Chapter 792
Congratulations, Your Majesty
“…No way, boss? Are you serious?”
Alistair was momentarily speechless.
Although she was depressed at the time, she had cried her heart out with Isabel’s comfort. Actually, Alistair hadn’t been that fragile since then. When she knew someone cared about her, she paradoxically didn’t need that person to actually care about her anymore.
From this perspective, what Alistair truly cared about was the present that Isabel had promised earlier. That moment of empathy and acceptance had become a balm for her soul. She wasn’t concerned about whether this promise would be fulfilled now… As long as Isabel had the intention, it was enough.
“Isabel is a person of her word. Her will might be stronger than both of ours, and she would never go back on her promise.”
Eivass replied, “Sister Freya said, ‘The stronger one struggles to procreate.’ The higher the energy level of an Extraordinary, the lower the chance of them having children. If I reach the Fifth Tier, it will be difficult for Isabel and me to leave behind a bloodline. While she may not care about the continuation of the Du Lac bloodline, after all, on another worldline, she also gave the succession to the Camelot family. But precisely because of our interference, Isabel never performed that cruel self-sacrifice… did she? Raising someone else’s child will always be inferior to raising your own. Moreover, that would also mean that ‘Alistair Du Lac’ would never be born again.”
“…But you can’t keep delaying. You talk so eloquently about important matters, yet you’re getting muddled about this?”
Alistair’s mood was complex: “If you keep delaying, it will at most be another month. Yet, you still cannot leave the Church, and Isabel cannot travel to the Church by any means other than through the mask. Although I can use ‘Little Lamb’ as a ‘masked actor’ to bring her to Star Antinomy… Selene cannot get pregnant for her, and you are fundamentally irreplaceable in this matter—after all, no matter how you delay, you cannot remove the Supreme Holy Crown and leave the Church before the Pure White Saintess purifies Amber.
“In other words, when these ‘outsiders’ from the Church, and your own unborn yet deceased child, are faced with a choice, you unhesitatingly choose the outsiders…”
At this point, Eivass and Alistair suddenly reacted at the same time.
So that was it…
This was why Eivass’s Path of Devotion had leveled up so quickly!
It wasn’t entirely due to Alistair and Isabel’s agreement, but because Isabel wanted a child—besides, his brother Edward also wished for it, and Lixia and Freya had also been nagging about it.
—As a monarch, how could Isabel be without an heir?
If this continued for a long time, even the ministers of Avalon and the common people would feel uneasy. Although Isabel had a younger brother… the existence of “the Queen’s brother” and “the Queen’s adopted son” simultaneously would create intense conflict and plunge the nation into instability.
Although Isabel herself might have vaguely realized this… that’s why she said, “If only there was a child.” Meaning, she had already come to believe it was unlikely they could have their own descendants, because their advancements were all too rapid…
Eivass never considered this when he donned the Supreme Holy Crown, but the moment he suddenly realized it… every day since he became Pope had been an act of intense “devotion”—because he was too young and had yet to leave behind descendants, what he devoted when he put on the Supreme Holy Crown was not just his lifespan, but “future children” and “the continuation of life.”
Its true price was not merely a few years of lifespan.
It was the loss of the ability for a boy, who became the pinnacle of power in his teens, healthy and strong, with an incomparably bright future, whose heir would surely be the new King of Avalon, and who himself might become a Heavenly Envoy or even a Pillar God, to leave descendants in the Material Realm—it was this scale of devotion that allowed him to fill the remaining experience bar of the Fourth Tier in just half a month.
Perhaps even the previous Eternal Pope, and the Cardinals, hadn’t realized this. After all, Elves inherently had a weak sense of blood ties, with surnames being primarily inherited through tradition.
Or rather, this was a special custom that arose from the low fertility rate of Elves who were High-Tier Extraordinaries. Therefore, no Elf realized there was any problem here…
“You should stop delaying, boss. You’re too indecisive. Why don’t you listen to me—”
Alistair was not one for procrastination. She made up her mind decisively: “If I can ascend by the end of the month, you’ll ascend with me. If I can only ascend next month, you’ll ascend with me next month. We don’t like children that much anyway. As for Isabel… it’s not up to you, and it’s not up to me. That’s Isabel’s own decision, so let her decide.
“We definitely won’t make it to Eagle Cape Village before dusk today anyway. I plan to go find the King of the Wild Hunt, Helchin, tomorrow. Tonight, I can go find Isabel and see what she has to say.”
“…Alright.”
Eivass, unable to make up his mind, chose to go with the flow: “If you need anything, just call me. The Church can be your backing for anything you encounter.”
“Just you wait, I certainly won’t be polite.”
Alistair said without hesitation: “Star Antinomy can already use you—economic collapse, mass unemployment, Red Phase rebellion. A chaos of this scale is highly likely to trigger a civil war… Prepare to notify the Church to take over. After I resolve Lily’s problem, I’ll impersonate you and stir up some trouble in Star Antinomy.”
“I trust you.”
Eivass didn’t ask for details but responded without hesitation: “Be careful of Star Antinomy’s influence, and be careful of Fallen Heavenly Envoys. Don’t forget the Mark of Sin on you. Just in case, I’ll contact you every three days in the morning to check your mental state. Remember to take leave in advance if you have something to do.”
“Yeah, yeah, why are you being so much like a doctor…”
Alistair cut off their communication with a sigh.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to chat with Eivass longer… If possible, she would have happily lounged in the White Dove Opera House, sharing her vision with Eivass, and inwardly critiquing the performance on stage with him, spending a day free from worries and full of joy.
