Clockwork Bride

Page 225

"Freya, you pointed out my flaws, and I admit it was my mistake. But since I have flaws, I can start changing them right now, and I can correct them immediately."

So Hayden stood up again, straightening his back.

"You just watched from the sidelines the whole time, but what did you actually do for Karen? Did you send a spy to kick her when she was under immense pressure?"

He has discovered the right way to deal with this goddess of love.

Compared to you hypocritical, bitch Cupid, what love is there? Hey, do you think I, a virgin who has finally grasped the truth, would lose?

253: Premonition War

Long ago, Hayden didn't really trust his own unfounded intuition.

After all, intuition is something that has no basis and can just pop into your head out of nowhere. Hayden couldn't explain it properly to others, and he himself hadn't really believed in it before... However, since the end of the Fallen City incident, Hayden's views on "intuition" have changed somewhat.

Because he gradually realized in the Fallen City that his so-called "intuition"... was probably not intuition at all.

Many people say he's a prophet, and Hayden himself has indeed sensed some strange things. If this is true, and considering Angela's origins, this so-called "intuition" might actually be information Hayden occasionally receives from the outer universe, a "revelation" from an outer god... Thinking about it this way is quite chilling, really mind-numbing.

But Hayden was determined to make good use of this talent, especially now, in a situation where he had to overcome the odds. When his intuition guided him to discover his opponent's weakness, he knew how to defeat this deceitful goddess of love.

So Hayden looked at Freya and smiled instead.

There's a saying that goes like this: the more guilty a person is, the more they want to pin the same guilt on others.

Seeing the great goddess's expression change, Hayden, whose power was far inferior to hers, smiled easily.

"You talked about the sacrifice of love, about carefully considering what the loved one needs—those are all true. But you, as a powerful god, didn't offer any help to Karen when she was in trouble, did you?"

The verbal battle resumed, and this sentence indeed struck Freya's weak spot.

"Nonsense!"

She made a gesture that conveyed both anger and fear, and stood up straight as if the unexpected blow had struck her heart.

"Karen's dream is something she has to achieve on her own! What kind of person would I be if I interfered!"

At this moment, the anger and power emanating from her even made the two Valkyrie attendants beside her want to back away.

But Hayden was laughing. The angrier Freya seemed, the more he wanted to laugh: "And then you send a spy to cause trouble? Nobody can believe that excuse."

He had already seen through Freya's divine power's weaknesses and flaws.

Her true nature—her divinity—is perhaps that passionate and deep love. The force driving her to this verbal battle with Hayden is jealousy, which can be seen as an extension of this force of love; that's why Hayden was almost knocked out by Freya's barrage of words. He nearly succumbed to the power of the goddess of love.

But thinking about it the other way around, she kept saying Karen was under a lot of pressure and facing many difficulties, yet she didn't offer any help. Was that also driven by love? That's clearly not right. A true "simp" wouldn't stop fawning over the person they like just because they're jealous of a rival.

This isn't the nature of the goddess of love; it goes against Freya's divine essence. Especially considering she just kept rambling on about her affection for Kallen. Hayden believed those feelings weren't feigned. Freya truly loved Kallen, and still loved her now.

Therefore, there must be an external reason why she cannot or dares not help Karen.

Having seen through this, Hayden could then smile and say, "I have flaws, and I can admit them now and start correcting them immediately. What about you, Freya? Do you have the guts?"

Perhaps those words struck too hard, because Freya's expression became increasingly frightening, her face contorting in pain.

But Hayden wasn't afraid of her killing him. Since Freya wouldn't help Kallen for "other reasons," she certainly wouldn't dare kill Hayden here either. Kallen and the Peacock King both knew Hayden was visiting Freya's company. If Hayden didn't return alive, Freya would be in real trouble.

Therefore, Hayden cannot retreat now. Not only can he not retreat, but he must pursue.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hayden wanted to ask a question that had puzzled him since the beginning: "Freya, I'm not blind. Your words just now, and your anger now, all stem from your affection for Karen. I can see that."

"If it's out of love, yet you say Karen is under immense pressure and facing numerous difficulties, why don't you help her? Instead, you're kicking her while she's down. What's the reason behind this?"

