* * *

A small temple in the center of the Holy Land, Arhad.

Aietar was fiddling with the Sacred Relic of Power as he looked out the window. He still hadn’t made a final decision.

Divine power, by its nature, was a force of healing—no matter how many times they repeated experiments to transform it into another kind of force, it was difficult to attain true physical strength.

That’s why they had poured so much into Karso for so long...

Just then, a knock sounded, and Payton’s voice followed.

“High Priest.”

Payton had accompanied Aietar all the way to Arhad as his closest aide.

“Zahid Dyfenril has been released.”

“What?”

“His Majesty sent multiple edicts to the Temple in succession, and Lord Yuta had no choice but to release him...”

Aietar’s brow furrowed deeply.

He had thought they would hold him for at least a month...

“The Emperor’s grown bold. What has the Empress Dowager been doing all this time?”

“It seems Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has begun disciplining the priests lately.”

Payton answered cautiously.

“She said she felt like she was about to die of asthma on the Entoho, and they weren’t listening to her properly...”

“That damned old hag!”

Aietar burst into a shout. Nothing was going his way.

He had warned them repeatedly not to provoke the Empress Dowager when it came to health-related matters. And yet things had come to this—he was dumbfounded.

Truly, everything that had been built over the past nine years... was now crumbling apart, one piece at a time.

“Yuta. Where is Yuta? Is he in the Deputy Temple?”

“He left after Zahid Dyfenril was released. It was a special circumstance—he was never assigned to the Deputy Temple in the first place...”

Payton subtly took Yuta’s side.

He still remembered the satisfying moment when Yuta had sided with Zahid at Bellotsa Harbor and insisted on escorting him himself.

“Still, Lord Yuta discovered Zahid Dyfenril’s weakness. Who would’ve known he was absorbing sedatives through that pipe? We had no idea.”

Aietar frowned but didn’t answer. He immediately picked up a quill.

“Ah.”

Just as he was writing a letter summoning Yuta—come immediately—Aietar looked up as if he’d remembered something.

“Have they found the ones who were illiterate? They’d be between twenty and twenty-five now.”

“Yes. We’re gathering reports from all over, but the list is too long—we’re narrowing it down now. Please give us a little more time. Ah, and there’s one more piece of news...”

Payton handed over the report he’d brought.

“Here. A tip from the Noart Count Family. It came through the Aden Principality.”

“Noart?”

“Yes, because Murlock and his son are still in the Noart family.”

Aietar snatched the report out of his hand.

Payton smiled nastily as he spoke.

“At this rate, we can finish off Julian Noart. That persistent bastard’s been a thorn in our side even after losing his memory.”

As Aietar reviewed the contents, a faint smile finally began to spread across his face.

* * *

That dawn, Zahid departed for Arhad.

“This is seriously a shitshow,” I muttered as I saw Zahid off.

“A maid pregnant with the son of the Water Duchy, being protected by the daughter of the Earth Duchy, and kissing the Duke of the Fire Duchy...”

“Rosie.”

Zahid shook his head.

“Is there any reason to say something that provocative by mixing truth and lies?”

“Right? Even a novel wouldn’t go this far...”

When I agreed easily, Zahid let out a small laugh and kissed my forehead. Then, he spoke like he was giving me a warning.

“Next time, please meet me as Rosie Noart. Not as a maid of Idra.”

The violet dawn sky resembled Zahid’s eyes.

“Then next time, I’ll put the ring on you myself and propose.”

He cupped my cheek as he said it.

“Just like you did when we were kids.”

And I fondly fiddled with the ring on Zahid’s hand and replied.

“It’s not the same. Back then, I scraped up all my money with my little hands to buy that ring, but you—you’re just taking it for free...”

Zahid gave me an incredulous look.

“Scraped it up with your little hands? You make it sound like you saved up while working under a cruel employer. You just invested in magic stones and struck gold.”

“How can you say something so harsh! Investment is emotional labor too. If the Rom Ore mine development hadn’t failed, my investment would’ve flopped!”

