【The Devil’s Trap】

“An imperial order has been issued, Romei.”

Brodie, who had held the position of Holy Knight Captain for a long time, spoke with a solemn face. Romei, standing opposite him, kept her back perfectly straight as she waited for his next words.

Seated at his desk, he carefully removed the glasses he used for reading documents and placed them gently near what appeared to be an official decree.

His face, though marked by the passage of time, never looked weak. Rather, the wrinkles seemed like evidence of deep dignity and strength.

After letting out a small sigh, Brodie began to speak.

“You must have heard rumors about people frequently disappearing in large numbers recently.”

“Yes. And that those who return have all become strange.”

Romei answered, recalling a conversation she had overheard a few days ago while passing near the temple. Brodie nodded in response.

“Indeed. At first, we thought it was simply the work of neighboring countries targeting the empire. We believed they were kidnapping people and torturing them severely to obtain information.”

“……”

“So we dispatched an investigation team to the Katraju region, where the first disappearances occurred in succession, and a report was submitted.”

As he spoke, Brodie handed Romei a moderately thick document from among the various papers on his desk.

She stepped forward and carefully accepted the report.

The first page of the bound document bore the stark title: ‘Report on Disappearance Cases in the Katraju Region in February.’ Turning the page, she found meticulously organized evidence from the investigation.

While Romei quietly scanned the report, Brodie continued his explanation.

“As you can see, this is no simple matter. And it makes no sense that corpses with non-beating hearts wouldn’t decompose after simple torture.”

“This is certainly strange. Not breathing, no heartbeat, yet the bodies remain unchanged for days, looking alive.”

“This is definitely the work of a devil. And it’s time for us to step in.”

Brodie declared firmly. His cool, intellectual black eyes gleamed with hostility.

Romei closed the report she had been reading and respectfully placed it back on his desk. She seemed to understand what she needed to do.

“What would you like me to do?”

“Currently, it appears that disappearances are occurring consecutively in Picardin. That’s where we’ll start tracking. By following their traces, we should be able to catch their tail, and once we catch the tail, the body and head will naturally be revealed.”

“……”

“Go down to Picardin, Romei. And find traces of the devil there. Understood?”

“…Will I be going to Picardin alone?”

At Romei’s question, Brodie relaxed the expression he had maintained throughout their conversation and smiled gently. The wrinkles on his face deepened with his movement.

His smile made Romei blush slightly with embarrassment. She immediately regretted asking, but it was too late.

“Aron and your colleagues will accompany you.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I was going alone…”

Brodie looked at Romei, who was explaining herself with flushed cheeks, with compassionate eyes.

“I wouldn’t send you alone. Devils are particularly malicious beings. You know that no one can face them alone unless they’re a god.”

“That’s true, but… I wondered if there was a reason you called for me separately.”

As far as Romei knew, Brodie rarely summoned her alone. Except when he had something urgent to tell her privately or when he needed to assign tasks that required discretion, he usually called for her along with others.

At her words, he opened his mouth with a kind smile to reassure her. His voice was gentle, unlike when he had spoken about the devil’s actions in the empire earlier.

“I called you separately because I wanted to check on you after a long time. How have you been lately?”

Brodie would occasionally ask after Romei like this. It wasn’t simply a captain checking on a knight under his command.

Romei had lost her parents and lived as an orphan wandering the streets until she discovered she was blessed with holy power and was taken in by Brodie.

For her, Brodie was her only family, a strict but reliable supporter, and simultaneously the embodiment of the ideal knight she aspired to be.

To him asking about her wellbeing like a grandfather worried about his granddaughter, Romei relaxed and smiled in response. She had transitioned from being a holy knight to just being Romei.

“Yes. Thanks to your care, I’m doing well. Everything is peaceful.”

“Is the training not too difficult?”

“It’s hard, but I consider it my duty. Everyone else does it too.”

“It doesn’t seem long since I last saw you, but you’ve grown stronger in that time.”

Hearing her resolute answer, Brodie laughed once and then rose from his seat. Then he embraced Romei, who stood properly dressed in uniform with a holy sword at her waist.

He smelled like a tree that had rooted deeply in the earth for a very long time. Romei was familiar with Brodie’s embrace.

