Holy Kingdom – Collapse (1)

“This is so tasty….”

With each movement of Veronica’s hand, the snacks on the table rapidly disappeared.

‘She’s eating so well.’

Jade, sitting across from her, watched this with fascination.

Did the Pope stop her from eating these things during her recuperation due to her magical energy?

Even so, it was surprising to see the Saintess, who always seemed dignified, devouring snacks at such speed.

-Swish.

Jade picked up a snack from the plate.

“Saintess-nim. Would you like this too?”

“Urk…?”

Veronica, who had been in a trance, froze as her face gradually turned red.

As if realizing she’d made a spectacle of herself, she demurely set down the snack she’d been eating.

“Ahem…. I’m sorry. I just really like eating.”

“Not at all. You can have everything here. I’ll give you mine too.”

When Jade pushed his plate toward Veronica, she waved her hands dismissively.

“I-I’m fine. I think I’m full now. And you don’t need to be so formal with me. Just call me Veronica casually.”

“How could I address the Saintess so…”

Being told to speak casually to the Saintess wasn’t easy.

Jade found Veronica’s request perplexing.

Outwardly, the three appeared similar in age. But while their looks matched, there was a significant age gap between Veronica and the other two.

Moreover, the Saintess was a hero only seen in books, so his body instinctively maintained formalities.

“Even so, you’re older than me, a hero and senior-I can’t do that.”

“I-I’m older than you?”

“Yes. You’ve been active on the battlefield since ten years ago…”

At Jade’s mention of age, Veronica abruptly stood up as if unable to bear it.

“I’m not that old! And since I’ve lost my past memories, ‘practically’ we’re around the same age!”

‘…Is that so?’

Jade fell into brief contemplation.

It didn’t seem entirely wrong.

Since Veronica had lost most of her memories, mentally she might even be younger than him.

Still, there was a clear age gap-using casual speech felt inappropriate…

Jade nodded to calm the excited Veronica.

“Hmm… I suppose that makes sense.”

“Right? Lena-nim calls me casually, so Jade-nim, you should also speak to me comfor-“

Veronica’s voice gradually faded.

Having noticed her major slip-up, she quietly sat back down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up Lena-nim on purpose.”

“There’s no need to apologize to me. You did nothing wrong regarding Lena’s situation.”

Though he said it was fine, Veronica’s words made Jade recall Lena, whom he’d momentarily forgotten.

He had no idea how to handle this situation.

Initially, he believed in Lena’s innocence, but the more he heard from the Pope, the more his conviction wavered.

When the revelation was mentioned, his mind became utterly confused.

He suspected the Pope might be framing Lena with a false revelation, but with the Saintess guaranteeing it, he had no choice but to believe.

‘Lena, what should I do? Even if all evidence points to you as a criminal, should I still believe in you?’

Now, he had no choice but to meet Lena and talk directly.

Then, Annie-who had been sitting with a gloomy expression-spoke up.

“Saintess-no, Veronica unni.”

“Yes?”

“Is the revelation really true? Is there no room for different interpretation? You said she hid her identity. How can you conclude she’s a demon spy?”

“But it’s true she suddenly attacked when the Pope suspected her of being a demon.”

“I can’t believe that either. Even if her identity was at risk, attacking the Pope…”

“Annie, stop making things difficult for the Saintess.”

Jade stopped Annie from pressing Veronica.

“Unlike us, Lena does have suspicious aspects in her past, and there are testimonies from the Holy Knights about her attacking the Pope-it’s highly likely true.”

He couldn’t blame the Saintess.

She merely received the revelation and delivered it to the Pope-what happened afterward was beyond her control.

With all evidence pointing to Lena, it wasn’t strange for Veronica to suspect her.

But Annie clearly disliked Jade’s attitude.

“So you’re saying the Pope’s words are completely true? That Lena has been deceiving us all along and doing everything under the demons’ orders?”

“That’s…”

Of course, Jade couldn’t fully believe the Pope either.

‘There are still too many inconsistencies.’

Lena had been his friend before he became the Hero. She’d even sacrificed herself by challenging Doran to a duel for his sake.

The most illogical part was undoubtedly what happened in the dungeon.

Lena fighting Raspa and sacrificing herself for him at the end-something impossible if she were a demon spy.

“See! You believe more than I do that Lena’s innocent. Yet you criticize me for trying to find something odd?”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I’m saying cornering the Saintess won’t solve anything.”

“No. If the revelation is wrong, it proves Lena’s innocence. That the Pope framed her.”

