Chapter 15

Will the moment ever come when this darkness fades and the blue sky is revealed? How are the other people in the capital—those I couldn’t pull out of the darkness—enduring this right now?

 

Countless fears invaded Leticia’s mind, but she tried not to think about them for now.

 

‘Cesare… Where is Cesare?’

 

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the thread connected to her stretched out toward the Imperial Palace. The thread in that direction didn’t glow white, but it told her that Cesare was still safe.

 

The thread of fate did not connect to the dead.

 

Having confirmed even Godfrey’s survival, Leticia decided to focus on what she had to do next. She was being carried in Terdis’s arms as they moved.

 

Terdis, influenced by the power he had received from Leticia, could also see the glowing white threads and was moving along them. Sebastian followed behind Terdis, warily scanning the surroundings as if anxious.

 

“Is this the right way?”

 

He had been born and raised in the capital, roaming every nook and cranny, but this was his first time in this particular area. At Sebastian’s question, Terdis pointed to the glowing white thread with a disinterested expression.

 

“I know that, but still…”

 

It was impossible to stop the creeping anxiety. Anyone would feel the same, wandering through this darkness searching for the enemy’s stronghold.

 

“We’re almost there. Oh!”

 

Leticia pressed her hand against her mouth to keep from crying out, pointing somewhere beyond the building. Monsters were pouring out from there, rushing toward a specific direction.

 

Since that was the direction Aaron and the knights of the Duchy of Tesseia had headed, the faces of Leticia and the others hardened instantly.

 

“I know where it is. The ritual site is in the basement of that mansion, right?”

 

While being carried by Terdis, Leticia had been explaining the location the whole time. Just in case the three of them got separated. She thought that if even one of the remaining two could find the place and destroy the magic circle, they could stop the current phenomenon.

 

Leticia looked bewildered when he started to set her down. She had naturally assumed she would enter the enemy’s hideout with him.

 

“Tisha, stay here with the Third Young Master. I’ll finish this and come back.”

 

“What are you talking about! I’m coming with—”

 

Sebastian began to raise his voice in protest, but his voice died down under Terdis’s sharp glare. Terdis didn’t particularly like Sebastian, but he was the only one he could trust right now.

 

“Please, protect Tisha here.”

 

Terdis spoke, but Leticia wasn’t looking at him. She was checking the color of his thread of fate.

 

Until a moment ago, it had been simply white, but now, black threads were suddenly beginning to mingle with it.

 

“No. I have to go too.”

 

“Tisha. I’m enough on my own. Having to protect you might actually make things more dangerous.”

 

Terdis tried to persuade her, but Leticia shook her head. The black threads were now clearly woven into his white thread.

 

“No. I think I have to go. If I don’t… things will go wrong.”

 

When she insisted, Terdis looked troubled. Reflecting his thoughts, his white thread flickered between pure white and tainted black.

 

‘Tsk!’

 

“Just do what I say! Have I ever been wrong when you listened to me?! If I say I’m going, I’m going!”

 

Leticia snapped at him in a low voice, whipping her head toward Terdis. Terdis winced and shut his mouth.

 

Sebastian watched this scene from the side, his eyes darting back and forth. His mouth was itching to intervene, but he felt like he’d get scolded too if he added even a word.

 

“Now, pick me up!”

 

As Leticia commanded, Terdis’s body moved instinctively. Even though he felt in his heart that taking Leticia would be dangerous, he had no choice but to comply when she demanded it.

 

‘Wow. He’s completely wrapped around her finger.’

 

“Let’s go. I think we should head that way.”

 

As Leticia quickly wrapped her arms around Terdis’s neck and made her request, Terdis looked confused but started moving again. Sebastian followed them closely, smickering to himself.

 

‘It’s an eyesore, but if he’s being bossed around by my sister, I’ll allow it.’

 

Leticia would have snapped that his “permission” wasn’t needed if she had known what he was thinking.

 

 

***

 

 

Like lamps being extinguished one by one, the paladins lost their lives. He had thought it was reassuring when eight of them surrounded him on all sides to protect him, but that was merely a fleeting illusion.

 

“Hehe… Hahahaha!! To think you’d be scurrying around like a rat! It truly suits you!”

 

As a sinister, sharp voice rang out, the Pope turned around, breathing heavily. Only two paladins remained by his side, and Julius, too, had an injured leg and hadn’t been given a chance to recover properly.

 

“Who is there!”

 

The Pope shouted harshly, looking around. Standing on the roof of the tallest nearby building, she revealed herself, drawing light from her palm.

 

“Over here, Your Holiness.”

 

The light emitted by the woman in mage robes was different from others; it illuminated the surroundings brightly. Because of it, the woman’s face was revealed, but the Pope did not recognize her.

 

‘Who is she?’

 

“You probably don’t remember. I expected as much. Your Holiness said this before sending me and my brother to our deaths: ‘The Goddess will bless your sacrifice.'”

 

“What?”

 

The Pope had lived for hundreds of years. He had always believed he never acted against the Goddess’s will, but he was not one to shy away from sacrifice for the sake of the Order.

 

He believed that saving the Order was the will of the Goddess and the various gods.

 

The Pope tried to recall the people who had no choice but to die because of that. At first, he had tried to remember each and every one of their faces, but as he grew older and time passed, his memory faded. The guilt that once pierced him sharply had also gradually dulled.

 

“I… It wasn’t me… I don’t remember.”

 

He spoke to Julius and the paladins guarding him as if making an excuse, but even the Pope himself didn’t believe his own words.

 

Nina, looking down at them from the roof, didn’t care. She already knew as much as she needed to about what kind of man the Pope was.

 

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. Do you think I’m here because I want someone like you to remember me?”

 

Even if the Pope begged for forgiveness, her brother, who died miserably, would not return. Nina’s expression contorted as she recalled past pain and anger.

 

“The Goddess and the gods who chose someone like you to be the Pope—may they all be cursed and die!”

 

She snapped in a sharp voice and then laughed brightly. The corners of her mouth stretched wide, creating a grotesque contrast with the hateful glare in her eyes.

 

“Be joyful, Your Holiness! With your sacrifice, my Master will be able to reclaim his past power! I can’t say you’ll be blessed for it, though.”

 

The flames in Nina’s hand flickered out, leaving only her two eyes glowing intensely. She looked down at the Pope’s group from afar and spoke.

 

“Because you’re going to die a dog’s death. May your soul be cast into hell forever.”

 

As she spat out those cold words and was about to command the monsters, a sharp flash of light split a giant magical beast, which had been pursuing them from the rear, in half.

 

It wasn’t just that beast. A heavy aura that seemed to press down on the surroundings made the monsters shrink back. The monsters that had been glaring at the Pope and the paladins turned their heads as if sensing a presence behind them.

 

But the light seemed to have severed the monsters’ necks faster than they could even perceive. Decapitated heads fell to the ground, and black blood sprayed out like a fountain.

 

“No way…!”

 

Voices of shock and admiration escaped their lips. At the sword strike that surged upward as if leaping, Nina instinctively sent forward a monster that had been hidden in her shadow.

 

“Aaaagh!”

 

However, the light split the monster in half and even grazed Nina’s chin. As another sword strike lunged toward her, Nina was wrapped in another monster’s tail and flung into the air.

 

“Eek!”

 

The shield she deployed instinctively shattered upon receiving the pouring sword strikes. If she hadn’t escaped by soaring into the sky, she would have been struck by the subsequent attack and plummeted to the ground.

 

‘It was short.’

 

Aaron thought that the mage might be the one who helped curse Theresa, but his attack couldn’t reach her now. Down below, he saw his knights, having cut down the remaining monsters, advancing close to the Pope.

 

Aaron lightly swung his sword to shake off the monster blood and jumped down from the roof of the building. It was a considerable height, but Aaron landed on the ground with almost no sound.

 

“Duke.”

 

Julius spoke, his voice filled with awe. He had heard that Aaron was strong or the strongest on the continent, but this was the first time he had witnessed that power firsthand.

 

Approaching them, Aaron looked at Julius with indifferent, cold eyes before turning his gaze to the Pope behind him.

 

“Do not let your guard down yet. More are coming. …They’re here.”

 

Aaron turned and dashed out, and two knights moved to follow him. The remaining knights of the Tesseia Duchy took positions to defend the Pope.

 

Now we’re saved…

 

Though they didn’t relax their guard as Aaron had instructed, the thought that they had survived spread through the hearts of those who remained.

 

The Pope was also among those who felt relieved, but he was suddenly flustered as the area in his chest—specifically near his heart—began to burn. Surprised, he sent divine power to his heart, but a piercing agony returned, as if his chest were being torn apart in rejection.

 

“Ugh…”

 

“Your Holiness, what’s wrong—”

 

Julius, who had been treating his injured thigh, turned in alarm at the Pope’s groan. He reached out, startled by the demonic energy rising from the Pope’s entire body.

 

“Your Holiness!”

 

『…Do not touch me!!』

 

Suddenly, the Pope pushed away the paladins who were trying to support him and began running into the darkness. As thick darkness surged from the ground to block his path, Julius used a divine spell.

