Judas walked hand in hand with Eliya as they strolled around the Bevel family estate.
Eliya explained various things to him.
“What’s that building for?”
“Which floor of the main house did who stay on?”
Random chatter.
Judas listened earnestly.
“Hmm, I guess it’s gone now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There used to be an incinerator near the warehouse. Back in the day, Sara once stole my clothes. So, I gathered all the jewels Sara treasured, threw them into the incinerator, and sprinkled the ashes on her face.”
It wasn’t exactly a funny story, but Eliya said it with a smile, almost reminiscent of a past memory.
Judas sighed inwardly, feeling sorry for her attempts to bury her memories.
Still, if it was beneficial for her, he wanted to help willingly.
“That’s quite a refreshing story.”
“Right? And Levi once threw away my food, which was just hard rock bread. In return, I cleverly mixed real sand and pebbles into Levi’s food.”
In this way, she recounted one by one the incidents with her direct family, including Narcissi.
Suddenly, he wanted to hug her.
It was hard to imagine how much she must have suffered alone.
Her always strong and indifferent demeanor was just a defense mechanism.
Deep down, she must have needed someone to listen.
As he gently embraced her shoulder, Eliya was startled but snuggled against Judas’s chest.
Then suddenly, she grew curious.
“Where were you before you came here?”
Eliya had come to the family estate ten years ago.
She was now eighteen.
Meaning she’d lived somewhere else before she turned eight.
“That’s….”
Seeing her hesitate, Judas hurriedly said, “You don’t have to tell me if it’s a difficult topic.”
Touched by his caring consideration, Eliya smiled bitterly.
“…Yeah, I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize…”
“I’ll tell you later. I’ll definitely tell you.”
She felt okay showing him everything.
She had intended to share it anyway.
Although the peace treaty with the Empire was still pending, she had achieved her primary goal.
The extinction of the Bevel family line.
So, it was time to find her mother’s grave.
She would take Judas with her then.
She would show him the time when colors and emotions still remained within her.
Until then, she hoped Judas would wait a bit longer.
‘Before I came here… that village….’
It was a bad memory in a different sense.
The first order she received after entering this family was to kill everyone in that area.
It wasn’t something she wanted to do.
Narcissi had forced her while wielding a whip.
She had been beaten until her shins bled, and she could hardly walk.
Though she knew she had no choice but to yield, that memory remained as an unpleasant guilt.
Eliya quickly pulled her thoughts away from the past.
Instead, she moved closer to Judas.
Linking arms and pressing closely, they continued walking around the mansion.
She scrubbed away the remaining memories.
Time passed quickly, and the grease-like memories peeled away in an instant.
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the mansion.
Judas wanted to ask Eliya if she had any clues about the assassins, but there was no chance to do so.
They arrived at the mansion just as the schedule for the meeting with the Emperor came in.
*
A few days later.
Eliya came to meet the Emperor without anyone accompanying her.
The location was chosen unilaterally by the Emperor.
Somewhere in a remote area, neither the Empire nor the Principality.
Eliya stepped forward confidently, knowing she could call Judas through her ring if anything happened.
It was an old hut too shabby for the new head of the Bevel family and the Emperor.
Eliya arrived first, and a few minutes later, Emperor Johan arrived.
“Your Majesty, it’s good to see you.”
“It’s been a while—your complexion looks better. Should I now call you Lady Eliya?”
“Please feel free to address me however you’d like, Your Majesty.”
They exchanged polite greetings with soft smiles.
It was a ridiculous roleplay conducted behind masks.
Johan quickly got to the point.
“I would like to negotiate a peace treaty. They say a place makes a person, and it’s a wise choice.”
“You flatter me.”
“However, there are conditions. We can’t all absorb losses.”
Eliya stared at him as if to say she was listening.
The proposals Johan presented were conventional and within expected boundaries.
The military losses the Empire suffered from this incident.
And the implicit damage caused by the conspiracy theories Eliya had spread.
Then, he added one thing at the end.
“I want the Sun Symbol back.”
“Want it back? As if it was originally your item.”
“I apologize for the awkward phrasing. However, it must be done. It’s not originally an item to be owned by the Bevel family.”
Eliya considered inwardly.
Amidst all the rational and predictable compensation proposals, this one felt oddly out of place.
The desired Sun Symbol.
‘The Emperor’s true aim is that holy relic.’
Eliya felt sure of it.
So, why does Johan desire it?
‘If he can use the Star’s fragment, he can awaken the power of the Sun Symbol. And the Sun Symbol… is the blessing of God that grants people their wishes.’
The Star’s fragment that governs order gives the power to temporarily disrupt that order.
