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~Chapter 29~
“Everyone, stay alert!”
At Roand’s warning, the knights drew their swords, imbuing them with divine power.
Just as a faint breeze swept through, the iron cage suddenly shot up into the air.
“Throw the holy water!”
Roand barked.
The knights hurled glass vials of holy water skyward.
As the liquid splashed, the outline of another monster—this one with massive wings—became visible as it seized the cage and took off.
“Attack, all of you!”
Roand unleashed a surge of aura, which pierced straight through one of the monster’s wings.
Kukaaah!
The creature shrieked in agony, but it refused to let go of the cage. As the holy water quickly dried, its body began to turn transparent once more.
Roand sent another burst of aura, but the beast, in mid-air, twisted around and hurled the cage straight at him before soaring off into the sky.
He barely dodged in time.
The cage crashed to the ground, shattering—its door flung wide open.
Screeeech.
“Ahhh!”
“W-watch out!”
The freed monster burst from the wreckage, scattering the nearby knights in panic.
Roand flung his last vial of holy water, but it missed its mark—the creature remained invisible.
“Captain! We’re out of holy water!”
“Fall back. Get the wounded out of here!”
“Yes, sir!”
While the others retreated, Roand tried to stand his ground, but a bloodcurdling scream rang out. One knight collapsed forward, a deep gash across his back.
Roand swung his sword—now shining with divine energy—broad and hard.
Ku-kuaaaah—
A wing was sliced clean off. Separated from the body, the severed wing lost its transparency and became fully visible.
Roand kept swinging, but from then on, every slash seemed to cut through nothing.
After losing its other wing, the monster fled into the forest, out of sight.
We should have disabled it right away… Roand bit his lip in regret. If only I’d torn off both wings, broken its legs—kept it from moving at all… That was the order. Keep it intact, as much as possible. A mistake.
All the while, someone far off watched the scene quietly, then slipped away into the woods.
Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap.
Late at night, a rhythmic knock sounded at the window.
“Come in,” came the low reply.
A man in black—masked and dressed for stealth—leapt neatly through the window.
“Jack! Reporting back, sir~”
he announced, his voice lilting with affected cuteness.
Grey’s brow furrowed.
“Enough of that. Take it off.”
“Yessir.”
Jack, stifling a grin under Grey’s cold stare, quickly removed his mask, revealing a rugged face with brown hair and a scattering of golden freckles.
Jack was Heart’s fraternal twin. Both he and Heart adopted a silly, playful persona when given assignments, but their skills were undeniable—and Grey wasted no time.
“What did you find on Captain Roand?”
He’d ordered Jack to tail Roand after suspecting lies in the audience chamber.
“There’s something you’ll want to see first.”
Jack’s playful tone disappeared, replaced by professionalism as he handed over a recording sphere.
When Grey activated it, a distant battlefield unfolded: knights from the Holy Empire, Captain Roand, and—most shockingly—a monster unlike any he’d ever seen.
The fight looked dire.
Beside him, even stoic Ethan’s face hardened as he watched.
“Roand’s a swordmaster, so I couldn’t get too close,” Jack explained.
Grey watched the vision sphere, expression unreadable.
“What is that thing?”
“They called it a ‘demon beast’—a ‘mamool.’”
Jack’s eyes were serious.
“Not just a wild animal, then?”
“No, definitely not. Its body is invisible, and only appears when struck by holy water or a weapon infused with divine power. It’s a new kind of monster.”
“A demon beast…”
Grey’s frown deepened as he stared at the sphere.
“The fact that the Holy Empire’s knights already know the name… We need to look into this more.”
Grey’s gaze shifted to a pile of unsolved reports. For months, people had been vanishing from villages along the capital’s borders, and no culprit had ever been found.
Maybe those monsters were to blame.
Invisible demon beasts… That would explain why no one had seen a thing.
“We’ll need a lot more holy water,” Grey muttered.
Jack nodded.
“That’s right. Luckily, the Holy Empire sent plenty of holy water as a festival gift.”
“Jack, keep following the Captain. Contact Deck in the Holy Empire, and have him dig deeper into these monsters.”
“Yes sir! I’ll report back!”
With a wink, Jack donned his mask again, leapt out the window, and vanished into the night.
Grey watched the recording one more time, his expression grim.
He’d hoped to leave a prosperous empire to his sister—but now, with monsters like these lurking…
“Ethan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“The city guard won’t be enough for this. I’m deploying the Imperial Guard. Double the holy water rations for every squad. Form teams of ten. If they can’t handle those things, they’re to retreat immediately. You’ll go with them.”
“Your Majesty…”
Ethan hesitated, but Grey was firm.
“Even Halen’s swordmasters struggled. Only our best stand a chance.”
“Yes, sire.”
Ethan bowed, then left to make preparations.
The room was silent once more.
Grey, as was his habit, stripped off his shirt and checked his back in the mirror. The mark had grown—slightly bigger than that morning.
With every day, every moment, his time was running out.
He let out a dry laugh and forced his mind away from pointless thoughts, fixing his gaze on the stack of untouched reports.
In the palace’s tranquil garden, Grey sat as always, reading his reports.
“You summoned me, Your Majesty,”
came a familiar voice.
Grey looked up and gazed steadily at the lady—no, at Princess Dahlia.
He had no intention of letting her know he’d discovered her true identity. Now that he held the key to Poeverne’s royal secrets, it was a bargaining chip to be played at the right time.
With a radiant smile, Grey gestured to the chair across from him.
“Welcome, Lady. You’re early. Let me just finish this report and then we’ll talk.”
“Of course. Um… May I have one of these chocolates?”
“Help yourself.”
He glanced at the chocolates on the table—Ethan had set them out for her, despite being so brusque with everyone else. Maybe that’s why women seemed to like him.
Grey returned to his paperwork, flipping through page after page.
Who knows how much time passed.
Suddenly, he felt a gentle weight settle on his right hand.
He looked down—only to see Dahlia, fast asleep, using his hand as a pillow.
Falling asleep again? Really? Does she stay up all night?
Sunlight streamed over her long, thick lashes, and a breeze sent petals drifting all around.
For a brief moment, the sight of the princess napping on his hand, surrounded by floating petals, felt utterly unreal.
