Chapter 120
The shower of flower petals falling like a gentle spring rain was beautiful.
The flowers blanketing the entire Holy Empire sometimes resembled snowflakes at a glance.
The monsters pelted by the flower rain let out guttural croaks.
The creatures, which had been frozen motionless, began to twitch and stir.
People flinched in surprise at the sudden movement of the monsters and stepped back.
Those gripped by fear swung their swords wildly.
But soon, sensing something amiss, they halted.
The monsters weren’t trying to attack the humans.
They were moving in a desperate attempt to reach the flower rain.
Thrashing frantically, they let out a gurgling sound the moment they were fully covered in petals.
Strangely, it almost sounded like laughter.
The black monsters were enveloped in small white flowers.
The creatures, drenched in the petals, vanished with a pop, as if bursting.
In the spots where the monsters dissipated, instead of grotesque flesh and blood, pure white petals fluttered like snow.
“……”
Chesha, who had covered the entire world in flowers, gasped for breath, her lungs heaving.
A horrific fatigue crushed her body.
It felt hard even to breathe.
It was like the sensation of opening and closing a portal three times in a row.
In the end, unable to hold on, she staggered.
Then, immediately, a small warmth touched her.
Hata, perched with her atop the mound of flowers, had caught Chesha with his front paws.
“Lichesia-nim…!”
Hata whispered her name softly.
She didn’t have the strength to reply that she was okay.
Chesha simply leaned against Hata.
She wanted to close her eyes and collapse right then and there.
But not yet.
She had to hold on until all the monsters found their rest.
She scraped together every last bit of her remaining strength.
The white flower rain poured down with even greater intensity.
Only after watching the very last monster turn to petals did Chesha stop channeling her power.
The mound of flowers supporting her feet slowly dissolved away.
Her body fell gently downward along with the fading blossoms.
But Chesha’s feet never touched the ground.
Solid arms caught and embraced her.
Chesha struggled to rouse her fading consciousness.
She saw a man with a complicated look in his eyes.
And the fake smile he habitually wore on his lips.
Though he was smiling, he couldn’t fully hide the turmoil within.
Chesha apologized with all her heart.
“Sorry… I promised…”
She had promised not to use her fairy powers.
Kierne had urged her several times, and Chesha had firmly agreed, yet she had broken it.
She had ruined the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly too, so she couldn’t face Kierne at all.
She wanted to tell him she’d somehow retrieve the crown, that he shouldn’t worry, but her eyes kept drifting shut.
Kierne, watching Chesha’s anguished expression, gently stroked her cheek.
“It’s okay.”
“…But.”
“Chesha, my daughter. It’s really okay.”
He whispered that it was okay, over and over.
Chesha tried to ask if he really meant it, but no voice came out.
From her faintly moving lips, only a faint hiss of air escaped.
But the perceptive Kierne understood what Chesha wanted to say.
“It’s really okay. Daddy will take care of everything.”
As always, he was full of confidence.
She wanted to pass out just like that.
But Chesha clung desperately to her flickering awareness.
It was while she was struggling to hold on.
She felt a gaze so intense it prickled her skin.
Upon identifying the source, Chesha shuddered in disgust, momentarily forgetting she was on the verge of collapse.
‘Ugh…’
Holy King Sianor was staring at her.
She didn’t know when he had arrived there, but it seemed he hadn’t fared well through the long night.
He looked utterly wrecked.
The Holy King’s robes, always impeccably neat, were a crumpled mess, and his complexion was so haggard it seemed he’d aged years in just a few hours.
Yet his eyes burned fiercely.
His bloodshot, red-veined eyes bored into Chesha.
Those gleaming orbs were filled to the brim with ecstasy and greed.
It was a gaze so creepy it gave her chills.
But the stare didn’t continue.
“……”
Belzeon stepped forward silently and blocked the view of Chesha.
The boy’s back was resolute.
Chesha stared blankly at the straight back standing before her.
On either side of Belzeon, Sionel and Karha lined up.
Hata, too, bravely stood on all fours, positioning himself in front of Chesha.
Just five people, and one puppy.
That was all.
