After Chris disappeared, Sena walked slowly.
He was definitely worried about the two of them.
Sylvia asked cautiously.
“Senior… are you okay?”
“Hm? I’m fine.”
But Sena surprisingly didn’t seem to mind.
Instead, it was Sylvia who was taken aback.
“Weren’t you worried about the two who went to Duke Granz Kairos’ estate?”
“Well… it’s not that I’m not worried.”
Sena clasped his hands behind his back and smiled faintly.
“Both Chris and Chloe are exceptional. They can manage for about two weeks.”
“What?”
Sylvia tilted her head, puzzled by his words. Sena gave her a meaningful glance before moving on.
‘If only I can extend my remaining time to two weeks.’
**
[8]
As morning came, Sena instinctively opened his eyes.
Feeling a bit drowsy, he rubbed his eyes and habitually clenched his fists to check his grip strength.
‘Extending my lifespan improves my condition to some extent. But it won’t last long. By tomorrow, I probably won’t even have the strength to lift a single plate.’
He checked his condition and stretched. After tidying up, Sena quietly called each person’s name to wake them up.
“Your Majesty?”
Finally, he woke Astria, who grabbed his chin with one hand as soon as she rose.
With his cheeks squished like a steamed bun, Sena blinked. Astria stared at him for a while, then released him and stood up.
“Prepare to leave immediately.”
‘What’s this?’
Though Astria always had a detached air, today she seemed, if anything, a bit colder.
‘Have I been neglecting her too much lately?’
Sena opened his suitcase and prepared medicine for Astria.
Once the medicine was ready, he approached Astria and offered it.
Astria, who had been looking at the city wall, turned her head slightly.
“What is it?”
“It’s medicine.”
She turned her back on Sena.
“I don’t need it.”
“You must. Recently, there have been signs that your health is deteriorating again.”
“My body is fine. It is none of your concern.”
“What are you talking about? I’m your personal physician.”
Astria glared coldly at Sena.
“I said I don’t need it. I know my body best.”
“That can’t be.”
Of course, Sena wasn’t one to back down.
He stepped closer and held the medicine to Astria’s lips.
“S-Senior.”
Sylvia, flustered by the tense atmosphere, approached Sena.
Smack!
Astria slapped Sena’s hand away.
Crash!
The mug holding the medicine fell and shattered.
Everyone froze, staring at Astria.
She was prickly, but she had always been lenient with Sena.
But suddenly, why?
Sena’s sensitive skin turned red and swollen. Astria looked slightly embarrassed as she saw Sena rubbing his hand.
However, she soon turned her head sharply and left.
“Senior, are you okay?”
Sylvia supported Sena, but he just stared intently at Astria’s retreating figure.
‘She found out.’
It was pure intuition.
But he was certain.
Thump, thump.
Sena’s heart pounded loudly. His breathing became unstable.
It felt like endlessly falling off a steep cliff.
**
“Are you a priest… on a pilgrimage?”
“Yes, Brother.”
When Ellie gave a kind smile, the guard’s cheeks turned red.
“Ahem, I apologize. But just to be sure, I need to check everyone’s identification.”
The guard immediately looked at Lucia. Lucia, with a disdainful look, pulled a cross from her chest.
The symbol of an Inquisitor.
The guard’s face filled with shock.
“A-An Inquisitor.”
“Rest assured. We are merely passing through your territory.”
No guard wanted to detain an Inquisitor for long.
Thanks to that, they entered the territory without issue, but Sena was uneasy.
‘What should I do?’
He couldn’t help but think about what would happen if they were found out.
It wasn’t like he had never considered it.
Rarely did a lie go undetected until the end.
But he had honestly taken it lightly.
‘I thought she would just be angry, shouting, “How dare you touch what is mine!” and that would be it.’
He never imagined Astria would become so cold.
Above all, he never expected his own heart to be so unsettled.
“You’re wrong. The rooms here are full, too.”
Sylvia said, shaking her head as she exited the inn.
“It doesn’t seem that crowded. What should we do?”
“It’s obvious.”
Lucia glared at the inn with fiery eyes.
“Hosting so many priests is probably too much for them.”
“Does this territory dislike priests?”
“Large territories often do. One wrong move and it could be fatal.”
Infamy spreads faster than fame.
Moreover, it tended to be greatly exaggerated.
Though it was mostly the Inquisitors who killed people recklessly, ordinary people thought of it as ‘all priests’.
So, the innkeeper would be scared to accommodate five priests.
“Then should we split up and look around? If there are fewer people, they might take us in.”
“Not a bad idea. Or we could take off these stifling robes.”
“That’s not an option. It would arouse suspicion about our identities. You know… that.”
Sena trailed off, glancing at Astria.
That was enough. Sylvia nodded.
“Then, Senior Sena…”
“I-I’ll go with Ria. I’m worried about sending her alone.”
“Oh, really?”
Sylvia pouted a bit.
‘Is she upset because I didn’t go with her…?’
“Well, it works out. I needed some alone time anyway.”
Sylvia twirled her hair and spoke sulkily, but she couldn’t deny it.
If there was someone here who knew the least about the world, it was Astria, and the strongest was also Astria.
Sena looked at the clock tower.
