[Until the quest is completed, the use of the favorability window will be suspended.]

What does this mean?

I, standing at the podium, was staring into the air with a dazed look. Because the plan I had set up in my head had returned to a blank slate.

The original plan was to walk around the academy and use the favorability window to find heretics or people who harbored animosity towards 'Shartia'.

-Ding!

[Favorability window cannot be used.]

Thanks to the damn status window, the plan I had set up had returned to a blank slate, and I was just staring with a dazed look.

'Damn god...'

Today, I especially hated the status window.

Whether it was because I had cursed at its poor performance yesterday, or whether it had brought down the hammer of justice on me, who only sought loopholes.

I, whose ability had been downgraded from a transmigrator who could read minds to a normal transmigrator, gave a bitter smile and scratched my head as I looked at the bewildered students.

"Haa..."

I had no idea how I was going to find the heretics from now on.

'There are two people in here who hate Shartia.'

-...What are you talking about?

Leogard Truller.

-...Ricardo.

It was Leogard Theo.

At the very least, I needed to know the true intentions of these two for there to be any progress, but I, who could do nothing, could only swallow a sigh with a frustrated heart.

Still, if there was one clue.

It was that the use of the favorability window had been suspended after I entered Class B. Before I entered the class, the favorability window had been working fine.

Then, in here.

"Students of 3rd year B class."

There must be a heretic.

"Are there any heretics among you?"

The students' expressions, who had heard the sudden question, were mixed with various emotions.

"Heretics...?"

"There's a heretic in here...?"

With the worry that there might be a heretic among them.

"This is unpleasant..."

With a gaze that contained the displeasure of a new professor suspecting them, who were burning with a passion for learning, of being heretics.

I could understand.

Considering the countless incidents that had occurred at the academy and the recent actions of the heretics at Desmunt, even I would have made that face.

Still, thinking that the work had to be done, I let out a calm breath and barely opened my mouth to the students.

"I am truly sorry to tell you this."

"..."

"After synthesizing the recent incident at Desmunt and the incidents that have occurred at the academy so far, the conclusion was reached that there is a heretic within the academy, which is why I am telling you this."

"..."

"The reason for the reorganization of the faculty this time is also because the conclusion was reached that there is a danger of heretics within the academy, so I am truly sorry to be telling you this."

By the time an awkward atmosphere began to flow in the classroom where I had bowed my head and apologized.

"What are you talking about?"

Truller opened his cold eyes and began to sneer.

"If a heretic were to come out just because you said that, then all the heretics hiding in the empire would have come out."

Of course.

"What crazy person in the empire would join hands with the heretics?"

Truller's gaze was directed at Theo.

"If there is someone who is communicating with the heretics, I will, on the name of Leogard, surely pass judgment."

"..."

"Whoever he may be, surely..."

The moment a tense atmosphere began to flow between Theo and Truller. I let out a deep breath and forced a smile.

"That's right. There will be no such person among our 3rd year B class students."

I thought the time was not yet ripe.

For now.

"Let's begin the class."

Let's slowly pick them out.

*

On the third day of the full-scale search.

I, standing on a spire overlooking all the buildings of the academy, barely opened my lips to Elishia, who was looking down with her head bowed.

"Do you see anything?"

With no progress even after three days, I had asked Elishia, who had the eyes to see emotions, for help.

Elishia, unlike the answer I had expected, shook her head heavily and gave a negative reply.

"I don't see anything."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes."

Elishia, with a troubled expression, spoke about the current situation with a face full of concern.

"This is the first time I've experienced this."

"..."

"It's as if someone has covered my eyes, I can't see anything."

"..."

Elishia extended her hand into the air and continued to speak, moving her fingers extended into the air as if she were touching something I couldn't see.

"My eyes, which see emotions, can see people's emotions like a thin thread."

"..."

"But now I can't see anything."

Elishia, who was looking down at the floor, shook her head and expressed her confusion.

"Really, it's as if someone has covered my eyes..."

"...This is bleak."

I, who had let out a sigh at the situation of having to find a needle in a desert, looked at the students walking around the academy and gave an awkward smile.

"Elishia-nim."

"Yes, Saint-nim."

"Can you find the heretics without using your eyes that see emotions?"

Elishia, who heard the question, smiled slightly and answered.

"Yes."

"...Pardon?"

"Three in the square."

"..."

"And about two below the spire."

"...?"

I looked at Elishia, who was speaking calmly, and raised a large question mark above my head, with the question of how she could find the heretics in a situation where she couldn't see emotions.

"How did you know?"

"Hmm..."

Elishia, with a faint smile, pointed her finger at a group of students walking below the spire and opened her lips.

