The Mualammu Kingdom was wrecked because of the offshoot of the Deep Dweller God. It couldn't be helped. Arsène, monster form or not, was just a Level 3, he couldn't escape the monster with the strength equivalent to Level 5 cleanly. By using the kingdom as a shield, he was able to survive. The kingdom didn't even know the truth of it. They thought it was a random attack from a monster.

Because of me, a lot of people died again. I really am a scum.

Viers felt clearly the weight of his choices. He closed his eyes and let it all soak in. The next minute, he opened his eyes and renewed his resolve in climbing the Path of Power.

He had long realized he was a scum yet he would still continue his way to the peak of existence anyway.

Anyone who has a problem with me is welcome to stop me, if you can.

***

Croix met with his aunt again in her mansion in Stormberg.

Croix knocked and entered the room after receiving permission. Inside, the blue-haired woman was sitting in silence without looking in his direction. The awkward silence stretched on until it was too much for Croix to bear.

"...Um, I-"

Croix was about to inform her about how successful he was in managing the Shore as viceroy. Even though she most likely had seen the report already, he wished to talk to her directly.

"Do you want to be a bad king, or a good king?" Grace suddenly asked, still not facing him.

"Of course, a good king," Croix swiftly recovered from the sudden question.

"What entails being a good king?"

"A king who treats his people with compassion, and brings prosperity and security to his people. He treats all his subjects fairly and equally," the fifteen-year-old prince answered.

"Nice words on paper. How might you achieve that? In the Pathseeker society, prosperity gives rise to many Pathseekers. Those Pathseekers will seek greater and greater power, sowing the seeds of conflict. At some point, you'll find that security is a fragile thing. And eventually, there will be those who set their eyes to the throne. Compassion will be seen as a sign of weakness, the lack of resolve to make the hard choice necessary. This will embolden them, like a shark catching the scent of blood. They will push and push their boundaries until you cannot tolerate them anymore. You'll find some people don't care if they have to redden the throne with the blood of his predecessor as long as they get to sit on it. If you're a good king, people will fight for you, and they will die for you. People that you care about. From that wound known as tragedy, misery will follow."

Grace spoke with a clarity that Croix couldn't find the words to refute.

"Meanwhile, you have to rule a kingdom. It is like wrangling a beast with a myriad of heads. A beast that is ever hungry and ever greedy, never to be satisfied no matter how much you give. Time, sweat, blood, heart… It will never be enough. Furthermore, there will be enemies, within and without your house, along with the whims of the sky and the earth. This is the weight of kingship, the burden you seem so willing to bear. Know this, a good man is the one who suffers the most, a good king, even more so."

Croix's back and palms felt clammy. His determination was shaken.

"So tell me, do you still wish to be a good king?"

The 51st prince answered from the heart.

"...Lord Archion said something similar," Croix remembered his encounter with the great red dragon on top of the Archion Volcano. "There is a phrase that someone recently told me that resonates with me: with great power comes great responsibility."

Croix's hesitation sunk back into the earth.

"I was born with royal blood. Six months since I became Pathseeker I already managed to cross swords with a Level 5 and lived. I don't need to be told how abnormal that is. This power… I believe it exists for the greater good. So I have a responsibility, not to my mother who first set me on this path, or to Latisians strangers that I've never met, but to myself!"

Grace finally turned her head.

"It is too big of a responsibility for a single person and one so young."

"Yes I am young and therefore immature. I might, no, I will make mistakes, I will stumble… Alone, I won't make it, but together! Together with dependable friends and allies, I just might become a king worthy of the responsibility."

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Croix made an honest, little smile.

"That includes you, Aunt Grace. I beseech you. Please, help me become a good king."

Grace stood and hugged Croix in an embrace. It was so unexpected, Croix lost his words.

"...Your father is a bad man," Grace softly said.

"...I know, aunt."

"Two decades ago, he came to Stormberg with his golden-armored royal guards, killed my father and mother, and forcefully took Giselle with him to the capital."

Croix was surprised. He'd never heard about this from his mother.

"I live only for the sole purpose of killing him."

Croix stayed silent. He knew his father, King Lahar, often took women that he fancied. The use of force was regularly deployed.

