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Chapter 530.2: What I Want (2)

The dishes for the New Year’s Day’s banquet were slowly served to the accompaniment of an orchestra. A harmonious atmosphere enveloped the dinner table.

Carter’s appetite was whetted after having eaten a year’s worth of military rations and resolving one of his long-time worries. Similarly, Roel was in a good mood after having overcome a crisis. Everyone’s attention was naturally drawn to the delicacies served.

The chef’s cooking was up to its usual high standards.

Roel, who hadn’t tasted his hometown cuisine for a long time now, was extremely pleased with the meal. It was almost amazing how he was able to look elegant while gluttonously gobbling food down.

Beside him, Alicia gracefully took small nibbles of food.

In truth, she didn’t need food anymore after reaching Origin Level 3. All she required was a bit of moonlight every night to replenish her day’s depletion, making her almost like an ascetic monk. She was eating so much now because she was in a good mood.

She couldn’t spend the previous New Year’s Day together with Roel because the latter was at the eastern border. It was not to say that she was alone since Carter was there with her, but she couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. Learning from this lesson, she had made sure to camp at Rosa ahead of time to fetch Roel home.

Now that she was soaking in this harmonious atmosphere together with her family, she felt that her effort had truly paid off.

Roel also found it wondrous how he had successfully made it home after traversing the Austine Empire’s northern mountains and Rosa’s eastern plains. It had been such a difficult year for him, but the hardships seemed to be washed away by the good food before him.

The fragrance of wine suffused the dining table as magic fireworks flared outside the windows. Roel enjoyed this moment of rare peace in his life as the year slowly crept to its end.

…

Several hours later, Roel changed into a formal robe with the help of the maids and began making preparations for the New Year’s Prayers.

There were some practices that the Theocracy’s nobles had to observe whether they were in the Holy Capital or not. One of them was to visit the Genesis Goddess Church on the night of New Year’s Eve and pray for the upcoming year.

The New Year’s Prayers were one of the highlights of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, especially the one hosted in the Holy Capital. Devout believers coming from all over the Sia Continent would fill Loren’s streets on New Year’s Eve, making quite a spectacle.

Roel had attended the event a couple of times in his younger years.

The Theocracy’s civilians had the freedom to choose whether they wanted to participate in the prayers or not, but the nobles were obligated to do so. It was fortunate that the rules were loose, with no restrictions on when or how long the prayers had to be.

Those who were truly devout could spend the entire night praying, whereas those who were just seeking to fulfill the obligation could be done with it in a single hour.

In that aspect, Roel thought that the Genesis Goddess Church was quite considerate to have not imposed its customs as a moral obligation.

But thinking about it, this was a world where the gods existed, which meant that a lack of devotion to one’s religion would only disadvantage oneself. If a day came where the gods decided to bestow their blessings upon their believers, it was likely that those who were more devoted would receive preferential treatment.

As someone who had received Sia’s blessings and overcome multiple crises with the ability bestowed upon him, Roel wouldn’t dare to disrespect the Mother of All Beings. For that reason, he decided to pray through the night till daybreak. Carter and Alicia, as fairly devout believers of Genesis Goddess Sia, decided to accompany him in the church during his prayer.

Once Roel was finally done tidying himself up, he left his room and met up with Alicia by the doorway.

Over the past hour, Alicia had changed into an alluring black gown that formed a stark contrast to her silver hair. The maids had applied light makeup to her face to accentuate her features, further bringing out her charms.

Despite his usual denseness, Roel felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her.

When Alicia first enrolled in Saint Freya Academy, there were students who described her beauty as ‘the icy essence born once in a hundred years in the inaccessible peak of the Layla Mountains’. Yet, Roel thought that her current beauty surpassed even that.

There was an indescribable quality in her that seemed to directly touch the soul.

Wait a moment. Could this be the effect of a spell or ability?

It suddenly dawned on Roel that this change might have arisen from Alicia’s breakthrough to Origin Level 3. Sensing his gaze, Alicia stepped forward.

“What’s wrong, Lord Brother? Do I look weird?”

“No, you look gorgeous. I was stunned for a moment.” Roel honestly revealed his thoughts.

Alicia was taken aback by the direct compliment. A red tinge swiftly dyed her cheeks.

“I-is that so? If Lord Brother likes it, I’ll doll myself up more in the future…” Alicia replied as she shyly fiddled with her fingers.

Her demeanor sent Roel’s possessiveness shooting through the roof.

This is really getting to me.

Roel forced himself to turn away in order to conceal the desires in his eyes. Then, he raised his hand and lightly knocked Alicia’s little head.

“Didn’t I tell you not to say such words?”

“But those are my earnest thoughts. Lord Brother, you’re bullying me,” Alicia replied indignantly.

“…”

Not knowing how to respond, Roel awkwardly coughed to clear the air. He suddenly remembered what happened earlier and changed the topic.

“Thank you, Alicia. For what happened in the dining room.”

“Lord Brother…”

“Father would have definitely tried to push the matter through if you didn’t back me up.”

“No, I only said what I ought to. This matter is indeed too hasty for us… and things only turned out that way because I agreed with Lord Father.”

Alicia lowered her head in guilt when she thought about how she had ‘backstabbed’ Roel earlier. She nervously fidgeted on the spot.

“Lord Brother, aren’t you angry with me?”

“Why would I be?”

“I didn’t reject Lord Father’s suggestion like you wanted me to.”

“…I only told you to freely speak your mind, which is what you did. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Roel replied after a moment of silence.

Alicia nodded in agreement, but moments later, she let out a quiet sigh. She raised her head to look at Roel, her hesitant look suggesting that there were words at the tip of her tongue, but she was struggling to voice them aloud. In the end, she bucked up her courage and went for it.

“Lord Brother, there’s something I have been wanting to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Can you tell me the reason behind why… you rejected Lord Father’s suggestion earlier?”

“…”

Alicia’s crimson eyes quivered in trepidation, unsure of whether she wanted to hear the answer to the question or not.

Roel wasn’t surprised to hear that question. In fact, he thought that there was a need to clarify the matter lest she misunderstand. He took some time to organize his thoughts before sharing his perspective.

“Alicia, I didn’t accept our father’s suggestion because our goals differed.”

“Your goals differed?”

“That’s right. Our father wants us to have offspring to ensure the continuation of our Ascarts’ lineage and the stability of our house, but that’s not what I want.”

“What do you want, Lord Brother?” asked Alicia.

Roel looked into her eyes before gently answering.

“I want you to be happy, Alicia.”