The Red Dragon and the White Dragon (3)
A solemn memorial service for the victims of the bombing was held in the central plaza of the imperial capital. It was to ensure the sacrifice would never be forgotten. May the departed souls find happiness in the heavens above.
A girl clad in pure white clerical robes recited the prayer in a heavy voice. Sobs broke out here and there throughout the crowd. They had to be people who had lost precious family members in the tragedy. Unable to contain their grief any longer, the masses who had gathered like clouds sank into an ocean of sorrow. So many lives had been lost.
Watching the sacred memorial unfold, I let out a deep sigh.
“Do not blame yourself. Thanks to your efforts, we prevented the disaster from growing any worse, did we not?”
“......”
The imperial princess with her flowing golden hair spoke up. Ludmilla, who had presided over the memorial alongside Jebeline, wore muted mourning attire. Her face clouded with worry, the princess paid her respects to the tragically fallen citizens and offered her condolences.
After the memorial service ended—
Jebeline left the cleanup to her subordinate priests and approached me.
“Thank you for accepting my request.”
“Not at all. It was only natural that I should.”
With such a massive crowd gathered for the memorial, the risk of another catastrophe on the scale of the bombing was extremely high. That was why I had willingly accepted Jebeline’s proposal for me to provide security. Besides, even without her request, I had already planned to attend the service with Ludmilla.
Contrary to our fears, the memorial concluded without incident. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the crowd slowly disperse.
“I kept worrying that some terrible accident might occur during the service… I was breaking out in cold sweat the entire time I recited the prayer, you know?”
Jebeline leaned against me, playing the part of a pitiful heroine. The gentle smile on her lips made it clear she was acting. She really had nerves of steel. Jebeline possessed superhuman courage. It was the complete opposite of the nobles who had attended the memorial; they had kept glancing around nervously like cowards.
Of course the White Dragon of the Holy Kingdom would never fear mere villains. While she might not reach the level of Ludmilla—who had proven her invincibility through countless achievements and earned her place among the Seven Strongest of the Warring States—Jebeline was still a formidable powerhouse in her own right. At the very least, she was not someone whose life could be threatened by mediocre rabble.
“The Saintess jests too much. Are there not numerous troops guarding you?”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
The Red Dragon and the White Dragon. The Imperial Guard dispatched from the royal family. And the Holy Knight Order responsible for escorting the Saintess and her delegation. No matter how skilled at irregular surprise attacks their enemies might be, they would never dare assault the memorial service. When all the security forces were combined, their total strength far surpassed that of an entire nation.
At Ludmilla’s observation, Jebeline pouted and replied.
“Anyway, isn’t it fortunate there was no further damage?”
“You are correct.”
The chaotic political climate caused by the bombing in the capital was gradually regaining stability. This was thanks to the Valtaria Empire’s swift response and Jebeline’s visits to comfort the citizens, which helped soothe the atmosphere steeped in terror.
But we could not let our guard down. This calm might very well be the prelude to a storm.
“I have something I wish to discuss with you… Do you have time?”
“If it’s all right, may I bring Lue along? She’s probably sulking at home right now, complaining about being bored by herself.”
“Hehe, that’s perfectly fine.”
“Understood.”
Since I frequently shared tea time with Ludmilla under the pretext of discussion, I nodded without hesitation. Sweet desserts would be served during tea time, making it the perfect way to soothe the pouting fairy.
Ludmilla reluctantly extended the same invitation to Jebeline. I really wish you wouldn’t come. But she didn’t want to appear stingy, so she made the offer anyway.
To reveal her true feelings so openly. Cold sweat ran down my back at Ludmilla’s blatant display of discomfort. I feared another clash of nerves was about to erupt.
“Thank you for the invitation, but I have prior arrangements with the bishops. It is regrettable, but let us postpone it for another time.”
“What a shame. I had hoped the Saintess would join us.”
It was a conversation utterly devoid of sincerity. Terrifying. I never realized women’s battles of nerves could be this frightening. The relationship between Ludmilla and Jebeline was like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.
After being pressured by her fiancé Maximilian to break their engagement, Elizabeth had fiercely rejected every new proposal—until she finally, reluctantly, accepted one with conditions attached.
Marriage talks had resumed.
The moment Emperor Barbarossa heard the news, he practically jumped for joy. He had been losing sleep for nights on end, terrified that even his youngest daughter—whom he had raised like a precious jewel—might end up an old maid. Naturally, he expressed enthusiastic support and declared he would spare no expense in backing her new engagement.
“Then who is Her Highness Elizabeth’s new fiancé?”
“We are currently in the process of selecting one.”
The moment we arrived at the reception room with Lue—whose lips were still protruding in a pout—Ludmilla brought up the main topic.