 

『…Aaaargh! You, Julius!!』

 

“I am sorry, Your Holiness. You seem to be out of your mind right now…”

 

Golden bands wrapped around the Pope’s arms and torso, bringing him down as if he were bound by ropes. Julius dispersed the darkness trying to lunge at him and reached the Pope’s side.

 

Duke Tesseia was ahead, dealing with the monsters attacking them. The Pope glared at Julius with eyes that were beginning to turn black.

 

『…Just a little longer! This tedious seal is breaking! Muhahahaha!!』

 

At the ominous laughter, Julius looked back at the frightened paladins. Fortunately, the knights Duke Tesseia had assigned to them showed no signs of agitation.

 

They had already changed their formation, prepared for the possibility of the Pope fleeing again.

 

‘I envy Duke Tesseia.’

 

They couldn’t just hold out indefinitely like this. Julius placed his hand on the Pope’s chest and used divine magic once again to gauge Entinus’s location.

 

He was at a terrifyingly close distance. Realizing this, Julius snapped his head up and shouted to Aaron.

 

“Duke! Behind you!!”

 

A massive entity, its width impossible to measure, lunged from the ground toward the Duke of Tesseia and the two knights. Julius felt dizzy at the sight of the endless darkness unfolding.

 

 

***

 

 

Isello, who was being quietly protected while surrounded by people, was reflecting on the scene from earlier. He thought of Leticia, who had seemed to emit a white light from her entire body, the way she had drafted people saying they were necessary, and the white thread that had stretched out before them….

 

‘When she caught me while I was running away in the darkness, she truly looked radiant.’

 

To be honest, since coming to the capital, Isello had suspected that he might be the protagonist of this world. It made sense, given that “Isella” was the protagonist of the game.

 

In reality, one couldn’t gain such popularity just by being pretty. That’s why he had hoped that perhaps, just maybe, it was because he was the protagonist.

 

But today, he realized it for certain.

 

‘Leticia is the protagonist.’

 

She already had a Male Lead proudly by her side, and she seemed to have ended her days of being mistreated at the Duchy. He suspected she would probably be the one to end today’s crisis as well.

 

…And if she failed, everyone would probably die.

 

The thought of the worst-case scenario gave him chills, but he expected things to turn out well. After all, the game his younger sister played hadn’t been that dark in atmosphere.

 

‘Anyway, to think Leticia is the protagonist. Was the game re-released from the villainess’s perspective? And I was possessed into that version?’

 

Regardless, he hoped Leticia would end this situation. If his judgment was correct, she would be the protagonist who puts an end to this.

 

 

***

 

 

“…The thread leads into the floor?”

 

Moving along the white thread felt like a good idea at first. It was because it had guided them well in directions where the monsters weren’t guarding. The problem was that by only following the unmonitored paths, they seemed to have strayed far from their intended destination.

 

Furthermore, after going deep inside for a long time, the thread now continued as if passing through the floor. Seeing this, Leticia seemed to deliberate for a moment before looking at Terdis.

 

“Can you cut through the floor?”

 

“You want me to punch a hole in the floor?”

 

Terdis asked, sounding bewildered. Leticia then turned to Sebastian.

 

“Is it possible to use magic to float the section of the floor Ter cuts so it doesn’t fall?”

 

Her eyes said she wanted him to make it possible even if it wasn’t. Sebastian’s eyes sparkled as if he thought it was an excellent plan.

 

“I can! It’s possible! Something like that is easy for a mage!”

 

‘Somehow, his attitude is similar to the Tower Master’s.’

 

Leticia thought this as she looked at Terdis, who also seemed convinced. He drew the sword he wore at his hip.

 

“I’ll cut it immediately, so please be ready.”

 

“Yeah. Go for it!”

 

As Terdis channeled mana into his sword, it glowed blue as if burning. He thrust it into the floor as if sliding a knife through butter and carved out a hole large enough for them to pass through. With Sebastian’s magic, the severed portion of the floor slowly floated upward… and they could see the level below.

 

Checking the surroundings with his senses, Terdis knew there were no monsters directly beneath them. Sebastian went down first, and then Terdis, carrying Leticia, jumped down inside.

 

“This time, it’s that way.”

 

The glowing white thread led in the direction Sebastian pointed. Through several repetitions of this process, they were able to descend quite deep.

 

It seemed the monsters only guarded up to the first basement level; as they descended further, they felt no presence of monsters. Leticia remembered checking this area with her ability, so she urged Terdis and Sebastian forward.

 

“There, those stairs!”

 

Even while holding Leticia with one arm, Terdis’s pace was fast. Sebastian could only barely keep up after using magic to float his body.

 

Terdis’s movement was faster than the white thread could appear, to the point where the white thread seemed to snap into place following Leticia’s pointing.

 

‘How is anyone supposed to live if they aren’t a Sword Master! It’s so unfair!’

 

Sebastian wanted to complain, but he couldn’t. He was too busy gasping for breath.

 

“Huff! Huff, whew….”

 

Reaching the end of the stairs, Terdis entered the hallway directly ahead according to Leticia’s command. Sebastian followed them, catching his breath without even being able to ask them to wait.

 

The hallway straight ahead. That door, vivid in Leticia’s memory, was tightly shut. Terdis tried to open the door with the arm not holding Leticia, but black sparks lightly flickered.

 

“Oh?!”

 

Those sparks spread to the walls flanking the hallway, and shimmering forms began to crawl out from within the walls.

 

Terdis set Leticia down and drew his sword. Sebastian also hurried to their side and gathered his magic. Meanwhile, Leticia was examining the door.

 

“Wait….”

 

Terdis, standing behind her, pulled Leticia into his embrace and used his sword aura. Since the door appeared locked, he intended to cut through it. However, some sort of magic must have been placed on the door, as it repelled the Sword Master’s aura and flared up with black flames.

 

“Tsk!”

 

“Hey, Terdis! Those things are coming!”

 

Sebastian, who was guarding their rear, screamed. Terdis quickly let Leticia go and stood beside Sebastian.

 

Leticia looked at the flame-shrouded door and gathered divine power in her hands.

 

‘It would be dangerous to touch it with bare hands, right?’

 

She examined the door, wondering how to get it open. The Goddess had certainly led the three of them here. If they were never meant to be able to open the door on their own, the white thread would have been mixed with black.

 

‘So there must be a way to open it!’

 

As Leticia grabbed the doorknob, she could feel the black flames clashing against her power in resistance. However, the black flames faltered and scattered, pushed back by Leticia’s divine power.

 

As she poured divine power into the door, the black flames were driven away, and white glowing lines, looking like cracks, became visible in various places on the door.

 

‘What is that? Perhaps… a weak point or a seam?’

 

She didn’t intend to ponder for long. Leticia activated her magic tool from her right pinky finger and struck down with a whip of fire along the glowing white line on the door. Since it was a whip, she was worried if she could strike exactly on the line like a sword, but because it was a magic tool, it was possible.

 

The door split open with a loud crack and the black flames vanished, causing the eyes of not only Leticia but also Terdis and Sebastian—who were fighting the shadow monsters behind her—to widen.

 

“It’s open!!”

 

“Tisha, go in together!”

 

Terdis shouted in panic, but Leticia was already stepping into the ritual room. The white thread was spread out like a pure white light all the way over the magic circle.

 

As if proving that the darkness was the work of that magic circle, it burned with ominous blackish-purple flames, and flashing red lightning was swirling throughout the circle.

 

“Ah, Tisha!!”

 

The startled Terdis called her name like a scream. But Leticia was already stepping inside the magic circle.

 

‘It’s safe this way.’

 

Moving toward the path indicated by the white light, Leticia crossed the massive magic circle. Her targets were the two seals being protected inside the circle.

 

The sword that once held Pashanoi, and the chalice made from Entinus’s skull. The white light was leading her to the chalice first.

 

‘A chalice made from the skull of an evil god…. What were they thinking?’

 

Without much thought, she struck the chalice with her fire whip, but the whip’s flames couldn’t even reach it. Red flames surged from the magic circle surrounding the chalice, and thick bolts of lightning seemed to strike down toward her.

 

“Tisha!!”

 

A panicked Terdis rushed toward the magic circle but was repelled before he could even get close. Leticia, having narrowly dodged the lightning, raised her voice to show she was okay.

 

“I’m fine….”

 

Her skirt was somewhat scorched, but that counted as being fine. Terdis, with a face full of fury, struck the magic circle with a mana-infused fist.

 

BOOM!!!

 

Crackle!

 

He was so strong that the massive magic circle fluctuated and released black flames, but Terdis didn’t even blink.

 

“Aaaah! Pay some attention to this side too!”

 

Behind them, Sebastian was screaming while firing off spells. Leticia, thinking Terdis would protect her as needed, scanned the small circle enveloped in red flames.

 

There was no way it couldn’t be broken.

 

Her Goddess was someone who didn’t like giving Leticia difficult tasks and wasn’t the type to purposely send her into dangerous places. If she were that kind of Goddess, she would have intervened much sooner to make her a Saintess.

 

Leticia knelt on a safe spot on the floor. Then, she released divine power from her fingertips and sent it toward the small magic circle shrouded in flames.

 

The red flames did not retreat as easily as the black flames on the door. However, she could see a gap between the flickering flames.

