Chapter 7
Chapter 7
The Sparkling Starlight Comes With Pain That Burns the Body
“Haah… heh….”
Beril watched Luka struggling to breathe, yet kept his expression completely blank.
If he didn’t force himself to stay expressionless, he didn’t know what kind of face he would end up making.
“…Good work, Luka.”
“Hu… huff… yes, Sir Beril… huff… good work….”
Luka forced himself to steady his ragged breathing and returned the greeting properly.
Beril gave a slight nod and turned away.
“Sir Beril, how was Luka?”
“…Holy Maiden. What exactly are you doing?”
“Hm? That’s not what I asked.”
Beril immediately realized his mistake and dropped to one knee.
“I apologize, Holy Maiden.”
“From next time, answer exactly what I ask.”
The Holy Maiden’s expression was cold.
Beril did not find this situation strange. If anything, what felt strange was the current version of her.
“Luka is a genius.”
“Right?” The Holy Maiden smiled proudly, like a parent hearing praise about their child.
Beril didn’t understand why she looked so pleased, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Questioning the Holy Maiden was not a virtue.
In any case, Luka was a genius.
That much was not surprising. There were many geniuses in the world, as common as stones on the roadside.
Unless it was someone like Evelyn, a monster among geniuses who made other so-called geniuses look ordinary.
Beril himself was considered one of those geniuses.
“But his ability to handle all weapons at once is abnormal.”
That part was different.
No.
It should not exist at all.
Talent in weapon handling was not something universal.
A swordsman’s body, the flow of mana or divine energy, all of it was shaped specifically for that weapon.
Those called geniuses simply had traits that matched their weapon of choice.
“His flexibility is absurd.”
His body moved like it wasn’t human.
Muscles, joints, reflexes—everything was too fluid.
“And his learning speed…”
Beril hesitated.
Calling it “learning” felt wrong.
It was closer to instinct.
“A monster. Different from Sir Evelyn, but still a monster.”
“Hm. Of course. He’s mine.”
The words “whose is he?” almost came out of Beril’s mouth, but he swallowed them.
Once again, questioning the Holy Maiden was not a virtue.
And honestly, he didn’t need to ask.
Because—
“Hehe.”
The possessive look in her eyes answered everything.
Beril looked up at the sky.
Evening had fallen. The sun dipped low, blending with the darkness of night to paint the sky in violet hues.
“The stars are beautiful here in the Griffir territory,” the Holy Maiden said.
Her eyes reflected the night sky, sparkling like she had stars trapped inside them.
“People say stars are possibilities,” she continued softly. “The possibilities of living beings.”
Beril said nothing and simply stood by her side.
“Strangely… the starlight feels too bright for me.”
Luka groaned the next morning.
“Ughhh…”
After training with Beril, his entire body felt like it was being torn apart.
He hadn’t slacked off before. In fact, he had trained harder than most people, considering his life depended on it.
But Beril’s training was on another level entirely.
First, it was pure combat.
No rest.
If Luka collapsed, Beril used holy recovery magic to heal him and force him back up.
At first, it felt like relief.
At the fifth repetition, it felt like torture.
At the tenth, Luka began sincerely sympathizing with prisoners being interrogated.
Now even his muscles felt like they were whispering “please kill us” in Morse code through pain signals.
Knock knock.
“HYAAH!”
B-Beril?! Again?!
“Luka? Are you there?”
A gentle voice came from the other side of the door.
Evelyn.
Hearing her voice made Luka almost tear up.
“Come in!”
He tried to sound bright.
“I didn’t see you at breakfast, so I came to check on you.”
Damn it.
He broke down crying anyway.
“L-Luka?!”
Evelyn panicked, looking around before handing him a handkerchief.
“Use this…”
“Uuuuh…”
“Geez. Come here.”
She pulled him into a hug.
Her heartbeat was steady against his ear.
…A little fast?
Strangely, it calmed him down.
“Are you okay now?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
Luka wiped his tears and stood up.
Then, a thought hit him.
If the world was going to end…
Fine.
He’d deal with it.
Bring it on, Beril.
Elsewhere, a man smiled in the dark.
“So… we’ve found Evelyn.”
Baron Virhan Rogemund, uncle of the current duke, tapped his fingers on the table.
Finally.
Finally, the opportunity had come.
The Duke was often away serving the Emperor, and the internal power of the estate was divided.
But that didn’t matter.
What mattered was Evelyn.
If she could be captured using the thing he had prepared…
Even the Duke would be forced to obey.
Virhan looked at a small glass bottle on the table.
Inside, something squirmed.
A black magical creature.
A creation of dark sorcery.
If implanted into Evelyn, she would become nothing more than a puppet.
A perfect hostage.
She had left the duke’s estate.
A mistake.
A blessing.
“Where is she?”
At his question, the subordinate lowered his head.
“Griffir territory. A border noble’s domain.”
Virhan’s smile deepened.
“…Perfect.”