Chapter 88: I need time

Rhea did not accept it immediately.

"What’s inside?"

"An apology."

"Does it ask him to meet you?"

"No."

"Does it say you’ll die if he doesn’t forgive you?"

Catrina tightened her grip on the letter slightly, but in the end, she still shook her head.

"No."

Only then did Rhea take it.

Catrina looked toward the building beyond the gate and said quietly, "If he still wants to come down only because he’s worried I’ll collapse out here, stop him."

Rhea narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I’ll leave once I receive confirmation that he has read the letter. I won’t ask to see him."

Catrina turned toward the female knight holding the umbrella.

This time, she did not refuse.

The umbrella opened above her head, preventing the rain from continuing to fall upon her already freezing body.

Rhea looked at her for a while before saying:

"That’s the first thing you’ve done right today."

Catrina gritted her teeth.

Even while trying to make amends, she still found the woman in front of her irritating beyond measure.

But this time, Catrina did not argue.

"I know."

...

Rhea returned to the room with most of her cloak soaked through.

One of her subordinates immediately tried to use cleaning magic, but she simply removed the cloak and set it aside before handing the letter to Lathel.

"It’s from her."

Lathel recognized the handwriting on the outside immediately.

He opened the envelope.

There was only a single sheet of paper inside.

[Lathel.]

[I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry that even after regaining my senses, I still chose to chain you beside me. I once thought that my fear of losing you could explain what I did, but now I understand that no matter how much pain I’m in, I have no right to turn you into the person who has to endure it.]

[I destroyed the chain and canceled every order to monitor you. The person who helped you leave will not be punished.]

[I will not ask you to forgive me, nor will I ask you to come back.]

[If one day you want to see me again, I will wait. If that day never comes, I will still keep my word and never force you again.]

[I’m sorry.]

[Catrina.]

Lathel’s hand trembled very slightly when he reached the final line.

He stared at the letter for a long time before opening his notebook and writing:

[Is she still outside?]

"Yes."

[Can I send her a message?]

"Yes."

Lathel thought for a long time before finally putting pen to paper.

[I read the letter.]

[I need time.]

Only two sentences.

He had not forgiven her.

But he had not completely cut her off either.

Rhea picked up the page and handed it to her subordinate.

Only after the person left did Lathel write another question.

[What if I still want to see her someday?]

Rhea pulled a chair over and sat opposite him.

"I’ll take you to her."

Lathel looked slightly surprised.

"But I’ll stand beside you," Rhea said calmly. "If she loses control again, I’ll cut off whichever arm touches you."

Lathel: "..."

Pandora burst out laughing inside his soul.

Rhea looked at his expression and added:

"Both arms would be fine too."

Lathel immediately lowered his head and wrote:

[That wasn’t what I was asking.]

"I know."

Rhea reached out with her bare hand and gently closed his notebook.

"You can forgive whoever you want. I only need to make sure you’re still alive to make that choice yourself."

Outside the gate, Catrina received Lathel’s note.

She stared at the two sentences for a very long time.

By the time she folded the paper, the eyes behind her mask had already turned red.

But this time, Catrina did not rush into the Academy.

Nor did she demand that Lathel meet her immediately.

She simply held the note tightly against her chest and turned toward her subordinate.

"Let’s go back."

The Black Rose carriage slowly left through the southern gate.

Catrina had not received the forgiveness she wanted.

But at least for the first time, she had truly respected Lathel’s choice.

...

Aldric threw the IOU onto the table, making the teacup beside it tremble and spill half its contents.

"Three days."

He looked at Kiyome standing beside the window and said coldly:

"Three days have passed, and you still haven’t found a way to get Lathel out of Rhea’s territory."

"I warned you not to provoke her."

Kiyome did not turn around.

"The entire Judicator Legion district has strengthened its defenses now. Rhea has even stationed people at every place Lathel might appear."

Aldric gritted his teeth.

Every time he remembered the crushed bouquet, the beating he had received in front of the students, and the debt of nine thousand gold coins, his face burned with humiliation.

"So we’re just going to let him hide behind that woman?"

"You could force your way in," Kiyome replied calmly. "But this time, Rhea won’t let you leave alive."

