I was with my niece, and now that I'm no longer a subordinate spy for the Empire, I can treat Melissa just like my niece instead of the formalities a subordinate must have with her master.
It had been 2 days since the defeat of Gregory Roux and I was sitting on the walls near the battlefield where Gregory was killed, I was talking to my niece to find out how she is with all this happening around her.
It didn't take long for her to talk about the Holy Son, it seems she feels a mixture of anger and gratitude for him, but I can't blame her for that, she just has to be careful not to cross the line, some people are very protective of the Son Holy, the scariest would be Érica, Priestess Vanessa, and Lilith.
About Nicolas, I had heard about him a long time ago, I remember he was brought from another continent by someone, but I never saw him or know where he was, even though I knew his name, I didn't know he was a Magic Engineer or about his story.
From what my niece is saying, it sounds like he's someone dangerous, but that decision depends solely on the Holy Son.
I look at my niece, this is the first time I've seen tiredness in her eyes.
"You shouldn't try so hard, the fight against the real enemy has just begun, so try to focus on what you need to do now." (I)
She looks at me confused for a second as if she's trying to understand the meaning of my words, then she laughs, bringing her hands to cover her eyes as she sighs.
"So you understand?" (Queen Melissa)
"It was easy to deduce the answer by looking at you and him acting in such strange ways." (I)
"Besides, how old do you think I am?" (I)
"I've been alive for centuries, I've seen kingdoms built, I've seen Kingdoms fall and I've experienced more than you can imagine." (I)
"It was enough to observe things a little for me to notice the strangeness." (I)
In my mind I remember the meetings where the Holy Son said that we would not say anything to help the Black Empire, I also remember even me asking for his help, he only sent Athena and her group to finish off Gregory Roux.
At the time I found this strange, normally the Holy Son refuses to do something or does things completely, but this time he acted differently.
"You noticed very quickly, so I'm guessing he didn't tell you anything, right?" (Queen Melissa)
"No, I imagine he wanted to see how long it would take me to figure it out." (I)
My niece looks at me and then at the city behind us as she stands and turns around.
"Gregory was never a concern in my head, of course, I didn't know about him becoming a Kimera or his army of Kimeras." (Queen Melissa)
"But I knew he was up to something, you noticed that too." (Queen Melissa)
"Yes, I made the mistake of being too open about my attention on him, I thought it might discourage him, I've done that with other Empire nobles in the past." (I)
"I chose to do nothing because Gregory opened my eyes to something that every ruler of our Empire has ignored." (Queen Melissa)
"Yes, this continent is full of hate, in a continent always covered in miasma , such an Evil feeling arises a lot." (Queen Melissa)
"This Hatred is the result of many wars and conflicts, the other continent also hates us." (I)
"Yes, but in their case, it is only as enemies, due to our long conflicts they hate us only as enemies." (Queen Melissa)
"But here on this continent it's different, the hatred for Humans is almost a repulsion or disgust for something they believe has no right to exist, you know that too." (Queen Melissa)
"People like Gregory Roux are in the hundreds or maybe even thousands across this continent, he just happens to have had better opportunities to carry out his nefarious plans and the intelligence to do things cautiously enough that we still haven't figured it all out." (Queen Melissa)
"All this hatred comes from the conflicts that almost every time throughout history happened here, this hatred stems from the death of loved ones and the loss of important places or things." (Queen Melissa)
"Gregory Roux was someone respectable in the beginning, I remember how he changed after the death of his family, his gaze was always full of hate." (I)
"Yes, that's why I made this plan, I wanted to purge this hatred from within the Empire." (Queen Melissa)
"Gregory did me the favor of showing all these worms hiding in the shadows, it wasn't the way I imagined it, but it still worked." (Queen Melissa)
I look at my niece, she tries to show her dignity as Queen of this nation, but I know she's grieving for the way it all turned out.
"Gregory was a symbol for many who thought like him, his death will shake that kind of person." (Queen Melissa)
"The people of this nation were able to see who attacked us and I made a point of saying why everyone saw Demons attacking other Demons because of their hatred for Humans." (Queen Melissa)
"Even if no one talks about it openly, it should still be etched in everyone's minds for a long time." (I)
"I hope so, that's why I did all this." (Queen Melissa)
"Talking about hate would be pointless, no one would listen." (Queen Melissa)
"Unfortunately people only learn when they feel the result of their actions, this time everyone saw the extent to which this hatred can consume them." (Queen Melissa)
"Athena told me Gregory was using the Curse of Life and Death." (I)
"A false immortality that leads to the destruction of the Soul itself." (Queen Melissa)
"This curse makes people lose their emotions as well as many other horrible side effects, but even so Gregory continued to express his hatred until the very end." (I)
"He lost his hatred the moment he used the Curse, but the obsession that was born out of that hatred still stayed, even though he hit rock bottom, he still remained trapped in a false hatred created by his obsession." (Queen Melissa)
"A sad life and a death without honor or pride, the worst ending for a Demon." (I)