Chapter 78 : False Purpose (2)

Now, the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together.  

The false goddess couldn’t fully control the kingdom, and she had gone to such lengths to retrieve the relic from this hidden temple. 

To be precise, the false goddess had been unable to do so from the beginning.  

Because Milena had been resisting her within the kingdom, even losing all her loyal heroes in the process. 

But that didn’t mean all the questions had been answered.  

Van Cread had said the relic was the key that allowed the goddess to descend to this land. 

In other words, he claimed that the relic had to be destroyed to confront the false goddess. 

But was that really true?  

Did Van say that?  

“Yes.”  

I think it’s most likely a lie. If he had openly revealed my existence, the false goddess would have immediately taken control of him.  

“So, it was a bluff.”  

But there’s also a small chance that his soul was corrupted without him even knowing.  

It wasn’t entirely impossible. 

The essence of brainwashing is making the victim forget they’ve been brainwashed. 

If someone is aware they’ve been brainwashed, it’s not a perfect brainwashing.  

But on the other hand, there was another possibility. 

What if the goddess residing in the relic was also a fake? 

What if she was lying to survive? 

That seemed far more plausible.  

In the end, life is about choices. 

And the responsibility for those choices lies solely with the person who makes them. Wolfgang pondered for a moment. 

Should she destroy the relic, or should she cooperate?  

“Honestly, I can’t fully trust you. But I also can’t completely dismiss the possibility that destroying the relic might set the false goddess free.”  

That’s true. In the end, it’s your choice.  

“So, for now, I’ll trust you. Your story seems more credible at the moment.”  

Looking at the bigger picture, Milena’s words were indeed more trustworthy than the hero’s. So, instead of destroying the relic, Wolfgang decided to take it with her.  

Now, it was time to return and discuss things with her comrades. Come to think of it, she had been separated from Galena and Jackal for quite a while. She hadn’t planned to be apart for this long.  

But after the sudden appearance of the dragon’s nest, Wolfgang had no choice but to come to the palace alone. Then, to quickly retrieve the relic, she had to tail the hero immediately.  

Are you thinking about your comrades?  

“Something like that. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them.”  

That’s surprising. You don’t look the type.  

“Judging people by their appearance isn’t a good habit, Milena.”  

Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to.  

As they talked, Wolfgang noticed that Milena had a somewhat childlike side. 

No, to be precise, she was too pure. 

Too honest. But Wolfgang didn’t find that entirely bad.  

No matter what.  

It was time to return quickly.  

And not forget to take the relic with her.  

The relic felt somewhat like a holy grail. 

To be honest, calling it a grail was a bit ambiguous. 

It was more like a ceremonial cup or goblet. 

And yet, it contained the essence of the kingdom’s goddess.  

In any case, Wolfgang took the relic and quickly made her way back to the palace. 

When she had come here, she had to tail the hero, so she had no choice but to control her speed. 

But on the way back, there was no need for that.  

“Do you know about Hyde and Monica?”  

Yes, I do. They were my brave heroes.  

“What kind of people were they?”  

Hyde was someone who sacrificed himself for the greater good. He did many questionable things along the way, but he never betrayed his cause until the very end. Monica, on the other hand, despised Hyde for that.  

Hyde and Monica had very different personalities. 

Unlike Hyde, who would do anything to achieve his goals, Monica was a born warrior who preferred to fight head-on.  

That’s why Monica hated Hyde for his underhanded methods, and Hyde, in turn, didn’t particularly like Monica’s straightforward approach.  

Still, they truly considered each other comrades. They believed the other was an indispensable part of the party.  

“It seems you were quite fond of them.”  

I can’t deny that. But why do you ask?  

“Just curiosity.”  

She just wanted to hear a brief story about the ones she had killed.  

After flying nonstop using her flames, Wolfgang returned to the palace in just three hours. 

But something felt off. The knights were bustling about,  

And there were traces of blood on the walls and floors. 

Although the amount wasn’t excessive, the fact that a bloodshed had occurred in the palace where the king resided was anything but normal.  

At worst, it could mean the saintess faction had staged a rebellion. 

And Wolfgang now had a rough idea of the reason—the relic.  

The false goddess had likely set things up so that the relic would either be secured or destroyed. 

If that happened, Milena would be completely erased,  

And from then on, the false goddess could fully take control of the kingdom. 

But the situation had suddenly changed. 

Wolfgang had chosen not to destroy the relic and instead cooperate with Milena.  

The false goddess would never have dreamed that the empire’s hero would believe the kingdom’s goddess and choose to cooperate. 

But Wolfgang wasn’t a perfect, pure-blooded imperial.  

Her soul had come from another world, and even if you ignored her soul, her body was originally from the kingdom. 

Of course, she felt a sense of belonging to the empire,  

But it was only to a certain extent.  

Moreover, she didn’t even hold a grudge against the goddess. 

To Wolfgang, Lana Frost was just a trace of the past, a character—nothing more, nothing less.  

But the problem was that others didn’t see it that way. 

Even if she had lost her memories, Wolfgang Leonhardt was still Lana Frost, the saintess who had been abandoned and exiled by the kingdom.  

Those who had mocked and scorned her in the past naturally feared her retribution. 

Because she had the power to do so. 

Not just Saintess Jeanne, but even the goddess herself.  

Especially the false goddess, who was deeply wary of Wolfgang, hated her, and feared her even more. 

This was because Wolfgang had personally dragged her father, the Winter King, from his throne.  

The hierarchy of gods is absolute. 

A lower god cannot even speak freely to a higher god. 

Yet, Wolfgang, a mere human, had pushed the Winter King to his limits and,  

In the end, not only dragged him from his throne but completely obliterated him. 

So, as his daughter, the false goddess couldn’t help but fear Wolfgang.  

And that fear and anxiety naturally transferred to Saintess Jeanne, who served her. 

At first, it was just wariness, but after being harshly defeated by Wolfgang’s memories in the dream realm,  

The false goddess’s fear only grew, making it impossible for her to use her divine power properly. 

And the result of that fear and anxiety was right before her eyes.  

“You’ve finally arrived! Sir Leonhardt.”  

“Prince Jaiha, what on earth is going on here?”  

“The saintess is investigating traitors and arresting nobles as we speak.”  

“Does that even make sense as a justification?”  

It seemed they had been waiting for Wolfgang. 

Thanks to Prince Jaiha, who had rushed over upon seeing her flames, Wolfgang was able to quickly get an explanation for the chaos.  

Treason was the gravest of crimes, punishable by the harshest penalties in any kingdom with a functioning monarchy. 

So, throwing around accusations of treason without solid evidence could backfire terribly.  

“You’re right. The justification for calling it treason is far too weak.”  

“Besides, His Majesty is still alive and well. How can the saintess arbitrarily arrest people as traitors?”  

“I thought the same at first. It seems the saintess is backed into a corner and is resorting to desperate measures.”  

To anyone watching, it was clear that the saintess was using absurd justifications to suppress the royalist faction and bring them down. 

Naturally, Prince Jaiha had tried to use this to cut off the saintess faction’s lifeline.  

“It’s truly strange. Most nobles aren’t even questioning it. Instead, they’re following the saintess’s words as if they were absolute truth.”  

At least, that was the case until the kingdom’s nobles began to question the saintess’s claims.