The Tale of the Redeeming Villain - Chapter 42- Challenge

“Why do you suddenly want to meet the Emperor of Hedgalge?”

Inside the conference room, there were only four people who could be currently seen sitting around the table and discussing the sudden request Carlson had brought forth.

Since the Emperor was away to tend to some duties from the capital, the Prime Minister could be seen currently asking the question in the Emperor’s stead.

Carlson didn’t show any hesitating when he replied, “Because I want to reach an agreement with him. I have a hunch that Emperor Noelle has a misconception about the war we would be facing. He thinks that it would be any other war which he could avoid if the battlefield remains away from their territory.”

The Prime Minister took a long breath and so did the man present beside him.

The third person was the Commander of the Royal Order and the fourth person was Carlson’s ally, Charlotte.

The Prime Minister hesitated before asking, “Why do you need to warn them? Just ignore those fools and let them face the consequences of angering the Empire where the Hero resides.”

Charlotte frowned, “Do you think Carlson belongs to this place?”

The Prime Minister sealed his lips and didn’t reply to that.

Carlson heaved a sigh, “Mister Prime Minister, I have already made it clear before, and I am stating this right now as well; I do not belong to any Empire or faction and when the chaos would befall, I would protect humanity regardless of their citizenship or status.”

There was none in the room nor this palace who could defeat Carlson, which explains why the Prime Minister had to swallow the words that he was about to say.

‘Whatever you do, just don’t end up losing another Hero…’ Were the words that came from the Emperor when the Prime Minister sent him a letter.

After thinking for a bit, or more like calming himself down, the older one suggested, “Please don’t misunderstand, but going there when Honourable Emperor Noelle is in such a panicked state can cause safety issues to the Great Hero.”.

Charlotte nonchalantly responded, “You don’t need to worry about that; Veronica is on the way.”

The Prime Minister’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the name of the fourth hero and the strongest mage across the world. Someone who has attained the title of Grandmaster at the age of seventeen and has achieved numerous feats in such a short span.

The only person who can rival Carlson to a decent extent and also was known as the wisest hero—Veronica Saberstone.

It had been a long time since even Carlson met that girl who, one day, got up and said that she was going to do some research out in the wild and to call her only when the war begins.

However, Carlson had to hurry up and call her now since the situation demanded it.

If it turned out that Catherine was already caught by them, then Carlson might lose his cool, and he might end up destroying the Western Empire.

Charlotte was no better. She was hot-headed as well; that’s why there was a requirement for a person who had political knowledge and high intellect to sort things out.

The Prime Minister couldn’t extend any more reasons to stop them, or the matter might fall into a nasty situation.

Taking out the parchment, the Prime Minister stamped over before handing it to Carlson.

The redhead read the letter before looking at the Minister with a soft smile, “Thank you, Prime Minister.”

*******

“Mm….” In the middle of the night, Blake was suddenly woken up upon feeling something hot pressed against his feet.

Opening his eyes, he found Catherine rubbing something on his feet, which felt extremely comfortable.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he straightened his back and looked at the bottle of pain-relieving oil.

Catherine’s eyes held grief as she slowly rubbed the oil up and down to relieve the swollen feet.

Blake sighed before bringing his hand to rest it over Catherine’s head, “You know I am not the only one in the house who works, right?”

Sniffling her sob, she responded, “But at least I don’t have to go out there in the cold right?”

Since the town was small and there were no soldiers assigned to guard the town, people started to patrol the town at night. The attacks of monsters have become frequent that’s why it was decided that ten men each night would guard the town while others sleep.

Blake had to do it thrice a week for six hours before the shift changed. And naturally, out in the cold, his feet would get swollen by continuous movement.

However, those tears she shed expressed more pain than he could ever feel.

Blake smiled helplessly at her before pulling Catherine in his arms and asked, “Don’t you like living here with me as a normal couple?”

She slowly rubbed her face on his chest, up and down to show consent.

“Then there are some duties which common folks do.”

Catherine suddenly looked up at him and asked, “Can you explain that to my heart as well? Since every time I look at….patrolling the town in the cold after a whole day of work…I feel my heart getting crushed under an unbearable weight.”

Her words made him feel guilty; however, saying something like ‘From tomorrow, sleep early and don’t look at me’ would only hurt her further.

Blake hugged the girl and slowly uttered, “You know Cathy…I never feel tired or annoyed because of these jobs. After all, knowing that my beloved can sleep soundly if I just continue to move around gives me enough happiness to continue my job with enthusiasm.”

Catherine closed her eyes and allowed the large droplets of tears to slide down her cheeks, as she heard his comforting voice.

She took a long breath before asking, “Why do you love me so much?”

Blake has already told her many times, but neither of them gets tired of asking and answering the same question.

Smiling fondly, he responded in a whisper, “Because it was you-”

However, Blake wasn’t able to finish his words as he sensed something approaching

His eyes widened, and he suddenly sprang to his feet—startling Catherine.

“What happ-ah!” Before she could ask what happened to him, she also sensed something approaching the town at a very astonishing pace.

Blake suddenly glanced at Catherine as a grave feeling assaulted him.

For some reason, this sudden appearance of a calamity seemed to be lethal for this peace they had built.

And Blake didn’t want his fear to become true.

********

A/N:- Well…every good thing have to come to an end.

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