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Chapter 90
“Listen to you? Is that what you’re asking of me?”
Duke Asili asked back with a puzzled expression.
“I can grant you anything within my power. And yet, all you want is for me to listen to you?”
“……”
“If it’s a rare sword hard to obtain in the Empire, I can get it for you. If not, I can give you land. If you want a title, I can petition His Majesty for it.”
Erin shook her head.
None of those things were what she wanted.
“No. Rather than those things, I want you to listen to me now, and later grant me another request.”
While Erin was sparring, Lady Asili returned to the infirmary.
She coughed harshly, staggering before dropping into a chair.
She had pretended to be fine in front of the duke and Erin, but her condition was at its worst.
After delivering consecutive prophecies and expending divine power, she had lost far too much energy.
“Haa… haa…”
She looked down at her hand. Blood was smeared across the palm she had used to cover her mouth.
“Damn it.”
Muttering a curse under her breath, she turned her gaze toward Ferdin, who lay asleep.
“Amazing, Ferdin Rexia. It’s no wonder you’re the son of the previous Saint…”
Closing her eyes, she thought of the previous Saint.
She respected the strength hidden behind the woman’s fragile smile.
Could I ever become like you?
Wrapping her arms around herself, she shuddered. She had never known before that knowing truths unknown to others could be this terrifying.
She had once longed to know the truth. But now… she was afraid.
She was afraid of dying. More than anyone else, Lady Asili wanted to live.
“How did you do it?”
What kind of resolve does it take to throw away one’s life for another?
The previous Saint had done so, and so had Ferdin.
For the sake of someone they loved, they had given up their lives.
These days, Lady Asili dreamed every time she slept.
The previous Saint always appeared in those dreams.
She recalled one such dream.
The Emperor’s glistening eyes as he looked at the Saint, filled with malice.
“He is a demon.”
In the dream, the previous Saint whispered to herself. Lady Asili understood that this was a message left for her.
To speak of the future while alive came with grave risks. But to mutter to oneself carried no price.
“The Emperor was always wicked, but now he has become an irredeemable demon.”
“Because of what he does, countless lives will be lost.”
“The Lord will show you. The terrible future he will create.”
Her vision twisted, and she saw it.
The battle lines that held back the monsters collapsing. Humans screaming.
Citizens of the Empire, people of the Holy Kingdom—everyone plunged into grief.
If the future remained unchanged, countless innocent lives would be lost.
“I’m hungry… please save me…”
“Mom… Dad…”
She saw children who had lost their parents.
“Sweetheart, open your eyes, please…”
She saw parents who had lost their children.
People screaming.
A street filled with nothing but sobs.
Then her eyes fell on Count Léon. He was leading the knights, slaughtering the citizens.
“Those unworthy of the new world to come must not be spared! Children too weak to work, the elderly who cannot move—kill all who are of no use to the nation!”
And smiling as he watched it all—the Emperor. Lady Asili realized that he was the one controlling the monsters.
Then she heard him muttering as he gazed upon the Empire drowning in despair.
“I am God.”
It was what had happened after Erin’s death in the past.
Oh, Goddess…
The “new world” the Emperor sought meant a world where the weak and unfit perished, leaving only the strong and useful, by his standards.
And that wasn’t the end. They used forbidden methods.
She recalled why the Emperor and his men could control the monsters.
The Emperor, desiring to become a god, had used black magic to turn humans into monsters, manipulating their subconscious minds.
Black magic—power from an ancient evil god.
And to wield it always required a price. The Emperor paid that price with the lives of others.
So that’s why he carried out massacres—to sustain the magic.
As long as they ruled the Empire, its future could never change.
That was the conclusion of the Goddess who governed all worlds. And Lady Asili agreed.
At that moment, the infirmary door burst open.
She quickly wiped the blood from her hand on the back of her dress before anyone could see.
“My lady?”
The one who called out in a subdued voice was Caron. He must have come here as soon as he awoke, since he wasn’t even wearing shoes.
With a dazed face, he slowly stepped inside.
“Ferdin… Sir Ferdin, is he alright?”
When he saw Ferdin lying motionless on the bed, his legs nearly gave out beneath him.
“Ferdin is fine, Sir Caron.”
“Then… how am I alive?”
Caron muttered blankly, unable to understand.
The last memory he had was of Count Léon swinging his sword at him with terrifying force.
“Yes, Count Léon… he clearly tried to kill me…”
“……”
“My father and sister have been falsely accused. The House of Rixas never used black magic.”
“I know.”
Caron’s eyes wavered at her calm response. In a desperate voice, he asked,
“Then… did Count Léon learn the truth and withdraw?”
She shook her head.
“No. I heard that even after learning everything, he still tried to kill you.”
“Why would the count…?”
“And then he was killed by Sir Erin.”
“What?”
Caron doubted his ears.
“You’ll find out anyway, so I’ll tell you. Sir Erin is a Sword Master.”
He gaped at her, stunned into silence.
He collapsed into a nearby chair, too shocked to stand.
