"Madam."
Lina's voice was heard along with a knock. Blair closed the book she was reading.
"Come in."
As soon as Blair gave her permission, Lina entered the study. Approaching with a solemn expression, as if bearing a weighty mission, Lina handed Blair a letter.
"It is a letter from the Guild."
It was the news she had been waiting for.
Blair put the book back in its place and opened the letter.
To prevent anyone else from seeing it in transit, the letter omitted information about the recipient and sender, containing only a brief summary of the message.
[I have discovered the source of the sentence you previously ordered me to investigate. That sentence is… … ]
As Blair read through the letter, her eyes began to tremble.
***
"Here it comes!"
The knight's voice echoed through the silent winter forest. At the same time, the ground cracked open in the distance, and something approached them.
There was something massive deep underground.
Herdin stood before the path it was charging toward.
He watched the approaching creature with cold eyes, then plunged his sword into the ground.
A blue magic circle unfolded around the sword. He had redirected the freezing spell from the surface to the earth.
Beneath the magic circle, sharp ice burrowed into the ground and pierced the creature lurking beneath the surface. At that, a massive, worm-like monster burst forth.
"Now!"
The knights, who had been lying in wait in the forest, heard the commander's command and fired their crossbows in unison.
Dozens of arrows, suspended from ropes made of twisted, thin, sturdy wire, pierced the monster's body.
The monster twisted its massive body to shake off a few knights in an attempt to fend them off and hide underground, but it was impossible to shake off dozens of strong men.
The knights gritted their teeth to withstand the monster's power.
"Aargh!"
One of them, unable to withstand the force, was flung away. The monster's mouth opened wide as it prepared to swallow the knight.
At the moment the knight was terrified,
Herdin approached in the blink of an eye, snatched him up, and threw him toward the forest.
He then quickly created the next magic circle, stepped on it, and moved. Reaching the head of the monster in an instant, he swiftly severed the worm's head. There was not a single flaw in his movements.
The monster, severed in two, writhed, with its head regenerating its body and its body regenerating its head.
Just then, the shape of a sword made of light appeared in the air. The sword of light slammed down upon the monster's body like a torrential downpour.
The knights watched in renewed awe at his combat style, which they had seen countless times before.
Magic requires a high level of concentration, making it difficult to use while moving. For the same reason, one cannot cast more than one spell at a time.
However, Herdin not only moved ceaselessly while using magic but even cast spells in succession.
Anyone who witnessed this could not help but acknowledge that he possessed power that truly surpassed that of a human.
Landing lightly, Herdin plunged his sword into the fallen monster's head. As the beast's heart, embedded in its center, shattered, the movement of both its body and head ceased.
Seeing this, the knights breathed a sigh of relief. The battle was over.
Herdin sheathed his sword and looked down at his palm. He could feel the mana within him stirring.
'There have been no particular issues since the New Year's Festival.'
Since the problem with mana management arose during the festival, he had periodically checked his condition, but there had been no abnormalities.
Even after searching through magic books, he could not find any cases where mana had temporarily evaporated and then returned. He
could not reveal his unstable state to others. His own weakness would soon become Delmark's weakness, so he had no choice but to keep a close watch and assess his condition himself.
'Things have been bothering me lately.'
Both the abnormal state of his mana and the hallucinations he saw with his eyes open.
"Your Excellency."
A squire approached Herdin, who was lost in thought, and handed him a towel.
Herdin wiped off the beast's essence from his body.
Meanwhile, the squires began to gather the beast's carcass.
Capturing monsters entails immense danger, but since the carcasses are valuable, arrogant monster hunters have ventured into their territory for profit.
Consequently, it was not uncommon for them to drag monsters all the way into the village, just like today.
"That monster over there... actually, we almost captured it. We dealt it a blow, so it ended at this point."
Herdin looked with contempt at the culprits of this incident, who, despite begging for their lives just moments ago, were now claiming their share after the monster was dealt with.
'They should have taken responsibility and become the monster's prey.'
However, there was no need for him to step forward himself. The Knight Commander, already fed up with the monster hunters of the North, would take care of it.
After returning the towel to his squire, Herdin gazed blankly at the monster carcass they were handling.
Taking life always leaves one feeling filthy—whether it is an enemy or a monster.
Having taken countless lives over more than ten years, he thought he had become accustomed to it. Why, then, did he feel this uneasy sensation all over again?
As he ruminated on the reason, Herdin suddenly thought of Blair.
