Multiverse's Holy Right

"The Sage Princess... Princess Alice, is it?"

In an extravagantly luxurious villa estate in Rome, Roy sat in an opulent room adorned with Baroque-style antiques. Holding a stack of documents, he tapped his fingers lightly, a look of interest playing on his face.

The entire room was covered in a plush red carpet, decorated with precious Renaissance-era frescoes and suits of armor. The chandelier overhead resembled a starry sky, fully embodying luxury and nobility.

Most of Rome's famous ancient palaces belonged to the Church, but those places were better suited for official business or sightseeing rather than living. For actual comfort, modern villas were far more accommodating.

Roy never shortchanged himself. Except when he needed to study quietly in the Vatican, he spent most of his time in Rome living in this villa. To the local magicians, the fact that the King stayed so 'well-behaved' at home was nothing short of a blessing.

While Princess Alice of Greenwich, England, was studying Roy, he was also studying her.

"Your Majesty, these documents were provided by my uncle, Paolo Blandelli. As for more detailed information about Princess Alice, I'm afraid it can only be found in the archives of the Greenwich Assembly."

In front of the mahogany desk, fourteen-year-old Erica stood confidently in her signature red dress, her head slightly raised. Her smooth, fair shoulders accentuated the elegant dress, shimmering under the light as if coated in a dewy glow.

"I heard your uncle frequently traveled between England and Italy in the past, fighting alongside the Black Prince as Princess Alice's knight. He even once rescued the 'Sleeping Beauty' from a divine beast, playing out the classic tale of a knight saving a princess?"

Roy tossed the documents aside, leaning back in his chair with an amused smirk.

Though the King seemed to be joking, Erica didn't dare treat it lightly. She shook her head and replied, "...Those were just my uncle's youthful adventures. Now, the Copper Black Cross serves Your Majesty, and my uncle is no longer Princess Alice's knight but your subordinate. If Your Majesty commands, the Copper Black Cross will obey without question."

Erica spoke with calm assurance, expressing her loyalty.

"Did your uncle never develop any romantic knight-and-princess story with Her Highness?"

Hearing Roy's rather gossipy question, Erica couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless. Still, she smiled and replied, "...My uncle is about twenty years older than Princess Alice. Those incidents happened ten years ago, when the princess was only around eleven, while my uncle was already nearly thirty. I think the age gap makes it impossible for anything to have occurred."

"No, Erica, you're mistaken. There are always some perverts in this world who have a thing for little girls around ten years old... But let's not dwell on that."

Erica was now torn between laughter and tears. She really wanted to say that her uncle wasn't that kind of pervert, but seeing that the King had already moved on from the topic, she composed herself and waited for Roy's next question.

"This princess possesses spiritual power unrivaled in Europe, belongs to the Greenwich Assembly, and has no Campione protecting her. Let's start with her."

Roy tapped the photo of Alice in the documents with an air of finality.

Erica recalled the Solomon's Sacred Artifact Roy had been holding on the luxury yacht earlier, and now seeing his need for witches and hime-miko with powerful spiritual energy, she suddenly remembered an incident from two years ago. Marquis Voban had captured numerous witches and hime-miko from around the world to summon a heretic god for himself, resulting in many of them dying during the ritual.

She realized Roy might be planning to recreate Marquis Voban's brutal reign, with his first target being Princess Alice, who held immense fame not just in Europe but worldwide!

Erica didn't dare object to Roy's decision. During her time interacting with him, she had come to understand his temperament quite well. She knew this King allowed others to offer counsel—but only if they had sufficient reason. Otherwise, they'd better be prepared to face the King's wrath.

And right now, Erica had absolutely no grounds to dissuade him. Should she tell the King that summoning a heretic god might lead to many sacrifices? No—the King before her wouldn't care about such things. It would only anger him.

So Erica abandoned any thought of protest and instead followed Roy's train of thought: "...Your Majesty, although Princess Alice and England's Campione, Alexander Gascoigne, are publicly at odds, their actual relationship is unclear. Capturing Princess Alice might provoke hostility from this Campione. Should we consider a more diplomatic approach to secure her voluntary cooperation?"

"No need to worry, Erica! Alexander Gascoigne is far too cautious. When faced with something he doesn't understand, he always chooses to wait. Such a temperament makes him prone to missing opportunities. He won't appear before me until he's certain there's no danger—and even if he does, so what?"

Roy laughed dismissively. "...Erica, do you know what a princess's role is? It's to wait in a grand castle for the dragon to come and take her away. Though I'm not a dragon, I am a Demon King. The princess has been waiting in her castle long enough—this Demon King shouldn't keep Her Highness waiting any longer."

Hearing Roy's rather chilling joke, Erica could only remain silent.

"And this miko named Yuri Mariya from the Far East—she was one of the survivors of Marquis Voban's ritual to summon a heretic god two years ago, wasn't she? It seems Marquis Voban held her in high regard. In that case, let's trust the Marquis's judgment once and capture her as one of the ritual maidens. If she refuses, we'll treat her exactly as the Marquis did back then. She has no right to refuse."

Erica gave a slight nod, indicating she had heard Roy's command.

There was a saying that went, 'Better for others to die than for me to perish.' For Erica, she had no intention of concerning herself with how Princess Alice or that miko named Yuri Mariya would be treated. As long as the King she served was pleased, nothing else fell within the scope of her considerations.

"But merely having these most excellent miko is not enough. I need more miko and witches to conduct the ritual together. Only then might we summon that King Solomon..."

Roy toyed with the ring in his hand—a symbol of the divine wisdom bestowed upon King Solomon—as he spoke unhurriedly.

As Roy's personal knight, Erica naturally had to relieve her master's worries. Frowning slightly in thought, she hesitantly said, "...Within the Five Great Mountains Sect of the ancient Eastern nation, there are indeed Taoist priestesses who could rival the Sage Princess in excellence. However, the sect's leader would never permit you, my King, to capture Miko within her territory. This would inevitably lead to conflict between you and her."

"...Not that I mean to imply you fear the Eastern sect leader, but for the sake of your grand plan at this stage, it would be wiser to proceed with caution."

Erica spoke carefully, meticulously controlling her words to avoid wounding Roy's pride.

"Your counsel is sound, Erica. Now is indeed not the time to clash with that sect leader. My current actions have likely already drawn the attention of the Black Prince and Marquis Voban. Adding a sect leader to the mix could very well lead to my downfall."

"...However, I no longer require witches of 'quality' like Princess Alice. Quantity alone will suffice... Ah, now that I think of it, wasn't there a girl named Liliana Kranjcar among the Bronze Black Cross we met at the headquarters of the 'She-Wolves' in Rome? She was also an excellent witch, wasn't she?"

For the first time, Erica—who had remained composed while advising Roy—finally showed a drastic change in expression, her face paling in shock.

"My King, you... need Liliana?"

She asked nervously.

***

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