"The heretics have a unique gesture."

"...A gesture?"

"Yes, if you look at those students, aren't they a little different from the other students?"

"...Is that so? I don't really know."

"Look closely. If you are the Saint-nim, you will surely be able to find it."

Come to think of it, it did seem a little strange. From the way they looked around at regular intervals to their awkward expressions.

"Did you find it?"

"...Yes."

Elishia, who had read my expression as if she had noticed, gave a small smile and began to speak.

"The followers planted in the academy are generally newcomers who have received short-term training."

"..."

"For revenge. Or for slaughter... would it be too much to ask to find young followers among those who have joined the heretics for various reasons?"

"..."

"They're itching to do something."

"..."

"Since the followers who have joined the heretics out of curiosity would want to do something."

Elishia opened her cold eyes and let out a breath towards the suspected heretics.

"It seems there are no followers with the strength to worry the Saint-nim. The heretics we saw are at a level that can be handled by ordinary students."

"If that's the case, then that's a relief, but..."

"Due to the recent strengthening of the academy's censorship, the heretics are also being quiet about planting spies, so perhaps..."

Elishia looked at me and asked a question.

"There may not be anyone among the heretics who would assassinate Princess Shartia."

At Elishia's words, I began to rack my brain. I had never considered the assumption that 'there is no one among the heretics who would assassinate Shartia.'

"When I was in the heretics as the Apostle of Benevolence, all attempts to assassinate the royal family failed."

"..."

"They were also stopped midway."

"..."

"Because they couldn't get close."

"..."

"The aftermath was also unimaginably great, to the point where they lost interest in the royal family itself, so in my opinion, the person who would assassinate Princess Shartia is somewhere else."

It certainly makes sense.

It was easier to find someone who was hated than to look at it from the broad category of heretics.

I quickly got up, bowed my head to Elishia, and expressed my gratitude.

"Thanks to Elishia-nim, my head feels a little clearer."

I quickly went to find Shartia.

To ask her for the answer.

*

"What?"

Shartia, who had a bewildered expression at my sudden visit, let out a small laugh after hearing the question and asked again.

"Puhaha... you're asking if there's anything wrong with my safety?"

"Yes."

"Me?"

"Yes."

Shartia gave a faint smile and answered in a calm voice.

"Well, I'm always receiving them."

"..."

"The throne is right in front of me."

"..."

"Of course, I receive them countless times."

Unlike her bleak answer, Shartia, who was smiling brightly, waved her hand, saying that she could protect her own life better than anyone else.

"What is it, Ricardo...? Are you worried about me?"

"No... I mean."

"Why are you blushing? I'm happy."

Shartia, who brought her face close to mine, which was dripping with sweat, let out a hot breath and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"Don't worry."

"..."

"I'll take good care of my own life."

"..."

"And you're protecting me, so who could kill me?"

Shartia smiled and said.

"Why...?"

"..."

"Did Theo say he would kill me?"

I shook my head and answered.

"Just in case."

There was no certainty that Theo would kill Shartia, but it seemed there would be a threat to her safety.

I, who had pushed away Shartia, who had brought her face uncomfortably close, let out a deep breath and said.

"You're too close."

"You're no fun..."

"Th-then have you been hated recently?"

"Hated...?"

Shartia, who was lost in thought, gave a faint smile and shrugged.

"It's not just one or two."

With the meaning that the people who hated her were not just one or two.

"Theo. Truller. The nobles I put in prison are more than ten fingers..."

"..."

"Ah, what is it...!"

I smiled slightly and waved my hand. I thought it would be more comfortable for me to go with a cleaner method than this one.

And, using my head wasn't my style anyway.

"No, it's nothing."

"...What?"

I said calmly.

"Because I will protect you."

"Uh...?"

"Didn't you say so? That since I'm by your side, you don't have to worry."

"That's..."

I gently stroked Shartia's head and said.

"I will definitely protect you."

No matter what happens.

*

At that moment.

A woman was hiding on the rooftop, watching the despair.

-Crunch...

With a heart filled with despair.

Tae-oh was standing on the rooftop.

-Yuria, could you come to the rooftop during lunch?

-The rooftop...?

-Yeah. I have something I really need to say.

-Umm... okay.

Because today was the day he had decided to confess his feelings.

After experiencing numerous failures, the biggest lesson Tae-oh had learned was the mindset of executing any task without procrastination.

If he had decisively stopped Wolfgang back then when he joined hands with the cultists, he could have at least kept his position as Crown Prince.

"Hoo..."

Tae-oh, standing on the rooftop with a trembling heart, took a deep breath and waited for Yuria.

The promised time was 12:50.

