Pina Grancia was empty like glass.
In the past, she barely survived the Magic Hat’s attack, losing almost everyone who cherished and loved her.
Because of this, she blamed her weak self and wished to become stronger, living without forming relationships with others.
“Is it because they’re precious that you hope they don’t get hurt, Pina?”
“Yeah, if you get hurt… I don’t want that.”
But the man named Licht was different for Pina.
Not only was he stronger than her, but he always approached her kindly, treating her normally even though he knew she was a princess.
Also, Nex, Schartines, Kainel, Ariel, and even herself—
The number of lives he saved was countless, enough to count on his fingers.
No matter how much she resented the hero who didn’t come for her during her childhood,
To Pina, Licht was the very embodiment of a hero. Even if he was a hero from a different world, he held a special presence for her.
The cold hand of a naive man wearing a Black Knight helmet, the small laughter escaping from within the helmet, and the warm, solid embrace.
“We need to catch the Magic Hat in order to free Queen Bellin, Pina.”
“But even so…”
Having realized the warmth of his kind heart, she struggled, not wanting to return to the cold, numbed days.
When Licht was pierced through the heart by Head’s attack, she thought her own heart would break.
The reason she thought of and executed the risky method of transplanting the Dragon Heart was because of this.
For a girl who knew no emotions, love felt like harsh pain. She felt safe and comfortable only when she was near Licht.
“I hope you don’t get involved with the Demon Kings anymore.”
Leaving his side turned the whole world to ashes, and it became gray.
“Pina, you saw me taking care of Head. There’s no one else more suited for this than me.”
“You almost died. I saved you, Licht.”
She was clingy, fearing she might lose him again. Having fought the Magic Hat and Head, she went through similar experiences twice already,
“But to oppose the powers of the Demon Kings, Kainel alone isn’t enough.”
Every time this came up, Pina worried about Licht and suffered. Jealousy towards the Nameless Saintess was one of the reasons.
Wolves are animals that originally live in packs.
The Inrang Tribe, modeled after these animals, has a strong attachment to family and lovers, so the Black Knight’s judgment was not wrong.
“Isn’t it unnecessary to fight? Can’t we just enjoy life at the Academy, Licht?”
“Then who will protect the pure-hearted?”
While there was some love, it was much closer to obsession.
“Just don’t protect me anymore.”
Thus, the biggest difference between Pina Grancia and Lee Soo-hyun was revealed in their attitudes toward love.
For example, imagine a very beautiful flower blooming in a field.
Although she had been emotionally dry since childhood, recently feeling strong emotions, she thought she had to ‘pluck’ the flower to own it,
“There’s no reason for you to sacrifice yourself, Licht…”
“There are plenty of reasons.”
In his case, he had endured painful wounds from his past and rose again, possessing the mindset that he should ‘just look at the flower’ to protect it.
“Even if I have to give my life for it.”
If someone had witnessed this scene, they might have said:
A woman who doesn’t understand love and a man who believes he’s too late to have love, tangled up in a flickering flame close to obsession, rushing toward sacrificial moths.
“…I think I’m getting angry, Licht.”
“I’m sorry. But the Apostle is weaker than the Demon King, so it should be fine.”
As such, love takes various forms for each person, and if seen solely from one perspective, it often becomes distorted.
In the end, their feelings tangled together, where it should have been a molten emotional furnace melting their hearts down.
But the two people at present lacked the warmth and heat to share with each other.
“If we don’t deal with the Apostle, not only will there be issues in the north, but we won’t be able to persuade Asha Aureus.”
“Why do we need to persuade Duke Asha, Licht?”
Even if Lee Soo-hyun mentioned seeing the status window and preventing Pina Grancia’s future death, she wouldn’t understand.
The obsession built until now might intensify.
“Because she is the pure-hearted Black Knight.”
Looking at his reflection in the blue Holy Sword he firmly held, he spoke resolutely.
“What do you mean ‘pure-hearted’…?”
Pina dropped her tail and ears, opening her mouth. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t grasp this uncomfortable feeling.
“Love doesn’t solve everything, Licht.”
“But it has the power to change people.”
The two were on parallel lines, unable to understand each other. Black and white. Queen and Knight. Glass Knight and Black Knight.
How can a flame understand the feelings of a moth rushing toward it?
For Pina, not knowing that Licht was busy intertwining others’ love lines for his own happiness, it was absurd.
“If it’s about a marriage proposal, I can persuade them myself.”
“Then what about Asha and Nex’s relationship?”
If he had run away from the duties of the pure-hearted Black Knight, she didn’t know how much things would have changed.
“It’ll be solved one way or another. Somehow…”
To a princess, hearing that a commoner would convince a duke to change a marriage was shocking.
Licht’s evaluation of Pina was not distorted. It felt less like loving someone and more like looking at a precious, cherished doll.
An immature feeling. A love that doesn’t consider others.
“Are you saying it’s fine if Nex and Schartines end up unhappy?”
“You don’t have to step in. I don’t understand.”
It was close to obsession rather than love, and as the Celestial Demon had said before, her jealousy was too strong.
“Parents must be honest with their children, and that needs to be resolved.”
Having yet to realize her emotions, Pina sought reasons from the books she had read. The same went for her earlier desire to kiss.
In the romance novels she read, even when emotions flowed between the leads, there were always problems.
In the end, the man the heroine chooses at the end was crucial, and most of the confirmation came through kisses.
