Under Jeanne's questioning, the conflicted Patriot finished voicing his request. In truth, even he felt that this plea was somewhat excessive to ask of Jeanne. He was acutely aware that if Theresis knew the Horn was in Jeanne's hands, he would likely use every possible means to seize it, regardless of whether those methods incensed her.
He knew Theresis's character well—a man who would use any means to achieve his goals. During the wars to defend Kazdel, Patriot had seen him execute all manner of schemes to secure victory. While war inherently involves unscrupulous means, such plans could become a significant problem when applied to Jeanne. Patriot maintained an extremely pessimistic view of whether the Sarkaz could actually defeat her.
If he were still fighting for Kazdel, Her Highness Theresa might have been able to persuade her brother to abandon his more excessive actions. But now that the two factions had split, Patriot did not believe there was anyone left by Theresis's side to restrain him. The issue was that such a man stood a very high chance of provoking Jeanne. Should she truly be incensed, it was possible that another war between the Sankta and the Sarkaz could be ignited.
In his time with Jeanne, Patriot had never seen her truly enraged. The child always wore a gentle expression and seemed to be a person of exceptionally good character. Having spent significant time together, he was certain she was a mild-tempered person who wouldn't easily lose her reason to fury. However, while good-tempered people are hard to anger, once they reach a certain threshold of rage, they cannot be easily calmed with a few simple words.
"..." Jeanne fell into thought upon hearing Patriot's words. She hadn't expected—or rather, it hadn't occurred to her—that Patriot was worried about this. But thinking on it, it made sense. Jeanne sometimes subconsciously forgot that the old gentleman was also a Sarkaz, which was why she hadn't guessed the nature of the topic he wanted to discuss.
Jeanne did not respond immediately. Instead, she narrowed her eyes slightly and stood with her head lowered, seriously contemplating the matter. This was no trivial affair. For Jeanne, anything she promised would be fulfilled at all costs, so every commitment required careful thought.
She knew well that Patriot wasn't trying to set a trap for her. It was likely that the old gentleman had become sensitive due to recent events, and his lingering concern for his homeland had prompted him to speak these words today.
"I can only promise you that I will not vent my anger upon innocent Sarkaz. But if that day truly comes, I cannot guarantee that I will not take action against Kazdel," Jeanne replied in an extremely serious tone. Her eyes revealed a sincere and solemn light, telling Patriot she was not joking.
Jeanne did not consider herself a mad revenger; she believed few things in the world could drive her to condemn an entire race. As long as they didn't go too far, or leave her without a single glimmer of light, she wouldn't define their entire race as beyond saving. While she was a pacifist, it didn't mean she would tolerate people repeatedly hurting those around her while she uttered foolish things about it not being their fault.
Though she could let these Sarkaz return alive for the sake of Patriot and Kal'tsit this time, if they dared to return again, neither Kal'tsit nor even Theresia would be able to help them. To be honest, if Theresis discovered the Golden Horn and attempted to use Talulah or Alina as leverage—or even harmed them in the process—Jeanne would not indulge them. Should it come to that, she wouldn't mind choosing to go to war against all of Kazdel.
Although a single person taking on a nation sounded absurd, Jeanne believed that even if she couldn't flatten all of Kazdel, causing it to collapse again wouldn't be difficult. After all, she wasn't fighting alone. She had her wyverns, and if necessary, she could find a large enough piece of Originium to summon Fafnir to join the fight. As for the Sankta of Laterano, Jeanne had no intention of involving others in her personal grudges, though the possibility of them just watching was also slim.
In Jeanne's view, the only thing she could guarantee was that she would not target Sarkaz who were uninvolved or hunt down innocent refugees. She disliked involving the innocent, but the prerequisite was that they didn't involve themselves in the matter either; otherwise, she would not show mercy. In such a scenario, she wouldn't care if someone was coerced, deceived, or involved for some other reason; she wouldn't have the leisure to question them one by one.
Upon hearing Jeanne's words, Patriot's crimson eyes seemed to clear slightly. He nodded in relief and said, "That is enough".
He didn't hope for Jeanne to refrain from seeking revenge against Theresis or Kazdel; his fear was that she would spill her wrath onto the displaced Sarkaz refugees who were already living difficult lives. Because of her unique status as the Saint of Laterano, she need only stand on a high platform and call out for countless Sankta to fight for her. Given Laterano's peculiar position on Terra, this could easily evolve into another continent-wide event of oppressing Sarkaz refugees.
That was Patriot's true concern. As for whether Kazdel would collapse again or if the two hundred years of work by the two Highnesses would vanish? That no longer concerned him. He simply couldn't stop worrying about those Sarkaz; it was a lingering duty from his time as one of the Royal Court, the responsibility of the Wendigos to protect the Sarkaz. To him, Kazdel itself was no longer important; besides, it wasn't as if it hadn't fallen before. Another fall wouldn't be a big deal.
"I am still very grateful to you for agreeing to this somewhat excessive request". Patriot thanked Jeanne from the heart. He knew how it felt to be consumed by extreme rage; after all, he had broken with Ursus and fought for years because of his son's death. Attributing hatred and malice to a group as a way to vent one's own rage was almost a norm on Terra.
"It's really nothing. Even if you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have involved the innocent," Jeanne said with a wave of her hand and a relaxed tone. "But I am a bit curious. You only mentioned that Theresis would act against me; will the true Demon King, Theresia, not move against me? What kind of person is she exactly?"
Jeanne was curious why Patriot specifically mentioned Theresis. In her view, as the Demon King, shouldn't Theresa also be looking for this object? And since she possessed the Sarkaz memories, she should know the secrets within even better. Yet Patriot's tone suggested he didn't think she would act against Jeanne at all. Jeanne knew little about this Demon King, only hearing she was a very gentle person. Since Kal'tsit was also on Theresa's side, she didn't seem like the evil Demon King of legend, which piqued Jeanne's curiosity.
"She... is a very gentle person. If you two meet one day, you will understand. Her personality is very similar to yours".
Hearing Jeanne's words, a look of reminiscence appeared in Patriot's eyes. Because of the question, Patriot realized that Jeanne and Theresa did indeed share many similarities.