/
“Hmm, is there anything else that you would like? I have Princess Estelle, who will eventually inherit the throne. If you want, you can even marry the Princess and become a public servant as well as delegating the authority too. I have already discussed it with Estelle anyway.”
Estelle, who learned of her father’s gaze, raised her chin and took a single step closer. As she peeled off her transparent gloves, she reached out her hand in front of Legion while waiting for him to kiss it. But once again, Legion took a step back in return.
“Forgive me, but the Princess…”
“Duke Legion, I apologize, but Julia is not feeling rather well. So, she won’t be able to go outside for the time being.”
“Then, I would like to see her in person. Please allow me to do so.”
“That is proven to be quite difficult.”
The Emperor soon interrupted the conversation between Legion and Estelle. The discomfort that settled in through the Emperor’s expression had apparently increased a little more.
Legion was expecting that it would not be easy for him to bring Julia in the first place. Although she had been a Princess who was hated by everyone else while being imprisoned in that detached Palace, she was actually everything—amidst this whole wide world—to Legion.
He never intended to hide that fact, but he thought that the Empire would eventually demand something from him for taking Julia away.
‘However, this is very different from what I had expected.’
Something was truly strange. Estelle’s expression still complemented her natural noble blood, which brought off her confidence and pride. However, there was a slight tinge of uneasiness in the faces of several people around her—including the Emperor, himself.
Legion eventually unleashed the power of being a Sword Master without any delay as he noticed that she was nowhere to be found in this very Imperial Castle.
Her body had been weak and she was always sensitive to the vivid, evil gazes surrounding her, so she never went outside of the Imperial Castle. Legion’s pair of eyes began to feel anxious before they pierced straight to the Emperor.
Estelle then blocked Legion’s path in the end.
“That’s just rude, Duke Legion. How dare you cast such a disrespectful gaze in His Majesty’s presence.”
“Please step back, Princess. I will have to hear this whole story right from His Majesty himself.”
“I don’t know why you’re looking for Julia, but she’s only a Princess by name and she’s not even worth anything as well.”
“Her worth is never for the Princess to decide at all.”
The two pairs of eyes were sharply opposed to each other. While they were currently facing one another without a single step backwards, someone could be heard whispering something.
“How do you even save someone who has already fallen into the Valley of Death anyway…?”
“Shut up. Be quiet.”
However, it was not that difficult for Legion to be aware of that tiny sound with his extremely developed five senses. His eyes that became round in an instant with such bursting anger were then directed straight towards the Emperor and Estelle.
“What did you do with Princess Julia?”
He had thought that it was strange. The confrontation between humans and demons had been continuing sharply for the longest time. And the battlefield was literally like a land of death. A place where if one were to let go of their heart even for just a moment, they would only end up as one of the many corpses that were already lying on the ground.
But one sudden day, the demons had temporarily stopped attacking as they withdrew the army as well. At first, he thought that it was a trap, but after a while, a rumor began spreading like a myth instead. It was the fact that the demons had wanted the ‘Princess’ Estelle.
But the very Princess ‘Estelle’ was still here.
“I am asking what have you done to Julia!”
A blue flash eventually shone at the tips of Legion’s fingers as he suppressed his wrath before it eventually took on the form of a greatsword. It was the symbol of the Sword Master, the Soul Sword itself.
Many nobles eventually fell onto their knees in agony at the powerful sword that he had emanated. During the time when Ingrem V had also stumbled at the end, only Estelle was standing upright as she struggled while twisting the corners of her own mouth.
“I think that you’ve already noticed, but Julia isn’t here right now. It’s only right to say that she’s no longer in this land.”
“……”
“In exchange for a truce, we have handed that child over to the demons.”
Struck—crash!
The blue sword in his hand had completely split the marble floor of the banquet hall in utter half.
Legion turned around by knocking down the numerous knights who began to block his path at once with only his sword while his companions trailed after him as they eventually left the Imperial Palace of Vestra.
‘We need to find Julia.’
Even if there were only three Sword Masters in the continent, he still had aimed his Soul Sword at the Emperor. At that point onwards, it was as if he had already become a traitor, but Legion’s blue eyes were simply darkening and sinking sternly instead.
* * *
02. The Demons Are Just Strange
It took a rather long time for Julia to recover her health fully after the kidnapping incident. Initially, some of the demons had come over to visit Julia’s face in bed. And so, the bedroom was quite crowded without a single day of silence at all.
Meanwhile, Bael’s daily life did not change that much. Nevertheless, after having collided with the Magic Stone with his bare body, he could not truly overcome the strength as he would go on a rampage. Otherwise, he would just spend his time lying about lazily in his nest instead.
Whenever Bael had gone on a rampage, the entire castle would thump and pound, and even though she was somewhat immune to it for a certain extent, Julia could still feel the terror as she dug herself into the blanket. And every time that transpired, Revenna would run up to her and spend some time along with her.
In fact, even when other demons came over, Revenna directly declared that it had turned noisy as she drove them all out. And it was still the same for today.
“How can it not be completely erased and what kind of magic is so strong like this? It looks exactly like the Master’s right?”
“Is it even poisonous—I don’t know…”
“I’m a demon and Julia is human, so it’s literally obvious, right?”
Julia was standing in front of a full-length mirror with her rather loose front. Beside her was Revenna with a wrinkled brow as she looked down towards the Demon King’s engraving before making a groan.
Julia carefully raised her hand and stroked her left chest where her heart was still thumping. The engravings of some ancient characters had been inscribed as clearly as a tattoo.