This would be a form of “watching together” or “commenting on the live broadcast.”
But obviously, that wouldn’t happen—after Eivass fell into slumber, events began to unfold around Alistair. All sorts of troublesome trivialities emerged, preventing her from finding peace for even a few days.
“What a nuisance…”
The ship had already begun to slow down and dock. Alistair sighed, left her room, and walked onto the deck.
She gazed nostalgically at the Gryphon Knights on duty in the distance… Although Eivass had been away from Camelot for less than forty days, it felt like a lifetime.
Alistair truly missed the simple people of Camelot now.
—Originally, before Eivass left for the Church, he thought Camelot was decadent and crazy, full of conspiracies and bribery, like the gray mist permeating the factory district, not worthy of being called a knightly kingdom, with more than half of the entire Round Table Hall being traitors who had taken dirty money.
After Eivass went to the Church, he truly understood what “madness” and “traitors” meant. It turned out that the people of Camelot were already quite rational and civilized…
It wasn’t until Alistair went to Star Antinomy that she finally understood the meaning of “decadence” and “madness”—
—It’s truly a bit unfair to Camelot to compare it with Star Antinomy.
Alistair now even felt that Camelot’s “closed-door policy” might not have been so bad after all. While it blocked foreign scholars, merchants, and travelers, it also kept out morally bankrupt races like Goblins and Children of the Moon.
—To think that compared to the Irises, the Children of the Moon in Star Antinomy could be considered conservatives! Alistair didn’t quite dare to imagine how her older brother and Sherlock were getting along.
It was precisely the contrast with the Irises that, before actually going to Star Antinomy, Eivass had once believed Star Antinomy represented advanced production technology and was the most civilized human nation.
Even without the Children of the Moon and Necromancers vying for power, it was ultimately Demon Scholars stealing food from Alchemists, and Alchemists snatching dog food from botanists. Chaos on this scale was nothing, and could even be considered peace. After all, Camelot had also had its share of “transcendence” issues…
Now, it seemed Alistair had greatly underestimated the value of the information the “King” had provided back then.
—Eivass had initially thought the King was exaggerating, perhaps by 50% at least; but he never expected him to be downplaying things, not even reaching 20% of Star Antinomy’s true chaos!
With a sigh, Alistair led Leviathan towards the shore.
In a sense, this was actually the first time “Miss Alistair” had entered Glass Island.
And an Arbiter, clad in full silver armor with a silver triangle emblazoned on his chest, walked up and politely but sternly inquired, “Hello, may I ask…”
Just as he was about to question what this monster beside Alistair was, why she brought it to Camelot, and who could vouch for her.
He suddenly saw Alistair’s face beneath her black robe clearly.
To be precise, he saw the face of “Beyad.”
The captain of this alchemical power ship watched the spectacle—as a member of the noble faction, he clearly disliked the Spirit Tower. Seeing this woman in black robes get shut down by the knights of Camelot, whose brains were as solid as lead balls, was quite a pleasant sight.
But soon, he realized the Arbiter’s attitude seemed a bit off.
The Arbiter clearly paused, “You are…?”
“Alistair… you might know me.”
Alistair said, slowly lowering her hood: “I have returned, fulfilling my wager with Her Majesty the Queen, bringing the dragon cub… Can I have Eivass back now?”
She patted Leviathan beside her, signaling it to roar.
Leviathan intelligently let out a deafening roar—drawing the attention of everyone in the port to Alistair.
“I want to see Her Majesty the Queen. This was our agreement.”
Alistair placed her right hand on her chest, a mischievous smile briefly curving her lips before she earnestly smoothed them flat again: “Could you please inform her?”
“…I… I can’t decide this matter…”
Despite being an Arbiter of the Arbitration, and sounding like a middle-aged man in his forties, he was now visibly sweating profusely. Alistair was sure that if he could take off his helmet, he would be doing so to wipe away the sweat.
“…Please follow me.”
In the end, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to escort Alistair away first.
At least, don’t block the entrance and continue to be gawked at by the crowd…
He then blew a silent Gryphon whistle, summoning his white-feathered Gryphon.
And at this very moment.
Isabel was dining.
As usual, she drank some wine to prepare for the dream, which she would enter that evening—although she might not see Alistair even after a few days, she had gradually gotten used to drinking and was finding some enjoyment in it. At least, she wasn’t frowning and forcing it down like she did at first.
But just then, she was suddenly overcome by a wave of inexplicable discomfort and nausea.
She spat a mouthful of wine back onto her plate, and then Isabel couldn’t stop coughing.
W-what’s happening…
Isabel’s first thought was that she might have been poisoned—so she immediately summoned her Queen’s Guard to examine her body and administer treatment.
They all had professional levels in the Path of Devotion, so they possessed some healing abilities.
The oldest Guard immediately placed her hand on Isabel’s chest and abdomen. The warm radiance from the Illuminate Spell instantly dispelled Isabel’s nausea and dizziness.
But the Guard suddenly wore a look of confusion.
She tilted her head and asked uncertainly, “When was the last time you were intimate with His Majesty the Pope?”
“Does it count if it’s in a dream?”
Isabel asked subconsciously, but quickly blushed, realizing she had asked a stupid question. So she answered honestly, “It was on February 16th… That was the first and last time.”
Before she finished speaking, she realized the implication of the question and her eyes widened instantly: “Could it be…?”
“Thirty-seven days…”
The Guard pondered for a moment, then her face broke into a blossom of a smile: “If there are no surprises—Congratulations, Your Majesty.”
(End of Chapter)
