When Elze opened her eyes, Shan wasn't next to her. It wasn't even open yet. It seemed like he had already gone to a meeting.
Anyway, he was a very diligent husband. Elze checked the blanket that covered her body. Judging from the shape of the blanket that was wrapped tightly, it seemed like Shan had covered her.
He was a man who didn't look like he had anything to do with his face, but he was secretly meticulous. Elze smiled faintly and fiddled with the blanket.
“...”
It was time to sleep a little more, but she couldn't fall asleep. Sitting on the bed, Elze thought of a place she wanted to go. She put on some simple clothes, put on her rapier and mangosh, and went out of the barracks.
“Madam, are you awake?”
The knights standing guard greeted Elze politely.
“It’s cold and you must be having a hard time. Are you having a hard time?”
When Elze smiled and greeted them kindly, they responded with slightly blushing faces.
“It’s not difficult at all. Thank you for your concern, Ma’am.”
The knights hesitated and then spoke cautiously.
“Where are you going? I can’t send you alone, Madam. I’ll send you with an escort.”
Elze smiled at their concerns.
“It’s okay. I’m just going to take a quick walk around the area. Don’t worry, I’ll bring a sword just in case.”
When Elze slightly raised her waist to show off her rapier and mangosh, the knights looked embarrassed. They had seen Elze's activities vividly in the mansion of Teslaon. The performances Elze had shown so far were simple duels, but in the mansion, it was real combat.
Elze, wielding twin swords, overwhelmed the knights' skills. Elze's quick attack, swinging her swords with the determination to kill her opponent, was clean and powerful.
In the end, Elze was someone who could have just beaten them down and left. Since they couldn't subdue her with force, the knights tried hard to persuade her with words. In the end, only after Elze gave a soft but firm refusal did they give up escorting her. Instead, they brought up a different topic.
“I, Madam. I learned a lot from watching your swordsmanship this time.”
"Yes?"
Elze opened her eyes wide at the completely unexpected story. The knights exchanged awkward glances among themselves before speaking cautiously.
“Surely... You are greater than your reputation...”
Although he couldn't bring himself to call Elijah Elze for fear of being rude, he spoke to Elze timidly despite his large body.
“Madam.”
“...!”
Elze opened her mouth for a moment, then smiled brightly. She felt happy. She liked those who admired her swordsmanship purely and without any prejudice.
Actually, this was normal. But Elze was grateful because she knew that the world took abnormality for granted. Elze expressed her heartfelt gratitude to them.
"Thank you."
The knights waved their hands in surprise at Elze's greeting. They were at a loss as to what to do and spoke hurriedly.
“No, Madam! Rather, we should be thanking you. Thanks to you, we were able to escape the mansion without much damage.”
“It’s because we worked together. How could it be my strength all by myself?”
Elze answered humbly. Then the knights tried to say something more. Elze gradually realized that they were not speaking out of pure kindness.
The praise for Elze was sincere, but there was also an intention to buy time and capture Elze. Elze was too busy to get involved any further. Elze smiled and cut the story off coldly.
“Well then, keep up the good work. I’ll take my leave now.”
And then, without even being able to catch her, she flew away. The knights who were trying to catch Elze somehow could only watch her back from afar.
Unlike the warm heat inside the barracks, it was chilly outside. As she exhaled, a cloud of breath spread out.
The winters in Baluar were not that cold. However, Heglatan was famous for its harsh cold. Perhaps because of this, the cold winds became more fierce as they moved closer to the border with Heglatan.
It would be colder than this when they reached the border. Elze walked diligently, recalling the memory of shivering from the cold during the Hundred Years' War when proper winter equipment was not provided.
The place Elze went to was Teslaon’s mansion. In that quiet place, where not a single insect could be heard, only the ruins of the mansion remained. The dim dawn air lingered over the ruins. And Elze realized that there was a guest who had come before her.
“Ilwooz?”
Moonlight peeped through the clouds, shining brightly. Ilwooz, dressed in black priest’s robes, slowly turned around at Elze’s call. The long hem of his robe blew in the wind. A faint voice could be heard mixed in the wind.
“Savior...”
“We decided to call me Elze.”
At Elze's correction, Ilwooz smiled silently. And he gently gestured. Elze walked beside him. And together they looked at the remains of the collapsed mansion.
The two of them remained silent for a long time. There was no need to speak. After a long period of silence, it was Ilwooz who spoke first.
“Can’t you sleep...?”
Elze nodded slightly and answered.
“No, just.”
Elze, who was struggling to come up with an appropriate answer, asked him a question instead.
“Why did you come out, Ilwooz?”
Ilwooz answered the question obediently, even though he knew that Elze was trying to avoid answering it.
“I came out to offer a small prayer for the lives that were lost in vain...All of their deaths were unwanted...”
Ilwooz stared at the mansion with a sad look on his face. Elze could easily imagine how many beasts' corpses lay beneath that stone block.
And not only beasts but other things too...
“Elze...?”
