In the Name of Empress-Chapter 393 - 277: What a Coincidence, You’re a Blasphemer Too?
Sif said solemnly, "As everyone knows, people often like to use some not-so-explosive scandals to cover up even darker histories."
"I boldly guess, the relationship between the Goddess and the Sea Emperor is definitely not simple!"
The gossip soul within her burned fiercely, speculating wildly, completely making stuff up, "Perhaps the Goddess of Light was possessed by the Sea Emperor through despicable means?"
Roland: "..."
He glared at Sif with mild irritation, half-jokingly teased, "If you weren’t an emperor, you could make a fortune being a contributor for The Sun."
Sif was slightly taken aback, perhaps remembering how The Sun always seemed to hit the mark with its nonsense, her voice softened a bit.
"The news from The Sun isn’t necessarily inaccurate."
Roland also fell into silence, indeed, the wilder the reports from The Sun, the closer they were to the truth.
What Sif said was outlandish, but at least it was logically self-contained, which was one form of explanation.
He shared the images he saw with Sif, whose previously wistful eyes lit up instantly.
"See, I wasn’t wrong, was I? The Goddess of Light indeed isn’t willing to marry Poseidon, she must have suffered great injustice."
Roland felt a headache coming on, he suddenly thought of a possibility and asked cautiously:
"The story you saw, was it about the Goddess of Light being deeply in love but betrayed by the Sea Emperor?"
"Of course, what else did you see?" Sif heard the subtext in Roland’s question and her expression showed some surprise.
"What we saw were images of processed facts," Roland boldly speculated.
Sif bit her lip and pondered for a moment, nodding in agreement.
"You have said before, don’t look at what someone says, but what they do. The reality is the Sea Emperor didn’t ascend to the Divine Domain, but rather allowed Tiya to ascend."
Roland and Sif discussed for half a day, but still reached no conclusion.
After all, both sets of images showed signs of manipulation and couldn’t serve as direct evidence.
After this small interlude, Roland recorded quite a few books until late into the night before he and Sif returned to their temporary palace residence.
...
Good times are always fleeting.
After staying a few days, Roland and Sif chose to bid farewell.
Although Edward persuaded them to stay a few more days, he also knew his daughter and future son-in-law had important business to attend to, and his invitation was more a formality.
Before parting, Edward wrote a personal letter and abdication edict, handing them to Sif.
He had harbored some ambition when the shipwreck first occurred, wanting to return home and seek revenge. But since General Nephropidae had already been killed by Roland, he had no one to take revenge on, and his hatred faded.
His daughter had already proven her ability to govern a country in the Three Overseas Provinces, so he had peace of mind.
Reflecting on his years of ruling, he understood that he was not exactly a wise ruler, and since his only reliable daughter was there, he had nothing to hold onto.
Adina’s gentleness rekindled his joy in being a man, now he only wanted to be a carefree and happy artist under the sea, beside his beloved.
The struggles above, he left to the young people.
He was also very satisfied with Roland.
While he wasn’t great at ruling a country, he had a keen eye for people; he believed that Roland, even with power, wouldn’t turn his daughter into a puppet.
He let everything go.
However, when writing the abdication edict, Sif carefully noticed his pinky finger trembling slightly.
Indeed, in the face of power, family ties are so fragile.
The real reason for her father’s abdication wasn’t out of love for his daughter, but because he had no chance.
Since he couldn’t reclaim the power that was rightfully his, he could only display noble character by stepping down with dignity. Abdicating while alive was better than becoming a literal late emperor.
While the old emperor was saying his final farewells to Sif, Roland and Adina met in a small study.
Adina got straight to the point, expressing her gratitude to Roland.
"Roland, thank you for preserving my dignity."
She was referring to how Roland skillfully turned the farce at the wedding into a mere episode.
For her, the Undersea City was certainly important, but if she were gone, others would still be there.
But Edward was different; he was her indivisible attachment.
She knew well what was more important.
Roland said calmly, "Lady Edward, objectively, I did help you, but subjectively, I just didn’t want to embarrass my future father-in-law. You don’t need to overthink it."
