Her True Heart
Ian called out to Serena right away, his heart brimming with joy.
“Knight! Come here for a second.”
“Hic. Yess…”
The moment she heard Ian’s voice, Serena trudged over with heavy, listless steps, as though she had already guessed what this was about.
She slowly began loosening her clothes and spoke.
“M-Master. Since this is my first time, I might be really clumsy…”
“…Pardon?”
When Serena, cheeks flushed crimson, started to remove her maid uniform, Ian panicked and quickly stopped her.
“W-why are you taking your clothes off? That’s not what this is about. I thought of a way to break Noona’s suggestion and wanted to tell you.”
“Nehet…?”
Startled by Ian’s words, Serena hurriedly fastened her collar again.
“I-I’m sorry. That was disgraceful of me… But you said there’s a way to break the suggestion?”
Serena was surprised by what Ian said, yet inwardly she remained skeptical.
‘The First Imperial Princess’s Magic Eye ability is nearly inviolable. How on earth could he solve it…?’
No matter how good Ian’s personality might be, how could he possibly undo Lumiela’s suggestion?
Without power or skill on the same level, it should have been impossible.
As the very person who had once confronted him, Serena had no choice but to doubt his capabilities.
Seeing the disbelief in Serena’s eyes, Ian gave a sly smile and began his explanation.
“Sorry for bringing it up again, but you have a ‘suggestion’ placed on you that makes my safety your top priority, Knight.”
“Y-yes…?”
Serena nodded.
“It’s probably more than that. Things like throwing yourself in front of me the moment I’m in danger, or being unable to disobey my words—those kinds of suggestions are on you too, aren’t they?”
“T-that’s right!”
“Then… doesn’t something feel off about that?”
When Ian tilted his head, Serena instinctively copied the motion.
“Yess…? W-what feels off…?”
“Think about it. Let’s say I’m in a dangerous situation. You’d try to save me, right? But what if, in that exact moment, I ordered you not to save me?”
“Huh…?”
“In that case, which ‘suggestion’ would you follow first?”
“W-well…? Then—ah…!”
Only then did Serena realize the contradiction within the suggestions.
Lumiela’s suggestions were like lines of programmed code.
Simple code ran without any issues, but when complex commands intertwined like they did in a game, overlaps and tangles were inevitable.
‘If I just think of it as coding, it’s simple.’
Of course, this could never happen with a single unified suggestion. It was a kind of bug exploit only possible because Serena had been burdened with countless overlapping commands.
“In the end, your actions change depending on the priority of the suggestions. First, I’ll test it with a direct ‘command.’ Is that all right with you?”
What Ian planned to test was, naturally, a command. If the experiment succeeded, he could解除 every suggestion she carried.
“Yes…!”
Hope finally seemed within reach. Serena’s expression brightened visibly.
She felt like jumping for joy but barely held herself back, gazing at Ian with loving eyes.
‘Why is he so merciful…?’
Serena was gradually developing genuine admiration for him.
Ian felt a flicker of tension but quickly steadied himself, ready to issue the command.
“Whew. Here I go.”
‘Please, please work…!’
Serena prayed inwardly, desperately hoping Ian’s method would succeed.
He calmly gave her the order.
“Serena. Tell me your true feelings honestly.”
“Honestly… staying like this isn’t bad at all… Hic.”
Serena’s face turned beet red in an instant. She wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and disappear.
Ian was slightly flustered but smoothly played it off.
“…Hmm. Thank you for feeling that way. Anyway, shall I properly break the suggestions now?”
“Y-yes…”
“Serena. Remove every suggestion placed on you except for the one that makes you obey Ian’s ‘commands.’”
“…………”
At Ian’s command, Serena suddenly fell silent.
‘Huh…?’
“Knight? Are you all right?”
“…Yeah. I mean, yes.”
In the blink of an eye, Serena’s entire aura transformed.
The gloomy, unstable air she had carried earlier vanished, replaced by the hardened presence of a blood-forged knight.
She was no longer the fragile maid—she had returned as an imperial palace knight.
“Have all the suggestions been lifted?”
“It appears so.”
Serena was truly delighted. The psychological shackles that had bound her were finally gone.
Yet… why?
“Knight…?”
“Yes.”
“A-are you really okay?”
“I am. From now on, I will protect your safety, Ian.”
Serena no longer smiled. Her emotions had grown faint, leaving only cold loyalty behind.
