Chapter 45: It’d Be Better to Just Give Me a Quick Death
“Alright, then tell me about your troubles.”
Empress of Eternal Night’s gaze was unwavering as she casually looked at Roger.
Her calm voice offered no clue to her emotions.
In truth, this “comfort” with such a high “dog content” made her so proud she wanted to wag her tail.
See how remarkably effective her comfort was, an immediate effect!
This scoundrel’s attention was immediately diverted, completely forgetting his fear, only thinking about how to spin his lie!
The inner monologue in his closed-door theater was also forced to operate.
I am truly a considerate and approachable good emperor to my subordinates!
Empress of Eternal Night already knew Roger was Dio, and Dio was Roger, so she wouldn’t be angry about such a thing.
But she was actually a little angry right now.
Scaring him this time carried a certain sense of revenge.
She was angry that Roger used the protective divine artifact she gave him to save another girl.
What was even more infuriating was that when Empress of Eternal Night recreated the scene, she found that in the critical moment, that little Joey Barton had actually saved Roger’s life…
Dating back in time, it was the moment Roger inwardly called out her real name.
At that time, she was ambushing the Incarnation of the God of Nature at the dark elves’ stronghold. She didn’t have time to teleport back to save him.
The entire battle lasted less than thirty seconds before she rushed back.
It just so happened that at this moment, the divine power storm had ended, and Joey had completed the rescue.
The system’s time pause did not exist in this World.
So, Empress of Eternal Night’s time rewind showed a continuous sequence of an helpless Roger calling out to her, and then holding Joey from shock to being moved.
The Empress naturally became even angrier.
She had been ready for a long time, but the opportunity for this damsel-in-distress to save her hero was snatched away by a mere lieutenant colonel!
It was me, it was me first, it was all me first…
Whether it was giving him the divine artifact, drawing the criss-cross, or saying she would protect him…
It was all me first!
As the ruler of a nation, a peerless Empress, was it reasonable for someone to snatch away her chance to save him and show off?
Yet, she couldn’t do anything to Joey.
Joey was a hero of the restoration army’s actions and an excellent officer whom the empire had painstakingly trained.
Empress of Eternal Night would not let her die because she was upset, intentionally harming her.
Wouldn’t that be going against her own assets?
Unable to get revenge on Joey, and unable to retrieve the Deep Sea Heart Amulet from her, the Empress could only target Roger.
She had to collect some interest from this kid, to make him uncomfortable too!
On this night when her mood was extremely bad, only by bullying others could she find a little bit of solace.
Roger had no idea that his true identity had already been broadcasted by the region. At this moment, he was terrified and thinking about how to explain away his two identities.
Fortunately, he had always been eloquent and quickly said:
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s favor, I have some recognition in the imperial capital. But I only wish to study peacefully in the Great Library, so I created a false identity… I didn’t expect Your Majesty’s discerning eyes to recognize me so quickly…”
“So you’re blaming me?”
“I wouldn’t dare. Compiling the imperial history for Your Majesty is my honor, so I accepted it…”
The Empress snorted. Did you think I forgot you were trying to refuse it in every way?
But she didn’t expose him and said calmly:
“Oh, I understand now. You created a false identity for the sake of studying peacefully, and didn’t intentionally deceive me.”
“Your Majesty is perceptive!”
“Little Roger, you truly love to read. I’ll have to praise you to Anjie later. At the very least, I’ll have a printed copy of your borrowing list for her.”
“About this… this small matter, Your Majesty needn’t tell my sister, right? Studying for the rise of the empire is what I should do…”
Roger became even more flustered, even stammering.
[These days, for the sake of convenience, I’ve used both identities to cover for each other with Angelina more than once. Once you walk the shortcut too many times, it becomes addictive.]
[If my sister knew that Dio was her cute little brother, and that both identities had teamed up to deceive her, even the most good-tempered person would explode with rage… ]
[At that time, I’d probably be confined to my mansion for reflection, or directly sent to mine magic crystal for the rest of my life, never to see daylight again… ]
[And my borrowing list consists of unofficial histories that get more outrageous with each one. If my sister found out, I’d be utterly disgraced!]
[How can a dignified Empress not know how to respect others’ privacy? To be able to casually check someone’s information through the back door…]
Empress of Eternal Night listened to Roger’s thoughts and said that it was truly the first time she had heard of someone using a false identity to get a fake pass for their real identity.
This operation was so audacious it was eye-opening!
