Chapter 134: For Peace (1/2)

Their carriage was one of the few arriving at the ritual, as most people used flying ships to get there. However, the princess had a weird belief that she needed to befriend everyone, and flying ruined that for her.

Nikolai tried to think of ways to prevent Master Edward from learning about the assassination. However, the more he thought of it, the more confused he became.

If Master Edward truly learned about the assassination, there was no doubt that he would save his disciple, restoring the original timeline. As for the consequences of him learning the future, Nikolai couldn't even imagine.

The war might even be brought closer since the strategist would use this chance to strike the Bestial Kingdom. As he sat in the carriage, Nikolai realized that there were so many different outcomes that he could not decide which one would be the right path.

All he knew is that the divergence was caused by the existence of a high-fate character in his vision, or what the system called Manipulated Fate. Since that was the case, Nikolai needed to prevent Master Edward from knowing the future.

'It is time to stall,' Nikolai thought to himself as they got off the carriage, and he offered his hand to the princess. With a smile, she took his hand and descended the steps.

The rest of the guests looked at her with a dazzled expression. Her hair, which she hid before, was following after her as she walked. Her hair was the color that you would only exist in fairy tales, a silver color that shimmered beneath the light of day.

Nikolai followed after her as they dazzled the crowd. Then, to his surprise, Nikolai noticed that someone winked at him. It was a young man as old as he saw, but he didn't know who he was.

'Or right, I'm in the future. So he must be someone I met at the party,' Nikolai remembered, so he simply nodded in greeting.

They walked into the ritual grounds, which lanterns had lighted up. The ritual will happen at sunset after the last rays of light leave this world.

They reached the temple like before, and it was full of people from every corner of the world. The Bestial Kingdom was proud of the protector of this land. Thus, the ritual happened close to the border.

Nikolai's body had goosebumps when he saw how many people were there. These people were all faces that he was familiar with from his past life. What uneased him a little was that some of these people were Nikolai's victims.

As they walked closer to the pond, someone in a red cloak greeted them. He was a beastman with horns of a goat and a long beard, and he grabbed the princess's hand to kiss it.

”Greetings, Princess Maria,” the priest kissed her hand, and his yellow eyes left Nikolai feeling disgusted. ”We are delighted to have you here today,”

”For peace,” the princess smiled sweetly, and the priest nodded in response. When he turned to Nikolai, there was a moment of curiosity that died away quickly.

Nikolai was truly confused by now, as he wondered how no one got to sense his horns. Of course, there were bound to be people with detecting abilities among the crowd, but they didn't seem to notice.

'Wait, did future me find a way?' Nikolai wondered as he tried to examine his headband. It was minute, but there were traces of enchantment on it.

”Princess, I'll follow your orders and talk to the crowd until the ritual. I'll be back before it begins, is that alright?”

”I'm glad that you are taking your role seriously,” the princess smiled before nodding. ”Take your time,” she said, even though she was uncomfortable by the priest's company.

However, Nikolai couldn't care about her feelings given the circumstances, and he knew this was only an illusion that matched what was going to happen. So, as he turned and found some people to talk to, he picked the perfect timing to slip away from the temple.

Nikolai walked out when he felt someone's presence behind him. As he turned, he found the young man from earlier who had a childlike demeanor.

”Lyle!” the young man called out behind him. ”Are you sneaking out again?” he asked with expectations. ”You weren't thinking of leaving me, did you?”

'I don't even know you,' Nikolai thought to himself as he looked at the giant words in his top view. The divergence has reached 14% again, meaning Master Edward was starting to deviate from his original path.

”You will have to excuse me,” Nikolai said before hurrying to leave the temple. Then, as he thought he had left the man behind, he heard the flapping of wings above him.

When Nikolai looked up, he saw the same young man standing on top of a giant eagle. With a grin, he had the eagle block Nikolai's path.