What was happening?

He had never shown such tension when facing monsters or encountering enemies who outnumbered allies. But now he looked terrified, ready to collapse at any moment.

The Emperor was watching Lucifer with somewhat curious eyes.

“Lucifer, why are you so worried?”

“I’m not, Your Majesty.”

“Didn’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then why are you so restless? Relax.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When the Emperor comforted him, Lucifer’s face relaxed slightly.

The Emperor nodded to the knights holding my arms. I was then dragged out of the hall by the knights.

But just outside in the corridor, we immediately encountered the Imperial Princess walking toward us.

“What’s this? Why is a mere slave walking through the Imperial Palace corridors?”

She shone even more brilliantly than yesterday. Almost declaring herself the main character of today’s welcoming banquet. 

I felt shabby in my plain white dress. So embarrassed by the comparison to the beautiful Imperial Princess that I wanted to hide.

Lost in admiration for a moment while staring at the Imperial Princess, I noticed her irritated gaze. Realizing my mistake, I immediately knelt down.

“Leitria of Belial greets Your Highness the Imperial Princess.”

“Of Belial? Where do you get the right to claim a surname? A slave like you.”

I held my breath at the Imperial Princess’s words. If I talked back, her hand would probably fly at me like yesterday. Of course, her words weren’t wrong either.

What surname could a princess of a fallen nation have? For a slave, a surname was a luxury.

“Where are you taking her?”

“To the purification room, Your Highness.”

“Ah… really?”

Suddenly the Imperial Princess’s voice rose.

“Oh my, that stupid knight must not have known what the purification ritual entails?”

I had an ominous feeling.

“Well? If your will is strong, you’ll survive. I hope your purification ritual goes well.”

Her tone wasn’t concerned at all. Moreover, “you’ll survive”? The Imperial Princess displayed an even more beautiful smile while looking at my confused eyes. She also looked relieved, like someone who had removed an irritating thorn.

She disappeared into the banquet hall, leaving the echo of her high-pitched laughter in the corridor.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait, please. What am I supposed to do in the purification room?”

I asked out of foreboding, but the palace people weren’t the kind to give me friendly explanations.

“You’ll see when you get there. Why does a slave have so many questions?”

“Ugh.”

They continued dragging me with somewhat rough hands. Hard enough to bruise my arms where they gripped me. I fell several times because they walked regardless of my pace. Yet they never showed me any consideration.

Whether they saw me as a small demon from Belial Duchy or just treated me like a slave.

If I hadn’t experienced this before, I would have been greatly intimidated. Fortunately, my hardened heart accepted the current situation calmly. Just a little more endurance and it would be over.

Before I knew it, we had left the main palace where the banquet hall was located. After crossing the imperial garden and walking for quite some time, we arrived at the top of a high tower.

“This is…”

“The purification room. Pray quietly until His Imperial Majesty arrives. Then the deity will wash away the filth that clings to you.”

The knights practically threw me into the room, then slammed the door shut. Collapsing to the floor, I let out a painful groan from the impact on my knees.

“Ugh. But what is this place… for?”

A room with white doors and walls. The only other colors were the black shadows cast by the wall lamps and the blue sky visible through the small window in the ceiling.

There wasn’t even any furniture in the room.

Not knowing what to do, I huddled with my knees together.

The Imperial Princess’s words kept coming back to me, making me somewhat scared. My anxious mind continued to generate negative thoughts. 

What if everything was a lie? What if I would remain imprisoned here for the remaining ten months of my life?

“Lea, just endure a little longer.”

I shouted while shaking my head vigorously.

The Emperor was said to be righteous, chosen by the deity. So he wouldn’t abandon me. He had even made promises about me with Lucifer.

Forcing myself to revive my excitement, I waited quietly for the Emperor to arrive. Not knowing how long this wait would last.

* * *

“Father.”

“Oh, Delia, my daughter. Welcome. You’re late.”

When his beloved Imperial Princess appeared, the Emperor excitedly pulled her to his side. Delia came to the Emperor’s side with a somewhat reluctant face.

Lucifer, still with some tension and anxiety on his face, bowed politely to the Imperial Princess.

“I greet Your Highness the Imperial Princess.”

“Lucifer, why so cold toward Delia? We’re going to be closer than family soon.”

At the Emperor’s words, Delia’s eyes narrowed coyly.

“Oh, Father, really. How can a commoner and imperial royalty become close?”

“Delia.”

At his daughter’s sarcastic tone, the Emperor glanced slightly at Lucifer.

The absolute ruler with holy power. No one in the empire should be higher than him. Yet the Emperor kept checking the reaction of the man before him.

I don’t like it.

Sometimes she felt like her father was trying to sell off his noble-blooded Imperial Princess to a commoner.

“Delia.”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

The daughter lowered her tail at the sight of her loving father calling her calmly. But she still disliked Lucifer.

