Bathed in the bright daylight, Hermes knelt on one knee upon the vast ground of the royal capital.
His two pairs of white-gold wings hung limply, and the proud golden light that once shone in his eyes had disappeared.
His face was pale as he stared at the crimson spear pressed against his chin, feeling the threatening force it carried.
He slowly raised his head, his expression complicated as he gazed at Aubrey before him.
Although Aubrey was no longer young, his presence at this moment was just as imposing as it had been in his youth.
At this moment, Hermes seemed to see the past, when he was still the human known as 'Leopold.'
He clearly remembered that it was when he had first begun walking through the royal capital under the name 'Lesser.'
During that period, Aubrey's younger sister, Cassandra, was famous throughout the royal capital.
Her astonishing talent allowed the empire to win battle after battle, and she had even earned the title of 'War Saintess,' which was spread through every street and alley.
People all said that whoever could marry Cassandra would surely become famous in one stroke and rise to great heights.
Thus, the elite young men of the royal capital began competing to court her.
They went to the imperial palace one after another, solely to win Princess Cassandra's heart or the old emperor's approval.
In this grand competition, Leopold naturally would not stay out of it.
He realized that this might be his only chance to infiltrate the core of the empire.
At that time, the old emperor was still on the throne, and the Cassidra Chamber of Commerce had already developed into a commercial giant possessing enormous wealth.
Prosperous commercial streets established by the Cassidra Chamber of Commerce could be found all over the world, but the Calencia Empire was the sole exception.
Because ever since its founding, the empire had been a country that did not believe in gods and did not need gods to exist.
The Cassidra Chamber of Commerce established huge commercial districts in countries throughout the world and held all kinds of commercial activities.
Especially in those countries that believed in gods.
Merchants worshiped Hermes one after another, firmly believing that this god of commerce could bring them an endless stream of wealth.
For the sake of economic development, many countries allowed the Cassidra Chamber of Commerce, which worshiped Hermes, to establish commercial districts on their lands.
But the Calencia Empire stood apart from them all.
"Only you, this country that has never believed in gods."
Hermes's frozen eyes carried the despair of defeat.
Looking at the dignified and solemn Aubrey before him, he could not help letting out a cold laugh.
Indeed, the Calencia Empire alone had never possessed faith in gods.
The strength of this country made them believe that they had no need to rely on any god.
Unlike other countries that implemented a system of divided authority, the Calencia Empire had only one emperor with absolute authority.
Whenever a disaster that no subject could resolve descended upon them, the emperor would always step forward to solve the problem.
Therefore, within the empire, whether nobles or commoners, no one had ever worshiped gods, nor had anyone ever taken these heavenly gods seriously.
More importantly, those gods had already left this world.
Even if someone worshiped them, it would be of no use.
And yet, precisely because of this, Hermes, who was himself a god, was able to stand outside the empire and resist it.
"So I changed my identity and entered your empire as a merchant with the surname Lesser."
"Lastly, I have to thank your good brother Levi."
His body leaned back slightly, and a smug expression appeared on his face.
It was as if he were telling Aubrey that all the disasters had been caused by the people around him.
At that time, it happened to be when all the empire's wars had ended in victory.
The previous emperor intended to choose an outstanding man and marry Cassandra off.
After learning this news, Hermes transformed into Leopold Lesser and approached Cassandra as a merchant.
"Your Highness, you look troubled."
At that time, inside the magnificent imperial palace, the young Cassandra was half lying on the bed.
She propped up her head with one hand and stared blankly at the red flames dancing in the fireplace, lost in thought.
The firelight reflected on her face, revealing a deep melancholy.
Cassandra had received the news.
Sol VII, her imperial father, intended to marry her to the most perfect man in the empire.
Although there had been many men pursuing Cassandra at the time, she had already given her heart to someone.
Levi, Aubrey's good brother.
However, even though Princess Cassandra was exceptionally outstanding and her feelings toward Levi were so obvious, Levi still kept his distance and politely rejected her affection.
This caused Cassandra to collapse inside, unable to understand why Levi could not fall for her.
Under these emotions, she spent almost every day immersed in thoughts of Levi.
And at this moment, the god who had taken the alias Leopold took advantage of the opportunity and quietly arrived at Cassandra's room.
"I can help you, Your Highness."
"If you truly love him, I can help you obtain him."
The young Cassandra was deeply devoted to Levi, so when she heard Leopold's words, it was as if she had grabbed a lifeline.
Her love even made her forget to be suspicious of this mysterious merchant before her.
She only wanted to have Levi.
Thus, under the clever persuasion and manipulation of this cunning god, she soon fell into a carefully planned conspiracy.
