Chapter 15: 140-152

Chapter 13: Death Lullaby

The day after talking with Sienna, Grand Duke Nacht led a large army and set out to ‘destroy’ it.

Three days or so after that.

Sienna’s disposition was decided at the Siobhan Military Academy.

“…Therefore, the purpose of periodically clearing the area where magical powers are stagnant is to prevent the area from eventually becoming a nest.”

Sienna, who was explaining while pointing at the table, raised her head and looked at the audience.

In the lecture room, the seats were arranged in a circle, with the height difference centered on the seat where Sienna stood.

On a rough count, more than 200 cadets were seated, and the back aisle, which should have been empty, was also full of cadets standing and attending the class.

Even that wasn’t enough, so some cadets sat on the stairs between the seats, with their books open on their laps.

“Professor!”

One of them raised their hands.

When Sienna pointed out the cadet with Hesaros, which she held in her hands during teaching, the cadet asked with glittering eyes.

“I’d love to hear more about nesting!”

A roar of envy erupted among the cadets.

“That was Hesaros just now, wasn’t it?”

“Wow, I’m going crazy. Did he get Hesaros?”

“I’m really envious…”

Sienna pretended not to hear and began to answer the question.

“The phenomenon of simultaneous occurrence of magical beasts by mixing fraud in an area where magical powers are stagnant is called ‘nesting’. To purify a place that has already become a nest, many Terraformers’ efforts are required.”

The eyes of the cadets looking at Sienna, who had done the ‘work that required the hard work of many Terraformers’ on her own, became even brighter.

Sienna sighed only in her heart. It was what she had expected the moment she was told to work as a professor at school, but it was more troublesome than she thought.

Anyway, the explanation had to go on.

“In order to prevent such unnecessary waste of power, modern warfare has been established as a form of regular suppression by forming an overwhelming military force. In the worst case scenario, if the nest is not subjugated in time…”

If not…? Sienna looked into the eyes of the students who were following her words and waiting for her to continue.

‘Hmm… It’s a headache and it’s annoying, but I think it’s a little cute, right?’

Sienna, who went from the teacher of Room 6 to a professor, explained with a smile.

“In a nest that is not subjugated in time, a ‘Queen’ can be born and productivity can explode. When that happens, the area will no longer be human territory.”

“….…”

“The area where the queen was born is classified as the outside, an area of magical beasts that we can no longer set foot in.”

Just then, a bell rang at the right time to announce it was lunch time.

“Ah…”

“Oh my!”

There was a sigh of disappointment among the students. But Sienna resolutely ordered Hesaros to disappear from her hand.

“That’s all for today’s class. There is no assignment. Let’s all leave!”

* * *

After class, Sienna moved to the building of the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Michael’s laboratory was located on the second floor of the building. Sensibly, Sienna tried to knock on the door.

There was no response.

‘I can’t help it.’

‘It’s your fault, Michael Nacht.’

Sienna burst through the door. Inside, Michael was mumbling something and playing with a pen at a desk in the corner of a warehouse-like space where books and papers were lying around.

She heard these words.

“What kind of nonsense is this again. Oh, should I kill them all? What a bunch of irredeemable kids…”

Oh. Sienna noticed.

‘He’s grading.’

Sure enough. The test paper that was crumpled in Michael’s hand was disastrously red in color and filled with eggs. Meanwhile, Michael was even correcting the spelling mistakes of the cadets.
(TL/N: ‘Filled with eggs’ probably refers to the circles made for all the mistakes.)

Sienna clicked her tongue.

“Are you going to kill the student?”

“Oh man, you scared me. When did you come?”

“Just now.”

“You should have made some noise.”

While grunting like that, Michael pulled out a chair that had been ‘trapped’ by the piles of papers around.

Sienna sat in the chair while Michael grabbed the pen again.

“Every time I look at it, it’s like murder, not grading.”

“These are idiots who will not be able to come to their senses even if they die.”

“From the standards of the youngest potion master, it would be. The standards are too harsh.”

Michael laughed and snorted, but he didn’t hate Sienna’s compliments.

Sienna continued softly.

“Let’s kill this a little later and go eat first.”

“Have you not eaten yet?”

Her compliments certainly paid off, as he jumped up as she spoke, leaving what he was doing.

“I had a class.”

Michael glanced at the time and nodded his head.

“Gildinak, in the next building, must have finished her lecture, too. Let’s go eat together.”

Sienna looked at Michael with questioning eyes, who knew the time of his nemesis Isabelle’s lecture.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“No…”

Hearing that, Sienna saved her words because she thought it would be neither porridge nor rice if she brought it up now. Michael might have memorized Isabelle’s schedule to avoid her because he really hated her to death. Though, it was unlikely.
(TL/N: ‘neither porridge nor rice’ a saying for ‘come to nothing’.)

After meeting up with Isabelle, the three of them decided to leave the school for their meal.

“I think I’ll throw up in the cafeteria.”

“I agree. Besides, eating with Michael Nacht doesn’t seem particularly tasty.”

“What? Are you done?”

Sienna sighed. The possibility she had imagined a while ago felt so stupid.

“Both of you, stop. If you fight, I’ll leave you behind.”

Only when the two of them were quiet did Sienna start walking out of the campus.

Most of the cadets who crowded the classroom could not hide their admiration for Sienna, but not everyone was like that.

In particular, walking through the campus like this, she was able to clearly see who supported her and who did not.

‘For example, Cadet Oswald hiding behind the wall over there…’

…What?

There was something strange about the atmosphere.

Oswald and his gang were hiding behind a wall, giggling and laughing, and in the hallway over there…

“…Lou?”

Lou Melanche was walking by with a face of boredom.

Sienna, having a sense of how things would go, shouted as she strode ahead.

“Lou Melanche!”

Oswald’s gang looked startled, but Sienna deliberately pretended not to notice.

“Sienna?”

“It’s ‘Professor’. Cadet, what’s with that attire?”

“What?”

Certainly, Lou’s outfit was looser than that of the other cadets, but it was unusual for Sienna to point out that.

Lou looked around and found Oswald’s gang on the other side with angry expressions on their faces, and said, “Ah.” He understood the situation.

He calmly replied as he adjusted his attire.

“I can handle those idiots on my own, Professor.”

“I know, but isn’t it the professor’s duty to help the cadets?”

“…Wow.”

Lou let out an inexplicable exclamation.

Michael, who came closer to Sienna, gave him a glance which said ‘Are you crazy?’

She ignored him. Lou muttered with serious eyes.

“She was always attractive enough to be captivating, but now that I have to call her ‘Master’, it’s really…”

“What?”

Sienna frowned at the incomprehensible words and mutterings, but Lou licked his lips, the tip of his tongue slightly protruding, and only smiled.

Huh. That smile felt somewhat different from his usual.

‘Something… Something is odd…’

…Like Ashiel?

A modifier that even Sienna herself could not comprehend jumped out in her mind.

“Hey, Sienna. Get away. This bastard is really crazy!”

Instead of Sienna, Michael was disgusted. So was Isabelle.

“Get away from my master, Cadet Melanche.”

“I can’t do that.”

Lou replied sarcastically with his characteristic blunt expression.

“Unlike you, I am a person who has the right to call her ‘Master’.”

“Lou…”

Sienna thought she could understand why Cadet Oswald was irritated with him.

“Yes, Master.”

Isabelle frowned, but Lou continued his meaningless admiration, “Wow, it’s great to call you ‘Master’.”

“Lou Melanche.”

“Yes, Master. As your knighted one, Lou Melanche answers. Please give your order.”

“You, really…”

Sienna shook her head as he saluted while pretending to be polite.

If she could, she felt like hitting this little boy’s head.

But before that, reactions erupted from the two people on her either side.

“What?!”

“This little boy is a knight, Master?!”

“No way! This bastard is just insisting?! Huh?!”

Sienna sighed as she was hurried on both sides.

‘I wanted to try to talk about everything while slowly eating lunch today, I was afraid that this would happen.’

It was completely ruined in the worst form.

Additionally, the cadets watching were in a state of confusion.

“Knights?”

“Didn’t Lou Melanche say he’s a knight?”

“No way…”

Sienna had no intention of denying her knight in a situation where the attention was drawn like this, even more so considering Oswald’s gang was watching.

“Right.”

Sienna replied.

“Lou Melanche is my knight. I have appointed him with a special appointment given to the Count of Ysent.”

“What…?!”

Lou saluted towards Isabelle, Michael, and the crowd, who all had their jaws wide open.

“Greetings to you, as Count Ysent’s knight, Lou Melanche.”

“Sir Melanche, stop making fun of my friends.”

“I will follow the command of the lord.”

Was this little boy real?

Sienna eventually kicked Lou in the shin. However, his shins were harder than she thought, so it didn’t seem like proper damage was done.

“Ouch.”

It was obvious just by listening to the insincere reaction of Lou.

“Don’t exaggerate.”

“Yes.”

“Sienna, you…”

“Master, how…”

Both Michael and Isabelle seemed stunned, but among the two, Isabelle seemed to be more shocked.

But for now, it was time to announce that Lou’s status had changed. In particular, to those people who didn’t know the world was scary and tried to pick on Lou.

“Anyway, I’m afraid Cadet Melanche is my knight… Therefore, his status is guaranteed by the Count of Ysent, and he is no longer a commoner.”

“I’m sad to hear that. That’s too much.”

Lou grumbled, but Sienna pretended not to hear and led Michael and Isabelle.

“Let’s go for now. We’re not talking about it here.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Isabelle did not call Sienna ‘master’ as usual.

She had always followed Sienna as her master even without a knighthood.

But, as soon as Sienna got a special appointment right for a knight, she gave it to a freshman that she hadn’t even heard of?

‘Perhaps… She didn’t grant me the title of knighthood because I was disrespectful in the past…?’

Isabelle was sad, and her complexion turned pale.

‘What?’

Seeing this, Michael felt anger rise from within.

Michael thought that his arms were bent inward, and that he was bending his heart to Isabelle, whom he had hated and fought with, rather than that cheeky kid who was obviously aiming for Sienna.

‘Look at how heartbroken she is!’

In fact, he was disappointed with Sienna as well. So Michael turned to Sienna instead.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m going to explain.”

In the end, far from having lunch, the four of them gathered in Sienna’s lab.

“…You mean, you knew you had a special appointment, and you made him a knight because you felt sorry that you couldn’t properly treat him as a partner at the ball that day?”

“Yes.”

Sienna nodded her head, and Michael shouted as he grabbed the back of his neck.

“Are you crazy?! What kind of toy is a knighthood, to surprise and throw away?!”

“…I didn’t receive it as a toy.”

Lou stepped up. There was no more playfulness on his face.

“I have made an oath formally and faithfully. I will be a knight of Dame Sienna Hesaros, Count of Ysent, and protect her with all my life.”

“What’s your life worth, kid?”

Michael growled.

“Knight? Ha! Do you think I don’t know what you’re dreaming of?”

“Was Sienna Hesaros enchanting just for a day or two? There must have been one or two guys like you, I don’t know.”

“Are you insulting me now?”

“It’s not an insult, it’s a fact, isn’t it? You’re not ashamed to look up to the sky, are you? And do you know how crazy my brother is? I’m giving you heartfelt advice, if you don’t want to die, get out of here.”

“…Why should I be wary of His Highness the Grand Prince? Does His Highness have any authority to prevent me from becoming Sister Sienna’s knight?!”

An angry Lou habitually brought up the nickname he used to call. By this point, Michael was about to go mad.

“Nothing! Hey! He doesn’t have it, but he does have it?! My brother and her…”

“…Michael, shut up.”

At Sienna’s resolute restraint, Michael quickly bit his mouth, thinking ‘I know, I almost crossed the line.’

Sienna sighed. That wasn’t the first thing to fix.

“Isabelle.”

“…Yes.”

“You can call me ‘Master’. I’m sorry for the wrong order, and I’m even more sorry that I’m saying this in a place like this, but actually, I was going to tell you today.”

As the expressionless Isabelle lowered her eyes, tears welled up in the corners.

Still, her expression barely cracked.

Sienna continued.

“Be my knight, Lieutenant Isabelle Gildinak. I request it in the name of Count Ysent.”

“….…”

“…Lieutenant?”

“…No, umm, heuk…”

“Lieutenant, are you crying?”

The bewildered Sienna lifted Isabelle’s face; her face was teary and red with a childlike distortion.

“Oh, were you so upset? I’m sorry.”

“No, no, my master! I’m sorry, it’s not disappointing, it doesn’t, it doesn’t… sniff, heuk!“

“…Wow.”