"Before I could, Lahar was killed. A woman with similar circumstances like Giselle poisoned herself and after the debauched king bed her, the swine's death was sealed. The woman died too from the poison but if I was her, I would have died content."

This part he also didn't know. His father died, but the circumstances were always kept hush-hush.

"When I was still coming to terms with the loss of my target for revenge, you appeared before me. The son of that monster and my sister, bearing a face that resembles the one that I still see in my dreams."

Grace let go of her hug and looked at his face.

"I hated you."

Croix had no rebuttal. What should he even say?

"Even though I know you are not at fault, everytime I see you I see the shadow of that wretched man. The thought of killing you has crossed my mind."

Croix saw a tear fall from the side of her eyes.

"But your actions in the Shore and Liapris showed me you are not your father. Forgive me."

Croix answered with a tighter hug.

"There's nothing to forgive, Aunt Grace."

Grace slowly hugged him back. Croix always felt cold in the vicinity of his aunt, a Level 5 Ice Pathseeker.

But this time, she felt warm.

***

That night, the twin moons were shining majestically in the sky. Grace Weiss of Stormberg was moon gazing from the garden.

The perpetual storm of Stormberg was nowhere to be seen tonight, she sent it away.

"Mistress, I brought tea."

Knight Captain Malika placed the tray with teapot and cup on a table nearby. The Countess didn't answer but it didn't matter.

"I am happy for you, Mistress."

Malika gave a salute and then removed herself. After she left, the Countess partook the tea before it went cold.

Her heart was like Stormberg's skies, tears and cries unending.

Now it was at peace.

She'd forgotten how it felt.

***

Inside a treehouse, a living space inside a real tree, Jessica was reading a book.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Tim asked.

"I'm learning, sweetie, so I can teach you and the other girls better. Mommy gives you homework but I also have homework," Jessica patiently said.

"Hmm…" Tim quickly had his mind taken by something else. The place was new and he'd never stayed inside a tree before.

There were two stories, multiple spacious rooms, a private bathroom, personal mushroom servants to help around the house… Jessica's brain had grown numb from one day of exposition. She felt she was a fish in a pond that somehow got scooped and thrown into the sea. She'd just do what she was paid to do and do her work properly.

She once again glanced at a satchel on the side of her desk. The value of the money inside it was more than she would've made in a year running her tavern.

Her employer paid her well. No doubt about that, but what next? It was too much money for teaching kids. What else does Viers want her to do? Jessica was getting worried because things were going too well.

Jessica shook her head. Above all else, her son.

"Timmy, how is your condition? No pain or discomfort? Do you like it here?"

"I'm good. I like it here. Gwen and Luca are a bit of a scaredy cat but Boram is cool. The other older sisters seem kind. The food is good and the bed is super nice. Seeing them train makes me wanna be a Pathseeker like-"

Tim stopped.

"You're a Pathseeker too, right Mom? You never say. Why are you hiding it from me?"

"I thought it would protect you," Jessica patted the head of her son. "It will still be a few more years until you have to make that decision so don't do anything dangerous, okay sweetie?"

"Kay…"

Because he had seen the horror of Pathseeker battles in his hometown and Liapris, Tim was more compliant to his mother's words than before.

There was a knock on the door. Jessica opened it and saw Paina and Farley.

"Good morning, Madam Jessica~" Paina greeted with a cheerful tone. "Tim too, good morning~"

"Good morning, please, just Jessica. What brought you here?"

"We were wondering if you'd like to train with us. Since you're new, we can show you the ropes around here. Viers created many training grounds, we even have Power Spots," Farley said.

"Oooh! Can I watch? Can I?"

Jessica was indeed interested but Tim was more eager.

After the two girls did not object to Tim's tagging along, the four went together.

"I wish to talk to Avel, or Viers, as I understand it. May I? Jessica asked.

"Usually you can meet him in the Dojo around this time, but he's currently busy this time," Farley said.

"Yeah, apparently he looted a kingdom." Paina shrugged. "He's taking inventory right now… Just don't ask. The things he does are crazy. You'll get used to it. Do you want breakfast first? He got a bread wall that never runs out, and the jams from this place, sooo delicious."