Only God

Arsia was reluctant to marry into Ausenco.

Her father wanted her to marry a man devoid of feelings, which she could accept because she understood the importance of political marriages for her family. However, the main problem was that Ausenco had nothing to offer, and many of its nobles were unwelcoming to her as an imperial princess.

In her view, the marital alliance between the two kingdoms was a one-sided wish of the royal families. Any unforeseen incidents could bring the whole arrangement to naught, not to mention any thoughts of incorporating the Ausenco Kingdom as a subordinate state.

"Right!"

Arsia exclaimed as if she suddenly realized something.

Eden, distracted by the noise, turned to look at the Princess.

"I thought of something, I thought of something..."

Arsia repeated twice.

Eden looked at Arsia, his face full of confusion.

"My mother mentioned that there are heretics here!"

Arsia suddenly declared.

"...That's suspected heresy."

Eden hesitated for a moment before saying.

In fact, he could already confirm that the Fahela Sect was indeed a heretical order, but many clues he found came from the stone pendant, visible only to him, known only to his existence.

Arsia fixed her gaze on Eden, her blue eyes swirling, making Eden feel a bit numb.

"Right, suspected heresy, but I have this intuition that they are definitely heretics."

"Intuition can deceive."

"It doesn't matter, I can only trust my intuition."

Arsia spoke as if resigning to her fate,

"And... a sect accompanied by elves with strange skin colors, how could they not be heretics?"

Eden pondered and then asked,

"If they really are heretics, what would you want to do?"

Arsia snapped her fingers, stood up, almost hitting the tent with her head,

"It's quite simple!

Since they are heretics, as a True Believer I definitely cannot marry there, because the wedding would never receive the Church's blessing. Not only would the Church not bless it, but the devout citizens of the capital would stand up in opposition.

If that happens, my father might want to rush the marriage with that prince, but I would not do that. I would run away from the marriage or even threaten with death just to delay enough time for the united citizens to disrupt the wedding through the Council. Not only would I avoid getting a bad reputation for running away, but people would also see me as righteous!"

Arsia spoke at length, growing more eager as if she couldn't wait to put her plans into action.

This startled Eden; initially, he thought it was far-fetched, but after some thought, he realized it wasn't impossible.

At that moment, Arsia bent over, her head close to his, her slender figure like an elegantly stretching giraffe,

"What do you think?

I bet you've found out something!

It must be, or why else would you suddenly want to rescue that half-blood?

You definitely discovered something and kept it hidden."

Eden, regaining his senses, did not answer Arsia but instead questioned her earlier statement,

"So, at this point, you want to be seen as righteous? Have you remembered your identity as a True Believer?"

Arsia was momentarily at a loss for words, mumbling quietly after a while:

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it..."

Then, resolutely, Arsia said,

"Never mind, I'll go find that half-blood later. My intuition tells me he must be connected to the heretics."

After finishing her words, Arsia made a motion as if she was about to rush out.

Eden let out a sigh. It wouldn't be difficult for Arsia to coerce information out of Timian. He believed that if Arsia pressed on, the half-blood would soon betray his intense faith.

After some thought, Eden grabbed Arsia,

"Alright, I indeed found a clue."

The princess immediately halted and settled down, clapping her hands,

"I knew it."

Eden took a deep breath, feeling helpless.

He had no intention of stopping the Emperor's marriage alliance, but neither did he intend to defend the Emperor's interests.

In other words, whether Arsia's marriage was successful or not, it had nothing to do with him, whether the princess got married or eloped. The only thing he cared about was the heretical source of the Fahela Sect and also protecting Arsia's safety.

"This sect, called the Fahela Sect, does indeed show heretical behaviors in various aspects..."

Eden briefly informed Arsia about the circumstances of the Fahela Sect. His explanation didn't go deep and key elements like the Stone Pendant and time-traveling were omitted.

Arsia listened intently and grew more excited,

"It's true, they really are a bunch of heretics!"

The princess exclaimed happily.

Seeing her like this, Eden frowned.

He knew that faith wasn't that important to her. Rather than calling it faith, it would be more accurate to describe the True Religion as a tool for her use.

"What's wrong?"

Arsia caught something, asking doubtfully.

Eden spoke softly,

"If you keep going like this... you might block the source of your own redemption."

Arsia paused, seemingly understanding what Eden was saying. She immediately closed her mouth, saying nothing more.

............

............

It was hard for anyone to imagine that upon entering the Ausenco territory, the convoy would face another assassination.

The incident happened just as dawn was about to break, most of the guards in the camp were still deep asleep, and the Night Watchman was exhausted. It was then that the assassination took place.

First, a loud bang erupted on the east side of the camp followed by fighting noises, startling all the Night Watchman awake.

Eden was no exception; he quickly scrambled to his feet.

Then, he heard the ringing of bells.

Without any hesitation, Eden quickly grabbed a Longsword and headed towards the princess's tent.

As Eden approached the princess's tent, he heard a "whoosh."

That was the sound of a bolt flying.

Following that, shouts from Arsia could be heard throughout the camp.

Many guards were heading towards where the princess was located, and since the last assassination, the security for the princess had been greatly reinforced.

"Devil! That's a Devil!"

"Wizard, it's a Wizard, protect the princess!"

"Don't back down! Your Highness, run!"

Amid the noisy clamor filling the air, Eden deduced from the sounds that the guards protecting the princess were being pushed back.

This assassination was far more dangerous than the previous ones, and much more deadly.

Eden raised his hand and quickly chanted in the Ancient Language. In an instant, his soul detached from his body and darted towards the direction of the uproar.