Sienna, Michael, and Lou, who didn’t know Isabelle would cry so loudly, froze.

“Master, my master. I will be very, very loyal. Thank you so much!”

“Yes, yes. Stop crying. I was wrong. Mm? I was in a hurry because I didn’t want to see Lou ignored for being a commoner.”

Of course, it was not the only reason. It was also a measure to protect him in case he was the imperial grandson, she could not disclose it for now.

Fortunately, Isabelle was understanding.

“No, Master, there is nothing wrong with you, keuk!”

She just couldn’t stop crying.

“…It’s a masterpiece, really.”

Michael muttered. That iron-blooded Lieutenant Isabelle Gildinak was completely ruined and made to cry. Sienna Hesaros truly had a knack for making people cry… 

‘…No wait.’ Michael suddenly thought.

‘I’m sure, there are three special appointment rights given to the Count. First off, that irritating kid is number one, Isabelle Gildinak is number two…’

‘…What about me?’

As he clicked his tongue and watched Isabelle’s face crumpled while crying profusely, Michael suddenly became unhappy.

“Hey!”

“You surprised me, what?”

Sienna, who had been comforting Isabelle, who had now almost stopped crying, looked back at Michael with a puzzled face.

Michael was angry because she really didn’t know. He felt like tears were gathering in his eyes.

“If she’s also a knight, then, what about me?!”

“You?!”

What was he saying? Sienna was stunned.

“How do I appoint the Second Prince of the Grand Duke of Nacht as a knight?”

“Then how did you appoint the eldest daughter of the same count, Count of Gildinak, as a knight?!”

“Countess Gildinak also asked me for it… Anyway, if it’s the count’s daughter, then it’s true that she’s lower than me in rank!”

But Michael was different.

How could the son of the grand duke, who has the blood of the royal family, be a knight of a single count.

It wasn’t a matter of whether it was possible or not. It probably would work. Because there had never been a person in the history of the empire who came up with such a crazy idea, so no one would have put a law in place to prevent this madness!

“Oh, I don’t care! Make me your knight too!”

The clever Michael, who was well aware of that fact, suddenly kicked up a fuss. At the same time, Sienna’s voice also increased.

“I told you I can’t?!”

“Sienna Hesaros.”

Michael solemnly pulled out his trump card.

“I am also going to cry?”

“Are you out of your mind, really…?!”

Huh. Caught, Michael laughed.

And he grabbed the tail of her words precisely.

“Even if I’m crazy, do you think it’s possible to be more insane than my brother? I still remember it clearly, ‘I don’t have a heart to tear out again…'”

“Sienna, Count of Ysent, orders Michael the Knight, to please shut up.”

“Hurray!” Unlike Sienna, who groaned while holding her face, Michael shouted with a refreshing smile.

In this way, the three knights of Sienna Hesaros, the Count of Ysent, were born.

Lou glared at Michael with all his might.

“Heuk.”

Isabelle tried to clean up her crying face, and put on a cold expression with puffy eyes.

“Haha, your eyes are swollen.”

…And Michael Nacht, who made fun of Isabelle like that.

A sigh came out. Sienna roughly expected it… 

Even Hesaros asked this question.

[…Sienna, isn’t this the worst combination?]

‘Anyway, it is impossible to soften them.’

[Yes, it seems…]

It was because it seemed Isabelle would cry again if she said that she was weak-hearted, and Lou and Michael were biting amongst themselves, saying things like ‘You’re wrong’, ‘I’m the one who did a good job’ and ‘You almost made Sienna suffer by fighting.’

‘Yes, it was the best, the best…’

[Well, it’s great to have three good knights for our Count of Ysent, Dame Sienna Hesaros.]

It was not Hesaros’ work, but he was full of pomp and swagger.

Sienna laughed a little because her Named was cute.

It was then.

“Are you here, Count Ysent, Major Sienna Hesaros?”

“I’ll go.”

Isabelle quickly opened the door. The messenger who came to deliver a letter was startled to see Isabelle’s freshly cried face, but he handed it over.

When Sienna opened the letter, the seals of the commander of the imperial army and the crown princess were stamped on it.

“…What’s the matter?”

“It’s telling me to come up to the system.”

Sienna did not hide it from the three of them.

These three were now Sienna’s knights. So she didn’t have to make it a secret.

“It seems that something has gone wrong with the system.”

“…….”

“First, Michael and Isabelle. The two of you are coming with me…”

Sienna’s gaze stopped at Lou. Upon seeing her worried eyes, Michael exclaimed, “Leave him behind!”

‘Well, indeed. He’s a freshman…’

The moment Sienna tried to follow Michael’s impulse… 

“…I am your knight too, right?”

That was correct. Besides, if she leaves Lou in the school where neither Sienna nor Isabelle nor Michael would be present, the reason she appointed Lou as her knight in the first place becomes irrelevant.

Siena groaned and gave a warning.

“…If you get a failing grade in the next exam, I will never take you with me again.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lou seemed to be deeply hurt in his pride, but nodded his head.

Sienna grabbed the collar of Michael who was about to ridicule Lou, pulling him away. Then she opened the garden door.

“Don’t make fun of him. I’m leaving right now, so shut up and follow me.”

“Oh, wait…!”

There was no opportunity for Michael to protest.

Immediately, rather violently, a storm of flowers enveloped them all.

The place the four of them moved to was an empty drawing room in a mansion.

White petals were scattered on the wooden floor of the drawing room, which was not even carpeted yet.

The empty mansion had an old-fashioned, classical, and serene atmosphere.

“Here is…”

“It’s my mansion.”

Sienna replied.

Yes, it wasn’t just the ‘Count of Ysent’ that the emperor gave to Sienna.

“He said that if you are the Count, you must have a decent mansion in the capital.”

Recalling the words of the head maid who guided her through this house, Sienna had to try to suppress her emotions.

Michael muttered.

“Now that I think about it, here… His Majesty once said that it was his private residence when he was the Crown Prince. He stayed here after marrying, and this was where Her Highness Arandier was also born…”

To dare to inherit the emperor’s private residence, and to have not yet said thank you to the emperor.

She was constantly disturbed by the situation that she might not be able to express her gratitude forever.

Brokenhearted, Sienna turned around, saying,

“…From here, we will go by carriage. Her Highness said she would send someone.”

“Hmm.”

The other three, noticing that Sienna’s mood had become moderate, quietly followed after her.

Michael thought to himself.

‘Is it because it’s an empty house…’

It was kind of cool, and it didn’t feel good.

A house that had not been occupied for a long time could have a slight fraud.

‘Sienna can take care of it, but I should remind her to clean up before she decorates the house.’

But Michael’s bad feelings didn’t end there.

On their way to the Imperial Palace in the carriage sent by the crown princess, Sienna kept her eyes closed and arms folded.

The other three exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“…Hey. Isn’t something a bit strange?”

Eventually, Michael broke the silence.

“Since the mansion was vacant for a long time, I thought it was just a bad feeling, but when I came out, the whole area was a little weird.”

“It’s true that the weather is bad.”

Even Lou, who usually wouldn’t say more to this kind of thing, added a word.

“…I feel like I’m being watched from somewhere.”

Siena quietly opened her eyes. She, too, felt something was strange.

No, as she was a Terraformer, she felt it more than the other three.

‘Perhaps the true nature of this anomaly is…’

Sienna bit her lips.

Soon, the carriage passed through the main gate of the Imperial Palace. Sienna pulled out her card for identification, but the other three remained unmoved.

“……?”

‘Lou, I understand. But why are you guys like that?’

To Sienna’s questioning gaze, Michael and Isabelle answered clearly.

“Because we are here as the knights of Count Ysent.”

“Yes. As a knight, I am waiting for Count Ysent to vouch my identity.”

“…You are really…”

‘It’s awful, how awful.’

Sienna forgot the situation for a moment and laughed a little dejectedly.

However, the second son of Nacht of the Underworld, His Highness the Second Prince and the only daughter of the Count of Gildinak, sold off their prominent status and became a knight of the Count of Jesent.

“Come on, prove our identity, Count.”

“Yes. The gatekeeper is waiting for you, right?”

“Proof or what, if I just show them your face, do you think you’ll be able to pass?”

Michael and Isabelle got along well—surprisingly, they really did—they pretended not to hear Sienna.

Sienna was forced to show her identification card. She said,

“Count Ysent and her three knights.”

* * *

Count Ysent and her party were immediately led to the audience room.

The two other attendees had already arrived and were seated.

“! Dame Hesaros, no, Count Ysent!”

The first to jump up was the owner of the ocean family, Admiral Ferrato.

He greeted Sienna like a large dog waving its tail and tried to shake her hand… 

“…What is this, Second Prince Michael?”

Michael quickly stepped forward and grabbed the admiral’s hand.

“I’m not Second Prince Michael, but the knight of Count Ysent. Nice to meet you too.”

Michael shook the shocked admiral’s hand twice without sincerity. And he smiled and pretended to ask for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry. I have to stop my brother from going crazy here.”

“……?”

Admiral Ferrato was confused by the incomprehensible explanation. However, Michael simply laughed and threw his confused hand away without hesitation.

He didn’t owe him an explanation.

Isabelle patted Michael’s shoulder as if he had worked hard, and lent him her handkerchief. Michael received his handkerchief and finished the performance by wiping his hands.

“What is this…”

Admiral Ferrato looked at his hand and Michael’s unusual action alternately, as if it was absurd.

“… As you heard.”

In the end, Sienna sighed and said,

“These three are here today… as my knights.”

“…Even if you say that the cadet and Lady Isabelle are like that…”

Duke Ferrato’s eyes rested on Michael, but Michael only shrugged. He was very proud.

“…Count Ysent.”

At that moment, the person who had been silent until now opened his mouth.

“The fact that these three are your knights… did you use the special appointment rights?”

It was Ashiel Nacht.

“Yes, yes, but…”

As soon as she answered, Sienna stiffened a little.

Ah? Was it because Ashiel suddenly used honorifics towards her?

It’s unfamiliar and itchy, and her body felt frozen.

“Is that so, the special right of appointment……”

Ashiel lowered his eyes and muttered in a quiet voice. There wasn’t really any emotion on his face, but… 

‘…Uh.’

What. Sienna felt like she was missing something.

The faintly passing feeling disappeared as Admiral Ferrato laughed loudly.

“There are three special appointment rights given to the Count. That’s right. If I had known in advance, I would have lined up too, but it’s a pity.”

“Duke Ferrato, you’re joking.”

She thought only Michael Nacht alone was this crazy, she couldn’t believe the head of one of the three guardian families… Sienna smiled, a little fed up.

“Hmm. Is this really a joke?”

“…What?”

“No, no. Well, I don’t have to be a knight anyway. They’re kids who don’t even know what to do, they just want to be by your side anyway.”

“……?”

It was Admiral Ferrato’s characteristic softly folded, cheerful smile, but for some reason, Sienna felt that the smile was not as healthy and bright as usual.

It felt like a sharp force like a lasso or a hunter who sets a trap for something… 

Sienna slipped a glance at Ashiel, who was behind her, without realizing it.

Ashiel was also looking this way, so their eyes met.

His stiff cheeks and lips looked as cold as usual, but beneath his vivid red eyes was a dark heat like lava that Sienna knew all too well.

Like the shadow of a burning fire, shaking… Tormented eyes that burned his own heart with his greed.

Soon, Ashiel lowered his eyes, covering them with long eyelashes, but Sienna had already noticed.

…That day, that night…

“Count Ysent?”

“Ah yes?”

As soon as Sienna looked up at Duke Ferrato, she realized one more thing.

She had always thought he was just a cheerful and good person, but now that she looked into his eyes… He had the same passion as Ashiel.

Of course, from Sienna’s experience, his was lighter, not dark, and not sticky than Ashiel’s. She knew, but…

Duke Ferrato laughed quietly. And he asked with a smirk.

“…Did you notice?”

…His eyes were clearly those that wanted Sienna as a ‘woman’.

‘How?’

‘Why even this person…?’

The atmosphere was about to become very strange. Then, fortunately, the door to the auditorium swung open.

“Oh, Your Highness the Crown Princess…!”

The crown princess, who came in one step faster than the servant, passed the greetings and went to the upper seat.

“Everyone has gathered…”

The crown princess’ gaze, which had been scanning the crowd, stopped in front of Sienna and the others.

“You guys… what are you doing?”

Sienna was also embarrassed by the crown princess’ words that were spoken with a tone of absurdity. Sienna responded in a crawling voice.

“These… These are my knights. If they get in the way, I’ll send them out.”

The crown princess looked at the knights, Michael and Isabelle, and finally, Lou, all of whom stood shamelessly unlike their master with sharp eyes.

