episode_0144

Daniela finished her reunion with Beatrice at the Green Arms.

It felt strange to come out of the traitor’s hideout, which was right in the heart of the empire, the Academy’s commercial district.

The conversation with the most dangerous woman in the world was more bland than I expected.

I’ve overcome life-threatening situations and been nervous about meeting the royal family, but the stories we share are nothing more than trivial, everyday stories.

That made me feel even stranger.

Beatrice seemed deliberately avoiding talk of war and empire.

Rather, the conversation naturally led to a discussion about the Academy.

Thanks to this, my worries about him making awkward suggestions or threats to join the royal family seemed pointless.

I feel like I got scared for no reason.

The princess seemed to be missing her days at the academy.

Because Daniela listened with joy when she told me how the Academy had changed.

‘Even the sword grew hair?’

She was particularly curious about how Carl Maynor was doing.

Now that I think about it, those two seem pretty close…

No, there must have been something going on since they were two people who even danced at the Christmas Eve party.

Thanks to that, wasn’t Karl dragged to the church and suffered humiliation?

I don’t understand.

Since the appearance of the Holy Sword, it has been widely known that the Holy Sword is a deadly weapon that can harm the imperial family, as records show that the emperor of the time was afraid of the Holy Sword.

However, Princess Beatrice remained close to the owner of the Holy Sword while hiding her identity.

Why would that be?

Was he trying to assassinate me while I was letting my guard down?

If that was the purpose, it appears to have failed.

No, judging by the way his cold expression softened as he spoke of the sword… I am certain that he failed miserably.

So I don’t understand.

‘I’ll go now.’

‘Yeah, take care. I can’t give you a ride… It’s too close to the academy.’

‘Did you know I can do it? I can go by myself.’

‘Don’t get lost again.’

‘It was because of you.’

It was easy to bring up the topic of going back.

The traitor simply sent Daniela back.

‘Still… thank you for saving me.’

Princess Beatrice smiled as she put back on the hat she had taken off.

In the end, Daniela left the princess without any gains as the successor to the Allied Forces.

Daniela, like her home country, has postponed her choice.

Before we know it, the academy dormitory is right in front of us.

Daniela took a deep breath, feeling relieved, and continued walking.

But I know that this relief will only last for a short time.

Maybe this is the last relief.

Sooner or later, at most, not more than a year.

The moment of choice will come.

The world and fate will force her to make a choice.

As the daughter of a consul, Daniela will not be able to turn away from the past that has supported her, having lived her days carrying the hopes of the citizens on her back.

*

“Can I just send it?”

“… … ”

Mathias approached Beatrice, who was left alone, and asked her.

But Beatrice, who was blankly staring at her glass, couldn’t answer.

“Your Majesty?”

“Ah. Yeah. It’ll be okay.”

Beatrice then looked at Matthias and answered. The hazy expression she had on her face as she looked at her glass of wine disappeared, and she returned to the appearance of the princess Matthias knew.

Matthias noticed that the princess was lost in thought because of the story of the Academy that she had not heard in a long time.

“Someday, my identity will be exposed, and there will come a time when I will have to give up my influence as a merchant ‘Matthias’ in the empire. But I hope that time will not be because of that princess’s betrayal.”

“Should I have kept my mouth shut?”

“Yes, if the princess opens her mouth… This place that Your Majesty likes will also be goodbye.”

“… … ”

You must not go against the sentimental feelings of the princess.

Perhaps if other ministers or servants saw the princess now, they would not even dare to speak to her.

However, the Lectio of the Apostles does not shy away from saying what needs to be said.

Even if it goes against the wishes of the royal family, it is Lectio’s mission to say what is necessary.

“It would be better to use the Dark Oath… … ”

“I hate it.”

The princess said bluntly.

Not ‘no’ but ‘I don’t like it’.

Although it was a strange difference, the princess’s answer seemed to come from extremely personal feelings.

“I think it’s the safest and wisest way. Does that mean you want to trust the princess without authority?”

