Party Intrusions and the Shadow of Rebellion
"Isn't that line something someone else already said?"
All the treatments wrapped up around 3 PM. Even with that insane brawl against the demons in the middle, it finished fast! That was thanks to blasting out my divine power as light, healing hundreds per second.
Once everything was done, we accepted King Arsen's gracious invitation and headed to the party.
"Lord Seres, your beauty lives up to the rumors. Even your appearance screams saint."
"Not only did you stop the plague, but you drove off the demons too. Truly impressive."
Nobles whose faces I didn't even recognize kept coming up to chat.
"Lord Seres Huferion, would you have some time later to meet privately?"
"Seres doesn't have time."
Some women tried their moves too, but Arios shut them down.
Honestly, the party was just a hassle. As a noble, I couldn't refuse a foreign king's request, so I went along reluctantly. At least the food looked top-notch, so I figured I'd dig in.
"No."
I reached for a chicken leg from the roast, and Arios snatched it away.
"How can you try to eat a whole hunk of meat with that body?"
"I'm all better now."
"It's not even been that long since you recovered. Until you're properly adjusted, ease into it—start like before and step it up gradually."
I'd thought I could finally eat real food now that my body was fixed, so I was disappointed.
"You said you'd do anything for me, but you won't even let me eat?"
I grumbled, then figured I'd bring up something else while I was at it.
"Don't do that again."
"Do what?"
"Don't so casually cross lines like leaving other people to die for my sake."
"Why? Isn't it obvious that the person you love matters more than some stranger? Or would you let me die for a stranger?"
"...No, I wouldn't. Even if I agonized over it, I'd pick you, my friend, in the end."
What I wanted to say was that she said it too lightly.
"At least agonize more and only do it once you're sure there are no other options. Your choice felt too impulsive..."
"Did it seem impulsive?"
Arios cut me off. Her face was devoid of any smile as she stated firmly,
"If you think I said it on a mere whim, without any resolve, then my feelings still haven't gotten through to you."
"What?"
"Seres. That day I went to kill Viol to save you, you already became the top priority in my heart—above everything else."
...I didn't remember her saying anything like that in the original story. She'd said something similar once, but that was about possessing me no matter what it took. Not about doing anything to save me.
Was this the original obsession? Or not? What should I even say? How do I handle this?
That's when someone interrupted.
"Could both of you spare a moment?"
It was King Arsen. She looked troubled as she continued,
"Sorry to interrupt your important talk, but a guest has arrived."
"A guest?"
"A noble from the empire, like you two. She said you'd know her as Countess Hurion."
I nodded to the king, who was asking if it was someone we knew. Countess Hurion was Ares's friend, living right next door to our territory. How could I forget after all the fuss with healing her daughter too?
"She's come all the way here?"
Why?
"She said it was urgent. She had to see you, Seres, as soon as possible."
"Understood. We'll meet her right away."
I nodded to King Arsen, then glanced at Arios.
"...Let's go."
She'd been waiting for my cue and followed reluctantly.
Surprisingly, King Arsen led us to a secluded corner of the royal garden.
"She wanted to speak with imperial folk alone. I'll leave you to it—hope whatever it is works out."
"Thank you."
I thanked the king for considering our situation after all her help.
As we entered the nook, a familiar face stood there, half-hidden.
Countess Hurion. Ares's contemporary, but with long black hair and a youthful beauty unlike Ares's.
"Seres, it's been a while!"
She greeted me warmly.
"I worried when I heard the emperor had dragged you off, but thank goodness you're safe."
"Her... no, Her Majesty had no intention of harming me."
"Just as I thought? I got wind of that and tried to stop Ares, but she wouldn't listen."
"What did Mother do?"
A bad premonition hit me.
No way, right? But then,
"Listen well. Ares plans to rebel against the emperor to rescue you."
...I'd told her not to do anything reckless! I'd said to stay put and not worry about me, but hearing she'd gone ahead with the original story's treason anyway shocked me to my core.
"She even asked me to help."
"And?!"
"I've already sworn fealty to you, Seres—to always be your ally. But I couldn't move without certainty."
She said Ares flew into a rage when she insisted on assessing the situation first. Hurion had barely calmed her, but it didn't last.
"A few days ago, she vanished, saying she'd find you on her own. Your territory's retainers are desperately covering up the fact that both the heir and now the lord are gone."
That's weird. I'd had Viol pass on word that I was fine—why was Ares losing it like this?
"I sensed she'd gone to make trouble. So I sought contact to warn you, and then I heard you were here of all places."
"So you came straight to meet me."
In the original, Countess Hurion was the one who betrayed Ares's rebellion to the emperor. But because I healed her daughter, had she come to tip me off instead?
I steadied my trembling heart and asked,
"Then where is Mother now? She hasn't charged the emperor already, has she?!"
"No word yet, but it's only a matter of time."
Hurion frowned as she explained.
"Before vanishing, she came to me and said she'd pinpointed your location. If I wouldn't help, she'd go alone. Even if terrifying beings were there, it didn't matter—she'd grab her trump card and fight the moment she found it."
"Terrifying beings? Trump card?"
"No idea on the trump card, but the terrifying being must be the emperor."
It sounded plausible, but
"No, it isn't."
Arios, who'd been silent, objected with a stiff face.
"Think back to what she said before. She'd found where you were. So where have you been until coming here, Seres?"
I recalled where I'd been before this, and it clicked who the terrifying being was.
"Sibylius!"
Sibylius. The mighty grand mage, despised half-demon. A figure infamous in many ways, writhing on her bed in her private chambers.
"Arghhh, Seres! Who the hell are you?!"
The reason she was making a fool of herself calling for Seres was simple.
That human won't leave my head!
It had been days since he left, yet he kept popping into her mind.
Silver hair and skin like pure, pristine snow. Blue eyes that held unyielding will even in pain. That smooth voice always curt with her. And those rare, dazzling smiles.
Everything was unforgettable!
But what stuck most was the scent from Seres. Vivid as if he were beside her, then fading like a dream—driving her mad.
Damn, there must be some curse in that fragrance!
Nothing else made sense. How else could she be so obsessed she couldn't focus on her beloved magic research or even daily life?
Yeah, thinking about it, it was weird. Does a human body naturally smell like that? Maybe it's a special ability, like a demon's innate power.
Maybe he wasn't human. Angelic beauty. Instant healing. Seductive scent.
"...That tracks."
It started as escapism, but the more she thought, the more it fit. What human was like that?
Sibylius even spun wild theories that Seres wasn't human—some wicked entity toying with her.
Seres would've seriously asked if she'd lost her mind.
But she couldn't help it. She hadn't slept properly since he left.
"I'll uncover your true nature!"
Sibylius ransacked her books on exotic races, fixating on one.
"This is it! 'Celestials maintain eternal purity, their bodies emitting fragrance.' I knew it—you're an angel!"
Grinning foolishly at her "discovery," she froze at a voice.
"Who goes there?"
Sensing something off, she hardened her expression and stepped out.
A familiar face awaited.
"Countess Ares?"
Silver bob-cut, icy beauty. Someone she'd met once, introduced by the late emperor.
Why was she here? Oh, right—Seres is her son. Come to find him, huh.
About to say he wasn't here, Sibylius's face turned grim.
Ares held something that shouldn't be in her right hand.
A jet-black sword with an organic, eerie form.
Black Pain. The cursed demon sword wielded by the Maou a thousand years ago!