It couldn't just be because she's jealous, could it? That's too stupid, and it doesn't make sense. Jealousy might make Freya kick someone when they're down, but it doesn't explain why she suddenly distanced herself from Kallen before.

This crucial question, as expected, caused Freya's face to fall. Clearly, she didn't want to answer it, or at least not so easily.

Then Hayden could only add fuel to the fire.

"Afraid to speak up? Are you worried about damaging your image and interests? Sigh, I never thought your love was nothing more than this."

Hayden was no longer intimidated by the divine power of this great deity. He deliberately sneered and mocked, even striking the golden floor with his long staff. Although his current magical power couldn't compare to that of a true god, it wasn't too bad. Moreover, Hayden had already used his "Sword of Words" to refute her, so Freya's divine power was no longer frightening. With this forceful strike, he actually managed to stop the tremors with his magic and words.

The two Valkyrie handmaids serving Freya immediately stood up, their faces showing great vigilance. Although Freya herself remained expressionless and did nothing, the current situation was already tense enough to warrant a confrontation.

They didn't dare kill Hayden on the spot, but if they just captured him and then called the Peacock King and Kallen to ransom him, it wouldn't be a complete breakdown in relations and a full-blown war, and things wouldn't escalate. Hayden was no longer afraid of Freya, but Freya could still easily disregard him. Even though he had seen through the weakness in the opponent's divine power, Hayden could never truly defeat a powerful being in someone else's company—even if his attributes were countered, the power difference was still absolute. He had absolutely no chance of winning in a real fight.

At this moment, the situation seemed to be a dilemma. Hayden said nothing more, simply watching Freya silently, waiting to see what she would do.

The long, tense silence lasted for almost a minute.

It wasn't until Freya broke the silence that she spoke first:

"You two, leave now. Hayden, have your maid leave the room as well."

……oops?

This question clearly startled the two Valkyrie attendants beside Freya. However, they didn't say anything to their boss like, "How can we do this? We need to protect you!" These specially trained divine warriors weren't stupid enough to ask such a question, and their boss didn't have time for such forced conversations between ordinary people. So the two Valkyries immediately nodded, sheathed their spears, and left the room.

Hayden glanced back at Angela, then turned to Freya and asked, "You know I'll still share the information afterward, right?"

Freya waved her hand: "Not at least not now."

Well, it wasn't a big deal. So Hayden just let Angela and the two Valkyries stand outside the room. He sincerely hoped that the two Valkyries would still be sanity-wise after it was all over.

Once Hayden and Freya were truly alone in the room, Freya cast a complex protective barrier over the entire space. Considering this was originally her company building, in short, the room was now close to being truly secure and private.

After another brief silence, Freya spoke first. This time her voice was calm and her face was stern: "You know that the eight bodhisattvas of the Mithra Group, Apollo of the Mars Group, and Odin of the Benwotan Company, these gods all have the ability to foresee the future, right?"

Hayden nodded; everyone knew that. All the bodhisattvas, and two of the chief gods, possessed precognitive abilities or magic that allowed them to see the future.

Of course, strictly speaking, every skilled classical magician would learn a few divination spells. But as Hayden has said before, divination is almost always obscure, vague, and extremely unreliable.

In comparison, the precognition of these bodhisattvas and deities is far more accurate than these crude prophetic magic spells. They do indeed possess a certain degree of ability to perceive the future. And this is one of the reasons why they are so powerful in this world.

In novels, comics, and games, precognitive abilities are often used to get you bullied and beaten by the protagonist. However, if you seriously consider their real-world applications, they can be incredibly terrifying. Being inherently strong, and then having the ability to peek at the script, is practically a guarantee of victory. One of the main reasons why the world hasn't yet produced a truly decisive individual is because several individuals with precognitive abilities can foresee and interfere with each other's predictions.

If there were only one strong person who could cheat by looking at the script, he would have killed everyone else long ago.

...However, Hayden had already realized that he himself was only a half-baked precognitive. Although he couldn't compare to those bodhisattvas and deities, Hayden was no longer just a pawn on the chessboard. What's even more interesting is that while the other players' precognitive abilities were all stronger than Hayden's, none of them knew that Hayden was such a hidden variable in the world.

