"Is something wrong, Venerable Saintess?"

Scarlett wiped the corner of her left eye with a delicate finger. "No. I'm just relieved."

Surprised, Rowena cocked her head for a second, moving her hair a little. "Relieved?" she asked, only half interested, tucking a single thinly braided strand back behind her ear while moving her bangs a little to the right side of her face.

"The last time I saw you, I could feel the turmoil inside you. It's not gone, of course, but it was so chaotic last time..." her words trailed off for a second, "I feared you might do something you couldn't undo."

For Scarlett, seeing someone this distraught wasn't the first time, but there was a certain violence behind her turmoil that worried her. She had even told the Pope as well as the Crown Prince about her worries, but nobody listened.

The Prince had told her that she surely didn't feel that bad or that it was just a spur of the moment, while the Pope told her she would be placed on house arrest until the Duke returned to their estate. She would be surrounded by servants, so there was nothing to worry.

But her senses had said otherwise. They would pick up on things, even if others tried to hide them; even if she didn't look for those things. And Uriel had been looking at her with an ambiguous expression. If even a Numbered reacted strangely, there must have been something to it.

But overall, she was simply relieved now. People around her telling how great she was doing for being fairly new to all this; being told that little things like Rowena van Varnhagen weren't her problem, because she was meant to do greater things. All of this just made her realize that she wasn't who she wanted to be right now, that she did want to make all of people's suffering her business, if her senses made her feel them out anyway.

'At least it doesn't feel like I betrayed my responsibilities regarding her anymore. She seems a bit better now.'

At the way she had phrased her worries, though, Rowena thought for a second she could have expected the real Rowena to rob a gas station or something like that. But the harsh reality was that the real Rowena had indeed done something that could never be reversed.

And something told her, the way Scarlett was trying to find words to talk around the subject, that she knew exactly what she had done. Though she might not be aware of the fact that she had actually done it.

The long silence felt heavy in the room until someone thought to raise his voice to break the solemn atmosphere.

"I have heard that the Saintess did not seek any punishment for the lady," said Pope Lavanti, "I will still have to insist that she apologize to our Goddess."

At the side of the room, a large statue had been placed to look at the gremium whenever they had actual meetings. It was meant to say that she would be watching their every decision.

A stone statue with long hair and a flat sun in her hands, held like a lyra. Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn.

It couldn't be said that Rowena didn't feel a little ikky about the whole schtick, but she couldn't just disobey the Pope. She didn't like him, because he reminded her of the people in her old world - people who had no power and didn't even contribute in the slightest way would still rise to the top and rule.

He couldn't have an ounce of Mana in his body, or he wouldn't have that belly to carry around. He didn't even qualify to be a High Priest, yet he became the Pope. In a way, that was fascinating as well.

"I apologize in the name of Dynari, the name chosen by Your Grace, for my misdeeds."

Well, she did her best as she looked up at her goddess. "Very well. I hope my lady will remember to be more civil from now on," the pope commented.

He said this in the presence of his god. A goddess who was said to have descended from the heavens after the first Visitors had appeared on this earth, giving humans the power to use Mana to protect a new tomorrow.

She wasn't just a "Goddess of Victory", as many people have misinterpreted, she was instead a Goddess who embodied hope.

After a battle, no matter how difficult, how insignificant, how fortunate, or how devastating, she would make the sun rise again, starting a new day with a new dawn. It was the symbol of starting over, turning all the levers back to zero. In this it also meant "forgiveness".

It also spoke to her, as she was also trying to start anew, in her own way.

'I guess that's what resonated with so many people, it became the most powerful religion on the North-Western Continent.'

"I'm glad you accept my feelings of regret." Was it over now?

She glanced sideways at her supposed father, who seemed uncomfortable. More than Rowena herself, even though she was the one brought here to apologize in front of them.

Which begs the question: who was the girl she only saw when she turned away from the statue, sitting in a corner chair, with platinum blonde long hair and beautiful emerald eyes? A description that seemed familiar, but maybe it wasn't that important a character?

Besides, Cedric was here. Why was he here?

He would answer that question himself: "Well, I, Cedric Audley de Previa Arlen, am here now in the name of the Emperor, Emperor William Theus de Arlen, to pass the verdict." He pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment, loosened the royal seal on it and cleared his throat.

'Wait, do I go to jail now? And if they already had a verdict, why not tell me right away?'

"The accused, Rowena Dynari van Varnhagen, is sentenced to continuous house arrest until the Victory Banquet regarding the reclamation of the Gloria Forest and the attached Granbell Mountain Range, which will take place in six weeks," he read, "Within those six weeks, she will be sent on a two-week mission to the neighboring Lodden Empire to learn about the world."

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'So I'm grounded, but I can still travel abroad?' she thought, feeling her anger rising, 'What the fuck is this shit? They just want to see if the tyrant of Lodden wants to buy me!'

She tried not to clench her fists, instead, pretended to gracefully fold her hands in front of her pelvis as she fidgeted with the laced sleeves around her wrists.

"The Emperor is sending reinforcements into the forest to rebuild and reclaim what is left. The Grand Duke's achievements and the Empire's victory will be announced in about a month. At that time, the delegates are expected to return home with good news."

He ended his message and put away the scroll in his hand.

Cedric knew what his father had planned, but the Grand Duke said he didn't want his daughter to get into a situation where she wasn't asked what she wanted. It also wasn't something they could fight over through letters while the Duke was on the battlefield.

Of course, they couldn't ignore her father's will, especially when that father was not just the only Duke, but also the Grand Duke of the Arlen Empire.

Still, mere house arrest was not what he had expected. The way he had seen her today, the way she presented herself, he could have taken her for an angel. It was her way of pretending to be what she was not, to get what she wanted.

