Liam Wilboyer was skeptical.

Ever since she mentioned his name at the banquet, he had been on high alert, constantly scanning his surroundings. He checked if the number of soldiers or knights had changed, or if anyone was following him.

Of course, there were people monitoring the imperial delegation.

“It’s not much different from last year. Since there’s a duke’s family with special abilities, they don’t train their bodies much, so their skills aren’t great. You can rest assured.”

As his aide Benjamin answered, Marx Benum sipped his tea and sneered.

Even though Liam had directly told Marx to use his perfume more sparingly, he always carried a strong scent with him.

“We could easily take it now. The problem is justification. That snake Beltoa will just keep stalling and won’t hand over the royal family anyway.”

“The ducal families and Beltoa must be well aware of Wilboyer’s situation, yet they’re still being cruel.”

“They drove them out because of their own mistakes, then branded them as heretics. Any fight is a matter of pride.”

“I hope we can build up justification and take Glishia for ourselves.”

“It won’t work without substantial justification. If we just take it by force like before, we’ll suffer from internal opposition. That’s why faith is so frightening.”

“That damn faith.”

“That’s why the Crown Prince sent Marx Benum, not a duke. To use as a disposable card if problems arise.”

Marx laughed pleasantly while talking about himself.

Liam’s face darkened.

The Wilboyers don’t attend imperial social gatherings. Although they have audiences with the Emperor and participate in state council meetings, they mainly travel around border conflict areas, stabilizing battlefields on the Emperor’s orders.

There was no way anyone at the luxurious Glishian banquet would recognize his face.

That’s why he joined the delegation.

He didn’t come here with hope for the Glishian royal family. Seeing his younger brother Kyler growing weaker and suffering in pain, he was prepared to kidnap a royal if necessary.

‘Ormia Beltoa.’

Recalling the name of the family he despised, Liam entered the temple he had never visited before.

The Church of Magnus, Glishia’s state religion and symbol.

In Glishia, the Wilboyer family was called a family abandoned by God, heretics who betrayed God, cursed demons.

Even as Liam entered the temple, God did not strike him down with divine punishment.

Instead, Ormia Beltoa with light pink hair was kneeling on the cold floor of the main hall of the grand temple, praying.

She wore a white prayer veil.

Liam took out a single flower from his sleeve.

The white flower that suddenly appeared above them at the banquet.

He had heard all about the Glishian royals through his informants’ reports.

Ormia’s powerless flower.

He heard it was rather avoided as ominous.

The negation of a powerless god. That power is said to intensify people’s suffering.

‘What are you plotting?’

Liam grabbed the doorframe as a stabbing pain hit between his eyebrows. His complexion turned pale, but it wasn’t very noticeable in his expression.

A curse-like pain washed over him.

Starting with a headache, dizziness set in from the pain of thousands of needles piercing his spine. The side effects of his ability caused enough pain to make even a strong man break out in a cold sweat.

It came like waves. Constantly, relentlessly crashing waves.

It would come and go, then return again after a while.

Sometimes weak, sometimes strong, and when the pain built up, using his ability would cause the pain to engulf his body like a tsunami, leaving him bedridden for days.

There was medicine provided by the empire. It temporarily suppressed the pain, but it was highly addictive.

His younger brother Kyler couldn’t endure it.

He became dependent on the empire’s medicine, and eventually developed a tolerance to it.

“Brother, bro……”

“Please kill me, mother. Ugh, I can’t take it anymore. It hurts……”

“When it hurts so much I want to die, how can you tell me to endure more!”

Liam looked at Ormia’s back as she prayed.

“I can save your brother.”

He didn’t believe Ormia Beltoa.

Just those words.

The confident whisper.

The suddenly appearing flower.

And her expression as she looked at him with red eyes that seemed about to cry, stuck with him.

He had heard that Ormia always stops by a dessert cafe and sits on the second floor after visiting the temple. He had sent someone to the next table in advance.

He walked slowly as if sightseeing and went to the dessert cafe. He sat down at the table next to her, cheerfully, as if meeting someone he had an appointment with.

She wasn’t accompanied by anyone. No maids, not even guards.

He expanded his senses to scan the surroundings, but the only armed people he detected were those tailing Liam, who was part of the imperial delegation.

They weren’t Ormia’s people.

‘A princess, and yet.’

