His eyes fluttered open.
Shiron looked around, trying to determine where he was.
The first thing he noticed was a large glass window filling his vision, followed by a red carpet spread across the entire floor. Marble statues, a wooden desk, and a black leather chair with a subtle sheen.
He was currently not in a white room but in Hugo Prient’s office, seated on a large sofa.
‘What on earth…’
Having ascertained his return to reality, Shiron blinked with noticeably lighter eyelids.
In front of him stood two maids and another individual, all wearing somewhat anxious expressions.
“Master? Is something troubling you?”
Seeing Shiron suddenly looking around as if lost, the blonde maid inquired with concern.
“…Why? Do I look sick?”“Um… you sweated profusely.”
“Cold sweat?”
Upon hearing Encia’s words, Shiron touched his forehead.
Feeling the dampness, Shiron reached into his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief. Only after wiping away the beads of sweat did he manage to speak.
“I want to ask something.”
“…Go ahead.”
The one who answered was Encia. Although he directed the question at the three in front of him, Ophilia hesitated while Berta kept looking around, assessing the mood.
However, one respondent would suffice. He just needed to confirm how his physical body in ‘this place’ had reacted while he was in that peculiar space.
“Did anything happen to me?”
“Anything? Um… As I said, you did sweat a lot just now.”
“Not that.”
Shiron adjusted his question, his head tilting.
“So, did I move somewhere, or did I perhaps faint? Anything like that?”
“…It seems you experienced something significant.”
Hearing the conversation, Ophilia’s eyes narrowed slightly. Shiron slowly nodded in affirmation.
“Just answer the question first.”
“You were right here, on the sofa in the office, with your head down.”
“How much time passed since I last spoke?”
“…After you seemed deep in thought, you looked around. Not much time passed, maybe about 2 minutes?”
“…I see.”
Shiron recalled what had transpired in that white room. He met an angel, saw a corpse, and was bestowed protection. Though it felt like hours had passed, almost no time had passed here.
“Just now, I met someone. We had an extensive conversation, but it seems very little time passed here.”
“…Can you tell us who you met?”
Encia furrowed her brow as she spoke. Shiron recalled the young girl, shocked upon seeing the demon’s mark.
‘Should I tell them…?’
Despite their inability to refuse commands due to their contract, Shiron hesitated to spill every detail about his encounter in that peculiar white room.
“…I met an angel.”
Shiron’s face reddened, and he looked down. It was somewhat embarrassing to suddenly say he had met an angel after waking up. Even if those in front of him were demons, it felt rather juvenile, almost as if he was in a phase of teenage delusion.
“An angel?”
“Yes, the ones with the shining halo above their heads. That’s what she said.”
He thought of Latera, who seemed to see right through him. She claimed to be a guardian angel protecting the Hero’s House.
‘She was a handful.’
Having one’s thoughts read was mentally taxing for Shiron.
‘It’s overwhelming to receive such unconditional goodwill from her. After all, we just met. How could she act so intimately?’
There wasn’t a bond built between Shiron and Latera. Shiron didn’t know her, yet Latera could see deep into his heart.
‘The whole “senior” thing is awkward.’
The more they talked, the more unknowns cropped up, unsettling Shiron. Especially the “senior” that Latera often referred to.
Shiron was certain that this was the same entity Yuma mentioned during the succession ceremony—the Apostle of God who gave the holy sword to Kyrie.
The game didn’t mention the existence of an angel that bestowed the holy sword to the hero and even contributed to the creation of the suspicious Prient family.
If he even thought about that mysterious person even once, an overwhelming negative emotion was bound to burst out.
At a glance, he looked like the main antagonist. It was quite hard to not only hide his true feelings in front of the girl who was openly expressing her admiration for that villain but also to control himself from even thinking about that man.
He also had a hard time controlling various thoughts.
He deliberately did not think about Lucia, who was the real hero.
He barely restrained himself from thinking that this world was a game world, and that he had possessed someone in it.
“But, I did benefit from it. I didn’t lose anything.”
“She also gave me this.”
“What is it?”
“Step back a bit. It might be dangerous.”
Shiron spread his palm upwards.
There was nothing tangible about the three protective charms… But the divine power was different.
Hwaak-
A warm light began to emanate from Shiron’s palm. Using it wasn’t too difficult.
He was able to manifest divine power just by the will to use it.
“Divine power…”
“Can I touch it a little?”
“Go ahead.”
Shiron nodded in response to Encia’s request.
As soon as Encia inserted her finger into the white light, she quickly pulled it out, grimacing.
“It’s very cold. With this much power, it’s like a bishop who just received ordination.”
“That much? Your finger is fine. The holy sword hurt Ophilia even without giving power.”
“It’s strange that the holy sword, which is defense-specialized, was able to cut Ophilia’s skin.”
Encia giggled and shook her head.
She thought that her young lord didn’t realize the extent of his newfound abilities.
“So, about that.”
Shiron gestured with his chin towards Berta, who had been silent until now.
“Me?”
“I’ve been thinking about the identity of the one who’s been tailing us, and I can’t figure it out. Even after going through everything in my head, I can’t get a clue. The 3rd Prince told you to investigate the Prient family, didn’t he?”
Shiron pointed to the bag next to Berta.
“Give me that for a moment. I want to see what’s inside.”
“This is an invasion of privacy… No, I’ll give it!”
Berta hesitated for a moment but quickly handed over the bag when Shiron reached out.
“I know about privacy. Ophilia, check the bag for anything suspicious.”
“Understood.”
Ophilia began to rummage through the brown document bag.
Soon after, she laid out a few sheets of paper and documents on the table.
Shiron began to skim through them. Then, one of the sheets caught his eye.
“What is this?”
Shiron read aloud, clearly agitated.
“The end of the men who married Prient’s daughters was to become beaten husbands… Why do you have such a document?”
“The… 3rd Prince wanted to build a good relationship with you, so he conducted such an investigation.”
Berta blushed in embarrassment.
“And he read all of this?”
“…Yes. He found it interesting and read every single one.”
“He’s crazy.”
Shiron massaged his temples and closed his eyes. He then pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket and picked up a pen.
“Berta, do me a favor.”
“…What?”
“I’ll write a letter. Deliver it to him.”
With a smirk, Shiron began writing on the paper.
“A letter?”
Inside the palace where the Third Prince resided.
The Third Prince, Victor Ado de Rien, alternately glanced at the black-haired woman in front of him and the letter she handed him.
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Berta, who showed her respect as a subordinate, obviously looked pale. The fearsome master made sure she couldn’t even check the content of the letter, sealing it with wax before giving it to her.
Victor shifted his gaze from her and broke the wax seal. The emblem carved into the wax was the familiar seal of Hugo Prient.
The content of the letter was shocking.
[Do you have no shame sneaking around and investigating while claiming to be a man?]
[If you want to meet me that badly, come directly. If you’re scared, bring your army if you wish.]
[If you don’t, I’ll barge in.]
Victor’s mouth hung open in disbelief.
Ignoring the rough choice of words for a moment, the audacity of the message, seemingly challenging a royal like Victor to a fight, was almost unbelievable.
Victor tried to calm himself, pressing down his trembling eyelids.
“This isn’t from Lord Hugo. Who sent this?”
“It’s from Shiron Prient.”
“Ah… Hmm…”
Victor, crossing his arms and tilting his head, burst into laughter soon after. He had been curious about the kind of person Shiron was, and this letter made things pretty clear.
“It seems… I’ve made an enemy. Haha.”
Carefully folding the letter and placing it beside him, Victor wiped away a stray tear from his eye and chuckled.
“I should visit him soon.”
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