Ilwooz asked quietly. Elze tried to answer him simply. But for some reason, the words that came out of her mouth were different from what she had thought in her head.
“There were children in the basement.”
Elze bit her lower lip, feeling sorry even after she had said it. She had no intention of saying anything, but she impulsively said it without realizing it. Ilwooz had made the atmosphere comfortable, so her heart had loosened. Elze decided to just tell everything since she had already said it.
“I had to make a choice: between saving the children and Ivanna, who didn’t know what was happening to her.”
“..."
“Of course I chose Ivanna, and I thought I would save the children later...”
Elze muttered bitterly as she looked at the collapsed mansion.
“It ended up like this.”
Because Elze chose Ivanna, the children were destined to die. But Elze knew. If she were to go back in time and face the same choice, she would choose Ivanna without hesitation. Elze looked back at Ilwooz and asked.
“How do I know if I made the right choice?”
She was curious. Ilwooz was less than half a century old, but his soul was a thousand years old. He had an unimaginably long time, so she thought he would know what the right choice was.
Ilwooz smiled brightly as if he had read Elze's mind. Elze felt a little embarrassed because his smile seemed to know everything. Ilwooz spoke slowly.
“For a very long time, I have seen many lives being born... and disappearing...”
He raised his hand quietly. A ray of white light rose from Ilwooz’s fingertips. The light drew the silhouette of a small child.
“All life matters... But how can it be a numbers game that fits together so perfectly...”
Shan's eyebrows twitched as he let out a hollow laugh. In any case, there was no such thing as such a contradiction. Elze shook her head.
Of course, the two people's personalities were polar opposites. Still, she couldn't understand why they would fight like this whenever they were put together. If it weren't for Elze, one of them would have died long ago.
But as she watched the scene, she felt a strange sense of foreboding for some reason. This triangle structure seemed familiar as if she had experienced it several times before.
Elze has a feeling this happens to her a lot... When Elze thought about it that far, Shan spoke roughly.
“I won’t say much. Just step away.”
And Ilwooz struck back straight away.
Elze looked at Shan again at Ilwooz's sharp reaction. Shan's appearance, covered in blood of unknown origin and glaring with a fierce gaze, was so creepy that even the most courageous person would shiver. It was certainly a murderous appearance that made Ilwooz show his wariness.
Ilwooz slowly extended his hand. A pure white light flickered menacingly from his hand.
“I can’t kill you, but I hope you haven’t forgotten that I can impose some sanctions on you.”
But Shan just laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“Sanctions... What a noble choice of words.”
Shan crossed his arms. He stabbed Ilwooz with a verbal sword.
“But doesn’t God Ines teach the commandment not to covet another man’s woman?”
It was a remark that struck down both insult and sarcasm in one go. Ilwooz's face hardened at Shan's words that touched Ines. He slowly closed and opened his eyes, perhaps to suppress his anger. Only then did he slowly open his mouth.
“...This is the person I have been waiting for for a thousand years.”
Ilwooz muttered with a slightly bitter expression.
“Rather, it would be a lie if I said I had no feelings.”
A thousand years of waiting... The weight contained in the word thousand years pulled at Elze’s heart. Elze, whose heart felt slightly heavy, looked at Ilwooz’s face. A faint red aura was hanging over his face.
“But my heart toward the Savior is not like yours, worldly.”
Ilwooz spoke confidently, his face flushed but his rainbow eyes shining.
“This is a feeling close to respect.”
And as soon as he heard that, Shan's face turned into something that made him feel really dirty. Their gazes at each other became even more heated.
Elze wondered how far these people could go in a fight. After a brief moment of thinking about leaving them alone, Elze stepped between them.
"Stop."
As Elze spoke, Shan and Ilwooz looked back at the same time. Elze spoke sternly to the two men's bright eyes directed at her.
“What are you doing? Stop it, both of you.”
Protests filled with resentment immediately poured in.
“Elze, that guy right now...”
“Savior, Shan Cirxus...”
Elze sighed heavily as they criticized each other and spoke harshly.
“If you keep acting like this, I’ll be in trouble.”
Elze calmly explained to them why they shouldn't fight. First, she took Shan.
“Shan! I promised Ilwooz that I would control you. But what if you continue to act this cruelly?”
Shan's face turned red. Elze put both hands on her hips and turned around to look at Ilwooz with a loud noise.
“And Ilwooz! If you were to accompany me to stop Shan in an emergency, you should not provoke him as much as possible. What are you going to do if you stir things up like this under the pretext of protecting me?”
This time, Ilwooz coughed for no reason. Elze looked at them one by one and said.
“I won’t tell you to make up. But I promise you that.”
And she declared firmly.
“At least there’s no fighting where I am!”
“...”
Shan and Ilwooz avoided Elze's gaze and pretended not to answer. However, Elze urged them with a stern face, so they had no choice but to promise.
Both of them had expressions that said, “I’m dissatisfied.” But even so, they kept their promise. Their appearances were so similar that Elze giggled inside.
