After a brief rest, the Principality delegation and the imperial knights once again raced through the desert.
The lord of Rozantine, having received prior notice, waited with the city gates open.
The white castle was bathed in red as it stood above the sandstorm-swept desert.
“I am the lord of Rozantine. It is an honor to meet the wings of the great goddess.”
The lord, with his graying hair, bowed deeply. Ahwin, the wing, merely nodded slightly in response.
“May the grace of the goddess be with you.”
“May we elevate the name of the great goddess.”
The lord led Ahwin, saying,
“We have prepared rooms in the main castle. Please, this way.”
“The Principality delegation is also with us. You have prepared accommodations for them as well, right?”
“The Principality delegation?”
The lord looked back at Ahwin, puzzled. Ahwin’s gaze turned icy.
“It should have been written in the letter that they would arrive with us.”
“That is true, but…”
The lord spoke awkwardly.
“You are aware, aren’t you, Lord Ahwin? The Holy Grail is in the main castle. Allowing them to stay there would be somewhat…”
“I’m not asking for the main castle. Rozantine is vast; surely there are other places for them to rest.”
“That’s a valid point, but who would offer them accommodations? Everyone would shun them as an ill-omened lot… Eek.”
The lord couldn’t finish his sentence as he was choked by an overwhelming presence.
“The delegation is ill-omened, you say. Are you unaware that they serve Lady Leticia?”
“Ugh, Huh.”
Crushed by the wing’s aura, the lord turned pale as Ahwin spoke coldly.
“Lady Leticia is now the queen of the Principality. To insult her subjects is to insult her. Does the lord of Rozantine harbor treacherous thoughts?”
“Treason? No! That was never my intention!”
The lord bowed fervently, yet he was incredulous.
‘Treason? Blaming the daughter of the Saintess is treason?’
A bloodthirsty murderer. A notorious villainess not even the Saintess could control.
Leticia’s infamy was well-known even among children. Where was the honor to be tarnished, he wondered.
“I apologize. I will not speak ill of her again.”
Regardless, the lord prostrated himself.
He had an instinctive premonition that speaking truthfully about Leticia would only lead to a worse situation than the current one.
Ahwin coldly commanded,
“Prepare the best accommodations in Rozantine immediately. Do not neglect this duty.”
“Do not worry. It will be done as you command.”
“Remember, Lady Leticia is of the Saintess’s bloodline. To treat her lightly is to insult the Saintess.”
“I understand.”
Even as he nodded vigorously, a chill ran down his spine.
‘To insult the Saintess?’
Mentioning the Saintess by Ahwin, a wing, was no small matter. It was akin to a declaration of death for any misstep.
A wing, by nature, could turn on a dime over matters concerning their master.
That Ahwin’s loyalty was especially deep was known even in the far-off lands of Rozantine. The lord repeatedly admonished himself to watch his words.
He had to be alert to prevent the broken Holy Grail from being discovered.
Eventually, after some commotion, accommodations were arranged.
The party entering Rozantine split into two: the imperial knights headed towards the main castle, while the Principality delegation headed to a hotel near the square.
Ahwin paused while heading to the main castle, watching an old carriage move away. Ahwin’s gaze deepened.
‘Lady Leticia has awakened.’
A few hours earlier, Behemoth had relayed the conversations of the Principality delegation members. Thus, Ahwin learned of Leticia’s awakening.
‘My power has also grown stronger.’
Ahwin glanced down at his hand and clenched it tightly.
An intangible energy flowed through his veins. The power, now much stronger and purer than before, filled Ahwin with exhilaration.
“All that’s left is to report my awakening to Lady Leticia.”
Ahwin resolved to report the awakening to Lady Leticia under the cover of night, away from prying eyes.
Whether she would accept him or not was up to Leticia. The events that unfolded after leaving the empire felt like a dream.
“When we left the city gates, I thought we wouldn’t last a week, let alone a month.”
He had to protect Leticia from the terrible agony of Tenua, who was intent on harming her.
But now, the situation had completely changed.
All the pain had vanished, replaced by new strength.
