Chapter 9: The Sovereign Monarch
Faust naturally agreed at once to Vivianna’s request.
Delegating authority to his childhood friend was no great matter. It was not as though Vivianna was going to stage a coup.
Faust did not doubt Vivianna’s loyalty in the slightest. Quite apart from the fact that the Roseline family and the royal house were as close as kin, he also had the girl herself firmly in hand.
As long as it was his request, Vivianna could never refuse it. She would do everything in her power to carry it out, tireless and without complaint. As for the reason… if it was to win the joy and praise of the person she loved, was that not enough?
That was precisely why Faust said Vivianna was an easy woman to handle.
She was simply far too easy to command.
There and then, the Prince of Clear Tide granted the girl authority equal to his own, allowing her free access to any place and the right to mobilize all available resources.
Faust smiled at Vivianna. “Then I’ll be counting on you from here on.”
The golden-haired, violet-eyed girl closed her eyes and slowly clenched her fist, murmuring in a low voice as though hypnotizing herself, “I will fulfill your wish. I always have. I always will…”
There was sothing a little strange about Vivianna’s state, but Faust did not think much of it.
He entrusted the task of finding 「Cinderella」 to his childhood friend, and at the sa ti increased the stakes invested in the search for 「Cinderella」.
For several days in a row, royal spies, palace attendants, and even the kingdom’s bureaucrats were all dispatched by Faust.
All of it was rely to find a single woman within the kingdom.
Trying the dance shoe alone was not enough. Faust had to take into consideration the possibility that 「Cinderella」 was unable to co in person for certain reasons.
That ant he had to take the initiative.
「Cinderella」 had to be found. This was not only tied to Faust’s path toward becoming a “Tyrant,” but was also the key to whether the Kingdom of Clear Tide could survive the fate of 「Witches’ Banquet.
But such a commotion had already reached the point of astonishing even friendly neighboring states, and Faust was summoned to the king’s bedchamber because of it.
Within that warm and dim study, the old king drank a bowl of thick, bitter dicine while saying to the prince, “Faust, I hear that at the ball, you found a young woman who has captured your heart.”
“That is so. Which is why I am searching for her.”
After receiving that affirmative answer, the king said expressionlessly, “But I have heard that you have gone sowhat too far. For the sake of one woman, why go to such…”
such lengths?”
The heavy tone of his esteed foster father carried an oppressive force. Anyone could tell that the king was angry.
What enraged him was not that Faust had done sothing absurd and wasteful for the people, but that his heir, who had always been calm and steady, had actually “acted rashly for love.”
A wise man does not fall into the river of love! If he were to drown himself in romantic entanglents, how could he possibly lead Clear Tide to greatness?!
The old king slapped the armrest again and again. “I have seen too many people ruled by emotion. They were burned hollow by brief passions, and in the end they beca diocre, accomplishing nothing.
“As monarchs, the only feeling we need is responsibility and love for the kingdom. My child, you have never disappointed …”
After Faust had been confird as heir apparent, the gap between his authority and the king’s was already very small. Using a little of that power to indulge himself was no great issue. But no matter how one looked at it, this indulgence had gone too far.
Of course, His Highness the prince knew that perfectly well.
And he had long since prepared the words with which to deal with his foster father.
He stood with both hands behind his back, chest straight, and said calmly, “This is the revelation of the fae spirit.”
“!!” The old king’s shriveled arm trembled, and so of the dicinal broth spilled onto the blanket across his legs.
The old man’s hawk-like gaze locked onto Faust as he asked, one word at a ti, “You have already spoken with the fae spirit?”
Faust inclined his head. “Yes. Just a few days ago, Lord phistopheles granted a revelation. That girl is important both to the kingdom and to .”
He even knows the fae spirit’s exalted na now?!
The old king clapped his hands in excitent and said “Good!” three tis in a row. A flush of joy actually rose upon his pale face.
“So soon? As expected, you truly are one deeply beloved by the fae spirit.”
“And that girl—why is she… No! You need not answer . Just do as the revelation instructs.”
“Whatever you need, just say the word. The kingdom will support you with all its strength!”
The old king’s reverence for the fae spirit had already reached the level of superstition. He did not even dare question him further, for fear that he might sohow spoil the pleasure of the great fae spirit.
His father’s proper sense of the bigger picture made Faust quietly breathe easier. There was no longer any need for him to fend the matter off with other excuses.
As for the bargain between himself and phistopheles, it was better not to let his esteed foster father know of it for the ti being…
Besides, there would be no point in telling him.
On the way back, phistopheles spoke.
【This is correct. The children of man who have not awakened cannot bear the weight of fate. Especially the heroes among the children of man—they are fate’s most loyal pieces upon the board…】
Whether it was rely his imagination or not, Faust thought he heard… pity in phistopheles’s whisper.
What was that supposed to an? In the eyes of the fae spirit, were the unawakened simply unfortunate wretches?
Turning over the deeper aning behind phistopheles’s words, Faust returned to his room.
By now it was already late at night. Ordinarily, His Highness the prince’s nights would be rich and lively. He would often summon maids or noblewon and throw himself into a thoroughly indulgent revel, but there was clearly no mood for that now.
「Cinderella」 had yet to be found, and 「Witches’ Banquet」 hung above his head like the sword of Damocles. Only after solving the problem before him would Faust have the leisure to concern himself with other matters.
But there was no use being anxious. Faust had already done everything he could. All that remained was to pray that he would not truly trigger the “Defying Fate Route.”
Though I really am interested in “Defying Fate,” now is not the ti for it to co after .
With that in mind, Faust decided to spend the night ditating, while also taking the opportunity to inspect his own attainnts in the mystic arts.
When His Highness the prince closed his eyes, several panes of information appeared across his vision:
【Faust of Clear Tide】
【Pathway: Sovereign Monarch】
【A pathway leading toward the Supre Sovereign. As the monarch of a realm, you must conquer, rule, and wage campaigns, and through this accomplish the great deeds of hero and king…】
【Path of Conquest: Conquer the bodies and hearts of humankind. Conquer realms and wilderness alike until all submit to you utterly and regard you as their one and only sovereign…】
【Path of Rule: Govern your realm toward prosperity. Command your armies to victory. Lead your followers into the highest glory…】
【Path of Vanquishing: Challenge mighty fiends and calamity beasts. Destroy the mortal enemies of your generation…】
Do not misunderstand. This was not so sort of system panel, but rely a simple inspection spell—a little trick used by sorcerers to examine their own pathways.
The superhumans of this world could broadly be divided into “sorcerers” and “heroes.”
The forr, as the na implied, were those who continuously acquired knowledge and power through talent, learning, and research. They were the most common kind of superhuman.
“Heroes,” however, were sowhat more special. Their power did not co from cultivation or study, but from the practice of their pathway.
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