However, she didn’t intend to tell Angelina about this now.
A bow and arrow are always most destructive when they are on the string, and a handle must be held tightly to continuously bring in benefits.
So the Empress asked, “If I keep your secret, what can you do for the rise of the empire?”
Roger immediately said, “Dio. Brand is a Commoner. He is a prime example of Your Majesty’s magnanimous use of talent. As long as my career goes smoothly, I can definitely rally many Commoners to voluntarily join the court as officials.”
The Empress mused, “A Dio who died heroically for the country might be even more recognized by the nobles.”
[Holy crap, what a ruthless calculation. Is this a case of the bow being put away and the hounds being cooked when the work is done?]
[But given the temperament of the imperial people, they really fall for this. Dying for the country is the ultimate loyalty… It could win the recognition of many nobles for Commoners.]
[So perhaps this is a good opportunity to trigger the Nirvana Blessing?]
Thinking of this, Roger straightened his back abruptly and said with fervor, “Your Majesty, all men must die, some lightly as a feather, some heavily as Mount Tai. If my death can allow the empire to usher in a grand occasion of Commoners entering officialdom, please do so!”
If Empress of Eternal Night couldn’t hear his thoughts, she would truly have been fooled by his fearless expression.
She had heard of the Nirvana Blessing, and knew it was a potion for stealing the Phoenix’s bloodline talent.
She scanned Roger’s body with her Mental Power, and the Empress confirmed that this power was indeed hidden within him.
However, the problem was that to trigger the Nirvana Blessing, one had to naturally deplete their lifespan or die accidentally.
This was because the Phoenix was not a magical beast from this World, but was migrated from another realm by the God of Ten Thousand Beasts.
Their nirvana ability came from the blessings of the God of Ten Thousand Beasts, and they had their own verification mechanism.
If one deliberately committed suicide, courted death, or found someone to cooperate in a performance, they would not receive the blessing’s effect. They would die in vain and could not be resurrected.
Empress of Eternal Night did not mind helping her subordinates increase their combat power a little, but the problem was, having heard his thoughts and knowing that Roger possessed the Nirvana Blessing, she absolutely could not be the one to act, or arrange for someone to kill him.
She liked to harvest leeks, not to uproot them.
Interest was something to be collected slowly.
“Lord Roger, rest assured. I am not the kind of emperor who sacrifices someone to achieve success. The matter of promoting Commoners into officialdom will be approached gradually, and there will certainly be more solutions.”
“Then… Thank you, Your Majesty…”
Roger resignedly agreed.
[Your Majesty, gradually approaching it is not your character. Where is your decisive ruthlessness? You started the fight with the God of Nature as soon as you opened your mouth!]
[This woman is becoming more and more unpredictable, changing her mind every moment. It would be better to just slap me to death and give me a quick end!]
[What should I do? My head is already hurting from thinking about it…]
Empress of Eternal Night snorted inwardly. This scoundrel was really touching a sore spot!
What was wrong with her starting a team fight incorrectly?
If the God of Nature dared to retaliate, she would definitely cripple its other leg. It wasn’t for you to chirp and criticize her!
Roger felt the faint anger emanating from Empress of Eternal Night, thinking she was still bothered by his crime of deceiving the emperor.
[Your Majesty just said you’d spare my life, but endless punishments for being alive would be unbearable…]
[Enduring the Azurevine’s Ten Great Tortures while wearing the Deep Sea Heart Amulet would be worse than dying once!]
[So I still need to do something to increase my value to the empire, to ensure I won’t be punished!]
He suddenly had a flash of inspiration and gritted his teeth, “Your Majesty, I have a top-secret matter to report that will be of great help to the empire’s strategic planning.”
“Speak,” Empress of Eternal Night’s spirit immediately perked up.
This brat, who had been hiding his strength for so long, was finally going to reveal some inside information?
The reason she was pressuring and scaring him was partly to get more strategies from Roger for free.
Roger puffed out his chest and said proudly, “Your Majesty, after my careful study and exclusive analysis, although the Seven Gods in this World are in conflict with each other, they actually come from the same origin and watch over each other. The empire must be wary of their alliance!”
The Empress: ???
This kid had too much nerve, trying to get another reward from her with the same secret information?
Are you squeezing toothpaste here?
Or do you think I’m senile and forget things after a month?
Preposterous! It has always been me who gets freebies from you, and you want to get one from me?
The Empress was both shocked and enraged, her fingertips trembling.
