"..."
Bridget glanced at his hand and took it.
Suddenly, the purifying power she had unleashed burst over Julian.
Julian furrowed his handsome brow slightly as if he didn't know.
"Is this a sign of reconciliation?"
"We've never fought, so why are we making up?"
"Nope."
Bridget glared at Julian and pulled him in.
"I'm not trying to make you feel good."
He obediently sat down on the couch as Bridget pulled.
She climbed on his body and laid him down where he had been lying.
"Be patient, whatever you feel. Till the Magi seed dried up in your body. If you could live, I'd pump and pump out the seawater until it ran out."
It was worth it. He knows it's impossible but he wants to try.
It was better than giving up and staying put.
Attempts to reduce the number of Black Knights by unleashing the power of purification had already failed several times.
Julian smiled and patted Bridget's head.
He grumbled, his voice aching.
"It's torture. You know."
"You don't want to be tortured by Hope? I'm terrified of torture. I don't like this, I don't like that."
Bridget's voice was filled with tears.
A smile disappeared from Julian's mouth as he laughed mischievously.
"..."
"Do you know what you really have to be afraid of?"
"...What is it?"
"No matter how rare the possibility, letting me lose you without even trying."
"..."
"So I collapse alone in a world without you."
"..."
Bridget's head lowered as she held Julian's shoulder and met his gaze.
Her hair slipped down and covered his face.
Bridget's shoulders trembled.
Julian felt tears fall on his chest.
It felt like a painful burn on his chest, like hot metal.
"Don't leave your life of regret on me, Julian."
"..."
"That's abandoning me."
Julian gritted his teeth.
It wasn't a cursed life.
He realized when her saw Bridget's tears.
His life was precious.
The most precious thing that Bridget, whom he loved with his life, is so anxious to have.
So much so that even a small and insignificant hope cannot be let go.
He tried to take it away with his harsh words.
He promised to do anything for her, but he was about to give up what she wanted most.
Julian was sorry and emotional.
What is this warmth that spreads in the middle of my heart?
His heart was always filled with a sense of emptiness and resentment against being born into the world and an inexplicable sense of shame and self-blame.
Amid the ruins, a small but large flower bursts open and spreads its petals.
Exhausted and helpless, his body felt strong.
His chest tickled.
Julian was overwhelmed by the fact that he was so important to someone.
Bridget, the only one in the great world, gave color to his world.
Julian reached out and wrapped his hand around Bridget's wet cheek.
"How can I abandon you?"
"..."
"Do what you want, let's do it."
"...Really?"
"Yes."
Julian pulled Bridget into his arms.
All the things he did to try to survive one more day didn't make him worthless.
The only time you'll be truly worthless is when you're cold and buried in the ground, unable to hug your beloved lover.
"Don't cry."
"Yes."
Bridget fell into his arms.
She rubbed her cheek against his firm chest, feeling his heartbeat.
She hugged him as hard as she could.
Bridget punched Julian with a small fist in a fit of rage.
"Yes, how do you abandon me? You can't do that."
It didn't hurt at all.
"That's right."
Even if the earth burns down and the heavens fall, it will not happen.
Bridget of this life knew, and so did Julian today.
The two were relieved to feel each other's body heat.
Verbalizing one's mind is a surprisingly reassuring act.
No matter how confident you are that you know the other person's mind.
It was one thing to feel it with your body and hear it with your own ears.
He felt a sense of euphoria.
Julian was so overwhelmed with happiness that he didn't realize it.
A few black knights have vanished in his shadow.
***
"Oh."
Prophet Seraphina raised her head.
The yarn on her lap fell and rolled around.
She was knitting with just her fingers to make her father's scarf.
The two had recently been quietly living at an inn in a small town near the capital.
Count Drassion, who was washing his clothes in the inn's backyard, picked up the yarn that had drilled at his feet and approached Seraphina.
"Seraphina."
"...Father."
Seraphina's voice trembled.
Her pupils swayed back and forth in her closed eyelids.
Count Drassian quickly grabbed his daughter's shoulder.
She stumbled and looked like she was about to fall backward.
The Count knew that Seraphina was looking into the future.
Then, Seraphina's eyes lit up.
The whites of his eyes stared into the void unfocused.
What she was looking at was not the space of reality but an afterimage of the future.
"Do you see the future?"
She nodded her sweaty face in a few moments.
"Fate has changed."
There was silence for a moment.
She whispered softly, her lips pursed again.
"The future of this land has changed."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Is it joy and sadness?
Seraphina said with an unintelligible expression.
"I need to go to the palace. Please be prepared."
***
Julian accepted the nobles' argument and declared that the destruction of the bandits was on hold.
Actually, it was at Bridget's request.
The nobles were relieved that Julian had accepted their words and withdrew.
Meanwhile, Bridget had to deal with her affair with handsome men at the palace of Cerus.
The nobles were anxious to eat Bridget, but they didn't feel like they had given her good prey.
"But I got what I wanted."
There were no regrets.
Now, how can I fix it?
She anticipated and prepared that a very promiscuous scandal would soon sweep the social world.
Surprisingly, however, there was no buzz about the incident in social circles.
"It's embarrassing. Who among them can speak of the day's events?"
Pahaha! Leticia laughed.
"None of the kingdom's flirts have ever been able to seduce Miss Bridget, have they? Instead of flirting, they ran away in a hurry at His Highness's shouts, so it would be a shame to be a flirt!"
No man flirts and does not think that Julian is the male of males and the strongest of the strong.
But now that they've faced a real powerhouse they've never met in their life, they've been on a streak.
They were even taken advantage of by Julian and Bridget's love affair.
Theitbreputation as a flirt has been tarnished.
Everyone was too proud to talk about it.
Bridget had less to worry about.
Leticia sneered at them.
Bridget asked, taking a breather.
"Leticia, do you have any news on Michael's side?"
"Yesterday, I handed over the fake ledger to Michael. He was invited to Nigel Abington's house this weekend."
At last.
In the meantime, Michael had captured Nigel's heart quite firmly.
That meant that the relationship had to end now.
Michael, who is anxious for Nigel and barely keeping his pace under control, won't be able to hold on any longer.
"I'm going to finish my job now."
He'd extracted enough information so far.
The format borrows Isaac's secret ledger, and the contents are based on Michael's stolen information to create a plausible fake ledger.
His last task was to hide the fake ledger in Nigel's house.
***
Seraphina visited the palace.
There was nowhere she couldn't set foot if she wanted to.
When Seraphina had an audience with Julian, she bowed respectfully, ignoring his dismissive attitude.
Julian was not very pleased with Seraphina, who was nicknamed Josephine's Prophetess.
But he couldn't get her out.
There is power in the words of a great prophet like Seraphina.
No one listened to her, and no one wondered.
"I have something to tell you."
Seraphina's voice rang out as clear as a song in the silence.
"I wish to convey to you the will of God."
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