Ir was confident she wouldn’t be surprised by any member of the imperial family.

Even if the Emperor himself, who was said to be bedridden with illness, appeared here, she would have taken it in stride. But seeing Nergal left her utterly shocked.

‘Am I seeing things?’

While the imperial palace was in chaos with all direct royals frantically searching for the Holy Sword, only Nergal had maintained his usual routine. To him, who had even given up his right of succession, the Holy Sword that promised to make one Emperor was nothing more than a troublesome item that would only create more paperwork.

‘Besides, I thought Prince Nergal would never come to a place like this.’

Everyone who frequented the imperial palace knew well his nearly obsessive cleanliness.

Until now, he had never been involved in any scandal, not even a whispered association with any woman’s name. Even at social functions, if he had at least escorted someone, there would have been talk, but Nergal either didn’t attend most events where all royals were required to participate, or at major ceremonies like the Foundation Day, he was always busy moving about as the chief organizer.

Moreover, Ir had witnessed it herself. That time when the empire’s finest dancer, who had once caused an uproar in the palace by simultaneously receiving courtship from multiple princes, slowly undressed one piece at a time in his office.

Everyone present had turned red-faced, unable to look properly. Ir included.

Honestly, watching that scene, Ir had thought, ‘If he doesn’t fall for this seduction, he must be blind,’ and believed Nergal would dismiss them and close the door. She had been glad, thinking she could quickly return to the Knight Order, but contrary to expectations, Nergal hadn’t even looked at the dancer and said:

“Take her away. She will be charged with unauthorized entry into the office.”

After saying this, he didn’t even spare another glance. Instead, he glared at Ir standing in the corner and continued his interrogation from before the dancer’s appearance.

‘That’s why I thought Prince Nergal, of all people, would never come here.’

Searching for the Holy Sword and coming here to buy women?

She felt ashamed of herself for having thought she knew him well, having spent time with him briefly in childhood and seeing him almost daily since entering the palace.

“This won’t do, sir.”

The auctioneer made a show of stopping Nergal while wearing a smile that couldn’t hide his delight. This prompted a flood of mockery and criticism from the audience.

“That’s right! This is an auction house!”

“Does this high-and-mighty outsider not know the rules?”

“Would a pampered young master even know the prices here?”

Those who didn’t yet realize Nergal was royalty threw jeers at him, telling him to get lost since he couldn’t see well.

While commotion erupted before her, Ir felt the rope binding her wrists with her fingers. In the past, untying such a rope wouldn’t have been difficult. But with her current body, even bending her wrists to touch the rope was challenging. The sensation of rope against skin felt too vivid. In cases like this, it would be better not to feel anything at all.

‘If only I had something sharp, I could cut through the rope.’

Even if she couldn’t completely sever the wrist bindings, she could at least loosen them. Then she might have a chance to escape when the opportunity arose.

As she felt around the floor behind her, Ir couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Until just moments ago, she had thought that meeting any royal would allow her to explain the situation and receive help in exchange for information about the Holy Sword.

But upon actually seeing Nergal, that thought vanished instantly. Despite thinking he would be the most helpful in this situation, seeing him here actually caused whatever trust she had in him to crumble completely.

‘It was the same when I was young… How stupid of me.’

Ir cursed herself and continued feeling around the floor.

At that moment, she caught hold of something. With so many eyes on her, she couldn’t turn her head, but judging by the feel against her fingers, it was definitely metal. Anything would do in the current situation. If she could just loosen this even a little….

Just as she thought this and pressed the object against the rope, her vision suddenly blurred.

‘Huh?’

Startled, Ir blinked, trying to regain her focus. But it wasn’t just her vision that was affected. Her breathing became labored and she felt feverish. At the same time, a heavy fatigue overwhelmed her.

‘Damn it.’

Since regaining consciousness, Ir hadn’t slept for three days. Not knowing when or where she might be moved by whom, she had only pretended to sleep while constantly remaining vigilant. Now, the fatigue of those three days hit her all at once.

