Side Story 7

Haron was still recovering from his injuries when he heard the news of the Pope’s retirement. He had suffered a major injury in the Entinus incident, to the point where one of his legs had to be amputated.

 

He eventually regrew the leg with the help of Julius, who had been chosen by God, but he never imagined the Pope would step down. When Haron asked what he should do now, the Pope told him:

 

“Haron. Your sister would not have resented you, and the Goddess has never held your sins against you. Now, leave me and live freely.”

 

He, too, remembered his sister’s final words. To leave her and run away… she had said it with a voice that was fading into nothingness.

 

But for a long time, Haron could not forgive himself. Even after traveling the continent on the Pope’s orders and saving many people, he felt the same. If asked if he still felt that way now…

 

The face of Leticia suddenly came to his mind. It was a face he shouldn’t dare to desire. Remembering the way she looked up at the Young Duke with clear, kind eyes, Haron felt a jealousy he thought he had discarded in his childhood.

 

He confessed his respect to the Pope and quietly withdrew, still unsure of how to live or what to do. He was startled by a strange impulse—the thought that if permitted, he would happily spend the rest of his life by Leticia’s side, protecting her.

 

‘That’s an absurd thought. It’s not as if the Lyon Duchy is short on people…’

 

Moreover, Young Duke Lyon was by Leticia’s side. He was a Sword Master who might even be stronger than Haron. He had never sparred with him, but given the Pope’s advice to avoid even a courtesy duel, it seemed likely he was stronger.

 

‘Why is my heart like this? As a clergyman, I must not fall into sin.’

 

However, it was the Pope who had ordered him to seduce Leticia when she was the Saintess. Afterward, the Pope never told him to stop that failed mission. It was likely because there was no longer a need, but his thoughts kept spinning, creating improbable reasons to spur him on.

 

To escape these stray thoughts, Haron volunteered for a monster subjugation mission as soon as his body recovered. Around that time, Julius, who had ascended as the new Pope, had left for the Empire to fulfill the former Pope’s promises.

 

Though they had once spent months in the same mansion and Julius had even healed his leg, they were still not close. Haron was a mere Holy Knight, though hailed as a hero, while Julius had become someone whose name he could no longer even casually utter.

 

Haron knew he could have joined the procession simply by saying he wanted to congratulate the Saintess on her marriage. But fearing he might commit a grave error, he hurried away from the procession and set out for his distant mission.

 

 

***

 

 

He hadn’t expected a reunion like this.

 

Locking eyes with the couple getting out of the carriage was purely accidental. He was just returning from slaying a monster reported in a valley a few hours from the city. It wasn’t an official mission from the Order; that mission had ended long ago. He had been asked by the city’s lord while on his way back to the Order.

 

Normally, such a matter would require an official request to the capital for Imperial Knights, as small provincial cities lacked skilled knights. But upon realizing that Haron happened to be in the city, the lord had made a donation and requested help through a High Priest. The High Priest informed the Order, and Haron was ordered to mobilize.

 

He had just returned to the city after a fierce battle. As he disembarked with several other Holy Knights to enter the lord’s building, his gaze fell upon a procession heading into a nearby hotel.

 

The carriage bore a Count’s crest—one held by Young Duke Lyon. It seemed they were using it because the Lyon Duke’s crest was far too conspicuous.

 

“Haron.”

 

Leticia recognized him and gave a slight nod of greeting to the frozen knight. Terdis, on the other hand, glared as if their meeting were an annoyance and wrapped an arm around Leticia’s shoulder.

 

Watching them enter the hotel together, Haron wondered if this was the Goddess’ consideration or a test. They were likely on their honeymoon. It was common for high-ranking nobles to take six months or a year for a honeymoon after the wedding.

 

‘She is now Lady Lyon… and someone I have no need to see again.’

 

Despite knowing this, he didn’t know why his heart was racing so fast. Haron looked down at his chest resentfully and entered the building with his comrades to meet the lord.

 

 

***

 

 

“What on earth is that man doing here!”

 

“It must be a coincidence.”

 

Leticia soothed the indignant Terdis and headed up to the hotel’s upper floors. Their travel itinerary was supposed to be a secret, but leaks were always possible. Given the number of people mobilized for the procession, advance reservations were a necessity.

