Chapter 12.1

The wet garter belt was peeled off, and pure white soap suds were lathered over her entire body. Leticia, having just reached her peak not long ago, panted on Terdis’s lap. They were still inside the bathtub, though the water had been drained long ago.

 

‘A bubble bath isn’t bad either…. But then Leticia’s body cannot be seen well.’

 

Obscenely kneading her foam-covered breasts, Terdis fiddled with her nipples that had risen sharply. Leticia trembled, seemingly unable to endure the persistent rubbing of his fingertips.

 

“Hng, hnn…. Aah…. Don’t keep touching me….”

 

“I have to touch to wash you.”

 

Enjoying Leticia’s body trembling from the aftershocks, Terdis whispered. Licking his lips heated with excitement, he happily caressed Leticia’s entire body. Leaning completely against him, she could not help the moans leaking out, seemingly feeling pleasure even from that touch.

 

“Mmn…. Ah….”

 

“Don’t close your legs.”

 

He washed her smooth back and slender lower belly, rubbing and kneading her arms and legs as if massaging them. Leticia panted and twisted her body at the sweet touch.

 

“Hng, ngh! Ah, no…. Ha, hahn….”

 

Terdis, having draped Leticia’s two legs over his knees, skillfully fondled the space between her legs. Unable to close her legs as they were caught on Terdis’s knees, Leticia lifted her hips and moaned. A tingling pleasure spread as his foam-covered fingers kneaded her petals.

 

“Ha! Ngh, aah!”

 

The fingertips sweeping between the petals felt like Terdis’s tongue, making it unbearable. When the finger finally reached the pistil and persistently tormented the sharpened bud beneath it, Leticia shook her head and sobbed.

 

“Ngh, ah! Ahn, ah, aah!”

 

Her body, having climaxed lightly, jerked atop Terdis. Caressing Leticia’s slit and feeling it contract, he reached out to the side and grabbed the showerhead.

 

“Haa, aah….”

 

A stream of moderately warm water soaked Leticia and Terdis’s entire bodies. As she blankly watched the pure white soap suds wash away, her hips were lifted.

 

“Huh? Ah.”

 

“You don’t want it?”

 

Something hard and hot was rubbing against her entrance, which was still twitching faintly. Leticia’s face flushed red as she looked at Terdis. She wasn’t confident, but she knew that if she allowed it now, a pleasure that would make her lose her mind would be given.

 

“Tisha…. I want to put it in.”

 

Seeing Terdis’s beautiful, pleading face weakened her resolve. As she nodded, his penis pushed in, spreading open her spasming entrance.

 

“Hic, ngh…. Ah….”

 

“It’s still tight even after doing it a few times….”

 

What entered the entrance spread her open and filled her interior. As her hips were lowered, the penis seemed to reach deep inside, causing Leticia to kick her legs. In this position, sitting backward on his lap, she couldn’t even hold onto Terdis.

 

“Ah, the depth…. Hng!”

 

Flinching, she tried to lift her hips with her toes that barely touched the floor, but she was forced back down by Terdis’s hands. As her deep spot was hit and her body jumped up, Terdis thrust into her again.

 

“Hic! Hah, ah…. Ter! Aaah!”

 

Her vision turned white, and her body shook violently up and down from the start. Thrusting Leticia up with frightening force, Terdis pounded into her deeply. Since they had made love to their heart’s content before draining the tub, he knew just how much he could push her.

 

“Hnn, aah!”

 

Feeling her insides trembling and tightening as if she were about to climax already, Terdis whispered without slowing his tempo.

 

“If you cum already, I’ll walk into the bedroom with it still inside you like this.”

 

“Hnk! Ah, no…. Aah!”

 

Leticia shook her head at the stimulation spreading tinglingly through her whole body. It felt like she would reach it any moment, but Terdis was telling her to hold back. Having heard such warnings a few times before, Leticia knew Terdis would truly do it.

 

“Hng, ahn! No, I, I think I’m going…. Nng, aah! Don’t hit there…. Haaah!”

 

Leticia’s body arched in ecstasy, her shapely breasts bouncing up. Terdis immediately grabbed her nipples with both hands and rubbed the tips persistently. Leticia shook her head and shed tears, unable to endure it.

 

“Hic, ngh! Hah! Nooo, ngh…. Ah, aah! Stop….”

 

She tried to hide her breasts with both arms, but she could not escape the hands that persistently pinched and rubbed. Leticia was terrified as Terdis stood up just like that.

 

“No! Ah….”

 

Her naturally lowered legs stepped onto the bathroom floor. However, due to their height difference, her toes barely touched the ground while they were still connected.

 

Thuck! Thud thud!

 

Leticia swayed back and forth, sobbing at the continuous thrusting. It felt as if an obscene current was spreading through her entire body with the continuous climaxes.

 

“Hic, ah! Nng…. Aah!”

 

She tried to support herself with her toes that barely touched the ground, but Terdis lifted her body with one arm and skillfully rocked her. Leticia’s mouth hung open at the sensation of the penis, swallowed to the root, squirming inside her and ravaging her insides.

 

“Ah, aah…. Ngh! Ah, Ter!”

 

Her spine arched, and she felt her body spasm from repeated climaxes. Checking that Leticia’s toes were off the floor, Terdis straightened his back and pounded into her. Leticia’s legs shook obscenely as her body was completely lifted.

 

“Ah, ah! No…. Ngh, ha! Ahn! Aah….”

 

She felt her deepest parts being persistently stabbed and spread open. As her insides tightened around his penis with small spasms, Terdis, seemingly unable to hold back, was thrusting wildly.

 

Leticia clawed at the air with her toes, sobbing from the maddening pleasure. Her body and mind felt as if they were floating in midair, wrapped in obscene pleasure.

 

“Hah, ah, aah……. Ter, haaahn!”

 

As a massive climax washed over her, Leticia’s body arched again, then went limp and spasmed. Terdis also ejaculated into her maddeningly tightening insides and hugged her tightly.

 

“Haa haa…….”

 

“Ngh, aah…….”

 

Terdis licked his wet lips and began to walk in that state. Leticia was surprised, but she didn’t even have the strength to struggle, so she could only feel Terdis’s penis bending this and that way, stimulating her spasming vaginal walls.

 

“Hah, ahn……. Ah…. No…. Nng….”

 

She felt Terdis move his hand between her legs, which had begun to struggle weakly, finding her flower bud and rubbing it. As she reflexively tightened around Terdis’s penis, it grew even stiffer and spread her insides.

 

“It feels good, Tisha…. Like this, all night long…….”

 

Having stepped out of the bathroom, Terdis whispered while thrusting slowly. Certain that she would be ravaged all night just as he said, Leticia let out a sweet sigh.

 

“Mmn…. Make me feel good.”

 

At her saying this in a voice full of pleasure, Terdis smiled happily.

 

 

***

 

 

Climbing onto the bed, Terdis caressed Leticia’s entire body while thrusting his hips. Semen sprayed once again into her insides, already sticky from multiple ejaculations, and Leticia trembled and moaned at the hot sensation. When he lifted her hips as she lay prone, Terdis pushed his penis in as if digging inside and began to move.

 

“Hah, nng…. Aah….”

 

The spreading pleasure was unbearably good. Buried face-first in the pillow, Leticia shook with Terdis’s movements, drooling. His touch, and the sensation of him rummaging inside with his penis, seemed to fill her entire body with pleasure.

 

“Ah, aah……!”

 

At the end of a shrill moan, she reached climax, feeling his semen gush deep inside her. With his shaft still inserted to the root, it mixed with the previous ones and overflowed to the entrance.

 

“Hah….”

 

As she lay limp enjoying the afterglow, the penis slid out. Leticia glanced at Terdis with regret. Judging by past experience, she knew it wouldn’t end like this. As expected, Terdis flipped Leticia’s body over, spread her legs, and pushed in again.

 

“Mmn…. Ah.”

 

Feeling her twitching insides, Terdis inserted himself deep again and hugged Leticia. As if to make up for all the kisses he had postponed, he pressed his lips to hers and frantically tangled their tongues.

 

“Hup, mmn….”

 

While they kissed with wet sounds, his hands were caressing her entire body as if famished. Leticia also stroked Terdis’s hard shoulders and spine. When her slender fingers kneaded Terdis’s buttocks, perhaps taking it as encouragement, he started moving again.

 

“Ahn, that’s not…. Mmph!”

 

Even if that wasn’t Leticia’s intention, the pleasure she felt would not change. Terdis smiled and used his hips obscenely, finding the deep spot inside and the places she liked. Leticia’s body, which he had persistently explored since their marriage, was sensitive and sweet, becoming better the more he touched it.

 

“Hah, nng…. Only the deep spot again…. Hahn!”

