The devil worshiper, who could no longer be seen in human form, felt a profound joy upon returning to his original state.
However, as a physician, Sena could not allow himself to waver in front of a patient who had just awoken from a long slumber, so he endured it.
The girl fell asleep soon after. The only consolation was that she had not yet seen her father’s corpse.
“Remarkable. Can you even bring the dead back to life?”
Sena, who had been carefully checking the girl’s condition, shook his head at Astria’s words.
“Anyone can do this.”
“Well, in my opinion, it was a miracle of God.”
‘This is nothing more than using the gap between medieval and modern knowledge.’
Sena smiled bitterly.
“It seems there are still many aspects of you that I don’t know.”
“Are you considering taking me back as your attending physician?”
“No, your value has only increased.”
Astria was extremely satisfied with Sena.
What had just been demonstrated was more intense than any display of skill.
“I will establish a hospital in the capital. There, you can fully utilize your talents. I will provide unlimited authority and resources.”
“That sounds quite tempting.”
The Empress’s full support and the establishment of a hospital within the capital.
As it stood, there was nothing in this world that could be called a hospital.
There were priests who were perfect superior versions of doctors.
It had also been one of Sena’s long-held dreams.
It was an exceptionally good opportunity.
If only his lifespan were normal.
“Although the church will likely interfere, do not worry. I will protect your hospital even if it means starting a war. If you grow to a point where you can hold off the priests, I will grant you the title of Duke…”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
So he had no choice but to refuse.
Even if it weren’t the case, he felt as if he could do nothing at the moment.
“…”
Astria’s expression clearly hardened.
“What’s the reason? I thought you would accept.”
This was not a simple proposal.
Astria was speaking indirectly to Sena, suggesting reconciliation and a return to how things were before.
Normally, Astria would have resorted to kidnapping to have a child, but instead, she had chosen to assign this role and take a gradual approach.
Establishing a hospital, having Astria visit frequently, and slowly developing feelings.
For Astria, who always thought of the shortest route, this was an extremely difficult decision.
And now, to have it rejected?
Astria was upset.
“I no longer have such goals.”
Hehe. Sena awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his head.
“…I don’t deserve it anyway.”
“Could it be related to your father’s matter?”
“I can’t deny that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Astria spoke without changing his expression.
“If Cruyff encounters trouble, it will also affect your important tasks. Your father will become the Pope without any issues.”
“…The crimes committed by Cruyff are not something that can be forgiven.”
“How interesting. Just pretend it never happened. Whatever it may be.”
Astria blinked.
It seemed she intended to use the Empress’s power to erase Cruyff’s crimes.
Naturally, that wasn’t important to Sena.
The fact that Cruyff had committed a crime was what mattered. No, what mattered was that the crime had already been committed.
“I’m sorry.”
Upon rejecting once more, Astria’s expression clearly hardened.
“I knew you were frustrating, but I never imagined you’d be this foolish.”
“…I’m not foolish.”
“What exactly is the reason? Didn’t you want to save many people? For that, you would need my power.”
‘I’m reaching my limit.’
Physical symptoms were beginning to emerge.
Though he could barely converse now, his head was spinning. It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any moment.
Sena wanted to quickly conclude the discussion.
“You killed someone, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“Marquis Rockefeller.”
Astria turned her gaze to the side with a rigid face. The cold corpse of Marquis Rockefeller.
So? She looked at Sena with a face that seemed to say, “And?”
Then her expression changed to one of disbelief.
Sena hoped he wouldn’t have to say that.
It seemed it would make her very angry.
“Is it because of this? That I killed someone?”
Sge responded with a cold, expressionless face. Sena nodded.
“Yes. I don’t want to work alongside someone who casually kills people.”
“Haha.”
Astria laughed. It was so absurd that it made her laugh involuntarily.
“This person tried to kill you… No, never mind.”
She had many things to say, but she no longer felt the need to continue.
Astria looked at Sena with a hint of disgust.
“I must have misjudged people.”
‘Just a little longer.’
Sena gritted his teeth.
His body was in pain, and his heart was aching.
But he barely managed to steady his swaying body with the thought that he just needed to endure a little longer.
“As you wish, we will never meet again.”
Astria said coldly and left the room.
‘No more looking back.’
She vowed with a frigid expression.
It was time to forget Sena.
It was probably for the best.
The fewer people the Empress cares about, the better. It meant fewer constraints.
Sena would become a huge shackle.
A shackle greater than anything else.
So she should take this opportunity to erase him completely.
Everything related to Sena.
All the memories, the multitude of emotions she had felt for the first time in her life.
She would act as if they never existed.
After all, it wasn’t long. They had only been together for two months at most.
-Stand tall.
“…I forgot the necklace.”
The necklace she had given to Sena had a spell on it that allowed its location to be tracked regardless of where it was.
