As Josephina stared at Ahwin’s corpse, she contorted her face like a demon and screamed for a long time. Sparks of purple energy crackled around her.
‘I will kill everyone.’
With that, the purple energy swiftly enveloped the people around her, beginning to suck away their life force.
One by one, healthy people began to collapse, trembling as if in convulsions, then slumping lifelessly to the ground.
It was just like the moment, long ago, when Josephina had first made her contract with ‘him.’
[Josephina, to become real, you must break the laws of causality. To do this, a price must be paid.]
[A scapegoat is needed to pay this price on your behalf.]
[Offer human lives as the price. The more lives you stack, the freer you will be from causality.]
[A righteous dragon can never kill an innocent human. Even knowing the way to be free from causality, it will not act. Such a being is stupidly in love with humans.]
[Defying fate. Only you can do this.]
After that day, Josephina’s life had changed completely. A saint with a year left to live had become a hero revered by the entire empire.
But it seemed as if Ahwin’s corpse was speaking to her, telling her it was over, that her era was over, that she would end up losing everything.
“Don’t make me laugh! I will never give up! Everything is mine! My power!”
Josephina glared at Ahwin’s corpse with bloodshot eyes. The prison, previously filled with screams, had suddenly quieted down. The clerics and paladins who had been following her were all dead.
Josephina turned swiftly. Her eyes, looking down at the bodies, showed not a hint of guilt, only a sense that it was insufficient.
‘I need to kill more. I need to eradicate more!’
Tenua and Ahwin. She had lost the second and third wings. The first wing, Calisto, was still acting independently. The other wings were also not reliable. She needed new wings to appear.
‘To twist fate again, a price must be paid. I need to kill more. I must obtain new wings, even if it means killing every human in the capital!’
Josephina struggled to control the rage and anxiety filling her to the brim, unaware of the rumors circulating outside the Divine Palace.
“Mate, have you heard? The second and third wings are dead. And the saint had no idea.”
“It’s not just that. There’s chaos inside the Divine Palace. Suddenly, the saint has lost control over the demon beasts.”
“Is the saint losing the power of the goddess?”
Suspicion spread secretly and swiftly, blanketing the capital as quickly as snow pouring from the sky.
* * *
When Leticia arrived at the Divine Palace, she focused on two things.
First, she took control of the demon beasts from Josephina, plunging the Divine Palace into chaos. This allowed her to rescue Ahwin in the confusion.
Second, she spread the news of the events inside the Divine Palace to the outside world. For this task, she enlisted the help of Behemoth, the spirit of wind. Despite Josephina’s efforts to keep things under wraps, the rumors spread quickly because of this.
“Thank you, Behemoth.”
[Hehehe, this is nothing at all!]
The silver wolf staggered around Leticia, nuzzling against her.
[Leticia, please pet me! Scratch my back!]
“Here?”
As Leticia gently stroked its fur, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Behemoth, it seems like your form is becoming clearer.”
She had noticed before that Behemoth’s form was becoming more distinct, but today it was particularly noticeable.
Proudly, Behemoth responded to Leticia’s observation.
[It’s thanks to you, Leticia!]
“Huh? Thanks to me?”
[Your divine power is constantly pouring into me! The constraints on materialization are disappearing!]
“Materialization constraints? There was such a thing?”
[Yes! Because of that, ordinary people couldn’t see spirits, but not anymore! This is a huge deal!]
Behemoth was very happy about this, and it seemed not merely because its form was becoming clearer.
‘Could there be another reason?’
Leticia was curious to know more, but she set aside her interest. There was no time now to listen to Behemoth’s explanations.
“Thank you, Behemoth. I’m counting on you going forward. You’ll have to protect Ahwin until he wakes up. Can you do that?”
[Of course!]
Ahwin was deep in a long sleep, induced by Calisto’s magic.
“Ahwin, can you hear me?”
To verify the effectiveness of Calisto’s magic, Leticia cautiously called out to Ahwin.
He remained deeply asleep, and Leticia sighed with relief. Calisto, observing quietly, asked softly,
“Do you really intend to face Josephina alone?”
“Yes, I must do it alone.”
“Will your wings really let you?”
“They would surely stay in the capital to protect me if they knew what I intended to do.”
Leticia smiled gently.
“The emperor will keep the secret, so they will leave. You promised to keep the secret for the two of us, didn’t you?”
“…”
“Will you help me?”
Help her? It was a ridiculous question.
With his current feelings, he was ready to lay down his life for her.
No, more than his life if needed.
