FTA Ch 34

<Chapter 34>

 

Gloria lightly ignored Kais’s question, acting as though she hadn’t heard anything.

Without a second glance, she walked past him as though no one was there.

 

“Are you really trying to ignore me?”

 

However, as soon as she attempted to walk past him.

Kais appeared again right in front of her, suddenly raising his face towards hers.

Gloria let out a heavy sigh and came to a stop, knowing that it would be impossible to shake off Kais, a wizard of unparalleled skill.

Kais realized that he couldn’t escape her gaze, and a playful grin spread across his face.

 

“So, where are you going?”

 

“It’s none of your business.”

 

The chill in Gloria’s blue eyes sent a shiver through Kais, instinctively freezing him in place.

He took a step back, feeling unsettled.

He didn’t want to end up like Joshua.

He had heard that Joshua’s embarrassing moment, where he was smacked around by Gloria, had been witnessed by the temple priests.

Kais recalled hearing about it from the priests at the temple, and he lowered his voice subconsciously in response.

 

“…There’s no need to speak to me so coldly, Gloria.”

 

But Gloria merely stared at him, saying nothing.

Kais, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread from her intense, frigid glare, felt as though he might need to run for his life at any moment.

He had decided to find her, determined over and over, but maybe he hadn’t prepared his heart enough for this confrontation.

 

“Do you still have something to say to me?”

 

Her cold voice pierced his ears like a dagger.

Kais swallowed dryly.

He had practiced what to say hundreds of times during his walk here, but now that he was face to face with her, his mouth was dry, and his words escaped hesitantly.

 

“At this point, it might sound ridiculous, but…”

 

Kais hesitated as he looked into Gloria’s eyes, his next words quiet and careful.

 

“I’ve decided to side with you, Gloria.”

 

At that moment, a cold aura seemed to rise from Gloria’s face like a blade of ice.

Kais felt his chest tighten as if it were sinking into his stomach.

‘Had he acted too confidently just now? Should he have been more humble in his approach?’

He quickly altered his words.

 

“Actually, I want to side with you. Please make me one of your allies, okay?”

 

Gloria was unsure if she had really heard that, but looking at Kais’s expression, she realized she wasn’t imagining things.

It made no sense.

Here he was, blocking her path, and now he was asking her something that seemed like a childish game.

While she was used to Kais’s mischievous and reckless nature, that didn’t mean she wasn’t upset by it.

 

“If you need someone to mess around with, you’ve come to the wrong person.”

 

Finally breaking the silence, Gloria spoke in a chilling tone.

 

“If you want to joke around, go do it with your friends. I’m not interested in indulging in your games.”

 

“No, I’m not joking…”

Kais couldn’t hide his flustered expression and closed his mouth.

 

He had anticipated that Gloria wouldn’t welcome him.

He had guessed that she would react this coldly, but…

Facing the actual Gloria, radiating such a chilling aura, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

 

“I was wrong.”

 

Kais quickly changed his demeanor and sincerely apologized.

 

“I’m sorry for pretending I didn’t see you suffering and for staying silent.”

 

Kais looked up at Gloria’s unreadable face, speaking with the most serious tone he had used in a long time.

 

“I’m not asking for your forgiveness, though. That’s not why I’m saying this. I just want you to let me help you.”

 

It was a rare expression of seriousness, one he almost never showed, often smirking or acting playful in any situation.

 

“You know I’ve been working hard behind the scenes between the Empire and the temple, right?”

 

Although the sincerity in his tone might be hard to believe given the words he used, he continued.

 

“Right? Gloria, if you make me your ally, I can really help you.”

 

‘What on earth was his ulterior motive?’

Gloria stared at the pleading Kais, and that thought ran through her mind.

From the start, she had no intention of forgiving or trusting him, no matter how much he seemed sincere.

Forgiveness wouldn’t erase the past, nor could she predict what he would do behind her back.

 

“Let me help you. I’ll do really well.”

