They Knew All Along
They knew.
“Captain. I think we’ve followed her far enough.”
Jacob spoke to Bout while watching Levia disappear into the distant cave.
“...Yeah. Let’s head back to Entat Parish.”
Bout stared at the cave Levia had entered for a long moment before turning away. Cheska would deliver the farewell in his place.
“Holy Front Knight Order, all members. Return to Entat Parish… Damn. I lacked consideration.”
Bout couldn’t finish the order. Every single knight who had chased after Levia was silently shedding tears, eyes fixed on the cave. Their own way of saying goodbye.
“Stop crying, you brats. It’s ugly.”
Bout’s half-hearted command went unheeded. If anything, the knights only cried harder. Even Vice-Captain Jacob was wiping away tears in a manner entirely unsuited to him.
“You brats. Haven’t I been telling you for years? We don’t know when she’ll leave, so keep your hearts ready.”
“Was this really the best option?” Jacob asked.
“You know better than anyone. You’re the one who kept giving her allowance under the excuse of ‘deals.’ You know exactly what kind of person Lady Levia is.”
“Still…”
“This is the best option.”
Of course Bout and the entire Holy Front Knight Order knew what kind of person Levia was. She never showed it outwardly, but she cherished the people around her more than anyone. She might speak roughly and complain constantly, but if anyone treated those around her unfairly, forgiveness was off the table. She would punish them so thoroughly they would never repeat the offense. The moment her power reached Archbishop Carlo’s level, she had personally trained the Holy Front Knight Order. Taming the king of the magic beasts before leaving today had been for the same reason.
She must have done it because she didn’t want anyone to die after she left.
There had been many ways to leave Entat Parish without running away. But she had chosen that method not only because she genuinely hated the idea of becoming a Saintess candidate, but because she didn’t want the people of Entat Parish to suffer because of her. As long as she remained a candidate, the assassination attempts would never stop. The Chaos Cult members who planted Seeds of Sin were the same; they were targeting her too, so they would come eventually.
The Holy Front Knight Order were a band of madmen, but they weren’t stupid. The moment they realized Levia would choose to run away, they began to act. They pretended to take her declaration of quitting the Saintess position as a joke. They deliberately told her she was the only one suited to be a Saintess, increasing her burden. In truth, every knight genuinely believed she was the right person for the role, so it wasn’t a lie.
People from other parishes and supporters of the other candidates would never understand the Holy Front Knight Order. They didn’t need anyone else’s understanding. They were the kind of people who would do anything to protect Levia. To them, she was their savior, their friend, and their family.
Entat Parish was a place of exile for priests. The Holy Front Knight Order existed not to stand at the forefront blocking magic beast invasions, but simply as a meat shield unit meant to buy time. All a meat shield needed was a body. When Levia had once asked about the Order, Bout had only told her it was a place for dropouts. He never explained exactly what kind of dropouts.
Former slaves. People who had lived lives worse than slavery and joined the paladins because they wanted to live at least a little like human beings. Looked down on for their origins, looked down on for their lack of talent, they had gritted their teeth, worked desperately, and barely earned their ordination. Some were recognized by the gods and allowed to live like humans. Most of those who weren’t ended up in Entat Parish. Since they had no power, they were told to become shields themselves. People who had believed in God only to feel betrayed by Him. To them, Levia was the child who had created an environment where they could finally live like human beings.
Once she learned to speak, she treated them not with contempt but as equals. Like friends. Like a little sister. Like a niece. She worried when they were sick. She treated their wounds herself. Her methods were rough, but she had raised their stagnant skills by an entire stage. To the Holy Front Knight Order, Levia was a god. A true Saintess. An existence worth dying to protect.
Ironically, at this moment, the best way to protect her was to let her leave Entat Parish of her own will. That was why they had acted as they did.
I hope we can meet again someday.
Bout finished his silent farewell and finally gave the retreat order.
“That’s enough. Let’s go back. We have hell training waiting for us.”
At Bout’s clumsy attempt at comfort, the knights began shedding tears of an entirely different meaning.
“Aaaack! Nooo!”
“Should we desert?”
