The night may have passed, eating and talking, but Felix wasn't satisfied with just the boys. So as the morning came closer, he entered the well-guarded room, protected by two Grand Wizards of the Gracia royal family. But no one stopped him, and he simply walked in and gently closed the door behind him.
"I'm afraid I can't remove this armor right now, so you'll have to wait some more," Felix said as he watched Isabella sheepishly waking up in her bed.
She shrugged and just waved her arms to call him closer, "I know… I was waiting for you all this time. I wanted to talk."
"Sylvester invited the other Ex-God's Favored, and we just talked with no end." Felix didn't feel comfortable taking off his visor when with her, so he sat down by her on the large bed. "What did you want to talk about?"
Isabella pulled him back so his body would lay by her side. In armor, he looked like a giant, but she didn't mind. Though she also removed his visor, locking eyes with him. "About our marriage."
Felix sighed, lying straight on the bed, focusing on the ceiling above. "Isabella, the Church didn't just burn me. They also took away my ability to father children. If you marry me, we might never be able to have children. Your bloodline will end, and… Max said he'll be able to heal me completely once he becomes a Supreme Wizard, but it can take decades or even centuries."
Isabella nestled closer to him and hugged his side. "Until now, Sylvester has never broken any promise he's made to anyone. If he's confident that he can heal you, then I believe him. But in any case, I don't care if we can have children or not—I just don't want to be alone anymore. Other than you, I won't accept anyone else by my side."
"Even Max? He was your first interest, wasn't he?" Felix jokingly asked, not insecure at all, since Sylvester was perhaps the only man he knew who was actually devotedly focused on faith and adhering to abstinence for it.
She chuckled, remembering the old days. "True, he was quite dazzling back then. He still is, but now I understand him better as a person. He never looked at me from the eyes of a lustful man back then. He only saw my stature as the Princess. We became friends, but initially, I was just a tool for him—don't take me the wrong way; I can understand his way of thinking. I can only see him as a friend and the Pope now, and I'm certain he'll stand by us, at the very least."
"Haha… That's so Sylvester. To him, everyone's a pawn until he's certain of their character. When I was in Beastaria or reeducation, I often wondered about him, having nothing better to do. Sylvester is… weird. I've known him since we were eight years old, and his intelligence has remained brilliant since the day I met him. It's as though he was born already at his peak.
"I asked others too, who knew him before I did, and they said the same thing. Singing at the age of a month, studying books, casting his first magic spell in front of Sir Dolorem when he was only five months old… Isabella…" Felix paused for a few seconds, weighing his words carefully. "What if he has a secret name hidden between Sylvester and Maximillian as well?"
Isabella gasped, her gaze fixed on Felix's face. "But… Why would he fight Saint Scepter, then? Shouldn't they have the same goals?"
"It's impossible to understand what goes on in his mind. I've asked him before, and he always says he's doing everything for one thing, and that's peace. It's hard to believe such reasoning." Felix replied, sounding confused himself. "I guess we can only hope for the best and continue to put our faith in him as we have until now."
"Where is he?" Isabella inquired.
Felix looked toward the window. "He left to climb Mount Quaris and signal Emperor Lich to come."
"Alone?"
"Yeah, he said he wants some time to think about the future. He's not very confident in fighting Saint Scepter."
Isabella rubbed her head with one hand. "Ugh, I keep forgetting about him."
Felix felt the same. "We all do, and that's why he's so dangerous. He might be here in the castle, moving about, and nobody would know."
They both silently rested. While Isabella closed her eyes to sleep, Felix's strength allowed him to stay awake for extended periods of time. Although he found some warmth in Isabella's embrace, his mind was filled with questions.
…
Sylvester withdrew his hands from the wall and opened his eyes. He allowed the Solarium he had sent out to return to his body. A sigh left his lips as he prepared to travel north for Mount Quaris.
'So Felix has started to question things. After learning about the secret of my heritage, it was inevitable.' Sylvester pondered silently. 'At least the scents haven't changed to mistrust yet.'
"Let's go, Chonky. It's going to be a quick trek into the mountains," Sylvester was ready to jump off.
"WAIT!" Miraj stopped him. "Let's take Ashra with us. She loves snow, and probably misses it."
Sylvester remembered the gigantic Mythril snake he had adopted. Indeed, she had lived almost all her life in the Pentapeak Mountain Range. "Good idea. Let's take her along."
