Chapter 289: Maria’s Urgent Matter

In ten days, all ten candidates would enter the Secret Realm in search of treasures, opportunities, and powerful inheritances that could change their destinies forever.

With that, the reward ceremony finally came to an end. All five winners of the Empire’s Grand Youth Tournament had received their rewards, including passes to the Secret Realm, and the five senior candidates who would accompany them had also been announced.

Caelan congratulated them once again. Although they had already been invited, he personally extended an invitation to all five junior candidates to attend the grand banquet that would be held at the Imperial Castle.

This banquet was expected to be an enormous event. After all, it had been a long time since all the Racial Emperors had gathered in one place. There were even rumours that the Phoenix Empress would be attending.

Before the banquet, all the Racial Emperors would participate in an important meeting to discuss matters Caelan had brought to their attention, including the Eclipse Order and several other issues that remained unknown to the public.

With all the Racial Emperors gathering alongside numerous influential figures accompanying them, the banquet was destined to become one of the grandest events in recent history.

After the ceremony, Nova, Rieka, and Asia were escorted by Fred toward the castle’s main gate, where their carriage was waiting to take them back to their mansion. They would be staying there until they entered the Secret Realm.

However, just as they were approaching the enormous gate, a voice suddenly called out from behind them.

"LORD NOVA, PLEASE WAIT!"

The area wasn’t particularly crowded, as only a few influential nobles were leaving the castle. Nevertheless, everyone nearby turned toward the voice, including Nova and his companions.

They immediately recognized the person calling him. It was Maria.

The High Priestess hurried toward Nova, and within moments, she had caught up with them. Nova turned toward her with a calm expression.

"How may I help you, High Priestess?"

Rieka and Asia exchanged curious glances. Even the women inside the System Space were interested in what was happening. Fred, too, was surprised.

Why would the High Priestess Maria be in such a hurry to catch up with Nova and call out to him in front of so many nobles?

Instead of answering Nova’s question, Maria turned toward Rieka and Asia.

"May I borrow your husband for a moment? It’s something urgent."

Rieka and Asia looked at each other briefly before nodding. They knew Maria wasn’t a bad person, and judging by her hurried arrival, whatever she wanted to discuss with Nova seemed genuinely important.

Nova then turned toward his two wives and Fred. "You three go back to the mansion without me. I’ll join you once I’m done speaking with the High Priestess."

They nodded and continued toward the carriage, leaving Nova behind.

Once they had departed, Nova turned back to Maria. "Let’s go, High Priestess."

Maria nodded.

"Follow me." Nova followed Maria as she led him toward a hall reserved exclusively for members of the Imperial Family.

Inside the System Space, Nyxara frowned as she spoke.

"What is she planning? Where is she taking husband? What could be so urgent that she needs to speak with him?"

{It could be anything. Who knows? As Nova told us, she might already know that he is the Slaughter Monarch.} Liya replied.

"Or it could be something different. Judging by her expression, it didn’t look like she wanted to talk to him about that. Then again, perhaps she did and simply wanted to take him somewhere private," Velena added.

{Let’s just wait and see. There’s no point in making assumptions.} Liya said as they focused their attention on the scene.

Soon, Maria reached a room and entered. Nova followed her inside. The corridor they had taken was empty because no guards were needed here. The area was already heavily secured against external threats.

Besides, even if there had been guards, they wouldn’t have stopped Nova from following Maria, the granddaughter of the Human Emperor and the High Priestess of the Light Temple Order.

As Nova entered the room, Maria closed the large door and locked it. Nova raised an eyebrow before asking, "Am I even allowed to be here?"

"No. You could be killed for coming here," Maria replied with a smile. She had expected him to show some surprise, if not fear, but his expression remained unchanged.

Instead, he sighed and said, "Then why did you bring me here? We could have talked in the guest hall."

"It’s more private here, and what I need to discuss with you is extremely important. I can’t risk anyone overhearing us," Maria explained before continuing.

"Can you create a powerful formation that seals this entire area, making it impossible for anyone to hear us or detect what’s happening inside?"

Nova didn’t say anything. He immediately created the formation, finding it an easy task. Once it was complete, he turned toward her.

"It’s done. Now tell me, High Priestess."

"Call me Maria. Nothing else. Didn’t I tell you that before?" Maria said, making a slight pout.

"Sigh... All right. What is it, Maria? You can speak now. No one will be able to hear us or detect us in here," Nova replied.

"All right. I’ll get straight to the point. I know that you’re the Slaughter Monarch, and you don’t need to make any excuses. I’ve confirmed it using my Divine Sense, which was directly granted to me by the Goddess of Light."

Nova’s expression remained unchanged, but he wondered whether she was telling the truth. He couldn’t detect any signs of deception in her words.

Although he had suspected as much before, her revelation had now confirmed his suspicions completely.

"When did you find out?" Nova asked calmly.

"I had my suspicions for a while, considering all the coincidences in the past and your rapid growth in power. Although you managed to fool everyone else, you might have fooled me as well..."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"If it weren’t for the Divine Sense granted to me by the Goddess of Light."

Nova remained calm. Even if Maria intended to reveal his identity to others, she could have done so from the very beginning. Instead, she had brought him here to speak privately.

He looked at her curiously and asked, "Do you actually communicate with this Goddess? Is that how you obtained such a skill?"

"No. You’ll be surprised to learn that she granted me this skill on her own. She even told me to surprise you with it."

This time, Nova’s expression finally changed, revealing a hint of surprise.

Why would the Goddess of Light do something like that?

{Didn’t I tell you before? Your existence is difficult for the gods to ignore, my dear. They can’t directly contact you, so they can only choose their own blessed individuals. And the Goddess of Light chose Maria.}

"Is that so?" Nova thought, still surprised. Although he understood Liya’s explanation, the revelation was nevertheless astonishing.

Inside the System Space, Nyxara and Velena were also struggling to believe what they had just heard.

"So, can I also speak with the Goddess who granted me my bloodline and physique?" Nyxara suddenly asked.

{I can’t say for certain. It’s different for everyone. But I can tell you this: the Goddess who granted you your Divine Bloodline and Physique is always watching you.}

{ If you want to speak with her, try reaching out to her through your thoughts. If she wishes to respond, she will. If she doesn’t, she won’t.}

Liya explained this to Nyxara, who fell into deep thought. After pondering for a while, Nyxara decided to think about it later. For now, she would focus on what Maria was saying to her husband.

"Do you often communicate with this Goddess?" Nova asked, growing curious.

"No. She usually gives me knowledge about my powers and the world. Sometimes, she also asks me about you. It seems she’s very interested in you. Well, which woman wouldn’t be? Even if she’s a Goddess," Maria replied with a playful smile.

Nova was surprised by her words. He let out a sigh before speaking.

"Do you think gods are like humans? They would never speak to a mortal unless they wanted something from them. There must be some selfish motive behind their actions."

Maria pondered his words for a moment before answering.

"Who knows? I don’t know much about her, but judging by the way she speaks, she seems like a pretty chill woman."

After a moment, Maria seemed to realize something, and her expression grew serious.

"Oh, although that was important too, as I needed to prove to you that I know your secret." She paused briefly before continuing in a solemn tone.

"There’s something else you need to know, and it’s extremely important because your life is in danger."

**

[A/N : I’ve made a few changes to certain details in the previous two Chapters but forgot to mention them earlier. So, please don’t consider them mistakes, as these changes were intentional.]

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