Erin quickly changed her clothes. Dressed in comfortable attire suitable for movement, she opened the door and stepped out. Sarah followed behind her, fidgeting anxiously.

“My lady, where are you going?”

At Sarah’s voice, the knights guarding Erin’s door turned around in surprise. Upon seeing Erin, their eyes widened before they promptly bowed their heads respectfully.

The tips of their ears had turned red.

‘These are knights renowned even within the imperial household…’

Watching their reaction, Sarah could finally grasp the reality that her lady had truly become an exceptional swordswoman.

Erin casually brushed past the knights and said, “Sarah, I have somewhere to go… I’ll see you later!”

Without looking back, Erin walked away and vanished from Sarah’s sight like a mirage. After leaving the corridor near her room, Erin concentrated all her senses to find Ferdin. She desperately wanted to see him right now, to show him that she was alive.

After wandering through the imperial palace for some time, she suddenly sensed Ferdin’s presence. Immediately, Erin stopped walking and looked ahead.

“Lady Erin?”

Ferdin, who was just leaving the conference room, spotted her and froze in place. Alexis, who was following behind him, noticed the situation and signaled to the nobles behind him. 

Understanding his meaning, the nobles quietly began to disperse. Rumors about how devotedly Ferdin cared for Erin had already spread widely.

“We have urgent matters to attend to…”

But some remained oblivious to the atmosphere.

“Erin, you’re awake!”

“Come this way, Marquis.”

“Tower Master, put that down. Erin is awake, where do you think you’re going?”

“We had an appointment, didn’t we?”

“When did you and I make an appointment? I need to see Erin…”

Despite Marquis Liserth’s struggles, he was helplessly dragged away by Alexis. Finally, only Ferdin and Erin remained. Once the situation settled, Erin ran up to him.

For a long while, they simply gazed at each other without speaking a word. Ferdin broke the silence first.

“I wanted to be by your side when you woke—”

Ferdin couldn’t finish his sentence because Erin embraced him tightly. Surprised by her sudden action, Ferdin’s face flushed as he froze in place. His mind seemed completely paralyzed.

Erin thought to herself, ‘I won’t do anything I’ll regret anymore.’

When she had faced death, Erin had regretted many things. Among those regrets was her inability to fully express her feelings.

‘Until now, only Ferdin has shown his feelings.’

She had never approached Ferdin first. She had always been afraid he might reject her, afraid of getting hurt. Her past self was a coward.

‘But I won’t be afraid anymore.’

Taken aback by Erin’s sudden embrace, Ferdin’s eyes widened in surprise. His hands hovered uncertainly in the air.

“Ferd… um, I’m not sure what to call you now…”

Now that Ferdin had become Emperor, she couldn’t address him as “Your Highness” anymore. 

Yet she didn’t want to create distance between them by calling him “Your Majesty” in private.

‘Since we’re engaged…’

Surely this much desire was permissible?

Erin looked up at Ferdin. Noticing his state, she let out a small laugh. His face was flushed just like hers. Thinking he might burst if teased further, Erin tried to pull away from him.

But Ferdin was quicker, pulling her back with firm strength.

“I was truly, truly worried.”

Each day that Erin lay with her eyes closed had been h*ll for him. After learning that Isis could communicate with the goddess, Ferdin had obtained the goddess’s assurance through him that Erin would be safe.

Yet he couldn’t help feeling anxious. If the goddess hadn’t given her word, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to attend to state affairs.

Ferdin buried his face in Erin’s shoulder. Embracing her filled him with a deep sense of fulfillment.

“I missed you, Lady Erin.”

* * *

Once she had recovered sufficiently, Erin visited the Duke’s mansion to see Princess Asili.

“The Duke says he’ll be a while due to some business.”

Erin nodded and sat on the sofa in the Duke’s office. Isis sat across from her. Erin wondered how she had ended up with Isis.

She had originally planned to visit Princess Asili after everything was settled. Somehow knowing her thoughts, Isis had asked to accompany her.

Erin stared at Isis intently. He didn’t look well. The areas under his eyes were sunken, and his hair was disheveled. This unkempt appearance was unlike his usual neat self.

‘Has he become too busy since becoming Pope? Or did he consume too much holy power to save me, and this is the backlash?’

Erin understood what it meant to bear a curse. It was clear that Isis had suffered considerably to save her. Concern showed on her face.

