When Noel displayed her power as a wing, and a pillar of water shot into the sky, Calisto clenched his teeth.
His sister, Princess Dana, unsure of what to do, said to Calisto,
“Cal, people are watching. Please, control your expression!”
Princess Dana always addressed her brother formally in public places, for the dignity of the royal family.
But now, Calisto’s expression was so bad that it could not be ignored.
“People will start to notice what you’re thinking!”
Despite his sister’s pleading, Calisto said nothing. He was so angry that he could not speak.
‘Is this really the ninth? Has Josephina become this powerful?’
Once, he too had sparkling dreams.
He wanted to become a good emperor and lead the Holy Empire well, as the emperor wished.
He had to give up all those dreams.
Because he had become Josephina’s wing.
Since then, he had lived his life resenting Josephina.
And now, Josephina had become so strong.
The person who ruined his life had become this powerful.
“Don’t worry, sister. I promised to behave myself at the banquet hall. So, you can relax.”
Calisto said, prying off the hand of Princess Dana, who was holding his arm.
“Besides, you are here, sister. If I cause a scene, you will also be in trouble. How could I act recklessly?”
To him, his sister was one of the few precious things left in his life. Although almost none of that affection remained now.
He often felt as if his life had burned down to ashes.
The hatred and desire for revenge against Josephina, the pain of the oath, had burned his life away.
“Cal, please calm down. What will we do if you get sick again? Let’s leave. Let’s go out and talk, okay?”
“No. I’ll stay here. If I leave, it would seem as if I’m running away from that demon.”
“A demon! Why say that again!”
“Sigh, did I say something wrong?”
As soon as he called Josephina a demon, the pain of the oath tore through him.
Although it would have been enough to make a normal person lose consciousness from the pain, Calisto laughed.
“I can’t go on like this. If we continue, I won’t be able to escape that demon’s laughter.”
“Cal, please!”
“Even if I have to leave, I want to see that demon displeased even a little.”
“You’ll collapse! You know the pain of the oath can’t be cured by a doctor!”
“Have you forgotten my position in the Mage Tower? I’m the candidate for the next head of the Mage Tower, much to His Majesty’s displeasure. So don’t worry. Magic is quite useful, you know.”
Calisto went to the Mage Tower to find a way to escape the pain of the oath.
Sadly, he couldn’t break the goddess’s power with magic.
He failed to completely escape the pain but found a way to lessen it.
In the process, he became strong enough to be a candidate for the next head of the Mage Tower, coincidentally.
“Thanks to magic, I’m not as hurt as you worry, sister.”
Saying this, Calisto took a small potion bottle from his pocket.
It was a painkiller concentrated with healing magic.
He poured it into his mouth and swallowed it without water, crunching it down.
He couldn’t kill the saint right now. He couldn’t bring down this cursed sanctuary either.
But he could distort the saint’s smiling face.
If only that could happen, he felt he could laugh even if he had to spit blood and collapse.
“So don’t worry, sister.”
Saying that, he strode toward Noel, the ninth wing of the saint.
* * *
As the footsteps drew nearer, Noel hesitated.
Then, with a slight frown, she slowly raised her head.
‘What kind of human is this?’
Noel had thought she had shaken off the insects with the intimidation of a wing, but she was surprised to see a human approaching her without fear.
Noel’s eyes widened as she recognized the face of the person before her.
‘Isn’t that the man who was with Josephina earlier?’
Facing those cold, gray eyes, Noel blinked in confusion.
‘Why is he still acting like this after seeing my power? Has he truly lost his fear?’
Initially, it could be understood if Noel’s power was not fully known, but now it should be different.
Despite the entire banquet hall being terrified, Noel couldn’t understand why he was still openly provoking her.
Then, suddenly, Noel remembered one person in the banquet hall who would dislike the wings to this extent.
‘Could it be… Prince Calisto?’
The royal family’s lunatic who didn’t want to become the emperor and set fire to the temple.
That would make sense.
‘Ah, so that’s why he was called Cal earlier.’
The person with the prince must have been his sister, Princess Dana. Noel understood why the man had been so sensitive to Josephina’s disregard.
‘Being a prince, he must have been annoyed by Josephina’s blatant disrespect.’
Noel’s thoughts naturally flowed in that direction. If so, then surely this man.
‘Must really dislike Josephina?’
At that moment, a light bulb went off in Noel’s head. The mere possibility of Calisto disliking Josephina instantly won Noel’s favor. Noel’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Calisto.
‘So that’s why there seemed to be an aura of nobility about him.’
As their eyes met, Calisto’s gaze grew even colder. The colder it got, the more Noel liked Calisto.
‘Wow, look at those eyes. To have such a gaze in the middle of the banquet hall. He’s crazy. I like him a lot.’
Noel began to cheer for Calisto enthusiastically. Dislike Josephina more, despise the wings of Josephina even more!