Still, she couldn’t shake the strange emptiness inside her, as if something vital had vanished.
It had only been a brief moment, but during that time Serena had laid her true heart bare before him.
She had thought the memory would be nothing but embarrassing and shameful… so why did she feel such lingering regret now that it was over?
“Then shall we head outside to practice swordsmanship?”
“I will obey.”
At Ian’s words, Serena—still dressed in her maid uniform—took the lead with an icy expression.
Yet deep within, her heart quietly voiced a trace of dissatisfaction.
***
Inside the Moon God’s Palace.
Servants bustled everywhere, but Serena and Ian strolled leisurely among them.
The servants merely glanced at the pair before returning to their tasks without comment.
They weren’t ignoring them on purpose; thanks to Lumiela’s Magic Eye, they felt nothing strange about the situation at all.
Step, step—
Right now, Ian’s mind was completely occupied with thoughts of sparring.
‘It’s been so long since I last sparred. I only did it once back when I was with the Barhen family…’
The great city of Catabel.
Recalling those memories, Ian unconsciously thought of Philia.
‘I wonder if Philia is doing well?’
Back when Bianca had kidnapped him.
He still remembered how grateful he had been when Philia came to rescue him.
Serena had been there too, but… Ian had found her terrifying.
‘Her killing intent was truly… overwhelming.’
It was as if she wanted to butcher every person on the continent.
Ian scratched his head.
Even for a regressor, he couldn’t imagine where she had accumulated such bloodlust.
As he walked, lost in thought, Serena—who had been leading the way—carefully spoke up.
“Ian. There is one thing I would like to request.”
“Yes? What is it?”
‘A request?’
Ian felt a twinge of discomfort. He had gone through the trouble of freeing her, even making a promise, yet here she was asking for something else.
But contrary to his expectations, Serena’s words were perfectly logical.
“If the First Imperial Princess discovers that my suggestion has been broken, it could cause serious trouble. Wouldn’t it be better to restore only the suggestions regarding my speech and behavior?”
As she spoke, the corners of Serena’s mouth twitched faintly.
Ian acknowledged that her reasoning made sense, yet he still found it slightly suspicious.
Why go that far?
“Couldn’t you just act it out…? The suggestion is coercive, so it must feel uncomfortable for you too, Knight.”
That was true. Even if her speech and behavior felt awkward, a little acting should have been enough.
If Ian had been in Serena’s position, he never would have made such a request. Lumiela’s “suggestion” tampered directly with the mind; there was no telling what side effects it might cause.
Even so, Serena answered calmly.
“It is absolutely impossible while I am in my right mind.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t consider that.”
‘Well, she used to be a knight. Using maid-like speech can’t be easy for her.’
The request itself was probably incredibly embarrassing for her.
Admiring Serena’s mental fortitude, Ian placed the suggestion back on her.
‘F-finally…!’
Serena’s mind was flowing in the exact opposite direction of what Ian imagined.
Of course, everything she had just said was an excuse. All she wanted was to be honest again.
Once the suggestion took hold, Ian asked to confirm.
“…Are you all right?”
“Yess! It feels wonderful. Shall we go now…?”
With her happy expression restored, Serena pressed herself tightly against Ian’s side.
“Ugh, K-Knight…?”
The sudden skinship caught him off guard. Ian tried to push her away, but she refused to budge.
“Master! I have to stay by your side and protect you, don’t I…? Let’s go like this!”
“I-is that so…?”
‘As expected of a knight—her mental strength is incredible.’
Ian unconsciously admired her acting ability.
Serena was probably seething with frustration on the inside while saying those words. She was simply enduring it for the sake of perfect acting.
‘I really need to learn that kind of attitude.’
And so the two of them walked out arm in arm.
‘Master’s warmth… it feels so gooood…’
Serena savored every point of contact between their bodies, basking in pure happiness.
***
“Ian, you’re definitely hiding some secret from us.”
“……”
“If you gathered us as comrades, you should make use of us. Why do you keep holding back…? Especially with the Demon Realm conquests—you always handle those completely on your own!”
In a space nearly devoid of color, a man surrounded by at least several dozen women turned his head in embarrassment.
“Sorry, but could you all put some clothes on before you talk?”
“We’re the ones who should feel ashamed?!”
“……”
The man let out a deep sigh as he faced the consequences of his own karma.
Slash—
He sliced through the space in an instant and fled. The women immediately grabbed their weapons and chased after him.