already enough.”
Sol nodded,
“Indeed, everything is possible. What we must keep in mind is that:
One, The Wings of Freedom wish to unseal the Mother Goddess of Chaos.
Two, getting the other weapons may or may not be part of this endeavor.
Three, getting all the other weapons or at least some more might or might not be necessary.
In conclusion...We know absolutely nothing.”
Everyone chuckled bitterly,
“Thankfully, all hope isn’t lost. Thanks to my Aunt Theresa, we did manage to capture that vampire. Though it seems that she is still sleeping.”
Camelia nodded,
“This is indeed the case. I do not know what kind of shadow is eating at her, but it’s so powerful that even Persephone had a hard time getting rid of it. If we did not save her that soon, even as a vampire, she would have died.”
While saying so she shot a look at Milia. It was surprising that someone at the Duke level had such power.
She didn’t know much about the creation and the members of the crown’s shadow since Mars had been pretty tight-lipped about them, but still, she knew that this power wasn’t normal.
It was simply too sinister and was very close to the power that should only belong to Gula.
Devouring.
‘How did she get such power? In the first place, how the hell is a cow-woman so strong?’
“Well, right now, she is being held in Medea’s world. Once she wakes up, we should be able to get more answers.”
Sol didn’t for one instant believe they wouldn’t be able to get an answer. With both his power or Camelia’s, getting answers was basically the easiest thing possible.
The others nodded, still bewildered at how Sol managed to convince a witch that should have been hostile to them, to help Lustburg.
They were even more surprised when they learned that she was his lover.
They might not have known the truth about the creation of Lustburg, but they knew that it was too fishy.
Learning the truth about it from Sol had been an eye opener about how shameless some people could be.
Even Tyr, who had always respected the first king, had been quite delusioned.
“Well then, I think we discussed all the important points about this situation. Now, we should discuss how we will reward those who made important achievements such as Milia behind me, or Athena Highland and the different Dukes. We will also discuss the settlement necessary for the families of the deceased soldiers.”
A few hours later, while the sun hung high in the sky at noon, the discussion finally ended.
“Well, this is it for now. Thank you, everyone.”
Sol stifled a yawn.
The other didn’t show any signs of being tired. Obviously, they were used to such long and dry situations.
“Well then, your highness, I will take my leave and inform my Granddaughter about her reward.”
“Do so. Also, tell Ares that I apologize for the rough way I treated him a few days ago. I would be happy to share the cup we weren’t able to drink together.”
“It shall be done.”
A wide smile formed on Tyr’s face as he answered. Even though the situation was quite dire, the Highland family ended up quite well off.
Though his mood dampened as he thought about his brother and how Ares was completely depressed currently.
On the side, Hermes added, “Your highness, Lady Theresa asked me to remind you that she had something to give to you. Something very important and as such she would like to visit the Tower at any moment.”
“This is no problem.”
Arachne simply nodded as she stood up. She had nothing to add to this discussion.
“If this is all. Then, this session is dismissed. Thank you, everyone.”
Sol closed his eyes as he dismissed them.
He felt so tired that he just wanted to sleep now, but it wasn’t time yet.
He could feel dainty fingers massage his temples and he let out a sigh of delight.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the sole person still present aside from him and Milia.
“Camelia…”
Camelia fidgeted a little on her seat before answering the unspoken question.
“Could we talk alone, please?”
Sol hesitated before nodding,
“Milia please, could you use this occasion to contact the jail? I will go visit him after this.”
“Understood.”
Milia gave a courtesy and left the room.
Now alone, Camelia gave a complicated look to Sol,
“You haven't said anything to me since that day.”
Camelia had never felt so stressed in her life.
She thought she would have been ready for every reaction Sol could have.
She was ready for him to scream or complain about what she had done. She even already had all the arguments to explain why she didn’t warn him.
But contrary to what she thought, Sol neither threw a tantrum nor ignored her. He simply never asked about her reason.
And that, more than anything, scared her.
You didn’t have to worry when someone got angry at you. It is when this person stopped getting angry that you should be worried.
After all, anger meant that the person still cared.
Sol could only shake his head, “And what should I have done? Berate you for your choice? Scream at you? What purposes would it have served? After all, the way you handled it got the best results possible. Isn’t it all that matters?”
“Sol…”
“Stop it. I do not need any excuses, nor apologies. What is done is done. Even though I admit that I have some secrets I have never divulged, I would have not hesitated to do so if it could spare you any form of pain. But I guess this must be my childishness talking.”
“...”
“I may hide a secret, but I have never lied to you. I have always been as forthright as possible and have always trusted you more than anyone. But you broke my trust, not once, but twice. Tell me then, how could I believe you ever again?”
“...I did it for--”
“You did it for me. Haha.” A bleak laugh escaped Sol,
“I know you did it for me. I do not doubt your love nor loyalty to me. I believe that you would die happily for me, but — I do not trust you anymore. You used Gerald for my sake. Then next time, what stops you from using Lilin, or Setsuna, or Milia? Did you know, they say that the way to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Milia could only close her mouth and lower her head.
At this, he stood up.
“Currently, I have other things to deal with, for example a man I saw as a father about to be exiled under my own order, or how my aunt is close to killing herself. I do not have time to deal with this melodrama right now.”
Walking toward Camelia, he crouched and put her forehead against his own,
“I am really thankful for all the love you have for me. Every day, I thank the goddesses for letting me be with people as incredible as you guys. But… I think it’s time we reassess our relationship if we really hope to stay long together. Think about it on your side. Okay?”
Not waiting for Camelia's answer, he stood up and left.
He could understand why she did everything she had.
But understanding that wouldn’t take aways all the pain and anguish he went through.
*Bang*
After the door closed behind Sol, Camelia, now alone, could only let out a bitter smile.
“You have really grown up, Sol. It seems that I was too blind to see that.”
She still did not regret using Gerald. After all, the man did really betray Sol at first and if she hadn’t been able to give an alternative he would have never sided with her.
After all, her power couldn’t instantly control people at the Duke level.
That was why she did not regret using him.
But she did regret not informing Sol beforehand.
It seemed that even though she loved him so much, she still saw him as a kid she had to take care of.
The result of all this was the loss of trust between her and Sol.
She knew more than anyone else how hard it was to get back trust once it was lost.
If the Sol of before blindly believed in her, she knew that from now on, he would doubt everything she said.
In a way, this was a good thing. This showed his growth and his maturity.
She just didn’t really like the price she had to pay for this growth.
(AN: I wonder if I handled it well. The relationship between those two will be a little stiff but no worries. This won't give birth to some stupid rom-com type misunderstanding.)