“Prince Calisto, do you have something to say to me?”
Calisto hesitated. Then, he scowled.
“You knew who I was. The saint blatantly ignored me earlier, but when did you hear my name?”
“I didn’t hear it from the saint. It was just a guess.”
Noel put down her wine glass. Then, she placed a hand on one side of her chest and slightly bowed her head.
“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You must already know who I am, but let me introduce myself again. I am Noel Armos, humbly serving as a wing for the saint.”
“An angel’s wing bowing to me, I don’t know what to do with such honor.”
Calisto sneered.
“I thought you would disregard the royalty like your demonic master. So, do you understand your place as a hunting dog? Or, are you trying some dirty trick?”
Calisto’s words were problematic from start to finish. He didn’t use honorifics for the saint and even called her a demon. He even went as far as to suggest dirty tricks.
If Noel had been a regular wing, she should have been furious at Calisto’s words.
But Noel was not a regular wing.
Disregarding Josephina as trash, she naturally brushed off Calisto’s rudeness.
“Dirty tricks? Not at all.”
Even when Calisto provoked her, Noel didn’t mind. In fact, she felt better. How much must he dislike Josephina to react so sensitively to a mere greeting?
With her current mood, Noel felt she could let anything slide from Calisto. She couldn’t help but smile broadly.
“Was my bow insufficient and caused you displeasure? Then let me bow again.”
“…?”
“Ah, according to the rules, a vicar only needs to bow to the royalty. If you feel that’s insufficient… should I bow deeper?”
According to what she just said, there was no need for her to bow deeply.
But she wanted to.
For the first time in this temple, she had met a human who disliked Josephina.
After Leticia and Ahwin left, Noel often felt alone and struggled. Calisto was like a treasure she had just found.
Just knowing Calisto was in this banquet hall felt like compensation for all the time she had suffered while flattering Josephina. She was more than willing to bow deeply several times.
‘If he acts the same after Leticia appears, I won’t let him off.’
If, by any chance, Calisto opposes Leticia after the saint changes,
She would immediately bury him upside down at the bottom of the lake.
Using the power of water, she could make Calisto breathe underwater, keeping him alive for as long as she wanted.
After living with moss in the water for about a month, naturally, a sense of awe towards Leticia would arise.
Calisto, unaware of Noel’s inner thoughts, merely found her grinning appearance incomprehensible.
‘Noel Armos, what kind of person is she?’
He was so baffled that he almost failed to maintain his composure.
He barely managed to keep a cold expression and clenched his fists.
‘Surely, I called Josephina a demon, but did she not hear that? Or, there was more than that. Why is there no reaction?’
His original plan was this:
To insult Josephina in front of Noel.
Then, Noel would angrily confront him.
There was no need for harsh words. The fact that Calisto hated Josephina was enough to provoke Noel.
Anyway, if Noel attacked him, he planned to overpower her immediately.
Although Noel was undoubtedly strong, Calisto was confident he could win.
Regardless of his cursed fate, the dirty power of Josephina flowed through him.
Noel was the ninth, while he was the first. There had to be a basic difference in power.
Moreover, he could use magic. His magical achievements were much stronger than known. If he combined divine power and magic, Noel would never stand a chance against him.
There were many people in the banquet hall. If he overwhelmed Noel in front of them, Josephina, who had been bragging about the strength of her wings just a moment ago, would undoubtedly be upset.
‘Thinking you’re so great because your power has increased? The power of the goddess isn’t much after all.’
Or…
‘Is there a problem with the saint’s power? Just as the rumors say, is it weakening?’
Of course, doing such a thing would not spare him from the pain of the oath.
But, at this moment, that was utterly irrelevant to him.
But then.
‘What’s going on?’
His plan went awry from the start. Noel was too friendly towards him.
She even offered to bow without being asked.
“Let me greet you once again. Noel Armos, serving the saint…”
“Noel Armos, do you have a hearing problem?”
“Pardon?”
“Did you not hear me insult your master? Is that why you’re bowing to me?”
Calisto spoke with a biting tone.
He decided not to understand Noel’s behavior.
After all, she was one of Josephina’s wings.
Though she appeared gentle on the outside, she must be plotting something cunning.
Despite his fault-finding, Noel merely tilted her head.
“Insult? When did you insult my master?”
“I clearly called the saint a demon and accused her of foul play. Even now, I’m belittling and ignoring the saint. Why are you not reacting at all?”
Noel flinched at Calisto’s correction.
His point was accurate.
She was so pleased to meet a comrade that she completely forgot her duties.
‘I should get angry now.’
Noel hid her panic and quickly put strength into her eyes. Then she took a step back and lowered her voice.
“Your Highness, please watch your words. Even if you are the prince, I will not stand idly by if you speak such righteous… No, such insulting words to the saint.”
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