I glared and began preaching about the emotional toll of my childhood investments.

“You know, right? Rom Ore contains more mana than regular magic stones. ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ You have no idea how nervous I was.”

“...Yeah.”

Zahid let out a chuckle and shook his head.

“Who could ever beat you.”

Then he kissed my lips once more and whispered:

“Anyway, I’ll do better next time.”

“Huh?”

“I practiced all night.”

Only then did I realize what he meant by doing better next time.

I scowled at him.

Now that I thought about it, I was the one who kissed him first—but I was also the one who suffered all night.

“Aw, was it rough?”

Zahid grinned mischievously when he saw my expression.

“Then I guess I’ll have to practice even more next time.”

And then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he pulled my cheek again and kissed me. The man truly never got tired.

“This is something only I get to do in this world.”

His violet eyes gleamed with thick possessiveness.

“Only me.”

His breath sank deep into me once again, leaving me dazed.

The memory of that night, so dizzying it made my heart tremble, kept flashing through my mind.

Zahid, who kept rubbing against me like he couldn’t get enough, finally let go of my hand only after the rooster crowed in the distance.

“I want to stay by your side... but at the same time, if it’s for you, I want to take on the most dangerous task.”

He softly pressed his lips to the corner of my eye where a tear had welled.

“When a truly dangerous moment comes, I worry others might hesitate—so I can’t rest easy unless I’m the one to step forward.”

In other words, no matter how dangerous the situation was, if it was for me, he wouldn’t hesitate.

He really was someone who burned like fire once he committed to something—enough to scorch everything in his path.

“Zahid, I’m really worried about you.”

I looked into the eyes of the Zahid who was truly about to leave and spoke.

“Please be careful.”

Zahid gently stroked my hair and replied:

“Julian said he’s going to search Imperial archives and join us in Arhad. Looks like Lord Yuta is heading there too. There’ll be enough people around—don’t worry about us. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”

“Ray’s nearby anyway.”

In truth, Ray wasn’t going far. He planned to stay close, keeping his presence hidden.

Of course, he had to keep some distance, but he’d remain within range for Athena to fly over in case of emergency.

“That’s what bothers me, but... at least the Divine Beast of Water is with him. Even if it pisses me off, it gives me peace of mind.”

Zahid added irritably.

“Trust me, Zahid. And even if—if—Ray does like me, he knows how constant my feelings are, so he’ll never act on it. He’s not the type to make a confession that won’t be accepted. He never does anything without gain.”

“...Sometimes, I think you’re kind of cruel.”

Zahid grit his teeth bitterly, then gave me one last kiss before disappearing through the window.

A few hours later, when morning came...

“Heidi!”

As soon as Linna saw me, she clicked her tongue with a worried look.

“Is it just that the bed was unfamiliar, or are you feeling down? Your face looks like it’s been cut in half overnight! Your lips are all swollen—what is this?!”

I suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt...

Still, that’s how I was able to safely head to the Idra villa with Linna.

* * *

“Hmm.”

Yuta smiled faintly from a distance as he watched the Idra Duchy’s carriage depart.

“Well, it worked out in the end.”

Liri tilted his head in Yuta’s arms.

“We won’t be able to watch the rest, but... I’m sure she’ll handle it well. Just like always...”

Yuta stroked Liri and narrowed his eyes, watching until the carriage vanished from view. Then, he pulled out a letter from within his coat.

Come to the Holy Land Arhad immediately.

At the bottom of the short letter was Aietar’s seal.

“Knew it.”

Yuta stretched and smiled broadly.

“Nobody knows my father better than I do... Seriously, that nasty temper of his is something else.”

Just then, Liri raised a paw and pointed far into the distance. There, Zahid was riding Fire, racing toward Arhad.

“Oh, you’re asking why I’m not going with him?”

Yuta smiled slyly and whispered.

“Before I go to meet the father who chose to become a monster... there’s somewhere I need to stop by first.”