And she answered.

“…No, Count Ysent. There’s no need for that. As long as they don’t make noise, it doesn’t matter, so leave your knights here.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Actually, Sienna’s thank you was not for allowing the knights to enter, but for not asking for detailed explanations.

Arandier nodded her head relentlessly once, and immediately brought up the business.

“Count Ysent, Duke Ferrato, and Grand Prince Ashiel. This way.”

The three sat in the seats of Arandier’s authority.

Arandier sat cross-legged in her seat, pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

And when she spewed smoke, she began.

“…First of all, this fact is not yet publicized, and I’ll tell you in advance.”

There was a glimpse of tiredness mixed with deep irritation on Arandier’s face as she said that.

“To begin with… it seems that the confrontation system has weakened.”

“…Yes?”

Admiral Ferrato looked surprised, but Ashiel and Sienna exchanged glances and nodded their heads.

‘It’s a foreseen situation.’

Of course, that didn’t mean it was a pleasure.

“Why is such a thing…..Isn’t His Majesty supposed to be?!”

“His Majesty is still deeply immersed in the room of confrontation. There is no change.”

“Then why?”

“There are two possibilities for guessing.”

Arandier snubbed the half-cigarette in the ashtray and spoke with lips still puffing smoke.

“One, it is possible that His Majesty’s consciousness has weakened and the confrontation system was incapacitated. And…”

“…The second is the possibility that the number of demonic beasts have exploded or are getting close?”

“That’s right, Count Ysent.”

Arandier opened a mint candy and threw one to Sienna.

“The weather, water and soil quality of the surrounding area where the beasts live is bound to be polluted. If the pollution level suddenly increases in such an area, you can suspect a rapid increase or approach of beasts.”

“…That means…”

“It’s still in its infancy. The epidemic started in the slums of the capital.”

“……!”

Sienna recalled the ominous feeling she had as she entered the capital.

Arandier continued.

“It’s not yet possible to determine with certainty what the cause is. However, I called you guys because I think we need to defend ourselves and investigate.”

“Did you only call us?”

“Can you do that?”

Arandier laughed at Admiral Ferrato’s question.

“As I said before, I have informed you of this in advance. Try to figure out what that means with the decorations on your shoulders.”

* * *

The confrontation world was the Terraformer’s secret wish and the last shield to protect this empire.

There was an abnormality that could not be hidden in the room of confrontation.

In order to solve this emergency, the three guardian families and people from the families of nobility gathered.

“This is an unprecedented emergency.”

One of the higher nobles shook his head as if to lament, but Sienna knew.

‘That person is pleased with this situation.’

If the confrontation world was shaken, it meant that the legitimacy of the imperial family was shaken.

And in the peaceful empire that the Feyenoord imperial family and the three guardian families have been protecting so far, it has been a long time since people dissatisfied with the warlord imperial family began to sprout like poisonous mushrooms.

And at the center… 

“It’s unprecedented, so why not solve it well?”

There was a man with blue eyes and a gentle smile, Tesius Euros.

“Even if it’s to pass this empire down to future generations.”

The soldier side of Sienna noticed.

He was the leader of this group.

Sienna was a representative player of the emperor and emerging warlords. However, for a long time, there was no central point in the old nobility.

The guardians with traditional symbolism and honor were the ones who cooperated with the emperor at the time instead of having any political color, and all the well-known heroes were produced from their forces.

In such a situation, the new head of Euros had emerged.

He often resided in the northern territories and did not show much interest in the capital, but he had chosen a path that was contrary to the emperor’s orders in various trivial matters.

Then he suddenly appeared in the capital.

He was clearly determined to enter the political world in earnest.

The forces that took advantage of the opportunity to unite with dissatisfaction did not miss him.

“As expected of Duke Euros.”

“Ummm. By the way, if Count Ysent is here, wouldn’t it be okay for Lord Loreina to come as well?”

“Isn’t it? They did the same thing in Elbara Gorge, Lord Loreina cannot be discriminated against.”

Euros and Loreina had begun to rise as symbols opposing the emperor and Sienna.

“And having a successor in the nobility council is a bit…”

Were they overjoyed to be reunited after a long time?

They seemed to stumble over Sienna and fall down at Ashiel.

At the moment when Crown Princess Arandier and Admiral Ferrato frowned… 

“Count Ysent is the Emperor’s knight, and one who has been recognized as Elbara’s first merit.”

It was Ashiel.

He didn’t raise his voice to increase his presence like them, but the cold bass had a presence just by being emitted.

“To disparage the qualifications of the Count is also to disparage Nacht, who is her guardian.”

“No, I…”

There was no one who wanted to stand up to the guardian family alone, all they could do was blend into the crowd. 

Ashiel asked with his characteristic cold face.

“Are you worthy of it?”

“That…”

The frivolous man intuitively felt that if he answered yes, not only himself but also his family would not be safe.

“Grand Prince Ashiel.”

Tesius Euros stepped out with a soft smile.

“Please understand that the situation may have been frustrating and the opinions may have been misrepresented. Isn’t the meeting important?”

‘Please understand? …Who are you?’

This time the words scratched Sienna’s nerves.

“…Nacht defends your lives. He did not make sacred oaths or promises to be insulted.”

Sienna interrupted before Ashiel could reply.

“Count Ysent.”

Sienna held out her hand to Ashiel regardless of his dissuasion.

“Your Highness, I have no reason to hold this position. What will Your Highness do?”

Gulp, Ashiel’s throat trembled for a moment.

He wasn’t afraid to deal with all these people.

He was just annoyed that he had to deal with that noble, who has fat on his stomach and a dull brain.

The same was true of Tesius Euros. Ashiel wasn’t the one to get caught up in the trick of smiling softly and teasing his cheeky tongue.

However… 

Sienna stepped forward as if to protect him.

That…

It meant a lot to Ashiel.

“I… I think your opinion is valid, Count Ysent.”

Ashiel placed his hand on Sienna’s outstretched hand.

It looked like he was being led by Sienna, but he didn’t care.

Sienna reached out to him.

That alone was the whole world to Ashiel, and the rest were nothing more than insignificant things.

“No, Grand Prince…!”

“Even so, if you go like that!”

Amidst the people’s embarrassment, only Admiral Ferrato bit his tongue uncomfortably.

“…I envy you.”

But the admiral trusted Sienna. She was so dull that she only now noticed the way his heart had been exposed. And whatever it was, Ashiel was not as active as when he had committed his sin against Sienna.

‘It’s a case where nothing can happen while they leave the venue.’

The man of the ocean was so sure.

He never expected that his conviction had already been completely destroyed for a long time.

Sienna and Ashiel walked out of the hall, aimlessly walking down the darkened hallway.

“Hey, Ashiel.”

“…….”

After a while, in the middle of the hallway that was quiet and far away from the venue, Sienna humbly let go of Ashiel’s hand.

“Actually, I don’t know the way around here.”

She just went out in a fit of anger. Furthermore… 

“Was it okay to go out like this?”

“…Nacht will be fine though.”

At those words, Sienna’s playfulness rose for some reason.

“But I’m Ysent.”

“Yes… But.”

Ashiel had a dignified attitude in the meeting venue, but now, he was flustered as he chose his words.

“…If you want, you can always receive protection in the name of Nacht.

Sienna just stared at the man who was explaining it to her.

Why? After she spent the night, she tended to be strangely playful when she was with Ashiel in person.

It was fun to see Ashiel being soft only to her. No, she actually thought it was good.

She kept wanting to check how soft he was and how much she could poke it.

Right then.

“……!”

Ashiel’s shy eyes stared at a certain point in the hallway and became serious.

“Ashiel?”

“Shh.”

Ashiel hushed Sienna, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a small balcony obscured by a curtain leading to the hallway.

“…….”

“…….”

As it was a small decorative balcony, the bodies of the two inevitably collided.

“I’m sorry, wait a minute…”

Ashiel asked for forgiveness in a suppressed voice. Sienna nodded her head hard.

A curtain covered the two of them softly. Sienna was quiet, guessing that there must be something as she looked at Ashiel reciting a spell that hides their presence.

The next moment… 

“Lalala… lalalalala…”

…It was a voice.

A woman was singing.

In the middle of an empty dark hallway, the thin voice of a woman resounding out of nowhere was somehow bizarre and creepy.

But she listened carefully…

“…Loreina Minangsi?”

It was a voice that Sienna would never forget.

The light sound of feet without shoes floated and drew closer to the place where Ashiel and Sienna were hiding.

The meaningless tune that was hummed sounded as if it was weeping the more they heard it.

…To be precise, it was like the sobs of a madman.

Badump, badump. Sienna’s heart began to race. For some reason, it felt like Loreina was about to pull open this curtain and show up.

And when Sienna slightly pulled open the curtains, what she saw seemed to be something other than Loreina… 

‘No way…’

The moment Sienna frowned at her own terrible imagination.

Tak, the footsteps stopped.

Exactly in front of the balcony curtains where Ashiel and Sienna were hiding.

Quietly, the wind blew. The thin curtain was pushed up to Loreina’s feet as she stood in the hallway, engulfing the shape of her bare white ankles.

…Gulp, the saliva passed.

“…Hey, Loren!”

Just then, at the other end of the hallway, a middle-aged woman’s voice called out to Loreina. It was Loreina’s mother, the Countess of Minangsi.

The strangely stiff tension was broken. Sienna let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

Countess Minangsi rushed over in a hurry.

“Loren, why the hell are you here? Huh?”

“…….”

“Didn’t I tell you that you shouldn’t leave the room without your mother’s or Sir Thesius’s permission?”

“…Mom.”

“Yes, it’s Mom. My sweet little girl. Come on, shall we go back to the room?”

The voice of Countess Minangsi that said those words was strangely edgy and urgent.

“Mom.”

Loreina mumbled as if this was her first time speaking.

“That’s right. My Loren. Come on, good girl…?”

“Ah… ah ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, Loreina began to laugh out loud.

“Mom! Sir Tesius said so. I’m a queen. He said it could happen if we bring down this empire. Right?”

“W-Well, yes. Of course.”

“I’m going to be the queen…”

Loreina’s muttering voice sounded hollow and eerie.

Such feelings seemed to be the same for Countess Minangsi.

“Yes, my queen. Come on, come on… If it’s the queen, wouldn’t she have to do what she ought to do?”

“What to do…”

“Yes, Loren, you have something to do? Let’s stop here and come with me.”

Loreina didn’t answer, but when Sienna heard the sound of their footsteps trudging away, it seemed that she was finally being led back by her mother.

Sienna remained speechless for a moment.

‘Queen?’

“Ashiel, just…”

Sienna was about to discuss the shocking scene she just saw before her eyes. But…

“…Ugh, uck.”

Ashiel let out a squeezed breath on Sienna’s neck.

His breath was so hot and humid that Sienna froze in shock. Ashiel apologized bitterly.

“Sorry…”

“Ashiel? Where does it hurt?”

Sienna managed to turn around on a small balcony to check on Ashiel. As a result, she was forced to put her hips on the railing.

“Oh my gosh.”

When she saw it face on, Ashiel’s condition was more serious than she expected.

“I-I’m, okay…”

He seemed to try to squeeze out the words that he was okay, but his forehead was sweaty and his hair was messy, so it was not convincing at all.

“Are you all right? What’s wrong with you?”

Sienna was unwittingly wiping his sweaty forehead, but was startled by the boiling heat. Ashiel exhaled, gasping and clenching his chest.

The moment she noticed that, a word flashed through Sienna’s mind.

‘Heart.’

Right. If Sienna Hesaros’ time-axis was in danger of collapse, Ashiel was literally heartless.

Even in such a situation, Ashiel tried not to choke on his breath and said this.

“I-It’s all right, if I c-calm down for a while…”

Sienna thought.

‘How was I when my time-axis collapsed?’

She was in pain. To the point of resenting Ashiel for not touching her quickly.

‘Then what about this man without a heart?

‘Would it be ‘all right’?’

No.

The answer came easily, and she was surprised she had never thought of it before.

Yes, it was the heart that Ashiel dedicated to her. The heart was an essential organ for survival, and at the same time it was the center of the magic core; it was an organ with great magical significance

If Ashiel was Sienna’s time, vice versa, Sienna was his heart.

“Since when?”

Sienna’s voice questioned with conviction. Instead of answering, Ashiel let out a painful moan.

“I’m sorry… B-But… this kind of image…”

“Is this something to be sorry about? And how do you get better?”

Ashiel shut his mouth like a clam. And it came to Sienna’s mind like a flash of lightning.

