At that moment, honestly, they had no choice.

They had no way to refute.

Only I knew what the herb looked like.

There were too many plants with red berries to search based on that single characteristic alone.

There’s a limit to explaining it verbally, and above all, I…

‘My drawing skills are terrible.’

It’s not like there’s a professional artist in this fortress city who could accurately draw based on my description.

Who would have thought that being unable to draw would be so helpful one day?

I straightened my back and continued speaking.

“Dad is spreading the divine barrier, and Lakius is working on city restoration. I want to be of help too.”

“Miss Tati.”

Cesar called my name, as if trying to dissuade me.

“And… if we can drive away the magical beasts with that herb.”

I clutched my collar tightly.

“Then Dad wouldn’t have to overexert himself, right?”

“……”

Cesar’s face showed a rare loss for words.

I continued earnestly.

“The sooner we find that herb, the more we can reduce the time needed for the divine barrier, even by a day.”

“…That’s.”

“Is it really not possible?”

At that question, Cesar remained silent for a long time.

I waited for Cesar’s answer, suppressing my anxiety.

After a while.

Cesar answered with a sigh.

“…They say no parent can win against their child, but I never thought I’d experience it firsthand.”

Could it be!

My eyes lit up with anticipation.

“Well, Miss Tati’s words aren’t entirely without reason. Certainly, with the divine barrier spread, there shouldn’t be much danger…”

Even after saying that, Cesar looked at me with a complex expression for a long time.

He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them, calling out to Lakius.

“Lakius.”

“Yes, Master.”

Lakius answered, straightening his posture.

Then Cesar emphasized in an ominous voice.

“You know what happens if even a single hair on Miss Tati’s head is harmed, right?”

…For a moment, Lakius’s face seemed to pale slightly, but.

“Of course.”

He soon answered firmly.

At the same time, Cesar glared at me reproachfully.

“Really, I wonder who she takes after to cause such worry.”

“Who else could it be? I take after Dad, of course.”

I stuck out my tongue as I answered.

Who was it that worried us first by saying he’d spread the divine barrier?

“Oh, you.”

Cesar, who looked like he’d been hit, eventually smiled bitterly along with me.

***

At that time.

The Deputy High Priest was looking down at the package on the desk with an anxious face.

‘From the beginning… I shouldn’t have gotten involved with the Empress.’

Originally, he was an incompetent priest who shouldn’t have even been appointed as Deputy High Priest.

To be promoted to a high-ranking priest position of deputy or above, one needs to be able to handle a certain level of divine power, but the divine power he possessed was barely that of an ordinary priest.

The problem was that he wanted to live a life of showing off to others somehow.

One day, as he was accumulating inferiority complexes in the vast gap between his lofty ideals and reality.

The woman of highest status in this empire secretly reached out her hand.

‘Can you help me? Then I will help you too.’

The Deputy High Priest gladly took that hand.

After that, with the Empress’s assistance, the Deputy High Priest was able to advance far beyond his abilities.

Although the Empress’s secret requests gradually increased in proportion to his advancement, it wasn’t difficult to comply with them.

But this dispatch to Caro…

‘I, I cannot go to Caro.’

For the first time, the Deputy High Priest refused the Empress’s request.

Being dispatched to Caro meant having to manage the sacred artifacts protecting the city.

However, the Deputy High Priest lacked the ability to manage sacred artifacts.

Moreover, failing to properly manage the sacred artifacts would prove that his divine power was insufficient for his position.

Being dispatched to Caro itself was essentially the same as losing his position as Deputy High Priest.

‘Is that so? That’s a shame. I didn’t want to see you brought to trial as a corrupt priest.’

At that moment.

The Deputy High Priest realized that what he had been receiving all this time were not requests, but orders.

The numerous bribes and benefits the Empress had given him had become a noose around his neck.

‘There’s only one thing you need to do. Don’t manage the sacred artifacts, just leave them as they are.’

‘B-but. If that happens, magical beasts will invade Caro…!’