“Not a bad idea? If we run now, we might catch up to Lady Levia!”
The knights trembled with fear. Their tears, now of a completely different nature, refused to stop. Yet they still turned their steps back toward Entat Parish. It seemed each of them had finished their own farewell in their own way.
“Who’s going to heal us now…”
“Use your own holy power, you crazy bastard.”
“This guy doesn’t get it. I want to hear Lady Levia say ‘Ta-da! It doesn’t hurt anymore!’”
“I already miss her… When will we hear Lady Levia’s voice again?”
It hadn’t even been an hour since they parted, yet the Holy Front Knight Order’s steps were unbearably heavy as they already longed for her. Levia’s bright, lively voice had been their source of vitality, so there was no telling when they would hear it again…
All eyes of the Holy Front Knight Order snapped toward the source of Levia’s voice. At the end of those gazes stood Chunbong, frantically trying to shut off the magical device in a panic.
“Chunbong. What the hell was that?”
“Never seen a magical device like that before.”
“Why is Lady Levia’s voice coming out of it?”
Chunbong desperately scrambled for an excuse. The device was something he had owned long before becoming a paladin. It could record human voices. He had recorded Levia’s with her permission and secretly listened to them, but of all times, it had activated now.
“M-maybe you misheard? Don’t you think you’re just hearing things because you miss Lady Levia too much?”
But the device malfunctioned again, and Chunbong’s desperate excuse evaporated instantly.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Chunbong felt killing intent directed at him.
“Fuck.”
And Chunbong broke into a full sprint toward Entat Parish to survive.
“Catch that bastard!!!!”
“That’s a holy relic! Kill the bastard and claim the relic for ourselves!!!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“He’s a sinner who tried to monopolize the Order’s treasure! Punish him!!!”
One week after Levia left Entat Parish.
In the cardinal’s office.
With Archbishop Carlo, Cheska, Benika, and Bout all gathered, the first words out of Benedict’s mouth after receiving the report carried less surprise and more the sense that something long expected had finally occurred.
“So she ran away after all.”
As if he had known from the beginning.
“Taming the king of the magic beasts, though… Should I say ‘as expected’… or is this just ridiculous…?”
“Cardinal. Is this truly the best course? I respected the wishes of both Levia and the cardinal and did not interfere, but this old man believes there were other ways.”
“Sometimes the most dangerous method is the safest one. Right now, Levia leaving alone is the best option.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Over the past eight years, Levia wasn’t the only one who suffered assassination attempts.”
Benedict explained what had happened to the other Saintess candidates.
“The eleventh candidate, Benika, was removed from consideration after the incident in Ravendi because she declared she had no intention of becoming a Saintess. The others were not so fortunate.”
“So you’re saying some of the assassinations succeeded.”
“Yes. Sadly, two have gone to Lady Lumentis’s side. Three are within the papal palace, and the remaining three have hidden their identities and enrolled in the Hero Academy.”
“The assassins claimed it was the work of the eighth cardinal and his followers.”
“But we have no clear evidence. And he… will not stop until only five candidates remain.”
“Wait… just a moment.”
Benika, who had been listening silently, finally cut in.
“The way both of you are speaking, it sounds like you never intended to stop Lady Levia from running away in the first place. Am I right…?”
At Benika’s question, Benedict looked at the others with a gaze that asked why they hadn’t told her.
Cheska was the one who answered.
“I didn’t tell Benika. It needed to feel more natural that way.”
“Cheska?! You knew too? Really! You people are awful! Am I still not considered a person of Entat Parish?!”
“Benika… that’s not it… Do you really want to know the reason?”
“Yes! I absolutely have to know! Why was I the only one left out?!”
“You’re a terrible actress.”
“…”
“Remember Lady Levia’s tenth birthday? Your acting was so bad the surprise party was exposed before it even started.”
“…”
Benika had nothing to say. It was a reasonable point. But she still couldn’t accept it.
“Why was Lady Levia running away the best method?”
Benedict began explaining slowly so Benika could understand. Unlike the other candidates, Levia was also targeted by the Chaos Cult. The eighth cardinal’s assassination attempts would not stop until only five candidates remained.
