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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 47: The End of Night
Even before awakening her blessing, Selenia had been a formidable mage—no one to scoff at.
But after awakening the blessing〈Goddess of the Sun〉, she was something else entirely.
Mages didn’t support her because of her current skill alone.
What earned her their trust was the immense latent potential vouched for by the Archmage of the Golden Tower himself.
And now—that potential had been set free.
"L-Lady Selenia…"
"Your Highness… What in the world…"
Even Lumiel and Zeras couldn’t hide their shock at this unfamiliar side of the princess.
She now radiated the power of the sun in the middle of the dark night—like a literal sun deity.
It was beyond awe-inspiring. It was transcendental.
But that reaction was coming strictly from the humans' point of view.
"Sir Kyr… is that…"
"Yeah, Yan. I think that’s exactly what it is."
Kyr remembered his training.
Among the divine gifts granted to mortals beloved by the gods, there was one blessing the bloodkin feared above all: the Blessing of the Sun God.
If the Power of the Moon could neutralize bloodkin by matching their own nature, then the Power of the Sun simply obliterated them—no questions asked.
Fortunately, those blessed by the Sun God were extremely rare.
Only legendary heroes and a handful of royals had ever borne that light.
And even then, Kyr had never once encountered such a person in all his missions,
nor had he heard of any of his kin running into one.
Yet now—of all times—he had run straight into one.
’That princess over there… was a bearer of the Sun God's Blessing.’
Fwooooooooom—
"...Why isn’t she moving? Why isn’t she attacking…?"
"Urrghhh…"
Selenia hovered midair, bathed in golden light, silently staring at the bloodkin.
There was no hatred in her eyes. No rage.
Only a quiet sorrow—pity, even.
The kind of pity you show to a doomed creature that just happened to meet the wrong person at the wrong time.
To the bloodkin, she now looked like a demon king descending from the heavens.
Golden mana—the essence of the sun—poured from her body, ripping through the dark magic barrier the bloodkin had built with the sacrifice of their own.
And yet she destroyed it—literally—as if it were nothing.
"My body… feels lighter somehow."
"It must be Lady Selenia’s power. It’s affecting us too."
Lumiel and Lana could feel it clearly—their bodies felt invigorated, unburdened.
At the same time, the bloodkin standing in that same space felt something entirely different.
Their skin was starting to burn—slowly but surely.
To them, Selenia was a walking apocalypse, nullifying all their effort with her very presence.
"Ugh… UAAAAHH!!"
"Stop! Kang!!"
One of the bloodkin, driven mad with fear, finally snapped and lunged at her.
Kyr, their commander, tried to stop him—but it was already too late.
"Begone."
FWOOOOOOM—
Selenia simply waved her hand.
No spell chant. No incantation.
Just a flick of her hand, channeling her mana toward the charging bloodkin.
And then—
"GRAAAAGHHHH!!"
Like he’d been hit by a high-tier fire spell, the bloodkin assassin was engulfed in her power and incinerated—reduced to ash on the spot.
Kyr wasted no time.
"Everyone… fall back!"
"But Sir Kyr! That’s—!"
"Now! She’s not someone we can take on!"
At his command, the bloodkin immediately began to retreat.
The humans remained alert, weapons still drawn—uncertain whether the withdrawal was genuine.
Only once all traces of the bloodkin had disappeared did they finally lower their guard—and their weapons.
Selenia, too, began to suppress her mana.
Panting heavily, she looked down at her own trembling hands.
And at the ash that was all that remained… of the bloodkin she had just erased.
＊ ＊ ＊
The bloodkin’s attack, surprisingly, caused very little damage.
Perhaps because the assassins moved with ruthless precision toward their target, the only real casualties were a few watchmen.
Much of the minimal damage was thanks to ’her’.
“My Lord! Are you unharmed?”
“Azelle! You're alright?”
It was Azelle.
She had fought off nearly a dozen bloodkin assassins, taking down six herself, and holding off the rest until they retreated.
But it had clearly been a brutal battle—her body was covered in wounds. I couldn’t help but worry.
“I’m alright. Took a couple stabs to the back, but hey—nothing a knight can’t handle! Hahaha!”
“Lazy Azelle, would you please turn around?”
“Yes! Of course!”
While receiving healing magic from a practitioner of House Silla, Azelle responded cheerfully.
Judging by her tone, at least her life wasn’t in danger.
As wounded were being treated and the aftermath cleaned up, Selenia approached me.
“Calyx.”
“Yes, Your High—Selenia.”
“Can we talk for a minute, just the two of us?”
“...Of course.”
I followed Selenia.
She led me up to the top of the wall, where there was no one else.
From there, we could see the night finally ending, the first light of dawn rising over the horizon.
