episode_0059

“Congratulations, Karl.”

Daniela Del Rio, the daughter of the Ambassador of the Lugo Union, greeted him.

It was unclear whether she was congratulating him as a representative guest of the Lugo Union, as a friend from the academy, or in a more personal capacity.

Karl stood up from the table, touched the chest of his dress with his hand, and looked at Daniela, who was neatly greeting him.

His face was as pale as Beatrice sitting next to him, and his lips were a little redder.

Her short hair, meticulously arranged every day, with curls, appeared lighter than Karl’s, and her slightly blonde hair contrasted with Beatrice’s jet-black hair, which fluttered.

“Thank you, Daniela.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say, “Thank you for coming this far.”

Karl knew.

How much suffering and sadness might be hidden behind her smiling face, how hard she must be trying to pretend to be okay…

Daniela was no different from the original.

She was just like the Daniela from the novel he had read before possessing her.

She seemed bright on the surface, but unlike the initial impression that she might use people as she pleased, she was a gentle and considerate heroine.

She wasn’t someone who deviated from what he had imagined or acted differently from what he remembered, nor did she disrupt the original story. So he felt at ease. Daniela’s words and actions were predictable, even obvious.

The comfort of familiarity was truly a great merit. That’s why Karl knew the agony she was feeling. He resented the Marquis for bringing her here.

Smiling bitterly, he kissed Daniela’s hand, which she tried to turn into a bright smile.

This was all Karl could do for her now.

A hand kiss filled with formality and courtesy.

To anyone watching, it was an act within the diplomatic context of treating a distinguished guest with politeness. Well, except for one person.

“……”

Watching this, Beatrice raised the glass in her hand to her lips.

She drank the water in one go, as if she were parched.

Seeing her, Karl spoke in a chilly voice.

“Are you not drinking today?”

“…What?”

“You like drinking, right? There’s plenty, so drink as much as you want.”

Beatrix’s cheeks turned red even though she wasn’t drunk. It was a mix of embarrassment, shame, and anger.

“Relax.”

“Did you come with Daniella?”

“As if.”

“No way.”

When asked by Beatrix, both women answered simultaneously, vehemently denying it.

“You came alone.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, since there’s no one to give you a ride, you can’t even drink.”

“…”

Beatrix felt her own face heating up. She lowered her head deeply to hide her clearly reddened face.

“I should have brought you.”

“…Who?”

Carl looked at Beatrix with a cold gaze, then turned his head, flashed a bright smile at Daniella, and left. Beatrix trembled heavily as she watched him leave, feeling utterly helpless.

In her mind, there was only one reason why Carl acted this way. Perhaps it was due to that day when she had no memory, the day she leaned on Carl for support while drunk… She might have committed a serious offense.

Beatrix tried hard to deny it, but there was one thing she remembered. It was the embarrassing memory of meeting Carl on the street and slurring her words in a tangled voice. It still haunted her before she slept.

“It looked cheap…”

It looked cheap.

The worst judgment a woman could hear. Especially for a high-born noble lady, it was an even more unfavorable evaluation.

Beatrix considered herself to be quite perceptive.

Wandering the streets drunk alone, clinging to any man and making short noises with her tongue… Well, he wasn’t just any man.

Leaving provocative lingerie out at home… Strictly speaking, leaving it out in a packaged state wasn’t something to boast about, but it wasn’t exactly modest either.

Bringing men into her room without any defenses… She was the very image of a seductress.

Moreover, it might have been something even more serious that she couldn’t remember. From Karl’s perspective, it seemed like something so repulsive that it could provoke a match…

“Could it be that she treats everyone like a woman who clings to any man!?”

She thought deeply and concluded that it was probably the case. Associating the reaction in the classroom with what had just been said led her to that conclusion.

“So, did you ask if I came alone?”

She lifted her chin, withdrew her resting hand, and flicked her finger!

As if she had come to a realization.

However, her sunny expression did not change.

She knew the cause, but there was no solution.

The imprinted image, the fallen affection, was not easily reversible.

Unintentionally, she glanced at the refilled glass.

Beatrice had filled it while she was lost in thought.

She drank again.

Like someone trying to quench an unquenchable thirst.

Like someone deeply yearning.

*

Karl’s insides were burning as he circulated the table, exchanging greetings with the guests.

Outwardly smiling, his mind was in turmoil.

“Don’t go. Theo…”

It comes to mind.

