BXBX NOVEL Chapter 134 - For Peace
Their carriage was one of the few arriving at the ritual, as most people used flying ships to get there. However, the princess had a weird belief that she needed to befriend everyone, and flying ruined that for her.
Nikolai tried to think of ways to prevent Master Edward from learning about the assassination. However, the more he thought of it, the more confused he became.
If Master Edward truly learned about the assassination, there was no doubt that he would save his disciple, restoring the original timeline. As for the consequences of him learning the future, Nikolai couldn\'t even imagine.
The war might even be brought closer since the strategist would use this chance to strike the Bestial Kingdom. As he sat in the carriage, Nikolai realized that there were so many different outcomes that he could not decide which one would be the right path.
All he knew is that the divergence was caused by the existence of a high-fate character in his vision, or what the system called Manipulated Fate. Since that was the case, Nikolai needed to prevent Master Edward from knowing the future.
\'It is time to stall,\' Nikolai thought to himself as they got off the carriage, and he offered his hand to the princess. With a smile, she took his hand and descended the steps.
The rest of the guests looked at her with a dazzled expression. Her hair, which she hid before, was following after her as she walked. Her hair was the color that you would only exist in fairy tales, a silver color that shimmered beneath the light of day.
Nikolai followed after her as they dazzled the crowd. Then, to his surprise, Nikolai noticed that someone winked at him. It was a young man as old as he saw, but he didn\'t know who he was.
\'Or right, I\'m in the future. So he must be someone I met at the party,\' Nikolai remembered, so he simply nodded in greeting.
They walked into the ritual grounds, which lanterns had lighted up. The ritual will happen at sunset after the last rays of light leave this world.
They reached the temple like before, and it was full of people from every corner of the world. The Bestial Kingdom was proud of the protector of this land. Thus, the ritual happened close to the border.
Nikolai\'s body had goosebumps when he saw how many people were there. These people were all faces that he was familiar with from his past life. What uneased him a little was that some of these people were Nikolai\'s victims.
As they walked closer to the pond, someone in a red cloak greeted them. He was a beastman with horns of a goat and a long beard, and he grabbed the princess\'s hand to kiss it.
"Greetings, Princess Maria," the priest kissed her hand, and his yellow eyes left Nikolai feeling disgusted. "We are delighted to have you here today,"
"For peace," the princess smiled sweetly, and the priest nodded in response. When he turned to Nikolai, there was a moment of curiosity that died away quickly.
Nikolai was truly confused by now, as he wondered how no one got to sense his horns. Of course, there were bound to be people with detecting abilities among the crowd, but they didn\'t seem to notice.
\'Wait, did future me find a way?\' Nikolai wondered as he tried to examine his headband. It was minute, but there were traces of enchantment on it.
"Princess, I\'ll follow your orders and talk to the crowd until the ritual. I\'ll be back before it begins, is that alright?"
"I\'m glad that you are taking your role seriously," the princess smiled before nodding. "Take your time," she said, even though she was uncomfortable by the priest\'s company.
However, Nikolai couldn\'t care about her feelings given the circumstances, and he knew this was only an illusion that matched what was going to happen. So, as he turned and found some people to talk to, he picked the perfect timing to slip away from the temple.
Nikolai walked out when he felt someone\'s presence behind him. As he turned, he found the young man from earlier who had a childlike demeanor.
"Lyle!" the young man called out behind him. "Are you sneaking out again?" he asked with expectations. "You weren\'t thinking of leaving me, did you?"
\'I don\'t even know you,\' Nikolai thought to himself as he looked at the giant words in his top view. The divergence has reached 14% again, meaning Master Edward was starting to deviate from his original path.
"You will have to excuse me," Nikolai said before hurrying to leave the temple. Then, as he thought he had left the man behind, he heard the flapping of wings above him.
When Nikolai looked up, he saw the same young man standing on top of a giant eagle. With a grin, he had the eagle block Nikolai\'s path.
"I think you need a ride?" the young man said, and Nikolai wondered again who the hell he was. After all, he was someone never seen before in his past life.
However, looking at the giant eagle, which couldn\'t be other than, at the very least, the work of a Grand-skill, Nikolai felt tempted. After pondering his options for a bit, he nodded and jumped to ride the eagle.
"Haha, let\'s fly!"
As the eagle soared into the sky, Nikolai saw the divergence change into 20%, but he didn\'t know if it was his actions or something else. The identity of the man before was nothing but a mystery.
As the eagle rose higher, a green light surrounded its body to block the wind. Then, with the young man sitting in front of him, Nikolai had to grab into the eagle\'s body lest he fell.
"Are you going to the city? Did you forget something?" the young man asked, and Nikolai chose to be silent. He would have to find Master Edward somehow, but he didn\'t know-how.
\'Who is the old friend?\' Nikolai tried to guess, but it was futile. They reached the city in nothing but a few minutes, and Nikolai could have never made it this quickly without the young man.
"Can you take me to the mansion?"
"Princess\'s Maria mansion?" the young man yapped with surprise with a blush on his face. "I don\'t think it would be appropriate for me to be there," he said as he played with his curly hair.
Nikolai squinted his eyes at the young man, who seemed to have special feelings for the princess. However, he was no different from every noble kid out there, who shared the same crush.
"I need to find Master Edward," Nikolai said again, and the young man simply nodded while playing with his bangs.
The eagle drew an arc over the city as it turned toward the mansion, landing in one of its fields. The servants ran as the knights surrounded them, and Nikolai had to take out his badge before they attacked.
"Sir Lyle," the knights retracted their weapons after they recognized him. The name sounded pleasant on his ears, and all of the knights seem to call him that as Princess Maria\'s retainer. "I thought you accompanied the princess?"
"She sent me to look for Master Edward. Have you seen him?"
"No, he disappeared since early morning. I couldn\'t find him in his room, too," the knight shook his head. Nikolai looked around and began walking toward the stables.
"Where are you going, Lyle?" the young man skipped behind him, and it seemed the knights didn\'t recognize this person as well. However, the way he carried himself did not resemble a noble, but his clothes and appearance said otherwise.
"Uh, I think I know how to find him," Nikolai absent-mindedly said as he looked through a couple of drivers in the stable. But, as he suspected, the old driver wasn\'t here. "Excuse me, do you know where the old man is?"
"Uh, he left early in the morning, I think," the driver who distrusted Nikolai a few days ago answered readily. "I was loading some carriages when I saw him leave in a certain direction. I can guide you!"
Nikolai looked at him with suspicion as he thought that this man must have ulterior motives. However, he wasn\'t even an F-ranker, so Nikolai allowed him to lead them.
"Weren\'t you looking for Master Edward?" muttered the young man as they boarded the carriage. "Wait, Master Edward is known as to disappear a lot. Can he be a shapeshifter?"
Since they met, Nikolai had to take an extra glance at the young man for the first time. After all, one wouldn\'t be so sharp without holding a particular intellect. The young man noticed his gaze and grinned in response.
"Did you think I was nothing but a beautiful face?"
"I didn\'t even think you were a beautiful face," Nikolai said unconsciously, but the young man laughed heartily.
"Haha, I\'m glad that you are back to normal," said the young as he wiped away his tears.. "Now, let\'s find Master Edward," he said with a mysterious grin, but Nikolai didn\'t have the heart to him for his name.