Nevertheless, Calisto said nothing.
In fact, it was hard for him to say anything at all.
Everything about Leticia was dazzling. Clearly, it was Yerina standing before him.
Yet to Calisto, she didn’t seem like Yerina at all.
It was the first time he had been drawn to someone so instantly.
All his senses were focused on her.
He tried again to imagine Leticia’s true appearance and failed.
Whatever he imagined couldn’t compare to the brilliance he felt.
Before he knew it, a fervent desire sprouted in his heart more than ever before.
Like someone who had lived in darkness desperately yearning for light, he longed to see her true form. He didn’t show his feelings at all.
It was a turmoil too overwhelming even for him to handle.
He absolutely did not want others, especially Leticia, to notice.
Meanwhile, Leticia, watching Calisto, was also troubled in her mind because of his past.
‘So it was the pain of the oath that made Prince Calisto take his life.’
She kept thinking of how he had cried silently in front of her earlier.
‘Such incidents shouldn’t happen again.’
Calisto had not yet sworn allegiance to Leticia.
Still, it was certain he had escaped from Josephina.
So, a tragedy like him taking his own life as before shouldn’t happen.
‘But that doesn’t mean all those wounds disappear in an instant.’
Noel, Ahwin, Calisto. They had been too hurt, both mentally and physically. Unable to erase the past, Leticia felt pain in her heart.
‘Perhaps among the other wings, there might be others who suffer in silence.’
Leticia’s gaze deepened as she looked at the sleeping Ahwin.
‘Then all the more, we can’t afford to delay.’
She didn’t know how much longer she could stay in the empire. Nor could she predict how long Sigmund’s power would maintain this state. The only certainty.
‘I must settle this while I am here. At the very least, I must reveal the truth about the trust.’
Even if Josephina could not be fully condemned, it was necessary to plant the suspicion that she was a fraud before departing. However, there was concern.
‘By now, Dietrian must have found me.’
She had left the Principality at sunset, and it was nearly midnight. She was worried about the condition of her body now that her soul had vanished. Leticia tried to shake off her worries.
‘Only her soul has slipped out, so she must appear as if she is sleeping. There was a similar incident before, so if I return by tomorrow morning, it should be fine.’
Before she was aware of the goddess’s power, she had fallen into a deep sleep. Having experienced it once, she thought it might be better this time.
‘I’ll think about the Principality’s affairs once I return. For now, I must focus solely on Josephina, as even that seems insufficient.’
With this resolve, Leticia erased her worries from her mind.
“No, absolutely not. I am not going anywhere.”
“Noel!”
“I can’t leave Lady Leticia alone! Absolutely not!”
Upon seeing Ahwin again, Noel cried as if the whole world had crumbled. It was worrying enough that she might become dehydrated.
After Noel calmed down, Leticia asked her to take care of Ahwin. Then she told the two to leave the capital.
“Noel, go to the Principality with Ahwin. Ahwin will wake up as soon as he recovers. The two of you can use spirits, so you’ll arrive quickly. I’ll see you in the Principality.”
Leticia thought Noel would naturally follow her words. But she did not. As soon as she mentioned leaving Leticia behind, she immediately shook her head.
“Leave that demon with Lady Leticia in the same space? I can’t do that!”
Noel’s reaction was much more sensitive than before. The incident of Ahwin’s near-death had clearly left a deep scar on her.
“Noel, you don’t have to worry. If I am in danger, Lord Sigmund will intervene right away.”
“Still, no. I need to see Lady Leticia depart safely, and then we will follow her.”
“Noel, you can’t decide alone. Ahwin is not in good health either.”
“Ahwin would have made the same decision as me!”
Noel’s stubbornness made Leticia bite her lip. The safety of the two was most important to her now. But Noel’s refusal was troubling. Eventually, she decided to use the last resort.
“Noel, this is not a request, but an order. Leave for the Principality with Ahwin right now.”
Noel flinched. Leticia, unable to meet her eyes, felt sorry.
“I’m sorry, there’s no other way.”
Noel was her friend and family. She did not want to force her by using an order. Then, a warm hand grasped Leticia’s. Noel gently kissed the back of her hand before speaking.
“Lady Leticia, I’m sorry, but I will refuse the order you just gave.”
“Noel!”
“Even if the pain of the oath tears me apart.”
Noel slowly lifted her gaze. Her eyes, black as merlot, held Leticia more desperately than ever before.
“I will die by Lady Leticia’s side. Never again will I let a precious person leave in front of my eyes. Never again.”
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