Chapter 99
It was a question he had never once considered.
Because Lichesia was a fairy with mismatched powers.
He had never entertained the assumption that she could fit in with other fairies.
A fairy wielding an axe and cultivating man-eating flowers among peace-loving fairies.
She was utterly alien, wasn’t she?
He had always believed it would never happen, but if his daughter truly was born as the queen of the fairies.
Then perhaps Lichesia might end up going to the kingdom as well.
Since the kingdom was built to avoid humans, he himself wouldn’t be able to enter.
As Hailon’s silence stretched on, Kierne’s smile deepened.
As if he already knew what answer Hailon would give.
He let out a low chuckle and whispered.
“We’re alike, aren’t we? Right?”
Endlessly different, yet the essence of Kierne and Hailon touched upon each other.
Their mutual dislike was akin to self-loathing, in truth.
“I don’t want to send Chesha away. But it seems difficult with my power alone.”
Kierne straightened up a bit and reached out, fumbling across the table.
He grasped a new glass and poured wine into it.
Filling it to the brink of overflowing, he extended the glass.
“Shall we agree to help each other when needed?”
Hailon swallowed a short scoff.
He had wondered why Kierne was so readily sharing information with him.
It was because he couldn’t resolve it on his own, so he was drawing Hailon in.
After all, divine power could accomplish what black magic could not.
And even if the child came to hate him for it…
It also meant he wouldn’t bear the hatred alone.
Hailon looked at the proffered glass.
The red wine sloshing in the clear glass cup looked faintly like blood in the darkness.
It was a drink perfectly suited to the serpent’s whisper tempting him to commit sin together.
What made Count Basilian’s cunning so fearsome wasn’t its insidiousness.
It was that all his inner motives were laid bare, and even knowing he was being dragged into hell.
He still couldn’t avoid the serpent’s invitation.
Kierne always wielded his tongue cleverly, making proposals that could never be refused.
Staring at the glass, Hailon furrowed his brows slightly and said.
“Those who have offered their bodies to God abstain from alcohol.”
Kierne burst into laughter, cackling aloud.
“What’s the harm? You’re not practicing celibacy anyway. A little drink is nothing.”
“…”
It was fortunate he had the patience not to slice the man down with the holy sword.
Hailon snatched the glass from him.
But instead of drinking, he used divine power to burn away the wine inside.
With a white light rising, the wine vanished.
Returning the empty glass to Count Basilian, he said impassively.
“I’ll cooperate. As long as you don’t cross the line.”
“Good thinking, Inquisitor.”
The black serpent smiled with satisfaction.
“Let’s get even closer from now on.”
The Holy Empire of Hilderd did not actually possess territory worthy of the title “empire.”
It was barely the size of a small city, after all.
Yet it was a nation founded in the name of God.
No one dared call Hilderd a small country.
The temples scattered across the continent were all territories of Hilderd.
The faith of the continent’s people toward God was the power of the Holy Empire.
Indeed, the Holy King wielded authority greater than any monarch on the continent.
Uniquely, the Holy Empire was entirely encircled by barriers along its borders.
Beyond the walls built of white stone, parts of the grand main temple were visible, but that was all.
Unless one entered, there was no way to peer inside the empire from outside.
Ordinary people who were not priests or knights of the Holy Empire could formally enter only three times a year.
New Year’s, the Consecration Day, and the Grand Prayer Assembly.
The official openings were set at three times, with occasional irregular special openings in addition.
This Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly could be called an unprecedented special opening.
Carriages of those gathered to participate in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly lined up in a long queue.
All waiting to undergo entry inspection.
At the end of the long line where the white walls appeared small, the Basilian family’s carriage also stood.
“Ugh…”
Kierne let out a small groan at the vibration of the carriage stopping.
Chesha glanced at him.
He must not have slept properly last night, for since departure, Kierne had been holed up in the carriage, holding Chesha close and dozing off fitfully.
He had clearly guzzled down a ton of alcohol.
Isuel had gone out to ride horseback in Kierne’s stead.
And beside Kierne, Hata was curled up, letting out tiny “hiyu hiyu” breathing sounds as he slept.
In contrast to the peaceful situation inside the carriage.
Chesha, now much closer to the Holy Empire, despaired.
‘Uwaaa!’
And understandably so, no matter how much she had prepared herself.
‘I’m really entering the Holy Empire.’
The thought of praying in temples, praising God, and listening to sermons already made her want to flee.
Especially since she had so many people in the Holy Empire who didn’t get along with her…
If she lined up all the holy knights and priests Chesha had tormented, it would wrap around the empire once.
‘They won’t deliberately not pick me because I look like a witch, right?’
Her desperate desire to absolutely receive the crown clashed chaotically with the urge to run away right now, leaving her dizzy.
It was then that Hailon’s adjutant, Daren, approached the carriage.
Since the fairy incident, he had been leading the holy knights in place of Hailon, who had vanished saying he needed to return home first.
Daren met Chesha’s eyes and smiled brightly.
Then he knocked lightly on the carriage window.
Kierne slowly opened his eyes.
He yawned widely, then planted a smacking kiss on Chesha’s forehead.
Lazily, he reached out and opened the carriage window.
“…What is it?”
His voice was lazy, thick with sleep.
“There’s something regarding entry that I need to discuss. Could you spare a moment?”
Kierne frowned slightly, then nodded toward Belzeon standing behind Daren.
Meaning, come take the baby.
Belzeon wordlessly took Chesha from Kierne into his arms.
Up close, Belzeon also looked a bit tired.
He held Chesha in his embrace and whispered lowly.
“Stay with big brother for a bit, little one.”
His gruff voice was surprisingly gentle, so Chesha smiled back at him.
It was fortunate the line of carriages was long.
She could use the waiting time to prepare herself mentally.
She was taking deep breaths alone when.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, the Basilian family’s carriage veered out of the line.
Chesha’s eyes widened.
It completely pulled aside, then advanced straight past the long row of carriages.
‘What! Why is this happening all of a sudden!’
As she fidgeted, Belzeon sat her by the window so she could look outside.
The carriage proceeded unimpeded and stopped in front of the holy knights conducting the entry inspections.
Daren and Kierne exchanged a few words without even dismounting.
Kierne looked down at them with eyes tinged with a slightly languid aura and smiled.
The holy knights’ eyes wavered a little.
As if wondering if it was okay to let such a sinister presence into the Holy Empire.
After the brief conversation.
The Basilian carriage entered through the gates.
There was no minimal entry inspection, like checking identification badges.
They entered the Holy Empire directly, without any procedures at all.
To anyone watching, it was an enormous special treatment.
Belzeon murmured softly.
“…So that’s what an Inquisitor is.”
Just then, Daren approached the carriage.
He saw Chesha poking her head out the window and swallowed a laugh.
“You’ll be able to rest comfortably soon. Please bear with it a little longer.”
That wasn’t the issue.
‘I’m not mentally prepared yet!’
Chesha asked, her voice laced with resentment.
“Why are we going in so early…?”
Daren’s eyes widened slightly, then he replied as if it were the most obvious thing.
“Because Lady Chesha has Sir Hailon as her escort knight.”
He glanced at the carriages still lined up long beyond the gates and muttered.
“You should get used to this much. There will be even more ahead.”
His words that there would indeed be even more proved true.
But this seemed a bit…
‘Way too much.’
Chesha stared ahead with a dazed expression.
The Holy King of the Holy Empire.
Sionel Hilderd had come out personally to greet the Basilian family.
