Seiden swallowed all the massive changes stirring within him and simply nodded calmly.

“I will.”

It was a composed and outrageous lie. At that lie, relief settled on Bellota’s face. Seiden kept watching her, not missing even the smallest momentary changes. Blushing again under his gaze, Bellota lowered her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Then Seiden reached out and gently caressed Bellota’s face. With a tender touch, he cupped her small cheek and jaw in one hand and slowly lifted her head to make her look at him again.

“My name is,”

As he let his quiet voice flow, Bellota’s breath grew still.

“Seiden Blackwood.”

At those words, Bellota’s eyes rippled clearly again. Bellota realized he was keeping the promise he had made to her long ago. Her eyes stung and her pupils grew moist.

When Bellota smiled faintly, Seiden slowly approached her. Bellota didn’t avoid or push him away, but slowly closed her eyes. Soon, lips colder than the dawn wind settled on her cold lips. If only time would stop like this.

But such desperate wishes rarely come true. After a moment that felt like eternity, his lips parted, leaving a lingering regret.

Seiden knew it was time to turn back. Bellota, seeing his expression, felt the same. Not knowing Seiden’s tomorrow, she showed a faint smile and slowly turned around.

Seiden watched Bellota slowly climbing the tower with unhurried steps. Having reached the heights, Bellota saw Seiden still watching her, rooted to that spot. Meeting his eyes, a shy smile bloomed on Bellota’s lips.

Finally, when Bellota’s figure completely disappeared, Seiden’s gaze that had been watching her slowly fell. His pupils fixed on the ground had sunk darkly. After replaying Bellota’s last appearance for a moment, Seiden soon turned and moved his steps.

He needed to meet Felton one last time.

* * *

Felton couldn’t go to bed late even after finishing the midnight mass. His nights these past few days had been chaos itself. Rubert had been the cardinal Felton most trusted and followed. To think such a person was a demon… That he became a priest to harm the saintess, deceiving the Grand Temple for decades.

Following the Pope’s strict orders, everyone who knew this fact kept silent and held their breath as if nothing had happened. During the day, Felton too had quietly gone about holding mass as usual, praying, and training to raise holy power. However, when night came and he was alone, all those events would surge like waves, making his head throb.

Yet since Felton was a priest who couldn’t use healing power on himself, he had no choice but to take medicine to suppress his headache. He tried to force himself to sleep after taking the headache medicine he had prepared. However, that weak attempt was mercilessly shattered by the knocking on his room door. Rising irritably from bed, Felton opened the door to find Seiden standing there.

“Commander.”

Felton greeted him with a surprised yet welcoming voice.

After everything was revealed, Felton understood all the strange behaviors of the man before him. Why he shared the plan to expose Geril’s fake holy relic just an hour before the banquet, why he fed false information to him through his conversation with Kabillon. And even when scouting in the north, why he wandered through so many gorges without sharing their destination.

Seiden had been suspicious of him too. Since Seiden’s suspicions included even the Pope, it wasn’t surprising. But that didn’t make him feel hurt or disappointed. Rather, it made Felton trust Seiden even more. A man like that would surely find a way to break Bellota’s curse.

Though troubled by the matter regarding Rubert, he couldn’t shake the thought that things turning out this way was incredibly fortunate. Thinking that the man before him had accomplished all that, he couldn’t help but feel profound respect for him.

“What brings you here?”

He skipped asking why he was here at this hour. Felton knew well that Seiden wasn’t a man who would seek him without reason. There must be something. However, from Seiden’s mouth, who had entered Felton’s room without hesitation and locked the door, came an unexpected question.

“Do you respect the Saintess, Priest?”

At that question, a belated look of bewilderment appeared on Felton’s face.

“Pardon? Of course.”

Coming in the middle of the night to suddenly confirm respect for the saintess? However, an even more absurd question followed.

“Do you wish for the Saintess’s curse to be broken?”

It was an almost solemn question. Felton’s eyebrows twisted involuntarily.

“Isn’t that obvious? What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, Commander?”

Disappointment that hadn’t emerged even when he learned he had been suspected welled up and choked Felton’s throat. Wasn’t it time to trust him now? After Rubert’s incident, all priests in the temple had proven their innocence by drinking holy water. Moreover, he had shared countless hardships with them. Just as Felton was about to feel hurt, Seiden’s firm voice washed that feeling away cleanly.

“I trust you too, Priest. You might consider yourself the only priest I can trust.”