He had fallen for her theatrics before, until he had found out how she truly treated her family. Even if she tried to convince him now, he would never accept someone as gloomy and prone to jealousy as she was to be the next Moon, the Mother of the Empire.

He scoffed at her pretending that she didn't even notice him and was glad that he had done his job. The Saintess was next to him, clasping her hand to her chest as if in prayer. She really was a saint in his eyes.

Someone who would yell at you like a deranged fury wasn't the kind of person he would worry about. Luckily, she had only thrown holy water in her face, not something that would have harmed her greatly.

Still, one never knew what would happen the next time she got a chance. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to send her out of the Empire. She might even be able to help them in their negotiations.

Rowena, on the other hand, was constantly annoyed by the pitiful look Scarlett gave her. For her, it was high time to get out of there.

"One last question, Your Highness, the Crown Prince," the Lady of Varnhagen said.

"You may ask." He already looked annoyed and unwilling, but he had a duty to fulfill.

"Can this house arrest be on Varnhagen territory? I might like to get away from the capital for a while to clear my head."

"Up north? It doesn't matter, as long as it's a family house."

They didn't seem to care much about the punishment, as they didn't explain how they would even enforce this house arrest. What if she left the house in their territory? Did it not matter, because it was their territory?

She should gain some additional understanding of how their legal system worked. Or if there even was a legal system at all.

This whole punishment was just an appeasement for the church and the Baldwin Marquisette. There was obviously no real trial and no real judgment. 'Just some oh-so-important old coots, thinking themselves wise. Tale as old as time.'

But that was irrelevant if it helped her gain some freedom and get closer to the legendary village of blacksmiths located in the family territory. The male lead would later go there to have a holy sword forged.

It was a good idea to be prepared, especially now that she couldn't count on Pan in a fight.

On her way home, her backside had to suffer once again, making her dread the trip to the other Empire already.

As she sat at home, enjoying her usual tea time at this point of her routine, she sighed. "I will have to ask His Grace if I can travel to the Territory."

Norina, who had been there when she had asked the Crown Prince about the Territory, nodded her head. "I think that would be a good idea as well. Shall I ask for a meeting?"

Just as Rowena was about to thank her, a hand landed on the table on the other side of her food tray. "That won't be necessary."

The deep voice startled Rowena and when she looked up, it was undoubtedly her father.

"Can I sit down?" he asked.

"Well, it is technically your garden." Her brain wouldn't come up with anything useful.

It made him chuckle. "That is indeed true."

As he sat across from her, Ava rushed to prepare a cup of tea for him. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

He didn't want to make it too obvious how he'd felt when he'd heard her voice in the conference room. He had lived his life avoiding her so much that he hadn't even noticed how much she had grown.

As his red eyes pierced her, but couldn't quite find her own to meet, she wondered what he was thinking. Had he really neglected the real Rowena to the point where he couldn't see her despair?

It was a question, especially after this day, when even Scarlett Baldwin could tell that something was very wrong after meeting her only once for a very short time.

But this man, who seemed to care about his daughter enough to give her everything she wanted, or didn't even ask for, had no idea that his daughter had taken her last breath all alone.

The thought hit her like a punch in the gut. 'Rowena would be happier now, right? Even with VAULT on her case,' she silently asked, 'answer me this time.'

It took a while, but she could feel the faint tinge in her mind, so she knew he was listening. She stared into her teacup as the silence grew. 'She is unburdened now,' was all he said in the end.

"You mentioned that you wanted to stay in the Territory for the time being," the Grand Duke finally said, breaking the silence when she looked up in response to what Pan had said just a second before.

"Yes!" came her answer in a way that seemed a little too eager, so she faked a cough to calm herself down. "I would like to spend the time before and after the journey to Lodden in the Varnhagen territory."

He nodded his head slowly. "I will arrange for you to leave tomorrow. It will take some time to get there, do you have clothes warm enough?"

She had a coat in her dressing room. It was summer in the capital, how cold could it be, even up north?

"I do."

"All right. It will take about a day and a half with the fastest horses we have. You would also need to take a break, so two days or more have to be calculated."

'Seriously now, if I had to be sucked into the world of a book, why not one with teleportation magic?' Disgruntled, she nodded along.

"I'll talk to the Emperor, too. You won't have to do anything you don't want to." It was obvious what he was referring to.

Surprised, she looked in his direction as he seemed to be trying to read his own future in the fumes of his teacup.

"Will that work?" Did he really have that much power? Perhaps she shouldn't question him.

"I've known the Emperor since he was a prince. It's easy to talk to him when you know him. A simple discussion about what is more beneficial for the Empire." He laughed. "It's quite unproblematic compared to reclaiming the Gloria Forest."

"Easy". "Simple". "Unproblematic". "Yeah. Like pushing the pope uphill with a bendy straw", she mumbled while almost rolling her eyes, before pausing, only to flinch upon seeing her Father looking down curiously.

"But why would my lady want to push him up a hill? Sometimes I think I don't quite understand your intentions."

"Nothing, Your Grace. I was just thinking out loud." Putting down the cup, Rowena made sure to give him her best apologetic expression as she thought to herself. 'Ah, damn. Again? I should stop blurting out whatever brain fart that runs through my head, seriously.'

She noticed that he was about to get up when he addressed her one last time. "Well, I should leave you alone now, I'm sure you have things to prepare for your departure as well."

All she could think about was the fact that she was going to travel to the Varnhagen territory. But he was helping her and she wanted to make sure he cared for her anyway.

"Thank you, Fa..." she tried to create some kind of bond between them, but she couldn't, so she began to stammer, "For... for all your work. I'm truly grateful, Your Grace."

He looked a little startled, but for the first time since she had been there, their eyes met. And she would never forget the horror she saw in his eyes the moment it happened.