The schedule was delayed by a few days due to what happened at Teslaon's mansion. However, because the matter was so large, not all the things that needed to be sorted out were resolved.
Leaving some of the knights behind to clean up the mess, Elze and her party set off again for the border. And along the way, Elze listened to Shan's story about what he had found out.
Surprisingly, the villagers knew what Teslaon was up to. They tolerated him even though they knew he was researching the horrific chimera.
The villagers initially made excuses, saying that the town was isolated and had difficulty contacting other cities. However, when they heard that children were being locked up and experimented on in the basement of the mansion, they slowly began to confess the truth.
The first to tell the truth were the parents who had sent their children to Teslaon as starters. They confessed everything while crying.
On his first day in the village, Teslaon gathered all the residents in the square and gave a speech.
"Listen up everyone! I am the great alchemist, Teslaon."
He showed a huge amount of gold and claimed that he had succeeded in creating the philosopher's stone.
"This is gold made from the Philosopher's Stone. I am currently researching how to mass-produce it. I will give the Philosopher's Stone to those who are loyal to me!"
He said that if they would cooperate, he would give each of them a philosopher's stone.
The flash of gold was a huge shock to the villagers who lived in a rural area where they only grazed on grassroots. They all pledged their loyalty to Teslaon. And they sent their children to Teslaon, who needed a starter.
No one suspected Teslaon. It was common for wealthy families to send their children to be their servants, so there was no hesitation in sending a child. The villagers were all just eager for Teslaon's research to be completed and for them to receive the Philosopher's Stone.
It was when Teslaon began his experiments on creating chimeras that he began to feel increasingly strange.
"No, what is that... It’s hideous..."
"Why were you slaughtering those animals like that?"
"They throw away a lot of dead animals in the castle mansion, and they look so disgusting."
As Teslaon began to produce the corpses of the failed chimeras, the sight of the dismembered corpses instinctively gave them the creeps.
But the residents tried hard not to know. In fact, from the moment they sent the children to the mansion, they were basically taken hostage. From then on, they had no choice but to unconditionally comply with whatever Teslaon demanded. In case something bad happened to the children.
So the residents were terrified but kept quiet, praying that the screams of animals echoing from the mansion would not turn into the screams of children. Of course, that was a very naive thought.
Ignorance was a sin. They knew nothing, but in fact, they were sacrificing their own flesh and blood as experimental material.
Teslaon conducted various drug experiments on the children and also used them to study whether it was possible to create chimeras that combined human and beast parts. Based on that research, he supplied drugs to Seraph.
Only a few of the most beautiful were drugged and worked as puppets for the starters. Everyone else was sent to the laboratory.
The parents cried at the cruel truth. They regretted their greed again and again. But it was already too late since the dead could not be brought back to life.
“...How pitiful.”
Elze, who had heard Shan's story, spoke in a slightly calmer voice. Shan, who noticed that Elze had become depressed, cut her off coldly.
“Don’t waste your emotions on those guys.”
The two men were riding side by side in the line. The ground was frozen here, so they rode slowly for safety. Thanks to this, Elze was able to have a quiet time to talk to Shan.
Elze looked out across the dry plains. There was no sign of life on the frozen ground. The land was certainly barren the closer they got to Heglatan.
“The border is not far away. We will arrive there within this week.”
Elze muttered. Shan followed Elze's gaze and looked at the plains. Instead of accepting Elze's words, he said something else.
“What in the world can you gain by doing good deeds? You were blinded by greed to believe an offer that offered something as precious as the Philosopher’s Stone.”
It was a correct answer that pierced the truth. Elze didn't refute it because she couldn't really refute it.
“Actually, I know that too.”
“...”
“Just ignore it because it’s cheap sympathy. What can I do for them? I can’t even bring back the dead children.”
Still, Shan frowned. He just didn't like the fact that Elze cared about other people. Shan let out a small sigh and changed the subject.
“Teslaon was connected to Duke Seraph, of course. But it wasn’t just that. He was connected to a leading person.”
"Leading figure?"
“Heglatan.”
Elze opened her eyes wide and barely managed to utter a word.
"...Oh my God."
No kidding, Elze almost fell off her horse. She was that surprised. Shan said, glancing over to see if Elze was properly seated in the saddle.
“Heglatan intended to mobilize the Chimera for war. Teslaon conspired with Duke Seraph to conduct mass production experiments on the outskirts near the border.”
"Ah..."
“As you can see, the experiment was effective. He succeeded in creating the chimera. Perhaps the method of creating the chimera has already been passed on to Heglatan.”
“This is a big deal. What about the imperial family?”
“I don’t plan on telling them.”
Shan's answer was firm and unhesitating. In fact, this was definitely something that should be reported to the royal family. Even so, the fact that Shan was hiding it meant there was a reason. Elze quietly made a guess.
“I guess it’s because even if I tell them, there’s a high chance that they’ll be cut off from the Seraph Duke line.”
“That’s right. I don’t think Crown Prince Raymond will listen to me anyway.”