Behind Holy King Sianor stood hundreds of holy knights and holy priests.
Compared to that, the Basilian family members barely numbered more than could be counted on one hand—a pitiful force.
Nevertheless, the standoff between the Holy King and the Basilians was tense.
Far from being overwhelmed by the opposition’s might, it even felt somehow equal.
The Holy King moved forward slowly.
The sound of his approaching footsteps rang out clearly.
He stopped at a distance that was neither too far nor too close—a few paces away.
Close enough that their voices could easily reach each other.
“Count Basilian.”
A low, solemn voice posed the question like a pronouncement.
“Was your adopted child a fairy?”
Kierne didn’t deny it.
He simply smiled brightly and affirmed it cleanly.
“Yes. It’s a fact I’ve only just learned myself.”
The crisp response left the onlookers flustered instead.
Kierne’s eyes narrowed into slits.
“My child has repelled the monsters. As a Basilian, isn’t that an achievement beyond reproach?”
His voice flowed out excitedly, as if he couldn’t contain his pride in the child in his arms.
“I believe Your Holiness will commend her as well.”
“How dare you harbor a heretic…!”
The Holy King roared in fury.
But Kierne, undaunted, continued his defense.
“In the past, the Holy Empire accepted the Fairy Queen who came seeking to believe in God.”
As proof, the Fairy Queen’s crown had been passed down in the Holy Empire—a fact no one could deny.
“So why does Your Holiness persecute my child merely for being a fairy?”
“……”
“She attended the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly to praise God’s name, and even purified the monsters invading Hilderd. Is this not enough to prove her devotion?”
Kierne’s red eyes sparkled like jewels reflecting light in myriad directions.
Though he barely suppressed it, a subtle smile played on his lips that was no different from open mockery.
The madman went so far as to taunt the Holy King himself.
“…When even Your exalted priests and knights couldn’t accomplish it.”
The Holy King’s cheeks trembled violently.
He quivered with rage but could say nothing.
Kierne’s words were flawlessly smooth, without a single flaw to seize upon.
Inevitably, silence was his only option.
Having caused the monumental event of rendering the Holy King of the Holy Empire speechless, Kierne didn’t stop there.
“If you still wish to charge her with heresy, then punish me in her stead.”
He cunningly wielded his tongue toward his intended goal.
“I’ll gladly accept the punishment. I’ve been growing weary of being confined to the Black Forest anyway.”
“……”
Sianor’s silence lingered a while longer.
When it had stretched to the point where he could no longer remain silent.
With a face frozen cold, Sianor commanded,
“Confine Count Basilian to the heresy interrogation room.”
Kierne burst into laughter.
He laughed loudly, as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer.
It was blatant mockery.
Giggling, Kierne retorted,
“You’re not going to kill me?”
Such words and behavior before the Holy King—he was out of his mind.
It was an act so insane that execution on the spot would be justified.
If it were anyone else, they would have been summarily executed right there for such deeds, yet the Holy King did not order Count Basilian’s execution.
He couldn’t even touch the fairy, the heretic who should be purged, and merely repeated like a parrot to confine the count to the heresy interrogation room.
The reason was simple.
If Kierne died, there would be no one to handle the monsters.
The holy knights approached with restraints in hand.
“Daddy’s just going away for a bit.”
Kierne, who had been chuckling, wiped the mirth from his face and spoke tenderly.
“Don’t cry, stay strong, Chesha.”
Though it was Kierne being arrested, the Holy King’s face paled as if he himself were being strangled.
The moment the tense-faced holy knights drew right up close.
Chesha raised her hand high.
Just like that day at the orphanage when she first met Kierne.
“Take me too.”
She squeezed out her last strength to say it loudly.
Loud enough for the Holy King to hear clearly.
With her other hand, she clutched Kierne’s hem.
It was a feeble, limp grasp from exhaustion.
Yet Kierne froze stiff, as if struck in a vital spot.
The Holy King could never kill Kierne.
Confining him to the heresy interrogation room now was essentially just for show.
But even knowing all that.
Chesha firmly lifted her gaze and declared,
“I’m going to prison with Daddy.”