Ashiel was the man Sienna barely managed to touch even after she rescued the emperor and was in pain and suffocating.

There was no way a guilty admirer would dare ask his goddess to soothe his pain.

Perhaps he endured the pain and would have endured it… 

It seemed to have collapsed when he came into contact with Sienna by accident.

“Ashiel.”

Sienna quickly stroked his sweat-drenched forehead and cheeks.

With that alone, Ashiel made a soft sound like a kitten’s grunt, and leaned into Sienna’s palms that were on his face, which was wet with tears and sweat.

“Sienna…”

“Yes, I am here.”

“Ugh…”

Figuring out what happened to him to be in such a bad condition was not something to be done now. Sienna first untied her outer garment, which she had worn on her way to the imperial palace—with shiny medals and metal plaques.

Sienna, who had revealed her shirt, grabbed the railing she sat on and tried to open her arms and hug Ashiel’s head as she managed to hold on to him.

“Wait…”

“Shh.”

Ashiel was startled and tried to resist, but it was quicker for Sienna to appease him.

The instant Sienna’s arm caressed his back and her fingers wrapped around the nape of his neck, Ashiel lost the bonds of reason and his conscience that had barely been holding him back, and collapsed helplessly on Sienna’s chest.

His agonized moans and his teary and sweaty face messed up Sienna’s one-layer shirt.

Sienna hugged Ashiel, who was digging into her painfully. But maybe that wasn’t enough; Ashiel made a soft, suppressed sound. It was clearly visible that strength was going into his cheeks, probably it was a good move.

“Shh, Ashiel…”

Ashiel did not answer. At the same time, he couldn’t even hug Siena because he had a little conscience left; he was simply breathing desperately, crumpling the hem of her shirt.

A hot and painful exhale that seemed to wet her thin shirt and warmed her skin.

Sienna was taken aback by his pitiful appearance.

‘What more should I do, in this place…?’

Fortunately, Ashiel didn’t seem to have any intention of asking for more than this, but… 

Sienna thought. She herself was the heart of Ashiel.

So, from Ashiel’s point of view, it’s a situation where the heart went out of his body and moved around freely.

‘…I’m afraid.’

Well, if it was herself… Wouldn’t she want to hurry up and pick it up and tuck it back in her arms and hide it?

Perhaps…

Unlike Sienna, who would get better only when the time-axis that collapsed was established, it might be painful for Ashiel to move away from Sienna, the heart, itself.

‘Then…’

The thing that popped into Sienna’s mind as a soldier was pain from a phantom limb.

She vividly recalled the sight of a patient who had lost a limb in a fierce battlefield screaming in pain from an already amputated limb.

Even arms and legs were like that.

What about the heart?

It occurred to her that there was nothing to say.

But Ashiel was holding back even the scream. There was more sweat that rose naturally than tears that he shed on his own.

…It was pathetic.

She didn’t want to weigh the cause and effect anymore. She wanted to help someone who was suffering in return for saving her and giving her this life.

“Ashiel, calm down a little.”

“Hm…?”

In the midst of pain, Ashiel answered his goddess’s call and raised his head with difficulty.

The eyelashes of his half-opened eyes were damp. Sienna whispered, gently wiping his reddened eyelids so that the touch wouldn’t hurt.

“What do you think I can do to make it better?”

Ashiel tilted his head dimly as he meekly surrendered his hands, the vital element of an archer’s entire being, to Sienna’s hands.

Siena spoke again.

“I asked what you think should be done if I gave you permission.”

“No…”

“What’s bad?”

He still looked like a pathetic man.

“I’m Sienna Hesaros, so why are you arguing whether it’s me or not?”

Ashiel’s eyes lit up a little. He knows?

“Sorry…”

“Don’t do it. Think about it quickly. What would you like permission to do? I don’t know how.”

“…Really… To me?”

Ashiel asked in a husky, low voice.

“…Anything?”

“Well…”

Looking at that voice and his slightly insane, blind eyes, she didn’t think it was okay to allow literally ‘anything’… 

For some reason, feeling like a herbivore standing in front of a predator, Sienna changed her words vaguely for a moment.

“Well… depending on the situation…?”

Ashiel’s eyes darkened all at once. It couldn’t be, but in Sienna’s eyes, he looked like a puppy with his ears closed off.

“It’s okay, everything… Now, it’s worth putting up with…”

Ashiel closed his eyes sadly. In an instant, Sienna felt a strong remorse.

‘I said I’ll ‘give permission’, then later changed it to ‘depending on the situation’.’

It was as if she was playing with Ashiel and pulled out her foot at the crucial moment, hence she felt bad.

But Sienna never dreamed of it. At the point of permission, Ashiel’s conscience and reason were volatilized, and the downcast eyelashes were the result of instinctive and intense calculations.

Sienna, who she knew nothing of, began to appease Ashiel.

“Ashiel, don’t do that. I mean, I’ll allow it if possible, but since we’re in this place, I should take the situation into consideration, shouldn’t I?”

“….…”

“I’ll allow it. Hm? Tell me.”

After she tried to comfort him again and again, Ashiel’s lips began to part.

“……ous.”

“What?”

Ashiel hesitated and said,

“If you allow me… I want to be jealous.”

“…What?”

‘What does this mean?’

About a hundred question marks came to Sienna’s mind.

Jealousy?

‘That… a kiss.… melting bones… Wasn’t it like that?’

She shouldn’t have thought of something weird! Sienna’s body temperature grew warmer as well.

Sienna asked with a dry mouth.

“If it’s jealousy, then I don’t really understand it. Exactly…?”

“…To be precise, uh…”

As Ashiel frowned, Sienna reflexively smoothed his forehead.

Ashiel calmly leaned on Sienna’s hand weakly. To be honest, he was like a house-sized wolf pretending to be a cub.

He explained in a forlorn way.

“…I want to show the ugly jealousy I felt a while ago…”

The moment Sienna brought the three people with her, claiming they were the knights of the Count of Ysent, Ashiel was literally enveloped in a burning jealousy.

A cadet who was Sienna’s partner at the victory ball.

And Isabelle Gildinak, who was able to follow Sienna most closely because they were of the same gender.

In addition, Michael Nacht, his younger brother who always pretended to be innocent, but comfortably sat next to Sienna in the name of a bad friend.

Ah yes. He was a ferocious human being jealous of even his younger brother.

Admiral Ferrato was confident, saying, ‘I don’t have to be a knight’.

That’s right. A normal adult man might well react so boldly, no matter how fond he was of his partner. With composure.

But Ashiel couldn’t.

Unfortunately, Ashiel was resentful and angry. He wanted to be a knight of Sienna. No, he wanted to be anything to Sienna.

He was a madman who even wished he was the wind that passed Sienna.

‘If that’s the case, nothing in this world would harm you.’

The master of death, a man who could kill anyone if he wanted to, thought deeply.

It would have been nice if there was such a power that could absolutely protect only one person in this world.

Even Ashiel was now confused.

‘Can I really call this love?’

Maybe ordinary people would call this kind of thing madness.

Of course, it wasn’t the other people’s gaze that he was worried about. There was only one thing he was anxious about.

What if Sienna hates his madness?

He wouldn’t have been much of a welcome match for Sienna anyway. Seeing him so fretful and jealous, he thought she might want to get away from him in a hurry.

Just having his heart despise him and staying away hurt. Ashiel stood there, swallowing the pain that seemed to split his body.

However, the moment it inevitably reached Sienna, it reached its limit.

So now he had to save it this way.

Let him expose his ugly jealousy and…

“I won’t destroy it… Don’t you think so…?”

Please.

“No…”

Sienna, who knew nothing, was just stunned.

“Wait a minute, were you jealous?”

Her green eyes clearly contained this question — when?

Ashiel quickly became embarrassed.

“Uh, huh? Why are you crying all of a sudden?! Are you in a lot of pain?”

Thick tears fell from Ashiel’s eyes. Drip, drop. Tears as thick as pearls in the light of the full moon that fell on his face as he looked up at Sienna.

Sadly, Ashiel said,

“I… I was jealous of every moment… from the moment you appeared in the meeting venue today.”

“Ummm…”

Sienna still didn’t seem to understand, but she gently wiped Ashiel’s tears so they wouldn’t just drip down.

Ashiel groaned. He felt like he was choking on that kindness.

What if it wasn’t him who saved her?

Would she have been so kind to him?

The tears didn’t stop. Ashiel knew how to cry uglily, but he continued to confide since he was already ruined.

“I, I want to be your knight… I wanted to be anything to you. It’s a dream I can’t hope for…”

“…….”

“Because I don’t deserve it… I felt like my heart was burning.”

After confessing everything, he was terrified.

Ashiel looked up at Sienna slowly. Sienna, perched on the railing of the balcony, was silently looking down upon her poor worshiper.

Ashiel closed his eyes. He waited for judgment time. Frightened to see Sienna’s expression becoming complex, he slowly closed his eyes, his last tears rolling down his cheeks.

Like pearls that contained the full moon of this night.

Sienna nodded slowly. His lips held a pearl that was doomed to fall off slowly and break.

“……?”

Just now… what?

Ashiel opened his eyes at the unbelievable touch. Sienna’s brown hair draped over him like a curtain, and she stared at him with her green eyes that held a bit of laughter.

He was a little pitiful and pathetic, but it was still a cute look.

Sienna whispered to Ashiel who gazed up blankly.

“…Okay, look jealous.”

Unexpected permission fell.

Ashiel rushed to her without realizing it and hugged Sienna as if impatiently.

The man whose arms wrapped around Sienna’s back as if hanging on her reached up to the back of her neck and quickly erased the space between their lips.

‘Uh…?’

Wasn’t he too quick to act for a man who was crying bitterly just now…?

With these questions in mind, Sienna looked at the man who was begging her to open by touching and licking her lower lip…

‘Ah.’

She simply tilted her head back.

“Sienna…?”

Seeing Ashiel’s eyes shaking as if in disbelief, Sienna licked the spot that Ashiel had licked with her tongue.

Even though it was a simple and meaningless movement, Ashiel became anxious.

“Sienna, I…”

“Shh.”

Sienna caressed the naughty man clinging to her, stroking him with her fingers. She thought it was because she thought he was a little cute and wanted to make fun of him.

At that moment, a gust of wind shook Sienna’s hair and the garden trees for a long time.

The sound of waves crashing in the forest. Sienna felt that the confrontation system surrounding the palace was solid and quiet, but she thought that the wind was like the emperor scolding the two of them.

Stifled laughter came out.

“What would His Majesty say if he saw this now?”

“Well…”

Ashiel answered without thinking deeply.

“…I don’t think he wants to keep me alive?”

At that moment, Sienna couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

“Ahaha, my God. Really?”

It was a laugh like no other.

Ashiel’s nonsensical remarks were genuinely funny to Sienna, so she laughed out loud several times.

Each laugh seemed to hit his chest with a hammer.

To begin with, it was quite rare for someone to laugh at Ashiel’s words.

Ashiel had no desire to make people laugh, even for himself.

But… When Sienna smiled like that, he felt like he was losing his mind.

The feeling of the blood being heated from the brain. As he stared blankly at Sienna, his silly-looking face heated up and his stomach tightened, feeling like he wanted it all. A sense of accomplishment that seemed to only come once in a thousand years. Uplifting.

All of these sensations mixed together, turning his face red.

Sienna smiled mischievously as she recently does, and then she threw the last shot at him.

“…The two of us played with fire, so why is it that you’re the only one dying?”

Playing with fire.

Sienna called this thing between them, what happened so far, playing with fire.

Of course, it wasn’t said with a deep meaning; she was just joking around with Ashiel’s words.

But Sienna’s joke pierced Ashiel’s heart like an arrow.

‘Playing with fire…’

No, come to think of it, that was too much for him. To be recognized as Sienna’s playmate when it came to fire, wasn’t that something he had never dreamed of?

He had to come to his senses. Spending the night together didn’t mean he dared claim anything to Sienna. He should treat even one night as a gift, and not use it as an excuse to have presumptuous dreams.

Perhaps… it was the other way around. But, on the contrary, it was clear that Sienna had no intention of claiming him or demanding anything from that night.

Ashiel’s eyes showed faint resignation.

‘However…’

Today, Ashiel asked for permission.

So… 

“…Am I still the only one you’re playing fire with?”

“…Yes?”

Ashiel grabbed the railing and lifted his half-bent knee and body. Finally, Ashiel’s eye level again rose far above Sienna’s.

What. Sienna blinked, trapped in an overbearing shadow just because of its size, but without the intention of being particularly pressurizing.

Ashiel whispered in a hoarse voice.

“…You said I could be jealous.”