Raymond chose Duke Seraph over Count Targayel. He would no longer listen to Shan. He would not listen to anything that would tarnish Duke Seraph. Elze nodded slowly, then asked a question as a sudden thought occurred to her.
“Oh, what happened to Teslaon?”
“I killed him?”
“Why!”
Shan's answer was too calm. Elze scolded him. Shan was shocked for a moment, thinking that Elze was acting like this because he killed Teslaon.
“There might have been more to find out.”
But she was relieved when he continued to say that he should have asked for more information. Elze was basically a very affectionate person, but when she was cold, she was a very cold woman. Shan replied with a relieved smile.
“I’ve found out all the useful facts. If I hadn’t said more, I wouldn’t be human.”
“...”
Elze wondered how he could answer so confidently during the interrogation, but she didn't have the heart to ask.
Shan, who appeared in front of Ilwooz that day covered in blood, had come from interrogating Teslaon. If he had covered himself in that much blood, it certainly would not have been a gentlemanly interrogation.
Elze tried to picture Shan torturing him, but it didn't work. Shan had killed many people during the war, but he was always clean. He never caused more pain than was necessary.
And lately, he had only shown affectionate appearances in front of Elze. That made it even harder to imagine. Elze was groaning because she couldn't think of anything when a knight came from behind and led his horse forward.
“Lord Cirxus.”
He held out a neatly folded piece of paper. Shan took it, scanned it briefly, then smiled and muttered.
“Is it starting now?”
“What? I want to see it too.”
Shan handed the paper to Elze and said.
“This time, when I relayed information about Teslaon to Marle, I gave him some instructions.”
“To Marle?”
When Elze asked what he had instructed, Shan answered in a very pleasant voice.
“A gift for Enoch Seraph.”
And Elze was shocked when she read what was written on the paper.
Anyway, he was a very diligent husband. Elze checked the blanket that covered her body. Judging from the shape of the blanket that was wrapped tightly, it seemed like Shan had covered her.
He was a man who didn't look like he had anything to do with his face, but he was secretly meticulous. Elze smiled faintly and fiddled with the blanket.
“...”
It was time to sleep a little more, but she couldn't fall asleep. Sitting on the bed, Elze thought of a place she wanted to go. She put on some simple clothes, put on her rapier and mangosh, and went out of the barracks.
“Madam, are you awake?”
The knights standing guard greeted Elze politely.
“It’s cold and you must be having a hard time. Are you having a hard time?”
When Elze smiled and greeted them kindly, they responded with slightly blushing faces.
“It’s not difficult at all. Thank you for your concern, Ma’am.”
The knights hesitated and then spoke cautiously.
“Where are you going? I can’t send you alone, Madam. I’ll send you with an escort.”
Elze smiled at their concerns.
“It’s okay. I’m just going to take a quick walk around the area. Don’t worry, I’ll bring a sword just in case.”
When Elze slightly raised her waist to show off her rapier and mangosh, the knights looked embarrassed. They had seen Elze's activities vividly in the mansion of Teslaon. The performances Elze had shown so far were simple duels, but in the mansion, it was real combat.
Elze, wielding twin swords, overwhelmed the knights' skills. Elze's quick attack, swinging her swords with the determination to kill her opponent, was clean and powerful.
In the end, Elze was someone who could have just beaten them down and left. Since they couldn't subdue her with force, the knights tried hard to persuade her with words. In the end, only after Elze gave a soft but firm refusal did they give up escorting her. Instead, they brought up a different topic.
“I, Madam. I learned a lot from watching your swordsmanship this time.”
"Yes?"
Elze opened her eyes wide at the completely unexpected story. The knights exchanged awkward glances among themselves before speaking cautiously.
“Surely... You are greater than your reputation...”
Although he couldn't bring himself to call Elijah Elze for fear of being rude, he spoke to Elze timidly despite his large body.
“Madam.”
“...!”
Elze opened her mouth for a moment, then smiled brightly. She felt happy. She liked those who admired her swordsmanship purely and without any prejudice.
Actually, this was normal. But Elze was grateful because she knew that the world took abnormality for granted. Elze expressed her heartfelt gratitude to them.
"Thank you."
The knights waved their hands in surprise at Elze's greeting. They were at a loss as to what to do and spoke hurriedly.
“No, Madam! Rather, we should be thanking you. Thanks to you, we were able to escape the mansion without much damage.”
“It’s because we worked together. How could it be my strength all by myself?”
Elze answered humbly. Then the knights tried to say something more. Elze gradually realized that they were not speaking out of pure kindness.
The praise for Elze was sincere, but there was also an intention to buy time and capture Elze. Elze was too busy to get involved any further. Elze smiled and cut the story off coldly.
“Well then, keep up the good work. I’ll take my leave now.”
And then, without even being able to catch her, she flew away. The knights who were trying to catch Elze somehow could only watch her back from afar.
***
Unlike the warm heat inside the barracks, it was chilly outside. As she exhaled, a cloud of breath spread out.