 

Leticia slid her finger into that gap. Then, among the various letters carved into the floor, she selected the ones shimmering with white light and scraped them away with her finger dipped in divine power.

 

Flash!

 

The flames vanished instantly, leaving only the chalice bound in chains. Leticia pulled out her fire whip and struck the chains.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

 

It took exactly seven strikes with the fire whip—which was heating up to extreme temperatures as she injected divine power—before the chains snapped. Leticia quickly grabbed the chalice and threw it out of the magic circle.

 

A nagging intuition whispered to her that this was the right thing to do. The Chalice of Entinus, which was heavily rusted and looked as if it might crumble at any moment, collided with the black flames surrounding the magic circle.

 

They had been triggered because Terdis attacked the magic circle. Upon impact, the chalice shattered into pieces, and the skull encased in metal was scattered.

 

『KYAAAAAAAAGH!!』

 

The lightning swirling throughout the massive magic circle and the flames that had risen to encase several sections of it vanished in an instant—whoosh!

 

Terdis, who had been cutting down monsters to protect Sebastian, immediately ran to Leticia.

 

“Tisha!!”

 

Leticia came to her senses as he pulled her into a tight embrace. As if the space had been sustained by magical power, the ceiling shook and debris began to fall.

 

“Is it all over?”

 

Sebastian asked as he looked around at the surroundings, which had returned to their original colors. As he said, the darkness that had dyed everything black seemed to have receded, restoring the original hues.

 

Terdis, while holding Leticia with one arm, realized this as he struck away falling stones with his other hand. They had done it. It was hard to believe, but it had happened.

 

“Young Master! That sword…!”

 

“I got it!”

 

At Leticia’s instruction, Sebastian rushed forward and grabbed the sword on the floor. It was firmly connected by chains and wasn’t easy to remove, but he turned his hand into flame and melted through the chains to break them.

 

“Let’s go! We have to get out of here!”

 

Terdis nodded at the leading Sebastian’s shout and began to run. Leticia was in his arms. Sebastian cried out as Terdis instantly overtook him and sprinted out of the ritual room.

 

“Wait for me! You disloyal bastard!!”

 

 

***

 

 

When a massive six-headed black dragon blocked his path, Julius felt a sense of despair as if the world were ending. The dragon swallowed Duke Tesseia with one of its six heads, and as if that wasn’t enough, it seemed to turn its body toward them.

 

If Duke Tesseia hadn’t burst out through the dragon’s head the very next moment, Julius would have stood there stupidly and become the dragon’s prey.

 

‘That man… is a monster!’

 

It was beyond marvelous; it was terrifying. The two knights who had been fighting alongside the Duke also joined the group protecting the Pope, fearing they might hinder the Duke.

 

Since other monsters were lunging out from all sides, they fought while dragging the Pope away to escape.

 

‘How much longer must we fight? Can Duke Tesseia defeat Entinus?’

 

The heads that were burst and torn by the Duke seemed to regenerate over time. Julius, who had to watch the scene from afar, felt his chest tighten with despair. But then!

 

『KYAAAAAAAAGH!!』

 

A piercing scream echoing from far away made his skin crawl. It was then that the head—which was about to breathe poisonous breath at Duke Tesseia—collapsed, and the rest of its body vanished into the darkness.

 

“Oh!”

 

The darkness filling the surroundings began to dissipate like mist, and everything returned to its original colors. Countless things making up the buildings and streets regained their natural hues; the sky opened up, and vivid blue sky and sunlight poured down.

 

“Ah….”

 

The Pope, who had been held by one of the Tesseia knights, seemed to regain his senses as if freed from the demonic energy. When the knight hurriedly released him, the Pope slumped to the ground as if his strength had left him.

 

Julius quickly deactivated his divine magic and ran to support the Pope. The Pope shed a few tears of relief.

 

He could see the sky. And… the brightly shining sun.

 

Though it was a bit past midday, there was still plenty of time until evening. People rejoiced at the sky they had reclaimed.

 

It had been a time when everyone was gripped by darkness, fleeing and suffering as they were swallowed by monsters. They now emerged from their homes or buildings, moving to check if their loved ones were safe.

 

Duke Aaron Tesseia, lightly flicked his sword and slid it back into its scabbard. He wanted to run immediately to see if Leticia and Sebastian were safe, but he didn’t know where the children were.

 

“…Are you unharmed, Your Holiness?”

 

“Ah…. Yes, th-thank you. Duke Tesseia.”

 

The Pope spoke as he stood up with Julius’s help. He looked weakened, as if he had completely lost his usual dignity. He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, though he still only looked to be in his early thirties.

 

“Escort His Holiness to the Great Temple.”

 

Aaron commanded his knights and turned away. He intended to find out if Leticia and Sebastian were safe.

 

 

***

 

 

‘No! No, this cannot be!’

 

Hundreds of years of preparation had gone into this. She had mobilized countless means for her revenge, and most of them were things that should never be done by a human being. For the sake of a brother whose face she could no longer even remember, she had fought endlessly, clinging to a resentment that had turned into a singular obsession.

 

‘Again! Again, you!! Duke Tesseia!!!’

 

Nina was furious, but in truth, she believed the real culprit who ruined her plan was someone else. The underground ritual site, which she thought could never be discovered, had been raided.

 

‘If only those two items are safe… I might be able to summon Lord Entinus again. Though the physical manifestation I barely managed to create has been destroyed…’

 

Especially if she used the dark power contained within the sword, achieving her revenge once more would be no problem. This terrible and low world had to crumble.

 

In fact, the moment she sensed the door to the ritual room being breached, she had been moving toward it. She considered Duke Tesseia a powerhouse she couldn’t face alone anyway, and she believed Entinus’s avatar would be more than enough to kill him. Even a Sword Master was but a mere human; surely, he could do nothing against a fragment of a god.

 

But the world was not on her side. Before she could even reach the hideout, the magic circle shattered and a piercing scream rang out. It was the scream of the cursed souls she had extracted and bound to the circle.

 

She was seized by despair, but she did not give up. She had to identify the ones who had ruined her life’s work. Instead of entering the hideout immediately, she hid nearby and watched. Since most of the monsters summoned through Entinus’s power would have returned to the darkness, escaping the hideout should have been easy for the intruders.

 

The remaining monsters were the useful ones Nina had created through her research, but it seemed they were no match for the trio. Soon, a section of the wall was sliced open by a sword strike, and three people spilled out. They didn’t stop until they were a good distance away from the mansion-turned-hideout to check their condition.

 

“Are you okay, Tisha?”

 

Compared to Terdis and Sebastian, who were covered in dust, Leticia looked relatively fine. Terdis had swatted away all the debris and shielded her with his own body. Sebastian, on the other hand, looked like he had been directly bombarded by a dust cloud.

 

“Pah! Why is it going into my mouth!”

 

Sebastian grumbled irritably, brushing off the dust. He wanted to clear it all away with magic like his master Dominic, but that particular spell was unexpectedly high-level, and he couldn’t use it yet.

 

As Sebastian shook his head like a dog to get the dust out, Terdis quickly moved away from him while still holding Leticia. After setting her down, he began dusting off her clothes. Leticia, in turn, hurriedly brushed the dust off Terdis.

 

‘Just those brats….’

 

Nina doubted her own eyes. She expected others to emerge from the collapsing mansion—but no. She wondered if their guardian lay dead in the basement, but their expressions weren’t those of people suppressing grief.

 

‘I won’t forgive you!!!’

 

Her plan wasn’t meant to be ruined by such nobodies. She thought Vincent Larkin might discover the place, but she figured it would be fine since that man wasn’t the type to risk his life on a losing battle.

 

Nina, who was already thinking about starting over from scratch, froze when she saw the sword in Sebastian’s hand. It was easy to guess they had stolen the sword and the chalice from the underground ritual site. But why was the chalice missing?

 

‘Could it be?’

 

The Chalice of Entinus. It was an item that had been kept in the Imperial underground vault. Given its purpose, it should have been treated as precious, but because it was a gift from a foreign royal family and poorly maintained, it was heavily rusted and unsightly. If the current Emperor had seen it, he would have scolded the curator and chased them out. He likely would have given it away or sold it off, never knowing its true value.

 

‘The chalice… Where is the chalice?’

 

She sent a shadow familiar from beneath her cloak into the ritual site to locate it. Though the room was deep underground, the familiar quickly burrowed into the completely collapsed chamber. Because their minds were linked, the state of the chalice she saw through the familiar was disastrous. The item called a seal—which was actually the key to reclaiming Entinus’s power—had been smashed to pieces!

 

“Aaaaaagh!”

 

She couldn’t even say she had returned to the beginning. Her ladder had been broken, and she could never climb up again.

 

At the sudden scream, Terdis sharpened his stance as if he had already sensed her, while only Sebastian and Leticia jumped in surprise.

 

Nina knew them. She knew Leticia because she had failed to kill her several times, and she knew Terdis was one of the individuals to watch out for. As for Sebastian, she remembered his face simply for the sake of getting revenge on Aaron.

 

Tears streaming down her face, she shoved a black magic stone down her throat. It was the essence of her research—the final and greatest technique she had perfected.

