“But Lawrence, love is a necessity, gratitude is merely…”

  “I know, but there is no other choice. You more than anyone know the cause of this, Serene Will.”

  Serene Will remains silent, she can only sigh. Lawrence told her and the others what happened, that the relationship between him and Prescribed Dream is nothing but a sham. He doesn't know what she desires, but judging by how she behaves with him, it would be naive of him not to think about his Dimensional Rift.

  “How will you approach her? If you approached me like a dog, I would treat you like one. If you did so as a servant, you would only get crumbs.”

  Coldness Divine tries to put herself in that woman's position. Only she, who is also of noble descent, could understand a phoenix.

  “Just like me, you would have to gain her interest. I would never have looked at you differently if you hadn’t demonstrated knowledge on par with dragons and we both know I wouldn’t have forgiven you if not…”

  “If not what?”

  Lawrence’s smile only infuriates Coldness Divine further. She clicks her tongue and refuses to continue her words.

  He would have liked to continue mocking her, but he understands her reasoning. He knows this arrogant dragon wouldn't have let such insolence pass if he hadn’t previously won her heart.

  "With Prescribed Dream, I will proceed differently, it's enough to have her gratitude. If there were no lies, not even a deceit in my intentions, even if there were no love, I am sure you would pay this debt if you were in her position."

  None of those present could contradict his words. Because, as Lawrence said, if he hadn't approached them with ulterior motives, their current relationship would be very different.

  If he told them that profits hid in hell, they would undoubtedly leap into the sea of lava, but if they found no treasure, they would begin to question their relationship with Lawrence.

  And it is that, unlike love, trust has a limit.

  “I am willing to pay the price for each of her predictions, all I care about is to achieve my own Way. Let her gratitude be of use at least once.”

  He will have only one chance to entrust his life to that woman, even if he must spend all her trust on that sole purpose, he will do it.

  After resolving his doubts, Lawrence looks at Coldness Divine. “Go to Fafnir Kingdom and secure their army, but be careful. The prediction warns that I will regret something, there are few things I am unwilling to sacrifice and you are among them.”

  “Hmph, worry more about yourself and the others. I can return from death, you have nothing. Without me, you all wouldn’t be here.”

  Coldness Divine turns and leaves the room, huffing. Only after closing the door does a small smile bloom on her lips, a smile that quickly disappears and of which only she is aware.

  Lawrence notices Serene Will’s gaze and narrows his eyes, wondering why she looks towards the door, but then she shakes her head and changes the subject.

  “Her words have some degree of truth in them, do you really plan to do it while she is not around?”

  Lawrence clicks his tongue. “Don’t you trust me?”

  “I know your ability, I know what you are capable of. But if I've learned anything, it's that not everything is as it seems. That the prediction ensures your life, doesn't necessarily mean you won’t lose it, Lawrence.”

  The prediction indicates that Lawrence will regret something, therefore he must be alive to do so. Serene Will fears that his overconfidence may lead him to make mistakes as a consequence of knowing the future.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Ha! You still don’t know me, Serene Will. To this day I still doubt whether that woman's predictions are true or not. Nothing that Prescribed Dream says will stop me from doing what I want.”

  Serene Will is surprised, not only by his words but because his thoughts do not contradict his actions. He truly is doubting whether the fulfillment of the predictions is nothing more than reality or just a placebo effect.

  He listened to that woman simply as a consolation for his actions.

  “I see, I’ll go prepare everything.”

  She sighs relieved and walks away. With the departure of Serene Will, only Lawrence and Sky Petal remain in the room. If it were another time, he would misunderstand her behavior, but not this time.

  “Even though you’re a plant, don’t beat around the bush. Speak.”

  Sky Petal was about to speak, but after hearing Lawrence’s words, she couldn’t help but laugh uproariously. She is the kind of woman who appreciates all jokes, her sense of humor is extremely flexible.

  Then she says: “I want to accompany you.”

  Lawrence frowns, this is a request he would not accept unless there was a reason, and a very important one at that. After hearing Sky Petal’s explanation, he gasps for a moment and then, Lawrence smiles.

  That day Coldness Divine leaves the mansion quietly.

  Months would pass before seeing her again.

  +++

  A beautiful young woman with long golden hair and feline blue eyes sits on a wooden bench, watching the leaves fall from the trees. The old her would never have stayed in one place, there was always something to do and achieve.

  Today, none of that can be seen.

  "How… How much longer will I have to wait?"

  Relying on luck is something she would never do, yet she must.

  If it’s not complete, then it’s a failure. Half-measures, sooner or later, will exact their toll, it's impossible to achieve success through them.

  "Caution, eh…"

  It was too late when she realized that was the best course of action, but by then it was already too late. Too many traces were left from her actions, erasing them now would yield the opposite result.

  All her thoughts vanish upon hearing footsteps approaching.

  "Today is the day."

  After recognizing the owner of the footsteps, Absolute Prominence smiles.

  "Servant, I've been waiting for you."

  The man again dares to look at her as nothing more than an inferior being, demonstrating he is in a completely different category than her.

  "Mr. Lawrence to you."

  "Hahaha, in my life I've never called anyone mister. You won't be the exception!"

  "Hah…"

  Lawrence sees the contempt in this woman's attitude and can only sigh. His next action is nothing more than to turn around and return the way he came.

  "Too late!"

  None of this happens, as the tiger-girl immediately exercises her innate ability. Six shadows emerge from the ground, each emanating an aura superior to their master's, all heading to their respective positions, blocking that man's advance and retreat.

  "You have prepared..." Lawrence observes the shadows and frowns after understanding her intentions, "Even dead, don't think you'll get much use out of me. Sacred magic will be of little help to you."

  "That's where you're wrong. You are more important than you think, servant. I once commanded an army, and without those of your affinity, I could have achieved nothing. From today onward, your shadow will serve me for eternity!"

  Taking her action as a command, the six shadows silently attack Lawrence. Their level may be lower than his, but surprisingly their affinities are in absolute harmony. Fire, water, earth, wind, light, and darkness. A single oversight can be lethal!

  He shouts in anger: "It’s impossible that you got your slaves through normal means, someone must be helping you!"

  Lawrence stops them using sacred chains, while sacred lightning strikes them from close range. All seem affected, but quickly the shadows of light and darkness interfere in his attack, aiding the others.

  He tries to attack again, this time with a variation of light magic, but nothing is as effective as the main element. No matter how much Lawrence modifies its elements, sacred magic is not meant for attacking!

  "Level 500 is just a number, adversity has always been in my path and I have successfully overcome it."

  Absolute Prominence smiles joyfully seeing how shadows of levels 450 and 476 put a servant of level 507 in trouble. Wasn’t he so proud of his level? Where is that arrogance now?

  "It's always been like this. Defeating the strong by numbers."

  She mentally commands all her shadows, telling them what to do and when to do it. She allows them to take independent actions only when she deems it appropriate, but this event is crucial, she cannot be negligent!

  Lawrence clicks his tongue. "Don't think you'll get away with this! When our battle reaches the ears of others, you'll regret causing an uproar in this place!"

  "Ha! Such a thing won't happen, I’ve been planning your death since that day! You've been in my plans since the moment I met you!"

  Absolute Prominence could not leave such a key piece as this servant free, not only because of his level, but because his sacred magic makes him a juicy target, especially because he is weak in attack!

  Lawrence faces the difficulties without backing down, but slowly the shadows begin to prevail. Wounds appear on his body, until at some point different weapons surround his neck.

  When the six shadows restrain Lawrence, Absolute Prominence arrogantly approaches him with a smile on her face.

  "Trash."