‘Why?’

She hadn’t exerted herself much. At most, she had only moved her hand slightly to try loosening the rope with whatever unknown object she had found. There was no reason for all the fatigue she had been enduring to suddenly rush in at once because of that.

As her body unconsciously began to slump forward, Ir straightened herself and tried to grip the object again. But what had been in her hand moments ago could no longer be felt.

‘Where did it go? Did I drop it?’

Panicking, she felt around behind her, but there was nothing on the floor. As if nothing had been there to begin with.

Meanwhile, her head grew increasingly foggy. Cold sweat broke out and sounds alternated between distant and near. It felt like she could sleep for days if she closed her eyes now. But Ir bit her tongue, resisting the overwhelming drowsiness.

Since opening her eyes again, only one thing had kept her going. Finding those who killed her comrades and getting revenge. That thought alone.

She was the only survivor, so she was the only one who could do this. There was no one who could do it for her, no one to do it with her. So no matter how painful or difficult it was, she had to endure until she could prepare for what came next. Only then could she catch a chance to escape….

Her vision blurred more rapidly and her breath became constricted. Ir bit her tongue again. Though she tasted the metallic tang of blood, her mind grew even hazier.

‘No. Hold on.’

She needed to at least see how this auction would end. If Nergal really did buy her, she needed to think about how to handle that.

While she knew the Nergal of the imperial palace well, this Nergal who came to buy her was someone she didn’t know.

Through her fading consciousness, she heard cheers and applause. Judging by the vulgar exclamations mixed in, it seemed Nergal had named an outrageous price.

What should she do now?

While Ir was pondering this, Nergal approached again. He knelt on one knee to meet her eyes and looked at her for a long while. Then he spoke.

“How many days have you been awake?”

“…!”

Even through her clouding consciousness, Ir looked at him in surprise at his question.

She had expected Nergal to say something unpleasant when he approached. She thought he would talk about the price he paid to buy her, or make some base comments about her current appearance. But Nergal’s face as he looked directly at her showed none of the low expectations one might naturally have in such a place.

He simply asked as if he already knew who she was.

In that moment, Ir felt her throat tighten. Since opening her eyes, she hadn’t been able to trust anything.

Was she really alive right now? Was she experiencing a long drawn-out fantasy that flashed by in the moment of death? Perhaps she was already dead and this was the afterlife. If so, why couldn’t she be herself in this world? Who was she here? She….

As her doubts moved beyond questioning the situation to questioning her very existence, she felt increasingly overwhelmed.

But now someone was speaking to her naturally, just like before. As if they had no doubt that she was Ir.

Though she had thought she couldn’t trust the Nergal before her until just moments ago, with his brief question, Ir felt the anxiety built up inside her crumbling away.

“I, I am…”

Though she tried to speak, her voice caught in her throat as if blocked, and no sound came out. Still, Ir gritted her teeth and tried to hold on. If she collapsed here, she didn’t know when she would open her eyes again. Perhaps she might never open them again.

‘I’m the only one left.’

She was the only one who could convey the truth, the only one who could take revenge on them. So she couldn’t collapse now….

As Ir swallowed blood and tried to forcefully draw out her last remaining strength, Nergal spoke again.

“It’s alright now. Rest.”

Those were words Ir had heard countless times.

When she returned to the palace after completing missions, she had to drag her exhausted body, unable to properly sleep or eat for days, to find Nergal. He was someone who wouldn’t be satisfied unless he personally confirmed the results of the 9th Knight Order’s long-term missions.

At least he had enough conscience to send Ir away quickly at such times. And he would always say:

That it was alright now, that she should rest.

Having heard it every time she finished her reports, those words had become a signal to Ir that she could relax and rest properly. After saying that, Nergal wouldn’t summon her for at least a week.

Perhaps that was why. Ridiculously, the moment she heard Nergal’s words, her body went limp.

The last thing she saw was him catching her body as it was about to collapse to the floor, and then Ir lost consciousness again.