 

Sebastian sensed something wrong and cast a spell at her, but Nina easily deflected it. Swallowing the stone, she looked at them with a bizarre smile.

 

“A daughter and a son…. If I kill you both, I’ll at least be able to save face against the Duke. May you be unhappy forever, Duke Tesseia!”

 

Her body split in half starting from her head, and a massive physical form—unbelievable to have come from such a slender frame—stretched out. Terdis tucked Leticia and Sebastian under each arm and vanished from the spot in an instant.

 

 

***

 

 

“She turned huge….”

 

“Ugh, argh….”

 

The spot where they had just been standing was now a deep crater. It was a relief they survived thanks to Terdis, but unlike Leticia who was held in a proper embrace, Sebastian had been tucked under his arm like a sack of grain, leaving his stomach and waist aching from the shaking.

 

Terdis, having hidden in an alley far from that spot, let Sebastian go. Leticia bit her lip as she saw the monster’s head looming between the buildings. This area was a street of villas for nobles and wealthy merchants, so not many people lived here. There might be caretakers, but they seemed to have run out to the streets to check on others because of the earlier darkness.

 

Terdis slowly let go of Leticia and took the sword Sebastian was holding. Sebastian had been holding it without much thought, but when Terdis grabbed the hilt, he found himself letting go instinctively.

 

“Cough…. You’re going to use that? That relic, the edge looks completely dead…. Huh?”

 

The Pashanoi that had been dwelling in Terdis’s pendant seemed to flow into the lifted blade. It was then that the sword, which had a dull edge as if carved from stone, began to emit a sleek luster.

 

“I’ll be back.”

 

Leticia didn’t feel any ominous premonition. She touched the cheek of Terdis, who was smiling at her with confidence, and stepped back.

 

“Go.”

 

He glanced at Leticia’s lips as if lingering, but he turned his back. There was no time for such things now. If he delayed, someone might die.

 

Leticia watched the receding Terdis while swallowing a faint sense of anxiety. She knew he was strong. She knew nothing would happen to him. But this was a feeling she would continue to have as long as she cherished and loved him. That was just the nature of human beings.

 

‘Please, let him be safe.’

 

As Leticia closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess to return him safely, a faint light began to leak from her entire body. Sebastian simply assumed she was the Saintess and her divine power was leaking out. He didn’t realize she was using a final ability that even she wasn’t conscious of.

 

 

***

 

 

Nina had missed Leticia and Sebastian, but she felt no resentment. They were the type to do something foolish in the name of helping others without knowing their place; she figured if she started killing everyone in sight, they would crawl out on their own.

 

However, perhaps because such a huge upheaval had just occurred, there wasn’t a human in sight. Nina decided to use her power to its fullest extent for now.

 

She possessed a massive, humanoid appearance that evoked a dark purple corpse. Her legs were rotted away, forcing her to drag her lower body, yet she possessed a special ability that more than compensated for that flaw.

 

She was a special magical creature—a fusion of Entinus’s beloved first, fourth, and fifth servants. Every word she uttered could become a curse, and her entire body was covered in countless mouths. Furthermore, she possessed regenerative powers that allowed her head to regrow even if it were severed.

 

‘I should have fed the magic stone that causes this transformation to that girl or the boy.’

 

If she had turned one of them into a monster and forced them to devour the other, it would have been truly entertaining. And in the end, if Aaron had been made to face them and wail in despair…

 

“Are you Nina?”

 

The massive, completely hairless head turned swiftly. In her current state, he was the person she least wanted to face.

 

The Tower Master. One of the few beings capable of blocking her special abilities. Leticia’s final ability—Luck—had summoned him.

 

Dominic, his blue eyes shining intensely, landed on the roof of a building along the street where she was crawling. On his arm, a magic tool bracelet he had crafted to track Nina was buzzing loudly.

 

Had it not reacted so violently, he might not have recognized her. Nina resolved not to give Dominic a moment to react.

 

…May even that beautiful skin rot away.

 

Whether Dominic’s skin was actually beautiful or not didn’t matter. The words pouring from nearly a hundred mouths simultaneously became literal curses, raining down on Dominic.

 

It was a horrific curse that caused the flesh to rot. Should any of those black characters touch him, the affected area would begin to putrefy.

 

Naturally, Dominic attempted to block it by deploying a barrier, but the shield shattered into fragments the moment it touched the curse. Amidst the debris of broken barriers, Dominic fled while continuously casting new ones.

 

“Master!”

 

It was then that a voice of salvation was heard. A blue flash of sword energy slashed through the cursed characters in succession. Nina was horrified that her curse was dispelled so easily, but soon noticed the sword he held and flew into a rage.

 

『How dare you!!! Let go of Lord Entinus’ possession!』

 

『…Your limbs shall be torn asunder!』

 

『…May your entrails melt away with poison!』

 

Countless mouths spewed different curses, attempting to attack Terdis and Dominic. Since Terdis was cutting down the oncoming curses, Dominic was able to devise a magic suitable for dealing with her.

 

Rumble!

 

The sky was covered by a darkness different from before, and clouds gathered in an instant. Nina seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. Spewing curses fiercely, she moved her upper body as if trying to flee.

 

Lightning tore through the atmosphere like a downpour. The torrential electric shocks paralyzed the mouths all over Nina’s body, leaving her writhing and convulsing in pain.

 

『Haa… ugh… ugh…』

 

She tried to unleash a curse while her whole body trembled, but her tongue felt paralyzed and wouldn’t move. Terdis easily cut down the faint curses she managed to spit out as he closed in.

 

As death approached, she struggled desperately to escape. She couldn’t die here at the hands of such a brat without even taking the Pope’s head.

 

‘At least…! If I don’t die by the Pope’s hand…’

 

However, the cold blade severed her neck. Seeing the head regenerate, Terdis began to hack her body apart to find the core.

 

Finally, the last curse contained within the shattered core poured out toward Terdis.

 

 

***

 

 

Her heart felt like it was throbbing strangely. Leticia used her ability again to check the thread of fate connected to Terdis. The deep pink thread was still vivid… and Terdis’s life didn’t seem to be in danger.

 

‘Then why? It’s not much… but I feel a little uneasy.’

 

The sounds of battle had ceased long ago. The artificial grey clouds in the distance had vanished, and the traces of magical beasts or strange voices among the buildings were no longer heard.

 

“What is it? Isn’t the fight over…?”

 

Sebastian glanced at Leticia with an expression that suggested he had something to say. He was secretly wondering if Terdis had perhaps lost, given the silence.

 

But he could never say such a thing to Leticia, who was already worried.

 

“There you guys are.”

 

Dominic appeared soundlessly, looking somewhat flustered and troubled. Both Leticia and Sebastian jumped in surprise.

 

“Master! Make some noise when you arrive!”

 

Normally, Dominic would have smacked Sebastian on the head, but he ignored him and looked at Leticia instead. At his expression, Leticia’s heart sank.

 

She had realized that a mage had joined the fray upon seeing the grey clouds and lightning from the direction where Terdis had gone to fight.

 

“Where is Ter? Weren’t you fighting together?”

 

“Ah… about that. The monster was so large it seems some clean-up is needed. He asked me to take you two back to the Tesseia Ducal estate.”

 

“What?”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Beside the surprised Leticia, Sebastian sensed the ominous atmosphere and scrutinized Dominic’s face. Leticia suddenly turned around.

 

“Wait?! Where are you going?”

 

“I have to check if Ter is okay!”

 

She began to run, following the thread of fate connected to him. Dominic followed her, looking panicked.

 

“If you go like this, my reputation…! Hey, I told you to stop!”

 

Even running her hardest, she was slower than the Tower Master, so Dominic easily caught up. Leticia glared at him as she ran.

 

“Something happened! There’s no way Ter wouldn’t come back immediately! Right?”

 

“Ah, no… sigh.”

 

When he scratched his head and came to a halt, Leticia stopped walking. Instead of doing this, she realized she could just check Terdis’s condition with her ability.

 

Seeing a suitable wooden barrel nearby, Leticia went over and sat down. Dominic, sensing something strange, leaned in to watch.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I’m going to check on Ter.”

 

Leticia said as she closed her eyes.

 

 

***

 

He was fleeing out of the capital in haste. He knew Leticia’s ability could find him anywhere. Pashanoi, strapped to his side, vibrated anxiously, but Terdis did not look back.

 

He was miserable. He felt as though a sob would escape the moment he opened his mouth, and he couldn’t bring himself to look back. He knew if he looked at the capital, he would want to run to Leticia and lean on her kindness.

 

‘But…’

 

He couldn’t do that. It was absolutely impossible. Leticia was someone who had to be happy, and he couldn’t let her be burdened with someone like him. He didn’t want to make her like that again.

 

‘My father and Leticia will probably keep looking for me. It might take months… maybe even years of hiding.’

 

He would be happy even if he could only see her from a distance. But he believed he shouldn’t give her any hope. Leticia was kind and gentle. He never wanted her to be held back by pity and become unhappy.

 

Leticia felt a sense of futility as she saw him already crossing the capital walls and fleeing along the highway. He was wearing a hooded cloak he had obtained from somewhere, concealing even his face.

