Together with Eunice, Acerus wreaked havoc in the dessert shop until he felt satisfied. He was the first one to leave, followed by Eunice, then Lara, and then Ximena, with smiles hanging from their lips.
"These three girls are important guests of mine so please take good care of them."
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."
Acerus' aide bowed politely and took a seat in front of the carriage. He took Lara and her friends by the hand and helped them climb into the wagon one by one. Lara asked the aide in a low voice.
"Is it okay even if weird rumors spread around?"
"It is okay."
The aide glanced at Eunice, smiled, and said.
"This is not his first time, so it really is okay. But rather than our dear Crown Prince, I think the one you should be worried about is your friend."
This time, Lara smiled and said.
"Eunice will be okay too."
Eunice was not someone who would be intimidated by such rumors. Perhaps she would be proud that she got to add a big shot to her colorful romance experience.
The Crown Prince's carriage was wide and fancy. Lara sat next to Ximena and Eunice sat next to Acerus. The four of them looked at each other with ambiguous smiles, but as soon as the door closed and the carriage departed, they all burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hehehe…"
Lara could not stop her laughter and asked Acerus.
"Why did you do that? Aren't you going to get scolded by His Majesty? I thought you were going to remain neutral until the end."
"I was going to do that."
"But?"
"When dad told me to go to war, I couldn't control myself anymore. So, I decided to be rebellious. I was like, 'fuck it, they were being nasty to my friend, so I will be nastier.'"
The knights showed their superiority in the wrong way, so Acerus thought he would step up and do the same thing as he was superior to them. Eunice rejoiced after hearing him and suddenly got excited. She slapped Acerus' arm and said.
"I see! You did a great job! Whew, I'm so relieved now! If Your Imperial Highness hadn't shown up, I would have untied my hair and made a fuss like a crazy bi…"
Shocked at herself, Eunice moved away from Acerus. Then, she hit her hand.
Slap!
The sound was very loud to show how hard Eunice hit her hand.
"My apologies. It's a bad habit of mine…"
"It's okay!"
To his surprise, Acerus quickly grabbed Eunice's red hand. Then, he put it close to his mouth, pouted out his lips, and blew air out of his mouth.
"Huff."
The carriage was filled with silence. Eunice, whose hand was held, Acerus, who blew air out of his mouth, and even Lara and Ximena, who witnessed the scene, were all embarrassed. Acerus shouted belatedly.
"Sorry! It's a habit of mine!"
I see. It's your habit.
Lara laughed quietly. Ximena could not dare to call the Crown Prince of another country a madman, so she just covered her mouth and laughed.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
After dropping her friends off at the hotel, Lara talked a little bit more and had an important conversation with Acerus in the carriage.
"I plan on making an early reveal of you being a saintess sent by God."
"Pardon? When?"
"After I leave for the battlefield, a banquet will be held in the Imperial Palace to pray for victory. I plan to do it then, but if you have any other opinions, I will listen to you carefully."
"Why isn't the banquet being held before you leave?"
"It's an annual event so we have to do it on the same day as last year's."
"Then why announce it at all?"
"Because I might die."
Acerus spoke as if it meant nothing.
"If I was defeated by the demon and lost my life, or if I get a wound beyond recovery, the people would get anxious. The position as the successor of the Emperor carries anxiety greater than power."
"So…"
"They'll be relieved with you. Humans are very weak, sometimes we need to be given the belief that God is taking care of us."
"Okay."
Lara nodded. She agreed if it was for such a reason. In fact, when Acerus said her identity as the saintess would be revealed when he wanted, she thought he was trying to use the symbol of saintess politically.
To establish himself as the Crown Prince and to justify everything he did, Lara as the saintess could have been a tremendous weapon for him. But Acerus said he would reveal Lara's identity specifically to relieve the people's anxiety. Moreover, he would do so after he left the capital and was on the battlefield. It was not known whether this was the Emperor's suggestion or due to Acerus' insistence. However, Lara thought it was a decision made by a good leader.
"Make sure to win and come back."
Lara looked at Acerus. He smiled brightly like a child. He rambled that since he was cheered by the saintess, he could easily win even if the demon lord appeared.
The demon Valac would come to accompany him in this expedition as Acerus' secret advisor. Since the northern demon, Lilith used tricky hallucinations, Valac's advice was desperately needed to avoid the Imperial army getting tricked.
