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Chapter 31
Azure Sky Haru (2)
‘When did she get here?’
Both Eustinas and Cedric were wearing worn-out hoods pulled low over their faces.
What’s more, Cedric had been concealing his presence as much as possible so that no one could track her.
There’s no way he wouldn’t have sensed the presence of an ordinary-looking woman like that.
“Step back,” Cedric said coldly, standing in front of Eustinas.
“Or I’ll cut you down.”
The only reason he hadn’t struck immediately was out of consideration for Eustinas.
Even if she couldn’t see, the scent of blood from killing someone would be impossible to hide.
“Sir Cedric, what’s going on?” Eustinas asked.
“She’s suspicious. The fact that she followed us suggests she could be an assassin sent by the opposition…”
“No!”
His words were abruptly cut off.
“I’ve been wandering the streets ever since I heard that the Saintess had arrived in the capital. My younger sister is gravely ill, but the doctors are of no help. And neither of us is allowed to cross the border without permission!”
Her voice rang with desperation.
The slender fingers clutching her robe trembled pitifully. Though her appearance was disheveled, her delicate pink hair and beautiful features tugged at the heartstrings—so much so that anyone other than the ever-composed Cedric might have sighed in sympathy.
“If you want the Saintess’s help, request an official audience at the palace. We don’t accept requests like this.”
“But…!”
“Just a moment, Sir Cedric,” Eustinas interrupted gently.
Cedric flinched.
Tap. Tap.
Eustinas, who had been standing behind the whole time, moved her cane and stepped forward.
Cedric’s face showed clear dismay—he couldn’t bring himself to stop her physically.
“That’s not acceptable.”
“As a disciple of Lord Aether, how can I ignore someone who begs for help like this?”
Her tone was soft but firm.
In that moment, Cedric gave up. He realized no words would persuade Eustinas.
Physically dragging her to safety wouldn’t be difficult—but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“…Understood,” he said reluctantly.
A faint smile touched Eustinas’s face.
Even after ten years, it was the same smile she had as a child—the smile that always unsettled him.
“Thank you so much, Saintess!”
“Where is your sister?”
“This way!”
The pink-haired woman grabbed Eustinas’s hand and led her away. Cedric fought to suppress his boiling frustration.
‘Calm down. Be patient.’
He could already guess what kind of scolding Eustinas would give if he struck that woman’s wrist.
As he watched her walk away with the woman, the image of the young girl she once was overlapped in his mind.
“You shouldn’t be rough with your friends. People don’t like that.”
Eustinas had always acted like a master taming a wild dog.
The funny thing was, even though she always smiled, it felt like he was being sternly disciplined.
And strangely… he didn’t hate it.
‘…If it were anyone else acting like that, I’d have killed them.’
Though the Shadow Paradise organization was known for handling all kinds of requests, Cedric’s first mission had been mass slaughter.
The logic was simple—if there are no witnesses, it counts as assassination. The explosion that shook the Huaguo district served to publicly reveal the shadow organization born in Kieto.
That’s how notorious the Shadow group was. It was hard to believe the Pope had entrusted a mad dog like him with this task.
“Thank you again, Saintess. We’re almost there.”
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yes!”
Cedric trailed close behind the two, still fully on guard. He didn’t release his grip on the hilt of his sword for even a moment.
‘I can’t take my eyes off her for a second.’
Eustinas was fragile.
Though her heart was great enough to inspire admiration in anyone, that didn’t equate to physical strength.
Even ordinary women would make him worry, let alone Eustinas, who couldn’t even see. Cedric, who held deep feelings for her, couldn’t help but be anxious.
“This is the place!”
The pink-haired woman led them through several alleys before pointing to a shabby house. Cedric naturally moved to follow Eustinas inside.
“Please, both of you, come in!”
Just before Eustinas stepped through the door, she spoke up.
“Wait, Sir Cedric.”
“Yes?”
He suddenly felt uneasy.
“Could you wait outside?”
“What…?”
The request was exactly what he expected, and yet he still looked flustered.
“I can’t do that.”
“It’ll just be for a moment. If you come in too, the sick child might get startled, and that would hinder the healing process.”
“Saintess…”
“Please? Won’t you do this for me?”
Her face came close in an instant, and Cedric’s jaw tightened. A hot breath escaped his chest, where his heart pounded wildly.
“I can’t…”
“Thank you.”
A sweet smile bloomed right in front of him, and his mind went blank. Once again, Cedric couldn’t win against Eustinas.
“I’ll wait right outside the door. If anything happens, I’m coming in immediately.”
“That’s more than enough.”
*
“Please be careful.”
As Haru watched the man retreat obediently at Eustinas’s request, her eyes narrowed.
‘To think things would go this smoothly…’
She had planned all along to be alone with the Saintess. That’s why she had prepared to say something about her sister getting startled if the man insisted on entering—but the Saintess had offered to go alone on her own.
Her pink eyes swept over the large man.
‘I didn’t expect a half-demon to be acting as the Saintess’s escort.’
Black hair and black eyes.
Such jet-black darkness, impossible for a human to possess, was the mark of demonkind.
However, this fact wasn’t widely known.
Firstly, because black features could appear through distant ancestry—so much so that even someone who was effectively human might be born with them.
Secondly, modern humans equated “demonkind” with mindless monsters.
There are six major ranks of demons:
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Demon King
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Four Heavenly Kings (high-ranking demons)
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Upper-class demons
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Mid-class demons
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Lower-class demons
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Monsters
Lower ranks are absolutely subordinate to higher ones.
Unlike modern humans, who possess physical bodies, demons are beings tied to a non-physical law known as magickal energy. Their intelligence and identity are sustained by this power, so they naturally fear any superior entity that could reclaim their magic. To a demon, magic is their soul—their very being.
Among them, only mid-class demons or higher can shape themselves to resemble humans. But peace-blinded humans regard such beings as myths. Even sub-intelligent lower-class demons require elite knights to deal with—so this ignorance was unavoidable.
Mid-class demons and above are overwhelming beings. And Haru—one of the Four Heavenly Kings—was no exception.
“I’ll just check to make sure my sister is okay first, Saintess. Please wait a moment.”
“Alright.”
Subduing this foolish woman would be no trouble at all.
‘She’s still just a child.’
Of course, she couldn’t underestimate someone chosen by a god.
But to someone like Haru, who had lived for hundreds of years, a barely twenty-something Saintess still reeked of immaturity. Especially one like the current Saintess, who had never experienced war and lived like a hothouse flower.
‘That’s probably why she followed a stranger so easily.’
Completely unaware of the trap she was walking into.
Haru checked the magic circle she had prepared in the empty house. As long as she lured the Saintess inside, her real body could instantly abduct the Saintess’s soul into the spiritual realm.
And then—if she could uncover how the Saintess and that cursed god were connected…
“Excuse me.”
Haru’s scheming was momentarily interrupted by the Saintess’s voice. She nodded calmly, intending to politely say, “Please speak freely.”
“…So, what do you plan to do, Azure Sky?”
…Right up until the Saintess spoke those words.