“It was so easy in the books I read.”
Even in the economics and monarch studies she studied to inherit her rights, there was no emphasis on pure love.
“If the problem is the aftermath, then we can just silence it.”
Now, she was not the Nameless Saintess but a princess of the Grancia Empire.
If she wished and desired, she had the power to obtain what she wanted.
“Pina.”
“I want… as much as I think of you.”
As a princess, she ultimately wanted Licht to want only her. It was closer to monopolizing him than wanting to receive his love.
“I’d like you to treasure me too.”
The near-kiss situation was a calculated action from Pina, who felt something within her chest pierce like a blade, making it unbearable.
“This is Licht’s fault.”
“Don’t let emotions take the lead, Pina.”
In truth, both Pina and Lee Soo-hyun were too early in their lives to understand mature love. The man in the Black Knight helmet hung his head.
“Even so, what’s wrong is wrong, Licht.”
“Do you know what abilities the Apostle of Rage possesses?”
He sighed heavily and shared what he knew with the princess. They hadn’t initially planned to send her to the north for her safety.
“Like the name suggests, it should be the ability to make others angry.”
“That’s right. That’s why I need you.”
Like a quiet cat, or rather a wolf, climbing up onto the stove first, Pina had already shown a certain level of obsession and stubbornness.
“I can resist the Apostles’ abilities to some extent.”
“I have a Masterpiece too, Licht.”
Of course, Lee Soo-hyun had committed great sins, and it was also a mistake not to have recognized her as the Nameless Saintess earlier.
“…Don’t interfere. Just stay still.”
Due to the misfortunes caused by the Magic Hat, the cold and empty heart of the Glass Knight was first overtaken by the flame of jealousy rather than love.
“I won’t be blocked by a Masterpiece.”
“You blocked the Magic Hat’s attack.”
Unable to control the muddled emotions, she kept drawing closer to Licht, displaying her possessiveness.
“That guy is a Demon King who implements magic with spells, Pina.”
His reactions were adorable, and at each moment of physical contact, she felt like she won against the Nameless Saintess.
“If I were to enter a state of rage, I would never be able to raise my weapon against you.”
“…”
Yet despite Pina’s efforts, the man in the Black Knight helmet spoke with resolution.
Even though he had been affected by the Apostle’s abilities of lust and gluttony, he had never lost his reason.
“But Pina, are you sure you would be able to use magic against me, no matter how angry you get?”
“Yeah. Maybe…?”
The silver-haired girl awkwardly fiddled with the rose decoration with one hand, trailing off her words, clearly revealing her lie.
“Pina… lying is bad.”
“I’ll do it. So…”
As she said that, Pina secretly pulled out a magic circle, leaning against the wall to hide her hands.
Fzzz. The glass magic struck several layers of walls from the outside, isolating Lee Soo-hyun’s room like a sealed prison. And when the conversation didn’t flow as she expected,
“From today, stay put in this room.”
The princess left a parting word for the Black Knight before she exited. The golden-eyed wolf’s glance met the brown eyes.
“I can’t bear to see you being sacrificed or hurt anymore.”
That gaze felt slightly chilly, and the voice slipping through the gap of the door spread a chilling aura.
*
In the morning, I organized the conversations and events that had happened thus far.
I’m going crazy. Seriously.
The words and behavior that Pina had shown from before were leaning toward wanting to possess me. A sense akin to ownership.
“Maybe I’ve pushed myself too hard.”
For someone supposedly in love, her obsession with me was scary. She’d even tried to follow me to the bathroom when I was hospitalized before.
That’s why I ended up falling to the floor while trying to walk forcibly.
If the Grand Route isn’t realized, or at least if I don’t kill the Magic Hat, there won’t be any happy ending.
The game developers were vicious. There were instances where Dennis got poisoned and ended up in a bad ending after meeting Head, or Kainel’s harem led to Ariel being discarded.
The childhood friend and the original protagonist who waited 20 years were mercilessly abandoned in Black Heart,
If the Grand Route ending that the one who possessed me declared doesn’t happen, then Pina Grancia would undoubtedly fall into misfortune.
My knowledge of the game was often mismatched, so having just captured one Demon King wouldn’t solve her death.
I can’t exactly show the status window, either.
No matter how much I quietly spoke about the status window in the room or chanted “Status Open,” the translucent window never appeared.
To begin with, the updates were slow, and there were times I wondered why my affection level wasn’t increasing.
Maybe I should ask the sage for the foresight I mentioned earlier.
Now that ignorance has vanished, I should be able to see all the possible outcomes. If I could foresee an unhappy future, that would be great.
I didn’t want to be spoiled but had no other way. At this rate, I’d really end up being confined in the royal palace’s dungeon.
“Huh? It’s locked?”
I grabbed the doorknob to organize my thoughts outside for some fresh air.
The door didn’t open as it wouldn’t turn all the way.
Why was the door locking from the inside when it should be locked from the outside?
This happened after my Pina left my room. It was strangely frightening. Could it be?
Clank, clank. A tinkling glass shard fell from the noisy doorknob. In an instant, I felt a sense of doom and opened the window, but,
“I’m completely trapped. Is she really telling me not to go outside?”
Due to an additional layer of glass wall outside, I couldn’t reach through, blocking the transparent barrier. A room without even a breeze.
…Conception, memory.
I summoned the Holy Sword, regretting the sins I had committed until now.
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