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“Your Highness, it’s Ressimus.”

With a knock and the revelation of her identity, there was no response.

Carefully, Ressimus opened the door and stepped inside.

Princess Arin was seated at the desk in the center of the room, attending to her paperwork.

Neatly arranged before her were dozens of documents that needed organizing.

“I’ve just sent out official notices from the palace to each city and territory of the empire. By tomorrow, news should start spreading, beginning with the nearby areas.”

“Thank you, Ressimus. You’ve worked hard.”

Arin replied with a casual remark before refocusing on her work.

Ressimus seemed to hesitate as if she had something else to say, but then she simply nodded and withdrew.

About ten minutes passed.

“Princess Violet has arrived.”

At the announcement from outside the door, the attention of the two women turned towards it.

Arin rose silently from her seat, preparing to greet her guest.

Soon the door opened, and Princess Violet entered with a bright smile.

“You’ve been working hard, Arin.”

“Welcome. Sister.”

Arin greeted her with a polite gesture, clasping her hands together neatly.

“I apologize for coming in the midst of your busy schedule. I feel like you have taken over the responsibility in many ways, and as your older sister, I feel bad for you.”

“I’m just doing what I can. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“This situation must not be easy for you, Arin. It must bring back painful memories unnecessarily.”

“…!”

Arin’s gaze, lowered momentarily, subtly flickered with resentment and anger.

“Don’t misunderstand. I just spoke out of concern that this situation might trouble you again in the future.”

As if she didn’t want to reveal her emotions, Arin raised her face with a bright smile.

“It’s all in the past. We need to focus on the present.”

“Well said. Especially now that Father isn’t feeling well, we must strive harder as members of the royal family. That’s the only way to be worthy of the royal legacy.”

“I will do my best.”

With encouraging words, Violet left the room.

Arin resumed her work as if nothing had happened.

To others, she might seem unchanged from before,

“….”

But Ressimus, who had been by her side for nearly ten years, saw her differently.

In Arin’s indifferent gaze, there was a newfound emotion of hatred and anger that hadn’t been there before.

Whether it was directed towards Princess Violet or towards the person she mentioned, it was still unknown.

* * *

Two days had passed since the second meeting with the retired knight commander.

People crowded around the bulletin board in the city center to read the palace’s official notices.

Their gazes were clouded with suspicion and doubt.

The death of Neophrodite Iris, the saint of the Order of Light who conveyed the voice of the gods.

If only news of her death had been the extent of it, it would’ve been better.

“Hah! My god, is this all true?”

“She was a madwoman, not a saint! I’m so ashamed of all the praise I’ve given until now while not even knowing what they were doing.”

“So what happens to the Knights of Light now?”

But the notices contained not only that but also detailed accounts of personal misconduct and abuses of power by the Order of Light, using the knightly order for various personal agendas.

It seemed embellished and exaggerated to some extent.

But that wasn’t important.

What mattered was how people perceived it.

Shock, self-blame, followed by anxiety.

More people seemed to tremble with anxiety than rage.

It must have been shocking.

In an instant, the reputation of the saint and the Order of Light, built over decades, plummeted.

To ordinary people who knew nothing, that might be understandable, but from my perspective, knowing some of the truth, it was absurd.

The cause of death?

Suicide due to guilt and despair?

It did shock me mentally.

But if she was so fragile as to decide on suicide to that extent, she wouldn’t have ruled as a saint for sixty years.

Suicide when sharpening one’s sword is not enough?

It’s so absurd it’s not even funny.

My long-honed sense of assassination strongly suggested that she was not killed by suicide, but by someone else.

Elsewhere in the city, monks from the monastery I had seen the day before were engaged in preaching activities.

It felt like more people were gathering than the day before.

The backlash against the saint must have had some influence.

This won’t end with just exposing the saint’s misdeeds.

It goes beyond her and the Order of Light to undermine the reputation of the Ushif Empire itself.

Why would the palace proudly announce this?

It couldn’t be Emperor Dionne’s intention.

The Emperor, who suffered from heart disease two years ago and has not properly conducted state affairs since then.

If it’s not the Emperor, then it should be considered the actions of other members of the royal family,

The first prince, Louisnel, has long lost power and left the palace, while Fabian and Nerobian, the sons of the current Empress Cassandra, live quietly in the palace without much influence.

So, there are only two left.

The most influential is Princess Violet, the second princess, or the last member of the royal family who follows her like a shadow.