 

‘What are you doing? Why are you running? Why that look…’

 

As he checked his attire, his hands and fingers were revealed. It was the same reptilian skin he had when he was possessed by Pashanoi.

 

However, Pashanoi seemed to still be residing in the mutated sword, which confused Leticia.

 

She snapped her eyes open and glared at Dominic, who was watching her. Dominic took a step back with a guilty expression.

 

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“Why does Ter… look like his old self? He isn’t even possessed by Pashanoi.”

 

“…….”

 

“What? His old self? You mean that mon—”

 

When Leticia glared at Sebastian as if she would kill him if he said another word, he quickly covered his own mouth. Dominic asked with a frown.

 

“How did you know? Was there such a power among the Saintess’s many abilities?”

 

“Yes. I confirmed the form Ter has changed into. Please don’t hide it and tell me.”

 

At her words, Dominic looked troubled.

 

“It’s a curse I cannot break. It seems to be a ‘curse that transforms the target into the form they consider most hideous.'”

 

If Dominic, the Tower Master, couldn’t break it, it was safe to assume no one in the world could. Leticia was surprised, but she did not waver. If it was impossible through magic, she could try with divine power.

 

“And he’s running away because of that?”

 

“He said he was leaving because he knew you wouldn’t give up on him. He said there would be no way to solve it on this continent, so he’s going to cross over to another continent to find a way. He told me to tell you not to wait, as he doesn’t know when he’ll be back…”

 

“That idiot!”

 

If that was the case, they could just leave together. She couldn’t let Terdis leave like this, as if he were a fugitive.

 

‘There’s no way! I didn’t even have a premonition that Ter would get hurt! That’s why I let him go…’

 

If Terdis was determined to leave, she couldn’t catch him just by chasing him now. Leticia decided to find Carlyle first.

 

Her father or brothers might not help. The one they cherished was Leticia, not Terdis. In fact, they might even try to hinder her, claiming they were respecting Terdis’s wishes.

 

‘There must be a way!’

 

And even if there were no way, it didn’t matter. Terdis belonged to her. He was her husband and the man she loved.

 

If a way was to be found, they would find it together; she had no intention of letting him suffer alone.

 

Leticia reached out and grabbed Dominic’s arm. At this moment, he seemed to pity Terdis and Leticia enough to do anything for her.

 

“Ter hasn’t gone far yet. You can put a tracker on him, right?”

 

She could track Terdis using her ability, but using magic was more certain. It would also be better for sending messages.

 

Faced with Leticia’s intensity, Dominic nodded. She had only grabbed his arm, but he felt as though he were being held by the collar.

 

“I mean, well… I can. I am the Tower Master, after all.”

 

“Please. Put a tracker on Terdis.”

 

Chasing down the runaway puppy was the next order of business.

 

 

***

 

 

The Pope checked his remaining holy power and chuckled hollowly. After all that… it had come to this.

 

‘I should have saved that priest back then.’

 

It had been his foolish selfishness—a stupid, petty, and low-born greed. For the sake of such a fleeting emotion, he had let go of a life he could have saved: the priest who had risked his life to come to the office out of concern for him.

 

He wanted to strike the ground in deep regret, but the deed was done. In his current state, he couldn’t even attempt a resurrection.

 

Orlando, who had stood firm in guarding the Great Temple amidst the chaos, greeted the returning Pope without a word. He provided a new office, claiming the Pope’s original one was still in disarray, and urged him to return to his bedchamber to rest.

 

The Pope followed him silently. Orlando, as a High Priest, surely must have noticed that the Pope’s holy power had diminished significantly.

 

‘The Goddess has abandoned me; the next Pope shall soon appear.’

 

He recalled the faces of those who had saved him: the priest he had left to die in the office, the holy knights who fell protecting him… and later, Duke Tesseia. At the time, he had taken it for granted, but reflecting on it now, it didn’t seem the Duke had saved him out of loyalty to the Papacy. He had likely saved him knowing that Entinus’s heart was embedded in his own.

 

‘I’ve ended up indebted even to that man.’

 

The Pope finally abandoned his greed for Leticia. Now that he was destined for seclusion as a new Pope emerged, what was the use of it all? He decided to repay his debt to the Tesseia family personally. He had no intention of involving the Order; he had lost most of his holy power, and his words would soon carry no weight within the church.

 

After a moment’s thought, the Pope called for a junior priest to bring a pen and stationery. He remembered Leticia’s young face as she had glared at him.

 

‘…Will this be enough?’

 

He waited for the ink to dry, folded the letter, and placed it in an envelope. He sealed it carefully. If this were to leak, it could cause disaster, so he had to choose his messenger wisely.

 

“Could you call Julius for me?”

 

He felt guilty calling him during such a busy time, but Julius was the only one he could truly trust. He couldn’t ask a severely injured holy knight, after all. The young priest, unaware that the Pope’s power had waned, bowed and ran to fetch Julius.

 

The Pope left the envelope on the table and gazed out the window. It was a clear, blue day.

 

 

***

 

 

Carlyle turned pale upon hearing Leticia’s news. Since Aaron had not yet returned to the Tesseia estate, Leticia hurried back to the Lyon estate with Carlyle. While she hoped Aaron wouldn’t find out, she knew it was impossible to keep Sebastian quiet.

 

“I’m not sure we can catch that boy, even with a tracker.”

 

Terdis was a Sword Master. Even if they luckily reached the same village, he would evade trackers and flee in an instant. It would be ideal to ask another Sword Master to intercept him, but it was difficult to command the Imperial Sword Masters, and Carlyle wasn’t sure if Duke Tesseia or Cesare would lend their strength.

 

Especially since Dominic, the Tower Master, had declared he couldn’t break the curse.

 

‘The reason Terdis fled in such haste was likely to spare Leticia from reliving that pain.’

 

Leticia had already spent eight years as the fiancée of a cursed boy. Though she didn’t view that time as a burden, Terdis clearly thought otherwise. Carlyle wondered if it might be right to send Leticia back to the Tesseia family. If Leticia weren’t at the Lyon estate, perhaps Terdis wouldn’t have fled like that.

 

‘With that appearance, even finding an inn won’t be easy. A journey is hard enough with an entourage, but alone…’

 

Carlyle admitted that keeping Leticia was his own greed. She was the only daughter of the Tesseia family, and if Terdis was cursed… it was only right for her to return to her home.

 

“I asked the Tower Master to put a tracker on Terdis. His tracking magic is following him right now. If we can determine his path, we might be able to intercept him.”

 

Carlyle didn’t answer, simply looking at Leticia. Terdis was his son, and he would never stop loving him, but Leticia had another family.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that? Even with teleportation magic, we need to close the distance to a certain extent. So…”

 

“Leticia. I am truly grateful that you care this much.”

 

“Why do you say it like that? This is about Ter.”

 

“He fled without even showing me his face. He felt immense shame for that form when he was possessed by Pashanoi. He must feel the same now. Because he loves you so much… he won’t want to show you that side of him ever again.”

 

“It’s a face I already… know.”

 

Carlyle nodded at Leticia’s words. He knew pushing her away like this was a wound, but it was something that had to be said—especially by someone who truly cherished her.

 

“I want to meet him too. I want to hold him and comfort him. I know he’s an adult, but isn’t that what parents do? No matter how much they grow, they always look like children to us…”

 

“……”

 

“As long as you remain in this family, Terdis will not return to the Lyon estate.”

 

“F-Father…”

 

“In that form, he can’t even get a room at an inn. He won’t be able to enter a village or even have a proper meal. He might be hunted by guards or woodsmen.”

 

It would be a long, long battle. Perhaps a battle that couldn’t be won in a lifetime. Carlyle shed tears as he watched Leticia cry.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would turn out like this… I should have stopped him when he said he was going to fight that monster… I couldn’t read a thing.”

 

“It’s not your fault. Whose fault could it be? Don’t let those thoughts eat away at you.”

 

When Terdis first changed and Carlyle lost his wife, he had resented all the gods in the world. Yet, unable to help but hope for the Order’s aid, he had kept them close.

 

“Even if it was for a brief moment, he must have been happy to be with you. Leticia, please let Terdis go now. Looking after that boy is my duty as his father…”

 

“But… we don’t know that. I don’t care if Ter looks like that.”

 

“The boy himself doesn’t want it. I won’t tell you to leave right this second. Go to your room… and think it over slowly. I’ll speak to Aaron.”

 

In his heart, Carlyle wanted to be greedy and hold onto Leticia. He could pretend to send her back to the Tesseia estate and then call her back once Terdis returned. But he tried to suppress that desire. Leticia had already done enough for his son. Perhaps being unable to escape that form was simply his son’s destiny.

 

‘No. I won’t think like that. What did my son ever do wrong…’

 

Leticia tried to persuade Carlyle several times but failed, and was eventually led out of the room by someone Carlyle summoned. It felt as though his heart was tearing apart as he watched her leave in tears, but for now, he had to prioritize Terdis.

 

He suddenly looked at a notebook on his desk. It was the notebook Julius had asked him to deliver to Leticia. He had just received it back today after having a mage contracted to the Lyon family inspect it for any hidden schemes by the Order.

