Absolute Zero
Once the meeting had finally concluded.
The nobles who had been inside all filed out of the conference hall in a somewhat dazed state.
Even the Emperor, known as the Wise Sovereign, glanced at Lumiela as if he had witnessed something truly incomprehensible before heading outside.
Now, only two people remained in the meeting room.
Lumiela and Olivia.
Olivia stared at Lumiela with a face full of questions.
"...Noona?"
"Mmm...? What is it? Is something wrong?"
Lumiela answered with a smile.
Olivia felt as if she had fallen into some kind of illusion spell.
That Lumiela was smiling.
What in the world could possibly cause such an earth-shattering event?
"What do you mean, what is it...? Noona, today... anyone can see that something's off, right...?"
"What do you meeean...?"
Even your way of speaking is weird right now.
Olivia felt frustrated, but she couldn't confront her directly, so she spoke in a roundabout way.
"You weren't paying attention during the meeting, and even now you're just...! Haa, looking so happy and everything."
Anyone who knew the usual Lumiela understood that she would never do something like this even if she "died and came back to life." Having even regressed, Olivia knew this fact more painfully than anyone.
Even in the face of Olivia's angry tone, Lumiela simply smiled sweetly and said,
"Hmm? I don't think I've changed at all? Hmmm..."
This expression. It's exactly the same as before.
Only then did Olivia realize the sense of déjà vu she had been feeling.
It was when she had visited Lumiela's bedroom to find out Ian's whereabouts.
Even back then, Lumiela had been wearing that exact same expression.
The unmistakable face of a female in heat. N-no way...?
Olivia was horrified.
This hypothesis made even less sense than the previous one.
She looked at Lumiela with an expression of pure disbelief.
"U-um, Noona, by any chance..."
"Mmm...?"
"Have you... met a man...?"
"·········Huh?"
For a moment, Lumiela's mind completely froze at Olivia's words.
***
Inside Lumiela's palace.
Within the Moon God's Palace, Ian and Serena faced each other.
"...Master. Are you sure you're okay? Your body was injured."
Serena worried over him in a completely different attitude from before.
If at first it had felt forced, now it seemed like she was genuinely following him...
What is this? Is she acting? Or... is it some side effect of the suggestion?
Ian's expression turned slightly awkward at her attitude, but he didn't point it out and simply replied calmly.
"My body has fully recovered, so I'm fine. The healer's skills were better than I expected."
This wasn't just empty flattery.
Ian didn't know, but Lumiela had brought the best healer in the imperial palace to treat him.
Of course, it was only possible because she had used her Magic Eye to silence them.
Once again, she's truly incredible.
Lumiela's ability, Domination, was far more tremendous than he had imagined.
He never expected the character who had only appeared in a few lines in the original story to leave such a strong impression.
But in the end, Lumiela had only inherited an outer eye.
The true hierarchy of power didn't reach Olivia's level.
That was because her ability was precisely...
"Master?"
"...Ah, I got lost in thought for a moment. Sorry for making you wait."
At Serena's words, Ian snapped back to his senses.
When Ian apologized, Serena thumped her chest as if frustrated.
He's really too kind for his own good.
In the end, she couldn't hold back her frustration and blurted out,
"If you're the master, please act like one! In times like this, you should scold me, asking how a mere maid dares to speak first when the master hasn't even said anything...!"
"Huh...?"
A sudden criticism.
But the content was quite strange.
Serena herself seemed startled by her own words and immediately dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor.
"Hic, I'm sorry. This maid has overstepped her bounds by raising her voice..."
Ian panicked and quickly helped her back up.
"N-no, it's fine. I'm okay with it. Just... please don't put yourself down so much, Knight. You'll be returning to being a knight soon, right...? It's not like you'll be a maid forever."
"...Y-yeah, right?"
She faltered for a moment at the word "forever," but Serena soon nodded.
That's right. I'm a member of the honorable Twilight Knights. H-how could I possibly remain a mere maid...?
No matter what, Serena had no intention of genuinely submitting just because she'd received a few compliments.
Yet without realizing it, the corners of her mouth were beginning to twitch upward.
Before sparring with Serena, Ian suddenly thought of something and immediately asked a question.
"Knight. There's one thing I'm curious about... When Lumiela Noona placed the suggestion on you, did she also include a condition that you must not injure my body?"
It might have been a rather rude and humiliating question for Serena herself, but for Ian, it was something he absolutely had to ask.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her.
During a spar, injuries are bound to happen.
If things went wrong, Serena might suffer greatly, or in the worst case, she could even die.
Who would burn with fighting spirit and try to win if landing a hit immediately put them in danger?