The current time was 12:30, so there was still about 20 minutes left until Yuria arrived.

"Why am I so nervous about this?"

He hadn't been this nervous even when talking with high-ranking nobles, or when subjugating the beast with the head of the Desmunt family. But this moment was more tense and nerve-wracking than any other.

"Haa..."

Right, a confession.

The first confession of his life.

Right now, as a man named Leogard Tae-oh was about to confess his sincere feelings to a woman named Yuria, his heart felt like it was about to burst more than at any other moment.

"As I thought... I can't be without Yuria."

There are many women in this world, but Tae-oh was sure that the only person who could be his partner was Yuria.

Because he thought he could be happy even if he wasn't a king, as long as he was with her.

Eating together.

Sitting together at a snack table she prepared. And even sleeping in the same bed. Tae-oh was sure that everything would be dreamlike and happy if it was with her.

"Alright..."

As Tae-oh's determined breath echoed on the rooftop, the rooftop door began to open with a creaky, old sound.

"Already...?"

At the arrival of a visitor earlier than expected, Tae-oh hastily picked up the bouquet he had prepared on the floor and swallowed his breath.

He was a little annoyed at Yuria for coming without giving him time to prepare, but her honest and cute heart, wanting to see him quickly, made his heart pound once more.

"..."

But Tae-oh's high expectations were not met.

-Creak.

Because the one who had opened the door was not the one he was waiting for.

-Thud.

Tae-oh's eyes trembled as he saw the woman who had opened the rooftop door and come in.

"What... are you doing here...?"

His expression hardens.

Tae-oh's flushed face, which had been a mix of tension and excitement, slowly began to harden.

Because his heart had grown cold due to the visit of one woman.

"I am in the presence of the sun of the Empire."

The woman standing in front of Tae-oh slightly lifted the hem of her uniform skirt with her fingers and showed her respect. Regardless of Tae-oh's disappointed expression.

"I asked."

"..."

"I asked you why you are here."

"..."

Tae-oh suppressed his boiling anger and called her name.

"Kaila."

Tae-oh, who had called the name of the eldest daughter of the 'Gortibun Marquis Family,' opened his mouth again with impatience.

"I have a prior engagement here today, so I would appreciate it if you would leave."

Kaila, who had heard Tae-oh's words, clenched her fists and looked at him.

"What kind of appointment do you have?"

"..."

"Who do you have an appointment with?"

"..."

"Are you abandoning the partner chosen for you by His Majesty the Emperor to talk with someone else, leaving your fiancée behind to make an appointment..."

At Kaila's pouring words, Tae-oh opened his cold eyes and raised his hackles.

"...Who says you're my fiancée."

"..."

"I am not your fiancé."

"..."

"You haven't forgotten that our engagement was nullified 5 years ago."

"It was an engagement that Your Highness the Crown Prince unilaterally broke."

Kaila's eyes shone coldly as she began to open her lips.

"I attended the engagement ceremony that day."

"..."

"The one who did not attend the engagement ceremony, which was agreed upon with the family, was none other than Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"..."

"The engagement is still valid."

"Kaila...!"

Tae-oh bit his lip as he glared at the clench-fisted Kaila. Because he didn't want to show such a bad scene when Yuria would be arriving soon.

"Let's talk about this later."

"I don't want to."

"No, we have to talk about it later. I have a prior engagement today."

"I don't want to!"

-Grit.

A past relationship.

A fate determined by political gain.

He had twisted that fate.

And he had given her a chance to meet someone she loved and start a new love, but why was she clinging to him like this? Tae-oh was angered by Kaila's clinging behavior.

"Forget the engagement."

"I can't forget."

"No, you have to forget. Because you can no longer be my fiancée."

Just as impatience was about to rise to the tip of Tae-oh's breath, Kaila opened her lips first and cut him off.

"Are you pushing me away because you are no longer the Crown Prince?"

"...Are you mocking me now?"

"Then you should hold onto me even more."

Kaila's eyes began to be tinged with madness.

"Why did you foolishly take Wolfgang's hand?"

"..."

"Hold onto me now."

"It seems you're trying to insult me to the end by bringing up the past..."

Kaila reached out and grabbed Tae-oh's clenched fist.

"I can make you a king again."

"..."

"I can make you the Crown Prince again, Tae-oh-nim. Whatever it takes...!"

"That damned Crown Prince. Crown Prince...!"

At Kaila's words, which kept bringing up the past, the anger that Tae-oh had barely been holding in rose to the top of his head. Because he had already been devoured by Desmunt.

"Right, it might have been different 3 months ago."

"Then...!"

"I can't be king."

"...I can do it."

"How."

"...Pardon?"