Aldric immediately fell silent.

He desperately wanted to argue, but his recently healed arm was still aching.

Even in a direct confrontation, he had no confidence that he could get past Rhea, much less the Judicators and Holy Knights now gathered around Lathel.

Aldric paced around the room several times.

His patience quickly ran out.

"We can’t keep waiting."

"What do you want to do?"

"Change targets."

Kiyome turned around.

Aldric raised his hand.

An information panel visible only to him immediately appeared before his eyes.

Ever since Lathel came under Rhea’s protection, the System had repeatedly warned that the probability of successfully approaching the target was too low.

Most of the Fate Aldric had taken from the previous village had also been consumed to stabilize his realm and suppress the backlash from Ancient Magic.

If he continued waiting, his strength would gradually stagnate.

Aldric refused to accept that.

"Lathel possesses an enormous amount of Fate, but he isn’t the only source."

Kiyome immediately understood.

"You want to replace him with other people?"

"As long as there are enough of them."

Aldric walked to the map hanging on the wall and circled a large region outside human territory.

"Rhea can protect Lathel alone, but she can’t protect every living creature in this world."

Kiyome looked at the region he had indicated.

It was inhabited by numerous small Beastfolk tribes.

Most belonged to no kingdom. Their populations ranged from only a few dozen to several hundred, scattered throughout deep forests and mountain ranges.

Even if an entire tribe disappeared, it could take a long time before the news spread.

"You’ve done this before."

Kiyome was not asking.

She was stating a fact.

Aldric remembered the village of three hundred and twenty-seven people and casually nodded.

"Yes."

"They all died?"

"Of course. If you want to extract all of someone’s Fate, you first have to sever its connection to the soul."

His tone was as calm as though he were explaining how to harvest a medicinal herb.

Kiyome looked at his face and immediately felt a wave of discomfort.

However, Aldric had already taken the parchment containing the resurrection ritual from his spatial ring and placed it on the table.

"You want to resurrect your tribe. I want power. We both need Fate."

"You said we only needed Lathel."

"I said he was the best option, not the only one."

Aldric tapped the parchment with one finger.

"Lathel alone could replace thousands of ordinary lives. But if we can’t take him right now, then we’ll use thousands of lives instead."

Kiyome looked at the map.

The two fox ears on top of her head slowly pressed downward.

She knew many of the tribes in this region.

Her auction house had traded medicinal herbs, magical beast hides, and minerals with them before.

Some even voluntarily sent gifts every year, hoping to gain protection through Kiyome’s status as a Saintess candidate.

"You know where they are."

Aldric smiled.

"Don’t you?"

Kiyome did not answer.

"Don’t tell me you suddenly feel sorry for them."

Aldric picked up the parchment and slowly unrolled it.

"As long as we gather enough Fate, this ritual will be complete. Your parents, the elders, the children of your tribe... all of them can come back to life."

Faces from her memories immediately appeared before her eyes.

Kiyome saw her mother standing in front of their wooden house.

She saw the young fox demons running around the square.

She saw her much younger sister clutching her tail and calling her big sister.

Then all of them were swallowed by flames.

Kiyome had been given another life.

Her tribe had not.

She had tried changing the past.

She had searched for mages who studied souls.

She had fought for the position of Saintess.

Yet even now, she had still failed to find another path.

Only the parchment lying before her offered genuine hope.

Kiyome slowly walked toward the map and pointed to a forest in the northwest.

"There’s a Lynx Tribe here."

Aldric’s smile immediately widened.

"How many?"

"Around two hundred."

"Too few."

"There are two more tribes nearby."

Kiyome pointed to two additional locations.

"If we use the merchant guild’s teleportation gate, we can reach the nearby region within two days."

Aldric looked at the three marks on the map and laughed.

"I knew you’d make the right choice."

Kiyome closed her fan.

"I only need you to remember your promise."

"As long as we gather enough Fate, I’ll complete the resurrection ritual."

"I want to personally inspect every step."

"Fine."

Aldric agreed far too quickly, but Kiyome did not question him further.

She looked at the locations she had just marked and silently told herself that this was the only path left.

As long as her tribe could return, any price would be worth paying.