Seiden’s face was completely frozen as he pondered over the situation he had just witnessed and the conversation between the two priests. The priests who had kidnapped and imprisoned a man. They had to depart somewhere after the evening mass. Perhaps taking the man trapped inside with them, riding that carriage. And where they were heading to…

“…….”

Bellota was there.

“Ha….”

Seiden chewed on curses as he couldn’t make sense of the unfolding events. Locked in his thoughts with a terrifying expression, he eventually raised his head as if he had made a decision.

Seiden opened the door that the priests had locked with a latch moments ago and entered the old warehouse. There, he saw the man still unconscious on the floor. Seiden hesitated, then unceremoniously removed the mask covering the man’s face.

“…….”

Seiden’s face contorted even more viciously as he looked at the man’s face, which was covered with knife marks, drooling in his unconscious state. It was evident that the man was not ordinary, with deep wounds all over his body.

Where on earth are they planning to use a guy like this?

Seiden’s heart beat low as he instinctively sensed discomfort. Thoughts of this guy, who would never even touch Bellota in a lifetime, being somehow involved with her was incredibly unpleasant. That’s when it happened.

“Ugh….!”

The man, who had been unconscious with his tongue out, suddenly convulsed as if cold water had been splashed on his face, waking him up. It seemed like the magic placed on him had been undone. The man’s gaze, still dazed for a moment, fixed on another dark-haired man who was staring at him intently. The agitated man immediately burst into curses.

“These, these bastards! Aren’t you gonna untie me? Do you know who I am? You damn bastards!”

The awakened man was much more unpleasant and rough than when he was unconscious. Seiden looked at the man’s face with indifferent eyes. When you live a knight’s life where blood is spilled daily, you develop an ability to keenly detect the scent of blood. The man in front of him exuded a strong smell of blood.

“I’ll kill you! You think I can’t kill someone like you? You think I don’t know who you are? I heard everything! I know everything!”

Seiden saw the liveliness in the eyes of the man who shouted and convulsed in his bound state. The man yelled and screamed like a madman for a while before suddenly starting to laugh ominously.

“You think I can’t kill someone like a Saintess? Hehe, hehe.”

When Bellota came out of the man’s filthy mouth, Seiden’s eyes, which had been watching his outburst with an expressionless face, sharpened in an instant.

“Oh, of course, before that, I’ll give you what you want! Hehehe, I’ll personally take the Saintess’s vir… Ugh!”

There was no need for more words. As Seiden grabbed the man’s throat in response to his outburst, the man’s struggling movements ceased in an instant. The man fainted again without even closing his eyes this time, and Seiden’s expression became even more distorted to the point where it couldn’t get any more vicious.

Without calming down even after the man fainted, Seiden stood up and ruthlessly stomped on the man. After hearing the dreadful sound of a few bones breaking, his violent outburst came to a halt.

“Ha….”

Seiden took a deep breath and clenched his fist tightly. He didn’t know what was happening, but one thing was clear. This crazy guy was going to meet Bellota soon.

“…….”

Gritting his teeth, Seiden suddenly untied all the ropes binding the man and began to undress him.

* * *

After finishing the evening mass, Cardinal Loubert and Priest Felton returned to the warehouse, where they had kept the man locked up. The man was still unconscious, with his hands and feet tied.

“To the carriage.”

“Yes.”

Once again, the man’s body floated up into the air. Priest Felton, who was trying to move the man with his divine power, noticed something strange and furrowed his brows.

“Hmm…?”

“Why is that?”

“Doesn’t the man seem a bit taller?”

Upon hearing this, Cardinal Loubert turned around to examine the man floating in the air.

“I’m not sure. Is that even possible? What about the divine power attached to the ropes?”

In response, Priest Felton furrowed his brows and tried to gauge the force emanating from the ropes binding the man. The man’s hands and feet were still securely tied just like before, and there was no change in the force exerted by the ropes. His clothes and mask were all intact.

“It seems fine. Perhaps I was mistaken.”

After meticulously checking everything, Priest Felton moved the man once again. The two priests lifted the man onto the carriage’s baggage cart, and then climbed onto the carriage themselves to drive the horses. As the carriage jolted into motion, the unconscious man’s body rolled around. Priest Felton, driving the carriage, glanced back from time to time to check on the man who was rolling around aimlessly.

“He definitely seems unconscious.”

