Calix sought the Emperor again. To personally engage in eliminating magical beasts, he needed the Emperor’s permission.

Since this was an important matter, I, as Calix’s personal maid, accompanied him to provide basic assistance.

The Emperor was quite surprised to see me still attached to Calix’s side, but well.

That was the extent of it.

Calix, according to plan, pleaded with the Emperor to let him take action, mentioning the welfare of the imperial citizens, but the Emperor openly mocked him.

‘Since when did you care about the imperial citizens?’

With a complex expression, Calix eventually stormed out of the Emperor’s room.

He even declared that he would act on his own. He didn’t need to be so aggressive…

Anyway, the result was going well.

“The response is good.”

“Not bad.”

Calix moved to eliminate magical beasts himself, and I followed him, helping with the extermination using my diary.

Thanks to this, the favorable public opinion toward Calix reached its peak.

Calix’s previous actions? Personally executing assassins and being called the Blood Prince, the son of a traitor? To the people, the best person is the one who feeds them and keeps them warm.

After neither the imperial family nor the temple had taken action, Calix appeared like a comet.

There was no reason not to cheer.

Of course, to accelerate this upward trend, I used several servants from the Crown Prince’s palace.

I gave special leave to a few servants who worked diligently and showed favorable attitudes toward Calix.

I had also asked them to spread some rumors.

‘Only His Highness the Crown Prince thinks about the imperial citizens.’ It wasn’t even a rumor since it was true.

“Your Highness, please act cool just once here.”

“Since Miss Rose’s schemes seem to be working well, it wouldn’t hurt to do it once more.”

But Calix was embarrassed to death by the showy propaganda.

Politics requires a certain degree of showmanship.

Well, Calix was experiencing firsthand that I was right, so he reluctantly raised his sword and shouted toward the imperial citizens.

“I shall illuminate you with light and drive away the wicked darkness!”

“Waaaaaah! Your Highness, the Crown Prince-!”

I was secretly proud. He didn’t originally have that image. An image is definitely something you create.

Ah, wait a moment… tears…

“How long do I have to do this?”

It disappeared quickly. Calix, riding his horse, asked through gritted teeth.

I lowered my voice so others couldn’t hear and replied through gritted teeth as well.

“As long as you can, do it.”

We’ve only collected 15% of Morisias’s magical energy.

Even though we seem to have defeated all the magical beasts in the capital.

“I think we can go now. We should visit the temple soon.”

At Calix’s words, Ruel frowned.

“The temple, Your Highness?”

“His Majesty said if I really want to hunt magical beasts, I should meet the Pope directly.”

I looked at Calix with wide eyes.

“He seems quite displeased with me running around causing trouble.”

The self-deprecating smile that appeared on his lips somehow looked depressing.

“What can I do? If His Majesty says so, I must obey.”

***

Calix, seemingly bothered by the buttons fastened up to his neck, fidgeted with his collar and said, “Why all this formality in this situation?”

No matter how displeased he was with the situation, the temple’s power was still strong.

Minimal formalities had to be observed, so I had hurriedly prepared his formal attire.

The temple we entered was so meticulously cleaned, even in this chaotic situation,n that it was dazzlingly white without a speck of dust.

We walked silently through the excessively clean corridor. Even without words, Calix’s irritation was palpable.

As soon as we arrived at the drawing room where the Pope was, I checked Calix’s condition.

His clothes were impeccable, and his face was perfect.

“His Highness the Crown Prince, Your Holiness.”

The large white doors were gently opened by the priests.

Inside sat the Pope, whom I had seen at the Birth Celebration.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

“It’s been a while, Your Holiness.”

Perhaps it was my imagination, but there was a chilling atmosphere.

“You’ve come about the magical beast problem, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Calix sat calmly in front of the Pope, not hiding his characteristically noble face.

Since the conversation between the two would be quite serious, I had to withdraw from the room along with the priests.

Although subordinates couldn’t hear what they were discussing, it was obvious.

Calix came to pressure the temple as per the Emperor’s orders.

Magical beasts were the temple’s responsibility, so the two should resolve it themselves.

I sighed briefly and stared at the tightly closed white door.

‘Will it be okay…?’

To be honest, no matter if Kamesis was the main deity here, I still didn’t like it.

I’m not taking Morisias’s side, but aren’t they all the same kind of beings?

Kamesis massacred the people of Levelon and established the empire.

Morisias dreams of resurrection to regain his power and take revenge, which is why he brought me here.

So I felt uneasy.

I remembered how the Pope had looked at me disapprovingly at the Birth Celebration, which made me more concerned.

‘Surely they wouldn’t do anything to Calix?’