Tenua was no longer a match for him. Even now, Tenua couldn’t do anything, merely watching Ahwin.
“Of course, it won’t stay quiet forever.”
Ahwin glanced sideways. Not far away, Tenua was glaring at him with murderous intent.
Despite the deadly look, Tenua’s face was extremely haggard. It was a testament to being suppressed by Ahwin’s energy for the past ten days.
“Ahwin, that bastard. I’ll kill him one day.”
[Ahwin! The second wing has cursed you again! He said he’ll kill you!]
Unaware that every move was being reported to Ahwin.
* * *
Knock, knock.
“Leticia, I have something to tell you.”
It was Dietrian. Leticia quickly approached the carriage door, ears perked up.
“I’m listening. Go ahead.”
Even as she spoke, her heart pounded.
‘Will he come in this time?’
Contrary to her eager heart, Dietrian continued from outside the carriage.
“We have arranged accommodations. We will be moving there shortly. The long journey must have been very tiring, so please rest until we arrive.”
With that, the sound of footsteps faded away. Leticia’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
‘So, I’ll continue riding in the carriage alone.’
After hearing that Dietrian knew about her past, the happiness from his words was short-lived.
Leticia faced a new concern.
For some reason, Dietrian hadn’t returned to the carriage.
‘It felt like he was always with me until I woke up…’
The cloak hung on the opposite wall, the neatly folded blanket, it all indicated he had been with her the whole time.
‘He must have been taking care of me all along.’
But why wasn’t he riding in the carriage now?
‘Is he too busy to even show his face for a moment?’
Leticia felt dejected.
‘I miss him…’
Though it had only been a few hours since she last saw his face, that short time felt unbearably lonely and sad.
Leticia shook her head weakly.
‘Let’s think about something else, anything else.’
She needed a distraction. Leticia pulled back the curtain and focused on the landscape outside. The varied buildings slowly passed by.
‘So, this is Rozantine.’
Unlike typical desert cities, the buildings of Rozantine were remarkably diverse.
There was a unique vibrancy even among the people walking the streets, unimaginable for a city built in a barren desert.
‘Certainly… because of the Holy Grail?’
The Holy Grail of Rozantine, endlessly pouring water. Thanks to it, Rozantine differed in many ways from other desert cities.
‘The Holy Grail of Rozantine.’
The familiar name made Leticia ponder.
She remembered an incident involving the Holy Grail from the past.
Right after the Principality’s downfall, the Holy Grail that had sustained Rozantine for centuries was broken.
It was an event that could have turned the empire upside down, but it passed quietly. Everyone was intoxicated with the celebration of conquering the Principality.
And shortly after, Louis, the son of the lord of Rozantine, was caught heading to the Magic Empire with the Holy Grail.
“To fix the broken Holy Grail, we had no choice. We had to borrow magic! Without the Holy Grail, all the people of Rozantine would die. You know this, Lady Saintess!”
Josephina did not accept Louis’s excuse. She executed him and his father for treason and then falsely accused them of other crimes.
“The Holy Grail was broken because of them. They tried to make the Holy Grail their own by conspiring with the Magic Empire. Thus, they were punished by the goddess.”
Afterward, Rozantine, having lost both water and its leaders, became a ghost city. Leticia’s gaze darkened as she looked at the twinkling lights of the main castle.
“By now, the problems with the Holy Grail must have started.”
The Holy Grail didn’t break overnight.
The quantity of water fluctuated for days before it completely broke down after the fall of the Principality.
Leticia thought as she looked at the brilliantly shining black gem.
“Can I fix the Holy Grail with my bracelet?”
She was almost certain that the identity of her bracelet was the Elixir. The reason she came to believe so was:
“Because I saw the goddess in my dreams.”
Astonishingly, the woman’s face was identical to the statue of the goddess in the temple. It was almost baffling why she hadn’t realized it immediately.
Noel had sworn allegiance to her, and Ahwin felt something special towards her.
With the goddess appearing in her dreams and the cracked gem becoming whole again, she could only be certain now.
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