“Alright, it’s 10 now. Let’s meet back at this square before lunch.”
After watching everyone disappear—
Sena swallowed hard and looked at Astria, who wore a displeased expression.
“Y-Your Majesty?”
Sena clasped his hands behind his back and spoke a bit cutely.
It was a survival skill he had learned back in the orphanage.
“How long should we stay in this territory?”
“…”
“Are you hungry…? What would you like for dinner?”
“…”
“The inn might be a little small, is that okay?”
‘Oh no…! No response at all!’
A cold sweat trickled down Sena’s forehead.
Astria continued walking without even glancing at Sena.
Desperately wanting to reconcile with Astria, Sena looked around frantically.
He spotted a decent-looking shop just in time.
‘Sorry, Sylvia and Ellie… Please forgive me! I have no choice this time!’
After silently apologizing, Sena spoke.
“Y-Your Majesty, there’s a dessert shop over there. Since it’s been a while since we’ve been in a big city, how about we treat ourselves?”
Astria stopped walking.
“I like strawberries.”
…It seemed she did want to eat something.
**
“Please, enjoy.”
Thankfully, Astria’s expression softened a bit upon seeing the cake.
If her demeanor had been like solid ice before, now it was more like thin ice.
She picked up her spoon. Suddenly, a good idea came to Sena, and he reached for the cake before Astria could.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll feed you.”
“I have hands of my own.”
“Sweet things taste better when someone else feeds them to you. Here, ah-”
Sena confidently brought the spoon to Astria’s mouth.
Astria, who was about to refuse in disgust, suddenly remembered something from the past.
‘Even back then, he fed me medicine with that same face.’
As she hesitantly opened her mouth.
‘It’s meaningless now.’
Astria grabbed Sena’s wrist and pushed it away.
“You eat it.”
Mockingly, she then took a big bite of the cake herself.
Sena blinked and stared at the cake.
Then, without any hesitation, he stood up and wiped the whipped cream off Astria’s mouth.
“You got some on you! Such a waste.”
Sena then ate the whipped cream himself.
For a moment, Astria’s expression became blank.
“Your Majesty?”
Sena tilted his head.
Astria bit her lip slightly and continued eating the cake.
Sena propped his chin up and watched Astria.
This furball was now performing the biggest flirtation of his life.
Astria, oblivious to this, found Sena increasingly irritating.
Every time she took a bite, she glanced at him, and each time, he responded with a bright smile.
Feeling an unusual sensation in her heart, Astria quickly finished the cake.
“You’re enjoying it. If I had known you’d like it this much, I would have treated you more often.”
Sena said as she was nearly done. He offered his cake as well.
“Have mine too.”
It was not an action one would take with an Empress.
It was more like something one would do with a young lady.
Astria found it both absurd and…
‘…I see. From the start, he treated me more like an ordinary young lady than an Empress.’
-Yes, yes. Killing is killing, but for now, eat this. Ah, come on, say ah.
For the first time, Astria began to understand Sena’s thoughts.
Arrogantly, he had treated her, the Empress, the same as any other young lady.
No one else had been so insolent, which is why it felt special.
In this light, it wasn’t that special…
‘Is treating the Empress like an ordinary young lady truly special?’
If so—
A fleeting thought crossed her mind.
“Physician.”
“Yes!”
Sena quickly responded, feeling like his chance had finally come. He was also ready to apologize.
“Have you ever, even for a single moment, loved me? I mean, have you ever felt any romantic feelings towards me? Have you ever seen me as a woman?”
“…”
Sena’s silence was brief.
He answered immediately.
“Of course. I’m a man in my prime, after all. Ria, you’re beautiful. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t…”
“…Lies.”
Sena froze in place.
He scratched his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“Really, you could tell…? The truth is, I’ve never been in love or had a romantic relationship, so I don’t really understand those feelings.”
“Have you always avoided situations by pretending to be innocent?”
“Haha, no way. I’m not that clever.”
Sena’s hair had never fallen flat for even a moment.
“I hate feeling frustrated.”
Astria reached into the air and stood up.
“Tell me your true feelings, Sena Birkender. Or you die here. I’m serious.”
Astria’s Holy Sword touched Sena’s neck.
Her eyes showed not a hint of mercy, truly eyes that could kill. Although they always had that look, it was the first time they were directed at him.
“Gasp…!”
He saw the surrounding patrons fleeing in terror.
Sena looked startled for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“I’ve been caught lying before, but this is the first time someone’s doubted that I’m hiding something inside.”
Feelings towards Astria.
It probably wasn’t love.
He couldn’t be sure of an emotion he had never felt.
But there was one thing he was certain of.
“No. I’ve never had romantic feelings for Your Majesty. I imagined what you might want to hear and lied accordingly.”
When I die, I hope you feel sad.
I hope you cry a lot and suffer.
…This was the one untainted truth.
Sena erased the smile from his face.
– You’re always expressionless, so if you look at me, you won’t be cute, so force yourself to smile. Then, you’ll probably be able to live just fine, just by relying on your face.
It was a fake smile he had been practicing since he was seven, based on Cruyff’s advice.
He decided to show her the truth she wanted.
“Are you going to kill me?”
