Chapter 23: Destiny.
"Congratulations on occupying the throne, Nero."
Inside the King's personal quarters, Nero, Rasputin, and Benedict were discussing some terms.
"It was all thanks to your help."
It had been a hard task to persuade the church of the four gods. Only when they were promised massive monetary benefits, they decided to agree to their proposal.
"Now, it's time to inspect our gains and losses."
Rasputin handed him over a paper.
Nero opened it up. When he read the contents inside the paper, he frowned.
"Are you serious?"
Along with the monetary sum, the church wanted to establish its own religion in the kingdom.
"As serious as I can be."
Nero began contemplating. The monetary sums consisted of 25 percent of the royal coffers. Along with that, they also had to change the official religion, which would raise some eyebrows.
"This will take a lot of whitewashing."
Benedict whispered in his ears.
Nero looked at Rasputin and said,
"I agree to these terms, but with one condition."
Rasputin raised an eyebrow.
"The church doesn't do conditions."
"I am not backing down. For the deal to go through, the church will have to agree to this condition."
Nero was firm in his stance.
"Speak."
Rasputin didn't want things to go south.
"If Malen and the church are going to enter a collaboration, then my condition is simple. For the next 5 years, the church will not interfere in any of the internal politics. My father has died, and if I make such a bold move, I might become a target. If the church enters our kingdom peacefully, the government ensures people that it is competent enough. For the first five years, I want to prove that I am a competent king. As I establish my power in the court, I can assure that people will accept the religion as time passes."
Rasputin was impressed. He was a competent negotiator.
"Very well. As a representative of the church, I happily accept that proposal. But you do know that with the change of religion, you would have to change the name of the kingdom."
"I know. And I would have to ask the church to proclaim me as the King when that happens."
"What name do you have in mind?"
Rasputin was curious.
"The Augustus Empire."
"A magnificent name."
God knows how long Nero had been planning for this day. When he said that name, he didn't even have to think about it.
Nero handed the paper to Benedict and said,
"The treasurer has been taken care of. From now on, you are in charge of handling our treasury."
Benedict took the paper and sighed. This had been decided from the very beginning.
"Wait, the pope is going to work for the kingdom?"
"Yes. He will be involved with spreading the name of the church and taking care of the treasury. He can work for no one but me. Not even god."
Rasputin almost choked on his wine. This brat is too disrespectful.
"I will ignore that statement. I don't want to kill you right now."
He placed the glass on the table and asked,
"What about my personal request?"
Nero was looking forward to this question.
"The princess is yours to enjoy. According to the royal records, she has already committed suicide."
Rasputin smiled. As his grin formed, even Nero was unnerved. Who could look at his face right now and say that this man was a saint?
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"Where is she!"
Minerva had disappeared. Attilius was in her room with a layer of mana protecting him.
Their plan had been perfect. When the King was being executed, they had planted an extremely indiscernible mana formation that would release a fast-acting sedative when anyone entered the room. The princess had to be captured. Otherwise, they would have to face Rasputin's wrath.
"Did you see her enter the room?"
The guard responsible for keeping an eye out for the princess nodded.
"Then where did she disappear to?"
One of the mages inspected the trap.
"It looks like it activated a few minutes before we entered."
Attilius looked back at his men and said,
"Everyone spread out. Search every corner of the place. If we don't find the princess, all of us are losing our heads."
They all got to work. The princess couldn't have gotten too far.
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"Princess, I would have to leave you here."
Melida dropped Minerva just outside Selnika. The city was dangerous for her, and the guild leader helped in her escape.
The princess didn't respond. She was in no condition to engage in a conversation.
"I advise you to leave the kingdom as soon as possible."
She levitated in the air and took off towards the guild headquarters. Now that Nero was King, she could no longer afford to keep Vincent here.
As soon as she left, Minerva collapsed to the ground on her knees. Her eyes were full of tears, and they didn't take a second to come out.
She struggled to speak. All she could do was look towards the ground and let the tears flow.
If not for Melida, she would have been sold to the saint as a slave. If only she had kept her mouth shut, her father would be still alive.
She banged her arms on the ground repeatedly. This was all her fault.
At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to end her own life.
"You are the Princess of Malen!"
Her father's words echoed in her mind. Those were his last words to her, and they carried the heaviest weight.
Slowly, the tears started to halt. She managed to pick herself up.
Minerva turned around towards the capital city of her kingdom.
"I am the princess of Malen. By my father's will, I swear that I will win back that throne from the traitor by any means necessary. With the oath of this task, I now forever bind my destiny to it."
<<Transform>>
Her appearance changed. Her light golden hair turned brown, and her green eyes turned black. Her clothes transformed and turned into rags.
She turned her back towards her kingdom with an oath to win it back.
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