The prestige of the noble imperial family had fallen because her father was being considerate to a mere commoner. So that arrogant commoner must look down on her and brought a female slave. No matter how many times she thought about it, this was disrespectful to her and the Emperor.

“Hmm, but Father. Can you really purify that creature of darkness?”

“Delia, are you doubting my holy power?”

The Emperor asked somewhat sharply.

The Imperial Princess, who had only seen her father’s always benevolent face, was a bit taken aback by his prickly response.

“No. How could I not know that your holy power is the strongest among all emperors in history? It’s just that the dark clan members are filthy, vile beings. I’m worried that she might be harboring some vile means while parasitizing that woman’s body, potentially harming you.”

She made excuses to the Emperor as gently as possible. The Emperor’s gaze softened.

“You don’t need to worry about that. The purification room is a place that cuts off all evil things.”

“Cuts off?”

“Yes. It’s also cut off from all evils of the human world.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that when I was young.”

Indeed, the Imperial Princess was right. That fact strangely excited her. Delia glanced at Lucifer, who was still slightly tense.

That man knows nothing. It felt somewhat satisfying.

“Yes, Delia is truly brilliant.”

The Emperor subtly praised his daughter while keeping an eye on Lucifer. But Lucifer had no interest in his daughter.

The Emperor was displeased with this. He had offered his daughter multiple times, but Lucifer rejected it each time.

“I am too lowly to be a match for the noble Imperial Princess.” This attitude till the end was problematic. That knight, the master of prophecy, was the most suitable subordinate for him, known to possess holy power. A person who must be kept close.

But it was a problem that neither his daughter nor that knight was fond of this marriage. So he had to offer bait that would satisfy both.

“Now, let us bestow appropriate rewards to the knights of the holy war. To Lucifer Croisen, who defeated Belial, the source of evil, and even eliminated traitors, I bestow the title of Duke.”

At the Emperor’s declaration, people in the banquet hall murmured. Everyone thought he would at most become a count. To give the highest position at once!

“Wow! Commander, congratulations!”

The knights who had been with him in Belial were all excited, cheering and making a fuss.

But even amid this noise, Lucifer remained calm. Just trapped in a colorless space with only a worried face.

“Duke, aren’t you pleased?”

At the Emperor’s call, Lucifer, coming to his senses, knelt on one knee.

“I am grateful for the imperial favor.”

“For your domain, the land of Count Damocles, who plotted treason this time, would be suitable.”

Though the size of the domain was small, it was a strategic point near the imperial castle. The meaning of giving it away was clear.

He would make him the Emperor’s closest aide.

“But Your Majesty, both the title and domain are too generous for me. Please reconsider.”

“Ho ho, there’s no need to be modest.”

“All I wanted was to take revenge on the demons of Belial with my own hands, nothing more, nothing less.”

Why was this young knight so consistent from beginning to end? The Emperor’s benevolent face cracked slightly at the fact that wealth and honor were useless to him.

Hiding his hardened face, the Emperor raised Lucifer up. Then he whispered in his ear.

“Have you forgotten my grace that saved you when your limbs were torn apart?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“There are still things you asked me to do, and it would make me very sad if you left me like this.”

“I apologize.”

“Well, if you dislike it, I can’t help it. A promise is a promise.”

The Emperor patted Lucifer’s shoulder. Lucifer just bowed his head with an apologetic heart.

“By the way, about that child in the purification room. She was emitting a strange energy all over her body. She seems already too deeply immersed in darkness.”

“Can she be purified?”

“That shouldn’t be the issue?”

The Emperor flashed a winner’s smile.

Lucifer would never be able to leave the Emperor’s side. The bait the Emperor had thrown in advance was already caught in Lucifer’s solid heart.

* * *

It had been over ten days since I was confined to the room. During that time, no one entered or left the room.

So I was given neither food nor water. The growling sounds had long since stopped. Now I felt neither hunger nor thirst.

It seemed like I should be dead by now… but strangely, I was alive. Perfectly fine, too.

But while my body was intact, my mind was gradually dying. Looking only at white things was driving me crazy.

Why wasn’t anyone coming? Had they forgotten I was here?

“Carden…”

I softly called the name I missed. But the face that came to mind wasn’t Carden’s but Lucifer’s.

At that moment, I jumped up from my seat. I ran to where the door had been and knocked on it earnestly. Telling them I was still here, asking them to let me out.

I couldn’t just waste time being locked up like this.

“I’m still alive! Please let me out! Please!”

This time, the door answered my call.

The white door slowly opening.

In front of the open door stood the Emperor and knights. The Emperor was looking at me with narrowed eyes, seemingly disgusted.

“So that’s it, that’s what it was. This is really fortunate.”

The Emperor grinned, radiating an ominous aura.