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Chapter 13
Someone among the ministers, smiling with narrowed eyes, cautiously glanced at Count Mortica before adding:
“But you likely don’t know that the so-called Great Saint who went along was secretly consorting with demons. Not only Saint Verdine, but many villagers witnessed the Great Saint exchanging intimate words with demons, whispering love to them in secret. And when we searched the captured demons’ clothing, we found these black seeds hidden inside.”
“Good heavens… How could such a thing happen!”
“Is that truly the case?”
“If you doubt it, ask the villagers or those who captured and interrogated the demons. You’ll learn the truth immediately.”
“This can’t be…”
“What do you think this all means? To me, it looks like this fake Great Saint planned something terrifying—using demons and these seeds to turn His Majesty and the Empire’s key figures into her puppets!”
“H-how could something so dreadful…!”
The ministers were struck speechless with shock. Amid the chaos, an elderly minister with a thick white beard raised a question.
“Wait. Then what about the High Priest? If, by any chance, the Great Saint is a demon, are you saying the High Priest orchestrated all of this? That he is also on the demons’ side?”
“Well, I can’t say for certain. But it’s possible the High Priest has been bewitched or deceived by demons. What is certain is that the Great Saint is either a demon or closely connected to them. If we leave this as it is, the Empire and His Majesty will be in grave danger.”
“This is truly disastrous.”
“What if the Saint’s prophetic dream comes true?”
“We must act quickly.”
The ministers began to waver, and that unease quickly turned into agitation. There seemed to be no room to refute the Count’s claims. Having seen the writhing demon seeds with their own eyes, the ministers raised their voices one by one.
“We must arrest that demon immediately and interrogate her!”
“A demon must never be allowed to set foot in the Empire. We must persuade His Majesty at once!”
“This is not something to be handled lightly. Before things escalate further, shouldn’t we burn that woman at the stake to eliminate future trouble?!”
As the enraged ministers rose from their seats one after another, shouting, Count Mortica and Count Rodville—who had subtly supported him—exchanged glances in secret.
At the same time, faint smiles spread across both their lips.
After finishing his morning duties, Raiden walked down the high-ceilinged central corridor before turning into a slightly narrower hallway.
Servants bustling beneath the ceiling, adorned with paintings of divine figures, all lowered their heads the moment they saw him.
His steps halted before a door at the end of the corridor.
It was far larger than the others, painted in deep crimson hues, and exuded an imposing, untouchable presence.
Just as Raiden reached for the handle, the door creaked open from the inside.
A maid in a white apron spotted him and hurriedly bowed in alarm.
“Your Majesty, I’m terribly sorry, but the Saint is still asleep.”
“She’s still sleeping? It’s been three days since she returned.”
“Y-yes… We’ve tried waking her several times, but she simply won’t wake up…”
“I was told nothing unusual happened. Then why is she still asleep?”
“I… I’m not sure either. But just a moment ago, the Saints came to examine her thoroughly, and they said there’s nothing wrong with her body, so you needn’t worry.”
“I’ll see for myself. Step aside.”
“B-but, Your Majesty, the Saint is currently— Ah!”
Raiden had already opened the door and stepped inside.
Knowing what lay within, the maid could only stare at the closed door, anxiously clenching and unclenching her fists.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Another maid, who had been wiping the window frame, approached curiously.
As they leaned in to whisper, footsteps sounded from inside, and they quickly pulled apart.
“You should have told me in advance.”
With a stiff expression, Raiden muttered those short, heavy words before leaving without another sound.
The two women immediately pressed close together again.
“His Majesty seemed strange today. I’ve never seen that expression before. What was inside?”
“Well… the Saint… It seems it’s a habit of hers to sleep without wearing anything… I mean literally nothing at all.”
“Ah! What do we do? Then he saw everything? From head to toe? Oh my… But… strictly speaking, is that really so strange? They’ll be seeing everything soon anyway.”
Startled, the other maid lowered her voice.
“Shh! Someone might hear you! How can you say something like that so casually?”