Yes. He was the man who was allowed to be jealous by Sienna tonight.

Ashiel clearly remembered. Every moment of that overwhelming night. The moment Sienna had him, the moment Sienna allowed him.

Maybe until the day he dies, he will never forget that last moment forever.

To think that someone other than him would share such a moment with Sienna was heartbreaking, even though he didn’t deserve it.

No, it hurt more because he didn’t deserve it.

Sienna stared silently into Ashiel’s pained eyes.

At that moment, unfortunately in Sienna’s mind… When she looked at Ashiel these days, there was a sudden intense sadistic playfulness that came up.

“…Okay, I gave you permission to be jealous, but…”

“…….”

“No matter how I spend my time with someone, it’s up to me, right?”

It was true. Ashiel closed his eyes sadly.

But Sienna’s cruel words did not stop.

“…It could be the night.”

“It could be… it could be. For you… you…”

Lu, the military cadet, and the head of the Oceans family also fell in love with Sienna. Ashiel, who had the same kind of emotion, knew.

Could Sienna be fascinated by one of them?

As Sienna said, she could spend her time with whoever she wanted.

There was no reason why it had to be Ashiel.

No, rather, Ashiel saw himself as less likely than anyone else.

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He was simply given undeserved time thanks to the inevitable reasons of heart and time.

Now Sienna seemed to be ruthlessly scolding him.

But even so, it didn’t shake him off.

It was the only fact that Ashiel’s mind, which seemed to be suspended from a cliff, could rely on.

Ashiel desperately straightened his distorted expression to avoid looking even a little ugly.

And he admitted it.

“You’re right… you’re right.”

‘What.’

However, Sienna was strangely disappointed with Ashiel’s recognition.

The instant Ashiel meekly agreed to her harsh words, Sienna thought like this.

‘You said you’d be jealous…’

‘Hmmm. Actually, you aren’t jealous?’

Sienna, who had misunderstood thanks to Ashiel’s facial expression management, gave him a strange look, and he suddenly opened his mouth desperately.

“But, can I ask you just one thing…?”

“?”

Ashiel seemed to be hesitant to say anything despite having asked if he could speak. Sienna was in a bad mood, but nodded her head.

“If you have something to say, do it.”

He licked his lips at the harsh prompting and opened his mouth, saying, “That night….”

“…Maybe I’m not good enough?”

Sienna’s mouth widened at the question that exceeded expectations.

“What? It couldn’t be…”

Sienna answered, as if possessed by an automatic recollection of that night.

And as soon as she realized what she was saying, she felt hot.

However, Ashiel nodded his head, seemingly relieved, at least a little.

“I see… …wasn’t it not enough?”

That?

Maybe that was not enough?

‘How can you roll your head to come up with such an idea…?’

Sienna was disgusted. What the hell was enough for him if that wasn’t enough.

That morning, she couldn’t get out of bed and felt like she could die?

“Ashiel. That’s…”

Sienna tried to confess that she was only joking that she could spend the night with others, but the desperate Ashiel was quicker.

“I know, you can spend time with anyone, but we… we have to spend time together sometimes too.”

“…….”

“And I… it’s shameless, but I hope that time won’t bother you.”

Please, may his time with Sienna not be terrible for her. Ashiel was really desperate.

“What should I do? Do you want me to change my tone?”

“No, Ashiel. It’s not like that—”

“No, should I speak respectfully like this?”

Sienna was unable to complete her explanation, and closed her mouth at Ashiel’s use of respectful speech, which made her spine cry from the first time she heard it.

“That…”

Ashiel stared at her for a moment.

The skin glowing red through the part of the shirt that he rubbed his face against.

As Sienna’s body temperature rose.

‘Ah…’

The man that had spent the night with her knew.

Sienna responded to his respectful words.

…In not a bad way.

Then the direction in which he should appeal was clear.

A man accustomed to war knew how to use his head even in an emergency.

Ashiel very deliberately and slowly lowered his eyes and asked politely.

“Please answer me, Master of Spring.”

Ashiel bowed his head closer to Sienna. This destination was not the lips.

As her body temperature rose and he let out a hot sigh on her pale, rosy cheeks, Ashiel flowed to Sienna’s ear like a snake.

“…How can I make the night I give you enjoyable?”

Sienna couldn’t stand it, and her body trembled, the nape of her neck reddening.

‘Shit…’

No kisses, no touches, just a simple question!

She clearly had the initiative a while ago, but what happened?

‘Am I being punished for making fun of Ashiel too harshly?’

Sienna was embarrassed when her body reacted to the trivial keywords that might not be a big deal.

His confident goddess punished him, but whenever he saw Sienna flustered and bewildered, not knowing what to do…

Something similar to a sadistic heart, which Ashiel had never even known existed, moved in and out of his head.

“I know it’s rude, but talking to my other opponents…”

Ashiel sighed from Sienna’s ear and lowered his head to her raised collarbone, tracing it.

As he gently asserted himself and struck his teeth gently against the rising ridge, Sienna trembled in his arms.

“Ashiel…!”

“Heuk…”

Red-hot skin. It was a lovely proof that the time he gave was moving Sienna’s heart, giving life down to the microscopic blood vessels that ran under her skin.

Ashiel gnawed Sienna painlessly like a bruising young beast, carefully leaving her scars with his lips.

Today he was a man allowed to be jealous… 

He couldn’t be stupid as long as he took the opportunity not to come back.

“Ah, Ashiel, wait…”

The soft and elastic skin, even the twisting of her body to the sensation of his lips, was pathetically pretty.

Ashiel shook his head. Tears welled up in Sienna’s eyes again.

He was stunned at first, but not now.

Sienna shed tears when she didn’t hate the sensations he was giving. Rather, she tended to bite her lips and hold on to the pain.

So…

It was not that she didn’t like this.

Ashiel took a little courage in response and swallowed Sienna’s soft lips.

He bit, groped, and pecked like a child, parting her lips, and savoring with his tongue the smoothness of her smooth mouth and the even, porcelain teeth.

By allowing her to breathe midway through, he even controlled how Sienna wouldn’t push him away because of the lack of air.

“Ugh…”

Their touching cheeks were hot.

Sharing was hot.

The empty place of the heart that used to feel phantom limb pain felt like it was beating again this time.

Pushing his body a little further, Sienna, who was crumbling at the touches he was giving, easily parted her knees. They became a little closer.

Each other’s body temperature, texture, and subtle sensations on the skin… more and more and more.

She felt like her head was going to explode. She felt dizzy and was going crazy.

It was obviously not a lack of oxygen. Sienna was dazed.

Sienna’s soft lips were red and swollen when he finally let go of her lips that he had been digging into.

Ashiel couldn’t hide his feelings from the wet and reddened lovely tenderness, pressed his lips on hers once more and then released them.

Sienna was completely exhausted; she sighed and leaned her arm against his arm.

Ashiel froze Sienna like a hungry beast.

‘This man is really…’

Sienna was furious.

Then, Ashiel said,

“…Do you like my kiss?”

‘No, is this man real?’

When she was desperate, she began to think that Ashiel, who was acting rude, was annoying. And she felt like she was going to do everything.

Sienna gave strength to her hazy eyes, and lifted her head nearer. And she tried to provoke him once more.

“Ashiel. Do you really want to be compared?”

“…If I can improve it by referring to it, feel free to.”

But Ashiel did not lose.

Ah…

Sienna felt it was ridiculous.

Look at this guy.

You mean he was such an idiot?

He’s looking for improvement? He could be better than that day? What are you going to do when you get better? Are you saying that this time you’re going to eat Sienna Hesaros’ bones instead of her flesh?

No, besides, since when did it become a fact that she spent the night with someone else?

At the premise that seemed too natural — Ashiel was only strongly conscious that someone was greatly in love with Sienna — but Sienna, who was offended anyway, asked in a deliberately sarcastic tone.

“Do you think it’s okay for me to spend the night with someone else?”

At that cruel remark, Ashiel laughed painfully.

Is it okay? He wasn’t okay at all. It was painful and hurtful, as if she had cut through his already gone heart with a sword and thrust a burning coal into it. His breath choked up.

He wanted to be jealous.

But that shouldn’t be the case.

So… 

“If I could be greedy for one thing…”

“…….”

“…I hope you enjoy me more than anyone else.”

May this sinful, impudent man be more pleasant than the sincerity of the innocent man for her.

“I dare to hope so.”

If so… It seemed that he could endure the pain that felt like her chest was being ripped apart.

Could’t he just bear if Sienna thinks she enjoys spending time with him more?

…Ashiel smiled slowly with hazy eyes. Sienna gulped and swallowed her saliva.

But she had nowhere to turn.

Ashiel’s words did not end there.

“Now that I think about it, I guess I have to work harder.”

What?

Sienna was perplexed by the shift in his thinking she couldn’t keep up with.

“No, that’s…”

“No. I’m asking again, but please teach the poor man. Master of the Spring Garden.”

The earnest questions in his red eyes entangled Sienna.

“…How can I make you happier?”

“Ashiel, That—”

Sienna, who was still in his arms, turned red and couldn’t speak. In response to the violent reaction, Ashiel was also tasting a quivering exhilaration.

Giving strength to his teeth, Ashiel asked in Sienna’s ear once more in a low tone.

“…Do you want to test it one by one slowly?”

His wet, chilling words seemed to lick her ears. Sienna, without realizing it, shrugged and scolded the spunky man.

“For now, stop using those respectful words!”

Ashiel tilted his head. It was like a gentle puppy blinking at the owner’s incomprehensible commands, but…

“Don’t you like it when I do this?”

“My taste is…”

Sienna’s taste?

With a face that didn’t seem like it at all, Ashiel Nacht was speaking kindly like that, but acting rudely…?!

Sienna trembled, but she couldn’t deny it.

‘Okay.’

If she had to say, it hurt her pride to admit it again, but it was thrilling to hear the respectful speech from Ashiel!

‘But how can I deal with the aftermath if you just say it like it is?’

Sienna hastily changed the subject.

“So you’re going to keep speaking like this? No matter what other people think?”

“Because the only thing that matters to me is you.”

The moment she felt it was out of line, the moment she felt like she was being teased and swayed, Ashiel came in with a heavy heart.

“No matter how anyone else sees it, no matter how the Grand Prince is spinning it…”

“….…”

“It can’t be important to me, can it?”

“That…”

If only he could make it to Sienna’s heart.

If only he could step into her mind, even a little, and see.

Ashiel grabbed Sienna’s hand and kissed the back of her hand. He was temperamental and wanted to get down on his knees and do it to her feet, but that seemed to be something Sienna would hate very much.

‘But someday.’

Sienna liked respectful words, so maybe… If she allowed him one more night, wouldn’t it be possible to look forward to it?

As Ashiel’s eyes filled with such implications, Sienna trembled.

There was the thought that it would be really dangerous to leave it as it was. An alarm sounded.

She tried to tease him a little and was already blown away, and now she had the idea that anything could happen in this place if she left it like this a little longer.

If this went any further, Sienna thought she wouldn’t have the confidence to keep her head on straight either.

To quit, it would be now.

“—It’s my cup of tea, you do what you usually do. Do what you always do!”

“Well.”

When Sienna pushed Ashiel as hard as she could, Ashiel let himself be pushed out of the way.

Sienna asked, breathing strangely with a flushed face.

“Well, that’s enough for jealousy, right? It’s okay now, right?”

Ashiel thought sadly. He couldn’t lie to his master.

And if Sienna demanded this much… 

“…Yes, it’s fine.”

“Then stop it now. Let’s stop and leave.”

How long had they been like this? Time did not wait for them.

Outside, there must be a countermeasure meeting going on under the leadership of Tesius Euros, and although she almost forgot, she was also concerned about Loreina’s suspicious words and actions.

‘It seems to be an allusion to treason, but…’

Loreina’s behavior was a bit strange. It could be said that she was drunk, but if it felt like there’s a more fundamental problem… Was it just her illusion?

“…It’s not the time to be like this anyway.”

Ashiel also admitted that.

“First…”

Sienna thought it over.

She couldn’t go back to the meeting room where she had kicked herself out from. She never thought of that.

Then..

“Ashiel.”

“Well?”

“Her Highness the Crown Princess told me earlier.”

“’As I said before, I have informed you of this in advance. Try to figure out what that means with the decorations on your shoulders’.”

Arandier knew it too.

From the beginning of this great empire, of the descendants of the glorious defenders, few could be trusted.

Many had forgotten the promise they made to enjoy privileges in exchange for defending the lives and lands of their people.

“The only people in the room who remembered the oath and are willing to fulfill it…”

At Sienna’s words, Ashiel nodded slowly.