“Yeah, I know. That’s the easiest way. But I don’t like it.”

“Why?”

“I just don’t like it. I don’t feel like it.”

The princess answered calmly.

Come to think of it, after leaving the academy, a full-scale war began and the princess hasn’t used the Dark Oath.

At least, I thought I would be able to use it on the King of Primira or external figures to prepare for any possible danger, but I held back even on that.

Because of this, Matthias had no choice but to be very careful about running the organization. In other words, it was his responsibility to deal with the aftermath of the princess’s decisions.

To be honest, I wanted to ask you a question.

But if you do that, the princess might give you a harsh ‘punishment’, so that’s a problem.

Matthias, who had already crossed the line several times, became cautious.

In particular, the story of ‘Karl Mayner’, who was like the Achilles heel of the princess, was never mentioned.

Matthias simply approached her politely and filled her empty glass.

“Then you must have been prepared to take the risk that the princess could bring.”

“… … ”

Slurp-

Beatrice looked at her refilled glass.

Blue-green eyes are visible reflected in the transparent glass.

“Ah. That’s right. Because it’s what I chose.”

“In the worst case, my country might be destroyed.”

“Oh my, even though you are a member of the family, do you still have feelings for the Allied Forces? Do you even have feelings for your homeland?”

“No. I am a member of the royal family. However, it is a pity. It is like seeing a lost cat.”

The princess looked at Matthias and smiled.

“Me too. So let’s pray together. So that I don’t harm the poor Allied Nations.”

“… … ”

“I respect Daniela and gave her the freedom to choose. And I will make her pay the price for her choice.”

… … It was a truly creepy and beautiful laugh.

And Matthias felt a chill down his spine every time the princess smiled like that.

“I did it, so I have to clean it up. Lexio, if what you’re worried about happens, I’ll have no choice but to kill Daniela. And the Allies too.”

Every time the princess smiled like that, all the emperors of the past years came to mind.

Especially their ruthlessness.

Even though we are different from our ancestors, at some point we realize that we resemble them.

Matthias had no idea what kind of person the princess was.

*

There is a small temple inside the Imperial Academy.

The word ‘small’ is relative, so it only means small compared to the vast academy campus.

Thanks to the temple, Academy members can serve the God of Light without having to go outside.

Because it was open day and night, people could come to pray at any time.

However, there were not many students looking for the temple.

Sometimes, when I do something that makes me uncomfortable, I come to the priest to confide in him.

But recently, the temple has been bustling.

In particular, male students came to visit in great numbers.

The culprit who brought life to the temple was sitting in the confessional as if he was bored.

Students who have come to repent their sins will enter through the wall one by one.

As always, Alana covered her face with a veil and wore priestly attire that showed no signs of exposure, but she could not hide the sensuality that pierced through all of it.

So it’s a good thing that we can go to confession with a wall between us.

Any student would be unable to speak properly after seeing Alana’s overwhelming female body.

However, students come to seek forgiveness for sins they did not commit, even if they cannot see the saint in person, just to hear her beautiful voice.

‘I’m tired…’

Confession was never-ending.

Alana is in a situation where two bodies are not enough.

There were times when I regretted applying to the Academy Temple.

But I held on with only one will: to be close to the sword.

I promised myself that I would never go away again.

In the past few years, since I left the sword and went on a pilgrimage, so many things have changed.

I never dreamed that the knife would change while she was gone.

Beatrice… reminded me of Princess Trixie Green.

Karl, who was dancing passionately while holding her in his arms.

I can’t forget the feeling I had when I saw the woman clinging to Karl as if she would never let go.

That moment when my head got hot and my heart started pounding.

A damp emotion welled up in me that I should not have as a saint.

jealousy.

Alana was overcome with overwhelming jealousy.

The thing that was urgent was the sword, so I was going to wait for him to slowly grow into a great knight.

But how can it be like that, with another woman involved?

I can’t forget the regret that suddenly came to me.

