<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Chapter 119>

Once again, it was an unpredictable development.

Chediak was looking for Hagen’ti…?

“Why Hagen’ti…?”

“I have something to ask.”

Chediak looked at Hagen’ti with a determined expression, as if he had made an important decision. He must have intended to wake up Hagen’ti and ask him something for sure.

I couldn’t tell if I should welcome this bizarre situation or be suspicious of it.

Was this also a planned development?

“…You won’t answer if I ask what it’s about, will you?”

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you.”

Chediak’s fierce gaze made Eden decide not to relent any further.

No matter what, it was a good thing that someone was there to protect Hagen’ti. Especially if it was Chediak.

Eden decided to steel her resolve once more.

“Okay. Then I’ll leave Hagen’ti in your care until I return.”

“Where are you going?”

It was only then that Chediak realized Eden was acting like she was about to leave, and he asked in surprise.

Eden took a moment to catch her breath and calmly replied.

“I need to go to the Yuren Grand Duchy.”

“What? The Yuren Grand Duchy? Why does the Saint want to go there…?”

“I can’t tell you right now. Please let Hagen’ti know that I will definitely return if he wakes up. And you must absolutely! NEVER let him go outside.”

Chediak scratched his head, looking troubled by her final request.

“I can convey your message, but I can’t guarantee that if Mr. Choco—no, Mr. Hagen’ti tries to go outside, I will be able to stop him…”

“Just tell him that if I go outside, we’ll never see each other again.”

Ah.

That was a tactic that would likely work even in Chediak’s eyes. Only then did Chediak nod vigorously.

“Understood.”

After returning to the Great Temple, Eden immediately sent a letter to Jepar. It contained the message that she would accept his proposal to go to the Grand Duchy.

After sending the letter, Eden also asked the priests to relay the same message to Sereman.

However, before Sereman could hear Eden’s message, someone had already arrived at the Great Temple with that information.

It was Asmun.

“This is my first audience with Your Highness here.”

Asmun’s expression was stiff, as if he had just heard news that the castle was about to collapse, but Eden greeted him calmly without any surprise.

“Please, take a seat.”

Yet, Asmun stood frozen, staring at Eden as if he were glued to the spot, not moving at all.

“I heard some strange rumors.”

He wasted no time and got straight to the point. His red eyes were unusually agitated.

“Priest Roman said… that the Saint was leaving the Great Temple to go to the Yuren Grand Duchy.”

Despite the flames of emotion flickering in his voice, he spoke calmly.

“He said you were going there to prepare for a marriage with Grand Duke Jepar of Yuren.”

It was unbelievable. Nevertheless, his cold voice turned even frostier when he pronounced the word “marriage.”

I had anticipated that Asmun would be in a precarious position upon hearing rumors that I was to be married to Jepar.

Eden was fully prepared to persuade him.

But even with everything internally strategized, when the moment came, she found herself at a loss for words.

Asmun watched Eden, who was giving no answers, and moved his stiff lips again.

“I…”

His voice, barely suppressing emotion, cracked with desperation.

“I will only believe in the words of the Saint.”

Those words weighed on Eden’s heart, dragging her down to the ground.

“If you just say it’s a baseless rumor, I won’t ask anything more.”

I knew all too well what it meant for Asmun to say he believed me. I had tried so hard to gain that blind trust from him.

I sincerely hoped his faith would last this time as well.

“Half of it is true, and half of it is false.”

Asmun’s pupils froze at my calm reply.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to the Yuren Grand Duchy.”

For a brief moment, it felt like the air around us had stopped. The sound of breath that had been filled with anxiety ceased to exist.

Eden rushed toward Asmun, who was staring at her as if time had frozen, and looked up into his eyes to explain.

“There’s a reason I have to go.”

“…Did a prophecy come down ordering you to marry the Grand Duke of Yuren?”

His low voice contained no trace of mockery. It was as if he was genuinely trying to understand this nonsensical development.

‘It’s because of you, you fool…’

Eden swallowed the truth that had risen to her throat along with tears.

She couldn’t tell Asmun the truth. She had no idea how he would react once he realized that Jepar was holding his weaknesses over her.

Eden still remembered every detail about Asmun.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay…’

But this was part of the game, and she had the chance to turn the situation around. She couldn’t let Asmun fall apart.

“It’s similar. But I will return. I promise.”

Upon hearing Eden’s answer, Asmun realized that this awful rumor was indeed the truth.

That damned Hamun was testing Eden again—no, testing me.

Trying to take away my precious things to make me crumble.

“…No. That cannot happen.”

Asmun’s voice became oddly calm as he looked at Eden. He couldn’t accept that Eden would become Jepar’s wife, but there was something even more important to him.

Eden and I had made a pact, and if Jepar were to stand against the Imperial Family after truly marrying Eden, the power of that unbreakable pact would be unleashed.

If that were to happen, Eden would…

Dark thoughts took hold of his eyes.

That was what I truly feared. That something would happen to Eden. The same anxious feeling had consumed his heart when she had disappeared into Eloch’s ship without a trace.

“The Saint has made a pact with me.”

Speaking in a flat tone, his ferocious red eyes never left Eden for a moment.