“…Yes. First of all, I think we need to find out why this phenomenon is happening right now, whether it’s because of the approach or surge of monsters, or really simply because the confrontation system has weakened…”

“I think it would be good if we could solve it at the same time.”

Ashiel, who seemed to have returned to work completely now, nodded his head.

“Everyone who could get in the way is in the meeting, so now would be a good time to move in secret.”

“Yes. Fortunately, it’s bright tonight.”

At night, the activity of the magical beast becomes stronger, but on a clear night with a full moon, its level becomes weaker than usual.

“Don’t delay, let’s move.”

Ashiel nodded. If Sienna commanded, he was a military dog that obeyed orders.

* * *

Sienna added three more trustworthy people to the group.

“I thought you were in the meeting.”

The three people were waiting separately after failing to enter the meeting because they came as Sienna’s knights looked puzzled.

“I came out for a reason.”

“It’s understandable. The idiots inside must have been talking nonsense.”

As Sienna nodded her head and briefly described what had happened in the meeting room, Michael snorted.

“Sounds like they like Loreina. Hey, I’ll make a great corn remedy as soon as I can. And I’m going to give it the name ‘Loreina’. How about it?”

If it was Michael’s medicine, it would probably sell like crazy, so it would be a huge insult to Loreina… 

“Okay. It’s not something we should discuss right now.”

“Yes, stay still. I’ll take care of it all. But then, did you leave right away? It’s a little late for that.”

“It’s similar, first…”

Lou stared curiously at Sienna, who was being evasive.

The moment Sienna was concerned with that gaze and tried to quickly explain what they should do from now on.

Bang.

The door opened.

“Everyone is here.”

It was Admiral Ferrato. Sienna was stunned.

The admiral let out a laugh and closed the door.

“I came out saying I was going to the bathroom.”

“How is Her Highness the Crown Princess doing?”

“She’s holding it in well. Surprisingly, no one is going to die for a while. I think this is what the Crown Princess intended.”

“….…”

“Can I join in too?”

Ashiel had the highest rank in this group and had the most military experience, but Admiral Ferrato asked Sienna.

“Yes… Your Highness the Duke…”

Sienna glanced at Ashiel. Ashiel’s expression was as straight as usual without any major change.

If she hadn’t known, she would have thought he wasn’t thinking of anything, but it was a misleading expression… 

Sienna now knew.

‘He’s not showing his jealousy now.’

Ashiel’s terrifying and destructive jealousy ran through her mind again. Sienna wanted to groan.

“Are you worried about anything, Count Ysent?”

“No, Duke Ferrato. It’s fine…”

‘Wait, come to think of it, that guy likes me too, right?’

“?”

Admiral Ferrato tilted his head with a look of concern, but Sienna was frozen stiff.

There was only one thought in Sienna’s head at this moment.

‘Ashiel Nacht should not know this.’

Of course, Ashiel already knew the truth. But Sienna only knew that Ashiel was jealous he didn’t become her knight.

So a cold sweat ran down Sienna’s back.

‘Just because he didn’t become a knight… He was so damn jealous.’

What would happen when Ashiel finds out that Duke Ferrato doesn’t want her politically, but because he really likes her and is courting her?

She got goosebumps.

The events that occurred behind the curtains under the night sky flashed through her mind in an instant.

It felt like saliva was pooling in her mouth, and then drying out.

She was a little scared of what would happen, and…

…And, if she seemed to be looking forward to it, was she crazy too?

‘Oh.’

Admiral Ferrato, noticing Sienna like that, became proud. It was because he had mistaken that she was conscious of him.

“…Then, are we moving like this, with six people?”

Lou intervened. Admiral Ferrato almost turned and smiled as he saw the kid who was intervening. It was because he thought he was ahead.

‘It seems that this guy didn’t even reveal his feelings.’

There was no way that Lou could not recognize Admiral Ferrato’s gaze that contained such a sense of superiority.

Lou thought.

‘A sly serpent.’

The more Lou looked at him, the more his teeth grew. Pretending to be cheerful, pretending to have a good personality, and pretending to be close to Sienna, Lou hated him more than Ashiel.

Admiral Ferrato was an ‘adult man’ and was the head of the Oceans family. He was someone who had two of the things that Lou didn’t have.

Lou hated Ashiel in the same way, but he also thought that Admiral Ferrato was more aggressive than Ashiel, who appeared to be like ice, so he didn’t like him more.

Neither of them could have imagined in their dreams that the gentle cat climbed the stove first.

With a smile and an expressionless face, they just set Ashiel out of the composition and were wary of each other.

But, sadly, Sienna knew nothing about the war of nerves between them all.

She simply nodded her head, hurriedly getting out of her thoughts about Ashiel.

“Umm. First of all, I had a brief discussion with the Grand Prince on the way here, but I think it would be unreasonable to search outside the area right now.”

Now, there was not enough time to search even the suspicious places in the area.

“I agree. For now, it’s better to do something that avoids the eyes of the ones who had gathered in the conference hall.”

Isabelle nodded her head.

“We’d better explore the inside of the area secretly.”

“Okay.”

Michael understood.

“If anomalies like this are clearly occurring, it is difficult to see that it is a problem of only one side. From my point of view, it is true that the confrontation system has also weakened, and I think that some demon beasts may have been hiding near the center of this island, taking advantage of that opportunity. .”

“Right.”

Everyone nodded at the reasonable guess.

“…Maybe, Count Ysent.”

Ashiel asked.

“Can you estimate the suspicious location?”

‘I told this guy not to do it again, right?’

In astonishment, Sienna stared at Ashiel for a moment, but he was just looking at her with his usual calm and well-groomed face.

‘But it’s not strange to use respectful speech to Count Ysent…’

Reluctantly, Sienna matched his rhythm. Thankfully, Ashiel’s respectful words now had no weird connotations and were simply plain and bearable.

“…It’s difficult. This area, especially the Imperial Palace, is the center of His Majesty’s confrontational world… I can’t open a world wide enough to explore there.”

It was a reasonable explanation. Admiral Ferrato nodded and suggested,

“Hmm, if there is no way, why not search the slums where the epidemic first started?”

“I didn’t say there was no way.”

Sienna grinned.

“Still, I think it’s a good idea to search the slum area.”

“Huh? But…”

“Let’s skip the details and leave the palace for now. I have to go out to a high place, anywhere. Then I can do it.”

“High?”

Sienna nodded her head at Michael’s question.

“Uhh, the higher the better. It would be better if I could see the entire central area of the island. Anyone know of such a place?”

“Where is such a place…”

“My mansion is high up, but it’s on the far side from the center…”

“…There is.”

The person who suddenly answered was Ashiel.

“…Ah!”

One beat later, Michael also exclaimed.

“Yes, it’s there!”

“? What is there?”

It wasn’t Michael who would kindly answer the question of his older brother’s rival Admiral Ferrato, who could possibly make his older brother more insane than he already was.

“Let’s get out of here. Brother, it would be better if you go with Sienna because you can open it there.”

Michael was infinitely sincere in tying Sienna and Ashiel; or to be more precise, selling his own soul to Sienna Hesaros and handing over Ashiel, who was almost incapacitated, to Sienna.

“And I’m going to cast communication magic on all of us here. Why don’t you two become the commanders and give us directions?”

“…I think that’s a good idea.”

Isabelle nodded, thinking that Ashiel would protect Sienna in any case. But the only person who nodded her head was Isabelle.

Lou and Admiral Ferrato each had a slightly shaky expression on their faces, but…

“By the way, only my brother can open it and go in there.”

Then they also nodded as if they had no choice.

Admiral Ferrato was the first to step out.

“Then this alumni will go with this cadet.”

“?!”

Lou was startled, but Admiral Ferrato only chuckled.

‘Private relationships are private relationships.’

When it came time to start the operation, Admiral Ferrato neatly picked the one he thought would be the least powerful among them.

Noticing this, Lou seemed to have his pride seriously hurt, but Admiral Ferrato smiled, pulling him closer and said, “Let’s get to know each other.”

Also, in his own private intention, there was a calculation that Ashiel would not be able to do anything reckless.

…At a time where Ashiel was already figuring out Sienna’s taste in a whimsical way, Admiral Ferrato’s misunderstanding was poignant and sad.

Michael shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t help it.

“Well, then I’ll automatically have to go with that guy.”

Isabelle Gildinak pointed out and warned ‘that guy’ with a snort.

“If you mess around, I’ll throw you out right away, Lab Ghost.”

“Huh! Hey, I’m not that bad!”

Michael made a fuss to prove to Isabelle that he was ‘healthy in his own way,’ but Isabelle only sneered.

‘Probably…’

Sienna thought. Michael clearly had a heart for Isabelle.

It was still new, but in the eyes of Michael that were fixed on Isabelle, it was the same as what Sienna saw from Ashiel… In any case, there was a small amount of such inexplicable emotion.

Even Michael, who prides himself on being a genius, didn’t seem to know his own condition.

‘Anyway, he pretends to be smart. But he doesn’t even know how he feels.’

Sienna Hesaros wasn’t saying it because she had no one to point it out to.

‘Anyway, it’s going to be fun for a while.’

While Michael was shoveling with his own feelings that he didn’t know, Isabelle reacted even more savagely, she didn’t seem like she would become softer.

Sienna was determined to watch the situation without crossing the line.

As she did so, she came to this realization.

‘It’s fun to watch other people’s relationships.’

…Of course, this, too, was not something Sienna Hesaros would naturally think of.

In any case, Isabelle and Michael seemed to be getting along in that way.

‘Well then…’

All that was left were Ashiel Nacht and Sienna.

Sienna looked at Ashiel with a slightly wary look, but Ashiel nodded his head with a cold and neat face as if claiming that ‘I have no black heart or pure passion inside’.

‘…Well, we’re going to work now… Would it be okay if we were alone?’

“Okay then, can we go now?”

“Yes. Let’s split up quickly. The Crown Princess is making an effort… but we don’t know what will happen if it takes a lot of time.”

“That’s true. We might have to select new nobles.”
(TL/N: cause Arandier might get so irritated that she kill those nobles~)

At Admiral Ferrato’s words, Michael nodded solemnly.

“Such a joy, excuse me. Let’s hurry before tragedy strikes.”

The six people, who had decided on the direction they were going to go, got rid of their traces and escaped from the palace.

Like the best of the elite, no one noticed their escape.

Sienna and Ashiel, who came out toward the main gate of the Imperial Palace, headed towards…

“Is this a department store?”

It was a department store with the lights turned off because business hours were over.

It had been quite some time since this department store was built, and the exterior looked a little different from the opening day.

However, as the business was booming, the surrounding sections were neatly organized and the street itself was more prosperous as more shopping districts were built in the neighboring areas.

Sienna recalled memories without intending to.

“I was lost here on opening day.”

So, she didn’t even enter the department store.

But after all this time, she was now trying to infiltrate the department store with the person who came to find her when she was lost.

‘Human work and the future are truly unknown.’ Thinking so, Sienna smiled a little.

“?”

“No, it was nothing.”

As she gently waved her hand telling him to keep doing what he was doing, Ashiel nodded his head as he opened the back door.

“But how did you immediately think of this place?”

“At that time, while dispatching people to find you, I said that if I find you, I will raise a flag on this roof. It could be seen from anywhere on the island.”

“Ah…”

On that day, Ashiel eventually found Sienna and raised the flag herself.

Sienna recalled.

“…I just remembered it.”

Something bigger had happened to them that day than losing her briefly.

‘The incident in which the Grand Duke was almost killed by an attack from magical beasts.’

Thanks to that, what had happened before was almost erased from her memory.

Sienna thought it would be the same for Ashiel too, but… 

“I didn’t remember it. I’ve never forgotten it.”

“…What? Why…?”

Silently going up the stairs ahead, Ashiel answered.

“Because I lost you.”

That was the only answer.

But Sienna was speechless.

That remark brought this to mind—

On the festival day, when everyone was enjoying themselves, Ashiel found her, who was alone.

Looking back on a changed life, a life where everyone was kind and warm… 

At the time when Sienna was afraid that her life would collapse, and she thought, ‘I’d rather run away.’

Ashiel had appeared just then.

As if to say he couldn’t lose his heart, exactly at that point… He had lost all his usual neatness and appeared frantic.

‘Thank you, he said.’

Did he notice it instinctively? That she was planning to run away.

As she was thinking about all sorts of things, she arrived on the roof before she knew it.

When she stood on the roof where the flag was raised in the old days, the central section of the island spread out below her feet, just like before.

– Did you go up?

Michael asked a question through communication magic.

“Yes. It looks great.”

