Chapter 305: The Other Purpose
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
In the night sky, lots of stars were circling around Lucien, who was standing on his own Host Star of Destiny, staring at the deep darkness. His black hair became messy in the wind, adding a slightly wild look to this quiet and calm young man.
Suddenly, the starry sky turned red, and a full silver moon rose quickly to the sky, which expelled the darkness.
Then, the silver moon turned into Rhine, who was wearing a red s.h.i.+rt and black coat. His huge bat wings extended widely in the s.p.a.ce.
"It seems that you really like stars. Your dream is exactly the same as the last time. Is that why you chose to major in Astrology?" Rhine joked. "Come on… Of course, I know that you purposefully controlled your brain and soul before falling asleep to hide your secrets from me, Lucien. Sorcerers are boring… I prefer you as a musician… What a pity…"
Lucien was in his own dream, so he was quite confident, "Mr. Rhine, did you find anything in Clown"s dream?"
"Did I ever let you down?" Rhine grinned. "Someone important came before Clown died, and the person invited the rest of the night watchers present to join them."
Before carrying out the plan, Lucien had called the projection of Rhine through the mark and asked him to enter Clown"s dream to see what happened to Clown before he died, which was the reason why Natasha did not kill Clown on the spot.
"I see… So, was it Sard or Amelton?" asked Lucien calmly.
A smile slowly appeared on Rhine"s face, and he asked out of some curiosity, "How did you know? It was Amelton…"
"Without Sard"s silent support, it was almost impossible for Natasha to push the Church and the Inquisition this hard to their limit, and Clown wouldn"t be sentenced to death this easily. Sard chose to turn a blind eye to the whole thing, so my plan worked perfectly. And the red-robed cardinal, Vila Amelton, remained silent all the time. All she did was pa.s.s on Sard"s will," said Lucien. By killing the musician ident.i.ty, Lucien also tested Sard, which was his other purpose.
Sometimes a scheme did not have to be very complicated, as long as it seized the enemy"s true desire and will!
After Clown attacked him, Lucien added this second purpose to his plan. From the Church"s response to every step he took, Lucien managed to learn what he wanted to know. And Rhine"s projection into Clown"s dream was the final confirmation.
Even Natasha only knew part of Lucien"s plan, not to mention Clown. Therefore, Clown got very confused and fell into Lucien"s trap.
Rhine smiled, "He cannot wait anymore. He"s trying his best to seize every chance to break the Church apart and to increase his power, just like how the saints did before. As for the World of Souls, obviously, he even knew more about it than me. So I"m trapped here right now, but he managed to escape. I"m not sure… but probably he saw something else here. Anyway, this is a good thing for the Congress. If Sard"s power manages to develop, the South Church would divide again. Seize the chance and make the right choice, Lucien."
"I don"t think the Church will be further disrupted. Sard is neither a fool nor a madman. He knows what will happen if the Church splits again. No matter what Sard"s purpose is, weakening the power of the Church and losing the number of its followers are not good news for him. I think he wants to be like a parasite, sucking the essence and power of the Church. One day, when he"s fully prepared, say, when he becomes the pope, he is going to replace the Church with something else without changing what it is on the outside." Lucien made his own a.n.a.lysis, and then he continued, "So, according to me, I think when Amelton was recruiting the several night watches, her excuse should be the corruption of the Church, and the Church should go back to the right path. It"s not like many years ago how the several saints divided the Church, they have decided to take a more revolution-like way, although, in fact, the ultimate purpose is still the same."
Rhine was obviously quite impressed, "You"ve become a wise and mature man, Lucien… although I still think the young teenager who just started learning magic was more interesting."
Then, Rhine confirmed that Clown had been dead by telling Lucien what he saw through Clown"s dream.
That was a relief to Lucien. It was obviously quite a risk letting Clown run away. If Sard was involved, which, according to Lucien, was very unlikely to happen because Sard would not want extra trouble from Clown, the night watcher could still be saved. Then one day when Clown came back, Lucien"s friends and family would be in great danger.
