DGDITMIAE 13

Chapter 13

He thought it didn’t make sense.

For mindless monsters, devoid of reason, to obediently follow human commands.

And that wasn’t all.

The monsters were afraid of the woman.

“Kieee…”

The monsters that had been covering the sky, flapping their wings, began to flee somewhere.

As if they knew that the only way to survive was to head toward the border, not toward the human-inhabited territory.

The monsters, trembling violently, fled in perfect unison. One of the holy knights, watching this spectacle, slumped down weakly and muttered.

“What did I just witness…”

While the woman watched the monsters depart, the holy knights realized they had survived.

Gulp.

It was unclear who had swallowed their saliva.

Isolric stared blankly at the woman for a long while.

But then, one quick-witted fellow came to his senses and recognized the woman’s identity, approaching her with a smile that seemed more suited for high society.

Rubbing his hands together, he looked more like a rat than a holy knight.

“You, you are the Grand Duke of Inuement, are you not?”

“…Hm?”

“It’s an honor, Your Highness! We are the Holy Knights dispatched under the name of His Holiness the Pope…”

“Ah, you too, leave.”

The Grand Duke smiled brightly with her beautiful face and commanded without even hearing the full introduction.

At Terestia’s firm words, the holy knights exchanged glances among themselves.

They had occasionally heard rumors. That Her Highness the noble Imperial Princess had suddenly gone mad one day and headed north.

Some said she had been unable to bear the pressure from Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and had ultimately fled far from the capital.

And there were strange, almost mythical tales that she had made a deal with her soul in the north and was now slaughtering monsters like a completely different person…

No one would naively believe all those rumors, but the overwhelming martial prowess they had just witnessed was far too powerful to be considered human.

In short, they understood why the rumors said she was not a demon because of her terrible and cruel nature, but a demon because of power that no ‘human’ could possibly possess.

Especially for someone like Her Highness the Imperial Princess, who looked so fragile and had grown up so preciously, never having held a sword in her life.

In any case, Her Highness the Imperial Princess lightly ignored the dumbfounded holy knights, bent down, and severed the monster’s horn.

Behind her, a man presumed to be her aide approached with a mischievous expression and spoke slowly.

“Without a cart, what are you going to do with so many kills?”

“Why? Can’t we just cut off a little bit and go?”

At Terestia’s words, Argo silently surveyed the monster carcasses scattered here and there.

Hmm, even in Terestia’s eyes, it was far more than ‘a little’.

“…Should we just leave them?”

“Isn’t it fortunate? Your Highness has a capable aide who can even use magic.”

“Alright, then send these with magic. To the side of the training ground warehouse, so Lady Kiraldou doesn’t find out!”

At Terestia’s words, Argo lightly snapped his fingers.

And just like that, the massive horns vanished.

As the horns disappeared, a sense of reality returned. Isolric snapped back to his senses and began to count the number of surviving knights.

It seemed that about half of the knights who had originally marched out had died.

No matter how powerful the Pope was, there were many knights of noble status, so he wouldn’t escape responsibility for this incident.

Already, he could imagine his father, with bloodshot eyes, berating him for what good his damned swordsmanship was. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

With a complicated expression, Isolric ordered the surviving knights to collect the bodies of the fallen.

Then he looked at Terestia, who was talking with Argo.

Was she still excited from the urgent situation?

His heart beat rapidly.

He, too, had once heard stories about Terestia.

What were they… Queen of the Social World, Emperor of the Night, the Pinnacle of Pleasure and Luxury… She was a woman with such nicknames.

Born as the Imperial Princess of the Pavellon Empire, he had heard she was superior in many ways to her sickly older brother.

She excelled in politics, economics, diplomacy, military affairs—in virtually every field, so there were rumors that she would become the next Emperor.

However, Terestia threw it all away with one remark: ‘If I become Emperor, the Empire will be ruined.’

After that, she squandered her time in dissipation, with things that he had only briefly heard about but were enough to make his face flush.

Spending all night intoxicated with alcohol and drugs, sharing hot nights with multiple men, being the mistress of a salon where secret hobbies were shared, or casting flirtatious glances at noblemen of insignificant title or wealth, asking if they wanted to be her concubine.

Even though she was at an age where a virtuous woman would have already married and borne two children, Terestia seemed utterly absorbed in living a life of debauchery.

Her father, the Pope, had cursed her as a ‘woman who will never go to heaven’.

‘…Well, she herself seems to think she will go, though.’

And then… yes, it must have been a few months ago that he heard she had suddenly gone north.

Whether she had fallen out of favor with the Empress Dowager and been exiled, or simply gone mad.

He couldn’t know the exact reason.

He had heard the bizarre news that she was hunting monsters… but no one in the capital believed it.

At the news of Her Highness the Imperial Princess’s sudden departure for the north, a few knights training together had chuckled and lamented.

“Her Highness the Imperial Princess has gone north? No way, then who’s going to take charge of the capital’s nightlife!”

“What a pity, Her Highness was someone who really heated things up at night…”

They had joked that if they secured the empty position of the Grand Duke’s husband, they would immediately quit their position as merely decent-looking holy knights.

Of course, for Isolric, who had heard countless times that he was practically already appointed as the next Pope, all of that was immaterial.

No, it had been.

“…Grand Duke of Inuement, I greet you. I am Isolric Yenières. Please, allow me to repay the debt for saving us.”

At Isolric’s words, Terestia turned her head and looked at him.

Just receiving her gaze made Isolric feel his heart drop.

The violet eyes, betraying no emotion, merely scanned Isolric impassively.

Isolric, who had never experienced anything like that before, unconsciously rubbed his chest.

Terestia gazed at Isolric silently before finally opening her mouth.

“Are you hurt?”

“…Pardon?”

“I asked if you’re hurt. Your chest looks uncomfortable.”

“Ah, no, not at all.”

Good heavens, where had the dissolute Imperial Princess of the rumors gone? The Terestia Inuement before his eyes was even kind.

By now, Isolric’s mind had long forgotten the firm command he had just heard—to leave her territory immediately.

At Isolric’s stammered denial, Terestia frowned slightly and walked toward him.

Then, Isolric’s heart seemed to pound even faster than before.

Terestia stood right in front of Isolric and tilted her head.

As if she didn’t believe his words at all, she came close enough that he could hear her breathing, and sniffed near his neck.

As if she didn’t know that humans couldn’t distinguish wounds by smell in such a chaotic place, Terestia sniffed here and there, examining Isolric.

Her long, beautiful hair brushed softly against the tip of his nose.

It seemed to smell good.

Instantly, heat rushed to Isolric’s face.

“True, I don’t smell any blood. You’re the only one who’s completely unharmed, aren’t you?”

“…”

Isolric nearly dropped the sword he was holding.

By his common sense, it was unthinkable for a noblewoman to approach so closely and sniff him.

…Well, especially when she was unmarried.

Terestia, as if unaware of the impact of her actions, lightly turned around like a cat again and muttered strange words with a hint of regret.

“Hmm, I thought holy knights would smell different.”

She still looked incongruous as she walked, lightly gripping a greatsword covered in blood and gore with one hand.

Funnily enough, he suddenly remembered what his mother—who had been a courtesan—had once said.

“Life is always about choices made in the moment, Your Holiness-in-waiting. Unless a decision is made at the right time, a belated decision may not bring about commensurate results.”

Yes, whatever it was, Isolric felt that this was that moment.

It felt like it had to be now, or it would never be.

So he walked steadily toward Terestia, bent one knee, and spoke.

“Grand Duke, Holy Knight Isolric Yenières greets you once more. I wish to become Your Highness’s knight. Please, take me into your service.”