– We’ve also arrived in the northern district. Traffic is little, but not quite empty/nonexistent.

– There’ll probably be more if you go into the slums.

Sienna nodded her head. Ashiel summoned Thanatos.

“What for?”

“For assistance in case of emergency.”

“…Can you use it?”

Ashiel nodded his head. In fact, for him, a man with serious myopia, the divisions of the capital center seemed overly distinct.

“Can you see people’s faces with that much vision?”

“Because I wear glasses. If it’s unavoidable, I use magic to correct my eyesight. It’s not a method I use often because of high fatigue.”

“…Hmm.”

First of all, if Ashiel could help, things would be easier.

Sienna quietly embodied Hesaros.

[Is it my turn to be active?]

“Hesaros.”

[Yes, Sienna.]

“Are you aware of the situation? I think if I use the flow of the confrontation world to send my purification power, it will be searched to some extent.”

If it was purifying fire, it would not affect the confrontation world.

[Okay. Such delicate control is my specialty.]

“I’m begging you. Keep it as secret as possible.”

[I’ll be back like a cloud.]

A thick smoke rose from Hesaros’ body toward the sky.

It seemed as if the weather had been clear a little while ago, and clouds had gathered in an instant.

Smoke spread, and she could feel the search begin.

‘It’s like I’m spreading out my area like a very thin cloth.’

Sienna turned on the communication magic and informed.

“It started.”

– Okay.

– Yes, we are on standby, Master.

– I’ll be waiting to hear from you, Count Ysent!

Sienna waited for a moment, raising her body to let Hesaros control the power.

After a moment of silence, Ashiel opened his mouth.

“I’ve felt it before… but your Named seems to have a lot to say.”

“Is that so?”

Ashiel nodded his head.

“Other Nameds doesn’t talk much. Unless it’s absolutely necessary. When the owner is in danger, it shows up, even then, it often stays silent.”

“…Really?”

Sienna, who had been living with Hesaros, who was very talkative from the beginning, was surprised. Ashiel looked at her and smiled a little.

“Perhaps he can’t let it go without loving you.”

Sienna couldn’t find the words to answer, and it was then.

– Ugh, why are there so many rats here?

– We’re going to a slum, so there’s nothing we can do about it.

Communication came in. She heard Michael grunting, and Isabelle scolding him for that.

Sienna responded as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t complain. Unless you found anything.”

– Hey, did we find something?

– There is a person moving eastward from the slum in the north. At first glance, it looks like a drunk person, but he’s unusual.

“What?”

– No matter how much we chase after him, we don’t come close.

“Okay. Wait a minute.”

Sienna said to Hesaros.

“Did you hear? It’s in the northeast.”

[I got it.]

Sienna focused her search capabilities there. And not long later…

[Sienna!]

Caught! Siena activated the communication magic again.

“Can you hear me? There’s a presence in the northeast section right now! I think that’s what Michael and Isabelle found. He’s getting closer to the east!”

By the way… His speed was too fast

Sure enough, Michael muttered.

– Damn it, we must catch him. For now, I’ll keep tracking. Everyone should gather here.

“No.”

Sienna shook her head.

Obviously, it was the fact that Michael and Isabelle were chasing after him that he was being caught in the search network in the first place.

But there was a place where an even greater energy lurked.

“I feel like it’s on 3rd Latran, no…”

“…The Emperor’s private residence, no, that’s where the Count of Ysent resides.”

If it was Count Ysent, it was Sienna’s house that was given by the emperor.

‘Uh…’

It didn’t feel right, but Sienna shouted at once.

“…It’s over the residence of the Count of Ysent. Admiral Ferrato, Lou will know where to go!”

Michael exclaimed.

– I think he’s going that way too! Maybe we should gather there?

– Are there any other signs, Master?

Responding to Isabelle’s question, Sienna asked Hesaros. Hesaros denied it.

[There is a strong and ominous energy. There were no other abnormalities elsewhere.]

“…Energy?”

[At least five Rares, or two Rares for one Unique, including the sign going there.]

“What Michael and Isabelle are chasing…”

[It’s probably Rare.]

Sienna first delivered Hesaros’ words mechanically.

“At least five Rares, or one Unique and two Rares. Michael, Isabelle. What you’re after is a Rare-grade beast. It won’t be a big deal, but be careful.”

– Don’t worry.

– Don’t worry.

Admiral Ferrato laughed and joked.

– Unique… Anyway, better than when in Elbara.

But Sienna couldn’t laugh. It was because the ominous feeling she had suddenly felt did not go away easily.

Sienna looked back at Ashiel. Instead of sprouting speculations, he nodded his head.

“Let’s go too.”

Yes, that was the only way for now.

* * *

When Sienna and Ashiel entered 3rd Latran Street, the starting point of today’s schedule, beyond was the residence of the Count of Ysent, and the barrier had already been put in place.

It was a shielding barrier to hide the fact that a fight was taking place.

Sienna and Ashiel hurriedly entered the barrier. The battle was already in full swing there.

“Brother! Sienna!”

Michael, who was in charge of protecting the barrier and back-up, recognized them and shouted.

“It’s such a troublesome guy! It’s no use even if you cut it, and it won’t burn even if you burn it!”

“Kah-wooooah…”

To Sienna, the beast looked like a slug surrounded by slime.

The only difference was that it was large enough to match most mansions, and the slime was flowing around the beast’s body — not stagnant, but flowing.

Of course, there was a great stench, and the vegetation it had touched was rotting black.

Michael warned.

“If you touch that slime, you’ll burn yourself.”

Unsurprisingly, Isabelle, Lou, and Admiral Ferrato were already messed up.

Sienna pulled out Hesaros without looking further. And she made a fire.

“Master!”

“Sister Sienna!”

The flame that ran between Lou and Isabelle wrapped around the magical beast. The beast screamed in agony.

“I get it…! Are you the Goddess of Spring…!”

It made her even more annoyed when the beast mentioned the nickname she disliked.

Anyway, unlike the usual magic fire, Sienna’s purifying fire seemed to be working.

Perhaps around this time, Admiral Ferrato also swung Wind Locker vigorously.

But just as Michael said, the torn beast oozed mucus and stuck back to its original state.

It was a difficult sight to see with open eyes, but none of those who had fought in a war frowned.

Sienna asked.

“Was it like that from the beginning?”

Michael shook his head, putting another protective spell on Isabelle’s side before answering.

“No. If that was the case, it would have been discovered by anyone, not us. At first, all three of them looked like humans, but the Unique swallowed the two Rares, and it became like that.”

“Ashiel.”

Ashiel summoned Thanatos in a smaller, more densely packed form than usual. It seemed like it was meant to hit in close range.

Ashiel pulled the bowstring and fired the bow. It was not a ‘sentencing’, but a simple attack to test the opponent’s power.

“Wooo-ahhh…”

The beast suffered for a while, but stopped procrastinating and filled the wind hole.

‘Should I burn the whole thing…’

Sienna hesitated for a moment. Her condition was not perfect for that, and there could be an embarrassing situation where she had to kiss Ashiel while people were watching.

‘…Isn’t it?’

“…Wait!”

At that moment, Sienna, who had a sudden thought, placed her hand on Ashiel’s.

“Before, Wind Locker didn’t work, but the fire of purification did. So…”

How could she explain that? Sienna could not find adequate words to describe their pincer attack in Elbara Gorge. However, Ashiel quickly understood what Sienna meant.

He asked,

“Like in Elbara?”

It was the perfect expression.

“Yes!”

“Great.”

Ashiel pulled the bowstring with all his might, putting Siena’s hand on it. The flame that rose through Sienna’s hand crossed over to Thanatos.

The silver bow began to glow with a bright red gold color, like metal in a furnace.

“You… you hateful girl!!”

“Now!”

Ashiel released.

With banging and popping sound…

Kwang, puck!

“Gweeeeeeeeeek!!”

It was pierced precisely into the heart of the beast.

“It’s the verdict of purification! Good!”

Admiral Ferrato approached the beast and swung Wind Locker as if he was going to vent his resentment.

Puck, pak!

“Oh!”

It worked. The cuts of the slimy beast began to scatter like lumps of sand that had dried up abruptly!

“I can’t lose!”

“I’ll take the left.”

Before long, Lou and Isabelle also ran towards the beast.

“Kieek…! These lowly human bastards…!!”

The beast screamed helplessly, but it soon turned into a mass of black sand.

And even that lump of sand crumpled and crumbled into dust.

In an instant, the whole surrounding area was quiet.

“…But, is it okay?”

“I think so.”

Sienna ignited a fire in her hand without a word. This time it wasn’t a purifying fire.

“What.”

The rising flames engulfed Isabelle, Lou, and Admiral Ferrato one after another.

“Hey, this is…”

Admiral Ferrato was amazed. Isabelle was also looking down at her red blistered hands, curiously.

Lou asked.

“Is it okay? Isn’t that overkill?”

Sienna chuckled and shrugged.

“What are you saying to your master. A knight must trust his master.”

But that was the end of her jokes. Sienna heaved a sigh. The place where the beast appeared… 

“It’s right behind the mansion.”

It was right behind her house, which the emperor had bestowed upon her.

“…It seems that this phenomenon occured due to the weakening of the confrontation system as we speculated, and this guy took advantage of that opportunity to hide.”

Admiral Ferrato’s guess was valid.

“Yes, judging by the stinky smell, it seems that it has a knack for transferring diseases.”

Michael’s words made sense.

Sienna felt a sense of incongruity that could not be resolved by that alone.

“…But the problem is, why was this guy wandering around the Count’s house?”

Ashiel silently looked back at the traces of the beast. His eyesight was fine even in the dark, and he recognized that the traces of the demonic beast continued to the walls of Count Ysent’s mansion, 

It was probably connected like this from the inside out.

“No way, Brother.”

Michael frowned at Ashiel’s explanation.

“You mean… some kind of madman was trying to make it look like Count Ysent had released this beast in the capital?”

Isabelle and Lou’s complexion changed.

Sienna nodded her head calmly.

“It’s probably right to see it that way.”

“…For now, it would be better to erase the traces and patrol the inside of the mansion. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with it right now, but…”

Sienna called up Hesaros. The smoke emitted by Hesaros wiped away the traces of the demonic beast that led to the residence of the Count of Ysent.

“Well then…”

It was the very moment.

“Ugh, hah…”

“Sienna?!”

“Count Ysent!”

Sienna suddenly felt a pain squeezing her chest.

In the unprepared onslaught of intense pain, Sienna grabbed her chest and fell forward.

“Sienna!”

Ashiel, who was standing next to her, hurriedly held Sienna and supported her.

Fortunately, her pain subsided as quickly as it came swiftly and intensely.

But that didn’t make it any less shocking.

“Hah, ah, hah…”

What if you scrape your bone marrow with a knife? The terrible pain remained like an illusion, like an aftershock. Sienna gasped for breath and tried to calm herself.

Something… Something was wrong.

“Sienna, are you okay? Can you answer me?”

“No, no… hah, wait a minute…”

Irreversible.

Something that was connected to her was broken.

Sienna looked up at Ashiel with trembling eyes. Not only Ashiel, but other people also surrounded her, but Sienna could only recognize Ashiel.

“Ashiel…”

“Yes, here I am.”

Clinging to Ashiel’s arm, Sienna spit out in disbelief about what had just happened to her.

“A self-defense amulet… has been destroyed.”

* * *

The destroyed self-defense amulet was the one that Sienna gave to the grand duke.

Although the knot was clumsy, Sienna placed special power into the essential jewel.

She was connected to it, so that he could continuously receive her purifying power.

The self-defense amulet could be used continuously.

The grand duke was lying in a pool of blood, holding the invaluable object; it was the only object in his hand.

“Now, now, I’m going to kill you…!”

Keuk-uk.

Grand Duke Nacht, Rodrick, was lying on the floor and vomiting blood.

Illus Getter was just lying on the floor like that.

But even if he had an Illus Getter in his hand instead of the amulet, there was nothing the grand duke could do.

Countless cuts were already carved on his body, black weapons with blades like thorns were embedded in some places.

It was a difficult state to wish for life.

A state that was infinitely close to seeing death.

“Ah, Great Beast Master…! Now I’ve avenged you, I’ve avenged you…!”

However, the man who made him like this was just a little better than him, but it wasn’t normal.

Rodrick watched the beast that gave him the last blow and was rejoicing over his death, and carefully held what he had in his hand.

‘Sienna, that child made…’

That precious and special thing was fortunately with him until this moment.

“Ugh…”

The grand duke barely let out a turbid breath of boiling blood and closed his eyes.