Huh. Since he hadn’t hoped for that much, Felton unconsciously held his breath.

The only priest he could trust. It was grandiose but not unpleasant to hear. Considering that the man before him didn’t even know the word flattery, it was even more so.

Seiden continued.

“So please swear to God that you will grant my request from now on.”

At those words, Felton’s face, which had been feeling pleased, hardened again. Swear to God? After hesitating briefly, Felton’s expression soon became resolute. His trust in Seiden Blackwood was solid, and therefore even such an oath didn’t frighten him.

“I swear.”

At those words, his narrowed red pupils settled calmly. Then, unbelievable shocking words flowed from Seiden’s lips.

“I will head to the Forbidden Land right now.”

It was a composed and peaceful voice, no different from saying he would go home right now to catch up on much-needed sleep. Thanks to this, Felton, who couldn’t immediately grasp the enormous meaning in those words, blinked his eyes blankly. Only after several seconds did the heavy impact belatedly strike Felton’s head.

“What……”

His voice cracked miserably as he asked again in disbelief. However, instead of an answer, even more shocking words followed.

“You must listen carefully to what I say now. I have found a way to break the Saintess’s curse.”

Huh, this time Felton’s breath truly stopped. Found a way to break the saintess’s curse? How on earth……?

Seiden immediately solved that question. Seiden pulled out an old book from his chest. Felton’s astonished pupils rolled toward the book he was holding.

“This is a book containing answers to all curses existing in the world. Rubert had it.”

What……? Felton was shocked again.

To prove this fact to Felton, Seiden opened the book and requested the method to break Bellota’s curse, and the book containing the Demon God’s power told him the only way to break her curse, just as it had before.

“……”

Witnessing this fact with his own eyes, Felton exhaled his held breath and covered his mouth. Simultaneously, he realized why Seiden had suddenly said he would head to the Forbidden Land.

“Commander, you can’t. Even so, this isn’t right. Surely there must be another way……!”

“There is no other way.”

A firm voice cut off Felton’s urgent words. Felton’s words were blocked. For a moment, he could only move his lips without speaking, then finally managed to ask.

“Are you really going……”

Then Seiden stared blankly at Felton’s confused face. It was the same eyes from that time when he had said not to ask about obvious things.

Ha…… A massive sigh settled inside. The red eyes held loose but unwavering solid will. Something that the likes of him couldn’t dare stop.

As Felton recognized this fact, Seiden, who had been waiting, opened his mouth again.

“I came to find you for two reasons. First, I need a gate permit for the Forbidden Land.”

Felton’s nape tingled.

Actually, the gate that Geril had damaged was repaired a few days ago. However, since it needed to undergo several tests, they hadn’t yet handed over the gate permit to the Emperor. Moreover, coincidentally, the person in charge was scheduled to conduct the final test in two days to see if the gate was operating normally. That person was Felton, and therefore the permit was in his room.

He had clearly investigated even that. Goosebumps rose on Felton’s forearms. It would be useless to say there was no such thing now. At the same time, Felton realized that the time given to him was only now. Only right now, while the gate permit was in the temple’s possession, was the perfect opportunity for Seiden to head to the Forbidden Land.

Finally, when Felton pressed his lips together as if affirming, Seiden brought up the next matter.

“And, if I don’t return within seven days after I leave……”

“You want me to take care of what follows, right?”

When Felton finished his words, dumbfounded, Seiden stared at him steadily in affirmation. Felton looked at Seiden with both dumbfounded and resigned eyes. In other words, it meant Seiden was prepared even for death.

It was natural. The Forbidden Land and the rockdragon were an unknown world whose true nature no living person knew. Neither Seiden nor he knew what awaited them there. They didn’t know if there was something that even a Swordmaster couldn’t overcome.

“I promise you. Even if I don’t return, I will surely inflict a fatal wound on it.”

In Seiden’s eyes as he said such words, there wasn’t even a trace of fear of death. What Seiden wanted was clear. All he wanted was to break Bellota’s curse.

Felton now understood. The man before him wasn’t someone who spoke empty words. Whatever awaited him, he would definitely keep his current promise.

“If I don’t return, please go to Kabillon and deliver this.”

Seiden pulled out a letter from his br*ast pocket and held it out.

Inside contained everything he had just told Felton, except for any mention of Bellota’s curse. It stated that he must defeat the rockdragon, and if he didn’t return, it requested them to lead troops to the Forbidden Land to complete the great task he couldn’t finish.