C184
Anyway, with this, Liena prevented the resurrection of the Evil God and peace returned to the world.
Mikhail was pursuing Terence, who was fleeing after a failed plot, when he saw his half-brother fall from a cliff.
Liena wasn't present at the scene, so she heard this news from Mikhail later on.
"He must have died. It was a height at which humans would find it difficult to survive. I'm a bit concerned that the body hasn't been found."
"But why do you look like that, Mikhail?"
"Something feels strange. The enemy that troubled us so much is dead, but it doesn't feel as good as I expected."
"It's okay. You're not evil. I guarantee it."
Terence's death, of course, I know very well didn't happen in real life, but it was never good to hear it.
"Is Terence really dead?"
Previously, I had speculated that he might have saved his life to seek revenge on Mikhail and Liena.
At that time, I thought there was no way to check because Liena's second life in the novel was something that disappeared upon transmigrating here, but now there is a way.
If I continue observing how Liena's memories unfold now, I'll be able to see the misfortune that befell Liena as a result of her excessive use of blessings.
After that, memories filled with happiness continued.
Mikhail, who successfully took control of the country, was crowned emperor and married Liena at the same time.
Cheers from the people echoed throughout the street.
"Long live His Majesty Emperor Mikhail!"
"Long live Her Majesty Empress Liena!"
"Long live our heroine, Liena Cassius!"
As the novel says, Liena became a beloved empress more than the emperor and a heroine who saved the world.
Furthermore, although she wasn't given the status of a saint, it was well known that she received blessings from the goddess, so Liena had powers comparable to those of a saint.
For the Cassius family, the next head of the family was Leandro, but in the end, they followed Liena's wishes.
Empress of the empire, powerful figure of the highest family, respected heroine, and current head of the temple.
Moreover, since she had raised money by leading the Iver group, should she be added to the list of wealthy people?
In any case, Liena had acquired all the power and glory that a human could enjoy.
Even if the Emperor were Mikhail, it seemed that he wouldn't be able to stand up to Liena. He didn't even have the will to defend himself.
These are the memories corresponding to the main part of <Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers>.
Then, the life that Liena experienced after the main story passed by.
Among them, there were incidents that appeared in the novel's spin-offs, but honestly, they were so monotonous that I felt like falling asleep.
Everything seen from Liena's point of view is Mikhail whispering love, her happy family, her loyal subordinates, and the ground.
"Ground?"
Why can I see the ground right in front of me?
The reason was simple. It's because Liena was lying on the ground.
Liena barely raised her head and let out a groan of pain.
Then, the entire view of the imperial palace enveloped in bright red flames appeared. The imperial palace was burning intensely.
The place where Liena fell was a garden famous for its beauty in the imperial palace.
There were rows of tables adorned with flowers, as if an outdoor banquet had been planned, and dozens of people were lying down like Liena.
They were all Liena's closest associates. They were people I recognized from past memories.
There were no visible injuries, but they were all sprawled out, coughing up blood.
"Is it poison?"
Unlike me, who evaluated the situation calmly, Liena cried for losing her precious people.
"Why, why...?!"
At that moment, I heard someone's footsteps.
"Why? I simply returned what I received in the same way."
As it was a voice I knew, I was paralyzed by shock.
Liena tried to raise her head a bit more to see who the voice was, but her vision was blurry due to the poison, so she couldn't see the face clearly.
All she could see was a pair of long legs with black shoes.
However, Liena also seemed to have heard the voice and recognized the identity of the other person.
"You, you! You're alive!"
"I suppose you could say I came back alive from the depths of hell."
Unlike Liena, who was trembling with anger, the owner of the voice responded in an extremely calm and normal tone.
"Why did you do this...?! Did you covet the emperor's position so much that you even burned down the imperial palace?"
"Well, it's good to be in power."
"What? Then why did you kill so many people? Why did Mikhail have to die?"
"I simply returned what I received in the same way."
"Returned?"
"Do you remember the charity banquet of Count Baron that took place six years ago?"
Liena's body stiffened at that question.
"There you tried to poison me."
"N-No! It wasn't me!"
"Maybe you didn't give the order, but some of your loyal subordinates did it for you and for Mikhail."
"But it ended in an attempt! You didn't die either!"
"She died."
The man's voice speaking of death was chillingly cold.
"My precious person died."
"...your precious person?"
"You don't remember. Yes, it must not have meant much to you. Killing that woman."