“You know I’ve got a ‘lot’ of questions right now, right?”
“Yes. I understand.”
From her point of view, she must have ‘so much’ she wanted to ask.
From the marriage conversation we’d been interrupted during, to how I knew about her blessing—it was a mountain of things.
She started with the biggest secret.
“How did you know about my power?”
“...That’s a secret.”
“A secret?”
I couldn’t exactly say, “I’m a reincarnator who saw your character arc in a video game,” so I labeled the source of my knowledge as “a secret.”
“Don’t you also have information about me that I don’t know? Just think of it like that. I’ve got some of my own, too—though not as much as you, of course.”
“Hmm… suspicious…”
She gave me a look full of doubt.
But at the same time, she seemed to accept it—at least a little.
After all, every major house in this era had at least one information guild under their command.
It wasn’t unreasonable for her to have intel on me that I didn’t know about.
After staring at me for a moment, she relaxed her expression and said—
“But I’ll let it slide. I’m merciful to my people.”
She smiled—not teasing, but warm, like someone speaking to a friend they trusted.
“After all this… can we say we’re in the same boat now?”
“I think that might be a bit premature.”
“Whyyy?! Don’t people usually get close after surviving something like this together?! Bonds! Friendship! Trauma buddies!”
She tried to sneak me onto her “boat,” but I cut her off cleanly.
She pouted jokingly, but then hit me with the big guns—a look so pitiful it could rival a lost puppy.
“…Calyx, do you not like me?”
“No. If anything, I like you.”
“Great! Then let’s stick together. I’ll treat you ‘really’ well.”
Yeah, I liked her. I definitely did.
And that was exactly why I couldn’t join her right now.
“Please look at the bigger picture, Selenia. If I join your side right now, it might actually make things worse.”
If I joined the Princess’ faction at this moment, it would tip the balance of power too drastically.
The Prince’s faction might be the empire’s largest, but because of that, they were also riddled with internal problems and constantly entangled in political schemes from all sides.
But what would happen if I, now, joined forces with the Princess—who had just awakened her divine blessing?
The balance of power would collapse.
With that shift, the Princess’ faction would become the new primary target of political suppression and retaliation, weakening her position rather than strengthening it.
“Do you realize how much pressure the Prince faces ‘just’ because he leads the strongest faction? Right now, it’s actually more helpful to you, Selenia, if I stay neutral.”
“Hmm… that’s… fair.”
She nodded, seemingly convinced by my reasoning.
She really was fascinating.
Sometimes she’d act like a playful girl, and the next moment, she showed the judgment of a seasoned leader at the helm of a political faction.
Just as I was wondering which side of her was the real one, she asked.
“Then what ‘are’ we, exactly? Enemies? Allies? Or… a temporary alliance?”
“None of the above… How about just… friends?”
“Friends?”
“Yeah. People who look out for and acknowledge each other.”
My answer genuinely surprised her.
It was also, admittedly, a selfish wish of mine.
Rather than amassing power or influence, I wanted more friends.
“Friends… huh? That’s… kinda nice. Yeah. Friends.”
She started repeating the word to herself and smiled softly.
What exactly about it made her so happy?
“Lady Selenia?”
“Lily.”
“Huh?”
“You said we’re friends, right? People close to me call me Lily. You already did, remember?”
I suddenly remembered the moment I awakened her blessing.
Caught up in the drama of the scene—just like one of those major game events—I had dropped the formalities, called her Lily, and even used informal speech.
Of course, under imperial law, using casual language with royalty without permission was a crime. Like, actual arrest-worthy.
“Oh! That… I-I’m sorry! It was a crisis—I didn’t mean—”
“Hahaha! It’s fine. I’ll let it slide. It was a crisis, after all.”
With a warm smile, she walked up to me and looked into my eyes.
“Since we’re friends now, I’ll tell you a little secret.”
“A secret?”
What was she about to say?
Just as I focused on her words, she suddenly looked past me and said—
“Ah! Lana!”
“Lana?”
Wait, Lana? Why would she suddenly—?
I turned to follow her gaze… but there was no one there.
Huh?
“Where’s Lan—mmph?!”
I whipped my head back around—
And there she was, right in front of my face.
Before I could react, she grabbed my face, leaned in—
And kissed me.
It happened in an instant.
Her lips, soft and warm like the morning sun, carried the scent of sunflowers—a kiss as brief as it was eternal.
Pulling back, her cheeks flushed, she gave me a dazzling smile.
“I’ve always gotten what I wanted. Always.”
Bathed in the rising sun, she looked like a literal Goddess of the Sun.
Then that radiant goddess looked into my eyes and said—
“Don’t forget, Calyx. You’re mine.”
…Yeah. I’d been marked by the Sun Goddess herself.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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