“My sister… she first picked up a sword only after coming to the Academy… Even if she was chosen by a sword, how could that possibly…?”
His words trailed off incoherently. He was too shaken to even finish his thoughts.
Lady Asili could understand his feelings. Even she, who knew little of swords, had been astonished. So it was no wonder Caron was overwhelmed.
But once he learned how Erin had grown stronger, he would understand why she had reached the realm of a Sword Master.
“Don’t sit there stunned. Let’s go meet Sir Isis.”
“Isis…? You mean that priest from the West?”
“Yes. He should be arriving here soon.”
“Why would a priest from the West come all the way here…? And how do you know of his arrival?”
“Shh. Knowing too much will hurt you.”
She stood, but then paused as if recalling something.
Opening the drawer by the bed, she pulled out a letter and handed it to him.
“On second thought, I can go greet Sir Isis alone. Could you deliver this letter to Lady Lilia instead?”
The Duke of Asili walked with Erin into his office.
As soon as Erin sat, she hurriedly spoke.
“My father was not the one who used black magic.”
The duke answered expressionlessly, as though it was obvious.
“I think so too, Sir Erin. I’ve known Marquis Rixas for a long time.”
“……”
“The traces of black magic found under the Marquis’s estate—I believe they were planted by someone.”
At his words, Erin gave a faint smile.
“You’re right. The one who orchestrated it was my mother, Corelia Rixas.”
“Corelia Rixas…?”
The duke recalled seeing her not long ago. He had sensed a disturbing bloodlust from the marchioness, who should never even have held a sword.
“Do you know of the frequent disappearances in the West?”
“The West? No, I wasn’t aware.”
“The marchioness was involved in those cases.”
Erin recounted everything she had witnessed in the West—what she saw, and who was there.
The more he listened, the darker the duke’s expression grew.
His grip unconsciously tightened on the armrest until it broke.
“To think they would commit such atrocities against the living… Such beings cannot even be called human.”
“……”
“I believe you. You have no reason to lie to me. But there’s one thing I don’t understand.”
“Please, ask.”
“Why would Corelia Rixas do such things?”
Erin fell silent. She couldn’t speak freely about that—especially not to the Emperor’s knight, the duke.
“I cannot say yet. But my request is something else, Duke.”
Looking him straight in the eye, she spoke. In that moment, he saw in her gaze a storm of searing fury.
“When the truth is revealed, do not interfere with what I must do.”
The duke was silent.
How foolish those people must have been, to earn her wrath. He could only guess how strong this knight, who had matched him evenly, might yet become.
He didn’t know why Erin was so furious, nor what she intended.
But he knew he had to respond with the utmost care.
After gazing at her for a long time, he finally spoke.
“Very well. A promise is a promise.”
Then, in a firm tone, he added:
“But before that, you must do something.”
“What is it?”
“You must come with me to the capital and be recognized as a Sword Master.”
At this, Erin frowned, troubled.
“That is the only way to fully protect House Rixas. His Majesty’s patience is not long—we must act at once.”
“……”
“If you don’t prove your innocence, the Emperor’s knights could receive orders at any moment to execute your family.”
“……”
“They might even accuse the servants of concealing black magic and punish them too. Sir Erin, we must hurry.”
The duke grimaced, knowing full well that such measures were entirely within the Emperor’s nature.
“But my father is in danger.”
His body stiffened at her words.
“Indeed… it was Corelia Rixas who claimed the Marquis had fled.”
“My father must still be at the estate.”
Erin was certain. When she had been imprisoned, Dietrion had tried to bargain with her, which meant his words were likely true.
The duke fell into thought.
Time was short. The Emperor could act at any moment. Even the Third Order, sent for investigation, might move.
If the Marquis truly was imprisoned in his own estate, his life was at risk.
Ideally, the duke would rescue his friend while Erin went to the capital to prove her house’s innocence.
But I can’t send Sir Erin alone to the capital.
He was her strongest witness. And he had another reason.
His Majesty has been acting strangely of late…
He was considering the worst-case scenario.
Though he served the Emperor, he did not trust him.
In his fury over Count Léon’s death, who knows what he might do?
With the neutral faction growing stronger, and one of the two Sword Masters who balanced his power now dead, the Emperor was bound to grow even more wary of the duke.
The duke knew well that he had already fallen out of favor.
If the Emperor turned his anger on Erin, it was his duty to protect her.
She was a worthy rival, and he didn’t want her to walk a path of ruin.
So he offered the best possible compromise.
“If you come to the capital with me, I will send the First Order to House Rixas.”
“Will they be enough?”
The duke understood what she meant by “enough.” She was worried about their strength.
Anyone else would have been outraged at such a question. The First Order consisted of some of the strongest knights in the Empire.
But he understood. By Erin’s standards, their strength might indeed seem lacking.
“Though we don’t know the full strength of the enemy, they should at least be able to retreat safely from a Sword Master, even if they cannot defeat one.”
Erin thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
Yet an uneasy feeling lingered.
As if, someday, she might regret this choice.
