================
Ludmilla in the morning,
Zebeline in the afternoon.
Surely, that’s how it was supposed to go.
Why on earth are the Imperial Princess and the Saintess from the Holy Kingdom arriving at the same time?
I looked at the little messenger who had notified the princess and the saintess. Whether he realized his partner’s embarrassment or not, he was dumbly sucking on jelly candy with a silly expression.
“Ahem…! What’s going on, Edanant? Calling both me and the Saintess at the same time?”
The princess with lustrous golden hair said shyly.
She subtly extended her left ring finger.
Showing off the wedding ring she had forcefully taken by intimidation, I presumed.
Normally, I would have burst into laughter at the princess’s cute display of affection. But unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of that now. The saintess right next to me had a distinctly displeased expression.
“Did you call me to the reception room because you missed me so much? You could have come to the palace comfortably.”
This time, the saintess with captivating silver hair, blushing, opened her mouth.
She raised her left hand with her ring finger sparkling.
It was probably to flaunt the wedding ring that she had obtained by using her lifelong wish.
I cautiously observed Ludmilla’s reaction.
What would happen if it got out that I had handed Zebeline the last keepsake from my mother…? The disaster of tyranny that had brought the Marquisate of Hohenberg to the brink would surely come crashing down again. Remembering the precarious situation back then, I gulped nervously.
“Saintess, Edanant called me to see him.”
“That can’t be! Once again, it must be a misunderstanding on the princess’s part.”
The princess and the saintess were clashing sharply.
Watching their confrontation, I pinched Luinong’s soft cheeks.
“Hieeek…! Wh-why me?”
Next time, I won’t trust this cute but clueless fairy with even simple errands.
I swore as I looked at the disasters looming before me.
“Edanant.”
“Edan.”
Ludmilla and Zebeline, glaring at each other, called me simultaneously.
I took out the leather gloves I had prepared for such an eventuality and covered both hands.
“What is it?”
Of course, they must have prepared matching couple rings.
The intense expectations reflected in Ludmilla and Zebeline’s gazes implied as much.
They seemed to be plotting to prove their affection for me through the paired rings.
To prevent that, I had prepared the gloves.
After all, unforeseen incidents always occur in the most unexpected situations.
“…Hmm?”
“……”
The princess and the saintess paused at the same time.
The leather gloves covering my hands made it impossible to check for a wedding ring.
Did I really wear a wedding ring?
That could only be confirmed by taking off the gloves.
I tried to remain as calm as possible under the blatant gaze of Ludmilla and Zebeline. If I showed any reaction like a thief caught in the act, my legs would be exposed in no time.
“It’s starting to get a bit chilly since it’s early autumn, don’t you think?”
Good.
I thought it sounded natural.
I reached out my hands to the crackling fireplace in the reception room and said as I did. At that, Ludmilla and Zebeline both let out deep sighs at the same time.
“Huh? It’s not that cold. There’s a fireplace right next to us.”
“I’m feeling cold. I must not handle the cold well.”
The dim-witted Luinong tried to break the mood.
In response to Rue’s comment, I exaggeratedly shivered my shoulders in rebuttal.
*
Having experienced a series of strange occurrences, Ludmilla finally realized that the red dragon of the empire had, in fact, fallen under the control of the Earth Mother and had become a puppet of the disaster of tyranny.
Everything was a lie.
The red dragon, revered as the guardian dragon of the empire, was merely a false front.
Proud as the red dragon of the Valtarian Empire, Ludmilla was now starting to show signs of profound self-disgust after realizing the truth.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yeah, I’m fine.”
Edanant limped over.
He bore the marks of having been beaten by Ludmilla, who had fallen into the disaster of tyranny.
It wasn’t just his leg.
His face was bandaged and his arms and legs were in casts.
Looking at the battered Edanant, Ludmilla couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
Even though she had to ponder the path ahead, whenever she saw Edanant, she found herself smiling.
“Where’s the First Saintess? She was just here…”
“It seems the Holy Sovereign sent a handwritten letter from the Holy Kingdom. Probably sent it as soon as the Sovereign arrived.”
The Holy Kingdom.
Ludmilla frowned at those words.
Was it because she had awakened as a servant of tyranny?
Upon recalling the ‘Earth Mother’ worshipped by the Holy Kingdom, contempt surged up reflexively.
Having once revered the Earth Mother as the sole deity while being loyal to the Valtarian Imperial Family, Ludmilla began to see Gael as an enemy. Perhaps it was due to the divine status of the disaster god encompassing her. Edanant was worried watching Ludmilla’s transformation.
