Chapter 79 - 2.40

"My Goddess.. If this is your will, then I shall do whatever you want. If you choose to support her, then she will also have my support." He clasped his hands, praying his hardest. His brows were knitted as he struggled to cleanse his mind out of the pitiful envy and jealousy he harbored.

Love. Perhaps what he felt towards the Goddess was not merely unshakable faith anymore, but romantic feelings were also mixed into it.

But she was a deity, and he was just a mortal. How could he cross the border that divided them into clearly two different groups?

The encounter with Xu Jiaqi made him realize that he wanted something more with the Goddess. Crossing the forbidden border within a deity and a human.

To be exact, he had already been harboring these feelings, but the jealousy of not getting to see the Goddess at his own will without having to rely on the altar made him be extra convinced. He wanted to be with the Goddess, and getting to see her after having to administer a lot of efforts didn't satisfy him anymore.

He wanted to truly be on par with the deity. Even though this was an impossible feat that he could never accomplish within his entire lifetime. He was a human, albeit a bit stronger than normal people. This would lead to his lifetime being elongated, but he would still grow old, and age until he died and is buried six feet under.

He wasn't worthy of staying with the Goddess. Even if he did obtain her heart, he would have to leave her eventually. And he did not wish for that.

In the end, there was no chance for him. Even if he wanted to fight for this worthless love, there was no way that they could be together.

He continued to pray, forgetting about these toxic and conflicting thoughts.

Despite all of his efforts, he ended up not being to focus because he was too occupied with the presence of the Goddess being right beside him. He felt uncomfortable and ended up descending down from his Tower, aiming to find out more about the woman called Ariel Maine.

He visited the Cardinal, who was shocked at his arrival because it was widely known that the First Child never left his abode unless there was an important and pressing matter.

Ezra began to discuss about Ariel's identity with the Cardinal, to which the latter expressed his surprise at how this young man was showing interest towards this candidate that had just arrived.

"Ezra, have you taken a liking to this.. girl?" The Cardinal asked cautiously.  He couldn't be too brazen in front of Ezra even if he wanted to. Ezra was on par with him when he received his evaluation two years ago, and he hadn't tested himself ever since. It wouldn't be a surprise if the young man had already surpassed him by now.

And him, the Cardinal, was rather worried by this fact. He was supposed to be the strongest, so that he could hold a firm control over Palla. But since there was Ezra, he couldn't ensure that the whole land was under his jurisdiction because he had to be careful about the young man. He thought to eradicate or trap him several times when he first saw how much Ezra improved with each time he saw him.

However, his worries were temporarily subdued when he saw how docile Ezra was acting. The boy didn't even gather any followers, and insisted that he lived in a secluded Tower all by himself with only one guard staying by. Although Ezra was a strong man, he didn't know how to use and manipulate his power.

The Cardinal knew that the sole reason Ezra was still here in Palla despite knowing and loathing the unscrupulous actions some people took was because this place is known for being the closest to the Goddess' heart. The man was eerily devoted to the Goddess for unknown reasons, but his strong Holy power and purity did attest to his intentions.

That was why, the Cardinal curbed his worries. Up until now, that is.

Ezra paying a visit was already something terribly rare. Not to mention, he directly asked for the information of the current Saintess candidates and skimmed through all the pages until his eyes landed on a certain file.

Ariel Maine's file.

Who was Ariel Maine? She was the daughter of Duke Reginald Maine, despite being an illegitimate child. The Cardinal had once sought out Reginald's daughter so that he could manipulate some things and turn the Maines into one of his connections, but the girl he expected to come was Ariana, not this one.

Thus, he didn't pay any particular special attention to her. But now that Ezra was looking at this trivial person, could it be that there was something much deeper hidden behind her?

Or perhaps? This was Ezra's way of declaring that he would start to gather his comrades, a declaration that he, the Cardinal, should protect his seat well if he did not want to be dethroned?

What was Ezra thinking?!

Anxiously, the Cardinal, whose name was Gallius Stephen observed every move Ezra made with sharp and suspecting eyes.

Ezra was still in a daze as he stared at the portrait plastered on Ariel's file. The portrait was taken back when Ariel was still in the Maine Dukedom, so she looked considerably thinner and much more frail than she already was right now.

More importantly, the current Ariel had been blessed by the Goddess and would undergo appearance changes when the Goddess blesses her firmly once more in the Saintess trial.

He had to be there. To witness the birth of the Goddess' preferred girl.

A competitive feeling rose inside his heart. Towards Ariel Maine. The one who was taking away the Goddess' attention away from him and even received greater favors from him.

Why was it her? What did she have that he didn't?

Was he, Ezra Lancaster lacking? Despite all the efforts that he had done to serve the Goddess?