 

‘It is a notebook containing the holy magic of the Order. It seems they wanted to teach the young madam.’

 

‘I’ll deliver it later.’ Carlyle called for his secretary, his face etched with worry and pain.

 

 

***

 

 

Julius arrived at the Lyon estate when it was completely dark. He stated it was an urgent letter from the Pope and waited in the first-floor drawing room for Leticia. He had expected the young Duke to accompany her, but only Leticia appeared. She had likely used holy power to treat her eyes, but a faint swelling remained.

 

‘Did they have a falling out with the young Duke?’

 

Given how devoted they were to each other, it was hard to imagine, but lovers often fought over trivial things.

 

‘They’ll make up eventually. I won’t interfere.’

 

“…This is a letter for you from the Pope. He insisted that you read it alone and burn it immediately afterward.”

 

Burn it?

 

Leticia almost frowned at the strange request, but it was a letter from the Pope himself. She accepted it from Julius. Julius immediately rose from his seat.

 

Leticia felt an impulse to consult him about Terdis’s curse, but she couldn’t stop him. She didn’t want the fact of his curse to spread to the Order just yet.

 

“Are you leaving already?”

 

“It’s a late visit; I cannot impose any further.”

 

Julius looked at Leticia with gentle eyes and smiled.

 

“I shall greet you again when the opportunity arises, Madam. I wish you peace.”

 

“May the Goddess’s grace go with you on your way.”

 

At Leticia’s response, Julius nodded slowly and left. Leticia saw him to the front door. After he left, the butler informed her that Carlyle had gone out a while ago. It seemed he had left immediately after their conversation.

 

‘I have a strange feeling.’

 

It was just a single letter—one from a Pope she didn’t even trust, who had harmed Carlyle before. Yet, she felt she had to open it immediately. The premonition that had failed her when Terdis was cursed was now urging her on. Leticia hurried to her room on the third floor.

 

She called a maid to light a fire in the fireplace. Once the fire was roaring, she dismissed all the servants and closed the door.

 

‘What could be in it?’

 

Her heart was heavy as she broke the seal. She desperately hoped there was something inside that could help with Terdis’s curse.

 

The contents of the letter were about the abilities the Pope had read in her when they last met. Leticia’s eyes scanned the text rapidly.

 

She was already familiar with the first two. The third ability made others sexually aroused toward a desired partner; the fourth boosted the stats of a partner (though the specific stat varied); and the fifth…

 

‘The ability to break curses with a kiss!’

 

She wanted to call for Molly immediately but finished reading every detail. It said that regardless of where the kiss was, as long as lips touched, the curse would be broken. She read about the last two abilities as well, but since they weren’t relevant to Terdis’s curse, they didn’t register. Leticia threw the letter into the fireplace flames and called for Molly.

 

She had to bring the family mage and contact Dominic right away.

 

 

***

 

 

A blue-feathered bird landed near the campfire he had built. Terdis had already noticed that a mage’s magic was tracking him. He had left it alone, knowing that even if he slashed it, the magic would either transfer to him or another spell would take its place.

 

He suspected it was Dominic, the Tower Master. Given Leticia’s ability, she might be watching his pathetic state right now.

 

‘Tisha… is she okay? She must have cried a lot.’

 

He didn’t know what his father would do—whether he would send Leticia away as Terdis wished or ask her to stay as his wife.

 

— Young Duke.

 

The blue bird opened its beak and spoke in a human voice. Terdis watched it with a blank expression. The bird continued regardless.

 

— Lady Lyon asked me to deliver a message. ‘I’ve found a way to break the curse, so come back.’

 

‘What?’

 

Terdis jumped up in shock. He didn’t know the specifics of this curse, but he knew that curses of this form were notoriously difficult to break. No, he believed it was absolutely impossible.

 

“That’s a lie…”

 

— I wouldn’t know, but your wife might. She’s a Saintess, not a mage. Shouldn’t you give her a chance at least once?

 

Leticia might be standing right beside the Tower Master as he spoke through the bird, but Terdis couldn’t bring himself to ask to hear her voice. He felt he would burst into tears if he heard it. He feared the resolve he had reinforced ten thousand times would shatter.

 

“There’s no way, is there? Even the Tower Master…”

 

— Hey, kid. I don’t know everything in the world. I said your curse couldn’t be broken by my magic right now; I didn’t say it could never be broken. Magic is constantly evolving.

 

“It might be a lie just to lure me back to the capital.”

 

— I don’t know your wife well, but is she the kind of person who could tell such a cruel lie? I suspect no one understands how desperate you are better than she does.

 

“……”

 

— I know you’re afraid. Being rejected by the one you love is horrific. But try to consider the hearts of your family, who know you’re suffering.

 

Terdis thought of his father, whom he had forgotten in his obsession with Leticia. How much his father must have suffered upon hearing the news.

 

— If you return to the capital, I’ll give you a good gift. If you have it, using inns or restaurants will be much easier.

 

“What…?”

 

— Even if it’s a curse that changes your appearance, it doesn’t mean other magic won’t work on you. Other mages’ spells might have been useless, but I’m the Tower Master, remember?

 

The blue bird couldn’t mimic the Tower Master’s expressions, but Terdis managed a bitter smile at his humorous tone.

 

“I’ll think about it.”

 

Terdis said this, but he knew he couldn’t let go of the hope. Perhaps, maybe… he could continue to stay by Leticia’s side.

 

He stood up and looked up at the star-studded night sky. He felt that somewhere in that gaze, countless gods might be looking down on him.

 

 

***

 

 

Leticia considered staying awake until midnight to wait for him, but she abandoned the thought. Terdis would only enter the room if he believed she was asleep. She had already confirmed through her ability that he had turned back toward the capital.

 

‘How startled and terrified he must have been.’

 

Her own heart and Carlyle’s had felt as though they were breaking, but that could not compare to the pain and despair the victim himself felt.

 

Leticia did not inform Carlyle of this. She feared that if Carlyle attempted to capture Terdis, he might flee without ever meeting her.

 

She truly intended to fall asleep. Her plan was to monitor Terdis’s movements in her dreams and catch him once he drew close enough to her side.

 

‘Will I be able to wake up properly? No, before that… is it even possible for me to physically restrain Ter?’

 

She had thought about asking the Lyon estate’s mages to set a trap, but capturing a Sword Master was no easy feat. If he noticed a magical snare, he might disappear for good.

 

The problem was that her mind was too full of thoughts to sleep. Yet, if she took a sleeping pill, she feared she wouldn’t wake up at the right moment.

 

After agonizing over it, Leticia finally fell into a light sleep in the dead of night, calling for composure. Since it was a shallow, conscious sleep, she was able to use her ability to watch Terdis.

 

‘As I thought…’

 

Terdis, having already infiltrated the capital, seemed to be hiding in the garden of the Lyon estate, watching the window of Leticia’s room. Once he felt she was fully asleep, he climbed up to the balcony attached to the bedroom.

 

The glass door leading to the balcony was open. She had left it that way, hoping he might enter through it. Sure enough, Terdis quietly opened the window and stepped inside.

 

‘Tisha…’

 

Approaching silently, Terdis gazed at Leticia in the darkness. He told himself he would never touch her with these hands again. This would likely be the last time he could see her with these eyes. Therefore, he had to remember her.

 

‘I might be able to see Father again later, but Tisha…’

 

Her eyes were swollen from crying. While she had cried out for Dominic, she had intentionally left her eyes untreated to make them look worse. Everything was a ploy to hold Terdis back—to ensure he couldn’t heartlessly run away when she tried to catch him.

 

‘…Come closer!’

 

Leticia, watching Terdis through her ability, felt her insides burning with impatience. There was a limit to watching him while maintaining a shallow sleep. If she tried too hard to keep her consciousness, she would eventually wake up. Then Terdis would flee… and it might take a long time to catch him again. Thinking of how he would suffer alone during that time, she had to catch him now.

 

Terdis, who had been watching from a distance, stepped closer as his longing surged. Since Leticia usually slept deeply when he was near, he rashly thought this would be fine—unaware that she only slept so soundly because his presence made her feel safe.

 

‘A little… could I be just a little greedy?’

 

He didn’t even wish for a kiss. He simply wanted to wipe her tear-stained face. But looking at his own hands covered in reptilian scales, he felt it was a ridiculous desire.

 

‘Tisha…’

 

Standing near the bed with only two steps between them, Terdis noticed the dawn approaching and turned to leave. Startled, Leticia immediately woke up. At the sound of her movement, Terdis recoiled and tried to dash out of the bedroom.

 

“Don’t go!!” Leticia shouted as she sat up.

 

Terdis froze in front of the half-open window. The thought that this might be the last time he would hear her voice made it impossible to move his feet.

 

“It’s true! I can break it, Ter… Please don’t go.”

 

“How could you break this?” Terdis spoke without turning back. He kept his hood pulled low as if he didn’t want a single part of his transformed self to be seen.

 

“His Holiness sent a letter telling me what my other abilities are. He said I can break the curse. So…”

 

“There’s no way the Pope would send a letter at such a convenient time.”