“What’s the problem if they do? Once she officially becomes the Great Saint, they’ll be husband and wife. Everyone knows that. It’s a tradition that dates back to when Lucerne was still a kingdom.”
“That may be true, but… no one knows yet who will become the Great Saint.”
“Well… true. The previous Saint was murdered right before her coronation, wasn’t she? Ugh, even if the palace seems peaceful today, you never know what might happen tomorrow.”
“Hey! You mustn’t say things like that! That’s dangerous! And she wasn’t murdered—she died of illness.”
“Hmmm? Did she really?”
The maid listening looked unconvinced, and the other pinched her side, gesturing for her to get back to work.
“If you want to live long and quietly in a place like this, you have to watch your words at all times. Now go.”
Given where they were, the maid obediently turned away, though her expression still showed disappointment at not being able to gossip further about the palace rumors.
“…Ha. Here again?”
Seiri dropped her upper body back onto the bed after jolting awake from a nightmare.
Her slender form sank into the white sheets, her long black hair spreading out like brushstrokes of ink.
“Now I’m even being betrayed in my dreams, huh.”
In the dream, she had been chasing Ferdinando, demanding he tell her what he knew—when suddenly, she couldn’t take another step forward.
A spear as thick as her forearm had pierced straight through her chest.
Gasping, she looked down to see the sharp tip protruding out the front. It hadn’t come from ahead—but from behind.
Enduring the pain of shattered ribs, she turned her head with difficulty.
Horu stood there, his face splattered with blood—smiling brightly.
‘You bastard…’
Even now, she couldn’t believe Horu had betrayed her.
Facing that reality again made her chest ache as if it were being crushed—like the spear from the dream was still lodged inside her.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced—one of their past conversations.
‘Why don’t you kill that god?’
‘I’m not “not killing” him—I can’t. Ferdinando isn’t some ordinary opponent. They say no one in the divine realm can match him in strength.’
‘Are you sure you can’t kill him? Not that you’re choosing not to?’
‘Are you mocking me for being weak right now?’
‘Lady Eides… you truly don’t understand your own heart.’
‘What is there not to understand?’
‘As I thought… you don’t. But… that’s fine. For now, you’re still by my side.’
‘What are you even talking about?’
‘What else? It simply means that I love you as a man loves a woman, Lady Eides.’
‘Get lost!’
Instead of leaving, Horu had clung to her side, smiling with those crescent eyes—
—and now that face cracked apart like shattered glass.
‘Love, my ass. You hypocrite.’
Ferdinando might have been like a rubber doll and a complete freak, but at least he never spoke words he didn’t mean. He never used cowardly tricks or attacked from behind.
His expression and manner of speaking were irritating, but once he said something, he clung to it with absurd stubbornness.
But that bastard Horu…
“…Ha, forget it. Enough.”
What was the point of comparing the most detestable beings across the divine and demon realms?
When she first heard of the betrayal, she had wanted to throw everything away—but thinking about it now, that would be foolish.
I’m the one who was betrayed. So why should I abandon my one chance to reclaim everything?
If she gave up, the one who benefited most would be Horu.
Eliminating his only obstacle—that was what he wanted most. He had spent tens of thousands of years suppressing himself just to become a perfect demon after getting rid of her.
Why should she hand that to him?
Horu might be strong enough to be king, but he was still undeniably weaker than Seiri.
No matter how much he runs wild, once I regain my power, his world will end. When the time comes, I’ll crush him so thoroughly he’ll never rise again. For now, I just need to focus on recovering my strength.
Not wanting to fall into panic over Horu any longer, Seiri forcibly shifted her thoughts to Ferdinando.
“…Just thinking about that rubber god—or seeing his face—makes my blood boil and fills me with the urge to kill him… which means he must have committed an unforgivable sin against me.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent 120,000 years chasing after a single man.
Then what was it?
Lying on the bed, Seiri pondered for a long time.
“….”
Damn it. Nothing came to mind.
She buried her face into the sheets.
Trying to find a single fragment within the mountain of layered memories was impossible—unless she went to someone who knew the truth.
“If only I had my wings, I could go find Ferdinando and knock his jaw clean off…”
