Chapter 423: Awareness
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 423: Awareness
The night at Baron Bipolun's estate was quiet.
Everyone was sound asleep, seemingly unaware that Sefran had even died.
Though maids occasionally walked the halls, there were none in the annex where we were staying.
Thanks to that, I could walk in the garden with Amelia without any interruptions.
“The breeze is cool.”
“It is.”
Swoosh—
Our hair fluttered in the cool night breeze.
It felt like summer was just around the corner, but according to Amelia, the Duchy of Orsia, located in the south of the continent, was neither humid nor hot even in summer.
And yet, it boasted one of the most renowned breadbaskets on the entire continent.
It was a testament to just how blessed the land of the Duchy of Orsia was.
Rustle—
I took off my outer coat and draped it over Amelia's shoulders.
“You'll catch a cold if you dress so lightly, though.”
“Ah... th-thank you...”
Perhaps because of my childhood memories, I was particularly sensitive to the cold.
Among the street urchins I used to hang out with, a few kids would always catch a cold and die around early autumn, just as the weather started to cool.
Maybe it was a psychological reward for having endured the summer without so much as a fan, let alone an electric one, but continuing to wear thin clothes even after it cooled down proved fatal.
Now, it's just a common cold, but back then, even getting a single fever reducer was difficult.
As a result, it was common for the coughing that lasted all night to fall silent by morning.
“I told you, you can speak comfortably with me. You'll soon return to being the Duke's daughter. You can't keep using formal speech with a mage who doesn't even have a title.”
“I can’t...?”
“...It's not that you can't, but.”
Seeing Amelia tilt her head up at a cute angle, I chuckled and stroked her hair.
I couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose or if she was genuinely clueless.
‘I should tell her about defeating Lavinia tomorrow.’
Knowing her personality, if I told her now, she wouldn't get a wink of sleep all night.
It was better to tell her tomorrow when we were all together.
“Amelia.”
“Yes?”
“Are you very worried?”
“...”
Tomorrow, we would go to the ducal castle.
Of course, Amelia had every reason to be worried.
The ducal castle was like a lion's den right now.
Not only was it impossible to know who had betrayed the Grand Duke and joined the rebels, but an army of over 100,000 was also marching toward the capital as we spoke.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke had yet to regain consciousness, and his forces were outnumbered.
No matter how advantageous defending a siege was, if the enemy decided to surround the castle and blockade it, they wouldn't last more than a few months before being forced to surrender.
It was a precarious situation, like a candle in the wind.
It was no exaggeration to say that a war for the fate of the Duchy of Orsia was imminent.
“Don't worry.”
“Yes...?”
“You have me.”
I don't mean to brag, but I had become incomparably stronger than before.
It was thanks to the Demon Hunter's blessing, but I had single-handedly defeated three of the S-rank villain Belmoras's executives.
On top of that, I had dealt with Lavinia, the Witch of Curses, without much difficulty.
“I'll make sure the Grand Duke recovers, too. So for today, don't worry about anything and get a good night's sleep. You're returning home after a long time; you can't have a puffy face.”
“...Sir Hyun-woo, why are you going so far to help me?”
“Well.”
I gently cupped Amelia's face with both hands.
It was still soft and warm.
“I guess I just have a weak spot for beautiful women.”
“...Does that mean any beautiful woman will do?”
“Of course not.”
We grew closer.
Amelia sent me a wistful look, as if there was an answer she wanted to hear.
“I might occasionally do a favor for a beautiful woman, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to face an army for just anyone. I have my priorities.”
No matter what anyone said, Iris was my number one priority right now.
If it had been anyone other than Amelia, I wouldn't have spent so much time helping them.
It might sound cruel, but I probably would have just dropped them off at the capital and left immediately.
I could always find a way to cross the Sutra Great Desert in another world.
“Is that a good enough answer for you?”
“...”
Amelia lowered her head, shaking it slowly.
Then, she cautiously lifted her face to look at me.
Her face was flushed red, and her eyes trembled faintly.
She was so beautiful it was hard to look away.
I slowly leaned in and pressed my lips to Amelia's.
What started as a light kiss soon deepened, our tongues and breaths tangling as we pulled each other close.
Amelia trembled but held onto my collar, refusing to let go.
And so, oblivious to the passage of time, we lost ourselves in each other's warmth for a long while.
*
Back when Peledeia was still a neutral nation, the Church of the Goddess was the largest religion on the continent.
The Church of the Goddess worshipped Florea, the goddess of the earth and daughter of the creator god Lumiel, and revered elves as sacred beings.
The reason why elves, just one of many races, were considered special was based on an ancient myth.
The story went that Florea, taking pity on the humans struggling to survive on a land ravaged by the war of the gods, planted a single tree, making the continent fertile once more.
That tree was the World Tree, and it was only natural for the elves, the children of the World Tree and apostles of Florea, to be objects of worship in the Church of the Goddess.
However, about 200 years ago, a problem arose when the Eustaff Empire revealed its ambitions.
The empire, under the banner of human supremacism and continental unification, began conquering neighboring countries one by one, succeeding in unifying the northern continent in just half a century.
And so, the empire, which had become the undisputed ruler of the north, began to persecute the Church of the Goddess for the sole reason that it sanctified elves instead of humans. As a result, the church's influence waned day by day.