"If I have the chance, I want to kill him along with Lilith."
"Valac is sneaky."
Valac was a demon who pretended to be Prince Sidhar and took the opportunity to reveal who he was. He was a demon who could even act like he was dying to take advantage of humans. The chance that Acerus wanted would not be made easily.
"Valac wants Lilith's blood. If he eats it and becomes stronger, then we may not be able to handle him anymore."
Acerus gave a good laugh and said that if that happened, he would grab Demian's legs and beg him.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"This way."
Thousand Gold Isadora was a very disparate being in the Tarragon Empire. Even though most of her business was carried out in the Empire, she was still from the small and weak country of Hautean. She was a noble and then became a commoner again. However, considering her influence, she was someone that should be paid attention to more than any other noble in the Empire.
The Emperor's attendants came to meet Isadora and treated her politely. But they showed a slightly different attitude to her who came as the representative of the delegation. All the manners and etiquette that were to be done to nobles were omitted. Instead, they were friendly to her, as if dealing with the Emperor's relatives.
When outsiders had an audience with the Emperor, they were able to enter the audience chamber only after checking their identity and belongings and undergo a diagnosis of any infectious diseases. But Isadora was immediately guided to the Emperor's dining room, skipping the entire process.
The Emperor grinned.
"Come in. I ate first because I was bored of waiting for you."
"It's been a while, Your Imperial Majesty."
Isadora greeted politely.
He said that he ate first but he only ate a small amount of water and fruit. His gray hair flowed down his wrinkled forehead. The Emperor swept his hair with his large and skinny hand. Suddenly, he asked Isadora.
"Do you still not want to be one of my people?"
"Nope."
It was a long time ago. The Emperor once recommended Isadora to leave Hautean and become one of Tarragon's people. But even then, she refused at once, just like she did now.
"You're so firm that I can't get attached to you."
"That's exactly what I feel for Your Imperial Majesty."
"But you earn all your money here."
"Isn't that why I'm here to help you?"
Isadora sat in the seat guided by the attendant. The tablewares were all elegant antiques and the appetizers were fruits that were difficult to find in the winter.
"Whew… I should have had my son a little earlier. If I have a son around your age, I would have him marry you. Then I would have been able to live comfortably without suffering from this old body."
"Thank you for your appreciation, but I'm sure your son is not my cup of tea."
"Then is that asshole, whose only good aspect is his face, suited to your taste?"
"I got married when I was too young. At that age, don't people decide their partners by only looking at their faces?"
"So you're saying that my face is not that good?"
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"But at least you made a good decision dumping him."
"I think so, too."
"I heard your daughter looks like you."
The Emperor asked mischievously. Isadora gathered her lips sharply and loosened them.
"Even though I gave birth and raised her, I still can't figure her out. It's so fascinating."
"My brat is like that too."
"Sometimes she feels close to me like she's my other self, but sometimes she feels farther away from me, even more than strangers."
"Same goes for that brat, too."
"You must have had it worse than me. You're not raising your son as your son, you have to make him the Emperor."
Isadora talked dryly as if she was throwing her words out, she mixed a hint of a smile only when she said that. The Emperor's grumpy-looking face had also relaxed.
"Just eat."
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."
Since then, they ceased talking altogether and enjoyed the long dinner. The attendants and aides—who thought a lot of discussions would take place there—seemed rather flustered. They were accustomed to the Emperor's bad-temper but they did not know that Thousand Gold Isadora was someone who treated the Emperor of the Empire so fearlessly.
After eating, they walked slowly through the quiet hallway of Imperial Palace.
"Why did you think the God of Fate chose your daughter?"
"She's special."
"In what way?"
"She just became an adult this year… But sometimes I feel like she has lived for a very long time."
"And?"
"She feels guilty for everything in this world. Shall I say it as a sense of responsibility? She's at an age where it's only normal to act a little selfish, but, even if it seems like she's doing whatever she wants… That's not the case."
As Isadora's words got longer, the Emperor's mouth stretched and his wrinkled eyes drooped.
"She's a good kid. She naturally gathers people, induces them to move in a good direction… What's wrong?"
"Hehehehe!"
The Emperor laughed with his shoulders trembling. Isadora frowned and looked at him.
"Your Imperial Majesty?"
"Even Thousand Gold Isadora is nothing much. You have become very talkative, bragging about your daughter."