And time passed quickly.

Her relationship with Karl is still distant, and all Alana retains are the feelings of jealousy she felt back then and the heat of her first kiss that came unexpectedly.

‘fool.’

If I hadn’t hit Karl in the face then, if I had accepted Karl, would things have been different?

Carl didn’t even try to understand why she suddenly kissed him.

However, I was so surprised and embarrassed that I just let the moment pass by.

‘This idiot!’

He vents his anger in a way that makes it hard to tell whether it’s self-reproach or speaking to the knife.

Alana squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shake off her regret.

What’s done is done, and now all she has to do is repair her relationship with Karl.

Isn’t that why you applied to this annoying temple?

This happened because our bodies were distant, so now we can get back together and turn it around.

Just the fact that they are in the same academy is slowly helping Alana regain her sense of peace of mind.

Knock knock-

Just then, I heard someone coming in from beyond the wall.

The confessional is a type where the priest and the confessor face each other with a wall between them.

It means that now is the time to confess your sins again.

Of course, we don’t know if the other person really committed a crime or if he was just a ‘fan’ who came to hear Alana’s voice.

“Come, sinful one. I am a borrower of the light of the Lord, so please speak freely.”

“… … ”

Alana tried to begin her confession with her usual greeting.

It’s a greeting that comes out automatically.

Although she didn’t say it in a particularly welcoming voice, the students who came to see her were so happy just hearing that voice that they didn’t know what to do.

It’s a familiar thing.

Soon you will hear a voice from the other side that cannot hide its excitement.

“?”

But there is no reaction.

This has rarely happened… …

For a moment, Alana felt like pulling back the cloth covering the fine wire mesh to see who it was.

But soon the answer came.

“This is my first confession.”

“Ah.”

It was a dry man’s voice.

But it was also a bit of a strong voice.

It feels strangely familiar.

“The first sin is the one that haunts the good man more persistently. But don’t worry, I will share your sins with you. Please, tell me your sins to this weakling. ”

“It doesn’t seem to be one thing.”

“… … ”

Alana was embarrassed.

Is it because of the familiar voice?

No, I think it’s more because it feels like he talks about sin leisurely, as if it’s nothing.

Usually, the confessor would tremble and wonder if Alana was aware of him, but now it seems that Alana is aware of the confessor.

So confusing.

“The tone of “same” is not an appropriate tone for confessing sin. If you are sure that you have sinned, you should be more specific.”

“Yes.”

“Even the greatest sins that are hard to talk about in the world are okay. As a saint, I am ready to embrace any heinous sin.”

Alana tried to remain calm.

She vowed to hear the confessor’s sins like a saint.

“I coveted a woman.”

ah.

It’s a typical repertoire.

I hear confessions about relationships between men and women dozens of times a day, so it was bound to be a very predictable confession.

“It is perfectly natural for a man to desire a woman. However, it is only permitted to the extent that God sees fit. I am curious. Could you be a little more specific?”

“I coveted a woman I shouldn’t have coveted.”

“Still not specific. When, where, what happened—”

“Took the lips of the saint.”

A deep, bass voice pierced Alana’s heart.

I jumped up and knocked over the chair I was sitting on.

Udangtang-

A loud noise echoed through the temple.

Alana, with a red face, swung away the cloth covering the iron bars.

A man with handsome features was visible through the tight iron bars.

“Knife? Why, why here… ”

The man’s golden eyes looked at Alana.

It had been quite a while since they had seen each other, but the man smiled as if he had no particular feelings.

“To be forgiven of sins.”

He was very dignified for someone who came to confession.

Rather, the saint who was supposed to hear confessions became even more restless.

A deep perfume smell wafted from beyond the exposed iron bars.

It feels unfamiliar because I haven’t seen you in a long time, and it’s becoming more and more unfamiliar as time goes by.

The boy who used to follow Alana around without fail is no longer there.

Sitting in the seat was a strong male who would make even a saint tremble.