The Bigshot's Superstar Wife - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: A Test of Faith (Special Chapter)

The news of Alishiera’s pregnancy spread through the empire like a warm spring breeze, bringing a rare moment of joy to Zonrezia.

The saintess, blessed by the divine, would bear the future of the empire, two children who carried the blood of both the gods and the greatest warrior of their time.

The people celebrated, believing it to be a sign of prosperity, a gift from the heavens. But Alishiera knew that fate was not so kind.

Devancier stood by her side when the healers confirmed her condition, his golden eyes filled with a silent longing he did not voice.

His hand rested upon her stomach, where their children would soon grow, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself the selfish thought of staying.

But war knew no mercy, and neither did duty.

A monstrous horde of demonic beasts surged upon the empire’s borders, their bloodlust insatiable.

Reports of villages burned to the ground, and of knights and mages slaughtered without hope, reached the imperial court day after day.

The empire needed its strongest warrior, and Devancier had always known that his fate would not grant him the luxury of peace.

“I will return before our children are born,” he promised, cupping her face with calloused hands.

Alishiera, despite the ache in her heart, did not beg him to stay.

She had married a man whose duty lay with his people, and she had long accepted that the empire would always demand more from him than she ever could.

So she did what she always did, she smiled, placed her hands over his, and whispered, “Come back to us.”

With one last lingering touch, Devancier departed, his sword gleaming under the sun as he led the empire’s forces into war.

Days turned to months, months into years, and the battlefield remained his home.

The day Alishiera gave birth, the skies over Zonrezia burned with the light of a twin eclipse, an omen never before seen.

The healers whispered among themselves, calling it a sign of destiny.

When she cradled her children in her arms, a daughter with silver hair and emerald eyes, and a son with violet locks and golden irises, she understood that they had inherited not only their parents’ features but also their fates.

She named them Seraphina and Lucian.

Her heart ached for Devancier’s absence, but she never once blamed him.

She raised their children with unwavering faith, filling their world with love, even as war raged beyond the palace walls.

Letters arrived, but never him. The twins grew, each day longing for the father they had never met.

They would press their tiny hands against the windowpane, gazing out at the distant horizon where their father’s name was carved into the very land he protected.

“Will Father ever come home?” Seraphina once asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucian, always the bolder of the two, clenched his small fists. “If he won’t come home, then I’ll go to him.”

Alishiera held them both close, forcing a smile despite the tightening in her chest.

“He will come back,” she said softly. “One day, he will walk through those doors, and he will hold you both just as he held me.”

And so, they waited.

In the fourth year, news finally came, Devancier was returning.

The empire rejoiced. The streets were decorated in gold and red banners, nobles prepared grand feasts, and the children of Zonrezia sang of their prince’s victories.

Alishiera, for the first time in years, felt the weight on her chest lift.

She dressed in her finest robes, her children beside her, waiting at the gates for the moment their family would finally be whole.

But that moment never came.

A bloodstained messenger arrived instead, his armor shattered, and his breathing ragged.

“His Highness has been ambushed,” he gasped, falling to his knees. “A demon demigod, he appeared out of nowhere. The prince fought with everything he had, but… but…”

The words caught in his throat, unable to leave his lips.

Alishiera did not need to hear them. She knew.

The world around her fell into silence. Her children’s hands gripped hers tightly, their small fingers trembling.

The empire was victorious, the demonic beasts had vanished, but none of it mattered. Devancier was gone.

Days turned into months.

The empire grieved their prince, yet no body was ever found.

Some believed he had been taken to the underworld, others whispered that the demon demigod had devoured him whole. Alishiera refused to believe any of it.

She prayed, every day, every night, for two years.

She pleaded with the gods, begged for a sign, for anything that would tell her that Devancier was still alive. But the heavens remained silent.

Her faith, once unshakable, wavered.

And then, she made her choice.

She could not remain in the palace, waiting for a miracle that may never come. If the gods would not bring her husband back, then she would find him herself.

Alishiera knelt before her children, their eyes filled with fear and understanding.

“Mother,” Seraphina whispered, grasping her hand. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Lucian’s jaw tightened, his golden eyes fierce. “I’ll come with you.”

She shook her head, cupping their faces.

“You are the future of this empire. Seraphina, you will take my place as saintess. Lucian, you will stand as the next crown prince.”

Her voice softened. “I have taught you everything I could. Now, it is your turn to be strong.”

Tears welled in Seraphina’s eyes, but she did not argue. Lucian clenched his fists but nodded.

They had always known that their mother carried a burden greater than anyone else.

The night before she left, she stood before the temple’s sacred flame, whispering one final prayer.

“If my faith is true, then guide me to him.”

As dawn broke, she departed, leaving behind the empire, the temple, and the children she loved more than her own life.

With nothing but her divine staff, a map, and the unwavering determination in her heart, she set out on her journey, one that would take her beyond the borders of the known world, into the realm of darkness itself.

She was no longer just a saintess.

She was a wife searching for her husband.

A mother proving that love was stronger than fate.