Chapter 267, The Heart of Lilith

"This necklace is called the Heart of Lilith. My plan for a new world was proven unworkable, so I spent all my divine power melting down the embryonic form of that new world and infused it into this necklace," the Lady of the Lake explained softly as she hung the necklace around Ryan's neck.

"The Heart of Lilith..." Ryan brushed his fingers through the Lady's golden hair. "Thank you, I will always wear it."

"You must always wear it because it's a gift from me." The Lady's complexion looked much better after Ryan's infusion of spiritual energy. She gently pushed Ryan to let her stand, then got up. "Now, where were we?"

"We were talking about the Eternal Queen's actual consort being Tyrion," Ryan also stood up.

They walked through the spacious tower, the Lady of the Lake barefoot and floating slightly above the ground. "No, something before that."

"You mentioned a chaos army invading Asuan, with the high elf princess Etirala leading her troops against the god-chosen 'Beauty,' Prince Sigvald. You also said Asuan's guardian Tyrion was attending the Eternal Queen's breeding rally."

"Right, that's where we were," the Lady of the Lake led Ryan towards the tower's dining hall. "At that time, Tyrion wasn't there, and my god-chosen, Chief Archmage Tigris of the Hos White Tower Mage Council, was leading an expedition in Lucitia, so the Phoenix Court was in chaos. Princess Etirala's calls for help were met with cold indifference and mockery from the nobles, who only gave her a force of elite troops but refused further support due to her low influence in Asuan without Tyrion's backing."

"The situation sounds dire," Ryan maintained his composure and detachment.

Entering the kitchen, they found ingredients already prepared for making an elven cake: finely milled wheat flour, sugar, high elf honey, milk, oil, and eggs, along with a jar of blueberry jam. The Lady had planned a joint activity to bake an elven cake together.

"It is dire, which is why I decided to intervene," the Lady of the Lake rolled up her sleeves. She began teaching Ryan how to make the blueberry jam cake while recounting the course of the war.

The war's cause was ludicrous: Prince Sigvald, the god-chosen "Beauty," led his six-thousand-strong barbarian army against Asuan simply because he was envious of the high elves' golden hair, as beautiful as his own.

"My hair is the most beautiful, no arguments."

—Prince Sigvald, the god-chosen "Beauty"

"Princess Etirala is my follower. When she prayed for my help, I decided to assist her against the chaos forces," the Lady cracked eggs, separating yolks from whites as she continued. "Initially, we were unclear about the size of the chaos forces, so Princess Etirala and I devised a plan to lure the enemy deeper and harass them continuously. With my help, dense fog spread across the mountains and islands of Cosqui, hiding elven villages, estates, and towns under a cloaking spell, while Etirala led chariot troops and shadow warriors in relentless ambushes against chaos scouts and lords."

"This tactic proved effective. The chaos warband wasn't adept in magic... If I'm not mistaken, unable to please their dark gods and without plunder, they turned on each other," Ryan took a silver spoon from the Lady, both working together on the eggs.

"Exactly, Prince Sigvald and his chaos warband wandered the Cosqui mountains for over two weeks, seeing not a single town, nor even an elf," her emerald eyes sparkled with glee, the moist air and the rain outside to her liking. "Without sacrifices or glory, and repeatedly harassed, Sigvald lost control of his warband. Every day he faced challenges from his own followers, with various barbarian champions and chaos lords issuing challenges, plunging the warband into internal strife. In a few days, the number of champions Sigvald personally killed surpassed the casualties from Etirala's guerrilla tactics."

"What an utter fool," Ryan skillfully mixed sugar and salt into the egg whites. "If it were me, I would have retreated by then. But I understand the mindset of the god-chosen of seduction; Sigvald can tolerate defeat, but he wouldn't retreat. In contrast, a god-chosen of terror might retreat, but would never accept defeat."

