Chapter 63: Perhaps he has some stress
Roger emerged from the depths of his memories as if his soul had been pulled through a temporal rift; his knees failed to carry his weight, and he collapsed, unconscious, striking the cold floor like a motionless, lifeless corpse.
On the couch, Amelia was sighing with a sorrow mixed with boredom, placing her cheek on her small palm, while Duke Cain was trying to process and organize what had just occurred before him in his mind; he understood absolutely nothing! What was wrong with this man who had been standing with all that arrogance a few minutes ago? Had he completely lost his mind? Or did the capital’s air not suit his brain?
Cain looked at his daughter sitting beside him... He found her gentle, innocent, and sweet as she had always been. There was no demonic mask on her face, no terrifying aura emanating from her, and she possessed no eyes capable of hypnosis or mind manipulation. Cain initially thought that the man was fulfilling a losing wager with excessive pride, which was strange but logical. However, the suspicious thing was that whenever the minister looked into his young daughter’s eyes, his face would grow grim, as if her gaze rained down upon him thousands of crushing slaps that surpassed his own self-inflicted blows!
"Amelia... what happened here just now?" Cain asked in a bewildered tone.
Amelia shrugged her small shoulders with feigned indifference, trying hard to look like a normal five-year-old child: "Perhaps he is going through some psychological stress, Father..."
Cain could have sworn that throughout his entire life in battlefields and politics, he had never seen anything this anomalous and bizarre. No logical reason came to his mind as to why a feared minister would do this to himself, but after hearing his daughter’s simple explanation, he could only shake his head and try to forget the matter entirely; humans go through many stresses, and surely the man did not beat himself to unconsciousness because of a small child.
"It seems he really was going through harsh stress..." Cain muttered, then turned to his daughter with serious features and said, "Should... should I throw him outside?"
Amelia looked at her father and felt a bit displeased; she did not want her father to see her as a supreme demoness who terrifies others and destroys their minds, for the image of the gentle daughter in Cain’s eyes was the most precious thing she possessed in this new life. As for this disobedient disciple, he was extremely foolish and annoying to no end!
Nonetheless, there was a wave of strange and conflicting emotions rushing through Amelia’s chest now. While Roger was slapping himself, she had been able, through the "Eyes of a Thousand Souls" and her special sensory ability, to penetrate the barrier of his brain and read his current mental and psychological state... and she was stunned! What Roger was experiencing in the deepest point of his mind was not greed, nor was it cunning; rather, it was a terrifying, burning mixture of intense remorse, self-hatred, and a black fear beyond description.
She did not know what to do with this discovery... Even though she remembered the details of her past life and was certain that Roger was a treacherous scoundrel who had deceived her on that day and distracted her attention to receive the stabs of betrayal... what she saw in his mind now made her want to re-evaluate her old memories.
It seemed utterly absurd for an empress who had lived for centuries; was she now thinking that this traitor was different from the rest of the traitors merely because he lived in the agony of fear and remorse? She wasn’t sure... but the tape of the past flashed before her, and she remembered the look in Roger’s eyes as she drew her final breaths... It hadn’t truly looked like the eyes of a spiteful person or a traitor enjoying his victory, but rather the eyes of a broken and terrified man.
This was extremely strange, but she remained rational and strict; this man had betrayed her in the end along with the rest of the disciples. Even if she felt that he did not carry the gaze of a conventional traitor, it was best to ignore him completely and act as though he had never come to this tower.
But there was one thing that worried her; she was 98% certain that Roger, after his hysterical episode and the looks he had darted at her, had discovered something dangerous... He knew with absolute certainty that she was no ordinary child; rather, he had likely touched the phantom of his late master in her!
She turned to her father with a bright smile that erased all doubts: "Father, let us leave this place... What do you think about taking Amelia on a trip around the capital? Forget about this annoying man; Hazen can throw him out like trash after he wakes from his unconsciousness."