Serena looked flustered by Ian's question, as if her tongue had been tied.
It was a fact she herself had overlooked.
Since she couldn't lie either, Serena hesitated before answering honestly.
"W-well... yes. The highest priority in my suggestion was your 'safety,' Master."
"Hmm... I see."
This is a bit of a variable. Does that mean a real spar is practically impossible?
Even if he asked Lumiela for a favor later, there was a high chance she wouldn't remove this particular condition.
It was directly related to his safety, after all.
But it's awkward to bring in another knight.
In truth, having Serena here was already an extremely special case.
Who would want to leave a prestigious knight order just to teach swordsmanship to someone like him?
Unless they used Lumiela's Magic Eye again...
But Ian no longer wanted to rely on her.
He had already received too much, and more importantly, it was obvious that getting entangled with Lumiela would only bring her misfortune. Ian was still keenly aware of the regressors who were targeting him.
Is there really no way...?
Ian stroked his chin as he pondered.
As he fell deep into thought, anxiety began to creep over Serena once more.
Just a moment ago, she had possessed clear value.
But now... she was utterly worthless.
If things continued like this, the promise to restore her as a knight would likely fall through.
Tears welled up in Serena's eyes again.
The despair of never being able to escape this fate. And the fact that the brief taste of hope had only made her fall even deeper into the abyss felt all too real.
Ah, please... Please, don't abandon me.
Serena could no longer accept being discarded.
Especially not after receiving Ian's recognition.
What should she do? Should she beg?
Get on her knees, plead, act cute?
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through Serena's mind.
That's it. I'll offer my body.
If she seduced him thoroughly and bore his child, surely he would release her!
He might even take her as a concubine.
It was a rather twisted line of thought.
Originally, Serena wasn't the type to have such emotional or distorted ideas, but Lumiela's suggestion combined with Ian's kindness had muddled her mind.
It was close to a state of mental and physical weakness.
Unaware of Serena's thoughts.
Ian, who had been deep in contemplation, suddenly clapped his hands not long after.
Clap—
This is it.
A unique solution that only Ian, who had survived through constant improvisation, could come up with.
With this method, Serena should be able to attack me without issue.
In other words, it was the only way to conditionally break through Lumiela's ability.
At last, he could achieve the spar he had longed for so much.
While Serena's face was filled with despair, Ian smiled brightly, delighted at the upcoming spar.
Their emotions were completely at odds.
In that very situation, a shadowy figure was secretly watching everything.
Soon after, the figure vanished without a trace.
···
······
The garden of the Moonlit Palace.
Lumiela, standing there alone, murmured into the empty air.
"...Are you there?"
"Yes. I have returned."
At her words, a neutral voice emerged from the empty space. It was the loyal subordinate Lumiela had secretly planted for Ian's safety.
"...Ian is okay, right? That maid didn't show any sudden strange behavior?"
She had truly gone to great lengths in every way to ensure his safety.
At Lumiela's question, the subordinate reported back in a slightly trembling voice.
"Yes. Sir Ian appears to have fully recovered and is in good health. And... I don't know what method he used, but it seems Sir Ian completely drove the maid into 'despair' without lifting a single finger."
"Is thaaat so...?"
Lumiela tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled.
Ian isn't the type to do something like that, though?
"······."
He's truly a terrifying person.
Even the subordinate didn't know Ian's 'true' identity, but one thing was certain—he was an incredibly frightening man.
As Lumiela's loyal servant, he had carried out all kinds of torture and threats in her shadow, yet even he couldn't break someone down so thoroughly in such a 'short period of time' like Ian had.
How did he manage to do that in just one day to someone who's not even an ordinary human, but a vicious fighter even within the knight order...?
It was taming so impressive that even he couldn't help but admire it.
If the opportunity arose, he really wanted to learn how.
***
A land of gray where everything had died.
In this place, silent as a grave, a woman's voice rang out.
"Ian."
"······."
"Did we... really do the right thing?"
"Who knows."
The man answered indifferently.
"Idiot, you're supposed to say something cool at times like this."
"...We'll never be forgiven anyway. And I have no intention of being forgiven."
"Ian, I don't want you to cling too much to the past. We're already happy enough right now..."
"······."
"...I'm sorry."
A cold energy swirled around the woman's hand.
The Frost Empress smiled sorrowfully as she activated her power.
The bitter cold of absolute zero.
Frost began to spread across the entire continent, one flake at a time.
Now, every living thing in the Western Continent would freeze solid.
For all eternity.
It was the day before the war with the gods of the Outer Continent—the Pantheon—would begin.