 

Enjoying her heightened moans, Terdis thrust roughly. The overflowing fluids and semen aided his movements. He felt so good he could go crazy at the way her insides clung to him as if begging.

 

“Hah…. Hah……. Tisha….”

 

“Ahn, hahn…. Nng…. Ah!”

 

Leticia was surely feeling it even more than him. Her sweet eyes, seeming to melt in pleasure, were telling him that.

 

He repeatedly kissed Leticia’s trembling lips while thrusting violently. He felt her widely spread legs shaking, her body arching, and her hips bouncing up.

 

“Hnn…. Haaaahn!”

 

Her insides, tightly swallowing his penis as she arched her body in a massive climax, were impossibly lovely. Sucking on Leticia’s lips, which quivered from the afterglow, Terdis also felt his climax. It was cute how Leticia flinched at his ejaculation.

 

‘Just a little more….’

 

He sucked on Leticia’s tongue and lips until he was satisfied, and after she went limp, he licked her nipples, which had turned a deep red from being sucked so much. It was unbearably enjoyable to see her body, trembling from the afterglow, twitch in reaction to it.

 

“Hee…. Nng, hah……. Ah….”

 

Looking with satisfaction at her breasts glistening with saliva, Terdis licked his lips. It was still dark outside, and Leticia still had some stamina left.

 

‘That moan just now must have been clearly heard by that guy, too.’

 

When he thought of that, he wanted to run out and kill the bastard right away, but he couldn’t leave Leticia’s side. Also, if he killed him, he didn’t know what the Order would do by making an issue of it.

 

He kneaded her nipples with his fingertips, then flicked them up and down. When Leticia flinched and trembled, he hugged her tight again and began to thrust. He felt her erect nipples, along with her breasts, being pressed and rubbed against his chest.

 

His hand, having slipped under her waist, grabbed a large handful of Leticia’s buttocks and kneaded them. When he pulled her hips towards him to make her take him deeper, he saw her kicking her legs as if to say it was too much.

 

“Cute….”

 

Whispering, he sealed her mouth with a kiss and tangled their tongues, driving Leticia until she cried from excessive pleasure. When Leticia shed physiological tears from feeling too much, he would usually watch that sight as if bewitched and ravage her frantically.

 

This night was not much different from usual. Terdis licked even the tears Leticia shed, driving her into pleasure again and again.

 

Leticia suffered through continuous climaxes for hours before falling asleep as if fainting. Terdis also enjoyed the afterglow for a long while before reluctantly withdrawing his penis and trying to sleep.

 

“I love you, Tisha…. Good night.”

 

As he held her tight and closed his eyes, sleep washed over him. The bastard outside was still bothersome, but Terdis was able to fall asleep taking comfort in the sound of Leticia’s beating heart.

 

 

***

 

 

Perhaps because she had fallen asleep feeling continuous ecstasy, she felt as if her body were floating even while sleeping. Leticia blushed as she recalled the night with Terdis. She was happy about the fact that she was so loved by him, and she enjoyed their time in bed.

 

【…So you should. You truly are like a saintess who has received my power.】

 

Hearing a voice from somewhere, Leticia flinched and turned around. However, she was still only wrapped in a bright cloud like a hazy mist. Her body was still light, and she felt less like the wind and more like an air bubble shining in five colors.

 

‘What is this?’

 

Her body was glowing with an energy that was white and pale pink. Looking closely, it wasn’t simply glowing. She could see hundreds of colored threads of all sorts of colors winding around her body.

 

Some were green, some were blue, some were red, and there were also white and black ones. Leticia wondered what this was.

 

【They are the numerous connections, coincidences, fortune, misfortune…… and the countless possibilities of the future that occur to you. It is something all humans possess.】

 

It felt as if someone was whispering to her and gently embracing her. There was no fear. She knew this voice.

 

【Was the gift I gave you helpful?】

 

……Yes.

 

Leticia answered, unable to bring herself to look back at the being embracing her. She spoke in a gentle voice.

 

【I see you have only unlocked two so far. And you cannot use even one properly…. No, I am not blaming you.】

 

It was difficult to skillfully use something that was not originally one’s own. She knew this when she gave the gifts to Leticia. That her life might end without her ever properly using all seven gifts she had given.

 

Still, it was fine. They were gifts given not because she had to use them, but because she wanted to give them. However….

 

‘It should be fine to help her use at least one properly.’

 

Thinking this, she covered Leticia’s eyes with her hand. It was the very first gift, but due to its versatility, it was an ability she could not use other than in conjunction with the second gift.

 

【Restrictions may seem unnecessary, but sometimes, one can only be truly free when they exist. You know this principle, so there is no need to fear.】

 

The Goddess’s voice whispered.

 

【Look. ‘Nothing shall stand in your way.’】

 

She turned her head, following the fingertip pointing somewhere. As the surrounding scenery receded, the clouds that were like a light mist pulled back, and past the blue sky, the slowly brightening earth came into view.

 

Not knowing what she was supposed to look at, Leticia looked at a bird that appeared as a small dot in the distance. In an instant, her vision surged forward, closing the distance, and she could even glimpse the bird’s soft flight feathers and the white spots on its plumage.

 

‘Anything….’

 

I can see?

 

Leticia looked past the forest and over the horizon. She lied to herself that she wasn’t curious. However, her gaze was directed somewhere far away in the capital.

 

At the speed of light, all the scenery receded and the destination drew near. The view of the Tesseia Duchy in the capital, which would now only appear in her nightmares, came into view. And, as if being unearthed, a place she had never entered before was revealed before her eyes.

 

It was the place closest to the Duke’s bedroom. Having finished his morning training, Aaron was sitting in a corner of the living room, examining documents brought by his secretary.

 

‘It’s early…. He’s working already.’

 

Leticia didn’t know, but Sword Masters originally slept for only a few hours. Any more than that was merely sleeping for preference and did not help with their physical recovery.

 

Aaron, having lost his wife early, did not linger in bed.

 

─…When is Leticia scheduled to come up to the capital?

 

Leticia was startled when Aaron asked this after the secretary had finished his report. The fact that the Lyon Duchy was coming up to the capital wasn’t exactly a secret, so he could have found out if he wanted to.

 

─They say in four days.

 

─Hmm….

 

She saw Aaron about to say something, but Leticia closed her eyes without listening further. It was surprising that she could not only see but also hear.

 

‘Is it because it’s a dream? Or is this also an ability?’

 

Leticia left Aaron’s living room, looked over the Tesseia Duchy’s garden where summer flowers were in full bloom, and finally looked at the room where she used to stay.

 

Her room was neatly arranged, just as it was when she left. The unexpected part was that everything she had used…. since they had ripped out even the furniture and curtains and sent them away as if disposing of them, it should have been empty, but it was furnished exactly as before.

 

‘What meaning is there in this…. I will never go into that room again.’

 

She abruptly moved away from the Tesseia Duchy. Since it was early dawn, the day had not fully brightened yet, but cool light was filtering in here and there. Leticia looked at the streets where morning was already beginning, and even peeked at the capital’s parks and the Imperial Palace.

 

She had been to the palace before, but being able to tour the Imperial Palace without anyone stopping her was practically a great privilege.

 

Feeling a sense of guilt at peeking into the Crown Prince’s palace, the Empress’s palace, or the Emperor’s palace, the palace she toured was another empty one. Though it had no master, there were those who managed and guarded it, so she occasionally caught glimpses of people working.

 

After watching for a long while, Leticia suddenly thought about what she had been seeing in her dreams until now. Long before such events occurred, she had been able to see things that would harm her life.

 

It wasn’t that she saw the future ‘in advance’. Leticia guessed that she had been seeing their present forms. And she thought that guess was probably correct.

 

‘Even now…. can I see if I try?’

 

As soon as she thought that, her gaze withdrew from the scenery of the Imperial Palace. Everything around her retreated rapidly as if tearing through the surrounding scenery, and before she knew it, a place in a dark cave casting green shadows came into view.

 

Leticia wondered where this was. It seemed to be in a location that was both far and yet near the capital. It seemed to be inside a massive tank, or perhaps a glass tube. It was filled with a transparent green liquid, and inside, something huge…. something almost as big as a dragon was crouching.

 

‘What is that?’

 

Her eyes widening, she approached to get a closer look. The thing was so huge it couldn’t be captured in a single glance, and the heads sunk at the bottom of the tank numbered more than one or two.

 

【Who….】

 

It was then that an enraged voice, one that rang through her entire body as if to tear it apart, resounded.

 

【Dares to peek into the dwelling of a God!!!】

 

Before a formless, pitch-black, and sticky aura could rise like a tsunami and engulf Leticia, someone pulled her back with a strong force!

