FLBE Chapter 7 Part 9

“Your Majesty, the Pope’s rut will soon end. Please, wait a little longer with a generous heart.”

 

 

 

“Since when does the pope relieve his rut with the body of an omega? Has his divine power come to that?”

 

 

 

“The Saintess herself has stepped forward for the Pope. Please, consider the mercy in her holiness’s heart.”

 

 

 

They had been using Liena as an excuse from the start. Of course, Rhetrik knew that it wasn’t a lie. Given Liena’s character, obsessed with helping others, it was entirely plausible.

 

 

 

‘Have you grown so attached in such a short time? I’ve been too complacent.’

 

 

 

He had been so focused on guarding against Lance that he left her too close to Roan. It was inevitable since she had to learn to use her divine power and how to manage her pheromones, but he never imagined things would turn out this way.

 

 

 

That she would volunteer to help with Roan’s rut. Liena was a woman who feared top-righteous alphas. The idea that she would offer to help a top-righteous alpha with his rut was initially unbelievable.

 

 

 

Moreover, Roan was the bigger surprise. He had never once thought the pope, so utterly orthodox, would take the saintess into his arms. Not because he trusted him, but because that was the kind of man Roan was.

 

 

 

Yet, he had been utterly blindsided by both. Rhetrik ground his teeth with a sense of betrayal he couldn’t understand.

 

 

 

‘I should have warned them properly back then. I was too soft.’

 

 

 

He had clearly warned Roan and Liena, who were embracing each other, after meeting Lance and returning to the temple early one day. Nonetheless, he thought of the change in Roan’s gaze toward an omega as mere instinct, since he too was a top-righteous alpha.

 

 

 

Above all, becoming enemies with him was just as problematic for Rhetrik, so he had let it slide with just a warning. But he was played for a fool.

 

 

 

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to slaughter the priests before him and take Liena back right then. However, doing so would only make Liena fear him more. He had only just begun to see her smile; he didn’t want to revert to her trembling at the sight of him again.

 

 

 

‘I’ve truly become a madman.’

 

 

 

Whether it was him understanding that his possession was in another man’s arms, or him hesitating like a fool despite that realization, it was equally ridiculous.

 

 

 

‘Is it because she’s a dominant omega that I feel this way?’

 

 

 

“Your, Your Majesty, please calm your heart and return to the palace.”

 

 

 

Theor, who had been restlessly pacing behind the enraged Rhetrik, seized the moment his intensity seemed to wane to call out to him. Suddenly, Rhetrik drew the greatsword he had been carrying on his back. The priests, momentarily scattered in their focus, now gathered their divine power in their hands, bracing themselves as if a war between the temple and the palace was imminent.

 

 

 

However, the critical situation dissipated as quickly as it had escalated. Rhetrik, having leaped from his horse in the blink of an eye, stopped his sword’s blade just before it could pierce the neck of a high priest who had been defiantly responding to him.

 

 

 

There was no time to dodge, block, or counterattack. The priests, their mouths agape, could only tremble as they stared at the high priest who faced death, unable to respond in any way.

 

 

 

The menacing greatsword, which had pierced accurately into the neck, halted with only a thin line of blood drawn, sparing the priest’s life by mere inches. Any deeper, and it would have been fatal. The priests, chilled to the bone by Rhetrik’s ghostly precision, were frozen, barely able to breathe.

 

 

 

True to his reputation as a warmonger who led every war to victory, Rhetrik spoke with an eerie calm to the priest on the brink of death.

 

 

 

“Taking your lives here would be all too easy for me. Do you really think that your feeble divine power could stop me?”

 

 

 

“Your, Your Majesty.”

 

 

 

Rhetrik was warning them. He could kill them at any moment, but he was merely showing mercy for now.

 

 

 

“Not killing you now is not because of your diety, but because of a woman who would mourn your deaths without even knowing your faces. So.”

 

 

 

“Ugh!”

 

 

 

Rhetrik’s greatsword pressed slightly deeper into the high priest’s neck.

 

 

 

“Tell the pope. If the Saintess is not sent back by tomorrow, tomorrow this temple will either see a sea of blood or be reduced to dust, disappearing without a trace.”

 

 

 

Frozen by Rhetrik’s terrifying warning, the priests couldn’t even swallow their saliva, fearing the slightest movement might turn them into dust right then and there.

 

 

 

Rhetrik’s icy gaze shifted towards the depths of the temple.

 

 

 

“And this is my last warning. If you dare to stand in my way again, I will personally send you to Goddess Vertia whom you so wish to see. And I will wipe out the lineage of every priest in the empire. If you don’t want to see your god trampled under my feet, it’s best not to show me such disloyalty again.”

 

 

 

“Ugh!”

 

 

 

As Rhetrik’s sword pressed in a bit deeper, the priests’ complexions turned deathly pale.

 

 

 

“Answer.”

 

 

 

“Ugh. Yes, we’re sorry, Your Majesty.”

 

 

 

With a fierce glare at the pale-faced high priest, Rhetrik sheathed his greatsword back on his back. The sight of the emperor effortlessly handling the massive sword, which seemed impossible for one hand, made the priests sweat coldly and step back.

 

 

 

Indeed, the only one who could contend with him was the Pope. Even as anger boiled within him at his own lacking abilities, the high priest touched the bleeding neck and bowed his head. It was extremely fortunate that the situation did not escalate further and ended at this point without any major troubles.

 

 

 

“Tomorrow it is. Send her before the sun sets.”

 

 

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

 

 

From the temple’s perspective, it was not beneficial to be at odds with the imperial palace. Even though the Pope, Roan, had the power to oppose him, there was a reason he had to bow under him reluctantly.

 

 

 

Watching Rhetrik’s retreating back, the high priest sighed. Today was fortunate as the emperor had left, but if the Pope does not appear by tomorrow, it would be a significant problem. The high priest sighed deeply as he looked toward where Roan was.

 

 

 

“Sir Erdel, are you alright?”

 

 

 

“Ha, I’m fine. How is His Holiness?”

 

 

 

“The pheromones have not yet subsided.”

 

 

 

“Hmm, this is serious. If the Saintess is not sent by tomorrow, the emperor will truly not remain idle.”

 

 

 

The High priest, Erdel, asked with a grim expression, causing the middle-ranking priest to inquire in a trembling voice.

 

 

 

“Shouldn’t we inform His Holiness somehow?”

 

 

 

“He’s not in his right mind now, would he understand even if we tell him?”

 

 

 

“But this time, the Saintess is with him…”

 

 

 

“Phew… Let’s wait and see till tomorrow.”

 

 

 

“Yes, Sir Erdel.”

 

 

 

As Erdel moved, the priests gathered at the temple entrance followed him one after another.

 

 

 

Then, Lance, who was calmly observing all this from atop a tall tree, clicked his tongue.