The possibility of it being Princess Arin’s doing is currently the highest.

If you had told me the current situation seven years ago, I would probably have said it was too pathetic even for a novel.

Even though I gave her advice to move forward, I feel like I really can’t predict where she will go.

I turned my steps back to the tavern where I met the old man three days ago.

Then I sat in the same spot as before, silently waiting for someone to come.

Sure enough, the familiar old man climbed up the stairs and sat down in front of me.

“Sorry for being late.”

This is already the third time.

If the same scene repeats so often, it becomes as familiar as if it had always happened.

But today is a little different.

The previous genial appearance disappeared completely, leaving only the solemn gaze of a knight.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point. I just reached an agreement with my subordinates. I intend to go to the palace.”

“Weren’t you a retired knight who didn’t care about worldly affairs?”

“Didn’t I say? As you get older, you become more sensitive to the truth. That big-eared woman is not the type to commit suicide out of guilt. I can bet my 60-year knight life on that.”

His thoughts are similar to mine.

This old man also thinks that the palace is lying now.

Having been a knight commander for so long, he might have a more accurate view.

“Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t particularly like that woman. I have no intention of defending her crimes. She tried to manipulate me several times, claiming she would convert me. Each time, she managed to escape using some scheme, but she was still a woman with firm beliefs. She firmly believed that her existence contributed to the peace of the continent.”

Suddenly, the image of her crying out that no evil presence could bring despair to her came vividly to mind.

“The palace is turning that woman into a villain. Then soon, the reputation of the Order of Light, to which she belonged, will also decline. I don’t even want to silently watch it like that, no matter how much she tried to manipulate me.”

In short, he was saying that he would go and see everything with his own eyes.

“Unfortunately, our deal will have to be postponed a little longer.”

“Can you guarantee that we will meet again?”

“We will meet.”

His eyes were full of certainty.

“I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that I’ll see you again soon in the palace.”

“I’ve never said I’m going to the palace.”

“Call it an old man’s intuition. It’s just a feeling! Whether it will actually happen, well, we’ll see.”

With those words, Jereon stood up.

“Then see you next time. Cyan Vert…”

It was quite grandiose, seeing his enthusiastic departure after revealing my name was quite comical.

Considering that he would have naturally learned my name at the point when it was revealed that I was the owner of the Demonic Sword.

Since he is not the kind of old man who will go around spreading rumors, I don’t really care.

But unlike him, who has a predetermined destination, I have no plans for the future.

Just as I was wondering if it would be better to go home and take a walk with Nana,

-Thud

Another unexpected visitor came to see me.

He silently bowed to me and took a seat.

It was the member of the Mist who had first delivered the document regarding the false followers of the mist.

Unlike before, there was a subtle expression of unease in his eyes.

“The leader urgently requested this to be delivered to you.”

He handed me a sealed letter from his pocket.

I immediately recognized it as an order.

At this point, a new target for purification.

Just when I thought it might be some nobility who was getting on someone’s nerves in the palace,

“….?”

I handed the received order back to the member, as if asking him to explain.

“What does this mean?”

There was nothing written in the order.

Not a hidden message either.

Just a blank paper.

I never had no idea what this blank order meant.

“I’m just in a position to deliver what I received….”

The member remained ignorant, but his inner thoughts were clearly visible in his anxious gaze.

I pressed further on that point.

“Is the order you received the same as mine?”

“No, it’s not.”

The member said, closing his eyes helplessly.

“Who is the target of the operation?”

“….”

“Don’t act all exhausted and just spit it out. Whether you die by my hand or the Leader’s, it’s all the same to you.”

The member sighed deeply out of frustration.

His discontent about why he was tasked with delivering the order was also clearly visible.

-Swish

Instead of answering, he handed me another order.

From the context, it seemed to be his own order, not mine.

“The, the leader also requested this to be delivered along with the message.”

“What message?”

“This time, it’s your turn to watch, so don’t do anything….”

As I read the order, my eyes froze like a stone.

The meaning of the blank order was simple indeed.

Do nothing.

It meant to observe without intervening in the operational activities of any other member except for yourself.

“….”

Are they kidding?

Wouldn’t it be better if I didn’t know at all?

Are you telling me to just ignore this?

At the bottom of the order, in red letters, was the target of this purification operation.

For a moment, my mind, which had been relaxed for a moment, was being tightened by negative emotions.

[Arin Sevellerus]