 

 

***

 

 

【That is far enough.】

 

Embracing Leticia, the Goddess whispered. Her fingertips reached out as if to cover Leticia’s eyes.

 

【Beyond this would be dangerous for you. …Let us seal it for the time being.】

 

She had not yet properly confirmed its identity. But before Leticia could say anything, a large hand covered her eyes and she was pushed out of the dream.

 

‘I didn’t confirm what that monster was!!’

 

Leticia, flashing her eyes open, sighed upon seeing the familiar bedroom ceiling. Beside her, Terdis was sleeping while holding her.

 

‘Perhaps my ability is something like clairvoyance.’

 

Since she could even hear sound, it was somewhat different from clairvoyance, but she thought it was a similar ability. Since she couldn’t use it properly unless she was having a lucid dream, the conditions were quite tricky.

 

She could consider that the dreams she had dreamt so far were combined with her second ability, mild precognition. It seemed that in the face of approaching threats, each ability combined to show her the future.

 

‘It was definitely in some cave, like a laboratory, yet it called itself a God.’

 

From Leticia’s perspective, it was completely out of the blue, but she felt she needed to prepare. It might be a real God, or a fake impersonating one, but it was a dangerous existence enough for the Goddess to seal Leticia’s ability so she could not peek again.

 

‘If that really is a God, or an existence powerful enough to impersonate a God, there will be records.’

 

Although she had only seen a part of it, it had a form close to a multi-headed dragon.

 

The heads she glimpsed were three. But since she didn’t see the whole thing, she thought the heads would be more or equal to that, and that it would be good to investigate.

 

‘And….’

 

Her weak precognition, the ability that showed the future only in the form of a mere hunch, was warning her. That it would be dangerous if she went up to the capital. Therefore, she felt certain that the one being targeted was not her, but the Imperial Family or another existence in the capital.

 

‘In cases like this, it is usually the Imperial Family.’

 

Since the Imperial Family had as many enemies as its history was deep. Leticia was anxious, but she gazed quietly at Terdis without waking him.

 

She liked these moments. The peaceful, daily times when nothing happened. She hoped this time would not become a thing of the past.

 

‘After Terdis wakes up…. I will move from then.’

 

For now, it is probably fine. She decided to trust her hunch.

 

 

***

 

 

Carlyle pressed charges against the Baron Tris family, who were confirmed to have orchestrated the scheme, and Count Yosel, who was confirmed to have cooperated with them. Baron Tris’s son and the servant were dragged to the guards at the scene, and Baron Tris and his daughter were confined in the Count’s estate while trying to flee by night that night.

 

Count Yosel was investigated as requested by the guards and was imprisoned with his younger brother and his daughter on the second day.

 

Carlyle entrusted their punishment to the guards. He made it so they would be punished according to national law. Their punishment was important, but he could not delay because there was a more important Imperial event.

 

Leticia and Terdis did not ask in detail, but it seemed Carlyle had visited Count Yosel to see him. He instructed the guards to treat Count Yosel with respect.

 

He was a man who cherished his vassals, but he was merciless towards those who tried to harm Terdis. Carlyle, Terdis, or Leticia would not be able to attend this trial, but the Duchy’s representative would attend and explain their stance.

 

‘Since it is a case of attempting to rape a member of the Imperial Family, it won’t be passed over easily.’

 

By the time the trial began, they would all be in the capital. Leticia, who had no ties to Count Yosel or the Baron Tris family, was neither disappointed nor hurt by their crimes. She only hoped that this incident would serve as a warning to other families targeting Terdis.

 

‘The Order…. is not involved in this, right?’

 

It was too messy of an incident to think the Order was involved. Furthermore, Haron, who had been guarding the lounge door, and Julius, who was meeting another person from the Order at the ball, also seemed to know nothing about the incident.

 

Leticia thought they were innocent, but Terdis seemed suspicious. Since preparing to go up to the capital was the priority for now, Leticia decided to put those suspicions aside.

 

 

***

 

 

She was walking down the Imperial Palace corridor. Checking her reflection briefly in the window glass, she was an Imperial maid.

 

Imperial maids basically had the same attire. Although there were slight differences depending on rank or the person they served, there were regulations they basically had to follow.

 

However, since those serving high-ranking people like the Empress dressed relatively freely, one could tell that she did not have a high status among the Imperial maids.

 

There were two maids. They moved as if they had a clear destination. It was natural since it would be working hours for them.

 

As if used to it, they entered the Empress’s palace and passed through the long corridor guarded by soldiers. At one time, due to the Crown Prince’s warning, the number of guarding soldiers had doubled and knights were a common sight, but not anymore.

 

When the doubled procedures made it difficult for officials who had to report to visit the office, the Empress changed the regulations. She restored the number of patrolling soldiers and knights to the original amount, but increased the number of escort knights stationed inside the office several times over.

 

It was a method that could be stifling for the Empress herself, but it was possible because she allowed it.

 

…The maids were already in front of the Empress’s chambers. They seemed to smile and speak to the soldiers, then stabbed needles into the necks of the two closest soldiers respectively.

 

There were four soldiers guarding the front of the chambers. The maids instantly suppressed one each and rushed at the other two, covering their mouths and knocking them out. Then they took out red magic stones the size of a thumb from their bosoms and shoved them down the throats of the unconscious soldiers.

 

While one kept watch, it took less than a minute for the other to feed all the magic stones to the soldiers.

 

The soldiers opened their eyes one by one; the whites of their eyes turned a murky purple, but returned to their original color after blinking.

 

“Wait in front of the door until the time comes. Say that no one can be let in by the Empress’s order.”

 

The two maids gave those instructions and also ordered them to act as if nothing else had happened. Ordering the soldiers to open the door, they immediately went inside, and the door closed from the outside.

 

No one paid attention to them entering. They walked as if nothing had happened, observing the movements of the knights guarding the interior.

 

Even though they entered, the Empress’s office did not appear immediately. One had to pass through this room and go further inside to reach the office where the Empress worked.

 

By the Crown Prince’s order, the number of Imperial knights filling the inside was considerable. Officials to submit reports to the Empress would also be present, and there would be servants and maids summoned by the Empress for them.

 

“We have come to deliver a message to Her Majesty the Empress by His Majesty’s order. Please ask Her Majesty the Empress.”

 

When one of the two maids spoke, one of the servants guarding the door raised his voice toward the inside.

 

…Tell them to come in.

 

At the Empress’s answer, one of the maids felt a light shiver. For this, they had acted as maids in this Empress’s palace for two years. Choosing the Empress’s maids who were similar in physique and appearance, mimicking their behavior, and completely transforming their appearance and voice with magic was not an easy task.

 

It was all to unleash their grudge against the Imperial Family.

 

‘They wouldn’t have thought that a lowly commoner girl could make it this far.’

 

She saw the door to the Empress’s office opening before their eyes. The office, supported by high ceilings and thick pillars, looked almost like the Emperor’s.

 

The Empress was different from the Emperor, but she was the greatest pillar of the Imperial Family. If they could avenge their grudge against the Imperial Family through her, and further repay the Master who took them in…. Nothing was a waste.

 

As they entered, the door closed behind them. The Empress was writing something on a document, not paying attention to their entry.

 

Eight armed knights were visible on each side of the Empress’s desk. On the left, maids and servants stood close to the wall waiting, and on the sofa set to the right, officials were sitting and processing documents.

 

One of the maids put her hand into the basket she was holding. That basket was an item that had already been inspected by the knights in front.

 

A jar filled with cookies inside.

 

The cookies were real cookies received from the Imperial chef. The important thing was the jar filled with cookies.

 

The lid of that jar was a magic tool.

 

The maid twisted the decoration on the jar’s thick lid. As if to completely block internal noise, a barrier spread out and a wall of air could be seen surrounding them.

 

The scale included this room as well as the outer room.

 

Now, unless it was a significantly strong force, they would not be able to open the door guarded by the soldiers they made into puppets or that window over there.

 

“What are you doing!”

 

The armed knights were seen drawing their swords immediately. The officials sitting on the sofa stood up and backed away in panic.

 

Ah…. How they had longed and waited for this day. If they hadn’t thought about taking revenge, they would not have willingly swallowed the magic stones.

 

“Your Majesty the Empress, please accept the gift we offer.”

 

As their bodies split open and turned into dozens of monsters, the maids and servants screamed. …However, no noise could pass beyond the Empress’s office and the outer room.

 

 

***

 

 

BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

 

It was a tremendous noise enough to crack the window panes of the Crown Prince’s palace. Cesare, who was working beside the Crown Prince as always, reacted first and asked for his sword. Edward also issued orders to the knights amidst the noise.

 

The noise came from the Empress’s palace.

