When morning came, the subjugation team busily prepared to leave. The villagers, though regretful, accepted their departure calmly, knowing they were heading to help other villages facing the same plight.

The subjugation team, receiving heartfelt farewells from the villagers, set off for their next destination. They were heading to a castle located between the coastal villages of Torcana and Rivierto.

It was a place Geril had found, and unlike the castle in Vergio, it still had a lord, so the conditions were bound to be much better. The journey from Vergio to the castle was not far, so they could reach the castle within a few hours.

“Look. It has walls around it, so it’s a safe place.”

Geril smiled at Bellota with a satisfied expression, as if this made up for yesterday’s small mistake.

Bellota looked up at the sturdy and high walls. As Geril said, the castle before them was in excellent condition. It was hard to believe it was located in a devastated area.

“Come, everyone, this way. From today, you can sleep without worries.”

Geril boasted as he led them into the castle. But Seiden only looked around the location without stepping inside.

“The sun hasn’t set yet, so I’ll look around the village.”

When Bellota heard Seiden’s words and seemed about to follow him, Seiden coldly stopped her.

“Priests should stay inside. We are enough.”

At Seiden’s words, Geril smiled and Bellota looked flustered.

“I will go with you.”

Bellota insisted, but,

“You will slow us down.”

Only a colder refusal came back.

“I will return by evening.”

Seiden disappeared quickly, leading only the Holy Knight Order, leaving Bellota, the priests, and Geril’s troops behind.

“He’s enthusiastic. Moving around like that won’t catch all the monsters. Yesterday, he was just incredibly lucky. He’s still young and doesn’t know that yet.”

Muttering as if he found it pathetic, Geril followed Bellota, who was staring blankly at Seiden’s back.

“Of course, I also fully agree with keeping the saintess safe inside. We cannot let you face dangerous situations like yesterday.”

Geril nodded firmly, like it was his solemn duty, and looked at Bellota.

“And moving all together would indeed be inefficient as the commander said. It’s best to go inside for now. This way, saintess.”

As Geril urged closely beside her, Bellota reluctantly followed his guidance into the castle.

As soon as they entered, they heard the sound of the huge door closing behind them.

* * *

“If it weren’t for the saintess, I’d just…”

Luke clenched his fist, trembling, and Ren joined in.

“Did you see him running away with his tail between his legs yesterday? If we had a recording sphere, it would’ve been great to record it and watch it whenever we’re tired.”

Laughter erupted from all around at Ren’s words.

“Did you see the ones he brought with him? As soon as their master disappeared, they retreated, and those are supposed to be knights!”

Complaints that had been held back for days burst out from all sides, but Seiden did not add a word and silently drove his horse. Instead, Kabillon, who was following Seiden, calmed them in a stern voice.

“Even so, don’t show it. Remember that Duke Lylester is a puppet of the imperial family. Understood?”

Despite grumbling, all the knights answered, “Yes.”

They knew well what Kabillon meant. The relationship between the imperial family and the Holy See had been strained for a long time, and because of that, the imperial family was always looking for ways to weaken the Holy See’s power.

Geril had positioned himself as a mediator, ostensibly representing the Holy See’s stance to the imperial family in recent years. With the worsening relationship with the imperial family, the Holy See found it hard to ignore Geril’s help, even though they suspected his ulterior motives.

“It’s just distressing that so many young ladies in the capital want to marry that man without knowing his true nature.”

Luke sighed in genuine frustration.

That’s right, Geril was very popular among the people of the empire. As a member of the imperial family, wealthy, and admittedly quite handsome, many young ladies in the empire were eager to take the prestigious position of his wife.

If there were a popularity poll among the young ladies of the capital, half would likely vote for the commander of the Holy Knight Order in front of them, and the other half for that foppish duke.

“But doesn’t it seem like Duke Geril has feelings for the saintess? Could those rumors be true?”

One of the holy knights asked curiously, causing Seiden’s eyebrows to stiffen. However, thanks to Philip’s immediate vehement denial, the holy knights didn’t notice Seiden’s horse momentarily halt.

“What nonsense! How could such a man be with the saintess! Even the gods wouldn’t allow it!”

“Hey, calm down, Philip. The gods wouldn’t allow someone like you, who can’t even handle a horse, either.”