“Surely, the First Saintess too…”
“It must be the disaster of famine sealed by the Earth Mother, just like the disaster of tyranny.”
Though they were fiercely opposing each other, they were of the same essence born from one myth.
If the red dragon is the disaster of innocence, then surely the white dragon must be the disaster of innocence as well.
The disaster of famine.
Ludmilla trembled at Edanant’s reply.
“I still can’t believe it. How could I be a servant of the disaster god…. Doesn’t that mean I’m akin to the vile ones who stormed the Valtarian Empire?”
“…Ludmilla.”
The princess murmured as she looked down at her own hands.
Servants of the disaster god.
Vile groups that slaughter innocent people and carry out mass human sacrifices.
Countless lives were lost.
The citizens’ homes were destroyed during the raid that took place in the Imperial City.
It was only natural for Ludmilla to feel scorn and self-disgust upon realizing she had been a servant of tyranny. She had always held an immense sense of nobility, so her heart could not help but feel tormented.
“If you hadn’t stopped it… The Marquisate of Hohenberg would have surely been swept away. If the disaster of tyranny had resurrected, many citizens of the Marquisate would have been harmed. That frightens me. If we can’t suppress the disaster of tyranny, we will inevitably face terrible casualties.”
“……”
What Ludmilla truly wished for was always the peace and safety of the citizens.
Peace and safety.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had fought desperately for those very things.
Biting her lip, she displayed her fear.
In the end, the disaster of tyranny might rampage and harm innocent people, which made Ludmilla infinitely weaker. Her shoulders were pitifully trembling to show it.
“Whether it is the divine status of the Creator Deity or the divine status of the disaster god, I believe all powers are determined by how they are used. I too am a servant of the disaster god, yet haven’t I saved countless people until now?”
“Aren’t you and I different? You can manipulate the disaster of innocence freely… but I lost my reason to the disaster of tyranny.”
As Edanant listened intently, he reached out his hand.
Ludmilla hesitated but took Edanant’s outstretched hand.
She felt the cold metal.
It was the wedding ring that Edanant wore on his ring finger.
Fortunately, the wedding ring currently adorned by Edanant was a blue diamond. If it had been the glass-colored diamond gifted to Zebeline, I would have witnessed the re-appearance of the servant of tyranny right away.
“I will always be by Ludmilla’s side. If you go on a rampage again, I will stop you then as well. That is my role, isn’t it?”
“Huh… A wandering idiot who straddles both the First Saintess and me speaks quite nicely.”
Pointing out his flirtatiousness, Edanant’s face turned puzzled.
At that, Ludmilla burst into light laughter, her cheeks turning rosy.
“You.”
“……!”
As the princess with sumptuous golden hair stepped forward, she pressed her soft warmth against Edanant’s dry lips.
It was a very sudden kiss.
Edanant’s eyes widened in shock.
In contrast, Ludmilla tightly closed her eyes as their lips collided.
Licking his dry lips with her tongue, she sucked at his saliva.
Then biting her lip, she conveyed a strange pleasure.
Edanant stiffened at Ludmilla’s bold kiss. But soon, he wrapped his arms around the princess’s slender waist and reciprocated the kiss.
*
The gray that had been rapidly expanding like a gluttonous beast began to slow down.
An anomaly had occurred.
It was right after the disaster of tyranny revived.
Perhaps they judged that the ‘axis of evil,’ which was the driving force to sustain the world, was sufficient.
The black-clad cardinal stared at the gray-stained stagnant world for a long while before sighing, wearing a meaningful expression.
His gaze was always fixed on the world tainted with gray.
“Next, it’s time to resurrect the disaster of famine.”
“How amusing. The Holy Kingdom, which reveres the Earth Mother, is trying to resurrect the disaster of innocence, which stands in direct opposition to the sole deity.”
I know.
That it is an act of rebellion against the decree of the sole deity.
But what can we do?
The future to pass on to our descendants hangs in the balance.
So, we must prevent the entire continent from being shrouded in gray like the demon realm at all costs.
Even if it means committing the great sin of forcibly corrupting the First Saintess.
The Holy Kingdom had been preparing rituals to summon the disaster of famine for quite some time. Until now, the ritual had been postponed due to the Sovereign’s objections, but now was not the time to be choosy.
“Thank you for making that difficult decision, Maximilian.”
“……”
“I’m curious why you insist on protecting Edanant until the end? He’s an outsider who forcefully stole your brother’s body, isn’t he? To you, an outsider probably equals an enemy who has not only extinguished your brother’s soul but also ripped away his body.”
“…I also know that.”
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