Goddess Kingmaker – Chapter 17

Author: Chewyy

According to the Creator God’s decree, when living as a human, it is a fundamental rule to seal away all divine powers.

If that rule is broken, not only would all the points accumulated until then be lost, but the human body might also be unable to withstand the divine power and risk total annihilation.

‘That’s right!’

There was someone like that before.

There was a low-level god who, like me, was born with the fire attribute and got a job as a laborer in a factory in South Korea.

He seemed to be living a decent life as a human being, but the problem was the damn cigarettes.

In the middle of winter, he didn’t want to bother going to get a lighter, so he secretly started a fire and burned down the factory and several surrounding mountains, and it was widely reported on the national news.

What happened after that?

There were rumors that he was captured by the god of death and destroyed or dragged off like a stray dog and demoted to the lowest of beasts. The heavens were in uproar for quite a while.

‘Come to think of it, that guy still owes me… No, this isn’t the time for that.’

I clenched my fists as I tried to recall the vague name. Instead of chasing a debt from a now-erased beast, it was better to take it as a lesson and focus on living life properly as a human.

I thought the power of water might help me a little—but I had to abandon such wishful thinking.

‘What can I hope for in a life like this?’

Letting out a light sigh, I reached for the basin again.

Still, I had to know at least the basics of what to do before I could even try.

No matter how much I looked, all I saw before me was Roen, who ‘knew even less than I did’.

“Yes! You can do it, baby!”

“Aaang….”

Ugh, don’t put pressure on me.

I was just going to stir the water a little, but my fingertips hesitated.

I thought that if my hand touched the water, I would feel a tingling sensation like in the movies, but nope.

‘Nice… warm water.’

Having eaten something sweet and already feeling relaxed, the warm water touching my skin made my whole body feel soft and melty.

In the Layton Palace, even the well had run dry. Roen had barely managed to get water from another palace just to soak a towel and wipe my face.

“Yay! Woo!”

Whatever!

As I giggled and slapped at the water’s surface, Roen relaxed her shoulders with a sigh.

Still, she didn’t seem to mind seeing me smile—leaning her chin on her hand and watching quietly.

“If Duke Targa returns… huh.”

“…..”

“No, never mind. Please, just enjoy yourself, baby.”

“…..”

I’m trying to enjoy myself, sis.

As I stirred the water, my lips puckered into a serious frown. Roen quickly wiped off the splashes with a towel—fluffy and soft, unlike anything I’d seen in Layton Palace.

Lying down on fluffy bedding after that made my eyes close like magic. Even my mysterious abilities, if they existed at all, were forgotten.

‘Yeah. I’ve got the bloodline, so somehow I’ll manage.’

◇ ◆ ◇

At that same time, Emperor Arnoa II was looking more troubled than usual.

Not that he was ever cheerful, but these days, his sour mood was impossible to miss. Count Montes had to stay alert.

“Your Majesty. Is it because of the last inspection?”

“Hmm.”

“It seems that the monsters are more active recently because the weather has been dry. It could also be the aftereffects of the Night of Darkness.”

Count Montes had a solemn expression as he recalled the disaster he had seen in the eastern village during his inspection not long ago.

The cracked soil and intense heat don’t just seem to be the result of the dry season.

The emperor’s inspection team had to stay there longer than expected because the people were collapsing one by one due to a lack of proper water supply.

“Thanks to your Majesty’s grace, at least they won’t need to worry about water for now.”

“How long can I keep doing that?”

“Your Majesty….”

At the emperor’s tired tone, Count Montes fell quiet again.

This time, the timing was lucky, but the emperor couldn’t be expected to make such long journeys regularly.

“How great it would be if there was a proper successor in times like this.”

“That may be so, but in terms of power, isn’t Duke Targa the strongest?”

“He only knows how to kill, not how to save.”

The emperor grumbled, more regret than anger in his voice.

Targa was born with incredible power—enough to remind one of the first emperor—but showed no interest in using it properly.

The Power of the Goddess of Roschia.

It was the only surviving divine power among the many legends passed down since the founding of the Caronin Empire.