 

‘Is this the Pope’s gift?! Why on earth such a sound…!’

 

The reason was unknown. Since he was worried about the Empress’s safety, Cesare jumped out through the open window and crossed the garden in a single breath.

 

Reaching the Empress’s palace, he cut through the wall with his sword to head in a straight line. The soldiers who were covering their ears from the noise seemed astonished to see Cesare break through the wall. Cesare ignored even that and headed for the Empress’s office.

 

As he got closer to the office, he saw soldiers and knights trying to push into the Empress’s office amidst this noise. Blocking their way were two soldiers; Cesare tried to open the door after knocking out those blocking the way.

 

Thung!

 

As if blocked from the inside, the door made a strange sound and did not open. Cesare made the soldiers and knights step back, then cut through the door, magic and all.

 

The interior was a mess. It was clear that the knights in this room had entered the door before the noise-making magic tool activated.

 

The office door was wide open, and screams and sounds of fighting were heard intermittently, mixed with the bizarre noise.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

“Li, Little Duke…!”

 

The Empress was at the innermost part of the office. She was surrounded by escort knights, covering her ears. The first thing that caught his eye was the monsters filling the massive office, but due to the current noise, he also saw that all the glass windows and glass products in the office were shattered.

 

Many of the officials seemed to have already been killed by these monsters, and the maids and servants had also fled to the corner of the room and were screaming.

 

“Please endure just a little longer!”

 

The noise of the magic tool was already subsiding. Releasing sword aura, Cesare began to pour out terrifying sword strikes as if sweeping through the room. The Empress, as well as the knights, were relieved as five or six monsters were chopped up and rolled on the floor in an instant.

 

We survived.

 

With trembling eyes, the Empress looked at the magic tool she had dropped, startled by the high and sharp sound. The magic tool, which looked like an ostrich egg cut in half, crafted, decorated, and put together, was an object that made a sound that spread this far.

 

‘…I owe my life to the Order.’

 

While she cast her gaze on the magic tool, Cesare destroyed the enemy’s magic tool that had blocked the noise from this side and blocked the door and windows.

 

The Empress’s escort knights were swallowing their breath at Cesare’s overwhelming martial prowess. It took only a few seconds for those assassins to transform into dozens of monsters and for the Empress to activate the magic tool on the desk, but in that time, three or four officials, two servants, and one knight had died.

 

They tried desperately to protect themselves as well as the Empress, but they knew they were slowly being pushed back.

 

‘This is a Sword Master….’

 

Cesare had already slaughtered more than half of the monsters, clearing a path to the Empress. All the beasts in between had their limbs severed and had fallen, and while Cesare dealt with them, the surviving officials and palace servants escaped to the back.

 

This was possible because the knights and soldiers who followed behind evacuated them.

 

“Li, Little Duke Tesseia….”

 

The Empress opened her mouth at the sight of Cesare, who had approached in a single step and stood protecting her. He answered without looking back at the Empress.

 

“Your Majesty, it is an unsightly scene, so please do not look at it.”

 

There were chopped-up corpses of monsters on every path he created. Beside them, there were also corpses of dead knights and torn-apart officials.

 

Unable to even answer, the Empress tightly grabbed the arm of a maid. That maid was a woman who had been close to the Empress and was thus able to escape with her.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

The voice of Crown Prince Edward, who had already arrived at the Empress’s palace, was heard. Since the room was more than half cleared, the Empress was worried about Edward. He was a precious body who had to carry on the Imperial line, so he should not be involved in such dangerous matters.

 

“Crown Prince! To such a place….”

 

Edward knew the Empress wouldn’t have wanted him to come, but he had no choice. He was appalled by the scene in the room.

 

It was shocking that the Empress’s people had died, but he couldn’t believe the fact that this number of beasts had appeared in the Imperial Palace, and in the Empress’s palace, one of the safest places, at that.

 

“Eliminate the beasts and protect Her Majesty the Empress!”

 

At Edward’s frosty command, the knights began to move without delay. The reason the Crown Prince moved urgently was because of the 3rd Knight Order, which was directly under the Crown Prince. They swiftly disposed of the beasts inside the office, and it took less than 20 minutes for all the beasts to be killed.

 

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

 

Before the head of the last beast was cut off, Edward had arrived at the Empress’s side. Grace looked at the survivors and the dead, deeply relieved.

 

“I am, fine. My people….”

 

Those she cherished and trusted had died. Although the feeling of cherishing one’s aides would be the same for anyone, the Empress’s sorrow was great. She thought to suppress her sorrow and be angry. Just grieving would change nothing.

 

“…This should be Her Majesty the Empress’s chambers; what is this commotion?”

 

If it wasn’t a familiar voice, she would have mistaken him for one of the officials who came to submit documents for approval to the Empress. Frowning, Cesare strode across the office.

 

The man checking the inside of the broken door seemed surprised to see the scene in the room. Cesare sheathed his sword, passed through the connecting door, and approached him.

 

“Brother?! Is Her Majesty the Empress safe?”

 

“Godfrey. Why are you here? Did you hear the sound of the magic tool?”

 

“No. I received a summons from Her Majesty the Empress before the sound came from the Empress’s palace.”

 

“Her Majesty the Empress summoned you?”

 

Cesare’s eyes narrowed. The Empress had separate knights she employed, and since their mother died, the Empress had maintained an awkward relationship with their family. If the Empress intended to use someone for a task, she would have called a knight from another family, not Godfrey.

 

“…Where is the one who delivered that message?”

 

“Right behin….”

 

Looking back, Godfrey flinched. The servant who had guided him near here and ran with him, startled by the loud noise, was nowhere to be seen.

 

Cesare thought with a calmly cooled head. About the things that would have happened if the Empress hadn’t activated the magic tool gifted by the Pope to make a loud noise.

 

‘Even the Tesseia Duchy would not have been able to escape easily if Her Majesty the Empress had died.’

 

No matter how you thought about it, it made no sense for Godfrey to have killed the Empress, but if he alone was found at the scene, it was a different story.

 

Godfrey arrived here 20 minutes after Cesare had arrived. If it had gone according to their plan, it would have taken even longer.

 

That time was enough to manipulate the scene. Furthermore, the beasts that attacked the Empress were the kind that tore opponents apart with sharp claws. It could sufficiently be disguised as an attack by a sword.

 

‘An enemy of the Imperial Family is targeting our family.’

 

Maybe…. Thinking that what they originally intended to strike might have been the Tesseia Duchy, not the Empress, Cesare opened his mouth towards the nearby knights.

 

He had to ask the Empress immediately if she had ever summoned Godfrey, but confirming the situation could be done after catching the spies within the Imperial Palace.

 

 

***

 

 

“This failed?!”

 

Vincent roughly shook off Nina, who was pressing him as if to grab him by the collar. He was also in a bad mood having wasted three competent spies infiltrated into the Imperial Palace.

 

“Yes! Little Duke Tesseia appeared! I told you! Trying to target the Empress had no chance of success….”

 

“That makes no sense.”

 

Despite the barrier inside the Imperial Palace, there were only Dominic and a couple of others who could make magic tools capable of forming a magical wall that blocked noise.

 

Even if it was the Empress’s palace, if they blocked the entrance by the Empress’s order and blocked the internal noise to dispose of her, she had no choice but to die.

 

‘I used my greatest masterpiece!’

 

What the two women, Vincent’s spies and assassins, were made to ingest was something several levels more advanced than what was used on Baroness Perdoba. It was the item of items that could make them transform into dozens of desired monsters!

 

He had calculated that while it might be difficult against a Sword Master, they could easily kill Imperial knights in a swarm. The Empress should have died today, and Godfrey and the Tesseia Duchy would have borne the responsibility for that death!

 

‘It was a perfect plan to completely drive a wedge between the Tesseia Duchy and the Imperial Family, and kill Aaron de Tesseia through that!’

 

This had gone awry. Could this be possible?

 

With a resentful face, Vincent glared at Nina. This was already the second time. A plan he thought could absolutely not fail had gone awry.

 

Nina ground her teeth and glared at Vincent with a terrifying face.

 

“…Is there a spy in your organization?”

 

“Could that be possible? If there were a spy, both I and my organization would have been wiped out at the point when the Emperor of Sachsen was assassinated!”

 

“Then why did it fail! The situation couldn’t have been overturned by just a single gift sent by the Pope! He wouldn’t have presented a good item to the Imperial Family! After all, the Order is a bunch that doesn’t care unless it benefits them…!”

 

Vincent, who was looking at Nina resentfully, finally opened his mouth. He was receiving a full report of the incident through a spy remaining in the Imperial Palace.

 

“They say it was a magic tool that generated tremendous high-pitched noise. The report says Little Duke Tesseia heard that sound and ran to save the Empress.”