Adina scrutinized Roland, her gaze slightly amused, "Roland, do you want to do business with me?"
"If possible, I even hope our cooperation isn’t limited to trade."
Roland readily admitted.
Adina only lost her head in front of Edward, in other aspects, she was a competent political leader.
He took a straightforward approach to diplomacy.
"Then why do you give up this personal favor?" Adina asked with curiosity.
Roland’s expression and tone were equally serene, "Cooperation built on personal favors is fragile; only cooperation based on common interests is unbreakable."
Adina didn’t reply, choosing instead to tacitly agree.
Roland was right; if he requested cooperation based on this favor, she would certainly agree, but her attitude wouldn’t be too enthusiastic.
Only when she saw common interests between both parties could the cooperation be long-term.
"I’m curious, what common interests are you talking about?"
"You know about the Day of Return, right?" Roland probed.
"Of course I do." Adina’s expression was calm.
The Day of Return wasn’t a secret, as long as one met the threshold of a strong person, they basically knew about it.
Roland cleared his throat and suddenly changed the topic, "Which day will the Sea Emperor awaken?"
"The third... why are you asking?!"
Adina stood up abruptly, warily eyeing Roland, "I warn you, the powers of His Majesty the Sea Emperor are very close to those of a god. To be precise, he is a demigod walking among mortals."
"Is he the lover of the Goddess of Light?" Roland dropped a bombshell in the calmest tone.
Adina stepped back three times as if she’d been stabbed, her face pale.
Out of nowhere, she drew a trident and pointed its head at Roland, her tone icy.
"Who told you such nonsense?!"
"I read it in the library." Roland was unfazed by Adina’s trident.
Adina was only intimidating on the surface; internally, she was already in turmoil.
Moreover, she showed no intent to kill, it was purely to scare people.
Adina’s breathing was a bit rapid, and it took a long while for her to recover.
She retracted the trident, sat back down, and gritted her teeth, "It’s the fault of that damned woman for deceiving the Sea Emperor, ruining his chance to ascend to divinity. She is the mortal enemy of our Sea Demon People!"
"Actually, we weren’t originally called Sea Demons or Sea Monsters, but we changed our name to express our determination never to relent against that woman."
Adina’s gaze was somewhat complex, and her tone weakened significantly.
"Since you’ve read that book, you surely know the inside story. Aren’t you afraid of being the first to be victimized on the Day of Return by doing business with Tiya’s enemy?"
"I’m already an enemy of Tiya." Roland spread his hands.
Shared interests form the foundation of cooperation, but a common enemy is a motive for collaboration.
Roland briefly recounted the matter of the Holy Spring Revival Ceremony.
Adina believed him firmly.
The Goddess, though unable to manifest physically on the Material Plane before ascension, can perceive events in her homeland through various means.
Slandering the Goddess would invoke her senses and result in being marked.
She and Roland were both among the first to face Divine Punishment when the Divine Punishment Legion descended.
Blasphemy is a grave crime.
With a common enemy, there would be no problem with cooperation, but Adina still wanted to know what benefits Roland could offer her.
When it came to discussing deals, Roland naturally perked up.
"Our Sussex Empire is the number one maritime power."
Considering the greater control Undersea City had over the ocean, Roland quickly revised his statement, "What I mean is, among land-dwelling humans, we rank number one."
"Besides, our country has the best industrial products, and with your understanding of the people on land, you surely know I’m not talking nonsense."
Adina nodded, after a long silence, she slowly said, "I wish to establish a military alliance. If you agree, I will accept the cooperation. I cannot directly confront my fellow ocean dwellers but can provide other military support."
Clearly, Adina lacked a sense of security, which was why she needed this alliance.
This was also an acknowledgment of Roland’s strength.
Roland smiled and snapped his fingers.
"Deal!"
This was an unexpected gain, he certainly wouldn’t refuse.
On the Day of Return, besides the Divine Punishment Legion, the Goddess herself would also descend.
Under the life-and-death pressure of the Goddess returning home, those unfortunate souls who offended her would feel utterly desperate.
Only unity would offer a glimmer of hope.
