“I was helpful, right?”

When I turned to the side at the purring laughter, Yuphe was closely attached to me.

Setting aside how he had followed me in without me noticing…

“What happened?”

I was puzzled about how he had appeared from that alley when arrows had clearly come from the opposite direction, and it wasn’t like he had two bodies.

“Oh, that. Damian shot it.”

“Damian?”

“He’s probably busy running away from the emperor’s knights right now.”

Yuphe explained with a snicker.

I could somewhat understand why Damian’s personality had changed.

I stared at him quietly before speaking in a resolute voice.

“Thanks for your help, but you should leave too. I told you not to appear before me.”

“Mmm…”

Yuphe responded with a significantly smaller voice and nodded.

I almost felt my heart soften at the sight of his drooping eyes, but I was determined not to let things slide until he properly explained himself to me.

I walked past Yupheon toward the window. Glancing down, I saw that Niel was no longer visible.

I had been worried about what to do if he continued standing there stubbornly, so this was a relief.

‘He seemed like he would never leave…’

He must have been quite offended by my question about coveting the throne.

As I closed the window and turned around, Yupheon was still there, standing in front of me without leaving.

He called out to me with a fidgety expression, as if gauging my reaction.

“Jella.”

“What.”

When I responded in a curt voice, he hesitated a little, but then, seemingly gathering courage, looked straight at me and said.

“If Niel Alpenhayer is troubling you, I can help.”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?”

At my question, he pondered for a moment before asking with a rather serious expression.

“…Should I kill that man for you?”

“….”

I momentarily lost words and pressed my forehead.

“Jella?”

Facing him as he tilted his head at my reaction, I delivered a sharp rebuke.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Are you trying to make me an emperor assassin?”

What kind of peace would that be?

I had no intention of instigating murder or becoming an emperor assassin.

“Shall I drive him away?”

Cail asked.

I was about to answer “yes” reflexively when I suddenly remembered that he was currently staying officially at the imperial palace at the emperor’s invitation.

“Then can you help me get to the northern forest of the imperial palace without Niel knowing?”

When I changed my mind from wanting to drive him away and asked, Yupheon’s expression brightened.

“Yes!”

He said with eyes twinkling so brightly it was almost burdensome.

“If it’s your request, anything.”

“We need to avoid the emperor’s eyes. It won’t be easy.”

“Don’t worry, Jella. Even if I have to sell the Holy Nation, I’ll help you safely reach the northern forest.”

His confident declaration was reassuring.

‘Even if things go wrong and we’re discovered, the pope of the Holy Nation would be someone Niel couldn’t touch carelessly.’

I explained the situation in more detail as I went up to the second floor with Yuphe.

“Since we don’t know when Niel might barge in again with his knights, it would be good to move as quickly as possible. And the person who needs to go to the northern forest isn’t me but…”

“Sister…!”

“Have the knights left now?”

Just then, the organization members who had been hiding quietly on the third floor were coming down to the second floor.

The moment Yuria, who had been hiding with them, peeked her head out.

Swoosh.

Yuphe’s smiling expression instantly changed to a blank one.

A certain intuition struck me as a similar situation came to mind.

“Cail.”

And the moment I called Cail’s name.

“Kyaaak!”

Just as Yuphe lunged at Yuria, Cail blocked him.

Yuria and the organization members, frightened by the fierce situation that unfolded in the blink of an eye, quickly hid back on the third floor.

I looked at Cail and Yuphe facing off tensely before standing beside Cail.

Then, raising one eyebrow at Yuphe, I said.

“I’ll throw you out if you touch my client.”

“Client…?”

“The person who needs to go to the northern forest of the imperial palace isn’t me, it’s Yuria. I’ll return after taking her there.”

“…Ah.”

Yupheon, who had been blinking with a blank face, nodded at those words and muttered to himself.

“So that’s why Niel Alpenhayer…”

“If you’ve changed your mind, you can just leave.”

“….”

He fell silent for a while at my words.

But not long after, he smiled gently and shook his head.

“No way. I’ll help you do what you want.”

Yuphe said he would cooperate with me willingly.

“I understand why we need to go without Niel Alpenhayer knowing. We absolutely can’t let him find out. If he sees Yuria, he’ll definitely try to kill her.”

It was then that I was looking at him with a suspicious expression, as he spoke as if it wasn’t about himself.

