There were seven children, including the one who had fled in here, bleeding and huddled in fear. Seeing the children crying in the corner, Bellota’s mind went blank. There were no proper windows in the building, and there was nowhere else to run.

“Saintess, the monster…… Ahh!”

The building shook violently again, as if the monster had finally broken through the door, and the children screamed in terror. Bellota snapped back to reality and tried to calm them.

“It’s okay. The Duke is outside. He will save us.”

Bellota smiled calmly and confidently, as if she truly believed in Geril. With Geril and the soldiers outside, they would soon deal with the monster or lure it away.

Bellota tried to form a barrier around the children. But as she raised her hand to do so, her head spun, and her vision blurred. She couldn’t muster any more holy power. She had exhausted too much holy power treating the children in a short time. Moreover, she had used all her remaining holy power to fend off the monster’s tentacle earlier, leaving her both physically and spiritually drained.

Boom!

As though it was mocking Bellota’s situation, the building made a collapsing sound again. Thud, thud. The monster’s angry footsteps told Bellota it had reached the flimsy door. Bellota bit her lip as she hid the crying children behind her. She couldn’t hear Geril’s voice or the soldiers’ footsteps she desperately awaited.

Boom!

The enraged monster struck the building’s wall, causing cracks to spread. At that moment, Bellota realized that Geril would not come to save her and the children. A loud crash followed, and the door finally broke down.

“Ahhh!”

Simultaneously, the ceiling, unable to withstand the vibrations, partially collapsed. Bellota hurriedly shielded the children behind her from the falling debris. The large chunks of the ceiling fell onto Bellota’s shoulders.

“Ouch……!”

Feeling pain so intense it made her head spin, Bellota prayed desperately.

Please, let someone come. Anyone…….

At that moment, a man’s face flashed before her darkened eyes. The only person who could face such a ferocious monster. But there was no chance he would come here. He should be in Torcana by now……

Bellota realized that what she desperately needed wasn’t holy water but Seiden himself. A strong man who could never be here.

“Saintess! The monster! The monster is inside!”

The child in Bellota’s arms screamed as he grasped the situation, and Bellota, sweating from pain, turned around to hide the children deeper behind her. Just as the child said, the monster, drooling and glaring with blood-red eyes, was staring at Bellota from just a few steps away. She could even feel its hot, foul breath.

Except for the corner where Bellota and the children were, the building had collapsed, revealing the outside. Yet there was no sign of anyone around the building. There was nowhere else to retreat. This was the end. The monster, snorting in excitement, finally moved its foot, and Bellota spread her arms wide to shield the children, closing her eyes tightly.

At that moment.

Someone dashed like lightning through the collapsed wall and fiercely swung a sword at the monster’s arm reaching for Bellota. With a sudden strike, the monster’s arm was severed, and it staggered back, unable to defend itself. Bellota, sensing something strange, opened her eyes.

In the suddenly brightened view, an unbelievable sight filled her vision. In the space where everything seemed to move in slow motion, a man exuding a murderous aura, holding a raised sword, was Seiden.

Seiden, exuding a terrifying killing intent, charged at the monster that was lunging at him and aimed precisely for its neck this time. The sword, which was imbued with holy water handed over by Bellota, pierced the monster’s neck without an inch of error.

With a gruesome cry, the monster’s neck, clearly struck at its weak point, was cleanly severed and flew in a large arc, landing with a thud outside the building, right in front of a stunned Geril.

“Ugh……”

At the same time, Geril’s soldiers let out gasps of shock. Geril, too, looked down at the horrific head with eyes filled with shock and fear. He realized that Seiden had dealt with the monster. At the same time, he knew that things had gone terribly wrong.

Unaware of Geril’s thoughts, Seiden confirmed the monster’s body collapsing to the ground before slowly turning to look at Bellota. The heart that had been tightly clenched and unmoving since he had rushed here finally resumed its heavy beating.

Bellota had almost been harmed.

Right in front of his eyes.

Her slender body was completely pale, and there was a strong scent of blood coming from somewhere on her, but Bellota was safe. Only after confirming this with his own eyes did the tight grip of tension around Seiden’s body finally begin to loosen. Seiden dropped the sword he had been gripping so tightly it might have broken and rushed to Bellota.