 

But whether Kais was aware that Gloria was doubting his true intentions or not, he continued to apologize.

At this point, Gloria thought the situation was getting rather amusing.

It was laughable to see the person who had tormented and ignored her all this time now apologizing so earnestly.

Above all, she was curious about what kind of trick he was playing by coming to her now.

Now he was saying he wanted to side with her, asking for her help…

‘Did he really think she was so easy to deceive?’

‘Did he really believe that with a single sweetly spoken line, she’d fall for his trick again?’

 

It seemed that Kais didn’t realize the more humble he became, the more suspicious he seemed to her.

As he had said himself, Kais had walked a fine line between the two great powers—the Imperial Family and the Temple—all this time.

Gloria, who had observed it all, found this situation utterly ridiculous.

 

“Believe me, Gloria.”

 

‘Ah, how amusing.’

‘To go this far to deceive me…’

‘What could be the reason for this sudden attempt to feign guilt while hiding his true colors?’

‘Who sent him to do this? The Imperial Family? Or the Temple?’

‘Did he really think she would fall for such a clumsy scheme?’

‘How foolish did he think she was?’

 

Perhaps something had happened to the newly chosen Saint, “Iriana Roteas,” and they were planning to have her replaced.

If that was the case, maybe now they were trying to bring her back into the fold as the spearhead.

A cold smirk formed quietly in her heart as she swallowed her icy laughter.

In that instant, an odd sadistic desire, which Gloria hadn’t even known existed within her, suddenly rose up.

 

* * *

 

Bliss was suddenly pulled into a vortex of mana and dropped into an unfamiliar place.

He hurriedly looked around.

When he regained his senses, Gloria was nowhere to be seen.

Not a strand of her hair could be found.

Moreover, the vile mana that had always been lingering behind Gloria, coming from Kais, was now completely gone.

 

“No…”

 

Bliss faced the harsh reality that he hadn’t been able to stay by Gloria’s side.

He didn’t want to accept it, but ultimately, he had no choice but to come to terms with it.

This wasn’t the time to be lost in thoughts.

He needed to go straight back to Erhardt and report the situation.

‘But, what could he possibly say?’ His mind was filled with despair.

Standing still, he lost himself for a moment before snapping out of his panic and drawing a reverse summon magic circle in the air.

He completed the magic circle swiftly, one that he had drawn countless times before.

Without hesitation, he infused his mana into the circle.

At that moment, his vision spun wildly and twisted.

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he had already reached his destination.

 

“…Captain.”

 

Bliss, who now faced Erhardt’s empty blue eyes, swallowed nervously.

Since Gloria had turned cold and resolutely rejected anything from them under the name of Lanach, Erhardt had been in this state all along.

Yet now he had to deliver this terrible news to him…

Bliss struggled to speak but finally steeled himself and opened his mouth.

 

“The Saint has gone outside the village.”

 

At that moment, Erhardt’s expression, usually so stoic, collapsed like a lie, and a clear hint of turmoil appeared in his eyes.

Bliss swallowed again, knowing that there was more important news to report—something even more crucial than Gloria leaving the village.

Having braced himself, Bliss spoke up with the utmost certainty.

 

“And, I witnessed Kais from the Magic Tower following the Saint.”

 

Bliss had been assigned the important task of protecting Gloria.

Yet, he had failed to complete it.

Worse, he now had to tell his superior the news that he had not wanted to hear.

Unable to look Erhardt in the eyes, he bowed deeply.

His whole body had long since stiffened with tension.

 

“Kais from the Magic Tower…”

 

In the silence that felt as if it lasted an eternity, Erhardt’s low voice finally broke through.

 

“Yes, it was definitely him.”

 

Bliss responded resolutely, standing as stiffly as ever.

He had clearly seen it before being caught in the whirlwind of mana caused by Kais’s appearance.

The bright red hair blowing in the wind.

The dark, grim mana typical of the mages of the Magic Tower.

All of it was undeniably Kais, the damned head of the Magic Tower.