"I asked how you plan to make me a king."

"With the power of my father and my family..."

"Can you defeat Desmunt?"

"...Pardon?"

"I asked if you have the power to defeat Desmunt."

"..."

"Unless all my blood relatives die, I cannot be king."

Tae-oh, who had come to a situation where even God could not defy the will of Desmunt, frowned and roughly pushed Kaila's hand away.

"I said I have a prior engagement."

"..."

"I have no time to waste on the past."

Tae-oh looked at the bowing Kaila and swallowed his breath. Because he thought she would leave if he did this.

"If you're going to interfere with my appointment to the end, you'd better be prepared."

Until now, Kaila had been the one who took care of Yuria, so he had treated her indifferently despite her crossing the line, but today, Tae-oh, who thought she had firmly crossed the line, turned his back coldly.

Because it was the last act of mercy for her, who had embraced Yuria with love without using her position as a noble when many people ostracized and hated Yuria.

But.

"Again."

Kaila, regardless of Tae-oh's cold attitude, coldly pointed her finger at the bouquet in Tae-oh's hand and asked.

"Is it because of that woman?"

Tae-oh hid the bouquet in his hand behind his back and didn't say a word to Kaila.

"You picked those flowers to give to that woman."

"..."

"And... are you waiting on the rooftop to meet that woman again?"

Tae-oh answered coldly.

Because there was no reason to tell her, who was not his fiancée.

"You don't need to know."

"The owner of those flowers is..."

"I told you it's none of your business whether I throw these flowers on the floor or give them to someone else."

"..."

"Don't... provoke me."

Kaila opened her mouth with a voice full of jealousy and hatred.

"Why don't you know my heart?"

"..."

"Why don't you know my heart, which is willing to do anything... if I can just have you?"

"..."

"Am I uglier than that woman? What do I lack compared to a woman with lowly blood that you cast me aside?"

"Don't speak of Yuria so carelessly."

"Yuria..."

Kaila dug her nails into the nails of her other hand and muttered the same word. The name of the woman she couldn't stand, over and over. She spat it out with hatred.

"Yuria... Yuria.. Yuria.. Yuria. That damned Yuria..!!!!!"

Kaila's eyes shone as she looked at Tae-oh and shouted.

"Don't say that woman's name in front of me."

"..."

"I want to kill her already."

Kaila's eyes were filled with a thick killing intent.

----------------------------------------

Gortibun Kaila.

She was the eldest daughter of the Gortibun Marquis family, which owned many mithril mines, and she was a woman who loved Tae-oh.

From the time she was born, she had received many things and much love. Because whenever anyone faced her, they bowed their heads and approached her with a low posture.

Of course, there were exceptions.

-What are you looking at?

-...Pardon?

-Fuck. Are you good at fighting?

Since she didn't treat a crazy woman like a human being, she had deluded herself into thinking that the whole world was made for her convenience.

She lacked nothing.

Not her family.

Not her finances.

Not her looks.

She didn't lack a single thing, and in fact, she thought everything about her was perfect, to the point of being excessive.

Right, with the exception of one person.

The man who suited her best, 'Leogard Tae-oh'. He was a person who had everything in this world.

She used her family's power to have him, and even though she had come to a place where she could have him.

-He says he will not be attending the engagement ceremony.

That man had left her.

-I will definitely hold him responsible for this...!

The man who suited her best was struggling to get away from her. Even though it was a fate that would eventually be connected.

Right.

It was love.

His looks, position, character, and even his voice. The prince, who was perfect in every aspect, was a person who had to be her partner. Perhaps it was greed.

Just as the jewel you can't have is the most coveted.

Therefore, Kaila hated that woman who had intruded into her world with a passion.

The woman who had taken all the attention that should have been poured on her from the moment she came to the academy...

-She's crazy...

-Her face is shining...?

The woman who had stolen her popularity, which should have been admired by all men like Ruin, Mikhail, and Tae-oh.

-Yuria. Do you have time today?

-There are injured people during training.... Can I ask you a favor?

-Yuria.

She hated her enough to want to kill her.

Therefore, Kaila was saying to Tae-oh.

"Tell me."

"..."

"Who is the person you like."

Before she went crazy.

"Before I kill her."

To make the right choice.

"Tell me clearly."

*

At the same time.

"Ugh...?"

Veilin, who was slacking off on the rooftop because the professor hadn't called attendance again today, hugged her knees as she heard the voices in her ears.

"Uh...?"

-Tell me.

"Uh uh...?"

Veilin, who had heard something incredible and whose lips were itching to tell, touched her lips, but.

"..."

Realizing that there was no one to tell, she dejectedly hugged her knees again.