Sylvester quickly went to the massive treasury of the Pope's Palace and found Ashra sitting on the big pile of gold, emitting faint snores. She opened her eyes soon enough, and her face lit up upon spotting her favorite human.
"Let's go to the mountains, girl," Sylvester treated her like a child since her intelligence didn't extend beyond that. "Just the three of us."
Ashra looked left and right, looking for the third person.
"Meow!"
The moment she heard Miraj's voice, she smiled even more. He was the official translator between them, after all.
After making preparations and adding protection to the treasury, Sylvester sneaked Ashra out of the city through the tunnels that the dwarves had dug. He soon found himself north of the city, near the entrance to the mountain range.
Avoiding the Great Chasms, they promptly entered the mountains since it was like a second home to Ashra. She knew all the paths and tricks to find routes. Sylvester only had to sit on her head and chat with her the entire time.
On their way, they encountered a lot of Southerners mining in some places. Some were running small individual operations, while others undertook expansive industrial-scale projects. But seeing all the destruction and disregard for nature, Sylvester felt slightly annoyed. He wasn't against extracting resources, but didn't want it to be too exploitative toward nature. As it also disturbs the wildlife.
"Perhaps new regulations for resource extraction could do the job," Sylvester contemplated his options and continued going north toward Forth Mundo, which once belonged to the violent faction of the Mountain Barbarians. But now it was a monastery outpost manned by four people, three priests and one Archpriest.
Miraj and Ashra loved their outing into the mountains, as they got the chance to meet many wild animals.
"Maxy, look! Big elephant! Or is it a big sheep?" Miraj chirped excitedly, jumping on Sylvester's head.
"That's a wooly mammoth, Chonky." Sylvester corrected him and observed the magnificent creatures from a distance. They were beautiful and numerous. There were even many young ones. Clearly, the wildlife population had increased after the Mountain Barbarians moved down south.
Over time, they found various other snow animals. From bears to lions, wolves to other giant snakes. But still, Ashra remained the apex predator there, causing all other creatures to yield to her presence.
Eventually, they drew closer to Fort Mundo. But just before they proceeded toward it, they saw some smoke coming from the west. Considering they were too deep into the mountains, where mining activity was virtually nonexistent, it got Sylvester interested but also worried.
"Ashra, head towards that smoke on the left," he told the snake.
Ashra hissed and quickly changed her course. She picked up speed and blasted through various small trees since she was too big.
"Hiss…!"
BAM!
Finally, she rammed through what seemed like an artificial wall made of wood. As they arrived inside, they noticed a large bonfire and a few people sitting around it. It resembled a makeshift camp, but when Sylvester glanced at the cone-shaped tents erected there, he remembered the barbarians.
Using the barbarian native language, Sylvester questioned their identity. Because, as far as he knew, he had already relocated them all to the Duchy of Iceling. "Bring forth your leader!"
'It's mostly women and children here. Did the men go hunting?' Sylvester concluded and jumped down from Ashra's head.
The women and children were wearing crude garments made from the hide of various animals. They looked exactly like the barbarians from years ago.
"Speak to me, or I'll make her destroy your camp," Sylvester threatened without mercy. "This land comes under the Church's jurisdiction. What are you doing here? Did Elder Chief Koruk send you here?"
The women first quickly ushered their children into the biggest tent, then raised their spears. Surprisingly, the spears didn't seem crude and were likely made in the South.
At that moment, the eldest of the women came forward and spoke. She had long, white braided hair, an arched back, and walked with the help of a cane. "We are from Elder Koruk's city."
"Then what are you doing here? Making a new camp without permission," Sylvester questioned them.
The woman quickly replied, stuttering in fear of Ashra's presence. "W-We chose to return to the mountains. We tried our best, but we didn't like our lives in the South. W-We believe in Solis… Lord… We are good people."
Sylvester glanced around and noticed the ample use of southern items. The utensils were also well made. There were also some sigils of Solis here and there.
'To any Southerner, this life would seem full of hardships. But for these barbarians, this is easy.' Sylvester realized it and took a softer tone with them.
"What didn't you like in the South?" He asked.
The woman answered. "Lord… Everything was too fast in the South, and we felt unease… Everyone was hungry for gold rather than the fulfillment of life… There, we didn't find any peace."
Taken aback, Sylvester looked at everyone's faces. They didn't seem like they were forced to live there, evident by the scent of determination to protect their home.
'Everyone has a different definition of peace—I'm the one who ruined it for them, as is Saint Scepter for me.' Sylvester thought to himself and withdrew his steps.
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