“Eat a lot.”
“Se-Senior, I can’t eat anymore.”
“You need to gain some weight. You’ve gotten too thin.”
“…Should you be the one saying that, Senior?”
Sena firmly extended a spoonful of chocolate cake towards Sylvia.
With a small sigh, Sylvia took a bite.
“And what about mine?”
Astria, watching them intently, questioned. Sena’s expression changed from gentle to stern as she addressed Sylvia.
“Your Majesty, you can’t eat sweets.”
“It’s already been a month since I last had dessert.”
“Then go get it yourself. Don’t think about touching this. It’s for our Sylvia.”
“Aren’t you already eating your fourth piece alone? And ‘our’…?”
Astria froze at the obvious change in attitude.
Sylvia covered her mouth, chewing, and had a slightly irreverent thought.
‘Serves her right.’
Sylvia had not yet forgiven Astria for knocking Sena unconscious.
‘Besides, Sena, you’ve become incredibly submissive to me.’
Sena’s knee had been pointed towards Sylvia from the start. When Sylvia looked at her, Sena tilted her head slightly.
‘Is this what it feels like to be married…?’
It was excessively cute.
A blush appeared on Sylvia’s face.
“Let me tell you an interesting story, Miss Sylvia.”
“Y-yes?”
“Do you know what happened to the knight who coveted their lord’s lover?”
A terrifyingly lethal aura enveloped Sylvia for a moment.
Sylvia quickly shrank back, whimpering as she clung to Sena.
“Senior.”
“Yes, I’m here. Don’t worry.”
Sena comforted and soothed her while glaring sharply at Astria.
“Your Majesty, did you do something strange again?”
“N-no, I did nothing.”
“A normal knight would have died from that killing intent just now.”
Lucia added her simple opinion. Astria glared at Lucia as if she could kill her.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“W-What?”
“Why do you always pick on others? It’s mean.”
Sena’s lips pouted out.
Astria was utterly perplexed.
‘What on earth is this? What’s going on?’
The Sena she knew would have been frightened and submissive by now.
But this cold attitude, what was it?
‘Is he sulking? Because I knocked him out? But we made up.’
Astria bit her lip in nervousness.
She couldn’t figure out why. Something was clearly bothering him.
Crunch.
Astria ground her teeth.
‘Am I really being considerate of that furball?’
That made no sense.
Astria was the Empress.
For an Empress, the choices were either domination or plunder.
Staying like this was not in Astria’s nature.
‘It seems I’ve been too lenient.’
She had tried to handle things carefully, but it ended up the same as always.
‘Like that woman.’
Astria’s heart darkened.
‘The one who should only look at me, who should only crave me, dares to look at another woman?’
As Astria seemed lost in thought, Sena whispered in Sylvia’s ear.
“I need to talk to you. Find a time to leave us alone.”
“…!”
Sylvia’s mind quickly became a field of flowers. Just the two of us?
‘S-Sena, really? Do you want to do that from the morning?’
Sylvia’s body squirmed, and she smiled shyly.
Astria, watching this, grew increasingly jealous, without even realizing it herself.
Clap.
At that moment, Sena clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Now, shall we talk about the plan? What’s our next move?”
“We’re going through Rockefeller, Ashford, and Armand. But why do I have to report to you?”
Despite her complaints, Astria explained the plan. And it wasn’t a bad one. Originally, they had considered crossing the mountain range, but if they could pass through Rockefeller, it would be faster.
‘This will do.’
Sena quietly put down his tea. The future was decided, so now…
“Ellie, Lucia. What are you two going to do?”
He asked the question he had long been curious about.
If it weren’t for those strange wings, these people wouldn’t have shown such a fanatical attitude.
“We…”
“We have no choice but to follow Sena.”
Lucia said firmly, placing her hands on her knees.
“As a priest who witnessed the miracle, how could we take another path? Please guide our way.”
No, no. I don’t want to guide you.
‘This is troublesome.’
Given they had seen an angel’s wings, their reaction wasn’t exactly surprising, but their fanaticism was excessive.
What kind of Inquisitor puts on socks for you in the morning?
‘…But it’s not all bad.’
Ellie. Especially Lucia, who was that scary heretic inquisitor.
Most people would see Lucia and plead to pass by quickly.
This could neatly solve the biggest problem of hiding his identity.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t trust you.”
But of course, the ‘golden child’ wouldn’t just let it pass with an ‘Oh, really?’
She questioned them skeptically.
“With all due respect, we have nothing to do with Empress Astria. The only important thing is Sena’s words.”
At this point, even Astria seemed baffled.
“Since when did you become Sena’s fanatics? You weren’t like this just a few days ago.”
“That’s…”
“A divine oracle was received.”
Ellie interrupted Lucia’s words.
‘Thank goodness it didn’t get to the wings.’
Sena sighed in relief inwardly.
“…An oracle? Tell me what it said.”
“Protect your angel. And eliminate any enemies who obstruct this mission.”
“Quite straightforward. Is Sena the angel mentioned in the oracle? Does the entire Church know this?”
Sena was curious about this too.
While it could be specific, it might also just be Ellie’s particularly sharp intuition.
“Yes. As soon as it was received, everyone knew. Hamus has already dispatched Holy Knights to serve Sena.”
Sena almost spit out his tea at those chilling words.
The Holy Knights?
Aren’t they the most unreasonable military group in the world?
In a world with an actual god, a divine-backed military force is practically a cheat code.
And even Empress Astria found the Holy Knights to be a nuisance.
“We have one more reason to leave quickly. Let’s depart immediately.”
“W-wait a moment.”
Sena hurriedly stood up.