 

“What?”

 

It was truly a move that could only be made by someone who was clearly looking into their operation. Nina burst out in anger and grabbed her hair.

 

The most common ability possessed by priests or priestesses who obtained powerful divine power was ‘precognition’ regarding misfortune. Since he was the Pope, it was obvious logic that he would have a stronger precognition ability than them.

 

‘Those filthy meddlers of the celestial world!!’

 

When she heard the news that the Pope was coming to the capital, Nina thought she had gained a great opportunity. Since the Pope of the Holy Kingdom never came out of the beautiful palace of the headquarters, which was always surrounded by a perfect barrier.

 

Although she had done this with him in mind, she didn’t know he would interfere in this way. No! This could not be seen as the Pope interfering with them. He was merely a puppet of the celestial Goddess!

 

“…What are you going to do now? Since you caused such a big incident, the Imperial Family will scour the capital to dig up something.”

 

“So?”

 

“What do you mean ‘so’? It means it will be difficult to move the organization members for a while! We have to lie low like dead mice!”

 

Vincent didn’t know, but Nina had one more plan. Plotting the Empress’s assassination using him was merely a smokescreen to deceive the eyes of the Gods.

 

Her plan had already been accomplished, and the one necessary item was already in her grasp.

 

The fools of the Imperial Family would never know its meaning. One of the most precious treasures in the world was hidden in her bosom.

 

“Ah…. Alright. Since I don’t have anything to order right now.”

 

Vincent ground his teeth at Nina, who turned away while placating him roughly. He wanted to shake off that woman somehow if possible, but there was no way for now.

 

Leaving the room, Nina glanced back at Vincent. He was taking out a crystal ball, preparing to contact his subordinates. She smiled slyly and closed the door.

 

The red serpent embossed on the ring on her finger squirmed slowly and licked her finger. Nina smiled thinly and stroked the serpent with her other hand.

 

“Please wait, Master. It will be soon.”

 

She whispered in a languid voice and left the place.

 

 

***

 

 

By the time Leticia remembered that book, news regarding the attempted assassination of the Empress was also arriving at the Lyon Duchy. Since it was urgent information, it was delivered via a mage, and Carlyle was relieved by the news that the Empress was safe.

 

Since the Emperor, who relied on the Empress in many aspects despite the Crown Prince being reliable, might react unpredictably if he lost her.

 

“Little Duke Tesseia truly played a great role.”

 

– They say the Emperor plans to reward him in front of everyone during the Harvest Festival.

 

They said they hadn’t yet found a clue about the mastermind behind the assassination attempt, and had only captured the servant who lured the second son of the Tesseia Duchy.

 

– Even though there was a magic circle in the Imperial Palace, the assassins’ magic wasn’t nullified, so Her Majesty’s knights were in great trouble. The Emperor was very angry with the Imperial mages because of this. And….

 

“And what?”

 

– It seems one of the Imperial heirlooms was stolen from the Imperial treasure vault. It is a big deal, but…. The Emperor doesn’t seem to care much about that point. He said it was a useless antique.

 

“Is that so?”

 

Indeed, it didn’t sound like very important news.

 

‘Why take something like a relic…. Such an item would be difficult to dispose of.’

 

The Imperial treasure vault must be overflowing with gold and jewels. There must have been magic tools and items with various rare powers, so if the Emperor didn’t care, it was likely a relic that had no meaning other than being on display.

 

“Understood. Keep watching the situation and report any news to me.”

 

– Understood, Duke.

 

Ending the communication, Carlyle was thinking about how to convey the news of the Empress’s assassination attempt to the children. Since they would be greeting the Empress if they went up to the capital and attended Imperial events, it was better for them to know the gist of it.

 

 

***

 

 

While Carlyle was organizing his thoughts, Leticia was searching through books about Pashanoi. When Leticia revealed in the Imperial Library that Terdis’ curse was not a curse but due to Pashanoi, Carlyle had ordered the scholars of the Lyon Duchy to investigate Pashanoi.

 

At that time, information about Pashanoi was gathered from all over the country, and she seemed to have read a story about a multi-headed monster among those books.

 

‘Is it just a coincidence?’

 

[Pashanoi was originally an ancient god in the form of a dragon, worshipped by various races before humans were born. However, as new gods were born and the world was expanded by them and humans were created, he retreated from the heavens and came to be served as a lower god.

 

He was living quietly, satisfied with his life as a lower god, but his colleague and friend Entinus rose in rebellion against this.

 

If Pashanoi was a god of the earth, Entinus was a god of the underworld. Angered that his power was gradually weakening, he tried to kill the newly born gods and make the world his own.

 

The gods of the heavens tried to destroy Entinus at once, but Pashanoi requested that he face him himself instead of them fighting directly.

 

Pashanoi fought for 31 days and nights and defeated Entinus. However, while they were fighting, Entinus’s limbs were torn off and his blood fell to the ground.

 

From each drop of Entinus’s blood, a new monster was born and threw the world into chaos, so the gods of the heavens were very angry.

 

Feeling the weight of his sin, Pashanoi gave up his damaged physical body and decided to dwell in a single sword to help the humans of the earth. Just in time, there was a human who had risen up resolutely against the monsters, so Pashanoi, together with that human, established merit by killing countless monsters.

 

However, time passed and eventually, that human also reached death, and in the sorrow of losing his companion, the sword containing Pashanoi also broke.

 

The legend of this Ludian region is that the gods of the heavens took pity on this and took both their souls up to the sky.]

 

Below that, it was written that they had actually discovered the hero’s tomb, and heard from an old woman in a village near the tomb that it had once been robbed.

 

The scholar persuaded the nearby lord to excavate the tomb, and they were able to find the hero’s completely decayed skeleton and a few items.

 

Inside the stone sarcophagus, ‘Sleeping with his loyal sword Pashanoi’ was engraved, but the actual broken sword was not inside the coffin, and there were traces of other expensive items being stolen.

 

The scholar lamented this, restored the hero’s tomb, and left this in the records. He evaluated that since the timing didn’t match the mythology of the Asteria Order, it seemed that the local indigenous faith and the Order’s faith clashed, turning their god into a lower god of the new gods.

 

‘If the gods didn’t take their souls, but Pashanoi moved with the broken sword…. And if for some reason the sword fragments fell into that lake, wouldn’t Pashanoi have been sleeping there?’

 

Terdis going out to that lake in the middle of the night was because he was drawn to Pashanoi. Leticia thought this was his fate as the male protagonist, but….

 

‘There was no enemy named Entinus in the original work. So why has such an enemy appeared? Or was this happening behind the scenes without them knowing?’

 

She had read the novel to the end and played all the games. But if this is reality and the real world, it continues to change and anything can happen. Because that is life.

 

Leticia searched through books to find descriptions of Entinus. Fortunately, as Entinus was an existence opposing Pashanoi, there were many descriptions of him when Pashanoi was described, so she could find information.

 

In some places, he was described as a six-headed snake, and in others as a six-headed dragon.

 

A fallen god, the god of all monsters…. There was also a passage stating that when a new monster is born in the world, his damaged body is also repaired.

 

Leticia suddenly recalled the monsters she saw in the courtroom. Thousands, tens of thousands of monsters. They were also forms she had never seen before.

 

‘…Am I overthinking it? Even if that were the case, a god who died once couldn’t possibly revive that easily.’

 

Furthermore, the existence crouching inside the water tank in that cave could already speak, and even tried to harm Leticia. So it was better to assume it had already revived.

 

…Or perhaps it had been recovering for a long, long time, avoiding the eyes of the gods.

 

Leticia suddenly thought of the Goddess who chose her. She was one of the lower gods who made a deal with the Celestial Goddess to take a seat among the thrones of the gods.

 

Since she could even touch the fate of gods, conversely, she remained silent on matters that could affect their fate. She would probably pretend not to know about what Leticia saw while saving her. She wouldn’t divulge it to any god.

 

‘But I definitely tried to see ‘what could harm me’.’

 

That meant that Entinus could harm Leticia, or the people around her, in the near future.

 

Leticia rummaged through more books while wrapped in worry, but she couldn’t obtain information that would soothe her fear.

 

 

***

 

 

The road back up to the capital from the Lyon Duchy was smooth. Since it was a road traveled back and forth several times a year, the nearby lords managed it well, and bandits rarely appeared. Especially on days with big national events like this one, countless nobles departed on similar days, so attacks were practically non-existent.

 

The capital was more crowded than she remembered. Since Leticia had stayed only inside the house during the Harvest Festival while living at the Tesseia Duchy, the scenery was unfamiliar.

 

Terdis, too, had only stayed inside the house avoiding people’s eyes during his childhood in the capital, so it was a first-time sight for him as well.