The beast staggered and said,

“I will die soon, but your human plans have been stopped. And I will see you, t-the enemy of the Great Beast Master, die…”

“Is that so…”

The grand duke laughed. Now he could hardly hear the beast’s words.

He only thought of the child holding the jewel of purification and handing it over to him with difficulty.

‘The child…’

The child was like the sunlight he saw in the morning, and at times like a night that would never come.

It was like a very small box that could not be opened because the key had been lost forever.

“Death is truly a dreadful thing…! We will not just kill your people!”

As it approached the end, the eyes of the beast and its face melted like candle wax.

However, even in that state, the beast continued the curse according to its instinct.

“Cut with swords, set with fire, suck blood, slit hearts and feed our children. Your empire is now our food farm…!”

‘Yes, your dreams are like that.’

The grand duke thought in vain.

Shame and fear belong to the living.

He was a lion who had already set foot in the realm of death.

‘But I hope… If you wish…’

‘I hope you, you guys are safe from death.’

The grand duke recalled Sienna and his children in turn. Those were faces that hit his heart just thinking about it, but at this moment, he was just happy to be able to remember those faces.

‘Even if your life becomes painful… Rather, suffer.’

‘But, it shouldn’t be… Your life shouldn’t just be painful.’

The grand duke gave strength to the hand that was holding Sienna’s self-defense amulet. Then he squeezed his last bit of power and recited the magic spell.

“…In the name of Kainosia, this barrier is inscribed and sealed…”

“?!”

The almost completely melted beast was surprised, but it was already too late.

A light burst from the grand duke’s hand. The light began to spread along the path drawn down the pool of blood where he and his troops had died.

It was the completion of the offshore barrier.

“You can’t…! Nooooooooooo!”

The grand duke could hardly hear the sound of the beast screaming with a boiling sound.

The grand duke thought one last time.

‘Life is sometimes humiliating and sometimes painful.’

‘Did I leave a place where they’ll live…’

‘You guys aren’t safe yet…’

‘Even if life is painful…’

‘Rather, suffer.’

‘And laughter, happiness, and reward that are as valuable as the amount of pain…’

‘My children, stay in the future.’

‘How precious your lives are to me…’

Grand Duke Rodrick Nacht closed his eyes, praying until the end.

And without breathing again, he left this world.

Very serene, perfect… 

It was such a death.

* * *

Ashiel supported Sienna, who had fainted after uttering the unfamiliar words.

However, it inevitably took some time for Sienna to return to her senses and for Michael to erase the traces of the battle with the remaining beasts.

The party hurried back to the Imperial Palace before the meeting was completely over.

Meanwhile, Sienna’s complexion was particularly pale, and she was strangely silent.

But what awaited them was not the messy conference hall.

“Your Highness? The meeting?”

“The meeting has been temporarily suspended by my authority.”

Arandier, who had summoned them all to an audience room the moment they arrived in the Imperial Palace, greeted them with a strangely dark face.

Ashiel helped Sienna settle on the sofa as her face was still pale.

Michael muttered.

“Aunt hasn’t killed anyone yet. I thought at least one person in the meeting room was going to die talking nonsense…”

Arandier didn’t kick her self-indulgent nephew’s shin as usual. Instead, she smiled bitterly at him and said,

“…It’s not that hard to tolerate stupid people talking stupid things.”

“But from this moment on, I have to tell you something that is hard to bear.”

Arandier lifted herself up from the chair. She had a sword by her side, which she had not had when she was in the conference hall earlier.

“Duke Ferrato.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’m ordering you to go back to the conference hall right now and watch the atmosphere. I’ll probably say a lot of things that you can’t hear.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“The knights of Count Ysent, I will give you a room to rest in. You worked hard tonight. And Ashiel, Michael, and Count Ysent.”

Arandier gave the order, looking at each of them with golden eyes full of unknown emotions.

“…You guys follow me.”

There was no reason, but it was a firm order that could not be objected to.

* * *

Crown Princess Arandier took them to the halls of the Northern Palace.

The Northern Palace was almost empty because there were not many imperial family members from generation to generation. Besides, it was late, there were only lights lit to illuminate the surrounding roads.

However, there was a large movement in the hall of the Northern Palace, which was supposed to be empty.

It wasn’t a loud buzzing sound. The lights were on and shadows were visible, but barely any audible voices were heard.

It was a huge silence created by the gathering of many people.

Sienna’s complexion turned pale.

‘No way…’

It wouldn’t be.

As much as that, it wouldn’t be.

She wished time would stop here for a moment and let her prepare herself to pull herself together, but that time was not allowed.

The door to the hall slowly opened in front of the three of them, with Arandier at the forefront.

“……!”

“The Grand Prince…”

“The Second Prince…”

“Nacht’s ward has also come…”

“Oh, my God…”

Thousands of people looked at them and murmured lowly.

The people who seemed embarrassed and apologetic, and at the same time afraid of something, were all vassals belonging to the Nacht of the Underworld.

Oh.

Ashiel suddenly realized.

…No, he admitted it.

He could see the crowd slowly moving away. A veil woven with the imperial family crest hangs from the ceiling, and in its shadow… 

There was a coffin.

“It can’t be…”

Michael muttered. Sienna shut her eyes tightly, her face completely white.

Ashiel walked towards the veil without saying a word.

There, in that coffin… 

There was the lord of the underworld, his father.

A pale face, a face with eyes closed peacefully, a face he had seen for a very long time since he was born.

But today, like someone he had never seen before… It looked very unfamiliar.

Ashiel looked at the strange face for a moment. Upon closer inspection, his father had cuts on his face.

Seeing that flags engraved with the crest of the Nacht family were wrapped around his nack, perhaps…

‘The condition of the body is not very good.’

The brain, accustomed to war, understood the situation that way. However, Ashiel did not accept everything.

Next to the coffin was a blood-soaked spear, Illus Getter, the Named of the Grand Duke of Nacht, leaning quietly.

As Nacht’s successor, who made a contract with the Millennium Box long ago, Ashiel, the owner of the Named Millennium Box, could tell.

Now, the Named Firstborn Illus Getter, standing in front of him, had no master.

‘The owner… None.’

It was natural.

Because the man who was the owner of this spear had already passed away.

“Brother.”

Michael had approached before he knew it. His brother checked their father, and looked up at him in disbelief.

“Brother…….”

His younger brother, who had turned stark white, could only say that.

“…Ashiel.”

Princess Arandier, Ashiel’s aunt, put a hand on his shoulder. Standing next to each other, the two were almost the same height.

From Arandier’s golden eyes, Ashiel guessed.

Now, just now, the time of mourning allowed to him was over.

Arandier first covered Grand Duke Nacht’s stomach with a cloak, a cloak engraved with the coat of arms of the Feyenoord family, and… 

“Come this way.”

Ashiel was led by Arandier back into the light.

The depressed people took a step back and made space.

And Arandier…

“…I express my gratitude to Grand Duke Rodrick of Nacht, who died while fulfilling his duties while defending his honor as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and to you, his blood relatives.”

…She knelt down.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess!”

“The Crown Princess…!”

At the unbelievable sight, the people in the hall finally started to cry one by one.

This was it. Their master was dead. It was a reality that had to be acknowledged.

Sienna stood nailed in the distance and looked at Ashiel.

“…Your Highness is not supposed to get down on your knees.”

The discouraging tone towards the crown princess was calm, but Sienna could detect a slight tremor in Ashiel’s eyes.

But the heir to the grand duchy who finished his mourning did not weep.

“Death deserves respect.”

Arandier sighed and looked at Ashiel.

Did she not know? The princess was the cousin of the grand duke, and the aunt of Ashiel.

The cousin who was like a brother that had been with her from a very young age and even bathed together when they were little, died.

And it wasn’t that she didn’t feel sorry for her nephew who couldn’t let out a single tear on the spot and acted like a ‘successor’… 

She, too, had to be a princess before she was someone’s blood relative.

She was in this position and she had to.

“I just said that greeting as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Grand Prince.”

“…Thank you very much. My father must have been honored.”

“And now I speak as a representative of the imperial powers. Ashiel Ilias Nacht!”

The people who had been sobbing struggled to swallow their tears. They kept their silence and widened their eyes to capture the scene that was taking place with a determined expression, so as not to interfere with the process.

“As the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Feyenoord, Lord of the Underworld, Rodrick Illandroine Nacht, you have the right to inherit the Underworld. Do you acknowledge this fact?”

“I acknowledge it.”

“Kneel down.”

Ashiel silently knelt down. Arandier drew her sword from below her waist.

‘Ah.’

It was then that Sienna noticed.

The familiar sword was the sword of the oath.

The sword of the oath that the emperor once used when raising her as his knight.

“Governor of Feyenoord, plenipotentiary of the Protector of the Covenant, the silver deer, Arandier Pervi Shah Rudran Kainosia, asks you. Do you wish to conclude the old oath once more with this sword of oath?”

“…I want to.”

“Your protection is based on the covenant, and your legitimacy is guaranteed by Kainosia.”

Ashiel bowed his head and kissed the sword that was almost at the tip of his chin.

After a moment that was as if time had stopped, Ashiel slowly raised his head.

A thunderous applause echoed throughout the hall.

The sound was so loud in the empty palace that it sounded like thunder and rain like a torrential downpour.

As Arandier retrieved the sword, Ashiel stood up.

Those who were waiting came up to him and gave him a cloak.

It was a black cloak like the one that wrapped around the grand duke’s corpse, a cloak embroidered with a symbol of a crow grabbing a red pomegranate with its golden claws as if to burst it.

“O new Lord of the Underworld, you are the Grand Duke of Feyenoord, and as Master of the Underworld, you rule Dispater, El-Dra Balta, and Pasinore…”

“….…”

“… Protect your father’s homeland. That’s it.”

It was the best thing Arandier could do as Ashiel’s aunt, to not to tell him to defend his country like his father.

Wahhhhhh! 

One beat later, a shout arose.

But it was not a shout of joy.

The solemn, grieving people almost in the face of evil cheered the birth of a new master.

The new master of the underworld turned to the crowd cheering him on. And slowly, he bowed his head, for the first and last time, to those who were now his men.

Then he got up slowly. With his back to the coffin on which his father’s body was lying.

It was the birth of a new grand duke.

People shouted loudly.

“Long live Your Highness the Grand Duke!”

“Blessings to the Nacht of the Underworld!”

“The foe of your ancestor!”

“Vengeance, please!”

People shouted congratulations to the new grand duke, but this was far from the usual cheers. Even to Sienna’s eyes, the sight was not particularly glorious.

The heir who succeeded the title with no way to grieve even for death was miserable, and the crowd who couldn’t endure the situation without a master for even a moment was just as wretched.

In any case, while people’s attention was focused on Ashiel, Sienna slowly approached the coffin in which Grand Duke Nacht— No, this man, who had now become ‘an ancestor’, was lying.

“Sienna…”

Michael, with a trembling voice, tried to restrain her.

“Y-You don’t have to look, you…”

Instead of answering, Sienna slowly approached the coffin.

Was this face that she had known for a long time unfamiliar because life had passed away, or was it simply because the time to seriously face this face was absolutely lacking?

She thought it would be better if she stood in front of this, but she still couldn’t say anything.

The grand duke’s body time was paused by magic to prevent it from decaying, but it did not fully heal his disastrous wounds.

Because of that, there was a slight bloody smell.

However, the face of the dead man only seemed calm and peaceful.

Sienna couldn’t stand it and grabbed onto the corner of the coffin. And she tightly closed her eyes.

‘Someday…’

‘One day I’ll have to invite this person to my garden.’

‘It will be like that.’

There were moments when she was vaguely looking forward to it, and naturally expected it to happen.

Sienna was only now realizing it.

How foolish were the convictions that secured her tomorrow.

And death… How destructive was death.

It might be an inappropriate metaphor, but Sienna thought this death was like bleach.

She must have thought it was ‘not yet’ until some time ago.

In the face of death, she couldn’t think of anything like the grand duke’s mistake.

It was difficult for her to resent someone who had left. It was as if her heart instinctively realized that hating someone who didn’t exist in the living world was of no use.

As if it had been washed white, regrets filled the place like a tide in the place where the mistakes had disappeared.

Why did she take it for granted?

Why was she so sure there would be a next time?

‘I’m stupid…’

Sheer folly.

‘Now I know.’

Sienna closed her eyes. In the end, she didn’t cry.

There was no room for her to shed tears in a place where even his sons, who were connected by blood, could not bear to cry.

The brilliant author has ripped all our hearts to shreds, here lies the minds and sanity of Ame, ZZZZ and Tassie. We are truly devastated.

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