“The five candidates he has in mind do not include Levia.”
“Why not?”
“Because of what happened in Ravendi. Too many people saw it. They saw Levia using her power.”
“No way…”
“Yes. Exactly that. After that day, word must have reached the other candidates and cardinals. They now know how strong Levia is and how much holy power she possesses.”
Benika felt a pang of guilt. In a way, wasn’t Levia being threatened because of her?
“You don’t need to feel guilty, Benika. The one at fault is the eighth cardinal.”
“To continue, Levia possesses far more holy power and strength than any of the other candidates. She is a target the competitors must eliminate at all costs.”
“But I still don’t understand. What does that have to do with Lady Levia running away?”
“Levia must become the Saintess. But she genuinely does not want to.”
Benedict said they needed to use that fact.
“When news spreads that Levia has run away, the other cardinals will conclude she has no interest in becoming the Saintess. The eighth cardinal will waste time trying to locate her exact position before sending assassins.”
Buying time while keeping the others in check. That was the picture Benedict wanted.
“Levia is strong. She’s also mature. She won’t make poor decisions. She has trustworthy escorts. All we need to do is make the most of the time we’ve been given.”
It was a statement filled with firm trust, even if worry lingered beneath it.
“When you say ‘make the most’…”
“We must create a foundation that will allow Levia to become the Saintess. No matter what happens, we must establish forces and military power deep within Eliaque that will never betray her.”
“I understand what you mean by the most dangerous method sometimes being the safest. However, may this old man ask one question?”
Once Benedict finished, Archbishop Carlo spoke up.
“Yes, Archbishop.”
“How exactly do you plan to establish forces and military power deep within Eliaque?”
“The forces are already established. The military power needs no explanation. We simply need to move them.”
“Move them? Where could such a thing possibly…”
Archbishop Carlo paused mid-sentence and stared at Benedict. He had finally understood the meaning behind the cardinal’s words.
“So that’s why the cardinal chose this place over all others to bring Levia… The Entat Parish was the objective all along.”
“Correct. Entat Parish. This place holds the forces and power prepared for Levia.”
The forces and military power Benedict referred to were Archbishop Carlo and the Holy Front Knight Order.
“His Holiness the Pope gave his permission long ago.”
Since the Behemoth capable of controlling magic beasts had become Levia’s, there would be no further invasions. In short, the Holy Front Knight Order would cease to exist in its current form.
“All personnel of Entat Parish will complete their preparations as quickly as possible and proceed to Lumenhart, the capital of Eliaque where the papal palace is located.”
“Kuhahahat! We’ve been played! Completely played by the cardinal! Excellent! This old man will happily play along to the very end! Captain brat, what about you? Will you come with me this time as well?”
“Ha… I’ve been fooled again. I was tricked by one crazy old man when I first came here, and now I learn leaving this place was part of the higher-ups’ scheme. Well, fine. I’ll let myself be fooled to the end too.”
The Holy Front Knight Order members would have no objections. Their loyalty was to Levia. They would probably be delighted.
“Lord Benedict, if we leave this place, what about Lady Levia…”
“Don’t worry, Cheska. We will meet her again in one year.”
“At the Hero Academy… where the Hero candidates are selected.”
At Benedict’s words, every face in the cardinal’s office brightened with anticipation. How much would Levia have grown by the time they met again in a year? They imagined how she would once again declare she was quitting the Saintess position and wondered what they should say to comfort her.
“Um… Lord Benedict?”
But Cheska suddenly sensed something odd. Hadn’t Benedict gone to retrieve Levia’s fiancé? Why had he returned alone?
“What is it, Cheska?”
“Weren’t you supposed to be bringing Lady Levia’s fiancé?”
“Ah.”
Benedict let out a small sound of realization and smiled bitterly.
“It seems they’ll make a very well-matched pair.”
“Pardon?”
He had never seen the fiancé’s face, but they would surely suit each other perfectly. Benedict recalled what he had heard from the family he visited not long ago. The fiancé’s everyday behavior and speech were practically identical to Levia’s.
“They seem very similar. He ran away too. A year ago.”