The power of the Sun Symbol could only be awakened with that Star’s fragment.
The last piece sealed in the catacombs could be touched by no one.
But if it were the Emperor, it would be possible.
A catacomb co-managed by the Magic Tower and the Royal Palace.
He would have a way to extract a piece of that Star.
‘Whatever the wish, I can’t allow that.’
Eliya said with a smile, “I’m afraid I can’t give you the Sun Symbol, Your Majesty. It’s completely my possession.”
“Hmmm….”
Johan stroked his chin.
“Is there truly no way?”
Eliya simply smiled.
“…I see it’s a breakdown in negotiations.”
Johan stood up, brushing off his seat.
“Be careful of those closest to you.”
In that instant, Eliya’s eyebrows twitched.
It was a mention of Judas anyone could recognize.
“…Is that a threat?”
“Who knows? I just thought I might need a bit of advice.”
Eliya didn’t fall for the childish provocation.
She quickly fixed her mask.
“True words indeed. Enemies are always close at hand.”
The moment she finished her sentence, Eliya’s eyes lit up like a mad fire.
A massive blaze engulfed where the Emperor had been seated.
But Johan was no longer there.
Eliya let out a snicker.
‘Did he bring a wizard along?’
The only surviving mage of the current Wizard Order of the Empire.
Was his name Geist?
She remembered him trying to stop her several times during the war.
‘I expected he wouldn’t come alone, but I didn’t think he’d end negotiations this way.’
Eliya quickly figured out the Emperor’s intentions.
He never came here for genuine negotiations.
He was merely probing one last time.
For whatever reason, he desired the Sun Symbol.
‘How amusing.’
Eliya gladly decided to accept the war.
She wasn’t afraid.
As long as she had her strength and Judas, she could achieve anything.
*
I was watching the knights train.
“Judas!”
At that moment, Hermis came running, flustered.
“Lady Hermis? What brings you here? You look serious.”
“Well, um… could you spare some time for me?”
It seemed something serious was going on.
Since Eliya had just gone to meet the Emperor, I had some time to spare.
“Sure, just for a bit.”
I followed Hermis.
No matter how much I asked what it was about, she hesitated and kept silent.
She said she couldn’t explain in words.
“You have to see the documents yourself. After that, I’ll tell you.”
“What in the world…?”
She took me to a place I knew all too well, yet hadn’t visited in a long time.
A café in the bustling downtown of the Bevel Principality.
It was where I once stopped by to find the information guild.
Hermis led me through the back door right to the office of the information guild.
“…Ah, Judas. You’re here.”
Inside were Yurideke and Orphe.
They looked more serious than Hermis.
“What’s going on, everyone…?”
“Judas, listen carefully.”
Yurideke said seriously.
“Do you remember you casually commissioned us a while ago? To look into your family or parents.”
“Oh, yes, I recall.”
“Well, we’ve dug up some information. We managed to find out a few things… but we still haven’t figured out your origins. That part’s still wonky…”
She handed me a bundle of documents after hesitating.
“What’s this?”
“Recently, we had an opportunity to infiltrate the Molsin Church. We managed to embed someone inside and dig deep.”
I casually skimmed through the documents as I listened to her.
It seemed like internal documents of the Molsin Church had been copied.
The first name that caught my eye was Angra.
The priest who brought me from Judeca.
I read on.
Yurideke’s voice overlapped with the text.
“Your name came up there.”
Judas Defecit.
When first discovered, age eight.
Confirmation of eligibility to become a Child of Revelation.
Responsible person: Angra.
“Some information might have been purged or scattered… but one conclusion we derived is clear. Judas, you are…”
Raised as a blade in preparation for destruction, successfully recommended to the Assassin Guild for meticulous planning.
A target to be eliminated.
A bastard of Balak.
The crazed fire mage.
“Trained to kill Lady Eliya,” she said.
Eliya de Bevel.
“…….”
I was the one designated to kill Eliya.
The many documents in my hands proved it.
I was frozen in place, unable to accept this sudden reality.
Several clues popped up in my mind, as white as an empty sheet of paper.
The item in my pocket right after the reincarnation.
The thing I discarded in shock.
The stack of papers I had never read.
And the sharp shards of glass.
The previous owner of this body, who belonged to the Assassin Guild.
The ability to handle glass shards like weapons, the trait of weaponizing objects.
And the stealthy movements.
Traits of a thief or assassin.
Lastly, Eliya.
The face of the adult Eliya I knew had a large scar on it.
That scar was inexplicably absent now.
‘The reason is, I didn’t do it… ah.’
All the clues clicked together.
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