The Intensive Care Room of the Temple was silent.
It was a stark contrast to the scenery in front of the temple, where countless people had gathered. This was due to the numerous injuries caused by the attack of the monsters.
The assault had involved as many as several hundred monsters. Including civilians who had been staying in the city, the extent of the damage was beyond imagination.
The responsible party behind this unprecedented invasion was still unknown.
The professors from the academy maintained a heavy silence, as if they were aware of something, while the crowd, excluding them, engaged in heated debates, each with their own theories.
Some claimed it was the result of the abnormality of monsters that had persisted since the last Hunting Festival.
Those a bit bolder suggested that it was the result of a secret biological laboratory set up by the Imperial Court.
They claimed that monsters that had escaped from there had attacked the academy.
Various other speculations existed, but without an official announcement from the academy, these were merely empty debates.
There was simply too little information to offer a plausible hypothesis.
However, amidst the flood of various eyewitness accounts, there was one distinctly noticeable whisper.
It was a story about a certain man.
He had traversed the battlefield, saving numerous students, and surprisingly, many among them had been those who hated and tormented him.
Most of the academy had participated in harassing him, which amplified the ripple effect of that rumor.
Humans have a tendency to be captivated by unexpected facets of someone, after all.
But contrary to the chaos outside, the interior of the temple was sparsely populated.
The only noise echoing from the hallway was that of priests hurriedly moving about.
With the overwhelming workload suddenly pouring in, the temple had temporarily banned visitors. There was not even the capacity to manage the patients one by one.
To reduce the burden even slightly, it was an unavoidable decision. It was regrettable for those anxiously waiting in front of the temple, but above all, the priority had to be the lives of the patients.
However, even in the temple, it was impossible to completely restrict everyone’s access.
Sometimes guests who surpassed the authority of the temple would come to visit.
The girl sitting in I-an’s hospital room was one such individual.
Her dark blue hair, resembling the night sky, flowed down with a noble hue. Her gray eyes, filled with regret and worry, glistened with a mist of tears.
The Fifth Imperial Princess of the Empire, Shi-en.
She had also been receiving treatment in the temple until just shortly prior. Fortunately, her injuries were not severe, and she had been allowed to leave quickly, but she had stubbornly insisted on visiting I-an’s hospital room one last time.
Her complicated feelings as she looked down at the pale-faced man were overwhelming.
It was my fault.
This man lay here with a face devoid of color because of her. Of course, many others had also perished.
The head maid, the knights guarding her, and, more broadly, all the patients residing in this temple.
The Dark Cult had targeted Shi-en.
Today’s catastrophe had been carried out with that intent. Thankfully, she heard that there were not many fatalities, but that did not erase Shi-en’s guilt.
Still, amidst her suffering, she felt an insidious sense of relief, and that made her despise herself all the more.
After all, the most precious person had survived.
The person who had conveyed pure goodwill to her for the very first time, and the man who willingly took upon himself the shame to overcome trials for everyone was now fast asleep.
As Shi-en tentatively reached out with trembling hands to caress I-an’s cheek, she flinched at a voice piercing through the stillness of the night.
“His intestines have melted away due to an overdose of medication, and he has multiple fractures with severe internal bleeding. I suppose we should consider the fact that he moved until the end a miracle created by magic.”
A woman with silver hair appeared, parting the curtain of moonlight.
Her pale pink eyes were quietly settled. Though too deep to decipher her feelings, Shi-en understood.
The Lady Virgin Saint was not in a good mood. Very much so.
“No, in fact, it’s a miracle that he survived… He knows how to protect others but is a fool who doesn’t know how to take care of himself.”
The princess lowered her head without a word.
Each word from the saint felt like a reproach directed at her. Of course, such a benevolent saint would not do so, but with the mindset of a criminal, Shi-en fidgeted with her fingers.
The saint refrained from adding more words.
She simply crossed her arms and gazed down at I-an with a sorrowful look.
It took a long time before the princess could muster her voice.
“…Will he recover?”
“I have made a request to the Holy Kingdom and the Imperial Court. It’s impossible to heal him with just divine power. He has received too many fatal injuries…”
Having said that, the saint seemingly choked up a bit and bit her lip. It seemed she couldn’t control her emotions otherwise.
This was not typical behavior for the saint, who always wore a warm smile, but in Shi-en’s world, it was just the two of them—herself and I-an.
The girl’s lips carefully parted.
“I, I will speak well of Sir I-an to my father…”
“Of course, you must.”
The princess drew in a breath at that cold tone. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a very long time.
The gray eyes, once blankly staring at the man, slowly turned towards the saint.
There stood a woman with a pale face. The kind and gentle saint was absent, replaced only by the smoldering pink eyes that represented all the anger.
“Whose fault is this?”
At the forceful question, Shi-en’s gaze became vacant.
It was an unabashed display of emotion. Even without using the ‘Eyes of the Dragon,’ it was evident. The saint hated the princess so intensely that it seemed she would kill her.
Surely, it couldn’t be.
After all, wasn’t she the symbol of love and sacrifice?
Shi-en shook her head in disbelief, and when her gray eyes turned back to the saint, any sense of animosity that had been felt moments ago had completely vanished.
It was just a misunderstanding, Shi-en sighed as if she had expected it.
Even so, the saint’s voice remained quite somber.
“…It’s time for treatment. Please leave now, Sister Shi-en.”
With that dismissal, Shi-en stepped out of the temple.
Her heart felt heavy.
She couldn’t figure out how she would apologize to I-an once he regained consciousness. No, would she even be forgiven?
She didn’t even know where it all went wrong. From start to finish, hadn’t she only inconvenienced I-an?
Furthermore, much of it had been due to her malicious schemes.
It was only natural for the once proud princess to have her shoulders slumped.
As Shi-en wallowed in sadness, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the voice of a rushing knight.
“Your Highness!”
Hearing that euphoric voice, the princess shifted her gaze. There was a knight who had been sent out of the city with orders that morning approaching her.
It was, in a way, a good thing.
At least one less victim had occurred.
As those bitter thoughts passed through her mind, a memory suddenly lodged itself like a stumbling block.
Wait, what orders did I give this morning?
In an instant, Shi-en’s eyes lost their light.
“Thank goodness you’re safe. This is also His Majesty the Emperor’s blessing!”
“…The Company.”
The princess’s gray pupils shook violently as she uttered those two words.
Her face turned pale, her entire body trembled. The frail hands that had been convulsing gripped the knight’s arms tightly.
“The, the Company… that Sir I-an’s sister runs! What happened to that?!”
Shi-en asked as she prayed fervently.
Please let the knight respond that something went wrong during the journey, and that the plan was thwarted.
But the knight returned with a faithful, unbothered answer.
“Ah, that! As you instructed, we proceeded with it…”
Staggering, the princess took a step back. Feeling dizzy, she looked as if she would collapse at any moment.
At the moment the knight took a step forward, confused, the princess let out a thunderous scream.
“Cancel it… immediately! Whatever it takes!!”
The sudden reversal in orders left the knight flustered, but sensing that something was amiss with Shi-en, he bowed his head and started running.
But the princess also knew.
Flipping a game that had already begun was much more difficult than that.
With her anxious heart, the princess panted, pacing back and forth. She heard whispers from the people around her, but she didn’t care.
After all, together, they didn’t hold even a fraction of value compared to one person.
This cannot happen, this cannot happen…
Despair began to fill Shi-en’s eyes.
Her trials were not yet over.