After Clown"s death, Lucien felt very relieved. The last step was the funeral for the great musician, and Lucien definitely did not have to attend it.
...
Waking up from his dream, he saw the moonlight, still gentle and quiet.
Opening his eyes, Lucien thought of the grief that his relatives and friends were going to suffer from, and the thoughts made him feel pain. In order to make sure that no one could tell the difference, Lucien had to wait until the day before he left Aalto to tell uncle Joel and his family the truth and let them make their choice.
This several days were going to kill them, and Lucien felt the same way. Although his plan worked, he did not feel joyful or excited at all.
It was safe here in Natasha"s War Gallery. So, Lucien got up and walked to the window. He stared at the moon and tried to calm himself down.
"You can"t sleep as well?" In this quiet night, Natasha"s voice also sounded very gentle.
Lucien slightly turned around and saw the princess taking a walk in the garden under the moonlight. Because of the power of the divine circle, violets and lilies in the garden were all blossoming in the sweet floral aroma.
"I can"t fall asleep thinking of how horrible my family and my friends would feel tomorrow…" confessed Lucien. "I wanted to tell them the truth tonight, right now."
Natasha waved her hand, asking Lucien to come out of the room and join her.
She directly sat down on the railing of the garden, which was not a princess manner at all. However, Lucien didn"t mind it either, so he sat down beside her.
Lucien smelled the light scent from the princess, but it was not from any makeup or something. The scent was clean and pure.
"I understand, Lucien. When I was lying to my father and making him sad, I felt bad. And I know it"s a hundred times harder for you." Natasha patted on his shoulder. "But we can"t let this affect our judgment and will of knowing what to do. We"ve made the decision, and we must stick to it. Maybe it sounds cold, but it brings us the best result. Being sentimental and hesitant can neither save us nor help to protect those people important to us. Just like I said, cruelty can also be a kind of mercy."
Lucien slightly nodded, "I know. I know it almost too well. I"m doing what I should, but inside my heart, I suffer a lot from the pain."
"So, just talk to me. You"ll feel better," said Natasha supportively. "To be fair, we exchange things that we feel bad about."
"Sounds good. So… I feel I"m despicable. I"m using the genuine emotions of human beings as part of my plan. I let my family and friends suffer…" said Lucien in a low voice.
Natasha leaned sideways with her back against Lucien"s, "The fact that you"re feeling this way means you"re not despicable. You"re doing this for their good as well. I"m different. I know what my father wants, but I ignore it, and I don"t even want to try for him. I"m the bad one."
"We cannot deviate from our path because of the expectation of someone else. We only live once. Sometimes we compromise, but sometimes we just cannot give up." Lucien did not look back but tried to comfort her.
Taking turns, the sneaking and cruel sorcerer, Professor, and the decisive and tough knight, Sword of Adjudication, shared their pain and sorrow.
Until midnight, their voice slowly became lower, and both of them felt much better.
The night was very quiet. Lucien could feel the warmth from Natasha"s back. Lucien said to Natasha without turning around, "Be careful with Sard."
"Okay." Natasha knew that this was the result Lucien promised.
...
In the early morning, in the Musicians" a.s.sociation of Aalto.
Franz walked into the a.s.sociation"s building with the latest Aalto Weekly, which was another newspaper about Mr. Evans" return concert he collected.
Under the t.i.tle—The Greatest Concert Ever, The Unparalleled Symphony Feast—the columnist commented, "This night was the greatest stir ever. People were crazy about this young musician, Lucien Evans, and I was one of them…"
Franz was very happy seeing these praises. After the concert, he admired Mr. Evans more than anyone else, so he felt genuinely delighted as if he was sharing the honor.
When Franz was reading the newspaper while walking, he suddenly sensed the different heavy atmosphere. Turning around, he saw the princess walking into the hall, followed by a group of guards.
The princess" sorrow and depression made the air heavy and thick.
"What… happened?" Franz thought to himself.