According to legend, the goddess gifted it to the first emperor, Icalips, to help people survive on a rugged continent filled with mountains.

The power was divided into three main abilities:

First, purification—the ability to clean any contaminated water, making it as pure as fresh spring water.

Second, generation—the ability to produce water from the fingertips, highly useful in daily life.

Third, shaping—manipulating existing water particles to create anything desired. This was entirely different in essence from purification or generation.

This was called the Power of Powers.

According to legend, the first emperor used this ability to create tens of thousands of blades and cut off all the heads of his enemies at once.

But legends are just that—legends.

Since the first emperor, the shaping power had only ever appeared once.

Over time, as bloodlines mix and thin out, their power also diminishes.

Among distant relatives, this is nothing more than a paternity test. But direct descendants still have measurable power.

Emperor Arnoa possessed both purification and generation. The three princes from the empress only had generation, and even that didn’t compare to their father.

But Targa was different.

The High Priest had said he had power reminiscent of the first emperor.

From childhood, people whispered that perhaps he would be able to wield all three abilities.

But Targa never trained or revealed his power—so no one really knew what he could do.

“Such a waste. He doesn’t even know how to use what he was born with.”

“Well, Duke Targa conquered the continent without relying on those powers.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

The emperor clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Sometimes, it was necessary to remind the people who ruled this land—to showcase the dignity of the royal bloodline.

Crushing rebellion early was a hidden form of strength.

That was part of why the aging emperor had made the effort to go on the recent inspection himself.

“So, still no word from him?”

“We’ve tracked his last known location to the Forest of Beasts near the Kirkus Plateau. A larger search party has been dispatched—it won’t be long now.”

“Are we arresting a prince or hunting a fugitive?”

“…..”

The emperor, who had been grumbling, glanced at his watch. It was afternoon. It was a busy time for the palace.

Ministers in meetings, maids and eunuchs busy with tasks, and the baby in the Clayton Palace…

“Is probably napping again today.”

“Your Majesty.”

The face of Count Montes, who understood the Emperor’s words at once, finally relaxed.

The heavy mood lifted just slightly.

“I guess so.”

“She looked big enough—how is she so lazy?”

“Lazy? Your Majesty….”

The count shook his head at the emperor who was saying things he didn’t mean.

He had never expected the emperor to be so attentive to the baby’s daily routine, but he had to at least correct the misunderstanding about the baby.

“Not at all. When I visited yesterday, she was practicing how to walk.”

“What? She was awake?”

But for some reason, the emperor’s mood became even worse.

“She was awake for you?”

“Yes. Same the day before, too.”

“Hah!”

The emperor’s expression turned even darker than when discussing the monsters.

‘When I went there, she was sleeping and snoring!’

Even during his busy schedule, the emperor had made time to visit—but every time, the baby was fast asleep.

He’d coughed loudly, stomped extra hard, even made snoring sounds himself—but the baby slept on, utterly peaceful.

“Could that sly little thing be pretending to sleep?”

“No way. The baby is far too young for that.”

“Enough!”

‘Would I have felt less upset if the baby had done it on purpose?’

The emperor, who was feeling a little offended, gulped down the water he had poured.

Count Montes gulped as the water’s surface shook according to his mood.

“Still, it’s fortunate, Your Majesty. After that commotion caused by Prince Harmel and Prince Thebes last time, I was worried the baby might have been terribly frightened.”

“Those ill-mannered….”

The emperor, who could not bring himself to openly curse at his grandchildren, forced himself to suppress his emotions.

They had everything one could want, yet they couldn’t even hand over a single baby outfit with grace.

But what disturbed him even more was realizing exactly who they must’ve inherited that petty greed from.

‘If only they had the ability to back it up!’

Unfortunately, it would be difficult to expect more from Thebes or Harmel than their current capabilities.

They resemble their father, so at best, they could only create a puddle or two, so they would not be of much help to the empire in any way.

It was out of pity that he hadn’t scolded them too harshly until now.

But he was starting to wonder if he’d made the wrong judgment.

“The third son’s family has left the palace, haven’t they?”

“Yes. The Grand Duchess must have been in a bad mood, so she left the palace with the princes the next day.”

“Good.”