*** Palace of Kings ***
It was a normal day in the palace, filled with nobles from all across the vast lands of the kingdom, all vying for the king's favor.
It was a court filled with intrigue and scheming.
And the newest and most important target of all that.
Would be Duke Justinian.
The ruler who had quelled one of the most well-planned rebellions the kingdom had ever seen, and he had achieved it despite his lack of resources.
It was natural that the monarch himself would recognize it.
"What do you think about the situation of Thirell?"
It was a question most nobles asked.
With the answers being drastically varied. Either support for Justinian, or calling it just sheer dumb luck from an idiotic ruler.
Either way, most saw him as a threat and an opportunity.
"The letter has arrived safely, my king."
Velen Von Persival spoke, the lord commander of the entire kingdom's army.
He was a marshal of the highest degree, one that even Lucan himself wasn't comparable to.
Another champion of the God of War.
"I heard Marcellus visited there, correct?"
King Arthur Renillus spoke on his throne, holding a golden scepter with a huge diamond carved onto the top, one of the most valued treasures of the entire continent, said to be blessed with magic from Magicus, the God of Magic.
"Yes, my lord."
"What did he think?"
"He said the sight was satisfactory; it seemed like we had overreacted."
Velen responded, referring to the fact that they had already planned to invade Thirell with the kingdom's elite to pacify it.
And in the original novel, it was too late to rescue the original Justinian from his demise, and instead chose to abandon the plan altogether, seeing Rhyne take over and seemingly keeping the lands together.
At least until before Julius arrived and took care of the corruption on his own.
"But I also have another concern, my king."
"Is it still related to that crimson duke?"
"Yes... Apparently, he was also 'blessed' by Arethrus."
The king laughed, thinking of it as nothing more than a simple benefit to his kingdom; the more vassals he had that were god-blessed, the safer the kingdom would be.
"But should we really have a so-called 'idiotic' duke who is god-blessed be left to his own devices?"
"If he is blessed by a god, then it's clear that he was chosen to do good."
The king had a completely different philosophy than his marshal's pragmatic and agnostic logic; while he was blessed, it didn't mean he believed in them.
He just considered his blessing as a tool to rise the ranks, not as a sign of the god's good graces.
But the king, however, thought the opposite.
And that alone was enough for two factions to rise, one that supported Velen, while one against them.
The two were only one of the many other warring factions the kingdom had.
*** Snowkeep Church ***
"That feels a lot better."
[False Divine Activated]
Justinian let out a groan of relief as he finally felt his strength returning to him, his semi-divine form returning as he absorbed the divinity within the entire church.
And that was enough to prompt Cassia to worry about Justinian's safety.
"Will you really consider the invitation? You are in no condition to leave the capital."
Justinian was barely even able to last a few hours outside the church, and even in those few hours, he was as strong as a frail old man.
And in the court of the king himself, that alone would spell his doom.
"I urge you to stay calm, Cassia. It's still a few weeks from now; that is enough time for me to recover."
"I see... it seems I have overreacted."
"But I do have a favor to ask of you."
Cassia raised a brow. Usually, those words wouldn't be much of a problem, but if Justinian said it, it's either trouble or another weird divine miracle that he was about to perform.
"If it's anything risky, I won't entertain it, even if you are the Duke."
"It's nothing like that."
Justinian laughed, waving away her suspicions.
"I want you to train me, physically."
"You're already as strong as me and Lord Lucan."
"No, I'm as skilled as you two, not as strong."
Justinian gestured to his body, sure it might be physically imposing to most, but it still wasn't used to fighting.
Its natural strength was enough to last him this long, but his current condition was proof that it wasn't enough.
He needed to actually get stronger the traditional way.
"My body can't catch up with my own ability."
Justinian said it in both a joking and serious way, realizing how absurd it sounded to an outside perspective, it sounded like he was bragging while staying humble.
"Is that even possible? Or are you merely bragging?"
Cassia smiled; even she couldn't believe it. If you manage to gain the skills to rival a master like her and Lucan, then surely your body would have developed as well.
But Justinian had cheated his way with his army swordsmanship, his skill developing even without his muscles being trained for his techniques.
"Come on, think of it as a favor from a friend."
Justinian laughed, clasping his hands together in a pleading fashion.
"We're far from friends..."
Cassia replied, and she was right; both of them were informally engaged already, they were far more than just mere friends.
"Right... I'm still not used to it."
"I couldn't blame you..."
Justinian smiled.
"You know, you're starting to talk more casually to me, I like it."
"It seems your way of speaking had finally influenced me."
Both of them laughed until Justinian quickly shook his head, realizing the topic had completely derailed to something unconnected.
"Let's go back to the topic at hand. I want you to train me."
"Will your body handle it?"
"As long as we do it inside this church, I should be able to handle anything."
"Well... I hope."
Cassia crossed her arms, unconvinced.
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"Okay, okay... then what about after I rest for two days, will you agree to train me?"
"Hmmm..."
Cassia placed a finger over her lips in mock thought, pretending to give Justinian's offer some thought, because in truth, that was the only thing she needed to hear to agree.
"Of course."
The two talked casually, as if Justinian and Cassia didn't have a huge gap in rank, with Justinian being a duke and Cassia being a daughter of a count.
But that was always the foundation of their relationship, one that Justinian had spent months trying to build, and the fact that they had made it this far gave him a sense of pride and warmth.
He still couldn't believe his first relationship would be in his second life.
No one would've.
But regardless, he wasn't complaining.