Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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Chapter 259 The Last Memories, Irreversible Freezing

Only when talking about Mino does Kalia shed some of her royal poise and nobility, revealing the sincere feelings of a young girl.

If what the people see in her is the brilliance of the kingdom's pearl, then at this moment, her eyes shine as brightly as the sun.

For the first time, those eyes, brimming with interest and enthusiasm, met Lena's gaze, only to meet her cold, indifferent stare.

Kalia paused, pointing at a certain spot in the book. She slowly put the book down, noticing that Lena's behavior was somewhat strange...

The other person's icy eyes reflected the contents of the book, but their pupils remained unmoved, as if they were looking at something completely unrelated to themselves. Most importantly, in response to Kalia's answer, she simply shook her head coldly.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I didn't know."

The courtyard seemed a little chilly, and the frost on the flowers in the flowerbed melted in the sun, turning into droplets of water that slid off.

Lena looked at Kalia, already preparing to explain:

“Your Highness, I have used the ‘Ice Freeze’ spell of the Ice Heart to freeze my memories related to the Mino Warrior, so I’m sorry, I cannot answer any questions about the Mino Warrior.”

The freezing of memories in the heart of ice is not a kind of erasure of memories.

Lena was well aware of Mino's existence. She knew that he had come from the same village as her, that they were close, that she had written the "Record of the Rise of the Hero," and that he had done everything before and after becoming a hero.

However, she could no longer recall any of her thoughts, feelings, or memories of Mino.

These things have been frozen at the level of the soul, and nothing can touch their memories or stir their hearts.

To her now, Mino is a complete stranger.

“How… how could this be…” Kalia was stunned, staring silently at Lena who was telling the story, her bright eyes welling up with tears.

“Sister Lena, this is too pitiful... Why, why must it be done to this extent?”

Lena was somewhat confused as to why Kalia was looking at her with such a sorrowful expression. Without wavering, she said coldly:

“This is the safest option, Your Highness. Since the Mino Warrior has been captured and taken to the Demon King’s castle, he has no chance of survival.”

"In order to prevent the demons from exploiting this only mental vulnerability and severely damaging the Ice Heart, freezing the memories is the best countermeasure. For the safety of the kingdom's people and the Holy Church, this sacrifice is nothing."

"No! This is not right!" Kalia shook her head vigorously, tears streaming down her face, her tear-streaked face already breaking into sobs.

"And what about you... Sister Lena?" She looked at Lena with deep sorrow.

"You became a saintess, the shield of heroes, but is it really only the kingdom and the holy church that you are meant to protect?"

Lena paused slightly, looking into Kalia's eyes, and for a moment she didn't know why she couldn't speak.

Her lips moved, and after a long while, she finally spoke: "I don't know..."

“But Your Highness, none of that matters anymore. The freezing of the Ice Heart is irreversible. This was my choice back then, when I still remembered the Mino Warrior. Therefore… I have no regrets.”

Without touching the black tea on the table, Lena stood up and said with a slight apology, "Let's end the tea party here for today, Your Highness. I still need to go to the Prince's study to hear about the defense plan for the next few days."

Kalia kept her head down and didn't answer. Her body, clutching the books, looked somewhat lost and pitiful, and Lena's eyes flickered slightly.

She doesn't understand.

As far as she knew, the reason she suffered severe backlash several times was because the demons used Mino the Warrior, a friend from the same village as her, to render her powerless for a long time. This indirectly led to the death of Pope Brad and the collapse of the civilian district.

To prevent a similar situation from happening again, preserving Bingjie and Mino's memories is a natural and necessary step.

However, whenever she mentioned this to Prince Ota, Minister Tus, Commander Erwin, and Chief of Lak, the first reaction of each of them was the same as Kalia's: an expression of utter regret.

……

“The purity of memory… Alas, Saintess Lena, you shouldn’t have taken all the blame upon yourself… Neither I nor my dearest friend would have wanted to see this happen… Why did it have to come to this?”

Prince Ota's repeated sighs came to mind.

“Holy Maiden, although I am not qualified to say this… but the memories with Hero Mino are definitely not something that should be forgotten… Without him, I could not have obtained the qualifications to become Pope… I believe you feel the same way. I’m sorry, I just feel a little regretful.”

The image of Pope Tonksson's hesitant gaze flashed through his mind.

"Memories related to Ice and Mino? Could you elaborate? ...So only the wearer of Ice Heart can use it on themselves...I see...That's such a pity."

The regretful expression on Chief Lach's face flashed through my mind.

Lena didn't take these words to heart; to her, these people were outsiders anyway.

Aside from Mino, the only person in the capital who wasn't considered an outsider was Princess Kalia, who was standing right in front of her. Lena had thought that the other woman would understand her, but in fact, the other woman's behavior showed that she was even more grief-stricken and unable to let go than the others.

Princess Kalia was a very gentle person, so Lena knew that the other was grieving for her, grieving for her forgetting Mino... as if she were venting her own emotions, her trembling shoulders reflecting her inner turmoil.