Bellota, still frozen, looked at Seiden’s face as he grasped her shoulders and examined her. It still felt like she was dreaming.

“Ha……”

Only after confirming that Bellota was truly safe did Seiden let out a low, restrained breath.

Bellota noticed that Seiden’s fingertips, which were holding her shoulders, were trembling slightly. As his shallow breath touched her, the emotions that had been frozen within her body surged up in a rush. Seiden had really come to save her and the children. Now, she and the children were safe. The man before her had swiftly defeated the monster.

The dizzying fear of being at the brink of life and death, the resignation at the moment she was ready to give up, and the relief and sorrow upon seeing Seiden all mixed together, bringing tears to Bellota’s eyes.

“Sir……”

As Bellota called Seiden with a choked voice, his red eyes, still filled with explosive killing intent and anger, slowly darkened to black. Seiden looked at her as if she might disappear if he blinked, and then moved his dry lips.

“I told you not to……”

Seiden’s faint, low voice trailed off heavily.

“Leave my sight……”

Though he spoke these words, the only thing in Seiden’s low murmur was pure relief. Just gratitude that Bellota was alive. This sincere relief reached Bellota, making her heart ache.

“If something happens to you, I……”

Seiden couldn’t finish his sentence, his voice trailing off. Bellota saw that behind his always firm and solid red eyes, there was a huge fear. This was……

Bellota’s eyes wavered uneasily. A confusing emotion she had never felt before swirled in her chest, making her uneasy.

Was this gaze also born from his faith? All those distant feelings in his eyes……

“You’re safe now. Nothing can harm you, Saintess.”

Seiden held Bellota’s shoulders firmly, trying to soothe her as she remained stiff and unmoving. Then, realizing that his hand was covered in thick blood, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Sa-Saintess, you’re bleeding a lot……”

One of the children still huddled behind Bellota shouted loudly, and Seiden quickly looked at her shoulder. As the child had said, Bellota’s shoulder was soaked in red blood.

At that moment, Bellota’s body, which had been barely holding on, lost its strength and collapsed. Seiden immediately caught her and held her close.

“Saintess……!”

* * *

“Commander, no! You must hold on!”

Having carried the fallen Bellota on his horse and rushed back to the castle, Seiden left her in Felton’s care before going to find Geril. He frantically searched the orphanage, finding neither people nor the monster’s corpse he had slain, and then returned to the castle, searching every corner with a deadly aura, making Kabillon realize something had gone terribly wrong.

“Where did you hide Lylester?”

Seiden, with Kabillon clinging to his waist trying to stop him, grabbed Macron by the collar, who was shuffling anxiously.

“I-I don’t know! The castle is so big… and with all the children…”

Stammering excuses, Macron met Seiden’s murderous red eyes and gasped, lowering his head.

Macron regretted letting them into the castle with a foolish sense of hope. Whatever had happened, the holy knight had returned carrying the unconscious Saintess, and suddenly the Holy Knights and priests had brought all the scruffy orphans into the castle. Macron tried to keep the door closed, but the crazed Holy Knights had broken in.

Forced to let the children in, Macron then watched in disbelief as the holy knight rode off on his horse like a madman, only for the Duke and his battered soldiers to enter the castle. The Duke had strictly instructed not to reveal his whereabouts to the Holy Knights and priests and had hidden in the castle’s basement. After all these strange events, the holy knight had returned to the castle and started causing a ruckus, demanding to see Geril.

“Commander, you can’t. If something happens to Duke Lylester, the imperial palace will use it as an excuse to seize the temple!”

Kabillon clung to Seiden’s waist, trying to calm his rock-solid body. Of course, Kabillon fully understood why Seiden was so furious. Duke Lylester had crossed the line. It was Geril who led Bellota to the orphanage.

Geril had not kept the tacit agreement to keep Bellota safe within the castle. Bellota had almost been harmed. Even as Seiden fought the monster and rescued Bellota, Geril just stood by and watched, not moving a muscle.

And Bellota had not woken up even as the deep night passed. Thinking about it made Kabillon want to kick that foolish and terrible man’s rear until it shattered, but he couldn’t do that.

“It could be a trap! They might be provoking you on purpose! You must not fall for it!”