"Lord Westheid...?"
Reiya asked in a daze, her voice hoarse. "Am I still dreaming?"
Westheid closed the book in his hand and stood up.
"Sleeping forever is indeed a luxury, but unfortunately, you're already awake, Her Highness Reiya."
"If this isn't a dream, then why are you... here?"
Reiya's mind couldn't process it. The surreal scene before her had left her completely bewildered.
"Because I've come to keep our appointment. Although etiquette dictates I shouldn't have come so soon, I simply couldn't wait any longer. I hope you'll forgive my impudence."
The Silver-haired Princess continued to stare at Westheid in a daze for a long moment before letting out a soft cry, as if waking from a dream.
"This... This isn't a dream?! Duke Qinghui? I... I..."
Westheid said, "Why so formal all of a sudden? Just call me by my name, like you did before."
"Alright... Lord Westheid."
Reiya agreed and turned over, trying to sit up in bed. Westheid stepped forward to help her, but the moment he drew near, she lowered her head and refused his assistance.
"It's hideous, isn't it...? I've lost another eye."
Reiya had long since stopped caring about her appearance, but in front of Westheid, she instinctively didn't want him to see this ugly side of her.
Westheid sighed.
"It is a great pity. Your eyes were very beautiful... Was this taken by the Divine Punishment?"
The Silver-haired Princess said sorrowfully,
"This is the Divine Ancestor's attitude toward me. Lord Westheid, now you see, don't you? This is how I am loathed and hated by the gods. You truly shouldn't get involved with me. It won't be good for you, or for your family."
"So... please, go back."
Westheid's arrival was completely unexpected for Reiya. After the initial stirrings in her heart, the silver-haired girl's first thought was still to sever contact.
She had only just managed to convince herself to stop thinking about Westheid, to not hold onto hope. Hope would only make her weak.
Any other Imperial Citizen, after truly witnessing a Divine Punishment, would have any affection for her crushed by fear and unease. Awe of the Divine Ancestor is an instinctual reaction for the residents of the Land of Order.
"Why must you push me away like this? I'm a little hurt, you know, Reiya... I really do want to be friends with you."
Westheid said with a shrug. He showed no reaction to the Silver-haired Princess's rejection. Although he didn't much care for the long-winded and tortuous "conquest" route in the "Poem of Destiny," the plot was unskippable, so he had been forced to experience all of it.
'I'm getting impatient. I'm a master at this whole conquest game!'
Reiya shook her head. "Friends? I don't need friends."
"But I do!"
But Westheid simply ignored her, leaning closer to Reiya. He gently tucked the girl's hair behind her ear, his fingers tracing her scar.
His eyelids were slightly lowered, his indigo-violet eyes radiating a gentle light.
"Lord Westheid, don't look at me like that..."
Reiya flinched, not expecting him to be so bold. She fumbled with her hair, trying to cover the scar. The girl who could endure endless torture with clenched teeth now had a voice tinged with the verge of tears.
"It's so ugly..."
"Does it hurt?"
Westheid asked, watching her quietly.
Reiya shook her head. "Don't worry. I can't die. No matter how miserable it gets, I just can't die."
The silver-haired girl didn't even know how many of her own parts were still intact. The Divine Power of the [Radiant Holy Tree] ensured that no matter how grievous her injuries, her life was never in danger. Her consciousness remained ever-clear... never letting her miss a single shred of agony.
Unsatisfied with Reiya's evasive answer, Westheid repeated, "So, does it hurt?"
"...It hurts. So much that I want to die."
Reiya fell silent for a moment before answering in a very small voice.
Under Westheid's questioning, the shell she had built around herself crumbled like a sandcastle against the tide, easily revealing her vulnerability.
"It feels like my blood is being drained drop by drop, my muscles and skin torn to shreds, my organs bursting and then shriveling up. It's like being roasted by fire, like being flayed by a knife..."
Listening to the Silver-haired Princess's nightmarish confession, the young man with black hair and violet eyes naturally pulled her into his embrace.
'The more tragic they are, the stronger they get, huh,' he grumbled internally.
To give each of its capture targets a complex and convoluted questline, the "Poem of Destiny" had some incredibly dark backstory designs. Everyone had a dark secret, everyone was full of bitterness and deep-seated hatred.
A backstory like Yolanda's, "fighting on behalf of her family," was considered commonplace.
Reiya's experience, however, was on a whole other level.
Her birth was indeed an accident, the product of a foolish Dragon that sought to steal the Imperial Royal Family's bloodline and an Emperor who had lost his senses. The word "half-breed" was not an exaggeration.
But this accident actually caused the bloodlines of the Dragon God and the Tree God to merge. Because of this, the [Radiant Holy Tree] favored her greatly, wanting to elevate Reiya to be its Demigod offspring, its representative walking the Mortal World.
The [Radiant Holy Tree] decided to grant Reiya its grandest blessing, to thoroughly cleanse and sublimate the girl from the inside out.
All impure, old matter had to be replaced. All her bones, all her blood, all her flesh had to traverse the path of "withering and flourishing."
Only by first experiencing withering and decay could she achieve prosperity and growth.
The problem was, the [Radiant Holy Tree] said nothing. Whether it was a blessing or a punishment, It did as It pleased. As for whether a mortal could understand?
Are you kidding? Why would a Celestial God care about the thoughts of mortals!
Even the thoughts of Reiya, the one being blessed, were unimportant. You must accept the blessing the Divine Ancestor gives you. All hardships endured during the process must be seen as tests and Trials, to be accepted with delight.
Be it tempest or gentle rain, all is divine grace.
"The [Radiant Holy Tree] is a real piece of work,"
Westheid said.
His voice was soft, yet it reached Reiya's ears with unmistakable clarity. The girl's remaining eye widened as she looked up in utter astonishment.
"Lord Westheid?! What are you saying!?"
Westheid sneered. "I said, for the [Radiant Holy Tree] to torment you so, its arrogance is nauseating."
Seeing the Silver-haired Princess's completely dumbfounded expression, the man waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't make that face. It's just a bit of cursing at the Holy Tree. The high and mighty Divine Ancestor doesn't care about such things... It cares about nothing. Don't tell me you've never cursed the Divine Ancestor yourself."
Reiya: "..."
She had cursed the [Radiant Holy Tree] up and down in the past, so she knew Westheid was telling the truth.
The [Radiant Holy Tree] was indifferent to the talk of mortals, be it praise or curses.
Reiya shook her head. "That's different... I am a sinner, scorned by the gods. But you are the Imperial Autocratic Duke."
Whether the Celestial God cares is one thing; showing respect is a matter of attitude.
Since the Empire has prospered under the Divine Ancestor's blessing and protection, it should also uphold everything the Divine Ancestor stands for.
This is especially true for the Imperial Nobility, who are devout followers of the Celestial God. While common people might convert to other Celestial Gods, becoming a noble is automatically considered an oath of fealty.
"I am the [Branch of Prosperity], an Autocratic Duke outside the traditional Imperial noble hierarchy. Strictly speaking, I don't count as a follower of the [Radiant Holy Tree],"
Westheid corrected.
'Being an Imperial Noble does not equal having to worship the Divine Ancestor!'
'Working the formula is so much faster.'