The Third Imperial Princess’s engagement. Marriage discussions for Elizabeth were currently proceeding with extreme urgency within the imperial palace. After rigorous screening and verification, fifteen sons and daughters from prestigious families had been selected as candidates. In the end, they would choose the final candidate from among them.
As expected of the vetting process to decide the fiancé of the Platinum Princess, the competition was incredibly fierce.
“Sigh… To be honest, I recommended you first as Liz’s new fiancé.”
“Me?”
I couldn’t hide my confusion at Ludmilla’s lament-filled words.
Me? No, why would she…?
I had only met Elizabeth a handful of times. There were countless ways in which I fell short of being a proper replacement for Maximilian, weren’t there? Of course, the same could be said of the newly selected suitors.
The Valtaria imperial family had already declared their complete severance from the Hohenberg family. Bringing them back was therefore impossible. Moreover, the numerous prestigious houses and suitors who had either been chosen or rejected would never accept such unfair treatment.
“His Majesty seems to be rushing things too much. We are in an emergency situation right now, are we not? Proceeding with marriage talks under these conditions will be quite difficult.”
“......”
Ludmilla fell silent. She turned her head slightly, and my eyes met Lue’s as the little fairy continued devouring her cake.
“......”
“......”
Lue and I exchanged silent glances before simultaneously turning to look at Ludmilla. We had instantly realized why the ruler of the Valtaria Empire—who boasted such arrogant supremacy—was rushing the marriage talks as if something were chasing her.
The reason was right before our eyes.
While Edanant and Lue were suffering punishment at the hands of an enraged Ludmilla, Jebeline had finished her meeting with the priests dispatched to the empire and was taking a brief rest.
Those damn old fossils… I told them it was just a meeting, so why do they keep clinging to me like that?
She shuddered in disgust as she recalled the fanatical clergy who had begged and clung to her, pleading for the Saintess’s noble blessing.
There was some logic to their desperate behavior. After all, the chance to stand before the First Saintess who had received the White Dragon’s protection did not come often. Still, Jebeline dismissed their actions as nothing more than blind faith.
“Saintess.”
“Speak, Sir Franz.”
The holy knight responsible for her escort spoke up. Jebeline lifted her cup of milk tea, granting him permission to continue.
“Are you truly planning to entrust the Holy Sword Aldebaran to Lord Edanant?”
“Did you think I was speaking empty words?”
Franz and the other holy knights escorting Jebeline stiffened. They were clearly expressing concern over the Saintess’s decision to so readily grant ownership of the holy sword.
I knew it would be like this. What could she possibly expect from men as stubborn as the bishops?
Jebeline pressed her temples and let out a heavy sigh.
“But Lord Edanant is not a citizen of the Gael Holy Kingdom. He has not even received baptism. How could you possibly entrust Aldebaran to such a person? Maximilian may not have been from the Holy Kingdom either, but at least he received baptism!”
“......”
Public opinion in the Holy Kingdom would likely be no different. They would argue endlessly about how the First Saintess had arbitrarily delegated ownership of Aldebaran.
Maybe she should delay her return to the kingdom. Just imagining the bishops swarming her like angry hornets brought on a migraine.
“The forces of evil, whose movements had remained hidden until now, have begun to stir once more. They are undoubtedly plotting the Ascension of Evil. Now is the time to prepare our strength to counter them.”
The ultimate goal of destroying the noble teachings of the Earth Mother—the only faith officially recognized across the continent—and creating a lawless hell filled with nothing but wickedness and evil. That was the Ascension of Evil.
The Demon King’s army and its worshippers, long suppressed by the Valtaria Empire and the Gael Holy Kingdom that revered the Earth Mother, had prepared with desperate resolve for the fall of the Sole God. Their ambition to fill the resulting void with their own deities after toppling the faith of the Sole God had constantly threatened the world.
“Saintess!”
As Jebeline explained the gravity of the situation to the holy knights, urgent news arrived as if to prove her point.
“Urgent intelligence has arrived from the Holy Kingdom. A demon worshiping a heretical cult has appeared in the Fugh Kingdom.”
A demon. A worshipper of heresy. A monster granted protection by a forgotten god had emerged.
Those who received such blessings, absorbing vast power into their bodies, possessed strength that transcended all limits. Even the weakest among them could transform an entire city into a blood-soaked slaughterhouse in an instant.
Upon hearing the report, the holy knights turned deathly pale and swallowed their groans.
“The Fugh Kingdom… That is the homeland of the Sword Saint Madvey.”
The Sword Saint Madvey, who had once created a river of blood from the corpses of countless demons and cultists. They must have deployed this demon to exact revenge upon him. This was a threat on an entirely different level from the criminals who had assaulted the imperial capital.
Jebeline let out a short sigh and rose to her feet.