Despite his efforts to forget, her voice calling out for another man comes to mind.

Even though it’s a mission, today is the day of his engagement to Cloe. The protagonist of today is Cloe, and Karl had resolved to only look at Cloe today.

But seeing Beatrice, casually cutting her steak, seeing her bluntly responding, thoughts of her flooded back.

His mind, which he had tried to fill with Cloe, was once again filled with Beatrice.

“Damn woman.”

How could she shake him up like this, even in his dreams, shouting that other man’s name so vividly?

He couldn’t understand why he was so shaken.

Karl simply couldn’t comprehend himself not being able to easily dismiss Beatrice, who harbored feelings for another man, despite being the main character.

He laughed bitterly.

Guests could not see his face, so whenever there was a chance, he wanted to express his feelings of frustration. He furrowed his brow, bit his lips, and squinted his eyes.

“The Grand Duchess of the Balkan Kingdom, Cloe Deminus, has arrived at the reception hall. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome today’s protagonist with enthusiastic applause.”

At that moment, Cloe in a mint-colored dress appeared at the entrance to the royal palace garden. The orchestra changed the piece they were playing to a lively and refreshing tune that suited Cloe. Even though the sun was nearly setting, it felt as if a spring breeze was blowing and cherry blossoms were fluttering.

Her dress revealed her slender silhouette without any excess fat. Her smoothly toned and firm thighs, honed through training, were tantalizingly visible. Despite suffering for days in the papal residence, her bright smile did not fade.

“Welcome, Cloe.”

Karl reached out his hand.

His heart, which had been shaken by Beatrice just a while ago, seemed to calm down a little. This was both his duty as an intelligence agency agent and his personal desire as a reader to captivate Cloe, one of the heroines.

“T-Thank you.”

Cloe gently spoke as she lightly placed her hand on Karl’s.

“You must have been surprised, right? There was no other way but this to save you. Please understand.”

“Yeah, the Duke explained it to me on the way here. I… am under a big accusation…”

Indeed, even Karl was not sure if the accusation was true.

Because the original work had many plot twists, it was difficult to predict the true identity of the Unknown even from the latest update he read before possession.

Perhaps Cloe really was a noble and the Unknown. The possibility was open to anyone. A cruel possibility…

Erasing the fleeting doubt from his mind, Karl whispered again in a low voice.

“It might feel awkward, and it might be uncomfortable to treat you affectionately all of a sudden like a fiancé, but please bear with it for a little while.”

Looking up at Karl with her sea-blue eyes, Cloe smiled with her eyes.

It was a refreshing smile that could only make the viewer feel good.

Thump thump-

Shortly after Chloe appeared, the knights of the pulpit followed.

They didn’t draw their weapons or wear menacing armor, as befitting their position. They all looked like representatives of the pulpit, almost as if they had come to congratulate the empire’s slope.

However, their first purpose was to monitor Chloe, and their second was to use force in case of an unexpected incident. Ultimately, they were not immediately hostile, but they were always prepared to become so.

Amidst the knights who seemed easily overshadowed, a tall man with a good impression emerged. He was a man whose stature was as large as a sword, or perhaps even larger. The other knights made way for him and stepped back. The man—Nathan—greeted Karl.

“Nice to meet you, Karl Meiner.”

“…’Meiner’? But I’m still a student.”

“If you are the owner of the Holy Sword, you cannot be judged by the world’s standards. You are nothing less than a knight of light chosen by God.”

To Karl, Nathan’s words sounded like “I hope you graduate soon and join the Holy Order.” It seemed as if he would have rushed to apply for admission to any other religion on the continent if there were one, such was his eagerness.

“A knight of light? That’s too much.”

“You are humble. I am well aware of your deeds in protecting students from the claws of the aristocracy.”

“…”

The claws were not unknown, and it wasn’t as if he had protected the students; rather, the unknown had simply let them go. But no one seemed to know that. Karl didn’t bother to correct it either. If he did, he would have to reveal his humiliating defeat.

“This person is just like a character in a novel.”

Nathan, the foremost knight of the pulpit.

He was a figure who was always mentioned alongside Luis from the Information Bureau when discussing the strongest positions in the empire. He was strong, and his depiction in the novel was remarkable.

Moreover, he was a dignified strongman who never showed any signs of pettiness or weakness, unlike others. A figure who possessed both skill and character.

He would have wanted to honor him as a teacher even if he wasn’t a person of the pulpit, not Louis. It might be possible now that it’s different from the original, but Karl didn’t like the pulpit that much.