Why should this be so.

Lena's pure heart flickered for a moment.

What exactly does that Mino Warrior mean to me?

"Well then, Your Highness, I shall take my leave now."

Lena pursed her lips, wanting to say something comforting to Kalia, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to say it. She turned around and prepared to leave.

Stepping out of the path, I hadn't gone more than a few steps when I heard the sound of a chair being pushed over as someone hurriedly stood up, followed by a sudden burst of hurried footsteps.

"Wait, wait a minute... Sister Lena!"

As Kalia wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, she pushed a book into Lena's arms: "Here, you can take this..."

Lena took the "Record of the Rise of Heroes" from Kalia's hand, gazing absently at the blurry yet majestic silhouette radiating light on the cover. Kalia's voice sounded before her:

"If you have time, take a look at this book, Lena."

“This is your last memory with Mino.” Kalia raised her eyes, her gaze almost pleading.

Lena felt a sudden pang in her heart. She placed her hand on her chest, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded gently: "I understand, Your Highness."

As Lena stepped out of the garden courtyard, she could sense that Kalia was still standing on the path, staring blankly in the direction she had left.

The icy blue gem on her chest spoke: "Your Majesty..."

"Ok, I know."

A thick layer of frost formed on the book in Lena's hand.

"I will not read this book..."

Chapter 260 When the Goddess's Power is at its Peak, a Bomb is Planted

Lena's tone was calm and rational.

"The memory is frozen and you can't unfreeze it."

"There's no need to try to do something pointless again because of a choice that can't be undone."

Right now, she seems to have returned to the icy and unapproachable Ice Saintess she once was, her mind and strength as solid as ice and stone, without the slightest wavering.

However, Ice Heart hesitated, a glint of light appearing in her eyes: "Is this really alright... Your Majesty?"

“Memories related to the Mino Warrior will only backfire on us, won’t they?” Lena asked, looking down.

"That's true, but..."

"That's enough." Lena interrupted coldly, "I can feel that in this state, I can control every emotion and power within me more precisely than before, and I am stronger than I have ever been before."

“That’s enough. Only in this way can I protect ‘that person’…” The words slipped out, but Lena’s tone faltered, and a look of confusion appeared in her eyes.

Who is that person?

Lena lowered her head and glanced once more at the "Record of the Rise of Heroes," which was encased in layers of ice. She bit her lip gently, said nothing more, and walked towards the palace.

The figure, as pure as snow, disappeared before reaching the garden.

……

in the garden.

"Princess Kalia, let's go back."

Head maid Lucy stepped forward and covered Kalia with a thick, warm shawl. For some reason, even after the saintess left, a chill lingered in the air.

Although Princess Kalia's health has improved significantly and she no longer suffers from the same weakness as the old king, she still needs to be careful to keep warm.

"Never before have I hated this sickly body of mine more than I do now, Lucy..."

Lowering her head, Kalia said sadly, "If only I could have the talent to cultivate the power of light like Brother Ota, Brother Mino, and Sister Lena, and use my own power to protect the capital—"

“You’ve done everything you could,” Lucy comforted him, a touch of pity in her voice.

"If it weren't for you, Princess, covering up the news of the backlash against Saintess Lena that night, the Demon Clan would probably have already launched a terrible war across the entire territory."

"Although you need to remain hidden in the capital for a long time in order to avoid raising questions among the people, your presence is the greatest encouragement to the border soldiers."

“Especially recently.” Lucy looked up in the direction of the palace, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"It is said that the blessing ceremony of the hero is also a point of resonance with the goddess, allowing the goddess's power to reach the mortal world in rare ways... At that time, the goddess's power often manifests some miracles in various parts of the kingdom."

"This will continue the legend of you as the 'incarnation of a goddess,' and make the nation more united."

Kalia is now just a pretty face.

Kalia was acutely aware of this, and incredibly grateful for it: at least she, insignificant as she was, could, with the help of the goddess's radiance, somewhat calm the hearts of the people, and that was enough.

"I hope so." Kalia clasped her delicate hands together in front of her chest, her white silk gloves intertwined, and prayed towards the sun:

"I hope that the goddess can forgive my overstepping and bring the kingdom's people another miracle, no less than that of Brother Mino."

For Kalia, Mino will always be the greatest miracle.

Unbeknownst to Lucy and Kalia, a fleeting image of rabbit ears flashed above their heads, a sight that touched the depths of their souls.

……

On this day, Prince Ota had several secret meetings with figures in the capital. No one knew about the guests in the study or the content of the conversations, not even the prince's trusted minister, Tus.

The sun slowly drew back the curtain of night as the intense sunset glow faded.

A chilling shadow fell over the dark ducal mansion, and weak coughs occasionally drifted from its depths.

"Are you OK?"

In the warm room with the fireplace burning, Dane looked at Thanaus in the dim candlelight and asked with feigned concern, "Why is your cough worse than before? Should I get you some herbs? I heard there are some good herbalists near the Holy Church, maybe..."

"Do not bother me."