The winters in Baluar were not that cold. However, Heglatan was famous for its harsh cold. Perhaps because of this, the cold winds became more fierce as they moved closer to the border with Heglatan.
It would be colder than this when they reached the border. Elze walked diligently, recalling the memory of shivering from the cold during the Hundred Years' War when proper winter equipment was not provided.
The place Elze went to was Teslaon’s mansion. In that quiet place, where not a single insect could be heard, only the ruins of the mansion remained. The dim dawn air lingered over the ruins. And Elze realized that there was a guest who had come before her.
“Ilwooz?”
Moonlight peeped through the clouds, shining brightly. Ilwooz, dressed in black priest’s robes, slowly turned around at Elze’s call. The long hem of his robe blew in the wind. A faint voice could be heard mixed in the wind.
“Savior...”
“We decided to call me Elze.”
At Elze's correction, Ilwooz smiled silently. And he gently gestured. Elze walked beside him. And together they looked at the remains of the collapsed mansion.
The two of them remained silent for a long time. There was no need to speak. After a long period of silence, it was Ilwooz who spoke first.
“Can’t you sleep...?”
Elze nodded slightly and answered.
“No, just.”
Elze, who was struggling to come up with an appropriate answer, asked him a question instead.
“Why did you come out, Ilwooz?”
Ilwooz answered the question obediently, even though he knew that Elze was trying to avoid answering it.
“I came out to offer a small prayer for the lives that were lost in vain...All of their deaths were unwanted...”
Ilwooz stared at the mansion with a sad look on his face. Elze could easily imagine how many beasts' corpses lay beneath that stone block.
And not only beasts but other things too...
“Elze...?”
Ilwooz asked quietly. Elze tried to answer him simply. But for some reason, the words that came out of her mouth were different from what she had thought in her head.
“There were children in the basement.”
Elze bit her lower lip, feeling sorry even after she had said it. She had no intention of saying anything, but she impulsively said it without realizing it. Ilwooz had made the atmosphere comfortable, so her heart had loosened. Elze decided to just tell everything since she had already said it.
“I had to make a choice: between saving the children and Ivanna, who didn’t know what was happening to her.”
“..."
“Of course I chose Ivanna, and I thought I would save the children later...”
Elze muttered bitterly as she looked at the collapsed mansion.
“It ended up like this.”
Because Elze chose Ivanna, the children were destined to die. But Elze knew. If she were to go back in time and face the same choice, she would choose Ivanna without hesitation. Elze looked back at Ilwooz and asked.
“How do I know if I made the right choice?”
She was curious. Ilwooz was less than half a century old, but his soul was a thousand years old. He had an unimaginably long time, so she thought he would know what the right choice was.
Ilwooz smiled brightly as if he had read Elze's mind. Elze felt a little embarrassed because his smile seemed to know everything. Ilwooz spoke slowly.
“For a very long time, I have seen many lives being born... and disappearing...”
He raised his hand quietly. A ray of white light rose from Ilwooz’s fingertips. The light drew the silhouette of a small child.
“All life matters... But how can it be a numbers game that fits together so perfectly...”
The child, who was about the size of a span, sparkled and swayed. The child, who had been dancing in the air, soon turned into a dust of light and flew into the air.
“If you have regrets no matter what you choose... It would be right to choose the option that will make your heart feel a little lighter...”
Ilwooz looked at the scattering light and whispered softly.
“Regret and pain are something that no one can fully understand...unless they are directly experiencing it..."
He took a step forward and faced Elze. The moonlight shone like a halo behind him, with his back to the ruins. Elze felt like she was looking straight into his eyes, even though Ilwooz was clearly covering her eyes.
Ilwooz's hand gently landed on Elze's forehead. He placed his hand lightly like a butterfly landing on a flower and spoke.
“So I don’t think anyone can criticize Elze’s choice..."
A warm feeling flowed out of his hand and enveloped Elze. Elze closed her eyes gently and enjoyed the warm feeling.
The soft feeling seemed to whisper comforting words to Elze, telling her that it was okay. Elze confided in him as if in confession.
“I feel like I have sinned against the children and I don’t think I will be forgiven for it. I don’t regret it because I know it is irreversible.”
Ilwooz listened to Elze's words calmly without hastily interfering. Elze continued her story with a much more relaxed mind.
“I just felt heavy-hearted. I wondered if there was another, better way. So my choice was..."
It was then that a sharp cry rang out, cutting through the quiet silence.
“Elze!”
Elze opened her eyes wide. It was Shan's voice. It hadn't been long since she left the barracks. It seemed that the knights had reported to Shan straight away. Shan was worried because she had gone out for a walk alone at this hour of the morning.
Elze tried to look back at Shan. But before she could, the hand that had been resting on her forehead slid down and covered Elze's eyes. It was a slow but irresistible movement. Ilwooz spoke softly.
“You have behaved badly... Shan Cirxus...”
Elze, who was trying to escape from Ilwooz's hands, froze. She could smell a pungent smell on the wind. It was the smell of blood flowing from Shan.