Annie’s voice grew louder.

‘Annie seems really angry.’

Jade tried to calm her, fearing it might escalate into a fight.

“Annie, calm down. And no matter what, speaking about the Pope like that in front of the Saintess…”

“Lena’s in danger-is this the time to care about that? You love her, right? Or did you just want sex?”

“…Annie. I can’t let that slide.”

Even if it was Annie, insulting his feelings for Lena was unacceptable.

Jade was confident his love for Lena was deeper and more sincere than anyone’s.

“Ha! If you won’t let it slide-“

“Everyone, calm down!”

Finally, Veronica shouted loudly.

“The Pope said we’ll soon be able to meet Lena-nim! Just wait a little longer. It won’t be too late to discuss things after talking with Lena-nim.”

“”…””

Silence fell among the three.

Annie broke the silence.

“Jade, sorry for what I said. I went too far. Veronica unni, sorry for making you uncomfortable too.”

Annie admitted her mistake and apologized first.

“No. I understand how you feel. Just know I want to resolve this as much as you do.”

“Yeah.”

In this situation, nerves were bound to be frayed.

But both shared the same goal-to save Lena.

“Let’s wait until someone comes with news.”

-Knock. Knock.

As if on cue, a knock sounded, and the door opened.

“Hero-nim, everything’s ready. You may go now.”

Finally, the time had come for Jade to meet Lena.

**

The man at the door bowed to Jade.

“Greetings. I am Lucas, the interrogator. The criminal you’re looking for is waiting inside here.”

‘Criminal.’

So this was how people addressed Lena now.

Jade found Lucas’s term for Lena unfamiliar.

“If any issues arise, call me immediately. She might attack you in despair.”

“Lena would never…”

Jade desperately wanted to shout that Lena would never attack him.

Of course not.

Lena and he loved each other.

They were the kind of relationship where they’d sacrifice their lives for one another.

But he couldn’t blame the Holy Kingdom’s people for suspecting Lena.

After all, substantial evidence pointed to her being a spy.

“Huu…”

Jade took a deep breath to calm himself.

The priority was talking to Lena-he couldn’t waste time here.

“Understood. Lucas-nim, may I enter now?”

“Yes. You may go in.”

Upon entering the room, Jade immediately spotted someone sitting on a chair.

‘Lena.’

The woman he’d missed so much these past few days.

Though it hadn’t been long since they last met, seeing her felt like an eternity.

Perhaps because so much had happened in such a short time.

Lena’s face looked slightly gaunt but remained as beautiful as he remembered.

But then the metal object around her neck caught his eye.

Shackles.

A symbol of a criminal.

It starkly showed Lena’s current reality.

‘How did things come to this?’

The brief joy of seeing Lena sank back into deep turmoil.

Jade slowly walked toward Lena.

-Creak.

He pulled out a chair and sat opposite her.

Though she must have noticed his entrance, Lena kept her head bowed.

“Lena.”

Only then did Lena lift her head.

“…Jade.”

“Long time no see. Nothing bad happened, right?”

“Yeah. Just been locked up. No one treated me harshly.”

“That’s a relief.”

He’d worried she might be tortured or mistreated.

Seeing Lena looking relatively normal eased Jade’s mind.

“Did Annie come too? Or is she waiting outside?”

“I came alone. Annie said she’d look for other ways to help you. She thought it better to leave meeting you to me.”

“That makes sense. I’d feel more comfortable talking with just you too. Honestly, seeing you now makes me happy. Hehe.”

Lena smiled, seemingly in better spirits.

A simple yet graceful smile.

Seeing this eased some of Jade’s tension.

‘You’re still so beautiful, even now…’

He wanted to hug her immediately, to whisper words of love after her ordeal.

But Jade had questions that needed answers.

“Lena, you know things are complicated. Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

“You doubt me too? That I’m a demon spy.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. Of course I believe you’re innocent. I just need to understand the situation to help you. It’s serious-you could be imprisoned forever.”

“…”

But Lena remained silent, saying nothing.

Silence filled the room.

The longer it lasted, the more anxious Jade grew.

‘Why won’t she answer?’

It wasn’t a difficult question.

She just needed to say it was all a frame-up and she was innocent.

Instead, Lena silently watched him.

‘Did my question hurt her feelings?’

Perhaps his tone sounded accusatory, upsetting her.

Jade prepared to apologize.

“Lena. If I-“

“It’s true.”

“What?”

“I colluded with the demons.”