As soon as he stopped walking, the Lord urgently said,
“Do not worry. I will not tell anyone about what we just saw.”
Ahwin narrowed his eyes.
“I will definitely keep the secret. I won’t even tell my son. I really mean it. You can trust me.”
Ahwin did not believe those words at all.
It was not that he did not trust the Lord. He would not have trusted anyone, regardless of whether it was the Lord or someone else.
The best way to keep a secret is to kill everyone who knows it.
If, by any chance, the Lord disclosed this matter, Leticia would surely suffer greatly.
Josephina would definitely try to kill Leticia.
Noel and Ahwin, just the two of them, could never handle the remaining six wings.
‘Is killing the Lord to silence him the only option, after all?’
He did not want to harm an innocent person, but keeping the Lord alive was too dangerous.
Leticia had been tormented by a fake her entire life and lived having everything taken from her.
Now, she had finally begun to escape that hell and start reclaiming her own, one by one. She couldn’t be trampled on before she even had a chance to properly enjoy happiness.
The look in Ahwin’s eyes darkened as he gazed at the Lord.
“If you have any last words, say them. I will pass them on to whoever you wish.”
“Last words? Why are you asking about last words all of a sudden?”
The Lord, who had been staring at Ahwin in bewilderment, asked back in shock.
“Are you going to kill me now?”
“Yes. Sorry, but I have no choice.”
“What? You’re really going to kill me? But why?”
“I cannot tell you the reason.”
“No, you have to tell me the reason!”
The Lord said with a dumbfounded expression. The words were so out of the blue that he was not scared but baffled instead.
“Of course, you have saved my life several times, Lord Ahwin, but still, this is not right. It’s too sudden.”
“I’m sorry. It’s hard to call it a life debt, but I will soon follow you in death. Let’s settle our debts in that place.”
“You’re going to follow me? What do you mean by that?”
“I won’t live long either. The death of Tenua is my responsibility, so it will be difficult to preserve my life. Josephina will surely punish me severely.”
Ahwin spoke calmly. The Lord’s mouth fell open. What kind of madness was this?
“No, so please, at least tell me the reason. It will be less unjust if I die knowing why. Why are you suddenly deciding to kill me?”
“Do not worry about your family. I swear by the name of the Wings to the Goddess. They will enjoy glory for generations to come. Even if I die, the promise will be kept.”
“It’s not about my family that’s important right now. Could it be because of what I saw earlier? Because I saw Lady Leticia fixing the Holy Grail…!”
The Lord flinched.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
The water of Rozantine that disappeared in an instant. Tenua, helplessly stabbed by the Lord’s sword. The Holy Grail, broken one moment and perfectly fine the next.
There was one person connecting all three.
Leticia.
The daughter of the saint known as a murderer.
Furthermore, Ahwin, a Wing of the Goddess, was so obsessed with Leticia’s well-being.
That meant…
“Could it be.”
The Lord mumbled, lost for words.
“Is Lady Leticia the new representative of the Goddess?”
Ahwin’s gaze changed.
Caught in shock, the Lord, unaware that Ahwin’s demeanor had changed, began to excitedly babble.
“Have you become Lady Leticia’s Wing? Is that why you’re trying to kill me, to protect her?”
“…Ah.”
Ahwin closed his eyes.
Indeed, his mouth was too loose, making it impossible to keep him alive. He looked directly at the Lord.
“I will make up some last words and pass them on to your son.”
“How could this be, how could something like this happen.”
“I will end it quickly, without any pain.”
Just as he was about to draw his sword at that moment.
“Then, is Josephina really a fake?”
Ahwin stopped his movement suddenly.
* * *
Surprisingly, the Lord had been suspicious of Josephina for quite some time.
“It started because of the demonic beasts near Rozantine. Their behavior was unusually ominous.”
The saint used the power of the Goddess to suppress the growth of demonic beasts. But a few years ago, demonic beasts began to rampage throughout the empire.
“Rozantine is at the border where the Goddess’s protection ends. That’s why the demonic beasts were more aggressive there.”
After much deliberation, the Lord sought Josephina’s help. He thought something might change if she visited Rozantine.
“But Josephina did not heed my request. She blamed the problem of Rozantine’s demonic beasts solely on the Principality.”
Because Rozantine was close to the Principality, the dragon’s power was said to be nurturing the demonic beasts.
“At first, I believed her words. But at some point, my thoughts began to change.”
A long time ago, the dragon of the Principality had slain demonic beasts for the sake of its people.
The idea that such dragon’s power was nurturing demonic beasts did not fit together.