She needed to escape the shadows of the cursed past that pursued her; she wanted to go on a trip with her father and see if the Empire had changed since she left it. Honestly, she did not want to think about that dark place again, but in the end, she remained the woman who had ruled that Empire for more than 180 whole years... Perhaps there was a buried part of her heart that wanted to retrieve some memories amidst the streets of the capital.
Indeed, Cain smiled at her with immense tenderness, patted her small head, and they went out together hand in hand, leaving the room behind them.
After they stepped out of the tower building, Cain signaled with his hand and stopped one of the luxurious carriages pulled by a distinguished horse that appeared to be of a rare and noble breed. The father and daughter climbed in, exchanging warm smiles amidst a gentle family atmosphere, and Cain called out with a cheerful face:
"Driver, take us to the most luxurious restaurant in this capital!" And the carriage moved.
While the father and daughter were enjoying their time outside... on the other side, in the royal-themed guest reception lounge inside the tower...
The fierce commander Hazen was standing over Roger’s corpse-like body, grabbing his collar and shaking him lightly while shouting into his face with resentment and annoyance: "Hey! You cursed minister, do not pretend to be dead and act before us! Get out of here immediately before I strike you more seriously... You certainly do not want to try my volcanic hound’s lava; I think a little bit of it can wake you up and make you jump much better!"
But Roger did not move a single inch, remaining drowned in his coma. When Hazen found that the man was truly unconscious and helpless, he sighed with anger and was about to use his thick hand to lift him and fling him outside like a bag of garbage...
However, Roger’s eyelids began to flutter violently, and he opened his eyes slowly... They were not the eyes of a sane man. He looked right and left with panic and muttered in hallucination: "Where did she go?.. Where did she go?!"
Hazen flew into a rage and shouted: "You scoundrel! You truly do not know the limits! Just because you are a cursed minister in this Empire does not mean you are worth anything in Duke Cain’s tower... You can go and lick your own filth far away from here!"
But Roger did not listen; instead, he began to let out intermittent, hysterical, and mad laughter that shook the corners of the room: "Hahaha... Hahaha... You... you understand nothing... It is her... It is the Empress...!"
"You insane scoundrel, if you do not get out now, do not think you will escape today with your skin intact!"
Hazen completely lost his patience, and with a swift movement, he lifted him forcefully by his neck with one hand until Roger’s feet flew into the air, and looked into his eyes with a lethal threat.
But Roger, whose mind seemed to have completely melted and vanished under the weight of the shock, looked into Hazen’s eyes, and suddenly... the temperature of the room rose, and his highly dangerous magical aura began to rise and swell in a terrifying and unexpected manner for a mage of his level!
Roger’s eyes flashed with madness as he cackled: "my master is Life..she was right.. Hahaha.. The prophecy is real! Hahaha!"
Hazen could no longer tolerate this man’s madness or his insolence, so he gathered his strength and directed a violent and direct punch at him to bring him back to his senses and wake him from his nonsense...
"Smack!"
The punch settled in Roger’s face, cutting his cheek, and crimson blood burst out, flowing down his face... But instead of falling or giving up, something occurred that made the hair on Hazen’s body stand up in terror!
At that exact moment when his blood flowed, Roger’s aura rose, surpassing the boundaries of the "Noble Level" by stages, and his eyes glowed with a burning silver and blue flash. Inside his pupils, a highly dangerous six-pointed star began to appear, rotating with the speed of lightning and in a terrifying manner that reflected the depth of the forbidden star magic!
Roger shouted with a voice that roared like a clap of thunder, his six-pointed eyes spinning madly: "Where did my mastaaaarrrrrr ?!"
In a fraction of a second, and before Hazen could comprehend what was happening, Roger gathered his overwhelming star strength and directed a destructive fist, enveloped in the exploding starlight, straight toward Hazen’s face!
"BOOOOOOOOOOM!"