Chapter 191: Chapter: 190 The first empress.

"As you already know," Uriel began calmly, "the Vahana Continent is the most chaotic among the three floating continents."

Uriel sat peacefully with both hands resting on his lap like a saint giving wisdom to the world.

Unfortunately, he was currently speaking to the floor.

"In the Alasker Continent," he continued seriously, "our Holy Empire controls most of the land. Because of that, we rarely need to fight large powers directly. There are threats, yes, but nothing capable of shaking the foundation of the empire itself."

As he spoke, his blindfolded face slowly tilted lower and lower until he looked completely focused on the wooden floor beneath his feet.

"And in the Auranel Continent, there are only two great powers. The Hayes Clan and the Velentina Clan. Those two fight often over influence and territory..."

Uriel paused dramatically.."...however..."

His expression slowly became heavier. "The Vahana Continent is different."

The saint lowered his voice slightly.

"There are at least four major powers there with similar strength. Because none of them can fully suppress the others, conflicts constantly happen. Trade routes, land disputes, resource mines, ports..."

While explaining all this seriously, Uriel slowly lifted one hand as though pointing toward some grand invisible map.

Unfortunately, his finger pointed directly toward the carriage ceiling.

Cecilia silently stared at him for a few seconds. Then with a tired sigh, she gently grabbed his wrist and lowered his hand toward the front instead.

"Here," she said softly.

"Ah."

Uriel nodded with complete calmness.

"Thank you."

Cecilia truly did not understand how his sense of direction could possibly be this terrible.

Sometimes she honestly suspected that if someone left him alone in an empty field, he would somehow still walk into a wall.

Still, right now was not the time to think about such things.

Her expression slowly became serious again as she thought about his earlier words.

As the eldest princess of the Holy Empire, Cecilia naturally understood the power structure of the three floating continents very well.

She had studied politics, trade, military history, and noble factions ever since childhood.

And Uriel was correct.

Compared to the other continents, Vahana was a complete mess.

The four great powers there constantly fought each other openly and secretly. One year it would be land disputes. The next year trade routes. Then ports. Then resources. Then alliances breaking apart.

Half the continent looked peaceful during the daytime while people secretly planned wars at night.

However.....Cecilia still did not understand the most important part.

If her brother became emperor...Why would the Holy Empire fall?

After hesitating briefly, she finally asked quietly, "But why would the Holy Empire be ruined?"

"Hehe..."

A soft chuckle escaped Uriel’s mouth.

Then the saint slowly raised his hand toward her face with a gentle expression.

Unfortunately...He completely missed.

His hand moved somewhere far to the left like he was trying to comfort an invisible ghost sitting beside her instead.

Cecilia’s cheeks immediately became slightly pink.

This was a rare opportunity. There was absolutely no way she would waste it.

Without hesitation, she quickly shifted closer and placed her cheek directly against his palm as naturally as possible, as though his hand had perfectly reached her from the beginning.

A soft warmth spread across her face.

Meanwhile, Uriel remained entirely unaware of the crime that had just taken place.

"Cecil my dear," he said gently, his voice carrying both pity and care, "sometimes you are surprisingly naive."

The moment he softly rubbed her cheek, the blush on Cecilia’s face deepened further.

"The Holy Empire is strong," Uriel continued calmly. "Very strong. No one can simply invade us whenever they wish."

"The ruin I speak of is not military ruin."

His expression slowly became heavier again.

"It is gradual economic ruin." Uriel paused briefly before continuing.

"If Sebastian ascends the throne while being influenced by the Thorne Family, the Holy Empire will slowly become involved in Vahana’s conflicts through trade agreements, military support, and political alliances."

His fingers lightly tapped against Cecilia’s cheek while he explained everything calmly. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"At first, it will seem profitable. New trade routes. Foreign support. More resources. More connections."

Then Uriel softly smiled. "But greedy people always smile the happiest before jumping into a swamp."

Cecilia blinked. "...That sounded oddly specific."

"I once walked into a swamp."

"...You did?"

"Yes."

Uriel nodded seriously.

"I thought it was a garden path."

The carriage became quiet for a moment.

Then Cecilia quietly lowered her head and covered her mouth as her shoulders began trembling slightly.

Uriel tilted his head. "Why are you laughing?" he asked honestly.

"...Nothing," Cecilia replied weakly.

The saint gave a small nod before continuing his explanation with complete dignity, entirely unaware that his terrifying political warning had temporarily been defeated by his lifelong battle against directions.

"So where were we?" Uriel spoke calmly while the carriage continued moving through the evening roads.

"Ah, right," he continued. "I was explaining the ruin of the empire."

As he spoke, his expression slowly became serious once more. Then...

