The previous Saint never gave Hellix straightforward answers. But he believed in her words. He thought that someday, the person Ferdin loved would appear, and he would recognize her immediately.

So when he arrived at the academy and heard about Ferdin’s engagement, the shock was beyond imagination. This was especially true for Hellix who, like Derek, knew that the romance with Princess Asili was fake.

“That villainess who’s engaged to Prince Ferdin.”

“Oh, you mean Erin Liserth who transferred to the Swordsmanship Department?”

“She’s been quiet lately, hasn’t she? She used to be notorious for her wicked behavior.”

Upon hearing this news, Hellix was filled with anxiety.

‘What if the person Ferdin loves is too frightened of that villainess to appear?’

“Sir Hellix! Are you listening?”

Hellix looked at the Princess shouting loudly in front of him. She wasn’t the only one focusing on him. Both Ferdin and Amon were glaring at him with disapproval.

Even Karon Liserth was looking at him with contempt, like he was some kind of trash.

“Lady Erin is not a bad person!”

“I understand, so please stop talking about it.”

Though Hellix didn’t follow this generation’s Saint, he was still a holy knight. The fact that she, a Saint, was angry with him made the situation uncomfortable. He frowned, clearly suffering from a headache.

‘What happened while I was away? I definitely heard she was a villainess who behaved wickedly.’

Yet now, Ferdin’s knight candidates were treating Erin Liserth as though she were truly his fiancée. This was bewildering even to someone like him who rarely showed emotional fluctuations.

Ferdin addressed Hellix.

“Hellix, if you’re disrespectful to Lady Erin again, I won’t forgive you, even if it’s you.”

As soon as Ferdin finished speaking, Karon interjected.

“Piece of trash.”

Hearing his words, Hellix narrowed his eyes at Karon. A strange atmosphere settled between them.

Karon looked haggard, appearing to have gone without food for days. Hellix found it ridiculous that someone in such poor condition would direct killing intent toward him.

But Ferdin didn’t stop Karon. He must have agreed with Karon’s sentiment to some extent.

“This isn’t just for Hellix. I won’t tolerate anyone hurting her under the pretense of doing it for my sake. This is an order.”

“…”

“When you meet Lady Erin, apologize properly with sincerity.”

The central hall fell silent. Hellix bowed deeply at his words.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Amon and Karon also bowed their heads. Only Derek looked around nervously, trying to gauge the atmosphere.

After a long while, Ferdin finally asked Hellix, “So, you must have returned to the academy because you discovered something.”

Feeling the gaze of the other knights, Hellix began to speak.

“The disappearances occurring in the western region… it seems the Emperor is involved.”

Ferdin’s hand stopped as he was flipping through documents.

“Through investigation, I found evidence that the Emperor took orphaned children somewhere in the past.”

“Orphaned children?”

“Besides that, mercenaries known for their swordsmanship and men with strong builds also disappeared in large numbers at that time.”

Ferdin felt strong suspicion.

The Emperor wasn’t the type to care about orphaned children. Why would he take them somewhere?

And the timing of the disappearances seemed too coincidental. Derek asked anxiously.

“Ferdin, what do you think the Emperor is… planning?”

Ferdin silently rose from his seat and approached the window.

‘Strange, I thought I sensed someone.’

But that couldn’t be. No unauthorized person could enter this area.

After confirming no one was there, he spoke.

“Perhaps… something more ominous than I thought is happening.”

Ferdin’s eyes lowered. He had a feeling that a moment for a major decision might come soon.

* * *

The presence Ferdin sensed was Erin. She was sitting on the roof of the central hall, eavesdropping on the conversation between Ferdin and his knight candidates.

Unintentionally, she had also overheard his order.

“I won’t tolerate anyone hurting her under the pretense of doing it for my sake.”

He had always been like that in the past too. He couldn’t stand the unjust treatment or criticism Erin received.

Apart from her gratitude toward him for this, Erin hoped he wouldn’t concern himself with the western region.

She pondered over the disappearances Hellix had mentioned.

‘So this is exactly when Hellix disappeared.’

Hellix Igzart would leave for the west after this report. And he would never return. She remembered how he simply vanished, and how Ferdin and the Temple had tried to find him. Of course, her wish for Ferdin to stay away from the western region wasn’t just for this reason.

Erin’s eyes grew cold.

‘Because that’s where Ferdin died.’

In a few years, the west would become a land of death, overrun with monsters. And Ferdin would die there, sent by the Emperor’s order to eliminate those monsters.

She had thought Hellix might bring some news on this academy visit, but as expected, it wasn’t good news.

* * *

Ditrion looked at Erin standing before him. She was staring at him with an expressionless face. Seeing her eyes without any trace of fear, Ditrion grew curious.

‘Will she still look the same after hearing this?’

In his hand was a letter from the Imperial Palace.

“Erin, the Emperor has ordered you to take the promotion exam.”

Their eyes met.

“You’ll be going to the west.”

Ditrion rested his chin on one hand, waiting for Erin’s reaction.

Would she be surprised? Would she ask for help like before?

But even after a long while, there was no reaction from Erin. When she finally spoke, Ditrion couldn’t believe his ears.

“Understood.”

That was it.

Ditrion waited for what would follow. But her next words completely defied his expectations as well.

“May I leave now?”

“Leave?”

“Yes.”

Ditrion let out a hollow laugh at her response.

“Do you want to die? Don’t you understand what it means to be sent to the west for a promotion exam?”

He rose from his seat and approached Erin. Then he twisted his lips into a smile.

“Say you want to live, Erin.”

“…”

“If you say you want to live, I might save you.”

“…”

“I’ll personally ask His Majesty to give you an easier mission.”

Erin gave a dry smile at his words.

“You don’t want to die, do you? Pride is just momentary.”

After looking at Ditrion for a moment, she opened her mouth.

“There’s no need for you to go that far for me.”

Her tone was resolute. Her own death seemingly didn’t matter to her at all.

How could a person be like that?

He stared at Erin’s eyes, mesmerized, “If you have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave now.”

With those words, Erin turned around. She walked without hesitation, even though he hadn’t dismissed her.

Normally, Ditrion would have been furious the moment she turned her back.

How dare she ignore him and leave? He could have called his knights to humiliate her right away.

But what he felt at that moment was profound emptiness. The moment she left this room, Erin Liserth was as good as dead.

‘She’s really going to die?’

Erin Liserth was an enemy he would have to deal with eventually. He too had been thinking about getting rid of her until recently.

But to leave like this.

“How foolish.”

With those words, Ditrion tried to stop caring about her. He had given her a chance, and it was Erin who rejected it.

‘But why?’

Ditrion’s face contorted. He felt his mood souring for reasons he couldn’t understand.

* * *

After parting with Ditrion, Erin returned to her room.

The future had definitely changed again. In the past, the Emperor had never given her a mission to go to the west.

‘Which of my actions caused the future to change?’

She recalled Corelia’s wary eyes at the banquet. She might have thought Erin needed to be eliminated.

‘She wants me dead.’

Things were moving faster than before. Faced with their actions, Erin felt her mind growing clearer.

Wasn’t she planning to leave the academy anyway? Since Ferdin had died in the west, there must be something there.

So this was actually a good opportunity. Erin had no intention of refusing the situation that had been created.