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“Isn’t this a strategy game?”

Fernando’s face turned red at the voice that was so cold it bordered on being pathetic.

“Yes, of course, I know that. I’m just worried…”

“You must know that Saint Eden has the ability to read information about monsters.”

Asmun cut off Fernando’s words and continued. The noblemen’s ears perked up again at his statement.

“Right, that was the case.”

“Have you ever heard of such an ability?”

“No, it’s truly a fascinating skill. Thanks to that, the bestiary is advancing quickly, right?”

Fernando’s expression soured.

“…Yes, you mentioned that.”

“And even with low-level monsters, the Saint’s ability to exterminate them is unique. It’s a skill that hasn’t appeared for 200 years.”

“Yes… I know all of that…”

“But does that mean we should strip her of her qualifications simply because it doesn’t work on higher-level monsters? The Marquis is currently questioning the verification in the Great Temple. Can you take responsibility for what you’ve said here?”

At those words, the priests standing behind Eden also shot sharp glances.

“Ha ha, Prince Asmun. That’s quite an extreme interpretation. What I meant was…”

“Thanks to the Marquis, Hamun must be angry, and it wouldn’t be wrong for the Saint to never come down to the Hesmoro Empire again.”

Fernando’s expression shrank under the chilling voice.

He glanced at Patriar, but Patriar looked at him as if he were completely unrelated to the matter.

Ultimately, Fernando bowed his head to apologize.

“…Such things should never happen. I didn’t mean to suggest that the Saint should be stripped of her qualifications. I apologize if I was rude, Saint.”

Eden looked at the deflated Marquis with a kind smile.

“It’s okay.”

Then she added mischievously.

“However, since you doubt my existence, I won’t be able to give you a blessing. May Hamun forgive you, Marquis.”

As Eden smiled brightly, Fernando stared at her with a completely dazed expression.

“I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Taking advantage of everyone’s attention being scattered, Eden slipped away from the priests and into the banquet hall’s terrace, greeted by a smiling Asmun.

If it weren’t for Asmun, she would have been humiliated according to Patriar’s intentions, and her reputation as a Saint would have been in shambles.

Always appearing in these decisive moments, Asmun fascinated and grateful her to the point she couldn’t hide her joy.

Though she pretended otherwise, standing alone all day was indeed lonely.

Asmun looked at Eden and replied nonchalantly.

“That’s what I was planning.”

At those words, Eden was puzzled.

“Then why did you come? You’re busy, aren’t you?”

Asmun’s answer to her curious question was incredibly simple.

“I heard the Saint would come.”

The expression of the man making that statement was excessively calm.

“I couldn’t help but want to see you.”

It was Eden who felt her face heat up instead.

How could he say such a thing without batting an eye?

Eden’s ears turned as red as Marquis Fernando’s face from earlier.

“Your Highness, you look like you can’t say such things, yet you do it incredibly well, you know?”

“What do you mean by how I look?”

“You really don’t know?”

His silence in response, simply gazing at her, showed that he genuinely seemed unaware.

Eden decided to enlighten this oblivious man.

“I’m sorry to say, but sometimes, no, actually quite often, you look terrifyingly cold. You’re so scary that, Your Highness, do you know that the young ladies in the banquet hall are glancing at you?”

“…I don’t know.”

His voice sounded disinterested as if he couldn’t care less whether the ladies were looking at him or not. Eden couldn’t help but chuckle at his utter indifference.

“How can you not know? It’s always been like that.”

Eden recalled seeing countless young ladies casting glances at Asmun during the founding ceremony when they first met.

“But they could never approach you. You have such an icy demeanor that they’re probably afraid of making a fool of themselves in the Empire’s banquet.”

This man, quietly listening to her words, still wore that utterly disinterested expression, making Eden laugh inwardly.

“But I will admit, you’re too handsome for anyone to dare approach.”

At her words, his previously indifferent red eyes slowly focused.

“…So, you like my face?”

“Huh?”

“I would hope so. If not, I might have to try harder.”

Eden was momentarily struck dumb, staring at Asmun, who was gazing at her without blinking. Such a thing was far too embarrassing for someone with that unbothered expression.