 

The streets were in full swing with preparations for the Harvest Festival, and since it was entering autumn, the temperature was cool and pleasant.

 

“Tisha, what is Entinus?”

 

At Terdis asking this inside the carriage, Leticia was startled. Because Haron was also riding in this carriage.

 

“W-where did you hear that?”

 

“You were talking in your sleep earlier.”

 

For a moment, Leticia’s face turned bright red. She was flustered, but Haron knowing about it wasn’t a big deal. It was just a guess, after all.

 

‘And I’m not even sure that god is Entinus.’

 

“They, they say he’s an existence like an ancient god. I am looking for him, but there aren’t any details….”

 

To be honest, there was information about Entinus, but she couldn’t find out specifically what kind of harm he could cause or if it was possible to resurrect him.

 

Feeling a gaze staring steadily at her, Leticia suddenly raised her head and asked Haron. Since he was a person of the temple, she asked just in case.

 

“Do you happen to know, Haron? Or have you ever heard of it….”

 

When she asked Haron, who would have been listening quietly from the opposite seat, Haron had the look of quietly thinking.

 

“I have never heard of it.”

 

As expected.

 

“However, if it is a figure from mythology, Priest Julius might know. Since he is someone the Holiness entrusted with the Saintess’s education, he must be knowledgeable in various fields.”

 

Leticia’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer. She had only thought of searching through books, not asking Julius.

 

‘That’s right! Since it’s mythology! N-no, wait…. Isn’t the Order uninterested in anything other than the mythology of the god they serve?’

 

Since Pashanoi was integrated as a lower god of the Order as a kind of spirit, she thought he might know. Leticia said thank you and waited for the carriage to arrive at the mansion in the capital. Only then could she ask Julius.

 

 

***

 

 

“Revenge. Do not say such foolish things.”

 

Marquis Renain said, clutching his head as if he had a headache. After the engagement between Sebastian and his daughter was officially broken off, he had been recommending match-ups to Nastasha. However, Nastasha refused the match-ups and begged him to take revenge on Sebastian on her behalf.

 

“The opponent is the Tesseia Duchy. Think of it as a good riddance. The third son didn’t have much interest in you anyway.”

 

The reason he had allowed Sebastian as his daughter’s partner was because of the Tesseia Duke’s bloodline and the potential that he might become an Archmage in the future. Nastasha had simply begged because she fell for his handsome looks, but his intentions were such.

 

But Nastasha was stubborn.

 

She fought back saying she wouldn’t eat or drink water, so the Marchioness sent a nanny to soothe her into eating and drinking. When she tricked her saying she could just eat without the Marquis knowing, Nastasha, unable to overcome her hunger, eventually accepted the food.

 

Hearing this report, Marquis Renain pressed his throbbing temples while feeling relieved.

 

“I don’t know what to do with this immature child.”

 

“You should be thankful she isn’t foolish enough to keep starving. Just wait. If we wait a little, a new young lord who will capture Nastasha’s heart will appear.”

 

The Marchioness was right. A new handsome young lord appeared in high society and captured Nastasha’s heart. However, Marquis Renain couldn’t be relieved this time either.

 

“That guy is no good!!”

 

“Why?! I’ve compromised a lot too!”

 

“Compromise, what compromise! Absolutely not! No matter what happens, no! Isn’t that guy practically a commoner!”

 

“He’s adopted so he’s not! He’s also a son of a Duke!”

 

“Ridiculous!”

 

He heard that the young lord hadn’t even been officially adopted yet, and the Duke’s vassals were desperately opposing it.

 

“Even if he is adopted, isn’t he brothers with Sebastian! Over my dead body!!!”

 

Marquis Renain screamed like this, but Nastasha had a face that pretended not to hear, as usual. Feeling his blood pressure rising, he grabbed the back of his neck and called for a servant. While the Marchioness supported the Marquis, Nastasha quickly fled to her room, causing the Marquis to feel a deep sense of betrayal.

 

“Nastasha!!”

 

It was the moment he keenly realized he had raised his only child wrong.

 

 

***

 

 

Isello was flustered by the reality of enjoying unexpected popularity. Although he was scheduled to become the adopted son of the Duke of Tesseia, the Duke was merely forcing it through, and there were still various paperwork procedures left.

 

The Duke’s vassals were in a position of fierce opposition, and the Duke’s sons also didn’t look favorably upon him. Needless to say, he hadn’t met the villainess Leticia either.

 

However, not only were invitations pouring in from everywhere, but every time he stepped out of the house, various young ladies would appear and pretend to know him.

 

At first, there was curiosity, and he was surprised and happy, but….

 

‘I don’t need popularity to this extent!’

 

He was feeling a crisis.

 

It was really nice to enjoy popularity he had never enjoyed for a single moment in his past life. Since the life of a man popular with women was something he longed for.

 

However, his popularity was not limited to women.

 

‘Shit.’

 

Beside the young ladies were escort knights who accompanied them to escort or protect them. At first, he thought it was a misunderstanding, but these guys not only blushed when they saw him, but also assumed strange poses or attempted physical contact!

 

‘Fuck!!! I forgot this is a romance game world! Did the genre change without me knowing!’

 

When his younger sister was playing, he didn’t know how popular she was, but it was clear that after he died, it was also developed as a BL game.

 

The chills he felt when a guy, whose attitude was merely strange at first, gradually blushed every time he saw him and suddenly confessed at some point! He managed to escape being pounced on by the guy with Godfrey’s help, but it was a truly creepy experience.

 

Furthermore….

 

“I’m not doing this because I fancy you, you know?”

 

Isello slowly dodged Nastasha Renain, who asked him for a dance with flushed cheeks at a ball. Because she was Sebastian’s ex-fiancée.

 

‘They’re already dying to eat me alive!’

 

Even if Sebastian wasn’t interested in Nastasha, it was something he could reasonably find unpleasant. Even if he didn’t feel that way, it was a situation good for the Tesseia Duchy’s vassals to find fault with.

 

Knowing that if things became ambiguous, those young ladies would be the first to distance themselves from him, Isello decided to be careful.

 

‘For the time being, getting officially adopted is the priority!’

 

He didn’t care what kind of topic or popularity he garnered in high society.

 

 

***

 

 

“Not a woman but a man? And adopted at that?!”

 

This astonished voice belonged not to Leticia, but to her maid, Molly. They had firmly believed the rumor that the Duke of Tesseia had taken in a mistress. Leticia was surprised by the fact that it was an adopted son, not an adopted daughter.

 

‘It was a man! The name Isello wasn’t a typo, it was real?!’

 

At Leticia’s shocked expression, a look of ‘oops’ crossed Molly’s face. The one who would be most heartbroken right now was their Little Madam.

 

On the other hand, although Leticia was shocked, she felt deep relief. No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem like Terdis would be swayed by Isello, a man.

 

‘Then what about the original work? What happens to the original work?’

 

In the original novel, it ended with the villainess Leticia trying to kidnap and murder Isella, being saved by Terdis, and them holding a wedding after she was executed.

 

On the other hand, the game’s plot varied depending on who you romanced.

 

‘If you romance Haron next to me, the Pope assassination event triggers…. relations between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire worsen, and dealing with that…. Ah.’

 

Come to think of it, if the Pope is assassinated, it seemed that the person who ascends as the new Pope was Julius!

 

‘Since Julius wasn’t a capture target….’

 

If you romanced Crown Prince Edward, an assassination attempt targeting the Empress occurred, and in the case of Cesare, Godfrey, or Sebastian, they clashed with the villainess Leticia without exception. In the case where the Tower Master Dominic was the capture target….

 

‘It was a story about running to the Sachsen Empire because some Demon King appeared there, and defeating the Demon King and the mage who summoned it.’

 

In the case of romancing Terdis, it was an extension of the original work’s plot. After several conspiracies were thwarted, the villainess Leticia borrowed the power of the Sachsen Empire to try to harm Isella, endangering even the Crown Prince or the Emperor.

 

Leticia expected all those plots of the original work to appear only after next year. Because Isella…. no, Isello had only just become the adopted son of the Tesseia Duchy.

 

The game’s content started when Isella became the Duke’s adopted daughter and ended after about a year and a half. So she thought all sorts of urgent incidents would happen only after she got married.

 

‘I don’t know what will happen now that it’s like this. It seemed like big incidents didn’t happen if you didn’t pursue a romance route….’

 

Terdis became Leticia’s husband, and Cesare, Crown Prince Edward, Tower Master Dominic, or the Paladin Haron didn’t seem likely to fall for Isello. First of all, that novel nor the game were a BL.

 

Leticia thought about the fact that the Pope happened to be in the Empire right now. He was a person who was invariably assassinated if you romanced Haron or another capture target priest. Thinking about it, she recalled hearing news that the Pope was assassinated in the Dominic route as well.

