EPILOGUE 1.

The Missing Newlyweds

A year had passed since the grand wedding of Saintess Bellota Rosebeth and Holy Knight Commander Seiden Blackwood. Many people speculated that the couple’s newlywed life would take place in the mansion that the Emperor had bestowed upon Seiden years ago as a celebration of him becoming a Swordmaster, and they eagerly hoped to witness their life from nearby.

Living up to their expectations, the couple departed somewhere immediately after their wedding ceremony. Everyone was certain they had gone on their honeymoon and would soon return to that large and beautiful mansion.

However, something strange happened. One month, two months, and several months passed, but there were no sightings of the couple. Neither in the village where Seiden Blackwood’s mansion was located nor at the temple could anyone spot this extraordinary couple who should have been more noticeable than anyone else.

Finally, after a year had passed, the curiosity of Rundhardt’s citizens reached its peak. Where had the Saintess and Holy Knight disappeared to after becoming husband and wife?

Except for the Pope, a few high-ranking priests, and Kabillon, who temporarily took over as Commander in place of the missing Holy Knight Commander, no one else knew. That after their grand wedding, the couple had chosen continental travel along with subjugation and service as their year-long honeymoon. That they were on their own special journey.

* * *

“Excuse me, hello.”

When the clear voice greeted him, the man who had been dozing off at his stall woke up with a start and wiped his drool. Still drowsy from sleep, the man tried to gather his wits as he looked at the woman standing in front of his stall.

Soon his eyes widened. Despite wearing a robe, the woman’s beauty was eye-catching enough to snap him wide awake. From the small face beneath the deeply pulled hood, to the luscious brown hair, and blue eyes that would surely be the brightest thing in this gloomy marketplace.

If they were citizens of the capital, they would have recognized her as Saintess Bellota Rosebeth immediately just from her half-hidden face. However, the merchant doing business in this village, located at least 150 miles away from the capital, had no idea that the woman before his eyes was the Saintess of the Rundhardt Empire.

“How much is this herb per pound?”

When Bellota pointed at the herbs displayed on the stall and asked, the dazed man’s eyes moved. The man quickly glanced at Bellota while pretending to examine the spices.

Such a beauty in this rural backwater. Judging by her unfamiliar face, she must be a traveler. Of course, if such a face existed in this place, he would have known about it before now. The man quickly looked around. She seemed to have no traveling companions. So, the woman was alone? In a place like this?

“Hmm, you mean this herb?”

“Yes.”

When Bellota answered without suspicion and smiled, the man’s heart trembled. He continued to size up the woman.

The woman of extraordinary beauty was priceless just for her blue eyes alone, but the things she wore couldn’t even compare to her beauty. Though neat and clean, she wore an unremarkable dress, thick robe and boots for winter’s cold, and things like finger gloves.

All of them together wouldn’t be worth even half of half a gold. However, the merchant’s keen instinct, honed over 30 years of trading, kept holding onto some lingering thoughts.

“You have a good eye. This here, you see, is a very precious herb imported from far away Tartan. Seeing that you’re looking for sage, I assume someone has caught a severe pneumonia curse?”

Bellota’s eyes widened at the merchant’s friendly question.

“Yes, that’s right. You really know your stuff.”

The man’s face became smug when Bellota expressed small admiration.

“Well, of course I do. I’ve been in this herb business for 30 years now. This sage is perfect for pneumonia curse. Moreover, if you grind it finely and mix it with this valerian to apply, it’s also effective against frostbite curse.”

The man continued to observe Bellota while displaying his skilled speech. Seeing her nod seriously, it was clear someone was sick.

Who? Mother? Father? Whoever it was, this was an opportunity. This was the only store selling medicinal herbs in the area, and the woman before him seemed like an innocent miss who knew nothing of worldly matters.

“You must know that recently, insect monsters that cause pneumonia and frostbite curses have been rampant in this area? Whoever it is must have frostbite too. Frostbite curse manifests a bit later, so it should appear around today.”

“Then I should buy valerian too. How much would it cost for 5 pounds of each?”

Finally, his persistent gaze achieved success. It was a big catch. He discovered the ring worn on her finger as she removed her glove to take out money from her purse.

For a moment, an icy blue light flashed in the man’s eyes. It was the reflection of the blue jewel set in the ring. Though he had never seen such a type of jewel before, it was clearly worth an enormous amount at first glance. Finally convinced that the woman was a wealthy traveler disguised in ordinary clothes, the merchant cleared his throat.

“This sage would be about 10 gold per pound.”

At those words, Bellota, who had been waiting for the man’s answer with an innocent face, widened her eyes.

“10 gold?”

“Yes, as I mentioned, it’s a very precious herb imported from Tartan. You have no idea how much trouble I went through to import this herb.”

“But even so……”

The woman’s face became troubled. The man maintained his composure despite seeing this and stood with his hands behind his back.

It was natural. While sage was indeed an herb with excellent efficacy, it originally belonged to the cheaper herbs that didn’t even cost 1 gold for 10 pounds. Moreover, the sage this herb merchant was selling wasn’t even imported from Tartan. While it was true that it was hard to obtain in winter, even considering that, charging more than 1 gold for 10 pounds was clearly fraud. Nevertheless, the man continued to tell lies.

“I’ll give you this valerian a bit cheaper. I’ll only charge 5 gold per pound.”

Bellota’s troubled gaze turned to the herbs.

“As I said, monster insects are rampant these days. Everyone’s scrambling to get these. Ahem, you’ll realize it’s fortunate to be able to get these herbs even at this price. By the way, you know this is the only herb shop in this village, right? You’ll have to go to another village to find another herb shop. The sun will set soon, so that’s impossible today.”

That was something Bellota knew well too. Moreover, Bellota had no plans to leave this village until tomorrow. But Bellota only had 5 gold in hand. While Bellota was lost in thought, the man who had been watching her added secretly.

“If you could do me a favor, I could give them to you a bit cheaper……”

At those words, Bellota looked up at the man questioningly.

“A favor……?”

Seeing that innocent face, an intense debate raged in the man’s mind. Should he lure the woman to his gang, drug her with narcotic herbs, and steal that expensive jewel, or should he give up on the jewel and just with this beautiful woman……

After finishing his difficult deliberation and reaching a conclusion, the man looked at Bellota with determination.

“I, ahem, happen to have some free time this evening.”

When the man, who had somehow become shy, whispered with a blush, Bellota’s face grew more puzzled. Just as the man was about to daringly make a date request to her without knowing his place, a massive shadow appeared behind Bellota.

In that moment, the man’s eyes met the red eyes staring intently at him as he was trying to harass Bellota using expensive herbs as leverage. Instantly, the man’s entire body froze.

“……”

The man looked at the man standing behind the woman, unable to even move his lips. The man, who seemed to know exactly what kind of move he had tried to make, was looking at him with murderous eyes while wearing an ordinary robe like the woman.

His thick hands held a basket full of meat, bread, and vegetables, apparently having just returned from shopping at the market. However, the merchant instinctively recognized that the man before him was someone who carried a thick scent of blood. Otherwise, how could a human have such murderous eyes?