“Lily? She hasn’t come here?”
Dania’s sister blinked her eyes wide as she asked.
Since our first meeting, we had often visited each other for meals, but unfortunately, this time I had come with some sad news.
Lily had disappeared.
It seemed that she had escaped out of guilt for hurting me.
Athena, Mari, and I decided to split up and search for Lily.
Since the Demon King was too conspicuous, we decided to leave him at our house for a while.
“I’m fine…”
Lily didn’t do it on purpose, and I wasn’t seriously injured. There was no way I could hate my beloved little sister over something like this.
But it seemed Lily thought differently. Despite the considerable time that had passed, she still didn’t show up.
We searched the Academy, Lily’s dormitory, and finally Dania’s house, but we couldn’t find her anywhere.
Now I was starting to worry.
I had thought she would be fine since she had become so strong, but her absence was making my heart feel anxious.
“What’s going on, Hera?”
As Dania’s sister approached me, her overwhelmingly large heart touched my chest.
“Ah.. no.. it’s just that we had a little fight…”
Dania’s sister raised an eyebrow in surprise as she looked at me.
“Really..? It’s unusual for you two to fight.”
“Um… it wasn’t exactly a fight, but… it just happened that way…”
Not wanting to worry her, I skirted around the truth.
I didn’t want to see her sad, and I was sure I would find Lily safe, no matter what. It would be okay.
“I know. You must have put up with Lily’s tantrums.”
Dania’s sister seemed to understand my feelings, stroking my head with a mesmerizing smile.
She always treated me so warmly like today.
I had relied on my mature sister so many times in the past.
I felt an urge to indulge her again, for no real reason.
But regrettably, finding Lily was my top priority.
I’d have to save the indulgence for another time.
“Are you hungry? Want me to make you something to eat?”
“I’m fine.. I’ll go and find Lily first.”
She made a slightly disappointed face but soon put on a smile again and gave me a warm hug.
Suddenly, the enormous warmth enveloping me made me smile involuntarily.
“Hehe.. I promise I’ll come back once I find Lily…”
“Hehe, if you don’t reconcile with Lily, you can just live with me, so don’t worry too much.”
“Puhut.”
Dania, really.
Even though she liked Lily more than anyone else, she sometimes joked like this.
Always mature, yet Dania had a playful side more than I thought.
“If we live together… Hera will have to be eaten by me then?”
Yeah, sometimes she said things like this.
I loved Dania so much that I had teased her multiple times, so it was mutual.
Just like before, I looked at my sister with a cheerful smile.
“Hehe.. I think it would be okay if it’s you, sister!”
“…Puhuh.”
She smiled down at me with a grin.
I received a heartwarming healing from her once more, and although it hardly feels like repayment, I quickly pecked her cheek with my lips.
“Thank you every time, sister. I’ll be back!”
“…..Okay. Come back safely.”
With a slightly wistful heart tucked away, I was about to leave to find Lily.
Ka-bam!
“It’s a royal decree! Everyone, cease your movements.”
A loud voice boomed alongside the sound of something breaking.
Turning my head, I saw knights clad in golden armor glaring at us.
The sun emblem drawn on their golden armor.
The elite soldiers of the Imperial Palace. The First Knight Order.
Why are those who are supposed to protect the Emperor suddenly here…?
“…What is the meaning of this?”
I hid Dania’s sister behind me and glared at them when a figure emerged from the ranks of soldiers.
A physique that looked absolutely unbreakable.
The refined mana swirling around him.
And the red armband draped over his shoulder.
Only the commander could wear such a noble armband.
The elite of the elite within the Imperial Palace, commanding the First Knight Order. Once, he was a mentor to the protagonist in my novel.
An individual who served the Emperor as a god and was utterly devoted to the palace.
Knight Godric.
He looked down at me with an intimidating gaze.
“Indeed, the report was accurate. I was able to find you easily since you weren’t hiding.”
“You’re looking for me..?”
I asked, bewildered. Godric raised an eyebrow and replied.
