Chapter 11: The Third Revenge (3)
‘This is….’
When Lucy came to her senses, she found herself in an unknown white space.
Since the scenery was so different from reality, she had a slight anticipation that her goddess might have reconnected with her.
However, when she confirmed the identity of the person who appeared in front of her, her expression hardened.
“It’s nice to meet you again, saintess. Ah, should I call you former Saint Lucy Prisis?”
Lucy did not succumb to Edmund’s provocation. Instead, she spoke in a resigned tone.
“I hope you like it. Because your plan worked. The reason you appeared is to laugh at me, who has completely fallen, right? Come on, laugh at me. You won, so do as you please.”
“… Rather, I was just curious. Did you really have no doubts about yourself until you became Lee Ji-kyung?”
“What’s the use of talking like that now? You are already dead anyway, and I will die soon too.”
“So before you die, you think I’ll tell you all the thoughts I have in my heart.”
At Edmund’s words, Lucy looked at him for a moment.
I couldn’t have predicted what Edmund was thinking now. Could she have any sympathy left?
Or are you just holding on to your fate?
“Do you think all of this might not have happened if I hadn’t tried to kill you?”
“… ….”
“If you think so, stop. It was destined to be like this anyway. After all, we are all just puppets of the Goddess.”
“Did you ever say that the greatest gift the Goddess gave to humans was free will?”
“… It was. But now I see that that was a deception. In the end, it flows in the direction the Goddess wants. There is not much we can control.”
If you think about it, just look at the past cases. Even if he twisted the revelation somehow, he couldn’t stop it with miserable words.
“Why were you still trying to twist the Goddess’ revelation?”
“… I thought it might be different this time. It was my conceit. I thought maybe I could change this fate.”
Lucy smiled and looked at Edmund.
“Doesn’t it look funny? But at the time, I really thought so. As if possessed by something.”
“So that’s the conclusion? No matter what you do, you can’t escape the fate the goddess has predestined for you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I was destined to be burned at the stake like this from the beginning, and you were also destined to be excommunicated?”
“Yes.”
I remembered the barrage of questions I received from Edmund during the trial. By this time, it seemed that Edmund would start to voice his objection….
“Then, what was it that the Goddess prepared a great fate for me in the past?”
“That… Looking back, it was the same. You were the ace of the warriors’ party, and you died with your image restored as a hero anyway.”
“Then one more. Why did the Goddess suddenly change the revelation? Didn’t you change it to destroy only the tower you built instead of the Great War?”
“That… ….”
Lucy was speechless. Lucy didn’t understand that much. But she had her own interpretation.
“Since she was chosen as a new saint, she must have been to prove that she was her saint.”
“But isn’t it strange the way it is? Does the original revelation go so far as to overturn the old revelation like this?”
… That’s a questionable point. The goddess had never reversed her own revelation before. In a way, this was the first time.
But what if even that was all part of the goddess’ plan?
“Then the Goddess may have given me false revelations from the beginning. You gave me false revelations from the beginning and made me kill you.”
“Are you saying you were a discard hand from the start?”
“Yes.”
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This was Lucy’s conclusion. Seeing this, Edmund shook his head.
“You mean you won’t blame yourself until the end.”
“… ….”
“Yeah, I’d rather not have any regrets until the end, which is more consistent. Do whatever you feel like. Blame the goddess like that and die.”
“So you’re saying I’m wrong?”
“Well? I don’t know the answer. But I guess we won’t understand each other until the end.”
“Then what do you think?”
Lucy asked.
“I agree with the goddess playing in the big picture. But how we take it is our choice.”
“… So, if I hadn’t tried to kill you then, it wouldn’t have happened like this? No, when I saw it, in the end, only the process was different and the result would have been similar.”
“Of course, the result of being struck by lightning at the Etoile Great War may not have changed. But think carefully. Does the collapse of the Great War necessarily mean that you will also fall?”
“You mean I should have been on your side?”
“I don’t mean to say that. If he somehow accepted the outcome of the collapse of the Daeshinjeon, he wouldn’t have come all the way to Ji-kyung Lee. I’d rather move to another place before being struck by lightning instead.”
“Take that? The Goddess said that if the Great War collapsed, the goddess would abandon us. Long ago, when the Great Temple was first built, such a revelation was made! Do you think that would be easier said than done?”
Lucy protests with bloodshed. Edmund calmly asked Lucy a question.
“I have a question, is that a proper interpretation of the revelation?”
“Is it true that you are abandoning the entire empire? Isn’t that just throwing away your priests?”
“That… ….”
“Well, even if that meant the end of the empire, would it really mean the end? Your Solaum Empire was already established after the Latis Empire collapsed. Wouldn’t that mean a new beginning?”
“… ….”
“Or, in the worst case, it could be interpreted that if there is a beginning, there is an end, just as humans die someday.”
Either way, the future that is difficult to accept was the same in the end.
“Look! Either way, it’s hard to accept, isn’t it?”
“It is difficult. Most people would do anything to change it.”
“But why…?”
“But you weren’t like most people.”
At Edmund’s words, Lucy was speechless.