 

‘Strangely, among my memories of my past life, only the memories of that game are vivid?’

 

Even when she had just regained her memories of her past life, it wasn’t to this extent.

 

“…Please do not mind it, Madam. just because he took in an adopted son doesn’t mean the Duke’s feelings for you have disappeared.”

 

At Molly’s comforting words, Leticia snapped out of it. It seemed she had been thinking too deeply after hearing that story earlier. The shock was big too.

 

‘This isn’t the time.’

 

Isella becoming Isello was certainly good news. Since they said he was a man, the news that he became an adopted son didn’t really matter. …Although she did want to go see him once.

 

“Where is Priest Julius?”

 

His figure was not seen among the people unpacking. Since Haron was still guarding Leticia’s side as an escort knight, Leticia looked around searching for him.

 

Then, a young butler among the servants approached, bowed, and delivered a message.

 

“Priest Julius left saying he had to go pay his respects at the Great Temple as soon as he got off the carriage. He said he would return around evening.”

 

Ah….

 

She had forgotten the fact that the Pope was in the capital. At those words, Leticia and Terdis glanced at Haron. Although not known to the outside, it would be strange if Haron, who was actually the Pope’s closest aide, didn’t go.

 

Haron said with his eyes cast down.

 

“Being faithful to one’s duty is following His Holiness’s will.”

 

At the sincere Paladin’s words, some servants seemed to send looks of admiration, but Terdis had a look of disapproval. He ignored Haron and took Leticia’s hand, heading to the third floor where their room was.

 

“Do not follow. There won’t be any need for an escort knight inside the house.”

 

“…….”

 

Haron looked at them with an unreadable expression but followed the instructions. However, Terdis knew that he would monitor them with a Sword Master’s senses.

 

Terdis said as he led Leticia up the stairs.

 

“Are you really going to ask Priest Julius too? Why are you searching about Entinus?”

 

“Well….”

 

Leticia explained the dream about the Goddess she had a few days ago and what happened in that dream. Looking at the Goddess’s reaction, she might want Leticia not to get involved in that matter, but she couldn’t not verify an existence that might be a threat.

 

Terdis also had a face that couldn’t quite grasp it. Perhaps because right now, there was no threat other than the news widespread in the capital, the attempted assassination of Her Majesty the Empress.

 

“Then, when you ask him, I’ll go with you.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Although she thought, ‘Aren’t you following almost all of my schedule anyway?’, Leticia nodded lightly.

 

 

***

 

 

Once he revealed his identity, he was able to easily enter deep into the Grand Temple. As if he had already anticipated his arrival, there was no need to wait long for the Pope.

 

‘Well. Since I traveled with the Lyon Duchy, it is only natural that it became known.’

 

The Lyon Duchy had come up to the capital along with many other noble families, not just by themselves. Because of that, the long procession alone was a magnificent sight. Other noble families likely joined the Lyon Duchy’s procession to travel up to the capital without worrying about bandits.

 

A great noble of the provinces, the owner of a landmass that might have been called a king if the Luendal Empire were still a kingdom.

 

‘As expected, making an enemy of the Lyon Duchy is a foolish choice.’

 

However, the reason he couldn’t give up on the Saintess despite that was probably because she was an existence who would bring that much benefit to the Order.

 

“This way, Priest Julius.”

 

The lower priest bowed his head and opened the door. The Pope was sitting deep inside a massive room that even the High Priest would likely only use for services. With a youthful appearance that looked only in his late teens no matter how generously estimated, the Pope smiled.

 

“I greet the one who has received the blessing of the One who looks down on everything from the highest place in the sky.”

 

“Priest Julius, you have come.”

 

When the Pope gestured with a dignified face, the priests standing in front of the door closed it. The Pope gestured for him to come closer and rose from his seat.

 

“…I am receiving reports frequently on matters within the Lyon Duchy. The matter of Count Yosel is truly unfortunate. To think he would be so tactless.”

 

‘Was that incident indeed instigated by the Order?’

 

Feeling a slight disappointment, Julius straightened his body and approached the Pope. Keeping a distance of about five steps would be sufficient.

 

“Is the Little Duke still devoted to the Saintess?”

 

“Unless it is unavoidable, he is always by the Saintess’s side.”

 

The Pope clicked his tongue, saying ‘tsk’. If he had experienced the same thing as Terdis, he thought he would also consider Leticia special. However, he was also a man in the end, and those in high positions were prone to greed as they could easily obtain many things.

 

‘Well. Where could there be a woman as noble as her!’

 

For one person to monopolize the Saintess, who should exist for the Order and the world, was indeed tremendous greed.

 

“How is the Saintess? Does she show favor to you?”

 

“She shows much curiosity in the content I teach, but she has never attempted to get close personally.”

 

At Julius’s somewhat coldly perceived answer, the Pope raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t annoyed by the repulsion the young priest felt towards this mission.

 

“Not at all? Not even a little?”

 

“That is correct.”

 

He answered plainly. Because Julius himself was actually feeling favorable towards Leticia due to such an attitude. The Pope was dumbfounded. Although the Little Duke of Lyon was a great handsome man, Haron and Julius were also popular regardless of gender.

 

In the past, a priest guard had even attempted suicide saying he would die if his feelings weren’t accepted, causing the Order to hastily cover it up, so the Pope couldn’t understand this situation.

 

‘Why on earth? It’s not just one, but two!’

 

When beautiful things are together, they create synergy. He had deliberately paired the two and sent them in case the Saintess’s taste was Little Duke Lyon.

 

But the Saintess didn’t seem to show even curiosity. He thought it was such a base ploy that she wouldn’t notice, but it occurred to him that she might have unexpectedly noticed and been wary.

 

‘For a young thing, she is needlessly quick-witted….’

 

At that age, judgment is usually somewhat lacking, and one tends to be greedy and arrogant. However, perhaps because the environment Leticia grew up in wasn’t smooth, she seemed to have a habit of being wary of her surroundings even after grasping all the good things.

 

“There is no need to rush and do something unreasonable. The situation will be created…. Your priority is to stay by the Saintess’s side and give her faith. Understood?”

 

As the Pope continued speaking, Julius hesitated whether to say he would quit this task. However, he couldn’t say it in the end, and at the command to return, he could only bow his head and withdraw.

 

Anyway, nothing would happen if he didn’t do anything. Haron seemed like a guy who knew absolutely nothing about how to seduce a woman.

 

‘He is diligent only in guarding to an excessive degree.’

 

Even at night, when the Saintess told him to withdraw, he only pretended to withdraw and hid in the garden overlooking the Saintess’s bedroom to keep watch. Then, around dawn, if the Little Duke seemed to wake up, he would quietly return to the bedroom.

 

‘…I know Sword Masters are all monsters, but it’s madness.’

 

If he succeeded in persuading the Saintess and brought her to the Order, it was clear he would try to guard her 24 hours a day. At that time, he would probably be guarding in front of her bedroom.

 

Julius let out a long sigh and ignored the gazes gathering on him. In the front yard of the Grand Temple, a carriage was prepared to take him.

 

 

***

 

 

The feeling of someone who fell while flying high in the sky must be like this. Olga threw hysterics several times at the thought that not only high society but even the servants of the house were looking down on her. Her father was not present, but Duchess Valentine clicked her tongue and soothed her.

 

“Olga, what can we do about things turning out that way.”

 

She didn’t need comforting words. Revenge, she wanted revenge. She wished for Cesare, who made her this miserable, to fall to the ground.

 

She wanted to make the Tesseia Duchy and Cesare pay somehow, but the one in danger was rather the Valentine Duchy. Duke Tesseia threatened Duke Valentine and made him sign a contract disadvantageous to them, the content of which was this:

 

[If the scandal (having an affair while engaged) of the Valentine Princess, Olga de Valentine, is revealed to the world in any form and taints the honor of the Tesseia Duchy, a compensation of 32 million gold shall be paid.]

 

This was an eye-popping amount that exceeded the Valentine Duchy’s annual budget. The Duke, who had signed the document unable to withstand the Tesseia Duke’s threat, was furious and spent a large sum of money to bring in a mage. Then, he summoned all the servants who knew about the incident and made them receive a curse of silence.

 

Even though the Duchess advised him that he would eventually end up paying that money and told him not to spend any more, he was stubborn.

 

“Do you understand, Olga! If this fact leaks out, know that you will be kicked out of this family too!”

 

Kicking his own daughter out of the family because of money would only be a disgrace, but he didn’t seem to think about that.

 

Duke Valentine was often away from home, saying he didn’t want to see Olga anymore. Duchess Valentine comforted her daughter saying he would stop eventually, but Olga hated that.