The knights burst into laughter at Luke’s words. Joining in the laughter, Kabillon shook his head and then noticed Seiden had stopped and was looking back at the knights.

When Kabillon deliberately made a noise to halt his horse, the quick-witted holy knights immediately grasped the situation and stopped marching.

“We’ve talked too much. I apologize.”

Kabillon apologized on behalf of the group, but Seiden seemed uninterested in his apology. He was looking at Dion, who had just mentioned Bellota.

“What rumor.”

Seiden’s sudden question made Dion’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Pardon?”

“I asked what rumor.”

Seiden repeated patiently in a flat tone. Realizing what he was asking, Dion awkwardly scratched his head.

“Well, it’s not certain… but there’s a rumor that Duke Geril wants to marry the saintess…”

As Dion trailed off, watching Seiden’s reaction, a tense atmosphere settled heavily around the halted knight order.

Dion realized he had made a grave mistake. It was blasphemous to covet the saintess, a child of the gods, and he had mentioned it so lightly. Trying to recover, Dion stammered.

“Of course, it’s nonsense. To marry the saintess, one must pass the divine oracle…”

“If you hear anyone spreading such nonsense again,”

Seiden cut him off coldly. Dion’s mouth hung open, unable to continue. Everyone held their breath, subdued by Seiden’s presence.

“Report it to me immediately. I’ll make sure they never utter such crap again.”

Kabillon tried to hide his surprise and glanced at Seiden’s face. His expression was chilling. He seemed fine this morning. Is this really something to be so infuriated about?

The unpredictable nature of his mood could only be attributed to one thing: the blasphemous talk about the saintess, the ‘man who doesn’t look it but is mad with faith,’ had set him off again. Indeed, even if it was a baseless rumor, it was an unpleasant and blasphemous one.

“Yes! I’m sorry!”

Dion gathered himself and apologized sincerely. Without a word, Seiden turned and drove his horse again. Until they encountered the armed militia of Torcana, not a single unnecessary word was uttered among the knights.

“Stop!”

When men with rough swords, axes, and spears blocked their path, the Holy Knight Order halted. Seiden noticed some of them were bandaged. Their bodies bore numerous wounds, suggesting they had barely survived a fierce battle.

“Who are you.”

Seiden, who was looking at the man asking him with wary and tense eyes, soon answered.

“We are the Holy Knight Order from the Holy Kingdom. We’ve come to subdue the monsters of Selento.”

The men’s eyes widened.

* * *

The Holy Knight Order returned to the castle only by evening. The inside of the castle was even more magnificent than it appeared from the outside. The sturdy castle was clean without a single trace of an attack, and there was an abundance of food stored that could be preserved for a long time.

Bellota learned through Geril’s introduction that the owner of the castle was a wealthy monster hunter. Since Selento and its vicinity were teeming with monsters that fetched high prices, he had built the castle here as his base.

However, the pride of such a castle owner did not reach Bellota’s ears. Bellota merely waited to hear Seiden’s report on the village situation, foregoing dinner. Geril, too, had no choice but to skip dinner, following Bellota.

When the Holy Knight Order returned, the long-awaited dinner finally began. The castle owner generously offered the stored food to welcome the subjugation squad, and the squad had their first proper meal in days.

“I thought you might not return until morning, but you came back quickly.”

Geril said with a smile, but Seiden only drank his glass of water without a word.

The priests, knights, and Geril’s soldiers dined in the banquet hall, but Bellota, Seiden, Geril, and Felton were invited by the castle owner, Macron.

Felton, who unexpectedly joined this odd dinner, glanced at the castle owner sitting at the head of the table, as no one else wanted to sit there. Geril sat next to Bellota, and Seiden sat opposite Bellota.

“It is an honor to have the Duke, the saintess, the commander of the Holy Knight Order, and the priest here.”

Once everyone had gathered, the castle owner, Macron, stood up and greeted them with a broad smile on his greasy face. He seemed delighted that the subjugation squad had come to deal with the monsters, as it had become increasingly difficult to handle them alone, and the worsening situation was hindering his business.

“There isn’t much, but please eat a lot. I heard about the incident in Vergio. It was a real headache, but for you to come and subjugate the monsters like this, I must thank you on behalf of the residents of Selento. Moreover, I heard you already dealt with one monster; it’s truly admirable.”