“During that time, the Holy Grail was broken. It felt so strange. The broken Holy Grail couldn’t possibly be the Principality’s fault.”
Rozantine had been next to the Principality for more than just a day or two, so why would the Holy Grail suddenly break now?
As his thoughts reached this point, he naturally became suspicious of Josephina.
“I began to doubt whether the saint’s power was weakening, leading to these events.”
The Lord had briefly served Josephina in his youth.
Therefore, he knew very well how cruel and greedy she was.
“She never lets go of what she holds, and if she covets what others have, she will surely take it. If someone tries to take hers, she will definitely retaliate fully.”
That was the real Josephina the Lord knew.
“So, I thought that even if her divine power was diminishing, she would never honestly confess it.”
Thus, he gradually began to doubt Josephina.
“Not reporting the broken Holy Grail immediately was because of that. If her power had diminished causing the Holy Grail to break, she would blame others again this time.”
His son urged the Lord to fix the Holy Grail with the power of the elixir, but honestly, he was skeptical.
He couldn’t shake off the thought that he might unjustly die, accused of breaking the Holy Grail, without even being able to fix it.
“How desperate I must have been to seek help from the magic empire.”
During that time, he witnessed the miracle performed by Leticia.
“So, the thought that Josephina was losing her power and becoming a fake, and that the real one might be somewhere else, occurred to me.”
Throughout the Lord’s explanation, Ahwin did not say a word.
His head was telling him to kill the Lord and eliminate the problem.
But his heart kept wanting to make a different choice.
Since the Lord called Leticia the real one. Because he might become her ally.
Rozantine was a place the imperial army must pass through on their way to the Principality.
If Josephina learns about Leticia and sends military forces to the Principality, depending on Rozantine’s response, the outcome of the war could change.
“Lord Ahwin, as I mentioned earlier, you have saved me several times. I am willing to offer my life again and again if I can repay your kindness, but not now.”
Ahwin looked silently at the Lord. In the Lord’s earnest gaze, sincerity and experience were felt.
“Please use me to prepare for the future. It’s not that I cherish my life. I wish to be of help to Lady Leticia, even if it’s with my insignificant life.”
Ahwin closed his eyes and sank into thought. The decision was not easy. He let out a faint sigh.
‘Let’s not overthink it. Focus on only one thing.’
The most important thing to him was Leticia’s well-being.
“Behemoth!”
Eventually, Ahwin made a decision.
* * *
Even after Ahwin had taken the Lord away, Leticia remained tense and frozen.
‘…Will it be alright?’
Her heart was still pounding.
She hadn’t felt this anxiety and tension when facing Tenua; it had surged in all at once.
Leaning against a tree for a moment to catch her trembling breath, Leticia sat down on a nearby rock.
‘It will be okay. It’s the elixir’s choice.’
It wasn’t her but the will of the elixir that had repaired the Holy Grail.
Right after the elixir had repaired the Holy Grail, she thought her heart would settle.
For a moment, she even resented the elixir for choosing now of all times.
But upon further thought, she realized that was not the case.
‘The elixir has always helped me.’
Ahwin had said it before.
The elixir contained a fragment of the Goddess’s soul, and thus, its actions would surely have meaning.
Leticia, looking down at the elixir quietly, asked,
“Why did you repair the Holy Grail? Was it because you thought the Lord would take my side?”
Right after she finished speaking.
Twinkle, twinkle.
It sparkled joyously.
“Ah, I knew it.”
Leticia bit her lip hard. The tension suddenly released, and she felt like bursting into tears.
After composing her emotions, she fiddled with the bracelet on her trembling hand and said,
“Next time, at least… give me some warning. It startled me.”
The bracelet glowed weakly and slowly as if to say sorry for not being able to speak.
Leticia let out a light laugh.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I forgot that you can’t talk.”
Twinkle, twinkle.
“Leticia!”
That’s when it happened. An urgent voice called out. Leticia stood up abruptly and turned toward Dietrian with a delighted expression.
“I…”
Leticia couldn’t finish her sentence.
Dietrian had suddenly pulled her into a hug. A faint smell of blood came from his shirt.
He asked with a trembling voice,
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
He quickly released his arms and cupped her face.
“Are there any injuries? Are you really okay?”
Leticia was speechless at the desperation in his eyes.
When she remained silent, Dietrian’s expression hardened.
“Leticia, don’t tell me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m really okay.”
Leticia stretched out her arms to hug him while smiling and shaking her head.
“I’m not hurt anywhere. In fact, I feel relieved. Really.”
Dietrian’s eyes widened. It was the first time Leticia had ever hugged him so tightly.
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