It was a valuable necklace, but it wasn’t strictly necessary to retrieve it.
However, if left as it was, it would continue to irritate her like a thorn around her neck, so it was better to retrieve it.
Astria turned around and went back to the room where Sena was.
The moment she reached for the door handle, Astria hesitated for a moment.
Wasn’t it enough to just dismantle the spell on the necklace, without actually retrieving it?
So why did she come to get it?
Could it be, this feeling of lingering attachment?
‘This is the last time. Really, the last.’
Astria took a deep breath and opened the door.
And saw.
“…!”
Sena, collapsed and bleeding.
His face was so pale that she could no longer endure.
**
Astria picked up Sena and ran.
Her heart was pounding rapidly, and an overwhelming sense of fear that she had never felt in her life engulfed her.
‘What am I doing right now? It hasn’t even been 5 minutes since I vowed not to care anymore.’
It felt as if time was moving slowly.
Sena’s small body in her arms felt unusually dreamlike today.
“Priest!”
“Y-Your Majesty, Sena?”
Even seeing Ellie’s bewildered face did not stop her trembling heart.
Astria bowed her head and sat in front of the bed.
Sena’s breathing was faint.
Ellie placed the tea on the side table and said cautiously.
“His condition is stabilized.”
“…How is it?”
“Honestly, not good.”
Ellie hesitated and added.
“It wouldn’t be strange if he were to go to the embrace of the Justitia right now.”
“…The cause.”
“He ingested magic power. It’s clashing violently with the divine power within his body.”
“I will get rid of the magic power.”
Ellie quickly shook her head.
“It might actually be better in this state.”
“What?”
“Sena has always had excessive divine power, which was causing his body to break down. But now, the magic power invading his body is consistently consuming the divine power.”
Divine power ‘used’ would be replenished.
However, the consumption caused by this kind of spontaneous combustion was not being replenished.
Ironically, the current situation was actually beneficial for Sena’s body.
However, due to the internal clashes, he would continue to experience terrible pain.
“Cruyff said he was moving for Sena.”
At Astria’s low voice, Ellie’s shoulders twitched.
Astria looked at Ellie with a sharp gaze.
“Tell me. Everything I don’t know.”
**
“It’s too late to turn back now.”
In front of the Rockefeller estate, the 500-member Order of Holy Knights stood in formation.
Only the order to march remained.
Before the speech, Seria spoke to Cruyff.
“Have things gone as you planned?”
“Yes. We’re almost there.”
“And it’s certain that the end goal is to save Sena?”
Cruyff, who had been gazing at the place where Sena was supposed to be, turned towards Seria.
He smiled faintly.
“Do you doubt me?”
“I can’t help but doubt. You’ve kept this entire plan hidden even from me.”
“It had to be that way. You wouldn’t have believed it.”
Seria sighed. Her complex emotions were evident in her expression.
“Yes. To be honest, I still can’t believe it. How does pushing the Empress to the brink of ruin help Sena?”
“The fact that the Empress is pushed to the brink is a sign of caring for Sena. This entire plan is based on the assumption that Empress Astria will have feelings for Sena.”
“…If we’ve come this far, just tell me. I have the right to know how my friend will end up.”
Cruyff assessed Seria.
Though he had been adamant about returning to his homeland, she didn’t seem to have any intention of interfering now.
“That way, I can ensure that my son will be protected in a world without me.”
Seria’s eyes widened.
“…What?”
“I just wanted to confirm that. I wanted to be sure whether it was safe to entrust my son to the tyrant Astria.”
Seria was silent for a long time.
“So this isn’t about saving Sena….”
“Yes. It’s a test of how far Astria will go to protect Sena.”
In other words, Cruyff was not acting for Sena’s sake from the beginning.
He was only checking how far Astria could go to protect Sena.
That meant.
“…You have already found a way to save Sena, haven’t you?”
“The more steadfast one’s faith in God, the clearer one becomes about how to incur divine wrath. It’s actually quite simple.”
It was madness. It was undeniably madness.
To cause such an upheaval for just that one thing?
All the beliefs and values he had upheld until now?
But at the same time, Seria instinctively knew.
How Cruyff intended to save Sena.
It was undoubtedly a certain method.
An enforced move, unrelated to Sena’s will.
But Seria’s expression darkened.
“If you do that, Cruyff. You will…….”
“Yes. Even after death, I will be hated. By Sena.”
It was a way Sena would never forgive.
It didn’t matter.
Two years. It took two years.
Knowing that his son didn’t have much time left.
It took two years to get here.
Everything was arranged.
From now on, nothing would stop the impending flow.
Cruyff wiped away even his faint smile and stood on the platform.
Looking at the assembled Holy Knights, he said.
“Kill Empress Astria. She is an enemy of Justitia.”
The Holy Knights began to march towards the heart of Rockefeller.
