Chapter 19: Fear is Exactly what I Like the Most
A low giggle slipped out of Thalia.
Her voice dropped into an unusual tone as she warned him.
"If you think you can impose fear on me by using Holy Magic, then you should stop, for I do not fear anything. Fear was never given back to me... my Great Master saw to that."
For once, Luthan really thought she could end him.
If anything, he was still alive only because she kept him so.
Luthan recalled the Saintess’s words, that there were foes in this world one should never interact with.
The seven Demon Lords were among them.
’Is... she..? The person she called the Great Master... is that person a Demon Lord?’
It could very much be possible, because who else in this world would have enough power to command a maid like this one?
Her respect towards her Great Master made Luthan think that it could be someone of real great power, someone the world should fear.
Luthan truly wished for it to not be true.
He didn’t want to die, he had unfinished business to do.
For once, he never did anything to save his sister, and he feared that if he died today, then the Empire would misuse her.
No, he doesn’t want that.
Even if he had to grovel in front of that Great Master, he would do it.
He fell down on his knees and threw away all the weapons and potions he was carrying.
"Good thinking~" Thalia said, nodding her head happily.
"W..when can I meet your Great Master?" He asked.
Thalia saw fear in his eyes, the submission, and it pleased her very much.
’Great Master would be so proud!’
She couldn’t wait for the moment.
This time she would ask her Great Master for some reward.
But before that—
She looked around the world, the dead corpses of the Holy Empire which she had slain. She needed to clean this mess before Rian stepped foot here.
"Alright Thalia, let’s get to cleaning!" She said, flinging her sleeves up.
But before she could do anything, as much as pick a single bone, Rian’s voice came from in front of her.
"What’s happening here?"
Rian walked in from the bushes leading here, and in his hand he was holding a slim, sleek violet and dark sword.
Thalia understood that her Great Master’s work was done here.
Rian looked around the area, and everywhere he looked were dead corpses and undead.
He noticed soon enough who the cause of it was...
But before he could do anything, a man with black hair and a beard, having strikingly golden eyes, dashed in front of him.
"Run away, kid, this place is dangerous." He was panicking for some reason.
Rian didn’t know what happened, and why he was like this.
"Hm?"
He noticed that the black-haired man was wearing a blue robe, a vestment he had very often seen in his previous timeline.
"A Cardinal?" he muttered.
What’s a Cardinal doing here?
He looked at Thalia, who just met his eyes, and now was panicking too for some reason, as she spoke up.
"Please mind the bodies, Great Master, I have not tidied up yet."
"Huh?"
The Cardinal blinked and looked at the person the words were aimed at.
A black-haired, blue-eyed boy was there, his age somewhat similar to his sister’s. Beside him stood a tiny girl who had some strange thing floating over her head.
"Oh, hello there." The boy said to him. "What might a Cardinal be doing up here?"
"...."
He didn’t speak for a while.
When the Cardinal turned to him, Rian caught the facial features of him.
It was a face he could never forget appeared in his mind.
If this man were a girl, then there was no doubt he would look exactly like her. Then again, his long black hair somehow made him look like her too.
"..you are the Great Master?" Luthan said, looking up at him, as he was still on his knees.
"...Something like that." Rian replied.
Next, he would ask Thalia what happened, and what she meant by all this.
She let the Cardinal live because she thought he could be of use to him.
Maybe Thalia had saved the bigger fish for Rian, so that he could turn him into an undead and use him as he pleased.
If that was the case, then great job.
Rian liked her idea.
He could have done it, but the Cardinal’s face was giving him a turn off.
He didn’t know why, but he thought it could possibly be...
’It couldn’t, right? I mean, what are the odds?’
He looked at the Cardinal and asked for his name.
"I am Luthan d’Aurelle, the head of House Aurelle, and one of the 13 Cardinals of the Holy Empire."
Yeah, it was a good thing Thalia didn’t kill him, or else she would have been making an enemy out of the worst person she could have ever met.
And if that were to happen, then even Rian wouldn’t be able to save Thalia from her clutches.
’You have earned yourself a long life, Thalia.’ He added in his mind.
Thalia walked close to him.
"I killed them all, Great Master. Please praise me!"
’Praise her?’
Rian thought for a second.
Well, Thalia usually asked him in his previous life to sometimes praise her, or just pat her head.
’Guess I have to do it again.’
He extended his hand and patted her head.
"Great job, Thalia."
Thalia was not expecting a head pat, and because of that her lips trembled with joy.
She couldn’t ask for anything more.
Her life is fulfilled!
She will now butcher anyone who even dared to lay a finger on her Great Master.
Rian let go of Thalia’s head. She looked like she wanted more, but Rian didn’t want to spoil her.
"Luthan, right?" He said, looking down at the man who was still on his knees.
Somehow he felt a little weird seeing him like this.
"You can stand, there is no need to kneel down. I am not an emperor."
"No, it’s fine—"
"If the Great Master told you to stand, then you should stand." Thalia cut in.
Luthan heard it, and without uttering a single word, stood up.
Rian’s mouth gaped open at the sheer misunderstanding this Cardinal had about Thalia.
’Hey now, you are a Cardinal, have some self respect!’
Exactly what did Thalia do to instill this level of fear in him?
Rian didn’t know.
"What do I have to do to let you spare my life?" He asked Rian.
Rian didn’t know how to reply to this, because he was never going to kill Jeanne’s brother.
Nope, she would be hell pissed if she found out it was Rian who did it.
But then again, he can’t let this chance slip from his hand...
’Only a weak man bows away from golden chances.’
A smile spread across Rian’s face.
’I think this will do.’
After devising a plan, he asked.
"I will, after one condition."
Luthan blinked. "What is it?"
Rian looked at him and asked.
"Teach me how to use Holy Magic."
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