‘That’s exactly what I want.’

To the fearful Deputy High Priest, the Empress made another sweet offer.

‘Don’t worry too much. Even if you end up leaving the temple because of this, I’ll make sure you have more than enough to live on.’

Only then did the Deputy High Priest realize the Empress’s true intentions.

‘Your Majesty… You want the magical beasts to trample Caro.’

If magical beasts invaded Caro, the greater the damage, the more it would be.

It would become Lakius’s mistake in governing the territory.

Meanwhile, if Lakius were to lose his life while facing the incoming magical beasts, it would be the icing on the cake.

It felt like stepping into a sticky swamp.

When he came to his senses, it was like being neck-deep in slimy mud, that kind of hopelessness.

‘But I can’t back out now.’

The Deputy High Priest, swallowing hard, reached for the package on the desk.

As he unwrapped the tightly bound package, a transparent glass vial the size of a thumb appeared.

Inside the vial was a powder that looked like transparent crystals.

The Deputy High Priest picked up the note next to it with trembling hands.

<If you successfully feed this to Lakius, I’ll continue to look after you even after you’re driven out of your Deputy High Priest position.>

There was only one line written.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”

After burning the note in the candlelight, the Deputy High Priest took a deep breath.

‘Right. I’ll just close my eyes and get it over with.’

Her Majesty the Empress said she would take care of everything.

So…

The Deputy High Priest firmly grasped the vial.

At that moment.

“Ugh!”

An intense headache struck as if someone was stabbing his temple with a large needle.

But it was only for a moment.

The Deputy High Priest’s face became dazed.

“…What just happened? No, more importantly.”

He must somehow feed this medicine to His Highness the First Prince.

That thought alone dominated his entire body.

‘Come to think of it, His Highness the First Prince always eats the same meals as the other knights.’

Then I could mix the medicine into the salt container used for the knights’ cooking.

That way, he’ll take the medicine at least once.

Staggering to his feet, the Deputy High Priest immediately headed outside.

***

‘Huh?’

Aaron, the ordinary priest stationed in Caro, witnessed a strange sight.

Just as the door to the knights’ supply warehouse opened, the Deputy High Priest walked out.

‘…I’m sure the High Priest ordered him to self-reflect?’

Aaron narrowed his eyes.

Moreover, the Deputy High Priest is known for his extravagance, and the knights’ supply warehouse is devoid of any luxury items.

It didn’t fit, like ill-fitting clothes.

Furthermore.

‘Isn’t that… where His Highness the First Prince and his direct knights’ supplies are stored?’

To be precise, it was the warehouse where supplies for this expedition were organized.

But, how to put it, it was ambiguous to raise an issue.

Principally, the Deputy High Priest wasn’t forbidden from entering and exiting the knights’ supply warehouse.

“Priest Aaron!”

Just then, hearing someone call him, Aaron quickly responded.

“Ah, yes! Coming!”

After glancing back one last time.

‘Surely nothing could be wrong?’

Aaron shook his head and hurriedly walked away.

***

Two days later, in the early dawn before sunrise.

All preparations to spread the divine barrier were complete.

Tatiana and Lakius exchanged farewells with Cesar.

“Take care of yourself, Miss Tati.”

“Yes, I will. Dad, don’t overexert yourself either.”

“Alright.”

After embracing each other tightly one last time.

Tatiana mounted her horse.

Confirming this, Lakius signaled to the surrounding knights.

“Let’s depart!”

With that, the knights began to ride their horses.

Cesar watched silently, his eyes narrowed, as his daughter’s figure grew distant.

‘I… don’t want to.’

His daughter’s tearful voice echoed in his ears.

‘Even if you call me selfish, I can’t help it.’

Tatiana, with her eyes reddened, was shedding large tears.

‘To me, Dad is far more important than the people of Caro.’

How deeply that child had touched him.

Somehow, she had settled so deeply in his heart.

So precious that…

“…Sigh.”

Cesar let out a long sigh.