 

‘I thought using a title from a lesser-known fiefdom would keep us under the radar, though…’

 

Everyone knew the Ducal House of Lyon, but not everyone knew every single title the family held. The Tesseia Ducal House alone possessed eighteen different titles. It wasn’t uncommon for high-ranking noble families to hold multiple titles; they were often granted by the Emperor for distinguished service or, most commonly, inherited when a relative passed away—noble families were, after all, interconnected by blood everywhere.

 

The next most common case was inheriting a title when a vassal’s lineage ended. This had become a frequent occurrence since the advent of contraceptive magic tools, which had put an end to noble families having children indiscriminately.

 

“Tisha, are you going to meet that guy?”

 

“No, I already greeted him.”

 

“Right?”

 

At Leticia’s answer, Terdis’s expression relaxed. His mood, which had been soaring until he encountered Haron, had taken a slight dip, but that was all.

 

‘Even if that guy served as Tisha’s escort knight for a while, he was just a plant for the Holy Order! The current Pope might be Leticia’s teacher, but a few months as an escort isn’t enough of a connection to warrant a separate meeting!’

 

With a face unable to hide his joy, Terdis entered the suite with her.

 

 

***

 

 

“…We depart immediately.”

 

At Haron’s words, his fellow Holy Knights looked at him in surprise. They had just returned from a fierce battle. The mission to wipe out the monsters nesting deep in the valley had been harder than expected. Thanks to Haron’s prowess, no one was severely injured, but both the men and their horses were exhausted.

 

“Everyone needs rest. The horses can’t run right now, so let us rest as well.”

 

The local Lord had reportedly reserved rooms for them in a hotel located right across from one of his properties—a hotel owned by his relative. It was a transparent ploy to advertise that the Holy Knight Haron had stayed there, but it was also an opportunity to save the travel expenses provided by the Order.

 

Having seen Leticia and her husband enter that very hotel, Haron wanted to leave even sooner, but his comrades were right. He briefly considered if he could leave immediately by healing the horses with divine power, but soon made up his mind.

 

“You are right. In that case, unpack at the temple rather than the hotel. It will be better for receiving treatment.”

 

At Haron’s words, several knights’ expressions darkened, but Haron was the leader of the group. The knights assumed that Haron, who held abstinence as a virtue, was wary of the Lord and wanted to leave quickly for that reason.

 

“The temple here has a small stable; the horses won’t be able to rest properly.”

 

“Sir Erpe. It’s only for one day, so let’s rest at the hotel. Nothing big is going to happen.”

 

As the Holy Knights repeatedly persuaded him, Haron accepted it with an expressionless face. As they said, rest was necessary.

 

The group split into two: some went to the hotel to unpack first, while the rest went with Haron to the temple for treatment. Haron’s divine power might be immense enough to heal them all, but his specialization wasn’t in restoration. His power was limited to stopping bleeding or closing lacerations; for proper treatment, they needed the help of a high-ranking priest residing in a temple.

 

Upon entering the temple, the Head Priest welcomed them warmly. While two knights were being treated at Haron’s request, the Head Priest asked if they would be staying there.

 

“The Lord has kindly provided rooms at a hotel.”

 

“Is that so? That is fortunate.”

 

The Head Priest assumed that was why the whole group hadn’t come together. He looked at Haron’s stoic face and spoke.

 

“However, Sir Erpe, do you have something on your mind? You look deeply troubled.”

 

“Troubled? Perhaps I am. …May I borrow a prayer room for a moment?”

 

There was no priest who would refuse Haron’s request. The Head Priest, with a kind face, called a junior priest to guide Haron, but Haron declined and said he would find it himself.

 

Most temples had similar structures, and this one was no different. The prayer room area was mostly empty, so Haron chose one and went inside. It was a quiet room with a high ceiling, with a slanted window placed high up so that the light of heaven poured over one’s head.

 

‘Please help this heart to sin no more, Goddess.’

 

By the time he finished his long prayer and came out, the treatment for his two comrades was finished. Haron walked the streets with them, watching the setting sun. It pained him that the sunset sky looked particularly beautiful that day.

 

The couple was likely staying on the top floor of that hotel. Haron felt a conflict between the desire to avoid the place and the impulse to go back and greet Leticia. When he had spotted her on the street, Leticia hadn’t approached him; she had ended the encounter with a simple nod. Therefore, not seeking her out would be respecting her wishes.

