Faced with an answer that deviated from all expectations, Ir could only stare at him blankly, swallowing the many words she had prepared in her mind.

“How can you be so certain…”

After a long while, Ir spoke with a voice that sounded dazed even to herself. A faint smile appeared on Nergal’s face.

“Because it’s exactly as I thought.”

“What?”

Though she asked again not understanding his meaning, Nergal didn’t answer. Instead, he just quietly looked at Ir for a long while. Though she tried to ask again, not knowing what he was thinking, Nergal had already returned to his usual expression.

Because of this, Ir missed her chance to question him.

“Do you really believe that I am Ir Kala of the 9th Knight Order?”

“Yes. Are you feeling alright?”

At Nergal’s matter-of-fact voice, Ir felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside her. She couldn’t believe that what she had worried about most had been resolved so easily. But Nergal wasn’t mocking her or finding it strange; he was naturally accepting the fact that she was Ir.

‘Speaking like this makes it feel just like before.’

After completing missions assigned by Nergal’s side, Ir always had to report directly to him immediately upon returning to the palace. If Ir reported to the 9th Knight Order’s commander or anyone else first, he would say “Don’t you know who the chief supervisor is?” and make her stand in the corner of his office longer than usual. And on such days, those who came to Nergal’s office would receive much harsher criticism than usual.

So Ir would always seek out Nergal first when she returned.

Perhaps in recognition of her efforts, or perhaps because there were many eyes in and out of his office, he would ask in a slightly softer voice that could almost be mistaken for concern, asking if she had returned safely and if she was alright.

Just like now.

That’s why Ir felt as if she had returned to the palace now. As if the Holy Sword had been safely recovered and she and the 9th Knight Order could now return to their usual daily routines, as if it was just another ordinary day.

“I…”

As she was about to answer, Ir closed her mouth upon seeing her feet exposed beneath the loosely wrapped blanket.

There were white feet without a single scar. No matter how many times she blinked, the marks that should have been there were gone.

“…I don’t think I’m alright.”

Ir answered in a trembling voice, unable to raise her head.

***

“…That’s what happened.”

Having finished her explanation, Ir drank the water placed before her. Trying to explain everything that had happened in as much detail as possible had made for a longer story than expected.

“……”

After Ir finished speaking, Nergal remained silent for a long while. Having often seen Nergal before, Ir could tell that he was deep in thought. One of his perfectly shaped eyebrows was distorted, after all. It was one of his habits that appeared when facing complicated matters.

“I know parts of my story are hard to believe. But I swear to the gods there isn’t a single lie. If you have any doubts, please ask me anything!”

Her voice grew louder with the desire to assert the truth. When Nergal raised his hand as if to say that’s enough, Ir realized she had gotten momentarily excited and lowered her head again.

“I apologize. By any chance… have there been reports of other 9th Knight Order members surviving? Being rescued or…”

Though she had overheard conversations in the auction house, since it was about the Holy Sword, it seemed very little information had been released to the public.

So she hoped that perhaps there was someone else who had been miraculously saved and rescued without others knowing, or like her, had been discovered in a different form. Moreover, seeing how easily Nergal accepted who she was, she even wondered if someone had secretly returned to the palace to report.

But contrary to Ir’s hopes, Nergal’s expression grew darker. Unable to guess why he was acting this way, Ir continued with what she had been thinking.

“First, I want to return to the palace. I need to report to the commander, of course, and submit a detailed report about this incident, and above all… I want to personally deliver the news to my comrades’ families.”

The thing knights dread most is delivering news of a comrade’s death to their families. That’s why they used to joke about pushing that role onto one person. What had been a light-hearted joke had become reality. As Ir was swallowing her sadness again while remembering the faces of her comrades who had entered the cave together, Nergal finally spoke.

“That won’t be possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because the 9th Knight Order, including you, is under suspicion of treason.”

Treason. That word struck Ir’s ears like a blow.

***

An hour later, Ir was trying to control her trembling fists of rage in front of the silent Nergal.

According to Nergal’s explanation, the other knight orders waiting outside had grown anxious when the 9th Knight Order didn’t emerge after several hours, despite the shepherd’s claim that the cave wasn’t very deep. Finally, judging that something might have happened inside, each knight order selected a few knights to form a second team that entered.

After walking for quite some time, they discovered the collapsed shepherd. The shepherd told the knights that the 9th Knight Order had found the Holy Sword and suddenly started fighting among themselves. The shepherd soon passed away, and the knights went further in search of the 9th Knight Order. And there, they claimed to have seen the 9th Knight Order fighting over possession of the Holy Sword.

They said the 9th Knight Order was split between those who wanted to keep the Holy Sword for themselves and those who said it would be better to hand it over to foreign royalty in exchange for wealth and status, forgetting their promise. When they spotted the other knight orders, they began attacking, and a slaughter broke out between imperial knights killing each other.

Then suddenly, the cave collapsed, burying the 9th Knight Order who were inside under the rubble, with other knights getting caught up as well.

Only one knight barely survived to return to the cave entrance to report all of this, and he too soon passed away.

“So as soon as the royals returned to the palace, they branded the entire 9th Knight Order as traitors. Most of their families were sent to exile. Some even died under torture.”

“……!”

She remembered the proud faces of her comrades after joining the order. While their families had always worried when they were mercenaries, after becoming imperial knights, everyone not only felt at ease but proudly held their heads high.

Though they were practically errand runners for others within the palace, the 9th Knight Order still took pride in their position. To think that such people were branded as traitors overnight and their families were suffering too.

She could barely breathe from the injustice and anger.

‘I can’t just stay like this.’

She had to reveal the truth. She needed to let everyone know that it wasn’t the 9th Knight Order, but others who had targeted the Holy Sword, and that other imperial knight orders were involved.

‘There were definitely some who made it out alive.’

There were those who had run away just before the cave completely collapsed. Hadn’t one of them, the one giving orders, clutched his arm as if wounded by Ir’s sword swung from afar before escaping? That person must be one of the imperial knights.

‘Everyone naturally followed his orders.’

Then he must be someone in such a position. A knight capable of naturally commanding and controlling imperial knights. Such people were obvious.

Immediately, the faces of other knight order commanders appeared in Ir’s mind. They were the ones who would frown at the 9th Knight Order, viewing commoners as worthless beings who could die at any time without consequence.

The one who tried to steal the Holy Sword first, and the one who tried to pass the blame to the 9th Knight Order. She would definitely find out who that person was and whose orders they were following.

The moment her thoughts reached that point, Ir realized who she was with.

A man who moves according to law and principle, a chancellor devoted to the imperial family.

And before him stood a traitor accused of trying to steal the Holy Sword.

‘How foolish!’

Cursing her own stupidity, Ir immediately backed away from Nergal. At the same time, she quickly scanned the room. There was a decorative sword hanging on the wall. It would be sharp enough to make threats.

Just as Ir reached out to grab the sword, Nergal caught her wrist. She tried to shake him off forcefully, but her current body, far from breaking free, was pulled straight into Nergal’s embrace.