“If you go to the Yuren Grand Duchy, the Saint will be in danger. That pact…”

Asmun’s low voice paused momentarily. He took a short breath before continuing with terrible words.

“He will perceive it as betrayal.”

Only then did Eden realize why the man before her looked so precarious. He was afraid that the pact would lead to my death.

Upon this realization, the tension that had built within her began to dissolve.

“There’s no way to break the pact.”

It seemed like that concluded everything, and his voice turned cold.

“So I absolutely cannot let you go.”

After finishing his words, Asmun turned away, seemingly finding no value in further discussion. He had to resolve this matter with Jepar.

“…No!”

Eden rushed up behind Asmun, who was turning away like a hawk waiting for prey, and embraced him tightly. His steps froze.

“…If you leave like this, we’ll never see each other again. You’ll still think I’m untrustworthy and will be disappointed. Is that really okay? Does it not matter?”

Asmun’s eyes hardened at her words ‘disappointment’ which took hold of his thoughts.

Eden exhaled a trembling breath. She had expected that Asmun would not let her go easily.

But she absolutely had to go to Jepar, and Asmun had no choice but to let her go. It was just how the story had been written.

Eden buried her face in his broad back and slowly parted her dry lips.

“…As.”

At the whisper of her name, the coldness in his eyes finally crumbled.

The words shocked Asmun. He couldn’t deny it. Their relationship had flipped long ago.

Now, Eden held everything. He held nothing of hers. And he knew her all too well.

Realizing that Asmun had no intention to move again, Eden released her arms that were wrapped around him and blocked his way once more.

Eden’s heart stopped as she locked eyes with Asmun.

“…”

His once-solid gaze was now flickering with a fear she had never seen before. It looked as if it would crumble with just a slight touch.

“Are there things that frighten you, Your Highness?”

Memories of their conversation during the palace banquet flooded her ears.

“I’ve never feared anything before meeting you.”

That confession from that day was genuine.

“Never should you disappear before me again.”

If she wasn’t present, Asmun would never have such a look in his eyes.

The sight of such fear struck Eden unexpectedly. The feelings she had so carefully hidden were now crumbling down.

In that moment, Eden painfully realized how much she had come to like the man before her. Of all times, why now?

‘Ugh, what the hell am I doing…’

Even if she tried to deny the overwhelming feelings surging inside her, it was no longer possible.

No matter how engineered this game was, could they really design eyes like that?

Then those feelings were genuine, and ultimately, there was nothing she could do about being shaken like this without the force of gravity.

Eden drew closer, pulling on his stiff face to press her lips against his. Asmun still didn’t turn away, and after a long moment, their lips parted gently.

“…You must.”

Eden, after having calculated everything, pulled back from him, gazing into those tumultuous eyes filled with confusion. Now, she had the responsibility of the feelings contained within those eyes.

It wasn’t something she resented, and there was nothing she could do about it now.

“You will come back for sure.”

They stood close enough to feel each other’s breath.

“You still don’t trust me, do you?”

It was a tender yet sorrowful voice. The lingering sadness between them was now stuck to Eden’s eyes as she questioned whether he still didn’t trust her, despite how far they had come together.

Eden didn’t want to go to Jepar. Especially not like this.

But if she didn’t go, Asmun would be in danger. Just imagining that he might be in danger made her head spin.

It wasn’t just that. Hagen’ti, who would be waiting for her again in the castle, and all those she knew would plunge alongside this vast world.

Only she could solve this. It was undeniable that, as Hamun had said, it was her mission to save this place.

“Is there really no other way?”

Asmun’s tightly sealed lips opened, still seeming unconvinced as he asked the heavy question.

Asmun understood now that everything Eden did was for a reason.

That there must also be a reason for her to go to Jepar, and they both knew it.

But rational thoughts could not permit that. Asmun knew Jepar well.

Jepar’s intentions were painfully transparent. Just as Eden was desperately needed by him, he must covet her more than anything else.

If Eden were to end up with him, would she be able to return at will? Would she escape from that snake-like man’s grasp?

Since the moment Jepar had embedded his presence in her life, the anxiety coiling deep within her had finally come to unbearable reality.

“It’s something I alone can resolve.”

“…”

“Right now, I can’t tell you anything. But I promise, it’s all for you and the Empire.”

Eden didn’t know. Every time she said something like this, rather than gratitude or gratitude, her position and this damn Empire became increasingly resentful to her.

How much she longed to give it all up in an instant and hide where no one could find her.

And how much she despised herself for being a person who could never do that.

Asmun gazed at Eden, who had a pleading expression, and slowly caressed her cheek.

Even being this close felt surreal as if it could vanish in an instant, making it hard for him to breathe.

“…If you don’t return, I will gather all my forces and go to the Grand Duchy to bring the Saint back.”

It was a petty threat. This was all Asmun had left after losing Eden.

“Even if I have to forgo the Emperor’s permission, I will definitely do it.”

Anyone who overheard would get goosebumps from the chilling voice, but Eden chuckled softly at his dire words.

She understood how many inner battles had raged within Asmun and how he had ultimately prevailed over himself to make that huge concession to her.

“So… you have to return.”

“I have to return before that.”

Asmun gazed at Eden, who was beaming in realization of her words, and gently cradled her face before slowly kissing her again.

The thought of tomorrow was unbearably dreadful.