During her recent meeting with Ferdin, Erin had learned what had happened during the week she was unconscious. It was a continuous series of events, making it understandable why Sarah had found it difficult to explain.

She heard that Isis had become Pope, and the previous Pope had been arrested for collaborating with the Emperor, who was revealed to be a black mage. Additionally, many nobles from the imperial faction had been removed.

Subsequently, Ferdin had been chosen as the next Emperor with the support of the Council of Elders, the Magic Tower, and the Temple.

Lost in thought, Erin was brought back by Isis’s voice.

“Lady Erin, I heard you’ll be returning to the academy soon.”

“Ah, yes. I think I’ll go back right after Ferd— I mean, His Majesty’s coronation ceremony.”

The tips of Erin’s ears turned red as she spoke. Seeing this, Isis smiled kindly. He had noticed that Ferdin and Erin’s relationship had grown closer.

“More importantly, Isis, are you unwell?”

At Erin’s question, Isis’s smile faltered.

“I’m not ill, but…”

Unable to tell the truth, Isis felt his chest tighten. He finally understood Princess Asili’s feelings. He wanted to complain to Erin about the goddess’s capricious personality.

Isis murmured in a tone filled with regret, “Why did I ever want to become Pope?”

“Surely… is someone at the temple giving you trouble?”

Erin’s expression hardened as she spoke. Considering the discord that had existed between the Pope and Isis, it was entirely possible.

Isis quickly shook his head. The priests weren’t the problem. After learning that Isis could hear the goddess’s voice, they had become completely loyal to him.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“The goddess is… really…”

“The goddess?”

“Really a wonderful being.”

At his words, Erin nodded with a puzzled expression.

“That reminds me, the goddess had a message for you, Lady Erin.”

“From the goddess?”

“Yes, she said to leave the punishment of evildoers to her.”

Isis paused briefly. The message he delivered to Erin was a considerably toned-down version of what the goddess had actually said.

She had talked incessantly about punishing evildoers. Even when he said it was difficult to handle her divine presence, she wouldn’t stop.

[You need to grow stronger. How can a Pope be so weak… tsk tsk.]

The goddess wasn’t wrong. He could feel his holy power increasing the more she spoke to him.

He had heard that a Pope who could hear the goddess’s voice was the first in many generations. Even in the case of the Saint, while she received prophecies through dreams, direct conversation had been impossible.

Perhaps because of this, the goddess seemed extremely excited to finally have someone to talk to. He recalled their conversation:

[Thanks to Erin sending those villains to h*ll one by one, I’m handling them properly.]

The goddess said this with a pleased laugh.

[I made sure the Emperor would feel especially terrible pain. The punishment I gave him is too detailed to explain to someone your age.]

[Well, the rest of them are the same. Erin, that child is too kind, so she sent them off with a single stroke. It’s up to me, a sa— no, a god, to properly teach them the price of their sins.]

[Just think of it as a punishment beyond imagination. I had a promise with Princess Asili.]

[These days, my job is to listen to the screams from h*ll every night. You dare to mess with a god? I’ll show you why h*ll is h*ll. Ohoho.]

Isis momentarily wondered whether the goddess he served was benevolent or malevolent, but he decided to strengthen his faith. After all, he would have acted the same way if he had her power.

“Isis, are you really alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine…”

At this point, Isis realized why past Popes had become taciturn, why they chose silence whenever believers asked, “What did the goddess say?”

He finally understood their feelings. Isis looked at Erin, who was staring at him with confusion. He nodded with a pale face.

‘I should resign from the Pope position soon…’

Just as he thought this, he seemed to hear the goddess’s voice in his ear:

[How dare you think of escaping?]

Trying to forget that voice, Isis shook his head and spoke to Erin.

“I heard that Lord Amon’s wounds have almost healed. He’ll be returning to the academy soon. It seems his recovery took longer because Corelia’s sword had a special black magic that hindered wound healing.”

Erin’s expression brightened at Isis’s words. She had planned to visit Amon after seeing the Princess, but he had declined her visit, leaving her uncertain about his condition.

Isis clicked his tongue. He often failed to understand knights’ thinking.

“My goodness, I’ve never met someone who refuses a sick visit out of embarrassment.”

“Lord Amon has strong pride.”

Erin smiled faintly at Isis’s words.

‘Meeting the Princess is more important anyway.’

Just as he thought this, Duke Asili finally opened the office door and appeared before them.

“What brings you here?”