"No matter what your reason is, you're nothing but a traitor and a murderer! Just wait and see. Do you think you'll get away with something like this? People will come running soon..."
As Liena wished, several footsteps were heard heading in that direction.
Liena tried to lift the corners of her mouth, swallowing the blood that was flowing. Until I heard a scream.
"It's a monster! Monsters have appeared!"
"Where the hell are the knights?!"
"Where should I go?"
"There are monsters outside the imperial palace too!"
Liena couldn't believe what she was hearing and simply blinked.
She coughed and made hoarse sounds.
"Did you really join the monsters?"
"They lent me their power for a moment."
"Nonsense... How can a human who is not an apostle of the Evil God control multiple monsters?"
"That's right, I am the apostle of the Evil God."
Liena's face filled with astonishment.
"Don't be ridiculous! I definitely took care of him!"
"Then believe what you want."
"...ugh."
"Oh, is it time for your tongue to stiffen from the poison? I gave you a smaller amount of poison than others. What do you think? The suffering time is much longer, isn't it?"
"Why, why only me...?"
"Think carefully until the moment you breathe your last breath. Whom have you abandoned so far?"
Liena used the last of her strength to barely move her frozen tongue.
"What do you desire? To-To take revenge... To destroy the world... Is that what you want?"
"It's not such a destructive goal. To retrieve her. My precious person."
"...retrieve her?"
"Yes, similarly to you."
The owner of the voice, who was standing in front of Liena, bent his knees and lowered his posture.
Thanks to that, Liena finally could see his face up close.
"I will use your death as nourishment and bring her back."
The person with an ambiguous expression, whether smiling or crying, with the fire in the background, was, of course, Terence.
--------------------------------------
Darkness appeared on Terence's face for the last time.
It seemed he had run out of memories of Liena to show.
In the darkness, I could only think of Terence.
Why did he have that expression? Such a sad expression. My heart ached.
"...-ethel!"
It was when.
"Ethel!"
As soon as I recognized that someone was calling me, my consciousness came out of the darkness.
The first thing that caught my attention was the light, and as I gradually regained my vision, I saw a silhouette.
"...Terence."
Terence's face was filled with concern.
"Ethel! You've finally regained consciousness!"
Only then did I hear the loud ambient noise in my ears and remembered the situation before the soul resonance occurred.
"What happened?"
I asked, freeing myself from Terence's arms.
"You were swallowed by a strange light while fighting with Liena, and even after the light disappeared, you couldn't open your eyes for about 10 minutes."
Only 10 minutes? It felt like I had been in Liena's memory for days.
"And Liena?"
"Fortunately, she's been quiet there for 10 minutes, probably because the light also swallowed her."
In the direction Terence pointed, Liena was still surrounded by a vortex of demonic energy, and as soon as he finished speaking, the demonic energy began to dissipate.
"What? What was that?"
Liena struggled as she must have regained consciousness at the same time as me.
"I saw something strange! Memories that are unfamiliar to me! What was that? I've never experienced that before!"
It seems Liena also saw the memories that I saw.
"It was strange! When did that happen? Ethel! Did you see this too?"
Unlike me, Liena, who had no knowledge or experience with soul resonance, was confused by the vast amount of information she suddenly received.
"Is this a dirty trick by Miella to sabotage me? But after all, strangely, it seems real..."
Then Liena's eyes turned to Terence.
Caius and Lucy also confronted her, but she only had eyes for Terence.
"...Yes, after all, this guy is the problem."
The growing demonic energy suddenly calmed down, but that didn't mean the amount of demonic energy had decreased.
"Ethel! Get away from him! If you also saw it, you must know! That man is a mad killer! He's dangerous!"
Rather, in response to Liena's hostility, the demonic energy began to expand rapidly.
"No, it's not like that."
I spoke slowly.
"Terence is someone I love and he poses no danger to me."
To be honest, I was also confused by the information that I had never imagined, but I can confirm one thing.
Whether he was a shadowy figure in the novel or an apostle of the Evil God, the current Terence was on my side and was a good person.
"Why do you say that, Ethel...?"
Liena seemed not to understand.
"Why do you give your love to someone like him? I'm the one who truly thinks of you and likes you."
"Is that so? Do you really like me?"
"Of course!"
"Just as I am?"
"... What do you mean?"
"Aren't you being good to me because I pleased you?"
"What?"
"Wasn't it the same with those you brainwashed with your blessing? You didn't love them, you loved those who loved you."
At that moment, Liena's face twisted.
---
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