Chapter 398: Chapter 398 Perfect Ending_1
"Your understanding of the divine language seems not as profound as we had imagined. We always suspected you had reached the level of a near-deity," Abigail suddenly said with a meaningful tone.
In response, Aiden merely smiled, without replying.
When he first started cooperating with the coven of witches, they had inexplicably overestimated him. At that time, Aiden had no choice but to exploit this overestimation, as his relationship with the coven hadn’t yet grown so strong. Had they known that he actually possessed little power and that the major figure backing him was just a scheming goddess using him as a pawn for pleasure, they would have surely devoured him whole.
Now, after much interaction, Abigail seemed to have become somewhat aware of it.
"I’ve doubted before that you’re not as capable as you appear, that we were just scaring ourselves in the past," Abigail slowly said, "But the entity behind you is real, and now you’ve even got your hands on the ultimate authority."
"Did Qiqimora tell you that?"
"I have my own sources of information," Abigail said slowly, "I’m actually a bit regretful now. If I had been bolder back then, perhaps I could have gained control over you."
"I didn’t expect you to have such an interest," Aiden chuckled, "But had you really done that, what would have become of you, not even I can say for sure."
Abigail was unaware of Melissa’s status as the "Desire" ruler when they met.
"Aiden Galahad" was a pawn used by the scheming goddess to test Mr. Bloodcoat, and Melissa didn’t care about his life or death, for she had a contingency plan to resurrect him. But if someone tried to take away this pawn, what actions the goddess would take was anybody’s guess.
In order to gauge Abigail’s willingness to cooperate, Aiden had already hinted at the existence of that "Desire" ruler backing him.
"That’s true, after all, Your Excellency has ’connections,’" Abigail nodded.
"Stop teasing me," Aiden shook his head, "I’m still troubled by this matter."
"You mentioned two things earlier, is the other matter that old topic?" Abigail asked.
"No, I wanted to ask about the political situation within the Kingdom of Gistas, has there been any change?" Aiden inquired, "Since Qiqimora has been in regular contact with you, she must have discussed it with you."
"Isn’t it the same old situation? The new king still advocates implementing new policies, but can’t execute them due to the opposition of powerful stakeholders, and both sides are still at a stalemate. The Republican Party is too weak to stir up any trouble, but at least the secret police and the heresy tribunal are not as tense as before, which is good news for Qiqimora," Abigail replied indifferently.
Aiden knew what was happening—because the focus of political assassinations had shifted from Gistas to the autonomous regions, with the new king targeting Sara Rekhsia in the Rose Iron Prison and even sending the leader of the secret police to the autonomous regions on a clandestine mission, causing the domestic situation to ease.
"I was just wondering, what do you think of the new king of Gistas’s abilities?" Aiden suddenly asked.
"I’m just a witch, do you think I’d be interested in politics?" Abigail countered.
"Probably not, but I think you would understand. After all, Banquet Forest is situated in a sensitive location. Just because these countries haven’t acted against you doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to, and you just said you had your own channels of information, right?"
"Well. If you want my opinion, the new king seems quite ruthless, but too young and inexperienced. I don’t know if his policies are good or bad, but his way of implementing them is too impulsive and too forceful. Being a young man who suddenly came to power due to his father’s abrupt death, he lacks both the necessary prestige and personal power to enforce such a hard line, leading to an internal division within the kingdom," Abigail shared her assessment.
"You say you’re not interested, and yet you speak so authoritatively?" Aiden chuckled.
"After all, I’m the reluctant leader of an organization, I too have accumulated some prestige before I dared to reorganize the coven of witches. If an unknown witch attempted such a thing, not only would the chances of success be slim, but even if they succeeded, it would only bring trouble upon themselves. A leader’s position always has a sword hanging above it,"
"I agree, without prestige you can’t achieve anything," Aiden nodded in agreement.
If he had not made a name for himself before becoming the prison warden, implementing those reforms in the prison would not have been so smooth.
It seemed that the new king had indeed been too hasty since ascending the throne, lacking the prestige to enforce a strong-handed approach, it was just like a cat pretending to be a tiger. Aiden had read a political commentary suggesting that the king’s tense relationship with his late father over differing political opinions had prompted him to prove himself impulsively after the old king’s death, which is why he was so forceful with his new policies—a common ailment of youth and the underlying reason for the opposition from the old king’s retainers.
"Now this guy’s foundations are unstable, and he lacks experience. If there were a new contender willing to contest the throne and directly challenge him for the right of succession, it would be quite a drama, right?" Aiden pondered, "No wonder he’s so desperate."
Currently, the entire city was searching for the whereabouts of the royal secret police, and despite the obstacles, they seemed to have no intention of giving up, a clear indication of the king’s obsession. Probably, he wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of his life as long as Sara remained alive.
Upon hearing this, Abigail suddenly realized something, "The royal secret police should be hunting the old king’s illegitimate daughter all over the world by now. Considering that you’ve now crossed paths with Earl Hofman, could it be... do you plan to prepare to overthrow a kingdom?"
"I’m not such a grand schemer, I’m just... trying to minimize trouble for myself," Aiden waved his hand dismissively.
He had thought it through carefully, killing Heinz Hofman would indeed grant him the divine word and strike a blow to the king of Gistas’s assassination plot, but the new king might not necessarily give up.
As long as Sara Rekhsia remained in his prison for even a day, the political struggle of the Kingdom of Gistas would inevitably turn back to his prison sooner or later, and these political issues were nothing but pure trouble for him as a warden.
When Asenna brought up another solution, he had been considering whether he could bring about a more satisfactory ending to the situation.
But the prerequisite for achieving this outcome was still to persuade that incompetent princess.
At that moment, Aiden found himself envious of Melissa’s ability to willfully change people’s hearts.