The woman in his arms was warm. Their skin was soft against each other, and the heart beneath her chest beat small but vigorously, just like its master.
Being alive was such a marvel.
That fact, which he had taken for granted, struck him anew. Perhaps that is why the death he had caused with his own hands felt so unsettling again.
He wanted to return immediately—to the mansion where the woman with that wondrous life awaited him.
As Herdin turned toward the horse he had tied up, he saw Ruth approaching. And behind them were some rather unwelcome faces.
They were the Imperial Knights.
At the center of it all was the Vice Commander who had led the Imperial Knights.
"Oh my, while I stopped by the temple to escort the High Priest... you took care of that big guy in the meantime? As expected of the Delmark Knights, the natural enemies of monsters!"
He praised the Delmark Knights with an exaggerated look of surprise. Or rather, it appeared that way at first glance.
Herdin looked at him with indifferent eyes. He knew the Imperial Knights had deliberately arrived late at the scene. It was always like this.
If it weren't for the lives of civilians at stake, he would have ignored the Imperial Knights, no matter what happened.
"Indeed, if you had taken care of it just a little later, it would have been a disaster. We almost saw the Imperial crest you wear coming out of that worm's back hole."
At Herdin's clearly sarcastic remark, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
The Vice Commander, whose expression had hardened for a moment, quickly composed himself and retorted with a hearty laugh.
"Haha, our Order isn't that incompetent. After all, we are the Imperial Knights."
"Ah, I know full well that you are competent. Don't you always bring the priests at the most terrible timing?"
"...."
"Hurry up and transport the wounded to the village. Isn't that what you are good at?"
It was a remark that treated the Imperial Knights like mere cleanup crews.
Unable to hide his displeasure any longer, the Vice Commander turned away from Herdin and gave orders to the Imperial Knights.
Ruth, who had been standing beside Herdin, clicked her tongue as she watched the Imperial Knights walk away.
"Anyway, what a waste of tax money."
Watching the Knights of Delmark being treated, Herdin reached out his hand to Ruth.
"What about our wounded?"
Ruth, immediately understanding the meaning of the hand, cut a cigar and placed it in Herdin's hand. Then, lighting it, he answered,
"There are five of them in total, but their injuries are minor, so there is no need to worry."
"What is today's schedule?"
"There is no particular schedule, but remember that Lord Caligo and his party were supposed to arrive around today? You remember, right?"
Caligo was one of the knights who had fought alongside Herdin on the battlefield; he was a skilled and loyal subordinate.
He was originally stationed at the main castle of Delmark under Herdin's orders, but he was currently coming down to the capital.
"I know."
In truth, he had only just found out, but there was no need to mention it.
Just as Herdin casually nodded and was inhaling the smoke from his cigar, he sensed someone's presence behind him.
"Um…"
Herdin and Ruth turned around at the same time.
"Ah, so it really is Your Excellency! I met you at the temple a while ago; do you happen to remember me?"
A silver-haired woman beamed at Herdin.
As Herdin exhaled smoke and gazed at the woman with an indifferent expression, Blair's voice, which he had heard sometime ago, came to mind.
'That priest from earlier—she is the woman you will come to love.'
The voice had been calm, as if speaking of someone else, and so had the look in his eyes.
Recalling that memory, Herdin's gaze turned cold.
He didn't know the name, but he remembered that face. Regardless of whether he particularly wanted to remember it, it was a face he could not forget.
"I remember, Priest."
In truth, even if he hadn't remembered, he could have guessed she was a priest just by her attire.
However, Miela smiled brightly, seemingly delighted simply by the fact that he had said so. She was a woman whose emotions were clearly visible on her face.
"It is inexplicably good to see you again like this. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No."
Miela felt embarrassed by his concise, immediate reply, but she managed to find something to say.
"How is the place where you received treatment back then? May I ask how your condition is?"
"I'm fine. Your healing magic was absolutely perfect."
Contrary to the praise, Herdin's eyes, as he smoked a cigar, were filled with weariness. It was meant to signal that she should go on her way since there was no problem, but Miela blushed, seemingly failing to grasp the meaning.
"I'm relieved. It was an internal injury, and since I was so nervous at the time, I was worried that it might not have been treated properly…"
"…"
"Ah. How is the Duchess? It seemed you were quite shocked at the time, too."
As the familiar title came from Miela's lips, his expression, which had been weary all along, changed.