“Lord Ahwin, thank you. Truly, thank you! I will never forget this grace! I will repay you, even if it costs me my life!”
The lord of Rosantine lay prostrate, tears streaming down his face. Beside him lay Louis, his face pale.
Ahwin spoke with a troubled expression.
“His wounds are deep. He won’t wake up for a while. But with a few days of proper rest, he should regain consciousness.”
“Uh-huh-huh! It’s okay. Really, thank you!”
The lord laughed through his tears. His son, whom he thought dead, had come back to life. A few days of sleep was a small price to pay. Ahwin sighed lightly and asked.
“How many know about this incident?”
He was asking about the broken Grail.
“Nobody, only me and Louis are aware.”
“That’s somewhat of a relief.”
Yet his taste was bitter as he spoke. The Grail was in Tenua’s hands. While Ahwin was away, Tenua had attacked the lord’s son and stolen the Grail.
‘It’s my fault. This happened because I let my guard down.’
For the past ten days, Tenua had lived as if dead, not just because he was overpowered by Ahwin.
Tenua had realized that Ahwin could kill him anytime if he wished.
As intended by Ahwin, Tenua, despite hating Ahwin, did not act rashly.
Yet Ahwin never let his guard down.
The adversary was Tenua, after all. One could never predict his actions.
Then he received a message from Leticia. For that moment, his mind went blank. The only thought was to rush to her and kneel before her.
Afterward, he went to the desert with Banessa. It was to induce the awakening of a Wing in a moment of crisis.
They suffered through an entire day, but no change occurred. Reluctantly, he had called Behemoth, who had been watching Tenua.
The incident occurred during that time.
By chance, Louis had sought Ahwin’s room then, to discuss the broken Grail.
But Ahwin was not there.
After waiting for a while, Louis eventually headed to Tenua’s room. Acting unilaterally without consulting his father was his biggest mistake.
If Behemoth had been even slightly later, he would have died in his father’s arms.
‘Tenua must have stolen the Grail as a pretext to attack the Principality delegation.’
Tenua had been eager to trample on the Principality delegation all along but had been cautious because of Ahwin’s presence.
‘But now, there’s no need to hold back.’
He could blame the broken Grail on the King.
For the past thirty years, Josephina had been using prophecies to indoctrinate the people of the empire endlessly.
She claimed that the empire’s troubles were due to the malign influence of a wicked dragon.
The broken Grail could easily be twisted in a similar manner.
The issue with the Grail predated the arrival of the Principality delegation, but aside from the lord and his son, no one knew that fact.
Tenua would surely claim that the Grail broke upon the delegation’s arrival.
Ahwin glanced at the lord.
‘His testimony won’t be of any use.’
The lord had a history of hiding the fact that the Grail was broken. Having lost credibility, his words carried no weight.
‘Perhaps it would be best to kill Tenua now.’
While the situation had become complicated, it was not without solution.
If Tenua were killed before he could act, the situation could be managed. It wouldn’t be easy, but that was irrelevant. Even in the worst-case scenario, the responsibility was his to bear.
His master would be safe.
For him, a Wing, that was what mattered most.
‘I must first seek permission from Lady Leticia.’
Being a Wing, he couldn’t act on his own accord. Moreover, he had promised not to undertake dangerous actions without permission. Naturally, he had to ask for it.
“Behemoth!”
Shortly after, the spirit that had been watching Tenua entered through the window.
[You called?]
“Where is Tenua?”
「In his room! He doesn’t seem to have plans to move for a while!」
“Right. I thought as much. He’s waiting for Rosantine, now without the Grail, to fall into ruin.”
Rosantine still had enough stored water.
But now, with the Grail gone, the stored water would soon run out, and the people would fall into chaos.
This was the moment Tenua was waiting for.
When the chaos among the people reached its peak, he would make the Principality delegation the scapegoat.
The people would be enraged, and Tenua would have his justification to attack the delegation.
Ahwin twisted his lips in disdain.
“Fool. He doesn’t realize he’s falling into his own trap.”
Thanks to this, Ahwin had bought some time. Tenua would ultimately fail to achieve his goal because Ahwin would ensure his downfall.
“Behemoth, report everything you’ve seen and heard to Her. I’ll take care of Tenua.”
[Don’t worry!]
The spirit flew out the window. Ahwin gazed into the black night sky for a moment before turning around.
* * *
Leticia awoke just after midnight.
Blinking sleepily into the darkness, she started suddenly.
Someone’s arm was wrapped around her waist.
‘Who?’
Her heart raced. She tensed up for a moment before her eyes widened.
‘Dietrian?’
A familiar scent enveloped her. She quickly covered her mouth with the back of her hand to stifle any sound that might escape.