Cardinal Loubert nodded. Their carriage continued to travel through the dark forest path, illuminated only by the moonlight.

“Today marks the second full moon.”

“…Yes.”

“Can’t we try that method one more time?”

“We can’t. We can’t take any more risks. It’s what His Holiness has decided.”

With that firm response, Priest Felton couldn’t say anything more. He swallowed a frustrated sigh and then spoke again.

“Is Saintess Bellota doing well?”

There was a hint of uneasiness in Priest Felton’s quiet voice.

“Yes. Saintess Bellota is stronger than we think. She has long accepted that such a day would come.”

“Is there really no way to lift the curse?”

“We haven’t found one yet. The Pope is also doing his best to find a solution, so we’ll have to wait.”

“But I still can’t understand. Why execution prisoners? The man brought today is said to be a ruffian who killed five people with an axe. It would have been more reasonable if…”

“If this matter gets out of hand, it will not only be a blow to Saintess Bellota but also to the entire temple. So it’s cleaner to deal with prisoners who can be executed immediately.”

“It’s indeed a glorious opportunity for the prisoners. To die before Saintess Bellota… sigh…”

“Felton, be careful with your words. Today’s events will disappear by tomorrow. Nothing will happen to Saintess Bellota. Not today, not in the next full moon.”

As Cardinal Loubert finished speaking, the carriage bumped on the uneven, muddy ground. After that, no further conversation was exchanged between them.

After a few more minutes of travel, the carriage arrived at its destination.

“You’re not late.”

The priests who had arrived early greeted them and checked on the man who was tied behind the carriage.

“How is Saintess Bellota?”

“She’s upstairs.”

One of the priests replied when Cardinal Loubert asked. Cardinal Loubert nodded and briefly glanced up at the top of the tower, where Saintess Bellota stood under the moonlight. The high and round place where the full moon hung was where the Saintess was.

“Move him up.”

The unconscious man, still limp, was easily carried up to the tower by the priests. As they reached the top floor of the tower, knocking on the door, a quiet voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

With permission granted, the priests opened the door. Priest Felton entered and respectfully greeted them before looking up. Saintess Bellota was standing under a large window in the tower, gazing at the moon.

“…….”

Without saying anything more to her, Priest Felton moved towards a bed on the right side of the room, where they laid down the man. Priest Felton checked the man’s arms and legs once again. There was no tension in his body; it seemed like he had recovered from the earlier attack.

He thought that it might be better for him to remain unconscious until everything was over, but even considering such thoughts seemed blasphemous, so Priest Felton closed his eyes tightly. Saintess Bellota herself remained strong; it was impolite for him to be so anxious.

Gathering his resolve, Priest Felton looked back at Saintess Bellota.

“We will take our leave. If you need any help, just ring the bell.”

Leaving his final words behind, Priest Felton exited the room with the two priests standing behind him.

The door closed with a click, and Bellota, who had been staring out of the window without moving, slowly turned around after some time to look at the man on the bed. A deep resignation loomed over her face under the moonlight.

“…….”

In the silent room, a faint sound of breathing flowed. Bellota took slow steps towards the bed in contemplation. Finally standing in front of the man, Bellota hesitated for a moment before climbing onto the bed and looking down at him.

Bellota reached out and grabbed the man’s waistband. The tips of her slender fingers trembled slightly. Just as she was about to remove his trousers with her trembling hand, at that moment when she hesitated, Bellota felt her hand being forcefully pulled away as the man swiftly untied himself and removed his mask.

“…!”

The limp man shifted his feet, untying the ropes in an instant, and wrapped his long legs around Belotta’s slender body, reversing their positions in an instant.

“Gasp…!”

Startled, Bellota tried to scream, but the man who quickly untied the ropes from his hands proceeded even faster to remove his mask.

“…….”

Bellota, forgetting even to scream, saw the face of the man who had climbed on top of her and was looking down at her in the blink of an eye. The person glaring at Bellota with eyes full of anger and fierceness was someone she had never imagined meeting in this place.

“…Sir Seiden.”

The voice, faint and suffocating, whispered Seiden’s name. His jaw tightened firmly. Amidst all this, he was astonished and pleased to hear the sound of his name coming out of Bellota’s mouth.

“…You have a face that hasn’t even thought a bit about facing such danger.”

Seiden’s low and quiet voice was chilling.

“What exactly is going on right now…”