There was a sound of the cloth being released. Ilwooz had released the cloth covering his eyes. As divine power swelled, his hazy atmosphere became clearer. Ilwooz warned in a clearer voice.
“Don’t come any closer from there.”
Shan also warned in a rough voice.
“What are you doing? Get your hands off my wife.”
Ilwooz responded calmly to Shan's warning.
“I cannot show such an unclean appearance to the Savior. I wish you would realize what kind of appearance you have.”
“...”
Shan was silent for a moment. Elze slowly pushed Ilwooz's hand away. Ilwooz surprisingly obediently gave in. Then Elze turned around and shouted in surprise.
“Shan!”
What on earth had he been doing? Shan was covered in blood. Elze quickly asked him.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Shan nodded. Elze breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then it’s fine.”
Elze didn't make any accusations other than asking about Shan's well-being. Ilwooz frowned slightly at Elze's reaction, and Shan became proud. Shan opened his mouth confidently.
“I believe that the noble Lord would not covet another man’s wife...”
Ilwooz only moved his hand away but still stayed close to Elxe. Shan said crookedly.
“Isn’t it true that everything in this world is unpredictable? I feel uneasy, so I hope you won’t get too close to her.”
“That’s an interesting thing to say.”
But Shan's provocation had no significant impact on Ilwooz. Ilwooz calmly responded to his words.
“Even if I have feelings for the Savior.”
Ilwooz smiled brightly and drove a wedge into Shan.
“I don’t think it’s as vulgar a lust as yours, Shan Cirxus.”
"...Ha?"
“If you have regrets no matter what you choose... It would be right to choose the option that will make your heart feel a little lighter...”
Ilwooz looked at the scattering light and whispered softly.
“Regret and pain are something that no one can fully understand...unless they are directly experiencing it..."
He took a step forward and faced Elze. The moonlight shone like a halo behind him, with his back to the ruins. Elze felt like she was looking straight into his eyes, even though Ilwooz was clearly covering her eyes.
Ilwooz's hand gently landed on Elze's forehead. He placed his hand lightly like a butterfly landing on a flower and spoke.
“So I don’t think anyone can criticize Elze’s choice..."
A warm feeling flowed out of his hand and enveloped Elze. Elze closed her eyes gently and enjoyed the warm feeling.
The soft feeling seemed to whisper comforting words to Elze, telling her that it was okay. Elze confided in him as if in confession.
“I feel like I have sinned against the children and I don’t think I will be forgiven for it. I don’t regret it because I know it is irreversible.”
Ilwooz listened to Elze's words calmly without hastily interfering. Elze continued her story with a much more relaxed mind.
“I just felt heavy-hearted. I wondered if there was another, better way. So my choice was..."
It was then that a sharp cry rang out, cutting through the quiet silence.
“Elze!”
Elze opened her eyes wide. It was Shan's voice. It hadn't been long since she left the barracks. It seemed that the knights had reported to Shan straight away. Shan was worried because she had gone out for a walk alone at this hour of the morning.
Elze tried to look back at Shan. But before she could, the hand that had been resting on her forehead slid down and covered Elze's eyes. It was a slow but irresistible movement. Ilwooz spoke softly.
“You have behaved badly... Shan Cirxus...”
Elze, who was trying to escape from Ilwooz's hands, froze. She could smell a pungent smell on the wind. It was the smell of blood flowing from Shan.
There was a sound of the cloth being released. Ilwooz had released the cloth covering his eyes. As divine power swelled, his hazy atmosphere became clearer. Ilwooz warned in a clearer voice.
“Don’t come any closer from there.”
Shan also warned in a rough voice.
“What are you doing? Get your hands off my wife.”
Ilwooz responded calmly to Shan's warning.
“I cannot show such an unclean appearance to the Savior. I wish you would realize what kind of appearance you have.”
“...”
Shan was silent for a moment. Elze slowly pushed Ilwooz's hand away. Ilwooz surprisingly obediently gave in. Then Elze turned around and shouted in surprise.
“Shan!”
What on earth had he been doing? Shan was covered in blood. Elze quickly asked him.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Shan nodded. Elze breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then it’s fine.”
Elze didn't make any accusations other than asking about Shan's well-being. Ilwooz frowned slightly at Elze's reaction, and Shan became proud. Shan opened his mouth confidently.
“I believe that the noble Lord would not covet another man’s wife...”
Ilwooz only moved his hand away but still stayed close to Elxe. Shan said crookedly.
“Isn’t it true that everything in this world is unpredictable? I feel uneasy, so I hope you won’t get too close to her.”
“That’s an interesting thing to say.”
But Shan's provocation had no significant impact on Ilwooz. Ilwooz calmly responded to his words.
“Even if I have feelings for the Savior.”
Ilwooz smiled brightly and drove a wedge into Shan.
“I don’t think it’s as vulgar a lust as yours, Shan Cirxus.”
"...Ha?"
Shan's eyebrows twitched as he let out a hollow laugh. In any case, there was no such thing as such a contradiction. Elze shook her head.