He had always embraced her the same way—when she was taken in by him after losing her parents, and when she decided to become a holy knight serving God and the empire under his guidance.

Of course, after becoming a proper adult and a holy knight fulfilling her duties, such embraces became rare, but whenever she needed comfort, he seemed to know instinctively and would console her.

And each time, Romei felt her heart soak in tranquility, like entering a very cozy space.

Just like now.

Brodie gently patted Romei’s back, which had relaxed considerably, and said:

“I’m always grateful that you’ve grown up so well, Romei.”

“It’s nothing special. I think I was able to grow this much thanks to you taking me in, sir.”

“As someone who serves as God’s messenger, I shouldn’t say this, but if an overwhelmingly powerful evil appears before you, flee without hesitation.”

“Flee…you say?”

Romei echoed, to confirm she had heard correctly.

As far as she knew, he had always been righteous, upright, and strong. It seemed very unfamiliar for him to use the word “flee” when she expected him to say not to fear but to fight when encountering a devil.

But her ears had heard correctly, as Brodie, now wearing his usual strict expression, opened his mouth. His eyes looking down at her were as dark as an unfathomable abyss.

“Romei, fleeing from an opponent you cannot face is never a bad thing. Especially if the opponent is a devil, it requires even more courage.”

“……”

“The moment you feel fear and terror, don’t feel guilt or responsibility—just run away. And ask others for help. Always remember that there are too many things in this world that cannot be solved by your strength alone.”

Romei didn’t understand what he was saying.

As he said, she was someone who served as God’s messenger. The duty of those with holy power was to use their strength to save people suffering because of devils.

If everyone fled out of fear, who would protect people from evil?

‘I wish he would instill courage in me to face any evil instead…’

Romei thought to herself, but since Brodie’s gaze was so serious, she ultimately had no choice but to nod.

“I understand, Sir Brodie. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”

* * *

“Hey, Romei!”

Not long after Romei left Brodie’s office after their meeting, she heard someone calling her from the end of the corridor.

Romei stopped walking toward her room and turned around. She saw a familiar face in the distance.

It was Aron.

As soon as Romei stopped in place, he quickly ran toward her. As Aron’s face rapidly approached, Romei flinched and stepped back.

Aron approached her and spoke in a cheerful voice. His hair, the color of dark honey, was stuck to his forehead with sweat, suggesting he had been running quite a bit.

“What’s the matter, Aron?”

“I just wanted to see you.”

Answering like that, Aron winked at Romei with one eye. She immediately looked at him with a serious expression. A flash of contempt crossed her bright blue eyes.

Faced with Romei’s cold response as always, Aron awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“It’s a joke, Romei. When you respond so coldly, it really hurts my feelings.”

“Shouldn’t you be tired of this by now?”

“But I can’t give up. Your cold responses make my heart burn even hotter for laughter!”

“Pfft.”

When Aron proclaimed this with exaggerated gestures like a male lead on a theater stage, singing with elegant pronunciation, Romei finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

Romei’s cold and calm blue eyes folded gently, creating beautiful curves. Seeing faint tears forming at the corners of her eyes, Aron looked satisfied.

Wiping away the tears that had formed, Romei offered her critique.

“What you just did reminded me of a prince in a play. I’ve seen similar things in popular romance novels lately.”

“Oh, really? What’s popular these days?”

“Stories about an arrogant, conceited prince meeting a spirited maid, saying ‘you’re the first woman to treat me so coldly,’ and falling in love.”

“What? Does that even exist?”

Aron, who had been pleased by her mention of a prince, became somewhat dejected at the rather far-fetched development. He grumbled, finding it hard to believe that love could start for such a ridiculous reason or that it could be popular.

Romei shrugged once and replied:

“How would I know? It just reminded me of what you just said.”

“You’re not interested in romance or men. How do you know about popular romance novels?”

“I became friends with a maid who lent me one. She said to read it when I’m bored.”

“So. Did you read it?”

“Well, yes. It was more interesting than I expected.”

Romei, who had already returned to her usual calm demeanor, answered matter-of-factly. However, Aron was somewhat shocked by her response.

This was because he had always thought Romei had no interest in love between men and women or whom she might marry, and that her only concern was the responsibility and duty she had to fulfill as a holy knight.