“Did you not know? The entire Empire is currently looking for you.”
“…Why would the Empire be searching for me..?”
As Godric glanced to the side and nodded, one of the knights ran forward with a scroll in hand.
As the scroll unfurled, it bore several characters stamped with the Emperor’s seal.
“This is a royal decree. A beautiful beauty with black hair and red eyes. You are to be escorted to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
“What?! No.. I-”
“Do you dare to refuse a royal decree, commoner?”
In an instant, Godric stepped forward and grabbed my wrist with force, causing a painful throb.
“Ugh.”
“Enough chatter, follow me.”
His aggressive attitude made me furrow my brows.
Is it really okay for a knight to handle someone so roughly?
As he attempted to forcibly drag me away, Dania’s sister rushed towards me with a worried expression.
“Hera!”
“Sister, I’m fine-”
Just when I was about to tell her I was okay.
One of the knights stepped forward and shoved her away with one hand.
Having no strength, she fell to the ground.
Seeing that, I lost my composure for a moment.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
As I shoved Godric with both hands, his body flew back like a bullet and slammed into the wall.
Amidst the startled knights, I rushed to my sister to check her condition.
“Sister, are you okay?! Did you get hurt..?”
“Yeah. I’m okay; I just fell.”
Dania’s sister said as she held my hand and got up.
Though she said she was fine, my anger was still boiling inside.
“Indeed, you are not an ordinary woman.”
Godric spoke calmly as he slowly approached me.
“What are you doing here, making a ruckus like this?! Do you think you can leave unscathed?”
He raised one eyebrow and then burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! This is why uneducated citizens are so troublesome.”
He then looked at me coldly with a smile on his face.
“How dare you think to rebel in front of a royal decree! What a foolish courage.”
“……”
My heart sank at the sight of him being terrifyingly similar to the original story.
In the novel, he had served the Emperor as a god and would stop at nothing to follow his commands.
Godric, who had an excessive loyalty that was beyond belief.
That was why there were so many frustrating scenes with him.
But upon meeting the protagonist, he eventually opposed the injustice and became a righteous character.
“If you cooperate now, there will be no further harm. I do not wish to injure a citizen of this great empire either.”
What a joke.
He had just caused a huge commotion, yet now he spoke like this.
I wanted to shout at him right away, but because of my sister behind me, I couldn’t act recklessly.
Unlike me, my sister was truly an ordinary person.
“Why do you want to take me?”
“You will hear that directly from the Emperor. I am merely following orders.”
His rigid attitude frustrated me to no end.
“…What if I refuse to go?”
“Then I will forcefully take you. Even if it means harming an innocent citizen.”
Godric glanced at Dania’s sister as he spoke, clearly threatening me.
In this powerless situation, I bit my lip.
“Hera, it’s okay. Just run away.”
“No way.”
How could I leave my sister behind?
She had always been there for me, comforting me warmly.
I had no intention of leaving her alone, even if it meant risking my own life.
“I hope you will answer quickly. This is quite a busy schedule after all.”
I didn’t like the look of him pushing me from the front, but I took a deep breath to calm myself and stepped forward to him.
“…Fine. I will follow the royal decree.”
“Good. You are making the right choice.”
“Hera!”
Dania’s sister looked at me with trembling eyes.
“It will be okay. The Emperor wouldn’t do anything bad to a citizen, would he?”
As I said, the Emperor was definitely a cunning character, but he wasn’t someone who would harm the citizens.
He only acted for the sake of the Empire’s security… I remembered him as a decent person.
I had no idea why he was looking for me, but it surely couldn’t be anything harmful.
And since Godric had come to retrieve me, resisting would be futile.
He was one of the top fighters in this world. Even if I resisted, I’d end up in his hands eventually.
“Follow me. We are going to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
“Wait a moment.”
I looked at Godric as he turned his gaze toward me again, pointing to the door he had broken.
“That needs compensation.”
Where does he think he’s going after breaking my sister’s house?
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