Of course, the two people's personalities were polar opposites. Still, she couldn't understand why they would fight like this whenever they were put together. If it weren't for Elze, one of them would have died long ago.
But as she watched the scene, she felt a strange sense of foreboding for some reason. This triangle structure seemed familiar as if she had experienced it several times before.
Elze has a feeling this happens to her a lot... When Elze thought about it that far, Shan spoke roughly.
“I won’t say much. Just step away.”
And Ilwooz struck back straight away.
“I told you to stay away, Shan Cirxus.”
Ilwooz slowly extended his hand. A pure white light flickered menacingly from his hand.
“I can’t kill you, but I hope you haven’t forgotten that I can impose some sanctions on you.”
But Shan just laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“Sanctions... What a noble choice of words.”
Shan crossed his arms. He stabbed Ilwooz with a verbal sword.
“But doesn’t God Ines teach the commandment not to covet another man’s woman?”
It was a remark that struck down both insult and sarcasm in one go. Ilwooz's face hardened at Shan's words that touched Ines. He slowly closed and opened his eyes, perhaps to suppress his anger. Only then did he slowly open his mouth.
“...This is the person I have been waiting for for a thousand years.”
Ilwooz muttered with a slightly bitter expression.
“Rather, it would be a lie if I said I had no feelings.”
A thousand years of waiting... The weight contained in the word thousand years pulled at Elze’s heart. Elze, whose heart felt slightly heavy, looked at Ilwooz’s face. A faint red aura was hanging over his face.
“But my heart toward the Savior is not like yours, worldly.”
Ilwooz spoke confidently, his face flushed but his rainbow eyes shining.
“This is a feeling close to respect.”
And as soon as he heard that, Shan's face turned into something that made him feel really dirty. Their gazes at each other became even more heated.
Elze wondered how far these people could go in a fight. After a brief moment of thinking about leaving them alone, Elze stepped between them.
"Stop."
As Elze spoke, Shan and Ilwooz looked back at the same time. Elze spoke sternly to the two men's bright eyes directed at her.
“What are you doing? Stop it, both of you.”
Protests filled with resentment immediately poured in.
“Elze, that guy right now...”
“Savior, Shan Cirxus...”
Elze sighed heavily as they criticized each other and spoke harshly.
“If you keep acting like this, I’ll be in trouble.”
Elze calmly explained to them why they shouldn't fight. First, she took Shan.
“Shan! I promised Ilwooz that I would control you. But what if you continue to act this cruelly?”
Shan's face turned red. Elze put both hands on her hips and turned around to look at Ilwooz with a loud noise.
“And Ilwooz! If you were to accompany me to stop Shan in an emergency, you should not provoke him as much as possible. What are you going to do if you stir things up like this under the pretext of protecting me?”
This time, Ilwooz coughed for no reason. Elze looked at them one by one and said.
“I won’t tell you to make up. But I promise you that.”
And she declared firmly.
“At least there’s no fighting where I am!”
“...”
Shan and Ilwooz avoided Elze's gaze and pretended not to answer. However, Elze urged them with a stern face, so they had no choice but to promise.
Both of them had expressions that said, “I’m dissatisfied.” But even so, they kept their promise. Their appearances were so similar that Elze giggled inside.
***
The schedule was delayed by a few days due to what happened at Teslaon's mansion. However, because the matter was so large, not all the things that needed to be sorted out were resolved.
Leaving some of the knights behind to clean up the mess, Elze and her party set off again for the border. And along the way, Elze listened to Shan's story about what he had found out.
Surprisingly, the villagers knew what Teslaon was up to. They tolerated him even though they knew he was researching the horrific chimera.
The villagers initially made excuses, saying that the town was isolated and had difficulty contacting other cities. However, when they heard that children were being locked up and experimented on in the basement of the mansion, they slowly began to confess the truth.
The first to tell the truth were the parents who had sent their children to Teslaon as starters. They confessed everything while crying.
On his first day in the village, Teslaon gathered all the residents in the square and gave a speech.
"Listen up everyone! I am the great alchemist, Teslaon."
He showed a huge amount of gold and claimed that he had succeeded in creating the philosopher's stone.
"This is gold made from the Philosopher's Stone. I am currently researching how to mass-produce it. I will give the Philosopher's Stone to those who are loyal to me!"
He said that if they would cooperate, he would give each of them a philosopher's stone.
The flash of gold was a huge shock to the villagers who lived in a rural area where they only grazed on grassroots. They all pledged their loyalty to Teslaon. And they sent their children to Teslaon, who needed a starter.
No one suspected Teslaon. It was common for wealthy families to send their children to be their servants, so there was no hesitation in sending a child. The villagers were all just eager for Teslaon's research to be completed and for them to receive the Philosopher's Stone.
It was when Teslaon began his experiments on creating chimeras that he began to feel increasingly strange.
"No, what is that... It’s hideous..."
"Why were you slaughtering those animals like that?"
"They throw away a lot of dead animals in the castle mansion, and they look so disgusting."