“Although I, Freya, am not a supreme god, you know that I am the leader of the second faction of the Wotan Corporation.”

Freya continued coldly,

"Although I am not a supreme god, I am almost on par with Odin within the Wotan Corporation. I even had a son with Odin, Baldr, and elected him as the company's CEO as a peace agreement between our two factions. In a one-on-one fight, I am no match for my brother Frey. Yet I am still the leader of this faction. Can you guess why?"

Because Freya is the most powerful god in terms of magical technology at Wotan Corporation, besides Odin... Thinking of this, Hayden immediately understood: "You also have precognitive magic, and it's a unique precognitive magic with a different principle from Odin's."

Hayden had previously mentioned that the Norse magic system contains a branch of sorceress magic different from runes, called "Sez Spells," which can only be used by sorceresses; men are forbidden from using it. Freya's unique precognitive magic likely originates from this. But... so what?

“Odin’s prophetic abilities are seen when he is awake. His left eye, which was sacrificed, can see the mysteries of time and space. My prophetic magic, on the other hand, is seen in dreams. When I sleep, I can see the future through the Eye of the Mind.”

Freya said calmly,

"Guess why I was certain that Karen's future would be bright when she was just a month old? Why was I so sure then that her potential was the greatest I've ever seen in my life?"

噫

Hayden hadn't really thought of that. Although he also possessed precognitive abilities, he wasn't quite used to, well, thinking from the perspective of a precognitive being. Now, hearing Freya's words, Hayden finally realized: "Ah, so you didn't really fall in love with baby Karen, who's only a month old?"

Hayden had initially thought she was really a psychopath, but it seems she isn't.

...Unexpectedly, Freya raised an eyebrow and retorted, "One thing at a time, these are two different things, aren't they?"

This truly terrified Hayden.

"Getting back to the point. In short, from the night I first saw Karen when she was a full moon, I foresaw Karen's future in a dream, dreaming that she had earth-shattering potential. Fate had ordained that she would become an extraordinary person."

Freya said it, but Hayden couldn't help but raise his hand when he heard this: "Can I ask you what you dreamed about?"

Freya glanced at Hayden, probably feeling there was no need to hide anything anymore, and answered quite frankly:

“I dreamt that Karen, now grown up, stood high above millions of people, commanding the world.”

"I dreamt that this baby became the ruler of the entire earth."

"Although I had only seen Kallen once when she was just a month old, I had a feeling that the powerful figure in my dream was Kallen when she grew up. And by then, her power and her aura were even greater than those of her father, the Peacock King."

"Just as Mithra is the chosen one of this era, I am certain that Karen is the ruler of the next era."

Freya's words took Hayden somewhat by surprise.

To be honest, Hayden wasn't entirely unable to understand. He knew that Karen did indeed possess that domineering, self-centered aura. But having this feeling himself was one thing, and discovering that another powerful being with precognitive abilities said the same thing was quite another.

Even so, there are still two things that are particularly strange.

"If Karen is really as powerful as you say, and you even foresaw this, then shouldn't the other bodhisattvas and deities have foreseen it long ago as well?"

Hayden frowned.

"According to your logic, Mithra should have foreseen that the Peacock King's daughter would cause him trouble in the future. Why didn't he nip Karen in the bud?"

If you were the ruling god of this era, and you happened to hear about a child prophesied to rule the next era, then the process of transferring power would probably not be pleasant.

"Clearly, you don't understand the specifics of how precognitive abilities work," Freya said coldly. "Even regarding the same future, different people often see different visions and interpret them differently. Mitra may not have seen the same vision as me, and our conclusions may not be the same. Of course, if those with precognition shared what they saw and exchanged information, our conclusions would obviously be more accurate. But who would cooperate like that?"

You're doing that right now—unfortunately, Hayden didn't dare say it aloud.

In short, Freya's explanation was interesting, but even so, there was still a problem. So Hayden asked directly, "Even if you're right, something is still strange. Why haven't you helped Karen since she ran away from home to go to university, whether it's working or starting her own business? What does this have to do with your premonition?"

That's why I said you don't understand anything.

Freya responded with a cold laugh.