“Jella, that man is saying one thing but is actually thinking about how to let the emperor discover us without you knowing.”

Cail whispered in my ear.

At those words, I glared at him, and Yuphe made an aggrieved expression.

“That’s absolutely not true. I’ll swear in God’s name that I’ll safely take you and that woman to the northern forest.”

“Don’t be deceived, Jella. This fellow has the worst faith among us. Tell him to swear by your name, not God’s.”

“….”

With Cail’s additional comment, the aggrieved look on Yuphe’s face instantly disappeared, leaving only an expression of disappointment at being caught.

It seemed that the oath in God’s name was indeed false, as Cail had said.

When I looked at him askew, he spoke in a very dejected voice.

“…Alright. I’ll swear by you.”

His voice stretched out, becoming sticky.

I thought an oath sworn by me had no meaning, but Cail grinned, saying we could trust him now.

We gathered at the table on the second floor to discuss how to safely reach the northern forest of the imperial palace while avoiding the emperor’s eyes.

But suddenly, Cail hesitated and stared fixedly somewhere.

“What’s wrong, Cail?”

“I’ll be away for a moment.”

“…?”

Not understanding, I looked at the place he had left.

During the brief pause in our discussion.

“Ah, right. Yuphe.”

Showing him the holy grail I had stolen from the pseudo-believers yesterday, I asked.

“Do you know what this is?”

I had asked Yuria last night, but she couldn’t identify it.

As soon as Yuria saw the holy grail, her face turned pale, and she asked me back.

‘Why do you have such a cursed object?’

‘What is this?’

‘I don’t know either. But I saw that person stealing people’s life force with it. It must be a very evil object.’

‘That person? Who is that person?’

‘….’

Yuria opened her mouth to answer my question, but no sound came out from between her trembling lips.

It seemed a taboo was placed on her.

‘Could it be that pseudo-cult leader?’

‘….’

Yuria still couldn’t answer, but she responded by shaking her pupils vigorously.

What on earth was the cult leader’s identity…

Anyway, I examined the holy grail, but there was nothing particularly strange about its appearance.

With the thought of breaking it if it was an evil object, I took out a hammer and tried to hit it, but the holy grail didn’t break. Instead, the hammer bounced off, nearly seriously injuring Yuria who was watching nearby.

It was very suspicious that even I couldn’t destroy it with my strength.

“Why are you trying to break it? What a waste.”

Yuphe, who had been listening to my explanation silently, said.

“Isn’t this a cursed object?”

“This is a sacred artifact.”

This suspicious object that stole people’s life force is a sacred artifact?

Reading my doubtful gaze, Yuphe added an explanation.

“Sacred artifacts don’t necessarily refer to holy and pious objects, but to all objects imbued with the power of ancient gods.”

“The cult leader was stealing people’s life force with this.”

“Cult leader?”

“The man you attacked.”

“Ah.”

Yuphe nodded, letting out a short exclamation at my explanation.

“I see he was barely surviving by stealing people’s life force with this.”

“Do you know who the cult leader is?”

“Hmm…”

His expression changed subtly for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Jella. I can’t tell you.”

His voice conveyed a sense of difficulty as he answered.

Instead of pressing further about the cult leader’s identity, I asked something else.

“Is there any way to return people’s life force?”

“What’s already been taken can’t be returned. He would have converted and used it with his own power.”

“Then what about the people lying down after having their life force stolen by the cult leader?”

To me, muttering in a worried voice, he said nonchalantly.

“Well, that’s those people’s situation…”

Glare.

Under my glaring gaze, he quickly changed his words.

“Do you want to heal those people?”

“Is there a way?”

“Yes.”

Yuphe nodded with a bright smile.

Just then, with footsteps, Cail, who had disappeared earlier, returned carrying Tenes draped over his shoulder.

Then he slammed Tenes onto the floor.

“Aaaah! Please save me, Sister!”

Tenes, sprawled on the floor, pleaded tearfully toward Jella.

“What’s going on?”

When I asked in a puzzled voice at Cail’s uncharacteristically violent behavior, Cail looked down at him with cold eyes and said.

“Jella, this man reeks of a very disgusting smell.”

“Smell?”

I sniffed but couldn’t smell anything.

Cail frowned and said.

“The smell of Niel Alpenhayer.”