The faint sound of music from inside the banquet hall and the pleasantly cool night breeze only made her heart race even more.

“…You’re making jokes.”

“Joke? I’m always serious with the Saint.”

Asmun took a step closer and stared at her intently.

“I’m always sincere with the Saint.”

With his straightforward confession, Eden’s heart sank low.

An unsettling sweetness lingered at the tip of her throat, while a threatening unease brushed against her chest.

Asmun’s fondness for her must not grow any further. If his feelings deepen…

But Asmun was now looking at her with eyes full of warm tenderness, wiping away all that earlier indifference. A gaze that the ladies inside the banquet hall would never know.

She simply couldn’t suppress her fluttering heart.

“It feels nice to be here just the two of us, without interruptions.”

He whispered quietly as he looked at Eden.

Eden could immediately guess who he meant by interruptions. He hadn’t forgotten about the previous incident with Hagen’ti.

“Please don’t nurture a disaster with shallow sympathy. You are not someone the Saint can handle.”

Eden recalled Asmun’s warning from that day.

Why did Asmun liken Hagen’ti to a disaster?

The only one who knew about Hagen’ti’s rampage was her. Or maybe Sereman did too.

“Your Highness, about the last time… with Hagen’ti…”

“I don’t want to hear about him right now.”

Eden cautiously began to speak, but Asmun immediately cut her off with a firm voice. The warmth that had just melted her heart had vanished, replaced by a sudden chill.

“Okay, I won’t mention it.”

As Eden quickly shifted her stance, Asmun’s gaze finally softened a bit. She quickly changed the subject to keep the mood light.

“Ah, have you looked into Silverstone?”

At that question, Asmun recalled the story he had heard from Baron Baster.

“The only thing I know is that a magician came, resolved the issue, and took Silverstone as payment. He claimed to be both a magician and an alchemist, saying he could change the terrifying powers of that gem.”

The final whereabouts of Silverstone had been a mystery since the alchemist had disappeared, but judging by Baron Baster’s words, it seemed the drifting tales about Silverstone were not entirely fiction.

“Spinel. I think the magician’s name was Spinel.”

Now, they needed to find Spinel, but he had been active 80 years ago and vanished to study Silverstone, making it difficult to locate him.

However, if they could find some information about him, they would be one step closer to Silverstone than Patriar.

“I’m looking into the alchemist who studied Silverstone.”

“Is it possible to find him?”

“It might take some time, but I’m sure I’ll find him eventually, so don’t worry.”

Eden nodded with a serious expression.

The night breeze blew through the terrace, tousling her delicate hair. Asmun watched her and slowly reached out, brushing aside the messy brown locks that had fallen over her face.

That gentle touch made Eden’s heart race again. Asmun really had some audacity to do something so bold with that calm demeanor.

“…That day.”

Even after moving away the stray hair, Asmun’s hand lingered by her face.

Eden held her breath as she gazed into Asmun’s eyes, which were now so close.

“Do you know how afraid I was when I received the Saint’s letter?”

As Asmun reminisced in a calm voice, Eden felt a pang in her heart.

But Asmun wasn’t angry or scolding her about that incident. Rather, it felt close to an affectionate confession.

Realizing that, a flutter stirred deep within her.

“Do you fear anything?”

Asmun simply couldn’t tear his gaze away from Eden, as if he were worried she might disappear at any moment.

“I didn’t before meeting you.”

Ah…

At that remark, Eden’s heart trembled as if it might spill over. Asmun was openly confessing his vulnerabilities.

“You must never disappear in front of me again.”

Within those eyes, which were so close, there was a fear that hadn’t existed before.

This development was truly troubling…

“This is a request.”

His quiet voice held a fragile plea, and there was no denying the sincerity behind it. Which made it all the more imperative that those feelings should not deepen.

Eden realized that Asmun’s breath was getting closer, yet she couldn’t move an inch. A fierce conflict raged somewhere deep inside her.

This can’t be… I can’t give in…

Just as Eden braced herself to close her eyes in defeat against her own battle,

BOOM—!

A deafening crash resonated from inside the banquet hall, shaking the terrace where the two stood violently.

 

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