Even though Ormia Beltoa became Mrs. Olan through marriage, she was still a princess. Even after marriage, there are basic things provided to maintain royal dignity and safety, but she didn’t even receive that minimum.

‘Is it arrogance, thinking who would dare touch a royal, God’s representative? Or…’

The person at the opposite table went to meet someone they knew on the first floor as instructed. Their conversation would continue until the signal.

“Don’t think I don’t know the rumors. How can a princess known to be powerless and a negation of God claim to have the power to help my brother?

What I need is not a powerless princess, but a royal who can bestow blessings.”

He criticized and provoked Ormia.

It was to break down her composure and hear her true intentions. Though he tried to incite excitement, Ormia remained unshaken.

“I found out that no one knows I came. Beltoa wouldn’t allow Wilboyer to enter their territory. The security was no different from before. How did you recognize me?”

“Did you bring the flower?”

At the sudden irrelevant question, Liam took out a single flower from his sleeve.

It was just an ordinary flower.

The miracle of creating a real flower was amazing, but that was all.

He felt like Ormia had taken control of the conversation, but his curiosity outweighed his displeasure.

‘What does she intend to do with this?’

He sneered as he felt a stabbing headache at his temples.

“Yes. I brought it. What are you plotting?”

That’s when it happened.

There was no wind indoors.

The windows weren’t open, yet a gentle breeze, just enough to slightly stir his hair, brushed past him.

Then the palm of his hand holding the flower started to feel warm.

The flower in his palm glowed faintly, then crumbled like sand and disappeared.

Small particles of light seeped into his body.

“What……”

‘I’ve been tricked!’

The thought that he had been deceived by Beltoa came first.

As he tried to get up quickly, his vision swayed with a floating sensation and his body went limp as he became drowsy.

Liam instinctively gripped the table.

There was something spreading rapidly through his body.

It was warm, refreshing, and indescribable. A force seeping into every corner from his toes to the top of his head, to the tips of his hair and limbs.

Liam instinctively realized what this was.

“Blessing……”

The word came out naturally, like a moan.

Usually, a headache stabbing his head always followed him. Even the slightest stimulation of clothes brushing against his skin hurt, and the voices of people talking in the distance were painful and noisy.

But now, as if everything had been covered with a veil, there was no pain.

The sensitive sensations that used to cause pain were no longer painful.

It was a sensation he had never felt before in his life.

His eyes grew hot.

His vision blurred with tears from the overwhelming emotion.

‘So this is what the world is like…’

Even the medicine given by the Emperor didn’t have this level of effect.

Vitality overflowed from every part of his body.

Feeling like he had been reborn, Liam opened his eyes wide.

This was a blessing, this was the power of Beltoa, the so-called god of Glishia.

Ormia Beltoa’s blessing.

He got goosebumps from the ecstasy.

Just as he was about to turn around to look at Ormia behind him, her voice stopped him.

“Don’t look at me. We still have a lot to talk about.”

“How? I heard Ormia Beltoa was a negation of God and couldn’t bestow blessings.”

“I figured out how to use my blessing.”

Liam thought quickly.

Royal families never send their royals to other countries.

They were like gods, and there were many countries with impure intentions.

He had never heard of blessings being conveyed through another medium like this. This was on a completely different level from directly bestowing blessings.

If she really had the ability to bestow blessings through flowers, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

His mind raced, thinking about how to use this information and what the repercussions would be.

“No one knows.”

Liam resisted the urge to turn around. There were many watchful eyes. Acting hastily would cause him to lose the prey before him.

“No one knows that I can use my power like this.”

Liam got goosebumps at her quiet and calm voice.

Having investigated Glishia’s blessings, he knew that Ormia’s flower was a phenomenon not recorded in any historical or official documents.

“If someone finds out… I won’t be able to leave Glishia, and your brother will die.”

Liam thought about what Ormia wanted.

“I’ll go to the empire.”

Ormia had already revealed her goal.

If she wanted honor or power, she would have revealed her ability to everyone, but she didn’t. She wanted to leave Glishia.

‘I heard her husband had an affair and asked for a divorce.’

Still, confirmation was needed.

“Do you want to leave Glishia?”

“I don’t want to come back.”

She added quietly, looking out the window. The light coming through the window illuminated her faintly.

“I don’t care even if Glishia is invaded and falls. I never want to set foot in this land again.”