“Aren’t you going to clear the Baron’s name?”
Astria frowned.
“You still…”
He knew. This wasn’t the time for such carefree talk.
But with death looming, he didn’t want to leave even a shred of regret.
After all, he had lived well so far.
It would be a waste to end things poorly.
He was not saying he’ll save the entire world, but at least it’s a person’s duty to right the wrongs of those within their sight.
“Please, I beg you. A child has died. Even on the battlefield, children are not killed. We must make them pay for their crimes.”
More than anything, Sena could not forgive that.
“No.”
However, Astria was resolute.
How infuriating.
But, as they say, even a dog learns a few tricks in three years.
Sena had already figured out how to handle Astria.
“Ahem. Your Majesty.”
Senna sucked in a breath, and for the first time in her life, she made the face that could piss off the most infuriating of people.
“Tsk?”
**
“The baron has passed away.”
Karon, from the vassal family that had long protected Baron Bernard, clenched his fist tightly.
Baron Bernard was not a lord that could be considered good, even in a polite sense. He was greedy and often indulged in luxury.
But he was not a foolish lord. When the two neighboring counts waged war, the baron, fearing his territory would be swept up, immediately reported it to the church to buy time.
During that time, he sold war supplies to both counts at high prices, accumulating wealth.
Karon knew. An evil lord is far better than a foolish one. The days when romantic ideals fed you are long gone.
“The title should be succeeded through proper procedures, but both the baron’s wife and son are dead.”
“Then, Sir Karon, why don’t you take over?”
The head butler, Hannes, adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
Karon chuckled.
“You know as well as I do. If I were to take over, I wouldn’t last a month. For now, you should act as the regent lord.”
“If I were one of the counts, I would deploy my knights as soon as I heard that a butler was acting as regent lord.”
“That’s true.”
Shaa—
Rain began to pour.
[Baron Bernard]
Karon and Hannes, standing in front of the gravestone, were soon soaked.
But they didn’t even notice.
The Barony of Bernard was the place they had protected all their lives.
To others, it might just be a small territory, but to them, it was more precious than their lives.
The old woman who would hold their hands tightly and give words of wisdom.
The fruit shop owner with rough words but a warm heart.
The children whose mere presence brought smiles. The future of this land.
“…It’s over. In the end, I couldn’t protect it.”
Early that morning, when he went to report, the baron was already dead.
All his lifelong training had been to protect that life.
The light of Karon’s life was slowly dimming.
“I will take my own life.”
“…”
“If I live, I must fight. But if I die, I cannot.”
A knight who loses his lord must seek vengeance.
However, those who had breached the strict security and killed the lord couldn’t have been a mere force.
They would have had the power to erase the Barony of Bernard without a second thought.
To fight such a force for vengeance would only bring harm to the common people.
“Sir Karon.”
“Don’t stop me.”
“I will join you.”
“…!”
Hannes smiled faintly.
“How could the responsibility of failing to protect our lord rest solely on you?”
“You must live.”
“You know, don’t you? I lost my family four years ago. Do you expect me to live on after losing my only friend as well?”
Hahaha, Hannes laughed heartily.
“I have no more reason to live. I might as well join you in your decision. Who knows? Perhaps the Goddess Justitia will pity us and send us to heaven.”
“Hannes.”
Hot tears streamed down Karon’s face.
“I’m sorry. If I had protected it, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“As I said before, not being able to protect it is just as much my fault.”
Butler Hannes drew his rapier. Karon paused his weeping, then picked up the sword and stood up.
At the moment he resolved to die, the rain began to ease.
A breeze blew through. Despite the rain, the wind felt oddly warm.
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
A husky voice spoke. Yet, it was also a voice so beautiful it would linger in the ear.
“According to the doctrine of Justitia, those who take their own lives cannot go to heaven.”
They both turned their heads at once.
A girl with beautiful silver hair that reached down to her shoulders stood before them. However, before long, the figure seemed more like a ‘boy’ in their eyes. There was no clear reason, but both sensed instinctively that the person before them was a boy.
Yet, the beauty of the girl was so overwhelming that they were not entirely sure.
It was as if she were something ambiguous, neither fully male nor female.
“Who are you!”
Karon, still in shock, aimed his sword at the intruder.
‘She’s gotten very close without us sensing a thing. It’s not just strength; it’s as if she’s not even human…’
He was certain he was seeing clearly.
He knew this wasn’t a dream. But it felt unreal.
The situation felt entirely that way to Karon.
“I’m Sena.”
Sena approached with a mischievous smile, paying no heed to the sword aimed at him.
“If you come any closer, I’ll cut you.”
“I know you won’t.”
Sena continued to approach with a friendly demeanor. Karon’s sword was aimed precisely at Sena’s heart, but Sena did not stop, and just before the sword would have struck, Karon had to lower it.
‘This is a peculiar person. I’ve never felt such strange emotions from anyone before.’
Overcome with pure curiosity, Karon asked.
“…How did you know I wouldn’t strike?”
“There are still ten days left.”
“What?”
As he tried to understand the meaning of the words, Sena glanced at Karon’s head and smiled brightly.
“Fortunately, it has returned. Congratulations. You are destined for a long life. You will live happily for a long, long time.”
“…What on earth?”
Everything was filled with uncertainty, from the identity of this ambiguous figure before him to all that Sena was saying.
“By the way, this is a continuation of what I mentioned earlier. Instead of something as frightening as self-destruction, I’ll show you a better way.”
Sena extended his hands. To both of them, it felt like an angel’s salvation.
Even though the weather wasn’t particularly clear, it seemed like the most radiant day imaginable.
“Take my hand. Then, you will be saved.”