As Teslaon began to produce the corpses of the failed chimeras, the sight of the dismembered corpses instinctively gave them the creeps.
But the residents tried hard not to know. In fact, from the moment they sent the children to the mansion, they were basically taken hostage. From then on, they had no choice but to unconditionally comply with whatever Teslaon demanded. In case something bad happened to the children.
So the residents were terrified but kept quiet, praying that the screams of animals echoing from the mansion would not turn into the screams of children. Of course, that was a very naive thought.
Ignorance was a sin. They knew nothing, but in fact, they were sacrificing their own flesh and blood as experimental material.
Teslaon conducted various drug experiments on the children and also used them to study whether it was possible to create chimeras that combined human and beast parts. Based on that research, he supplied drugs to Seraph.
Only a few of the most beautiful were drugged and worked as puppets for the starters. Everyone else was sent to the laboratory.
The parents cried at the cruel truth. They regretted their greed again and again. But it was already too late since the dead could not be brought back to life.
“...How pitiful.”
Elze, who had heard Shan's story, spoke in a slightly calmer voice. Shan, who noticed that Elze had become depressed, cut her off coldly.
“Don’t waste your emotions on those guys.”
The two men were riding side by side in the line. The ground was frozen here, so they rode slowly for safety. Thanks to this, Elze was able to have a quiet time to talk to Shan.
Elze looked out across the dry plains. There was no sign of life on the frozen ground. The land was certainly barren the closer they got to Heglatan.
“The border is not far away. We will arrive there within this week.”
Elze muttered. Shan followed Elze's gaze and looked at the plains. Instead of accepting Elze's words, he said something else.
“What in the world can you gain by doing good deeds? You were blinded by greed to believe an offer that offered something as precious as the Philosopher’s Stone.”
It was a correct answer that pierced the truth. Elze didn't refute it because she couldn't really refute it.
“Actually, I know that too.”
“...”
“Just ignore it because it’s cheap sympathy. What can I do for them? I can’t even bring back the dead children.”
Still, Shan frowned. He just didn't like the fact that Elze cared about other people. Shan let out a small sigh and changed the subject.
“Teslaon was connected to Duke Seraph, of course. But it wasn’t just that. He was connected to a leading person.”
"Leading figure?"
“Heglatan.”
Elze opened her eyes wide and barely managed to utter a word.
"...Oh my God."
No kidding, Elze almost fell off her horse. She was that surprised. Shan said, glancing over to see if Elze was properly seated in the saddle.
“Heglatan intended to mobilize the Chimera for war. Teslaon conspired with Duke Seraph to conduct mass production experiments on the outskirts near the border.”
"Ah..."
“As you can see, the experiment was effective. He succeeded in creating the chimera. Perhaps the method of creating the chimera has already been passed on to Heglatan.”
“This is a big deal. What about the imperial family?”
“I don’t plan on telling them.”
Shan's answer was firm and unhesitating. In fact, this was definitely something that should be reported to the royal family. Even so, the fact that Shan was hiding it meant there was a reason. Elze quietly made a guess.
“I guess it’s because even if I tell them, there’s a high chance that they’ll be cut off from the Seraph Duke line.”
“That’s right. I don’t think Crown Prince Raymond will listen to me anyway.”
Raymond chose Duke Seraph over Count Targayel. He would no longer listen to Shan. He would not listen to anything that would tarnish Duke Seraph. Elze nodded slowly, then asked a question as a sudden thought occurred to her.
“Oh, what happened to Teslaon?”
“I killed him?”
“Why!”
Shan's answer was too calm. Elze scolded him. Shan was shocked for a moment, thinking that Elze was acting like this because he killed Teslaon.
“There might have been more to find out.”
But she was relieved when he continued to say that he should have asked for more information. Elze was basically a very affectionate person, but when she was cold, she was a very cold woman. Shan replied with a relieved smile.
“I’ve found out all the useful facts. If I hadn’t said more, I wouldn’t be human.”
“...”
Elze wondered how he could answer so confidently during the interrogation, but she didn't have the heart to ask.
Shan, who appeared in front of Ilwooz that day covered in blood, had come from interrogating Teslaon. If he had covered himself in that much blood, it certainly would not have been a gentlemanly interrogation.
Elze tried to picture Shan torturing him, but it didn't work. Shan had killed many people during the war, but he was always clean. He never caused more pain than was necessary.
And lately, he had only shown affectionate appearances in front of Elze. That made it even harder to imagine. Elze was groaning because she couldn't think of anything when a knight came from behind and led his horse forward.
“Lord Cirxus.”
He held out a neatly folded piece of paper. Shan took it, scanned it briefly, then smiled and muttered.
“Is it starting now?”
“What? I want to see it too.”
Shan handed the paper to Elze and said.
“This time, when I relayed information about Teslaon to Marle, I gave him some instructions.”
“To Marle?”
When Elze asked what he had instructed, Shan answered in a very pleasant voice.
“A gift for Enoch Seraph.”
And Elze was shocked when she read what was written on the paper.
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