Chapter 182
“I wonder what Master is doing right now…” Cain muttered. He stared at his captor’s wide back as the scenery around them rapidly changed. It seemed that Cain had finally adapted—no, it was more accurate to say that he had resigned himself to his fate.
Of course, the talented and hardworking Cain had always been optimistic, but he had long noticed that his mysterious benefactor, a black knight dripping with tar-like demonic power, was a fabled Death Knight—a creature who served dark mages.
The optimistic Cain couldn’t help but become pessimistic. What could he do at this point? There was nothing else he could have done to prevent capture because he was too tired to move, and he also didn’t expect his benefactor to turn on him.
“I have heard that death knights are intelligent creatures despite being under the control of a dark mage, but what do I know?” Cain licked his lips which had dried up thanks to the wind blowing into his face.
Cain was sure that they had been moving for at least half a day now, but he still had no idea where they were going. This was all because the death knight wasn’t really saying anything. Actually, Cain didn’t really have the energy to ask questions.
“We’re also on a mountain with no recognizable landmarks…” Cain trailed off as he scratched his head.“Eh, who cares! What do I have to worry about when Avalon’s best strategist is here? I should prioritize my recovery since the Mercenary King is out there.”
Cain buried himself into the death knight’s cloak and muttered into the air, “I’m sure Master has already heard about what happened to me. He’s definitely worried about me, right?”
Cain grimaced and exclaimed, “No! He must not know! He’s busy out there fighting, and he’s definitely going to get distracted and worried about me if he hears what happened to me. A subordinate must not be a cause of worry for his lord! I have to contact him immediately once I recover.”
Unfortunately for Cain, his worries were needless because Joshua was currently dying from happiness. In addition, Cain couldn’t have guessed that his worries would soon grow into a habit.
He would eventually become too much of a worrywart that he would become famous throughout the continent as the Compassionate Knight.
***
In addition to being the star of the Hubalt Empire, Lilith Aphrodite was also famous as the Silver-eyed Ghost Sword because of her terrifying swordsmanship.
Her lovely demeanor, voluptuous body, and her swordsmanship never failed to attract the eyes of many men.
However, Lilith’s family served to make her stand out even more.
The Hubalt Empire was unique from any other nation because it had two monarchs.
One had to have the necessary imperial bloodline to become the Emperor of Hubalt, but to become the Pope of Hubalt, one had to be elected. Moreover, the requirements were more stringent than becoming the Emperor of Hubalt because the Pope’s symbolism and position were as powerful as His Majesty the Emperor’s position.
First of all, the Papabile had to be blessed by Hermes, and their divine power had to be comparable to a high priest at the very least. Secondly and lastly, they had to be popular because they had to win the elections if they wanted to become the Pope.
Of course, the voters were the Papabiles’ fellow high-ranked priests.
The Aphrodite Family was a special family in Hubalt that had given birth to as many as three popes. The current pope, His Holiness Marhel, also belonged to the Aphrodite family. Lilith was His Holiness the Pope’s niece. In addition, she was also one of the few students who learned swordsmanship directly from the Knight of God Chrysler jean Sebastian.
Therefore, one could say that Lilith was the only woman in the Hubalt Empire with more power than Her Highness the Princess of Hubalt.
However, the powerful lady of the Aphrodite Family puckered her lips.?‘I’m annoyed.’
Lilith’s senses were about a hundred times better than those of normal people, and she could tell that someone was looking at her. The gaze belonged to a woman.
‘She must be the genius daughter of Count Rebrecca. If my memory serves me right, she’s currently wanted by the Mercenary King and the Avalon Empire’s imperial family. What was her name again? Ah, right. Iceline zin Rebrecca.’
As the current Master of Moon Gate, Lilith’s memory was remarkable. Of course, she didn’t have a photographic memory like Zero, but her memory could still be considered one of the best on the continent.
Still, there was no way she would forget about Iceline, even if she didn’t have her remarkable memory. It was all because whenever Lilith’s beauty and elegance were praised, she would always get compared to Iceline of Avalon.
However, the only reason she was always compared to Iceline was because of the similarity in their talent and styles.
They were both women who were considered cold and aloof, but their swordsmanship and magic were enough to turn the tables on the battlefield. If it weren’t for the Rebrecca Family’s fall, Iceline would have become one of the Rising Stars.
Everything about Iceline irritated Lilith for some reason, and she frowned upon realizing that she was currently experiencing feelings she had never experienced before.
‘Was this girl the reason why he refused to kiss me?’
It was often said that people would act like children whenever they were in love.
Right now, Lilith was acting just like every other young woman of her age. She was talented, and she possessed a voluptuous figure that betrayed her young age, but she was just a young woman who had just turned twenty.
Lilith quickly got rid of her thoughts and smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce your companion to me?”
“W-what?” Akshuller was too dumbfounded to respond coherently. He couldn’t really be blamed because Lilith had just said that Joshua was her boyfriend, even though it was well-known that she had no interest in men.
