“…Are you saying that I am going to become like you?”
“Yes, I see my past self in you.”
‘Is she glad to have met someone like me?’
Renelle offered Thalia a handshake, looking as if she were suppressing her laughter.
“You are just like me. Let’s walk the path of swordsmanship forever with this teacher.”
Her hand stretched out in front of her.
Thalia exclaimed, her eyes trembling for a moment as she stared at Renelle’s hand before shifting her gaze to her face.
“Sooner or later, I will give up being a heretic inquisitor and become a priestess, so please don’t treat me like I would be like you…Ms. Renelle!”
Thalia shouted loudly and eventually burst into tears.
Seeing her like that, Renelle noticed her restlessness and began to comfort her.
“No, I was just joking because you looked depressed…”
“Yes! Anyway, I will be living in a sack next door for the rest of my life! Hmm… Ugh, huh.”
Thalia shook off Renelle’s hand and began running aimlessly.
The inquisitor in her shabby outfit stumbled and fell to her knees.
‘I can’t believe that a child like my younger sister, who followed me in her childhood and diligently practiced swordsmanship despite not being good at it, is now acting like this and even crying.’
Renelle’s mind stopped functioning under the weight of the shock.
In the forest where fallen leaves blew, black birds chattered happily.
Cecil, turning away from Julius’s gaze and toward Priestess Emily, smiled slightly and murmured a thought aloud.
“It’s punishment for wild imagination. Don’t you say that coveting what belongs to others is a sin, even for the Lord you believe in?”
She lowered her head slightly, twisting the corners of her mouth into a smile.
‘I can’t show him this ugly side. He only has to look at me, so I need to control myself.’
Raising her head once more, she wore a gentle smile, her expression relaxed, just like when she had first arrived at the village. Disgraceful behavior like today should only be shown rarely.
‘I always want to show Julius a new side of me. I hope he never grows tired of me and remains infatuated with me forever.’
As a high-ranking devil called the King’s Nightmare, she had never once seduced a man—until now. She had now become Cecil Lionelta of her dreams.
Now, she had become a temptress who completely captivated the greatest heretic inquisitor of Lyriam.
***
After breakfast and lunch at the church, where a subtle war of nerves brewed between them, Cecil said she felt tired and stopped Julius, who was about to return to his mansion.
“You know, I must have relaxed too much earlier, and now my legs have no strength.”
So, give me a piggyback ride.
She seemed genuinely weak, and her complexion looked pale.
Julius hadn’t even gathered his thoughts yet when her sudden request reminded him of Cecil’s confessional approach back then.
After squeezing her hand briefly, Julius nodded and lifted Cecil up.
“…? I asked for a piggyback ride. What is this?”
He carried her in his arms like a princess, walking down the road as if he were the gallant knight from a fairy tale.
Cecil began tapping her feet and humming a tune, seemingly pleased.
Curious about the song, Julius asked as they walked.
“…What is that song you always hum?”
“This is a wedding song, meant to celebrate the bride and groom.”
‘I modified it a little to suit my taste.’
“… ….”
“A year from now, around this time, we’ll gather all the villagers and hold a grand wedding at the church on the hill. Thalia and Priestess Emily will sing hymns, and our lovely daughter, Leira, will sprinkle flowers. Mr. Krail will make those flowers float in the air, one by one, to make our wedding unforgettable.”
It will be more extravagant and beautiful than any wedding in the world.
Julius could not respond. One year later, the bet would be over. Either Julius would win, or the devil would. Someday, this dream would shatter. And that moment would mark his death.
As he imagined the hopeless future, a warm hand rested on his face.
Cecil said, “Julius is probably envisioning a very dark future, but it doesn’t matter. No matter what you think or what agony you face, the future you want will eventually come.”
‘Because I will make it that way. I am a woman who always gets what she wants.’
The warmth of her touch was so sweet that the golden beast within him could not resist it.
On that day, the fallen leaves blew in the wind as if blessing the couple’s future. The forest trees sang happily with their branches swaying in harmony.
It was the first day the path of destruction veered off course.
***
“This is really delicious! Uncle Krail, try it too!”
Krail had to swallow his frustration as the blond-haired girl thrust a piece of fried fish on a fork toward his mouth.
‘Do you even know who you’re eating with right now?’
Krail snatched the fried food roughly and swallowed it in one gulp.
“Aren’t you afraid of the current situation?”
“Are we supposed to be scared of them?”
The way she tilted his head, genuinely confused, was truly infuriating.
Krail, hovering nearby, continued talking as he ran his fingers along the frozen utensils.
“Isn’t it because of you that I was exposed as a heretic inquisitor and ended up in this mess? Without me, you would’ve been dead a hundred times over by now. Understand?”
He tried to lower his voice and scold Leira, but she ignored him and kept eating.
Unable to light a cigarette in front of the girl, Krail glanced around, swallowing his anger.
The heretics who had rushed them earlier were now frozen in place, locked in the stance of their attack from the restaurant entrance. Even the devils inhabiting human bodies—who had flung their utensils in shock upon seeing Krail—stood like statues under the blue aura enveloping the room.
Krail stared at the blue lines cracking like glass in the air.
“Please, don’t cause an accident. I’ve always cleaned up after Julius whenever he messed up, and now you are doing the same to me!”
“So, am I just like my dad? Yay!”
In high spirits, Leira tapped a floating plate with her fork.
Ding~
A melody echoed, as if signaling the correct answer.
‘I really need to hand this troublemaker over to Julius and his wife in Kente Village soon.’
Today as well, Krail’s gray hair only continues to increase.
Sponsor Chapters at the Patreon Shop: Along with BuymeaCoffee where you can now make payments in your local currency.
The Shop section on Patreon can be used as a way to make a one-time-payment. I will be creating products in the Shop section with the title of the webnovels. It will only have an image as the product, but it will count as the payment for the Sponsored Chapters.
For example: You will buy the product with the title “Flower Stealing Master” to sponsor a chapter for the novel. As far as I know, you can buy the same product multiple times, so you should be able to sponsor as many chapters you want. I hope it was easy to understand.
Introducing KN WN Bundle ($15) for those who prefer to read only KR webnovels. This bundle gives you access to all the advance chapters of the Korean Webnovels on Goblinslate immediately, and will stay ahead of the regular release for the month! Get it on Patreon!
That means, you get:
PTTV – Four Advance Chapters! ($10)
IPUAW – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)
MSAS – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)
MWD – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)