A few days later, on a certain night, Cassandra finally arranged to meet Levi somewhere.
This was an invitation from the princess. Although Levi was unwilling, even he, who had made great contributions to the empire, could not refuse such an invitation.
Because it could be regarded as disrespect toward the imperial family.
With no other choice, Levi arrived at the agreed time and place, somewhere on the outskirts of the royal capital.
That night, Cassandra came to the meeting alone. There was not even a single guard accompanying her.
But Levi did not pay much attention to it. After all, as the 'War Saintess,' Cassandra still had the ability to protect herself within the royal capital.
After the two exchanged a few brief pleasantries, Cassandra gathered her courage and once again confessed her love to Levi.
However, as expected, Cassandra was rejected again.
Amid a stretch of silence, the two slowly walked away from each other.
However, early the next morning, just as the sun had risen, knights were already gathered in front of the courtyard of the Du Croy family.
Levi was completely stunned when he received the specific news.
It turned out that Cassandra had not returned all night. The Royal Knights had searched almost the entire royal capital and its surroundings throughout the night, but they had been unable to find any trace of her.
The only clue had led them to the entrance of the Du Croy residence.
Everyone knew that Cassandra's feelings for Levi were unwavering.
Therefore, in her disappearance, Levi became the primary person connected to the case.
The key point was that on the previous night, Cassandra had invited Levi to the outskirts of the royal capital.
But after Levi learned the truth, the knights also received news.
Princess Cassandra had safely returned to the imperial palace.
The knights apologized to Levi and then all withdrew to the imperial palace.
However, an ominous feeling rose in Levi's heart.
His premonition was indeed correct. The big one was coming.
About a week later, shocking news came from Cassandra: she was pregnant.
Because the matter was extremely serious, only Sol VII at the time, Aubrey, and Cassandra knew about it.
Therefore, Levi, the primary suspect, took on this enormous responsibility.
What happened afterward is quite familiar.
Levi was forced into marriage by the previous emperor, but he would rather die than submit.
Thus, Hermes appeared at the critical moment and made a deal with Levi.
Hermes claimed that he was the father of the child and paid a huge sum of money to the empire at the time.
In the end, Hermes, that is, Leopold, seized the opportunity to marry the imperial princess.
"No matter how unwilling Cassandra was to accept it, in the end, I still stole the most important treasure in your bloodline."
Hermes had successfully used his second ability besides being a merchant, theft.
In front of all the empire's outstanding young men, even though Cassandra had deep feelings for Levi, he still successfully stole Cassandra away.
He truly became the princess's husband.
After that, whether Cassandra had really been pregnant or whose child she had eventually given birth to, none of that mattered anymore.
Having lost all hope, Cassandra eventually chose the Lesser family and helped it develop its commerce. This also became her final destination.
And the two children Cassandra gave birth to made Leopold's position even more secure.
Because there was no doubt that the second child belonged to him and Cassandra.
Everyone believed this, causing Leopold's identity as Cassandra's husband to become deeply rooted in people's minds.
They revered Leopold because he was undoubtedly a model figure in their business circles.
He was revered by other merchants almost like a god of commerce.
Leopold, that is, Hermes, gradually opened up the commercial network within the empire over a long period of time.
In the south of the empire, he established the Lesser family's commercial empire.
"So I said that I have to thank your good brother, and even more, your sister."
Hermes laughed. Even under the threat of death, his smile remained full of smugness.
"It was precisely because of the stupidity of you humans that disaster descended upon your heads."
A person fell in love with someone who did not love her, even abandoning her reputation just to obtain that person.
And in the end, she still could not have the one she loved.
Family, love, friendship.
In the eyes of gods without emotions, these were simply the most foolish things.
After hearing this, the countless nobles present all fell silent.
Most of these nobles had one or two shops in their families.
In order to accumulate wealth, they had chosen to cooperate with the Calencia Chamber of Commerce.
In other words, they had been cooperating with Hermes.
Yet they were all shocked by the truth behind their actions.
Because their actions had actually been aiding the enemy.
The hearts of all the nobles present felt as if they had been pierced by a block of cold ice, making their own heartbeats seem unusually clear at this moment.
Hermes made them realize just how correct the empire's long-standing rule had been: residents and nobles were forbidden from worshiping gods.
Otherwise, a god like Hermes could even control everyone's lives through commerce.
No one could live without commerce, and all the economic lifelines would be held in Hermes's hands.
Before long, all the humans in the world would be controlled by Hermes.
Thinking of this, everyone present felt a nameless fear rise in their hearts.
'How could this be the weakest god? This is clearly the most calculating and sinister god.'
He had almost succeeded.