 

Rumors of his curse hadn’t even spread yet. Sebastian would eventually tell Aaron and the other brothers, but for Leticia’s sake, he would stay silent for a while, and the Tower Master was unlikely to speak of it easily either. Even the robe Terdis was wearing had been provided by the Tower Master.

 

‘Father or Tisha wouldn’t have confessed this to the Order yet. They might consult them later to break the curse, but not this quickly.’

 

As expected… the claim that she could break the curse must be a trick to lure him back. Terdis felt a deep despair. He hadn’t believed it from the start. He had only come out of a sliver of hope and a greedy desire to see Leticia one last time. He felt a wave of regret that he hadn’t kissed her before going to hunt that monster.

 

“No, it’s real! Why won’t you believe me…?”

 

He realized she was crying from the wetness in her voice. His heart felt like it was breaking, but he still didn’t turn around. He loathed his hideous appearance.

 

‘I don’t want to show you this side of me ever again.’

 

“I’m sorry it turned out like this, Leticia. I shouldn’t have been greedy… But I was happy just to be your husband.”

 

“Don’t go. If you go now, I’m jumping off the balcony.”

 

Their bedroom was on the third floor. There were trees below, so she probably wouldn’t die, but she could be seriously injured. But Leticia believed. She believed that if she said this, Terdis would give her at least one chance.

 

“I love you. Forget someone like me. I… can live just on the memories of the time I spent with you.”

 

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her to meet another man and be happy. Even though he knew he should act colder and more heartless for her sake, he couldn’t do it. He only wanted to show her his best self.

 

‘I hope you never forget me.’

 

That might be Leticia’s pain, but it was impossible for him to let go of that last bit of greed. As Terdis vanished past the balcony, Leticia tried to chase him but fell off the bed. Forgetting the pain, she rushed out barefoot and stood on the balcony.

 

“Ter, Terdis!”

 

She cried out in a desperate voice, but he was already gone. Leticia stared into the fading darkness of dawn with a pale face. She knew Terdis was still watching her. Toward her, he could never be truly cold, and he was full of lingering attachments.

 

‘If I fall, Terdis will catch me.’

 

Leticia stepped toward the edge of the balcony with a cold expression. Seeing her climb over the railing without hesitation, Terdis, who had been watching from afar, panicked.

 

‘Don’t miss me!’

 

She jumped without looking down, hoping her neck wouldn’t break. She knew that if Terdis was watching her, he would come to catch her; but if he had truly fled without looking back, she would plummet to the ground. She would likely smash into the garden soil, breaking several branches along the way.

 

Gasp.

 

The moment of falling was brief, yet long enough to take her breath away. The arms that caught her firmly had a texture different from usual, yet they felt like something in her memories, making her weep.

 

Terdis couldn’t even be angry. Without thinking to hide his face, he looked at her. Leticia grabbed his collar and crashed her lips against his.

 

The sensation of touching something hard like scales lasted only a moment. Terdis felt dizzy as light spread out from the point where her lips touched him.

 

“…Tisha.”

 

“Ugh… hng… hnn…”

 

Crying, Leticia hugged Terdis’s neck tightly. She knew that even if she missed him today, she would catch him eventually. If she told Carlyle, he might struggle, but there would eventually be a day when he persuaded Terdis to try. But thinking of the despair and pain Terdis would endure in the meantime, she couldn’t let him escape.

 

The face she looked up at was the Terdis she remembered—his beautiful and brilliant features. The face Terdis himself was proud and confident of.

 

“Huaaaaang…”

 

Holding the wailing Leticia, Terdis cried as well. He had thought he would never hold her in these arms again.

 

“Tisha… I wanted to hold you so much.”

 

Whispering, Terdis embraced her back. The light of the breaking dawn settled gently over their heads.

 

***

 

 

“…The two of you ran off and got married because you were all grown up, but you’re acting like children.”

 

Though his mouth was teasing them, Carlyle was the happiest of all. Leticia and Terdis had stood in the middle of the garden hugging and wailing for a long time, and a gardener working early in the morning had been so shocked he alerted the butler.

 

The butler, who knew Terdis had been cursed again, confirmed his young master’s restored appearance and informed Carlyle. Carlyle had rushed out in his pajamas to find the sobbing couple.

 

‘Our Leticia is a true blessing!’

 

His heart, which had plummeted to hell, returned to heaven in just a few hours. Carlyle had the children brought inside, wrapped in blankets, and served warm tea. Terdis was dressed in traveler’s clothes he’d found somewhere, but Leticia was still in her pajamas. Since Terdis hadn’t thought to grab anything as he came out, Carlyle had snatched the clothes off a nearby servant and draped them over Leticia’s shoulders.

 

Of course, once they were in the first-floor living room, she was properly wrapped in blankets and seated. He felt terribly sorry for having been so stern with Leticia the day before, but she would understand. He had said those things for her happiness, not his son’s.

 

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t rush to meet Aaron.’

 

Since giving up on Leticia was heartbreaking for him too, he hadn’t set an appointment for the very next day. He had intended to give Leticia some time to compose herself before sending her back to the Tesseia estate.

 

‘This isn’t the time for that!’

 

Carlyle had a servant bring pen and paper, wrote down the situation, and sent it to the Tesseia estate via a messenger. Since Sebastian would have already informed his father and brothers, Aaron must have been up all night worrying about Leticia. Now that it was daylight, he thought it was acceptable to send a message.

 

“Where did you send that?” Terdis asked while checking on Leticia’s complexion.

 

Carlyle answered with a grin, “To Duke Tesseia. Since the third young master must have informed them, wouldn’t they be worried too?”

 

To my father-in-law?

 

Terdis looked at Leticia with an uneasy face. His father and Leticia didn’t seem to realize, but if those people heard the news, they would come running immediately. The two families were much closer now, and when it came to Leticia, they didn’t seem to care about formalities.

 

‘As I thought.’

 

Sensing them with his aura, Terdis chuckled. Leticia looked at him, puzzled.

 

“What is it?”

 

“You’ll see if you wait.”

 

“M-Master!”

 

The Tesseia and Lyon estates were on the same street. Given the size of noble manors, they were quite far apart even on the same street, but Aaron or Cesare could arrive here in an instant. After all, Terdis himself had fled to a forest near a distant village and made it back to the Lyon estate in a few hours.

 

“His Grace, Duke Tesseia, has arrived!”

 

Only Aaron came. Godfrey and Sebastian wouldn’t be able to get there that fast, and Cesare, despite his anxiety, would have prioritized Leticia’s reputation.

 

“Wait, so soon? The messenger would have only just arrived…”

 

Without waiting, Aaron appeared behind the butler. He felt relieved upon seeing Terdis and Leticia through the open living room door. Carlyle wasn’t the only one who had spent a painful night. Aaron had also spent the night in anxiety, thinking about how Leticia would suffer.

 

“Father-in-law, you’ve come?”

 

“Welcome.”

 

It was early and an incredibly rude visit, but no one frowned. Aaron stepped back with a sigh of relief. He noticed Leticia’s eyes were swollen from crying, but he considered that unavoidable.

 

‘I’ll deal with you later.’

 

Terdis felt a chill as Aaron glanced at him, though he didn’t know why. From Aaron’s perspective, Terdis had succumbed to the curse because he was weak. While there was the case of Teresa dying from a curse, she hadn’t been a knight. Since Terdis had to protect Leticia from now on, he had a duty to become stronger than he was.

 

‘I can’t do it now because he needs to comfort Leticia… but later I’ll set a date to check his skills and train him.’

 

“No. My heart was restless, so I committed an impoliteness. …I shall take my leave now.”

 

“You came all this way just to leave? Why not stay for breakfast?” Carlyle asked.

 

But Aaron refused repeatedly. “The others will be waiting for news. I should return before those brats commit the same rudeness as I did. Sorry for the early hour.”

 

As he turned to leave, Leticia and Terdis followed Carlyle to see him out. Seeing the young couple standing side by side with blankets over their shoulders, Aaron chuckled.

 

“Go inside. I’ll see you later, Leticia.”

 

“Take care… Fa-ther.”

 

The last word she added was quiet, but it stuck clearly in Aaron’s ears. He couldn’t look back at Leticia, fearing he might cry. He walked out of the estate with a firm gaze. Since the distance from the entrance to the main gate was terribly far, Leticia probably watched his back for a long time. Even so, he was happy…

 

‘Teresa. I’m doing a bit well, aren’t I?’

 

After finally seeing Duke Tesseia out, Carlyle and the couple turned back. Carlyle, too happy to contain himself, finally asked the question he hadn’t asked yet.

 

“By the way, Terdis, how did you return to your original form?”

 

He guessed Leticia had done something. There had to be a reason why the two were hugging and crying. Furthermore, since the Tower Master had said it was impossible, the only thing left to trust was the holy power of the Order, and Leticia was a Saintess.

 

“That is…” As Terdis glanced at Leticia, she gestured to Carlyle. “It’s not something to discuss outside… Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you.”

 

 

***

 

 

After dismissing the servants, Carlyle nodded at the explanation. She hadn’t revealed all of her abilities—simply telling him she had the power to break Terdis’s curse was enough. Carlyle looked relieved.

