Noah watched Ariel and Leopold from a distance.

The affectionate appearance of the two made his heart grow uncomfortable.

‘When Ariel Clark faced death in her previous life, her soul was extinguished because of her sins.’

When one touches dark magic, Lumiere extinguishes the soul of that person. It was His intention to eradicate the seed of evil.

Ariel Clark, blinded by love, even tried to kill the saint He had chosen with her own hands, without knowing this fact.

Blind love.

What lay at the end was death.

‘When her life, which I thought was so foolish, ended at the hands of Leopold…’

An inexplicable rage surged up, leading him to make a choice he himself could not understand.

「Regression」

Turning back time.

However, since Ariel’s soul had already been extinguished, someone else was needed to replace her soul to turn back time.

Even if the Demon King was considered a god, there was a price to pay for turning back time.

Therefore, the Demon King decided to pour all his powers into turning back time.

―I will turn back time. So that you won’t forget everything you have seen and heard, I will engrave your memories into your soul. You come to me. And tell me. Everything you have seen and heard.

―Yes, Your Majesty.

The Demon King had no knowledge of what would happen after turning back time, so he thought his existence might completely disappear from this world.

But who knows.

If he were to be born into this world as a human…

He hoped he could meet Ariel as a human. It didn’t matter if someone else was inside her.

‘If I hadn’t engraved memories into Diaton’s soul.’

By now, he might have been content living as an ordinary human, guarding the White territory.

After all preparations were done, the Demon King turned back time and summoned someone to replace her through the twisted gap in space and time.

Through that twisted gap transcending space and time, the current Ariel received a part of the Demon King’s powers, granting her the highest abilities a human could enjoy.

“Haah…”

Despite all the trouble he did to save Ariel Clark, he missed the chance to be by her side because he was a step too late.

How could he win her over?

Noah Diaz’s mind became busy as he watched Ariel and Leopold.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh! You are…”

It was Liese.

‘I thought I recognized that face, it was Duke Noah Diaz.’

She bowed to Noah.

“It seems you are participating in the hunt.”

Noah silently nodded.

“I’ve been drafted for this event. I hope you hunt safely without injury.”

After bowing once more, Liese walked away briskly.

‘Liese Willington…’

Upon further thought, he remembered she was Leopold’s lover before time was turned back.

Then, that woman who looked like a simpleton…

‘The saint chosen by Lumiere!’

His golden eyes trembled violently.

***

The portal brought them to Helmir Forest, located in the northern border region of Atlan.

The very place where Ariel had been active as a demonic beast hunter.

Helmir Forest, where ancient trees soared endlessly towards the sky, was shaded by leaves so dense that the fierce sun could not penetrate.

Leopold had sent people in advance to cut down several trees in the forest and ordered them to build accommodations and a central management center for the participants on that spot.

‘He managed to do this within a week.’

Not just Leopold, but Ariel once again realized how remarkable the abilities of his subordinates were.

Mages were deployed everywhere, of course, and magical barriers created by them protected this base camp.

“You seem surprised.”

“It’s amazing. I would believe it if you told me these buildings were originally here.”

“We couldn’t do it half-heartedly. This is the first event hosted by the imperial family since you were crowned empress.”

If she had known in advance there were so many things to take care of, she would have asked for just a banquet or tea party…

Leopold didn’t show it, so she hadn’t noticed.

‘Of course, it was hard to see his face.’

She already thought he was always that busy. But now, thinking about it, he must have been busy preparing for the hunt.

Ariel smiled uncomfortably.

“Thank you for caring. I haven’t done anything.”

“Now you will. Didn’t you want to hunt?”

Leopold took Ariel’s hand and led her onto the stage.

When the two appeared, the tumult created by the large crowd soon quieted down.

Ariel, not accustomed to such attention, stood behind Leopold stiffly.

Leopold firmly held her slender hand.

Richard handed Leopold a microphone.

“This hunting festival is fraught with danger. The number of demonic beasts has increased rapidly, and they are becoming stronger, so caution is necessary.”

Leopold’s voice echoed through the forest via loudspeakers.

“Therefore, this place is specially designed to be protected by magical barriers. It’s fine to use either bows or swords. If you encounter any dangerous situations, press the buzzer given to you by the servants! The elite members of the knight order will come to rescue you.”

At Leopold’s words, the people fiddled with the red buzzers they had taken out of their pockets.

Pressing it would immediately allow mages and elite knights to locate their position from the central management center.

“Madams and young ladies should head to the monster hunting ground within the barrier. Raise the spirit of the Atlan Empire! Rewards will be given to those who catch the most demonic beasts and those who catch the largest demonic beasts!”

“Wowwwww—!”

Loud cheers rang through the forest, causing birds to fly into the sky in all directions.

Members of the Dragon Knight Order and young lords of noble families started running with sparkling eyes to gain the imperial family’s attention.

Noah Diaz also disappeared into the forest.

Ariel’s throat moved up and down as she watched their movements.

Finally, the hunt for demonic beasts begins.

‘How long has it been since I last hunted.’

The sword on her back seemed to whine, as if it was starving for blood.

Just as Ariel was about to step into the forest, Leopold tapped her on the shoulder.

“It might be better for you to go to the hunting grounds within the barrier.”

“Me?”

It was an unexpected suggestion…

Even though she had been stripped of her mana, hunting small monsters like rabbits or squirrels seemed far too trivial.

“Oh, I want to go out to the forest too.”

Ariel pleaded as she took Leopold’s hand.

But Leopold’s expression was firm.

“No. It’s too dangerous. I’ll go patrol and hunt with Evan.”

Ariel’s eyebrows drooped in disappointment.

She had been looking forward to this day. How could this happen?

“Alright. Please be careful.”

Leopold stroked Ariel’s head, who was pouting in dissatisfaction, and then embraced her.

“Please understand me. If anything were to happen to you, I couldn’t bear it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Resigning to the situation, Ariel closed her eyes in his embrace.

***

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

May approached Ariel’s side.

“The monster hunting grounds are ready.”

May knew better than anyone that Ariel was disappointed.

“Yes, May. Let’s go see what it’s like.”

Ariel replied with a forced smile to May’s worried expression.

“This way.”

Guided by May, Ariel headed to the monster hunting grounds. The madams and young ladies were already there, hunting monsters.

“There, there, there! A rabbit demon!”

A young lady in a yellow outfit sprinted after the demon that disappeared behind a tree.

“Got it!”

A young lady in a pink outfit appeared triumphantly, holding the neck of a squirrel-like monster.

Arrows were strapped to her back.

‘She’s using a bow instead of a sword.’

Ariel’s interest shifted to her.

A knight guarding the area took the monster, inspected it, and then put it into a large bag before recording the catch in a notebook he held.

“Lady Solviche of the Count of Platanas has caught one monster.”

“I can’t believe I’m the first to start!”

Solviche Platanas smiled brightly, showing her white teeth, as other women looked at her enviously.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

The noblewomen noticed Ariel Diaz’s arrival and greeted her.

Naturally, Solviche Platanas’s gaze also shifted to Ariel.

‘Ariel Diaz. That was my spot!’

Solviche glared at Ariel with sharp eyes.

That’s when it happened.

“Lady Solviche.”

Ariel slowly walked towards her. Caught off guard, Solviche’s eyes widened in surprise.