“Claudia, congratulations on your engagement with the Duke. I hope you will be a bridge connecting the Empire and the Duchy.”

“Thank you.”

Nathan looked at Claudia and added, “I hope you enjoy your time without worry tonight. You should come with us after the banquet, but we will expedite the investigation as much as possible.”

“T-Thank you, Sir Nathan.”

“We will watch from a distance so as not to interfere.”

Claudia looked relieved.

“Really?”

“Of course, refrain from trying to escape, as long as I’m here, it will be impossible.”

Soon, knights of the pulpit entered the banquet hall. They stood scattered around the hall. The guests noticed the knights, but they regarded them as a formality, coming to congratulate the engagement.

“Of course, someone touching you would also be impossible, as there may be hidden dangers.”

…

Karl’s hand rested on Claudia’s shoulder, thinking she might become despondent at the thought of being watched and possibly deprived of her freedom again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said,

“No, I will protect Claudia.”

“!?”

“Whoever the opponent is….”

There was a brief heavy silence.

Nathan looked into Karl’s determined eyes. It seemed as if he was saying that he could oppose the pulpit for Claudia’s sake. He didn’t explicitly utter disrespectful words about opposing the pulpit, but it could be interpreted that way.

“Don’t forget that determination-”

Nathan felt more relieved than uncomfortable when looking at Karl’s bold demeanor. It was fortunate that there was an upright man by Claudia Deminus, the descendant of a hero.

Who else could speak with such determination to Nathan, the commander of the Holy Order? It wasn’t bad to feel this fresh sensation after a long time.

It was when the two of them were having a slight nerve-racking moment.

Kwaaang!

Somewhere in the royal palace, not far from the banquet hall, a loud noise was heard. The people in the banquet hall were startled, some screamed, some held their heads, and others looked toward the source of the sound. Karl, Clove, and Nathan also turned towards the source of the commotion.

Thud-thud-thud-thud…

From where ominous smoke was rising, almost obscured by the fading sunlight, a group of people emerged. They were an entirely unfamiliar group. They wore exotic garments with black patterns on a white background, unique geometric designs meticulously embroidered onto their clothes. Their attire was far removed from the neat ceremonial robes or dresses worn by dignitaries. It was clothing that one could hardly, if at all, find in the vicinity.

Their long, flowing, heavily draped garments concealed their figures, made from what appeared to be quite expensive fabric.

However, the unease they evoked was not solely due to their attire. Masks, covering their faces, adorned with geometric patterns, added an unsettling tension, as if one were looking at something unknown.

“Gasp, oh my goodness!”

Noshin exclaimed in terror, as if he had seen something unspeakable. He tremulously pointed at the group wearing masks.

“Th-they are… the royal court!”

“W-what?!”

“The royal court! Those are the patterns of the royal court, the attire worn by the imperial servants!”

At Noshin’s words, people looked back at the peculiar group, examining the geometric patterns closely.

“I can’t believe this!”

“U-unbelievable…”

Those who remembered the royal court and the nobility covered their mouths and exclaimed.

The pattern located at the heart of the mask and on the white garments was unmistakably the emblem of the empire, overlaid with the insignia of the royal court. Now, it was being forgotten in people’s memories…

A crowd that seemed like the royal court’s attendants, making noise at an unrealistic sight, had suddenly drawn close to the distinguished guests.

The figure who appeared to be their leader, standing in the center of the group, stepped forward and spoke.

“Dare to…”

It was a voice distorted by magic, filled with noise, impossible to discern the original tone…

“Dare to defile the palace, you traitors.”

From the unidentified voice, only one thing was unmistakably felt.

Intense anger.

“Your blood will pay the price…”

Clang-

Clash-

Sounds of swords being drawn echoed from all around. The cold metallic sound reverberated simultaneously. But that wasn’t all.

Grind grind grind grind-

A ringing sound was heard, an unidentifiable force was felt, and light seeped out from behind the masks. Through the holes cut for vision, a turquoise light leaked out.

All those wearing masks emitted turquoise light from within their masks.

The mysterious turquoise light emitted by numerous villains seemed enchanting yet menacing enough to evoke tension.

Perhaps it was because they were a convergence of magical power.

The blessings bestowed upon the courtiers by the aristocracy were boiling.

The aristocracy’s retinue had returned.

According to the master’s will.

As instruments of vengeance.