 

“It seems His Holiness felt moved because Duke Tesseia saved his life. In any case, it’s a good outcome.”

 

Carlyle stood up, saying he should express proper gratitude to the Order as well.

 

“You two go up and rest. A lot happened in one night… I’ll take care of things from here.”

 

He instructed Terdis not to let Leticia go hungry, even if it meant having meals brought to the room, and then left. Terdis held Leticia’s hand, kissed her fingertips, and asked, “Shall we go up?”

 

“But… Father might have a hard time explaining how things happened alone…”

 

“The third brother is there. Sebastian will help him, so don’t worry. And Godfrey will likely be the one investigating…”

 

Since the two ducal families had stepped in to stop it, the authorities would likely allow someone involved to investigate the case as a reward. It wasn’t easy for other families to question the ducal houses anyway.

 

“Let’s go up. I want to hold you and kiss you to my heart’s content.”

 

“You’re already holding me,” Leticia murmured, but she eventually followed Terdis upstairs.

 

 

***

 

It seemed quite a few things had happened while he was stuck in the Imperial Palace wasting time protecting the royals. As someone related to both the Lyon and Tesseia families, Cesare, tasked with writing the report, selected only what was suitable for the Imperial family to know and destroyed the rest.

 

For instance, he omitted the details about Terdis being cursed while killing the monster and Leticia breaking that curse.

 

‘My sister will not work as a Saintess. She won’t be part of the Order, so if this leaks, it will only cause headaches.’

 

There was no reason for this to be known—especially to the Imperial family, who would want to exploit it. Though he was a servant of the Empire and a friend of Crown Prince Edward, protecting Leticia was more important.

 

According to a spy planted in the Order, the Pope was scheduled to return to the Holy Kingdom within the month. He claimed he would return to officiate Lady Tesseia’s wedding once the date was set.

 

‘But… I don’t think “that” Pope will be coming back.’

 

The fact that the Pope had fled without using any abilities during the attack on the Great Temple had already been relayed to the Palace. Both Cesare and Edward saw this as a sign of an impending change in the Papacy. The fact that the previously arrogant Pope was now acting like he had his tail between his legs was likely because he was scheduled to step down from his position as head of the Order.

 

The Luendal Imperial family, the Tesseia family, and the Lyon family… were all massive powers that someone who had stepped down from the Papacy could not afford to face.

 

‘It might be for the best for Leticia. The new Pope will take a considerable amount of time to build their faction and seize control of the Order.’

 

In the meantime, Leticia would finish her marriage to Terdis. He was certain it would be a more brilliant and beautiful wedding than any other noble lady’s. Because he, his father, and Duke Lyon would make it so.

 

One thing that bothered him was the location of Leticia’s wedding. Since his relationship with Leticia had changed, there was no doubt all family members would attend. However…

 

‘Leticia hasn’t said anything in particular. Does she really want to have the wedding in the Lyon Dukedom? Surely not, right?’

 

 

***

 

 

“Of course it’s going to be in the Lyon Duchy. All my friends are there.”

 

Leticia retorted as if it were absurd to even ask. While the high-ranking noble ladies among her friends would surely attend even if the wedding were held in the capital, those of lower status or from less wealthy families would find it impossible to make the journey. Furthermore, the commoners she had befriended while growing up would certainly be excluded if the ceremony took place in the capital.

 

“B-but…! But Mom’s grave is here….”

 

“Isn’t bringing Mom into this a bit over the line?” Leticia said, her brow furrowed.

 

Ever since that day they had inadvertently crossed the line between life and death together, Leticia and Sebastian had become quite close. Though she had started speaking comfortably to him with his permission, Leticia didn’t exactly like him yet. To be honest, she still found him somewhat disagreeable.

 

‘He’s my blood relative, but… no matter how I look at it, Sebastian’s personality is just rotten.’

 

He treated her well because she was his sister, but seeing how he treated others made her certain that Sebastian still had a long way to go.

 

“I’ll pay my respects to Mom separately. She’s watching over me from heaven, so the location doesn’t matter.”

 

In fact, while there was an episode in the novel’s side stories where Teresa appeared as an evil spirit, Leticia believed that would never happen now. Among the ‘cursed souls’ Nina had used in that underground ritual chamber, Teresa’s soul seemed to have been present. Since the souls were released when the magic circle was destroyed, Teresa had found her freedom as well. Leticia had confirmed this through the Tower Master and felt deeply relieved.

 

“Ugh! But still…!”

 

Sebastian struggled, unable to find a counterargument. He suspected that if Leticia held the wedding in the capital, she would live most of her life there; conversely, if she held it in the Lyon Duchy, she would insist on spending her married life there.

 

It was just a ‘hunch,’ but Sebastian was largely right. Since Leticia had spent the golden years of her childhood there, she intended to build her married life in that same place. Even though her feelings toward her father had changed and she had grown closer to Cesare, it wasn’t enough to make her abandon the bonds she had formed with the people she grew up with.

 

Besides, Aaron didn’t just have one child.

 

‘I’ll have to come up to the capital often anyway for Imperial events.’

 

Crucially, she liked the fact that the distance was far enough that the Emperor and Empress wouldn’t be able to attend as guests. Having the Crown Prince attend as a representative was more than enough. If the Imperial couple attended, things would become tiresomely complicated—seating arrangements would be a nightmare, and security would be a massive headache. Loving the Empress was a separate matter entirely.

 

“All four of you can just come down anyway.”

 

Of course, they would. Cesare would probably write a resignation letter if anyone tried to stop him from going. Godfrey would be the same… both would likely go under the guise of escorting the Crown Prince.

 

‘I don’t know anymore. I did my best.’

 

Sebastian’s nagging was partly born of his own greed, but it was also at Aaron’s instigation. If Leticia held the ceremony in the capital, he could provide so much more for her. Since it was his only daughter’s wedding, he felt like he wanted to pluck the moon and stars from the sky to gift to her.

 

“If you miss me, just come visit the Duchy.”

 

At Leticia’s confident declaration, Sebastian snorted.

 

“If you say that, I’m going to visit every single day. Seeing you two stuck together is an eyesore, so I’ll go down there and stubbornly wedge myself right between you.”

 

“Sebastian, don’t you have work? You said you were going to be a mage!”

 

“Oho, are you getting nervous now that I said I’d get between you? If you don’t want my interference, just have the wedding in the capital!”

 

“As if I’d have the wedding in the capital just because of that!”

 

Leticia shouted, but Sebastian didn’t budge an inch. He was being incredibly brazen, perhaps mistaking her tolerance for a sign that they were now best friends.

 

“I’ll do my magic training in the Lyon Duchy too! And I’ll marry a lady from the Duchy! Just you watch! So, if you hate the sound of that, have the wedding in the capital!”

 

The atmosphere suggested that if left alone, he might just flop down on the living room carpet and throw a tantrum. If he had, Leticia wouldn’t have backed down; she would have grabbed a cushion and beaten the dust out of him.

 

“Ha! None of the ladies in our Duchy have such poor taste in men!” Leticia shouted with her hands on her hips.

 

But Sebastian took offense at a different part of her sentence.

 

“Why is it ‘our’ Duchy! You’re still a Tesseia!”

 

“No, I’m not!!”

 

 

***

 

 

Carlyle simply let the distant shouting wash over him. Compared to the time when the whole house was silent because Terdis was cursed, the estate now felt full of life.

 

‘When Terdis was cursed again, I thought God had abandoned the Lyon family.’

 

But Leticia had truly broken the curse, and everything had returned to its proper place. Even Aaron had taken Terdis out to train him personally, claiming he needed to be more disciplined. Terdis, who had felt his own inadequacies in real combat, had gladly followed Aaron.

 

‘Ever since Terdis was willing to throw everything away and leave for Leticia’s sake, it seems both Aaron and Cesare have fully accepted him…’

 

So, the presence of his brother-in-law-to-be, who visited every day to pester them about holding the wedding in the capital, was something he could brush off with a smile.

 

‘The real nuisance is the Emperor… he doesn’t seem to know anything, yet he keeps poking around.’

 

The fact that Terdis had been cursed and then cured was a secret kept strictly between the two families. The servants were sworn to secrecy, and the Tower Master had promised not to tell a soul, so he was trustworthy. Having fulfilled a long-held ambition through this ordeal, the Tower Master was now very favorable toward the Lyon family and Leticia.

 

If Leticia’s ability became known, it would surely lead to trouble. The Imperial family might try to use her power for their own ends. She was such a precious child; he couldn’t let that happen. Aside from Terdis’s profound love for her, Leticia was a treasure to Carlyle as well.

 

‘So even if I want to brag, I must hold it in.’

 

Carlyle pressed down on his rising cheekbones with his hand. Thinking about stepping out in front of people with his son and daughter-in-law at the Harvest Festival in a few days made the corners of his mouth twitch upward.

 

‘I’m going to brag to my heart’s content. Hehehe… Khem. I keep making strange laughing sounds.’

 

Since the sounds of the argument in the distance were getting quite loud, Carlyle instructed a servant to bring some sweets to the drawing room. Even if they were adults, they were still like children at heart; they would settle down once their stomachs were full.

 

To Carlyle, even the bickering of the young adults sounded like music.