 

‘How do I take revenge on them?’

 

What made her even more furious was that Vincent Larkin hadn’t even come near her since that day. Although it was right not to approach since they were caught having such a conversation, he should at least be curious about the news.

 

But Vincent pretended not to know her. The bouquets and chocolates he sent tiredly didn’t arrive again, and even when they happened to meet at a ball, he only gave a light greeting as if they were complete strangers and withdrew.

 

There was even a new woman who looked like a lover by his side!

 

Olga was angry at all of this.

 

Even the situation where marriage proposals were pouring in for Cesare as soon as he broke off the engagement! All the young ladies of high society ignored the fact that she had been his fiancée and were only curious about why she was broken up with.

 

“For what reason was the engagement broken, Princess?”

 

“Broken up with? I broke it off!”

 

“Princess, deceive only what can be deceived! I heard the news that Duke Tesseia visited the Valentine Duchy and received compensation directly.”

 

“Oh my, Princess Limuen. Is that true?”

 

“It’s information heard through a reliable source.”

 

Princess Limuen said so with a meaningful laugh, as if feeling aggrieved about having yielded the position of queen of high society to Olga until now. Princess Limuen already had a fiancé when Olga got engaged, so she was in a position where she couldn’t covet Cesare. They got engaged as soon as she was born due to an agreement between families.

 

However, as Princess Limuen’s fiancé grew up, he became unsightly, and in response, Princess Limuen openly dated other men and ignored her fiancé. The Princess’s fiancé, whose pride was hurt, also kept several mistresses to show off.

 

The objects of Princess Limuen’s greatest jealousy were young ladies like Olga or Nastasha who had handsome fiancés, but recently, breaking off engagements finally became possible.

 

It was because the fact that her ugly fiancé had impregnated a mistress was exposed. Due to this, it was known that Princess Limuen’s father also gave up on maintaining the engagement and allowed it to be broken off.

 

Princess Limuen greatly regretted that Cesare was engaged even after she broke off her engagement, but coincidentally, he also broke off his engagement. Princess Limuen publicly confessed her hidden feelings for Cesare and declared she would court him.

 

‘You also cheated while having a fiancé! Do you think Cesare would like a woman like you!’

 

Olga was furious, but she didn’t have the same power as before. People began to turn away as if saying that her reigning as the queen of high society until now was possible because she was the fiancée of Little Duke Tesseia.

 

‘In a way that won’t harm our family…. Somehow…….’

 

The one she could think of immediately was Nastasha. Someone who held a grudge against the Tesseia Duchy like her, was stupid enough to use, and had enough wealth to be worth using.

 

Because of this, she secretly tried to summon Nastasha, but it wasn’t easy. Because Nastasha went out almost every day.

 

‘What on earth is she wandering around for?!’

 

 

***

 

 

Carlyle, the Duke of Lyon, was worried that Leticia would refuse saying she didn’t want to. It was because of a single invitation that flew to the front of his mansion.

 

It was from the Tesseia Duchy, stating that they would hold a banquet to celebrate their return to the capital. It didn’t invite just Leticia alone, but also included him and Leticia’s husband, Terdis.

 

‘If we do not respond to this invitation, people will pour out all sorts of words.’

 

It was already a widely known fact that Leticia was not on good terms with the Duke of Tesseia or her other brothers. Just by guessing from what had happened between them, it was obvious enough, so they didn’t even think to hide it.

 

Of course, even if Leticia maintained her current attitude, no major problems would arise for the Lyon Duchy. As the head of the family, his relationship with the Duke of Tesseia was amicable, and Leticia seemed to have reconciled with Cesare.

 

However…. It would be unpleasant for people to gossip arbitrarily about his family. If they didn’t attend this banquet, there were those who would criticize Leticia.

 

Because many would think that Leticia, the victim, should bow to them just because she is a woman, a daughter, and a younger sister. Furthermore, criticism asking how long she would cling to the past would be added.

 

“Ahem…. This came from the Tesseia Duchy.”

 

Although the invitation Carlyle showed was held out to Leticia, Terdis snatched it upon seeing the name Tesseia Duchy. Because he noticed Carlyle’s intention.

 

“We don’t have to go to this.”

 

‘That guy…!’

 

“What is it. Give it here.”

 

Taking the invitation quietly handed over and reading it slowly, Leticia focused on the phrase that only family members would attend the celebratory banquet.

 

“…It’s okay to go.”

 

“Really?!”

 

“Tisha, you don’t have to force yourself to go.”

 

Carlyle glared at Terdis, who kept raining on his parade from the side, but made a bright face. It was because he had been constantly agonizing over whether to soothe Leticia or not.

 

“Yes. I’m curious about the person who came in as an adopted son…. And I want to see Brother Cesare’s face.”

 

It wouldn’t be resolved all at once, but he thought even this much was a big progress. Carlyle felt he saw a good sign in this relationship.

 

‘As long as Duke Tesseia doesn’t rush Leticia…. Time will resolve it like this!’

 

As if unfortunately another invitation arrived amidst Carlyle’s happiness, a servant was announcing its arrival. In this case, it wasn’t just sending an invitation and leaving.

 

The priest who entered the mansion with the invitation intended to get a definite answer. It was an invitation from the Pope.

 

 

***

 

 

The Harvest Festival was exactly five days later, and three days later was the family banquet the Tesseia Duchy asked for. And the Pope asked to meet tomorrow immediately.

 

He specifically said he wanted to meet Leticia, but there was a phrase written that it was fine for Terdis or Carlyle to accompany her.

 

Unlike the Pope’s invitation which was certain they would come, the priest who came to deliver it maintained a very polite attitude. Judging by his attire, he was a mid-ranking priest or higher, but he seemed young in age.

 

“T-that…. Since His Holiness said I must receive an answer….”

 

The sight of the clear-faced young priest repeatedly bowing his head and gauging their reaction made people pity him.

 

Since a weak-hearted person would have already given an answer, Carlyle clicked his tongue inwardly. Having become Duke Lyon for over ten years, he belonged to the side that could guess to some extent the dirty tricks the Order played.

 

‘The Pope is truly….’

 

However, Leticia gave an answer easily this time as well. Since it was the first day they had just arrived in the capital, the only scheduled events were the Imperial event and the Tesseia Duchy’s banquet. Moreover, if it was the Pope’s invitation, it was difficult to refuse.

 

“Please tell His Holiness that we will see him tomorrow at the time written on this invitation.”

 

Terdis, who was ready to scold asking whose permission they had to set an appointment and kick the priest out, made a worried expression at Leticia holding his hand and saying this.

 

But Leticia had already spoken, and the young priest lifted his head with a relieved face.

 

“I will definitely deliver your words! Thank you, Saintess!”

 

The young priest had an ‘oops’ expression as if thinking he made a slip of the tongue after saying this. The reason he was restless with a flustered expression was understandable.

 

Because the Pope’s invitation itself is an honor, and he thanked her for accepting it.

 

So Leticia said this to him.

 

“I’ll keep what you just said a secret.”

 

“Y-yes! Thank you, Saintess!”

 

The young priest, looking at Leticia with eyes full of favor, said ‘See you later’ in a small voice and withdrew. Glancing at the young priest leaving hurriedly as if fleeing, Terdis carefully examined Leticia.

 

“What are you thinking? Are you really going to meet the Pope… His Holiness?”

 

Conscious of Haron watching from not far away, Terdis glared at him briefly and asked. Leticia pulled Terdis’s hand leisurely and said.

 

“Nothing much will happen. It’s not like the Grand Temple has extraterritorial rights….”

 

She looked up at Terdis affectionately and spoke. Because of their height difference, this was unavoidable.

 

“Besides, you’re going with me.”

 

“Well, that is….”

 

Although it wasn’t likely, Terdis was slightly anxious about Leticia answering that she would meekly go to the Grand Temple to meet the Pope. Because two handsome men were hovering around Leticia, pretending to serve her.

 

Perhaps sensing Terdis’s wariness or anxiety, Leticia didn’t try to do anything personally with either of them. He could be relieved by her attitude of not showing curiosity and putting up a wall.

 

Although he knew it was different now, Terdis still very occasionally had dreams of that time. Being possessed by Pashanoi again and taking that form was nothing. His greatest fear was being hated and abandoned by Leticia in that form.

 

As Terdis placed his hand on Leticia’s cheek, Carlyle quietly waved his hand to the surroundings as if telling them to leave quickly. At this, the servants scattered in all directions and left the living room, and Carlyle himself led Haron out of the living room.

 

Haron, catching a glimpse of Leticia and Terdis kissing through the closing door, quietly turned his head. He knew it wasn’t good to harbor these feelings first, but he wanted to remove him from the Saintess’s side.