‘When did he return?’
She was sure she had fallen asleep alone. When had he returned? And more importantly, why was he beside her?
Then she remembered the promise they had made.
‘Right. We agreed to share a bedroom.’
She had thought this would start upon their return to the Principality, but apparently not.
‘But why is he holding me?’
Leticia blinked in confusion. Sharing a bed and holding her were surely different matters.
‘Ah, in his sleep….’
Realizing this, Leticia’s cheeks flushed. As her initial shock faded, laughter bubbled up within her.
‘It feels nice…’
Happiness seemed to radiate from where they touched. Enjoying his warmth with her eyes closed, she heard a rattling noise.
‘The window?’
The wind must be quite strong, for the window rattled repeatedly. She tried to ignore it and close her eyes, but the noise grew louder.
‘Dietrian might wake up.’
Hesitating, she carefully unwrapped his arm from around her waist.
Worried he might wake, she was relieved when he did not.
After watching him breathe evenly in sleep for a moment, she quietly got out of bed. Tiptoeing towards the window, Leticia’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘…What’s this?’
As she approached the window, a strange energy became apparent. Something warm and fragrant welcomed her, making her feel as excited as a child on an outing.
‘The spirit of the wind has come to see me.’
It was an instinctive realization.
All the spirits and beasts in the empire’s land were touched by the goddess’s power.
Beasts obeyed the goddess’s chosen representatives, and spirits aided the Nine Wings for that reason.
It was natural for her, a representative of the goddess, to recognize a spirit.
‘Something must have happened at the estate.’
There could only be one reason for the wind spirit to visit her at this deep hour of the night.
Leticia quickly touched the window. The rattling ceased, and the window became still.
She quickly wrapped herself in a shawl that was hanging on a chair.
Then, she quietly left the room.
* * *
The first spirit she had ever met was quite lively.
[Leticia nee-im!]
The spirit was overjoyed to see her, bouncing around excitedly. Startled, she whispered urgently.
“Quiet! You need to be quiet!”
[Finallyyy, finallyyy!]
Although it lowered its voice, the excitement was hard to contain.
It circled around her like a puppy reuniting with its owner after years, scattering the grass at her feet with its movements.
[I’m the fiiirst! To meet youuu! Happy! So happy!]
“Please, be quiet. Everyone is asleep.”
She understood its joy, but they might wake up the entire delegation staying at the hotel if this continued.
At her plea, the spirit stopped shouting.
Instead, it began spinning around even faster.
Leticia couldn’t help but laugh. After sitting down and waiting for a bit, the spirit finally calmed down enough to approach her, groaning.
“It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
[Behemothoooo.]
“Behemoth. That’s a beautiful name.”
She smiled softly, petting the spirit. The spirit swayed as if drunk.
[Hehehe.]
‘Are all other spirits like this?’
She wondered.
Would other spirits also be this senseless? Get excited this easily?
‘…Like me this much?’
Leticia’s cheeks reddened. Her heart felt ticklish.
Despite receiving so much love from many people, affection still felt new to her.
After a moment, Behemoth regained its composure.
It confessed everything Tenua had done. Although it kept laughing joyously, saying how much it liked Leticia, the severity of the situation was clear.
Hearing Behemoth’s story, Leticia first felt shock, then anger, and finally, a frightening calm.
‘Tenua is targeting the Principality delegation.’
He was planning to endanger those she was sworn to protect. Leticia bit her lip hard. Her hand clutching her skirt trembled with rage.
‘How dare he.’
She felt angrier about his targeting the Principality delegation than the attempt to harm her with a sandstorm.
[Lord Ahwin said he must seek Leticia’s permission to eliminate that man!]
“…My permission.”
Leticia’s eyes deepened.
She had never thought of killing anyone after her return.
In her previous life, she had failed in her attempt to kill Dietrian. She knew how painful the intent to kill another person could be.
‘But Tenua is different.’
Tenua was targeting the Principality delegation.
And now, she possessed the power to judge Tenua.
As the sole representative of the goddess, destined to wield even greater power.
Why hesitate any longer?
She made up her mind.
‘I have to eliminate Tenua.’
At the same time, she realized Tenua wouldn’t be the end. No, he couldn’t be the end.
‘As long as my mother is alive, incidents like this will continue.’
There was only one thing she desired. To perfectly protect the ones she loved.
‘There’s only one way.’
A novel determination began to take shape within her, unfamiliar from before.
‘I have to fight. Fight and win.’
Defense was always at a disadvantage compared to attack.
It’s impossible to block every attack, so there are limits.
Therefore, there was only one path left.
As long as she lived as the owner of the elixir, she had to strip everything away from Josephina.
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