"Yes, with the chaos warband in complete disarray, Sigvald was forced to duel another challenging champion. Princess Etirala saw her opportunity; she led a surprise attack with a thousand Silver Helm knights and dozens of chariots, supported by thousands of troops, and completely broke the chaos forces. During their collapse, Sigvald was still dueling…"

A trace of scorn flashed across the divinely beautiful face of the Lady of the Lake. "By the time the army was thoroughly defeated, Prince Sigvald had just slain the chaos champion and casually left the battlefield, killing dozens of elves who tried to stop him. I tried to use magic to detain him, but blessings from seduction shielded Sigvald and he escaped easily."

"Using all your divine power to forge this necklace and then assisting in defeating the chaos army, so that's why you're so weak?" Ryan added peanut oil to the egg yolks. "No wonder you've been so scarce lately."

The Lady dabbed a bit of cream on her fingertip and playfully smeared it on Ryan's nose. "What's wrong? Afraid I won't be around to preside over your engagement ceremony with Sulia? It doesn't matter, with you around, my divine power recovers quickly."

Ryan grimaced and quickly dodged, but still got a dab of cream on his nose. He protested, "I wasn't thinking that much, my lady… Lilith."

"Heh~ If you dare complain, I'll decree you stay single for life," the Lady pointed at Ryan. "Hurry and mix, or the egg yolk cream will burn."

Mixing, whipping the egg whites, gradually incorporating flour and egg white foam into the silver bowl, stirring to make the batter.

The oven was set, the Lady of the Lake used her divine power to time it precisely, and now they waited.

Her gown rustling, the Lady stood in front of the long kitchen table, Ryan beside her, both watching the oven, blue flames burning inside.

The rain outside continued heavily, pattering against the window like a downpour, the water streaming down outside the transparent glass made the kitchen air very moist. As they watched the oven, silence enveloped the room.

In the quiet atmosphere, Ryan felt the Lady had something more to say.

"My influence among the elves is low, Ryan," the Lady's smile faded, and she frowned slightly. "Among the elves, let alone the dark elves, even among the high elves and wood elves, my influence is minimal. Apart from a few elven wizards and mages and a very few noble elves, I have almost no sway. In fact, if Tigris hadn't been physically weak, I wouldn't have had the chance to make him my god-chosen. At that time, if Tigris had been a bit stronger, he would have become the first god-chosen of Hos."

H

os, the god of elven wisdom, whose mage council resides in the White Tower of Hos.

Ryan nodded silently, understanding from his own experiences.

"The contradictions among the elven gods are long-standing, tracing back even before the split of the elves," the Lady shook her head coldly, her stunning face solemn. "Actually, the final cause of the elves' split was due to the enmity between Asuyan and Cain. Asuyan, as the chief of the elven gods, hardly ever speaks or cares about the lives or deaths of elves. I think he regrets creating the elves as a species. As the chief god, Asuyan doesn't really need faith."

Ryan's brow furrowed. What was the Lady getting at?

"Ryan, you are a visitor from beyond the stars. Do you know why I chose Brittany?" Seeing Ryan's silence, the Lady pressed on.

I could answer that I don't want to know, Ryan thought, but he said, "You've forged this nation into a sword, a sword in your hand. You saved Arthur, saved the people of Brittany, but at the same time, while the knights think you're their beacon of hope, they don't realize you plan to have them serve you in a new world."

A hint of guilt crossed the Lady's face, but her icy, sharp words matched her frosty beauty, indicating her resolute determination. Guilty, but unrepentant.

"Elven power is weak, Ryan. In its heyday, the Kingdom of Caledor had twenty thousand Dragon Knights—that's twenty thousand riders on dragons. But from the era of Elarion to now, six thousand years have passed, and now, the number of Caledor Dragon Princes is less than a thousand, with those riding dragons even fewer. Why does the Eternal Queen hold these breeding rallies every year? Because there's no choice, the population of high elves is slowly decreasing. I foresaw the end times from the beginning. I need an army to resist the dark forces; I chose Brittany."

