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Chapter 56
The previous Saintess had never given him all the answers.
But Helix had believed her words.
She had said that one day, the person Ferdinand loved would appear, and Helix was certain he would recognize her at first glance.
That was why, when he came to the Academy and heard the news of Ferdinand’s engagement, the shock he felt was beyond imagination.
Just like Derek, Helix knew that the relationship with Lady Asili was a lie—so the blow struck even harder.
“Are you talking about that villainess who got engaged to His Highness Ferdinand?”
“Oh, you mean Erin Lyseres? The one who transferred to the Swordsmanship Department?”
“She’s been quiet lately, hasn’t she? But wasn’t she notorious for her outrageous behavior?”
Hearing that, unease swept through Helix.
What if the one Ferdinand loves never shows up out of fear of that villainess?
“Sir Helix! Are you listening?”
Helix looked at the young lady who was shouting in his face. But she wasn’t the only one staring at him.
Ferdinand and Amon were also looking at him with disapproval.
Even Caron Lyseres was glaring at him as if he were nothing but garbage.
“Lady Erin is not a bad person!”
“I understand, so please… stop talking about it.”
Helix might not have been following the Saintess of this generation, but he was still a Holy Knight.
Even so, having the Saintess herself angry with him was displeasing. He frowned, feeling the beginnings of a headache.
What on earth happened while I was away? I clearly heard she was a villainess who stirred up trouble…
But now, Ferdinand’s prospective knights were acting as if Erin Lyseres were truly his fiancée.
Even for someone as steady as him, it was bewildering.
Ferdinand’s voice broke the silence.
“Helix, if you’re rude to Lady Erin again, I won’t forgive you. Not even you.”
The moment his words fell, Caron cut in.
“You piece of trash.”
Helix narrowed his eyes at him. An odd tension crackled between them.
Caron looked haggard, as though he hadn’t eaten in days. To Helix, it was laughable that someone in such a state could glare at him with killing intent.
But Ferdinand didn’t restrain Caron. Which meant he agreed with him—at least to some extent.
“This isn’t just to Helix. I won’t allow anyone to hurt her under the pretense of protecting me. That’s an order.”
“……”
“When you meet Lady Erin, you will offer a sincere apology.”
The central hall fell silent. At Ferdinand’s command, Helix bowed his head deeply.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Amon and Caron bowed as well. Only Derek fidgeted uneasily, watching the mood.
After a long pause, Ferdinand turned back to Helix.
“So—you must have found something if you came back to the Academy.”
Feeling the eyes of the others, Helix spoke.
“The disappearances in the western region… I believe the Emperor is involved.”
Ferdinand’s hand, flipping through documents, stilled.
“Through investigation, I found evidence that years ago, the Emperor took orphans away to some unknown place.”
“Orphans?”
“Not just them. At the time, mercenaries skilled with a sword and men of strong build disappeared all at once.”
Ferdinand’s suspicions deepened.
The Emperor was not someone who pitied orphans. For him to take them somewhere? Unbelievable.
And the timing of the disappearances was far too coincidental. Derek asked nervously,
“Ferdinand, if the Emperor really is behind this… what is he doing?”
Without answering, Ferdinand rose and walked toward the window.
Strange. I thought I sensed someone’s presence…
But it couldn’t be. No one unauthorized could enter this place.
After confirming no one was there, he spoke.
“Perhaps… something more ominous than I imagined is happening.”
His eyes grew heavy. He had the chilling feeling that soon, he would face a great decision.
Ferdinand had been right—someone was there.
It was Erin. She sat atop the central hall’s roof, eavesdropping on Ferdinand and his knights.
Unintentionally, she even heard his command.
“I won’t allow anyone to hurt her under the pretense of protecting me.”
In the past too, he had always been like that. He couldn’t bear to see Erin mistreated or slandered.
Though Erin was grateful for that, she hoped he wouldn’t get involved with the West.
She mulled over Helix’s report.
So this is when Helix disappeared.
Helix Exzart would leave for the West after giving this report—and never return.
She remembered how Ferdinand and the Temple had searched in vain for him.
But that wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want Ferdinand concerned with the West.
Her eyes grew cold.
Because the West was where Ferdinand died.
A few years later, the western lands would become overrun by monsters.
And Ferdinand, sent by the Emperor to subjugate them, would lose his life there.
She had expected Helix to bring news this time, but as she thought, it was nothing good.
Dietrion studied Erin, who stood before him with her expressionless face.
Her fearless gaze stirred his curiosity.
Will you still look the same after hearing this?
In his hand was an imperial letter.
“Erin, His Majesty the Emperor has ordered you to undergo a promotion trial.”
Their eyes met.
“You’ll be going to the West.”
Propping his chin in his hand, Dietrion waited for her reaction.
Would she be shocked? Ask for help like before?
But Erin showed no response. Then at last, she spoke words that made him doubt his ears.
“…Understood.”
That was all.
He waited for something more. And when it came, it was even more unexpected.
“May I be excused now?”
“…Excused?”
“Yes.”
Dietrion let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Do you want to die? Do you even know what it means to be sent west for your promotion trial?”
He stood and strode up to her, lips twisting into a smirk.
“Say you want to live, Erin.”
“……”
“If you say you want to live, I might let you. I could even petition His Majesty to assign you something easier.”
Erin gave a dry laugh.
“You don’t want to die, do you? Pride lasts but a moment.”
She met his gaze and spoke firmly,
“There’s no need for you to go that far for me.”
Her tone was resolute. As if her own death meant nothing to her.
How could anyone be like that?
Dietrion stared into her eyes as though bewitched.
“If you’ve nothing else to say, I’ll take my leave.”
She turned her back on him without waiting for permission.
Normally, Dietrion would have exploded in fury the moment someone dared show him their back.
He could have called knights to humiliate her on the spot.
But instead, what he felt was a deep emptiness.
The moment Erin Lyseres walked out of this room, she was as good as dead.
You’re really going to die?
Erin Lyseres was an enemy he would have to deal with someday. Hadn’t he himself been thinking not long ago that she should be disposed of?
And yet… this?
“…Foolish.”
With that word, he resolved to stop caring. He had given her a chance, and she had thrown it away.
Then why…
His face twisted. For some reason, an inexplicable disgust filled him.
After parting with Dietrion, Erin returned to her room.
The future had changed again. The Emperor had never sent her west for a mission in her previous life.
What action of mine caused this change?
She recalled the wary eyes of Corellia at the banquet. Perhaps Corellia had decided she needed to be eliminated.
Are they trying to kill me?
The moves were coming earlier than before. Oddly, it only made Erin’s mind clearer.
Hadn’t she already resolved to leave the Academy? And since Ferdinand’s death had happened in the West, there must be something crucial hidden there.
This, then, was an opportunity. Erin had no intention of rejecting the path laid before her.