"Imagine this, Hayden. Suppose you're a financial tycoon, and you discover the chosen one of the future, born with divine talent, destined to become an unparalleled powerhouse. So you diligently mentor her, cultivating a good relationship with her—and then one day, this precious gem suddenly comes to you and says:"

"'Auntie, I think all of you capitalists are doing the wrong thing!'"

"—So, what do you think about this?"

254: Winter is Coming

Freya's question did indeed give Hayden a very good answer.

This answer is surprisingly good.

This answer so startled Hayden that it completely cleared his head.

Yes, Freya's question is indeed very interesting. What would you think if the future chosen one of the era, the supreme ruler of the next age, told you "you are wrong"?

Hayden wasn't stupid; following the thought process, he immediately realized: "Are you scared?"

He used to teach the Supreme Lord of Tomorrow with all his heart, but when she said she was wrong, he immediately distanced himself, stopped helping her, and even sent spies. This is clearly out of fear!

Freya became even more furious upon hearing this: "What are you afraid of? I'm just being cautious! Almost every culture has a tradition of self-fulfilling prophecies and their misinterpretation. Even for gods, over-interpreting the meaning of foreknowledge is dangerous! You can never be too cautious when it comes to predicting the future!"

“Yes, I did see some of the future in my dream, but dreams always know more than they show, even to the wisest gods. Even if I saw this future, it doesn't mean my thoughts are correct. Besides, other precognizers might interfere with the future!”

"So when Karen told me that what we did was wrong, my first thought was naturally to keep my distance from her, lest my mistake affect the course of fate! So after she ran away from home, I just observed her, and even when Karen encountered difficulties, I didn't help her. This was all because I was worried that I would affect her destined future of becoming a Supreme!"

Freya spoke at length, arguing vehemently, and appeared both angry and sad.

Hayden, however, felt that Freya's answer was half true and half false... no, that's not right either.

Her anger and sadness were genuine; they were a mixture of truth and falsehood. Hayden's intuition could detect something complex in Freya's thoughts.

Freya recognized Karen's immense potential but dared not invest too heavily in her. The reason was simple: if Karen were to become the new Earth Emperor, altering the current social structure and stripping them, these capitalist gods, of their power, wouldn't that be like raising a tiger to threaten their own future? Even if Karen spared their lives, allowing them to enjoy a comfortable retirement—it would still be shooting herself in the foot.

On the other hand, Freya was unwilling to betray Karen and her foresight to Mitra. Now she was caught in a dilemma, forced to watch Karen develop on her own, observing how she overcame each obstacle. If Karen truly became the World Supreme in the future, Freya, based on their past relationship, could at least save her life.

(What if Karen loses? That would be a completely different story, of course.)

Therefore, it's clear that Freya genuinely liked Karen. Now that things have come to this, Hayden has no reason to deny it. But at the same time, Freya still yearns for her own wealth and power as a capitalist. These two conflicting feelings coexist within her; neither is truly real nor false. Such is the complexity of the human heart.

These so-called gods in modern times are actually nothing more than ordinary people with astonishing divine power, yet entangled in the seven emotions and six desires. Her thoughts were not devoid of consideration for self-interest.

However, Hayden didn't intend to condemn her. In this world, how many people don't live for their own benefit? These capitalists are even more so. Freya's caution in not betraying Karen to Mitra suggests at least some motivation: she genuinely likes Karen. For a capitalist to act this way is already quite remarkable. Hayden was too lazy to criticize her further.

However, he still had one question that remained unanswered.

“I understand why you didn’t help Karen before. But that still doesn’t explain why you suddenly sent a spy to our company half a month ago.”

Hayden rubbed his temples.

"Why is that? You're not actually jealous, are you?"

Freya was already fuming from her worries about her own capital and her affection for Karen, and Hayden's question only fueled her anger. With a flick of her wrist, she smashed the coffee table in the reception room to pieces, angrily demanding, "Hayden, I'm just jealous, is that a problem?!"

"Sure, of course."

Hayden didn't want to really argue with an enraged guru: "But I didn't just get engaged to Karen last month. You should have been jealous sooner, right?"

The Peacock family leaked information within the divine society that Hayden and Karen were engaged at least two years ago. Freya had been observing Karen from afar; it's impossible that she only found out now. Hayden simply doesn't believe she's been holding back for two years before finally becoming jealous.