For the first time in a very long while...Uriel looked directly at Cecilia perfectly.

His blindfolded face was turned exactly toward her, as though he could truly see her eyes beneath the cloth.

The sudden seriousness in his posture immediately erased the amusement from Cecilia’s face.

Even the atmosphere inside the carriage became heavier. "What I am about to tell you is extremely important," Uriel said quietly.

His voice no longer carried its usual relaxed softness. Instead, each word sounded calm and firm like still water hiding a crocodile beneath it.

"The Thorne Family has already built many connections." Cecilia unconsciously straightened slightly. She knew that tone.

Whenever Uriel spoke like this, it meant he was absolutely serious. And for some reason, that frightened her more than anger ever could.

"The youngest son of the Thorne Family," Uriel continued slowly, "is becoming engaged to Duke Scarlet’s daughter."

Then he tilted his head slightly. "You know her, correct? The girl who visited the church last week."

The moment those words entered her ears....Cecilia froze. A familiar face instantly appeared inside her mind.

Bright red hair with green eyes and a striking face but unfortunately....Absolutely shameless personality.

A dangerous amount of rage immediately rose inside Cecilia’s chest. How could she possibly forget that woman?

As the eldest princess, Cecilia had naturally met almost every noble inside the Holy Empire during her life.

Duke Scarlet’s daughter, Ciel Scarlet, was even considered one of her childhood friends.

Or at least she used to be.

Back then, Cecilia never expected that her friend would one day transform into a complete disaster the moment she saw Uriel.

Ciel originally visited the church only because she became curious about the famous saint everyone kept praising.

At that time, she had never seen Uriel personally before..... Although Uriel had visited the academy a while back, still she couldn’t see him for some reason.

That’s why she wanted see him especially after listening to everyone say he was an Angel..... however she immediately fainted on the spot.

Honestly, Cecilia found that reaction understandable.

After all, Uriel was beautiful. No...Beautiful was too small of a word. He was graceful, gentle, holy, elegant...Everything.

Even sunlight itself probably looked at him and felt pressured. However, what Cecilia did not expect came afterward.

The moment Ciel regained consciousness, she grabbed Cecilia’s shoulders with tears inside her eyes and desperately whispered:

"Please... can you ask him to sleep with me? Just one night is enough. Please."

Cecilia still remembered the pure shock she felt at that moment. The man was literally the Holy Saint.

THE HOLY SAINT.

Meanwhile, her childhood friend was out there making requests like a starving traveler begging for water in the desert.

If Ciel had not been the duke’s daughter, she probably would have disappeared from polite society forever after saying something like that publicly.

And now.... That same woman was getting engaged to Crypian Thorne...

Cecilia suddenly widened her eyes slightly.

"What?" she asked in disbelief. "Ciel is getting engaged to Crypian?"

"Hoh hoh..." Uriel softly chuckled. "Why?" he asked teasingly. "Were you interested in him?"

Cecilia immediately let out a sharp snort filled with pure disdain.

"Him? Impossible." Internally, however, her thoughts sounded far less elegant.

Ciel was a slut. Crypian was a bigger slut. Honestly, the engagement almost felt natural now that she thought about it.

Two sluts finding each other. How romantic.

Meanwhile, Uriel remained completely unaware of the brutal insults happening beside him.

"Anyways," he continued calmly, "what matters is Duke Scarlet himself."

The saint slowly folded his hands together.

"His support now leans more toward the Thorne Family than the Holy Empire itself."

The humor inside Cecilia immediately vanished again. A worried frown slowly appeared across her face.

That was bad. Very bad.

Duke Scarlet controlled enormous influence among the western nobles.

If he fully sided with the Thornes, then the political balance inside the empire would slowly begin shifting without most people even realizing it.

Uriel continued quietly,

"The Thorne Family’s goal is simple. They wish to slowly control the Holy Empire through the next emperor."

Cecilia’s fingers tightened slightly around her dress. If Sebastian truly ascended the throne while influenced by them...

Then the empire really could fall apart little by little. The thought alone made her chest feel heavy.

"...Then what should we do?" Cecilia asked softly.

Her blue eyes carried a small trace of hope as she looked toward Uriel. And fortunately, Uriel truly did have an answer.

"The answer is obvious," he said with a small smile. "It is the only way to stop the Holy Empire from falling into ruin."

He paused there deliberately. Cecilia immediately became restless. Even her knees began shaking slightly from impatience.

"Uriel..."

Fortunately, he did not make her wait long.

The saint slowly turned his head toward the side dramatically before finally speaking.

"You," he said calmly, "will become the next ruler of the Holy Empire." Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"And the first empress in the history of the Holy Empire."