 

And yet, just knowing they were in the same building made him feel alive. Haron felt a sense of self-loathing at that fact.

 

 

***

 

 

That night, perhaps because of the long carriage journey, Terdis kept their intimacy brief in the bathroom. What he called “brief” was three or four times, which was a far cry from what Leticia considered brief.

 

However, since he washed her entire body, dried her hair, and dressed her, Leticia leaned against Terdis’s chest in a state of relaxed bliss, feeling satisfied.

 

While eating room service in the room, Leticia thought briefly about Haron. She had heard news that the Pope he followed and trusted had retired.

 

‘It’s good news for me… but I’m not sure how Haron feels.’

 

Among the various capture targets, Haron was the only one whose situation would become dire if he wasn’t “conquered.” While others had their own problems, none were as desperate as his.

 

However, in this world, the heroine Isella, who was supposed to change him, did not exist. She had been born as a man named Isello and was currently receiving ardent courtship from Nastasya, the former fiancée of Sebastian—along with countless other young ladies. Sebastian seemed to hope to pair Nastasya and Isello up to get rid of them early, but it wasn’t something Leticia cared much about.

 

‘But… that’s something Haron has to overcome himself.’

 

Even if he was a sub-male lead, why couldn’t he solve his own problems? They were all so talented, capable, and haughty. It was ridiculous how they played hard to get when being “played” in the game, yet would end up miserable if the heroine didn’t conquer them.

 

Leticia had no intention of doing anything in Isella’s stead. She had Terdis, and she believed that Haron escaping his own misfortune was a matter for him or someone else to handle.

 

“Ter, why that face?”

 

Leticia, who was lying in bed waiting for Terdis to turn off the light and return, noticed him suddenly glaring toward the window and frowning. Terdis quickly smoothed his expression.

 

“It’s nothing. Let’s sleep.”

 

He turned off the light, crawled into bed, and hugged Leticia. Feeling his familiar, warm body heat, Leticia closed her eyes with a happy expression.

 

 

***

 

 

They silently surveyed the nest, which was a mess of blood and flesh. Traces of a fierce battle with intruders were scattered everywhere. Being monsters, they felt no grief for the dead; they only looked to see if a mate or any surviving young remained.

 

The blood and severed corpses of the pack were strewn about, but no monsters had survived. The humans had killed everyone, even the newly hatched young.

 

Since they also considered human children delicacies and ate them with joy, there was no room for pity. They were enraged by the death of their young and decided they must retaliate against the “prey” that dared to do such a thing.

 

It wasn’t common for them to go down to human cities to hunt. Humans surrounded their cities with high walls and kept guards to protect them. The monsters usually attacked humans when they found them traveling outside the city. A human without a weapon was nothing more than a lump of flesh to be devoured.

 

Just thinking of humans made their mouths water.

 

They didn’t know how their nest had been discovered. However, the thick scent of their pack’s blood led straight toward the city. A few individuals suggested finding a new place since there were surviving females, but they were overruled. There were fewer than five females left. This was not enough to sustain the pack. Since the survivors weren’t strong enough to attack another pack and steal their females, they all resolved for revenge.

 

Kill as many humans as possible!

 

They exchanged guttural growls as they approached the city walls under the cover of darkness. Luckily, the moonlight was hidden by clouds, making it feel as if even the heavens were on their side.

 

 

***

 

 

Leticia opened her eyes in the middle of the night. Rarely, an ominous premonition had woken her. She confirmed that Terdis was still fast asleep and closed her eyes again. She used her abilities to scan the area around their room and even outside the hotel, but found nothing unusual at first.

 

‘Focus on this unpleasant sensation… which direction is it?’

 

Her vision, which had been scanning the hotel’s surroundings, gradually moved further out. Since the hotel was in the center of the city, her vision extended all the way to the city walls.

 

There were several soldiers guarding the walls. Some were stretching and yawning, while others were leaning against the wall, secretly dozing off. The fires lit in each sector should have been burning brightly… but in one particular sector, the bonfire had burnt out, leaving a shroud of deep darkness.

 

Leticia wondered if they had run out of firewood, but as she inspected the charred logs, she discovered they were covered in a toxic-looking slime.

 

‘Huh?’

 

She hurriedly checked the surrounding darkness. When using her ability, darkness was no obstacle, so she could see clearly.

