After Lunaryl left, a heavy silence settled in the room.
Ilaris stared at the closed door for a few moments, as if still analyzing every word of the other princess. Finally, she turned her gaze back to Rynor.
Or more precisely... to Daniel.
"Do you think she’s right?"
"Probably. But do you know what she wants from you?" Daniel shrugged.
Lunaryl’s words had been scattered, and she changed the subject immediately after talking about anything, clearly wanting her guards not to understand anything.
That meant she was confident in what she was saying.
But the question was, were her words true, or was she just trying to plant a lie? It was hard to reason this one out.
Daniel had no knowledge of the structure of elven politics and didn’t know exactly how things were here.
Ilaris was silent for a few seconds, her fingers tapping quietly on the armrest.
"I have a guess." Her gaze slowly darkened.
"But I’m not sure."
Daniel didn’t ask further. In any case, if it was something important enough for that girl to reveal the hidden plans of the other three factions, then it was of great importance and could be used in many ways.
"I understand."
"Anyway, ask the Emperor if outsiders are allowed to attend the trial or not." Then he continued.
Ilaris raised an eyebrow.
"You really want to come?"
A small smile settled on Daniel’s face.
"I’m curious."
Ilaris clearly didn’t believe him. She knew Daniel never went anywhere just out of curiosity.
But she didn’t mention it. Having Daniel here could give her more confidence.
Finally, Ilaris said quietly:
"I’ll ask him at the first opportunity. For now, it’s not clear when exactly he’s going to allow the trial to take place."
Then, as if remembering something, her gaze changed slightly.
"But what about Rynor?"
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"What about Rynor?"
"Lunaryl’s warning? Rynor’s life is in danger."
"I’d like to know what he’s done that his life is now in danger." Daniel asked curiously.
"In the past few months, he’s made a lot of enemies for himself." Ilaris continued.
"Before I became a succession candidate and gained my faction’s support, he saved me from assassination plots many times."
"He uncovered spy networks twice, and also directly clashed with people from the other three factions several times."
"And now many see him as one of the main pillars of my faction."
Daniel looked at Rynor for a moment and then chuckled briefly.
"I see." It seemed this Fallen of his had performed well during this time.
"But don’t worry about him. Nothing’s going to happen to Rynor."
A moment of silence prevailed.
Rynor was actually a parasite, and this body he was in was not his real body at all, just a body he had possessed. If this body was killed, the parasite could easily leave it.
More importantly, Rynor’s true form was his Fallen form, and his Fallen couldn’t be killed.
Hearing his words, Ilaris sighed in relief. If this man said that, then there was no need to worry.
A few minutes later, the conversation ended. Daniel said goodbye, Ilaris gave a gentle smile.
And the connection was cut off.
Rynor’s perspective faded, the royal hall disappeared, the lights of the elven palace vanished, and Daniel was back in his own room.
He sat on the chair by the window, his gaze falling on the distant lights of the holy city.
A city that grew larger every day, more crowded every day, and spread the influence of the Eternity religion further into the world every day.
Ilaris, Rynor, Serys, the Lionheart family, the dragons, the Central Magic Tower, and the elves. The various pieces he had placed on the board over the past years were now beginning to move, one after another.
For the first time, he realized that almost none of his long-term plans had stalled.
On the contrary.
They were all approaching a point that could change the future of the world. But strangely, tonight he had no desire to plan further.
He closed his eyes and entered meditation. Time passed slowly. Hours went by, and night gave way to dawn.
The first rays of the sun rose from behind the horizon. Golden light entered the room through the window. The sound of church bells echoed across the city.
Thousands of believers left their homes for morning prayers, and the holy city awakened once again.
Daniel opened his eyes. His mind was calmer than ever. Today, he had no intention of training, no intention of scheming, no intention of dealing with politics.
Today, he just wanted to see one thing: Evangelin.
It wasn’t long before he stood before the saint’s office.
He knocked a few times, and a quiet voice came from inside.
"Come in."
When he entered, Evangelin was sitting behind a mountain of documents and reports. She had already started working even before the sun had fully risen.
Daniel looked at the scene before him for a few seconds.
"What’s your plan for today?" He then asked.
"Work." Evangelin answered without raising her head.
Daniel chuckled briefly.
"Then today, I’m coming to see exactly what you do."
Evangelin paused. The pen in her hand stopped for a moment, and then she raised her head.
"You want to follow me?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I’m curious."
Evangelin looked at him for a few seconds, as if thinking about whether this was a good idea.
"Fine." Then she said quietly.
And this was the beginning of the longest day Daniel had experienced during his entire time in the holy city.
Meetings with the current religious authorities, who had been chosen from among the first believers. Assessing the situation of border cities. War reports. Requests for help from newly liberated cities.
Priest shortages. Training new forces. Disputes between two groups of believers. Budgets for building new churches.
Intelligence reports. Messages from foreign envoys. Dozens of decisions, hundreds of letters, hundreds of requests. And thousands of people waiting for answers.
By noon, Daniel was almost sure that running a religion was harder than fighting. By evening, he was sure it was even harder than clearing a tower floor.
And by sunset, he had come to the conclusion that Evangelin was probably one of the hardest-working people in the world. But what caught his attention most was not Evangelin’s exhaustion.
Rather, it was the opposite. Everywhere she went, everywhere she saw a believer, everywhere a child ran toward her, everywhere a sick person thanked her.
Her face would change, her eyes would brighten, and her smile would seem more genuine.
As if all this work wasn’t a duty for her, but her reason for living. At the highest balcony of the church, at sunset, Daniel finally understood why.
The Eternity religion wasn’t just something Evangelin protected. The Eternity religion was her world, her purpose, and perhaps the only thing that made her feel alive after all those years.
Daniel looked at the city below them, at the thousands of lights being lit one by one.
"Fortunately... I don’t need to worry about her." And he thought to himself.
Because for the first time, he had understood that Evangelin wasn’t just doing her duty.
She truly loved this life.
The evening breeze passed through Evangelin’s hair.
Daniel broke the silence.
"I’m leaving here tomorrow."
Evangelin was silent for a moment, but only for a moment.
"I knew you wouldn’t stay long." There was a hidden distance in her voice, as if there was a bit of loneliness and sadness, but she managed to hide it well.
Then she looked at the horizon.
"If you need any help, let me know."
"Same for you. If anything comes up, let me know." A small smile settled on Daniel’s face.
Of course, he had just said this. Evangelin was the most powerful human Demi-God, and had endless wealth at her disposal.
With her presence here, what problem could possibly arise? Even thinking about it was foolish.
Evangelin said nothing but nodded slightly.
A few hours later... Daniel had returned to his room. Night had once again spread over the holy city.
He reached his hand into the storage space. A moment later, a communication talisman appeared in his palm.
He looked at it for a few seconds, then channeled energy into it.
"I heard you wanted to talk to me."
Silence.
A few moments passed.
Then a minute.
Two minutes.
And just as Daniel thought the connection might have been cut... a familiar voice echoed in his mind, one that was clearly dissatisfied.
"I’ve tried to contact you many times."
A few moments of silence, and then the same voice continued.
"Where have you been?"
A quiet smile settled on Daniel’s face.
Naturally, the owner of that voice was none other than Serys.