Here, they can use divine power, so they might control Calix by infusing divine power instead of magical energy…

Since they’re both powers of gods, it seemed quite possible.

I clutched my bag tightly.

If anything happened, I would rush to Calix and open the book…

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

That’s when it happened. Along with a piercing scream, there was a rumbling sound of something collapsing.

“The temple, the temple is under attack!”

One of the priests ran toward us with a pale face, shouting.

“Protect the Pope, protect His Holiness!”

I raised my head abruptly.

Looking out the window, something seemed to be falling from the sky toward us.

Something hot and blazing in the shape of a meteor.

“It’s a meteor! Everyone protect His Holiness!”

I immediately flung open the door and ran to where Calix was. I didn’t care about being rude.

We had to escape.

“Your Highness!”

“Rose! Don’t come!”

It wasn’t even a long distance.

Bang-! As if on cue, the ceiling collapsed, and a burning meteor fell between me and Calix.

My heart lurched. Acrid smoke and dust swirled everywhere.

“Cough, hack,” I covered my nose and coughed. I had no choice but to take off the cardigan I was wearing and soak it in the small stone pond in the center of the building.

The temple was instantly engulfed in flames.

“Your Highness! Cover your nose and mouth!”

I rushed to Calix and, without warning, pressed the wet cardigan against his mouth.

“If smoke enters your lungs, it will be serious!”

“Damn it, you should do that for yourself first!”

In response to my words, Calix angrily tore the cardigan and pressed it against my mouth.

“Damn, just my luck.”

He frowned and pulled me into his arms. His gaze was directed at the sky through the collapsed ceiling.

“It’s a meteor. To break through the temple’s barrier, one would need to be at least an Archmage, but where from…”

Bang! Bang! The sound of something exploding and bursting continued to assault our ears.

It felt like we were being bombed. It was chilling.

Honestly, I was scared. It was on a different level from facing monsters or magical beasts.

Even Calix couldn’t block this kind of magic.

“Your Highness, we need to flee, we must escape.”

“Calm down. We won’t die.”

Even as he said this, Calix looked anxious. His grip on me tightened.

“Close your eyes if you don’t want to see something gruesome.”

Calix soon picked up the sword of a holy knight nearby.

And the original owner of the sword…

Was dead, crushed under a massive meteor.

My mind went blank.

“I told you not to look!”

“Y-Your Highness.”

“You don’t need to get used to sights like this, damn it.”

Calix thrust the sword into the ground with all his might.

A blue dome-like barrier formed above our heads.

“It will hold for a few minutes. We just need to endure until the mage collapses from exhaustion.”

Soon after, another massive meteor that had been streaking across the sky crashed down on us.

Crack! The meteor that hit the barrier shattered into dust. However, the recoil made Calix, who was maintaining the barrier, stagger and nearly collapse.

“Cough!”

“Your Highness!”

So much for enduring! Rough coughs mixed with blood were coming out.

“Your Highness! What’s wrong, Your Highness!”

“Don’t make a fuss. I’m fine.”

“How are you fine! You’re coughing up blood!”

I frantically wiped Calix’s mouth with my sleeve. The blood was flowing too much.

In this world, there aren’t many ways to treat internal injuries. I heard potions only work on external wounds.

Then I suddenly remembered the necklace I was wearing. Calix had said that if I bit this necklace, I would be transported to Ruel’s side.

“Your Highness. You can escape safely if you teleport alone.”

I hurriedly took off the necklace and put it around his neck.

Then I took out my diary, showed it to him, and said, “I’ll find a way out somehow, so please go first-“

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’ll shut that mouth myself. Don’t take off the necklace!”

I bit my lip hard. What is he saying? I’m telling him to escape alone! But from the look on his face, he had no intention of fleeing.

Finally, I closed my eyes tightly and opened the diary. Praying for some solution to appear.

“No…”

But there was nothing written in the diary.

It was completely blank.

“Ugh!”

“Your Highness!”

Meteors continued to rain down on Calix’s head as if they were targeting him.

What should I do?

What should I do? We won’t die like this, will we? So suddenly?

“Your Highness, you cannot die like this!”

It’s my fault. It’s because I meddled with the original story.

I should have just followed Morisias’s instructions.

No, if I followed Morisias’s instructions, he would possess Calix.

That can’t happen.

Besides, even if I followed the original story, Calix would die.

It was frustrating. What did he do wrong to be constantly pushed into a corner from all sides?

“Rose…”

“Your Highness, don’t die, just a little, just a little more strength…”

“I’m not dying, so let go of this.”

At Calix’s words, I unconsciously released his collar that I had been gripping.

And I looked around at the surroundings that had suddenly become strangely quiet.

The air raid had stopped.