“I’m fine now…”

Erin was taken aback. Isis had bowed his head to her.

“I apologize, Lady Erin. We didn’t even recognize you…”

“…”

“We thought you couldn’t wake up because of us…”

“Lord Isis?”

“Please call me Isis.”

“Pardon?”

“Would that make you uncomfortable?”

His expression darkened with self-reproach as he spoke.

Erin was genuinely confused. She couldn’t understand why he was treating her with such deference.

Could it be that he considered her his lifesaver?

“I suppose I’m the problem. Someone like me should rather…”

“No, no. Isis, I’ll call you Isis.”

At Erin’s words, Isis smiled with relief.

Was he always this kind of person? Erin had no idea how to interact with him.

“Thank you so much, Lady Erin.”

Isis looked truly delighted as he said this.

Erin couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being manipulated somehow. But the strange behavior didn’t end there.

Shortly after, Hellix also entered her room and behaved exactly like Isis. He began profusely apologizing and expressing gratitude.

Erin couldn’t understand what had caused such a change in their attitudes.

“Lady Erin, may I take care of this medicine?”

Isis took charge of the medicine in the bottle Erin had brought. She heard that Hellix would personally take the journal to report to Ferdin.

She had originally planned to leave the west immediately after regaining consciousness. However, Isis persuaded her against it.

The western priests felt the same way. They regarded her as the savior who had rescued Isis and Hellix.

Isis told Erin with an expression that brooked no argument.

“Absolutely not. You must rest for at least a week.”

“…”

“You need to consider your health!”

“…”

“You should focus more on recovery for now. Understand?”

Erin discovered that Isis was more talkative than she had expected.

Though it wasn’t particularly something she wanted to know, the feeling of someone worrying about her wasn’t unpleasant.

It wasn’t just Isis. Hellix began silently following Erin around. He tried to stay by her side all day except when she used the bathroom or slept. He was like a puppy following its master.

“Sir Hellix, aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine. I prefer this.”

What exactly did he prefer?

Erin couldn’t understand why Hellix stood guard outside her door.

He must have known she was a Sword Master. Yet he acted like he needed to protect her.

Erin knew that if she were in danger, Hellix would be in danger too. But she didn’t bother pointing this out.

Though unnecessary, his concern for her made her feel not entirely displeased.

After a week had passed, Erin finally began preparing to leave in earnest.

Once her body had fully recovered, the first thing she did with Hellix and Isis’s help was to create a small cemetery in one corner of the temple.

It was a cemetery for knights whose names were unknown.

* * *

Late at night, Erin packed her belongings.

‘Time to leave.’

It would be a lie to say she hadn’t grown attached to the west. But she couldn’t stay here forever.

There was much to do. More people needed saving.

That’s why rest always had to be brief. If she became accustomed to peace, she might want to settle into it.

Her enemies didn’t just torment Erin alone.

‘It was never just about me.’

Many more people were connected to her hell. Moreover, her father might be imprisoned somewhere by now.

She had participated in the promotion test to naturally find clues about Hellix and Ferdin’s deaths, but now that she knew their plans, time was of the essence.

‘Still, with Charlotte and Raymon dead, Corelia won’t be able to do anything immediately.’

But Erin couldn’t leave right away. Hellix and Isis were waiting for her at the temple entrance.

Almost as if they knew she was planning to leave.

Isis approached Erin.

“I knew you would leave soon, having already completed your promotion mission.”

“I need to return to the academy.”

“I see. I had hoped you would rest a bit longer.”

“…”

“But that’s just my selfishness.”

Isis’s face looked troubled as he spoke in a subdued voice.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.

Isis couldn’t speak freely about the previous Saint’s prophecy. He had sworn to God not to reveal the future he had heard from her to anyone.

He found it frustrating that he couldn’t say anything to Erin.

The Saint used to talk about Erin often. How kind she was, how good, how beautiful her heart was.

She would speak like someone who couldn’t help but boast, even knowing how much it drained her life to do so…

Isis couldn’t understand the Saint back then. He even told her to please stop, saying he understood.

The Erin that Isis saw was a radiant person. Now he finally understood why the Saint couldn’t stop talking about her.

He too felt his heart swell with emotion whenever he looked at Erin.

“Thank you, Lady Erin. Without you, the west would have faced great danger.”

“…”

“Truly, thank you.”

At those words, Erin gripped the sword at her waist.

Receiving someone’s sincere gratitude was something she couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times it happened.

“What happened in the west will be difficult to reveal to the outside world for now.”

“…”

“What happened to them, how tragic it was, and what you did, Lady Erin…”

It was a night with bright moonlight.

“But we will remember. Until someday, someday when we can tell the whole truth.”

“…”

“That knights were there.”

But Isis had his head bowed, making it impossible to read his expression properly.

“Knights who maintained their pride until the moment of death, more knightly than anyone else.”

Isis slowly raised his head.

“Lady Erin, could you take Hellix with you?”

“Sir Hellix?”

Hellix, standing beside Isis, nodded silently. It was a gesture full of desire to be with Erin.

“There will come a time when he can be of help to you, Lady Erin.”

* * *

For the past few weeks, Ferdin had been living a busy life.

The west was a land where news traveled slowly. It was a place with few means of communication unless one sent messages through merchant caravans that occasionally passed through.

But a few days ago, Derek brought news with an excited face.

“Erin passed the western promotion test!”

This was the message delivered by a messenger from the western temple. Even so, Ferdin couldn’t feel at ease.

‘I hope she wasn’t injured during the promotion test. Even though she’s a Sword Master, you never know.’

Whenever he took his hands off work even for a moment, Erin came to mind. The worst-case scenarios constantly flooded his thoughts.

“I’ll definitely come back.”

That promise Erin had left behind was all that sustained Ferdin.

‘Trust her.’

His gaze flicked briefly to the letter in his hand.

He had begun a full-scale investigation after Erin’s departure. It concerned the black mana stone that Lilia was supposed to receive from the Marchioness’s maid.

And recently, he had been able to contact Lilia.

Lilia had successfully completed the task given by the Tower Master, finished the pilgrimage, and received recognition from the Magic Tower.

With the Magic Tower’s support, Lilia’s investigation was progressing very quickly.

Ferdin’s expression hardened terribly as he read the letter.

[I investigated around the Marquis’s mansion with a few knights you provided. Something is definitely wrong. I think we should discuss the details in person. I hope I can visit the academy soon.]

* * *

Erin found this situation of being alone with Hellix unfamiliar and awkward.

Hellix was rather taciturn. And unlike his noble appearance, he was somewhat lacking in common sense and occasionally said strange things.

Sometimes his ears would redden when looking at her, or his heartbeat would quicken, but he didn’t seem to like her romantically.

Was it admiration, like other knights? She considered this but quickly shook her head.

Unlike other academy students, Hellix was not someone who would admire others.

It was more convincing to think he was burning with a knight’s competitive spirit.

‘What did Isis mean when he said Hellix would be useful?’