"I saved Arthur and the people of this land from despair. I kept them alive, so I need their strength, their sacrifices. The Holy Grail was my gift, now it's Brittany's turn to repay. It's that simple; I gave you the reason and the meaning to keep fighting, the knights sacrifice for me."

Ryan smiled, his face a mix of sarcasm and understanding: "Life is currency, beneath chaos, no one survives. Lilith, you also know the end times, you know how much sacrifice is needed to combat chaos."

The Lady of the Lake knew the end times too, as her divinity included the power of prophecy. In fact, most mortals in the world knew about the end times, but most thought of it as a warning, not a prophecy.

"The hope for a new world is shattered, but we still have hope, and that's you. You possess the power to isolate the corruption of chaos, you have the miraculous power to reverse everything. Thus, I place all my hopes on you. Now, with the invasion of chaos becoming more frequent, the end times won't be far. You've grown now, tell me, Ryan, if... I mean if, the end times come, will you always protect me?" The Lady turned her head to look at Ryan, her god-chosen champion.

"..." Ryan narrowed his eyes; giving and receiving were always reciprocal.

He nodded slightly: "We will fight side by side, to the very end."

"Then, the pact is sealed."

...

As the Day of Lilith arrived, Ryan and Sulia's engagement ceremony took place as scheduled in Helen Hilde, with the Lady of the Lake herself appearing to bless the union of Ryan and Sulia.

The ceremony was simple, with few attendees, including Ryan, his brother Anglon, the steward Carsenburg, the flagbearer and Grail Knight Armand, and about a dozen people from the Duke of Wintford's side, including Sulia's father Duke François, her mother Duchess Kumani, cousin Gerard, brother Julius, and several Grail Knights from the Wintford ducal family, the eldest of whom was over three hundred years old.

In the Lady of the Lake's chapel in Helen Hilde, under her personal blessing, Ryan placed a gold double-headed eagle ring on Sulia's ring finger.

The inside of the ring was engraved with the words "Suriya, Princess of Imperium."

Sulia didn't fully understand the significance of the ring; she only knew it was a proposal ring made of pure gold and diamonds, containing tremendous power. Once she wore it, an immense force enveloped her, warm yet filled with endless majesty.

The knightess might not understand, but others did, like the Lady of the Lake, whose gaze occasionally lingered on the golden double-headed eagle diamond ring on Sulia's left ring finger during the entire ceremony, only she and Ryan knowing what blessing it carried, what it signified.

Entry, prayer, choir, exhortation, then François and Anglon symbolizing the elders of both sides jointly blessed the marriage, and finally, after the Lady of the Lake personally blessed the engaged Sulia and Ryan, the shy knightess and Ryan exchanged a gentle kiss, marking the completion of their engagement, and the couple received congratulations from everyone.

Among them, François was undoubtedly the proudest. Ryan had entered François's sight when he was just beginning to rise. While other great nobles in the kingdom hesitated about contacting Ryan, his daughter had already taken the lead. By the time Ryan ascended to the rank of Earl in just two years, the Lady had already decreed their engagement.

Ryan was only twenty-eight years old!

After the ceremony, the Lady of the Lake took Sulia's hand, admiring her in her beautiful white wedding gown, and said with a smile, "So, Ryan, my champion, I'm borrowing your fiancée for a moment."

The knightess blushed and bowed her head. Seeing Ryan's glance, she bashfully followed the Lady of the Lake.

Ryan was about to say something when a young kingdom knight stepped in front of him.

It was Julius, who Ryan realized he would soon be calling his brother-in-law.

The brother-in-law's expression was less than pleased as he pulled Ryan aside to a corner of the castle courtyard.

"Ryan, you fellow, I've always regarded you as a rival and friend on the path of knighthood! But you…" 

PS: Heart of Lilith (Accessory): Artifact, Magic Resistance +20%, Ranged Resistance +15%, Melee Attack +15, Melee Defense +25, Wind of Magic Charge +25, Cavalry Charge Bonus for troops +15 (for the army), Special Skill [Blessing of Lilith].

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