<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Chapter 126>

In an instant, Karon grasped the twisted relationship, causing Jepar’s smile to fade.

“Commander of the Holy Knights. Do you even realize how out of line you’re being right now?”

“Out of line? Who decides what’s out of line? Is it the Grand Duke? Looks like you’re trying to play god now.”

“This was already approved at the Great Temple. So why is the Commander of the Holy Knights barging in, causing chaos, and insisting on meeting the Saint?”

Jepar no longer tried to hide his growing irritation and glared openly at Karon.

“Why is it unreasonable for a holy knight to meet the Saint? Isn’t it the Grand Duke’s actions that truly cut off the Saint from the outside world? Or are you afraid the Saint might just leave with me?”

Karon’s signature kind yet sarcastic tone had Jepar glaring daggers at him, though he soon regained his composure and forced a smile.

“She will be my wife before she is the Saint. Ah, or perhaps…”

Jepar raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Do you have feelings for the Saint?”

That comment finally pushed Karon’s patience past its limit. He raised his sword once more.

“If you keep blocking me, I have no choice. I must meet the Saint today.”

Jepar’s expression grew stern at Karon’s determination to meet Eden, even if it meant using force.

“This is treason.”

“It seems you and I have different definitions of treason. I think keeping someone who can resolve the Empire’s threats locked away for personal gain is the real treason here.”

“…Locked away? The Saint came to me on her own.”

Karon smiled brightly.

“So let’s confirm that.”

His smile showed no signs of retreat.

Frustrated, Jepar clamped his mouth shut, glaring at him. A storm of calculations whirred in Jepar’s mind.

Karon was not only the Commander of the Holy Knights but also the only son of the esteemed Marquess Citrile.

Though he had turned down the position of the Royal Knight Commander to become a holy knight, he was a talented individual the emperor was patiently waiting for.

It would be a problem to harm him, and losing half of his troops to Karon’s sword would also be an issue.

Truly, an unexpected variable. Not the 3rd Prince, but the Commander of the Holy Knights! If it had been Asmun, things might have been easier.

Moreover, had he ever seen the Commander of the Holy Knights so agitated?

Those eyes were ones he did not want Eden to encounter, yet there was no other option.

“Alright. Since you’re causing such a ruckus, I suppose I’ll have to confirm directly.”

With that, Jepar let Karon into the mansion and had him wait in the reception room.

After a while, the woman he had been waiting for rushed into the reception room.

“Commander!”

Karon, who had been sitting there motionless, waiting for Eden without touching the tea the maids had brought, immediately got up to greet her.

“Saint.”

Her face was blissfully familiar. Karon had even dreamt of that face occasionally.

“Commander… You’ve returned from the expedition.”

Her worried expression, gentle yet strong voice, and sparkling eyes, full of life, were all just as he remembered.

It was only after confirming her presence that the chaos swirling within Karon began to settle.

“Yes. The Saint…”

Karon started to ask about her, then fell silent, unsure of what to say.

“…Why are you here?”

Frustration mixed with confusion escaped as his words. Eden’s expression turned awkward.

“Are all the rumors true?”

It was indeed awkward. It had been suffocating to lie to Asmun, but it felt even harder to speak to Karon. The thought of disappointing him twisted his stomach into knots.

But he couldn’t tell Karon that he was here in the Grand Duchy because of Asmun’s weaknesses.

“…Yes, it’s true.”

Finally, with Eden’s best answer, Karon fell silent. His face looked incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe the confirmation from the source.

A heavy silence filled the room, pressing down like a weight on their hearts. With no excuses to offer, Eden could only hang her head.

After a long pause, Karon finally spoke.

“…The Empire.”

There was no disappointment or anger in his still steady voice. Just a hint of sadness woven into his normally firm tone.

“You said you’d save it.”

His voice harshly pierced Eden’s conscience.

“You said I was… necessary.”

Karon could not accept this situation. He thought Eden was the only one who could correct this mess.

Now, he was finally prepared to stake everything on her.

“Commander.”

“You know the Empire needs the Saint’s help now more than ever.”

Eden’s face momentarily turned blank at his words.

What was he talking about?

“Surely you must know that unknown monsters have emerged in Reblem and Phileden, spreading a plague?”

As Karon asked, peering at Eden with intense eyes, her gaze froze.

“Reblem…?”

Seeing her face, which clearly showed she was unaware of the situation outside, Karon was convinced Jepar was blocking all news.

Only then did the tension in Karon’s blue eyes unravel.

Relief, anger, and unpleasant confusion surged all at once.

Jepar was using Eden because she was the Saint. Because she was the reincarnated Saint after 200 years.

But Jepar was well aware that someone claiming to be the new Saint had emerged and yet blocked Eden’s ears and eyes.

Why on earth?

“You weren’t aware.”

“What do you mean? There’s a plague?”

As Eden panicked and questioned, the door to the reception room burst open, and Jepar entered.

“It seems the conversation is dragging on too long. Now that you’ve heard what you wanted, you should leave.”

“Wait a moment, Grand Duke.”

“The allotted time has expired.”

As Jepar put his arm around Eden’s shoulder and tried to turn away, Karon’s eyes turned icy.

Instead of striking Jepar, he confronted him with words that would undoubtedly hit hardest.

“Someone is claiming to be the new Saint.”

Karon’s voice resonated heavily behind Eden and Jepar. Unable to suppress herself, Eden turned back.

Jepar helplessly halted, glaring into space with irritation.

“…What?”

“He is someone the 2nd Prince found.”

As Eden’s heart raced at the mention of a new Saint and the Patriar’s name, danger bells rang loudly in her mind.

“He is resolving the plague in Phileden. With divine power. Furthermore…”

Karon held back a short sigh, almost in disbelief before continuing.

“He’s bringing the dead back to life.”

Upon hearing that, Jepar eyed Eden sharply.

Eden stood frozen, staring at Karon in disbelief.

“The Emperor will soon dismiss the Saint…”

“…”

“And appoint him as the new Saint.”

As Karon stared at Eden with a complicated expression, a new quest notification popped up above his head.

Ding!

Karon’s words were overshadowed by the new quest, and Eden’s mind spiraled into complete panic.

New Saint, Holy Sword, Fairy Tribe.

All unexpected terms that she never imagined would come up.

Yet, during the time she was bound in the Grand Duchy, she could piece together what was happening.

‘So, monsters have begun appearing in Reblem and Phileden, spreading a plague, and the Patriar is dealing with it by employing a new Saint.’

This fact led to even more assumptions.

It had not been a month since she left the capital, and in that short time, such radical events had unfolded and even begun to resolve, meaning the one fixing the problem is most likely the one who caused it.

‘It was all the Patriar’s doing.’

The monsters and the plague were all orchestrated by the Patriar. Thus, it was no surprise that these issues were confined to the realms of Reblem, under Asmun’s purview, and Phileden, under the Patriar’s control.

‘But a Saint…’

That was genuinely something she had not expected at all.

“He’s bringing the dead back to life.”

That made Eden recall the requirements Asmun mentioned regarding being a Saint.

“One is to have healing powers strong enough to bring back the dead, and the other is to possess divine powers capable of exorcising monsters.”

So Karon’s words meant someone with the remaining ability she did not have had appeared.

“…Could it really be a genuine Saint?”

The point of her worry was exactly there.

Though she had come this far, she was merely a player who started as an Apprentice Priest, and as the subordinates of the Patriar pointed out, her ability to exorcise monsters was far from complete.

But if someone possessed the divine power to revive the dead and heal the plague, that person would be far closer to being the ‘real’ Saint than she ever could be.