This caused Peledeia to lose its powerful base of support.
To make matters worse, when the empire declared war on the Santala Kingdom, Resilia, who had risen to the throne through a rebellion, supported the Santala Kingdom, causing Peledeia to lose its status as a neutral nation.
And so, to Peledeia, which had lost its former glory, an uninvited guest arrived.
“...Is everyone present?”
In the dead of night, while everyone slept, someone muttered.
-Three are absent in total. The Second Seat is occupied with the war, and the Sixth Seat seems to be busy preparing for the ‘Hunting Festival’.
-...There's no word from the Fourth Seat.
-Isn't it obvious? She's probably latched onto some handsome man somewhere, sucking out his life force.
“Karen.”
At that moment, a chilling silence fell.
In the darkness, the man's eyes glowed red.
“I believe I told you to watch your tongue.”
-...My apologies.
The flippant tone vanished, replaced by that of a submissive lamb.
“Lavinia is dead.”
-?!!
But the silence was brief, as the man's words caused a stir.
-...Impossible.
-To think that she, of all people, the successor to Lady Lulucia's power, is dead... Could it be the paladins of the Sun Cult?
The voices flowing from the empty air were thick with bewilderment.
“The cause of death is unknown. Therefore, Leandro, you will head to Orsia immediately. Even if you can't recover the body, you must find any witnesses.”
-As you command.
“Matrena. What of the investigation I assigned you?”
-...As you said, the prison was empty.
“I see. Karen, you will go to the Santala Kingdom and join Orphe. I don't know how she escaped, but if she intends to regain her power, she will have no choice but to head for the Santala Kingdom.”
-As you wish.
“Hurry. His resurrection is at hand.”
Tap—
With those words, the meeting ended.
The man rose from his seat and walked to the window.
Whoooosh—!!
Outside, a fierce blizzard raged, so thick that one couldn't see an inch ahead.
The man's distorted face was reflected in the precariously rattling window.
He hadn't mentioned it during the meeting, but he was certain.
The escaped former queen of Peledeia had an accomplice.
Of course, there was no proof.
But his instincts were screaming.
That this mysterious helper would become a great obstacle to the god's resurrection.
“...Just who the hell are you?”
The man's fierce muttering echoed emptily in the silent room.
*
“...Why is my ear suddenly itchy?”
While resting in the drawing-room after breakfast, my ear suddenly started to itch for some reason.
Since there were no cotton swabs, I was just digging at it with my finger when Iris approached with a bright smile.
“If you don't mind, shall I clean it for you?”
“Please do.”
Iris, who had gotten an ear pick from a maid, patted her lap.
I lay down on her lap and let her begin cleaning my ears.
Amelia watched Iris with a look of envy, while Sylvia glared at me with disapproval.
I could feel their gazes even with my eyes closed and my senses shut off.
But I had no intention of giving up this moment of bliss, not even in the slightest.
As I leisurely enjoyed Iris's ear cleaning, I recalled the events of the morning.
First, the discovery of Sefran's body and suicide note had thrown the estate into an uproar.
After it was revealed that he was a black magician, Sir Leonique had hastily summoned a priest.
We were originally scheduled to leave in the morning, but our departure was slightly delayed as we were also included in the interrogation.
‘Melissa has probably left the city by now.’
I had thought about it all night, but I came to the conclusion that I couldn't travel with Melissa. Instead, I asked her to act as a spy under the pretext of rooting out other heretics within Malefis.
Melissa was disappointed to part with me but accepted.
Before dawn, she headed to another secret Malefis hideout nearby.
With Lavinia's sudden death, Malefis would also be in chaos. As the sole survivor, Melissa's testimony would inevitably be crucial.
And that was also an opportunity to get closer to the core of Malefis.
‘We roughly set a time and place to meet next, but I don't know if we'll be able to make it on time.’
I should have brought a long-range communication magic tool. I felt my preparations had been a little lacking.
Still, I wasn't too worried.
I had given Melissa a magic tool with a tracking function.
Although we had parted ways too quickly for a long-awaited reunion, I had no doubt that the day would come when we would be together again soon.
Of course, I had no proof.
But I often felt a sense of connection with the women registered on the dating app, even when we were far apart.
Knock, knock—
-It's Leonique.
“Yes?”
At the voice from beyond the door, I quickly sat up.
I had my senses shut off because of Sylvia, so I hadn't noticed someone had arrived until I heard the knock.
I wanted to just stay lying down, but I wasn't thick-skinned enough to greet someone while getting my ears cleaned by a woman.
Creak—
“Excuse me.”
Sir Leonique, who opened the door and entered, wore his usual good-natured smile, but he also looked somewhat somber.
Well, no matter how bad their relationship was, his older brother had died overnight.
It was only natural that he wasn't in a good mood.
“What is it?”
“Ah, it's nothing much. The priest has informed me that the interrogation is over, and you are free to go.”
“If that's the case, you could have sent a servant to tell us. Thank you.”
“Not at all. In fact, I am the one who should be thanking you.”
Sir Leonique gave a bitter smile and bowed his head respectfully.
“...Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Seeing that, I realized.
He knew.
He knew who had killed his brother.
And he also knew who had sent the anonymous letter containing information about the rebel detachment and the list of traitors in his family.
Shaking off the slightly uncomfortable feeling, I left the Bipolun estate.
