On top of the ruined remains, the golden beast stared blankly at the broken sign.
[Carridge Restaurant]
The capital’s most luxurious restaurant, where his wife once wanted to rent the entire venue for a date, now lay in ruins. Only a half-split sign remained, barely able to declare that it had ever existed.
While trying to eradicate the heretics’ indiscriminate acts of terror against the church, the Carridge Restaurant was overtaken by them. Julius, overcome with something unbearable, burned the entire place down. However, after committing the act, the frustration within him only deepened. He stood there, lost, staring at the broken sign.
“Ha… I was just doing something somewhere, and now you’re in trouble again.”
Krail, a handsome young man with neatly combed gray hair, scratched his head at the worsening state of his friend.
“The owner isn’t dead, and everyone inside was a heretic. Don’t stress yourself too much. The restaurant can be rebuilt.”
“If we rebuild it, will the place she dreamed of come back?”
“…What are you even saying? Aren’t you overthinking things?” Krail said, frowning. “What matters isn’t the building—it’s the chef who makes the food.”
Julius gave no reply. He simply glanced at his friend before leaving, heading somewhere unknown.
Things were really getting worse.
Krail sighed to himself. ‘I can’t stand by any longer. Whether it’s divine punishment or something worse, I need to intervene.’
A forbidden book rested against his chest—the book that held the devil known as the Emperor’s Nightmare, one of the 24 devils closest to God. If everything went as planned, it wasn’t impossible to fully resurrect Cecil.
Devils, in essence, were mirrors—beings that imitated humans. Their evil nature came from the reflection of human sins.
“…It has to work as planned,” Krail muttered, anxiety rising within him. His hands trembled as he tried to light a cigarette and took a deep drag to steady himself.
What truly mattered was the strength of Julius’s desire for Cecil and Cecil’s own longing to return to life. ‘Is she really there, in the devil’s dream?’
The plan relied on deceiving the eyes of the saint, and despite its absurdity, it had succeeded flawlessly. The reason was simple—Julius’s love was far greater than Krail had imagined, and Cecil was far more selfish than she had seemed.
***
Cecil was in a remarkably good mood.
In her own room, it wasn’t she but her beloved husband, Julius, who was sleeping soundly on her bed. Julius, after carrying her back to the mansion, had finally relaxed enough to doze off. Surprised by how easily he complied, Cecil had gently laid him on her bed.
‘He must have been shaken after seeing my weakened state,’ she thought, humming softly as she headed to the second floor.
Three rooms lay on the upper floor. Two were empty, but the last one at the end of the hallway held a large, familiar bag. It was the same bag Julius had carried when they first met.
‘Shall I take a peek?’
She carefully opened the bag and found neatly folded clothes. As she unfolded them, they all felt familiar—he hadn’t bought new clothes since the days they walked hand-in-hand through the streets.
‘I should catch him later and help him pick out something new.’
Just as she was looking at the clothes with mild dissatisfaction, a small piece of fabric caught her eye. It was a tiny baby suit.
This was the very outfit worn by Leira, their beloved daughter. After Cecil’s death, Julius had run away, unable to face the daughter who reminded him too much of her.
Cecil didn’t scold herself, even as memories from the past surfaced. She simply felt disgusted with her former self, who had died so pitifully.
‘At least our precious child is safe with the reliable heretic inquisitor, Krail.’
Until Leira returned, Cecil planned to “mold” Julius as she saw fit. If everything went smoothly, their family would reunite before winter ended. And when their daughter came back, Cecil would make sure to shower her with love—just as much as she would give to Julius. But before that, she had to strengthen her bond with her husband.
With a mischievous smile, she pulled out a small, neatly wrapped book from the bottom of the bag.
[Things to do after he gets promoted!]
“I’ll erase every trace of the past me from your heart,” she whispered softly. “This time, I’ll make you love me in the present—not just in memories.”
A grin spread across her face as her eyes sparkled with ambition.
‘And perhaps… it’s time to make another child.’
The mysterious, murky energy surrounding her seemed to clear slightly, leaving only a glimmer of determination in its place.
***
Julius sighed, gazing up at the stars gleaming in the night sky.
‘Have I grown too weak after breathing in her warmth again?’
He was torn between his vow of eternal love for the departed Cecil and the temptation of the Cecil who stood before him now. His head, heavy with thoughts and exhaustion, found relief as he lay down and drifted into sleep, comforted by the scent of milk on her hands—a touch so warm it felt like that of a loving mother.
Even after waking, Julius briefly forgot she was gone and reached out to find her missing from his side. The moment of realization made him feel ashamed of his own weakness.
He brushed a hand over the locket hanging around his neck, kissed it gently, and rose to his feet.
Suddenly, a strange rumbling sound echoed from outside.
‘What is she up to now?’
Without even bothering to summon his divine power, Julius stepped out to investigate. What awaited him in the living room was nothing short of blasphemous.
Sitting there calmly, the culprit of the heresy greeted him without a hint of shame.
“Oh, you’re awake? Come sit with me for a bit,” Cecil said cheerfully. “Let’s head out for dinner later.”
Julius narrowed his eyes as black energy flowed from her hands in thick waves.
‘She dares use a devil’s power in front of a heretic inquisitor.’
Yet, Julius sat beside her without so much as a hint of disapproval.
“…What are you doing?” he asked flatly.
“You can’t tell? I’m making clothes,” she replied with a smirk.
Looking closer, Julius saw that the black energy had formed a mass in the air. Thin threads emerged from it, weaving themselves together as if stitching fabric. It looked almost like sewing, though done with otherworldly means.
As he watched the enchanted sewing unfold, his gaze drifted to the book lying on the table.
[Things to do after he gets promoted!]
“When did you find that?” he muttered under his breath.
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.
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That means, you get:
PTTV – Four Advance Chapters! ($10)
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