“Ah, s-she’s my…” Akshuller stammered as he struggled to find the words to say.
Fortunately, Iceline stepped forward and said, “Selena. My name is Selena.”
“...” Akshuller stared at her blankly.
“Hmm?” Lilith feigned ignorance and laughed. “What about your surname? You don’t have one? Are you a commoner?”
Iceline shrugged and said, “Who knows? You never know. I might be a princess in disguise.”
“Ice—Selena, stop playing around…!” Akshuller was still confused. It couldn’t be helped because this was the first time he saw Iceline acting like this.
Iceline directly ignored Akshuller and said to Lilith, “I’m Joshua’s ‘precious’ friend.”
“His precious friend?” Lilith’s smiling lips trembled ever so slightly. Of course, the trembling was so slight it was imperceptible to both Akshuller and Iceline.
“Friends… Friends, hm…” Lilith seemed to have fallen into deep contemplation. When she emerged from her thoughts, she stared at Iceline from top to bottom and muttered, “I guess becoming more than friends with him would be a bit…”
“...!” Iceline wasn’t dumb. She was smart. More accurately, she had to be smart if she wanted to make a name for herself. “That’s…”
Lilith saw the blush on Iceline’s cheeks, and before Iceline could say anything, Lilith quickly took advantage of the opening and spoke, “Ah! Don't get me wrong. Joshua’s taste is just a tad bit mature for his age…”
Of course, she didn’t forget to showcase her figure to Iceline, so the latter could see her maturity. Iceline was covered in a thick, hooded robe, while Lilith was wearing a thin, cotton shirt with leather armor that highlighted her slim waist and voluptuous breasts.
“Ooohhh!”
“Wow, the rumors about her being a goddess were true.”
“My wife will definitely kick me out of the house later, but I could even die right now after seeing this sight.”
The surrounding men suddenly forgot that they had squandered their fortunes and swallowed mouthful after mouthful of their own saliva. Their eyes shimmered pink with infatuation. However, the most surprising fact was that Lilith didn’t seem like she was bothered by the attention. On the contrary, she was smiling, seemingly satisfied.
“Heifer…” Iceline muttered, just loud enough for Lilith to hear.
“What?” Lilith was still smiling, but her forehead creased. “What did you just say?”
“Um…” Lilith looked around and saw that the skinny man responsible for the payouts had spoken up. “There are a lot of people waiting, so I’d like you to continue your conversation elsewhere if you don’t mind…”
At that, Lilith closed her mouth. However, she seemed to have recalled something as she smiled and said, “Ah, yes, I’m sorry. I came here for something. What am I doing fighting with a girl who still has her baby fat?”
After making sure that Iceline would hear the latter part of her sentence, Lilith walked forward and placed a palm-sized piece of paper on a nearby table.
The silver paper shone faintly, and it was definitely precious, as evidenced by the distinct clack that it made when Lilith placed it down.
“I'm here to get my payout,” said Lilith.
“A silver paper?”
“Silver? Really?”
The surrounding crowd buzzed with excitement when they saw the piece of paper Lilith had just placed on the table.
The gamblers of Reinhardt, especially those gamblers who placed bets on the outcome of the Masters’ Battle matches, would receive a white piece of paper for bets less than ten thousand gold. Meanwhile, those who bet more than ten thousand gold but less than a hundred thousand gold would receive a shimmering silver paper.
The paper Akshuller received upon placing his bet was white. Every paper the gamblers would receive was treated with advanced magic, so there was no way they could alter the color of their paper or create counterfeits.
If the gamblers wanted to receive their winnings, they had to present the paper that they had received upon betting. However, the reason the crowd was buzzing was the fact that Lilith’s paper was a shimmering silver.
Since she was here to receive her payout, she definitely bet on Joshua, and the amount she bet was definitely at least ten thousand gold.
“I think I bet around fifty thousand?” said Lilith with a smile.
“God!” The gamblers went wild.
Fifty thousand gold at those odds meant a payout of six hundred thousand gold. The skinny man carefully inspected the silver paper, and his poker face cracked the moment he realized that it was authentic. He was actually rendered speechless at the sight of it.
“Is that it?” The baby-cheeked Iceline snorted and swaggered up to the table.
“...?” Lilith tilted her head. “What are you—”
Slam!
As if answering Lilith’s question, Iceline slammed the piece of paper she was holding on the table.
“...!” Lilith glanced at the piece of paper, and her gorgeous silver eyes gradually widened when she realized that the paper’s color was neither white nor silver.
The piece of paper sat there proudly, seemingly showing off its vivid yellow color.
“Gold?” Lilith’s confused voice was remarkably loud amidst the silence of the crowd.
1. Author used ??(同情) here, but it’s a homonym of another word ??(童貞), so the author is basically saying that Cain is a compassionate, virgin knight.
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