 

Along the shadows of the wall, monsters that looked like a cross between a spider and a mantis were moving in a dense pack. At a rough estimate, there were more than twenty of them. Each one was larger than five bulls combined; they could easily rip an ordinary soldier in half. It was baffling that something so massive could remain undetected, even in the dark.

 

Leticia snapped her eyes open and woke Terdis first. It was an emergency.

 

 

***

 

 

As the Young Duke, Terdis knew exactly what to do in this situation. He immediately summoned a servant to notify the guard and the Lord. Having heard that Haron and the Holy Knights were also staying at the hotel, he had them awakened as well.

 

Fortunately, a knight order from the Lyon House had followed to protect Leticia and Terdis’ honeymoon procession. Terdis immediately led them out of the hotel along with the Holy Knights. The twenty-plus monsters had infiltrated the city, but they had yet to spill any blood.

 

They were following the scents of the pack members who had been brought here. Some headed toward the temple, but most were heading toward the hotel—toward the city center. It was fortunate that it was the middle of the night and there were few people on the streets.

 

Terdis’s group, coming from the hotel, spotted the pack of monsters in front of a bridge crossing the river. They waited for the monsters to cross the bridge to ensure the city’s residents wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

 

Haron and the Holy Knights recognized the pack as they began to cross the bridge. They were horrified to realize that the monsters they had missed had attacked the city. If they had left the city as Haron originally intended, a catastrophe would have occurred.

 

Once the monsters had crossed the bridge, Haron blocked the bridge entrance with divine magic. Then, following Terdis’ lead, they surrounded the monsters in a semi-circle and began to slaughter them.

 

The battle lasted for half an hour and ended quickly as the city guard and the Lord’s private soldiers joined the fray. When the last monster’s life was extinguished, Terdis shook the monster’s fluids off his sword and returned to the hotel with his knights.

 

Haron and the Holy Knights could not do the same. They bore the responsibility for returning without knowing these monsters remained. The city Lord brushed off Haron’s apology, more interested in the report from the Guard Captain that the identity of the Count who helped them was suspicious.

 

The Guard Captain wasn’t a Sword Master, but he had met one before and suspected Terdis might be one.

 

“…I heard the Young Duke of Lyon is on his honeymoon with his wife. If he commands knights of that caliber, could he be the Young Duke in disguise?”

 

Having the Holy Knight Haron passing through was a great catch, but to have the Young Duke of Lyon and his wife, the Saintess, as well! Seeing an opportunity to build connections with the capital’s nobility, the Lord had no time to worry about Haron’s minor mistake.

 

“This is no time for this! Send someone to confirm if it really is the Young Duke couple… and since it’s clear he’s a Sword Master, let’s prepare a grand banquet!”

 

 

***

 

 

Returning to the hotel room, Terdis bathed and then clung to Leticia, acting spoiled. He had an intuition that they needed to leave the city as soon as morning came.

 

“The Guard Captain was looking at me strangely. It feels like the Lord is going to be a nuisance, so I think we should head out immediately.”

 

“Is that so? It can’t be helped then.”

 

She was curious about the local cuisine, but she could surely taste it in the next city; the cultural sphere was similar enough. When Leticia easily agreed, Terdis inwardly cheered.

 

Thanks to Leticia’s ability, they had noticed the monster infiltration early, but there was still some damage. Part of the bridge had collapsed, and a few houses in the residential area were damaged. There were also injuries among the city guard. On the other hand, not a single knight from the Lyon Ducal House was injured, thanks to Terdis’s direct training and occasional check-ins from Cesare or Aaron.

 

‘Because once the cleanup is over, that Holy Knight fellow might try to see Leticia…’

 

Leticia didn’t seem to notice, but the look Haron gave her was full of lingering, sticky attachment. Haron and the Holy Knights would likely have to stay for a few days to at least pretend to help, given their mistake—even if the original reason Haron’s group attacked those monsters was at the request of someone in this city.

 

‘…But what a lucky bastard.’

 

To think he made such a mistake while Leticia was staying at this very hotel. If Leticia hadn’t been here, there would have been massive casualties. The Order would have bypassed responsibility in their usual clever way, but a knight as upright as Haron is said to be would have surely felt deep guilt.

 

Terdis decided he would overlook Haron benefiting from Leticia’s grace just this once and pulled Leticia into bed. Thinking about their departure in the morning, he couldn’t afford to waste this time.