“You were a saint. And to help the goddess’ will come true in this world. Isn’t that the saintess’ duty?”
“… ….”
“If I had only fulfilled my duties as a saint, would I have been excommunicated like this? Think carefully.”
“… If you think about it like that, didn’t you, too, not accept your fate in the end? When I said that the Goddess wanted your death, you ran away.”
“In the end, that was a lie. Even you would know now In the end, I wasn’t the one who dropped the lightning that brought down the tower. In the first place, I had nothing to do with the destruction of the Great Temple.”
“But….”
“Still, is it wrong? So what happened to me?”
“… ….”
When Edmund asked back, the saintess was speechless.
Edmund looked at her for a while before opening her mouth.
“Well, yes. Still, according to what you said, the Goddess chose you from the beginning even though you weren’t meant to be, and even your reaction like this could have been part of the plan. After all, only the goddess knows the inside of a goddess.”
“… ….”
“You decide on your own.”
With Edmund’s last words, Lucy woke up from her dream.
She looked out of her window with her dejected expression.
‘Why the hell… ….’
I didn’t understand. She must have been the one closer to the goddess. He is just an alien who came to this world later. Why the hell does he know more about her goddess than she does?
Still, her thoughts haven’t changed. In the end, she was destined to end like this.
But really, could it be her fault?
As Edmund said, she has already not fulfilled her duties as a saint. Is it her goddess’ fault, or is it her own fault?
Thinking of this, the saintess crouched down and immersed herself in her thoughts.
And soon after, she burst into tears.
While I was spending my time with such regret and self-reproach, even the faint old moon was hidden by clouds and completely disappeared, and the moonlight entering the prison also completely disappeared.
The next morning. Lucy was found with her neck hanging.
***
The next morning. Saint Joan visited the hiding place where I was again.
She brought the news that Lucy Pricis had died.
“You are selfish to the end.”
I shook my head.
In fact, she could have escaped the death penalty. Thanks to Saint Joan’s plea, there was a slight possibility that her sentence would end with life imprisonment.
But since she took her own life, it must be a futile assumption.
“Before she died, she was said to have shed tears. Did she ever get into her dreams the day before?”
“I just expressed my opinion to the human who blamed her own fate until the end.”
“… You showed her true self to someone who would crumble if she knew what she was.”
I thought he would criticize me, but surprisingly Saint Joan didn’t say anything more.
“So, what about Lucy now?”
“If you look at past precedents, it is true that she is getting a record obliteration. At least her name will be completely erased from the official history books of Etoile.”
However, the destruction of records is not something that will be erased from people’s memories forever. Immediately in the past, a saint who was excommunicated like Lucy was also destroyed, but people still remember that there was such a saint.
“But I’m not going to take the record-breaking penalty.”
“…Why?”
“From my point of view, being sentenced to record destruction is nothing more than covering up a shameful past. Rather, former Saint Lucy is the person we should take as our anti-war teacher. Because she shows how far the person closest to the Goddess can fall.”
“That is desirable.”
I smiled slightly. I also found that to be better.
“Then, what are you going to do now?”
“First of all, I plan to completely reorganize the High Priesthood. They are also the main culprits of destroying Etoile by sticking to Lucy. In some cases, excommunication may be possible, or at least most of them will be disqualified as priests.”
“There will be big changes soon.”
“… It’s going to be confusing. But it’s something you have to do. If we show even the slightest gap, he might strike the lightning that will destroy the Great War this time.”
I silently nodded.
Didn’t I confirm the intervention of the goddess yesterday? After all, I wasn’t the one who brought down the tower, which was protected by lightning rods and all sorts of defenses.
That’s why I started to wonder.
What the hell was the big picture the goddess was drawing? Why did I appear in the revelation?
“Actually, the Goddess may not have overturned the revelation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because she does not necessarily carry out her revelations in the order in which the Goddess gave her revelations. After all, lightning may fall before the Great Temple in the near future.”
When I heard that, I had an ominous thought. So, does that mean another major crisis is coming to the empire?
“… So, are you going to arrest me or something?”
“It can’t be. However, in order to prepare for this, I plan to empty Daeshinjeon for the time being. We can prevent it until it causes casualties.”
“… ….”
“I’m just curious. What is the meaning of Edmund-sama’s triumphant smile after the Great Crusade collapsed?”
“First of all, I have no reason to destroy the Great Hall. Lucy has fallen, and I intend to leave the Empire now. I will no longer be involved in imperial affairs. So… I don’t know why I would laugh at that.”
I gave my thoughts. Saint Joan thought about this for a while.
“It is very difficult. Seeing the revelations of the Goddess doesn’t mean you can fully understand the Goddess’ thoughts.”
After a long silence, she spoke. And she got up from her seat. I moved her with difficulty and escorted her to her door.
“I hope your body recovers in good health. And I will support Edmund-sama’s new life.”
“Thank you. I hope the Etoile thing goes well with you too.”
“Thank you.”
Before going that way, Saint Joan hesitated for the last time and then she spoke to me.
“But keep this in mind.”
“What?”
“There may still be plans for Edmund-sama.”
