‘Delphrium’.
There was an unknown weight to that name. Even I, who had never witnessed its reality, found myself babbling incoherently the moment I heard of its existence.
As if I had fallen into a kind of panic state.
“So, in the end, you expect me to cooperate with Delphrium? Are you out of your mind? And what exactly is Delphrium doing? Two of the Seven Deadly Sins are fighting with each other, and you know this…”
“Shh, shh.”
The torrent of words that had poured forth came to a halt at the girl’s intervention.
The girl, with her finger to her lips, wore an inscrutable smile. Like a beautiful woman entwining a plot, the corners of the black saint’s eyes curved slightly.
“That’s not a name to utter so frivolously; that person is… the representative of those abandoned by God and will soon be the ruler of the whole world.”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
I said through gritted teeth, feeling a raw pain pass through my mind.
Images raced through my thoughts.
Guildford, the orphanage director, and the children who screamed as they became Flesh Seeds.
The test subjects who had to kill their loved ones while being puppets of Miltram, and the face of Ned, who lost his life protecting his sister, flashed in sequence.
Leorick? Elf? Yulen and the orphans?
Of course, I remembered every detail with no omissions. Each time I recalled their bloodstains, I felt a sharp pain in my veins.
It was as if I had received an incompatible blood transfusion.
That was the weight of the sins I bore. And Delphrium, who turned them into monsters, must have borne an even more terrible guilt.
“Representing those abandoned by God? What you’re doing is merely using them thoroughly and turning them into monsters. How can you say such shameless things while shattering precious relationships and forsaking humanity?”
“It’s the world that made us this way.”
“Stop making excuses…!”
“In the end, everything is an excuse. Change the world through legitimate means? Who establishes the standards of legitimacy? Should we change the world quietly while appeasing those high above? When? After we’re all buried in the ground?”
The girl’s voice continued with calm rebuttals.
Thus, it felt even more alien. It was the attitude of a zealot who had never questioned the truth.
“Everyone’s like that. They say we must sacrifice ourselves as if it’s the most natural thing. Just bear with it a little longer; the world will change someday, even if you’re not around… Do you know the common trait of those who speak like that? It’s that they won’t be risking their lives, no matter how patiently they endure. But us? Do you know how many people will starve to death if we even slightly concede our share on this continent?”
“So you plan to violate their dignity and treat them like tools? Because of your precious stubbornness to change the world?!”
“No one is coming to save us.”
I was about to raise my voice in frustration when I met the girl’s gaze, which was silently fixed on me.
My bloodline, which had never received salvation.
My heart dropped and momentarily stopped.
“Because neither God, nor the world, nor even my brother has come to save us… we have no choice but to save ourselves. Even if that is a cruel act that tramples on humanity.”
There were many things I could have said.
But in the end, they would merely be excuses. If it was merely to secure one’s own life by tearing apart the flesh of other vulnerable ones, what difference would that make from the world as it stood?
But I couldn’t bring myself to voice that counterargument.
The girl rose from her seat and quietly walked past me. Strangely enough, I didn’t have the slightest urge to throw accusations at that lonely figure from behind.
The conversation had reached its end.
As if to announce its conclusion, her clear voice resonated through the room. It had a note of slight melancholy to it.
“I’ll tell you the location of ‘Jealousy’, so don’t worry. And also, be careful… Within the ‘Boundary’, anything can happen. Even things that are incomprehensible to the drinkers may occur.”
That was the end.
As the girl was about to take her leave, I squeezed out one last lingering question.
“What about Celin?”
Suddenly, the girl’s footsteps stopped.
Without turning back, there was no time to observe her expression. I simply asked with a more earnest tone.
“And where has Ceria gone? If you have any information at all, please…!”
It was at that moment.
A quick breath brushed against my nose. In the blink of an eye.
The girl had returned to my side, examining my face closely.
Then, a soft hand gently brushed across my cheek, leaving a ticklish sensation.
“Are you that worried?”
“…Of course.”
In response, the girl offered a faint, sorrowful smile.
“I wish I could have been saved like that too.”
It was a line that took my breath away every time I heard it.
Yet, even in the end, I couldn’t erase my lingering attachment; the girl shrugged as if it were a joke.
“I don’t know much about that vampire’s bloodline, but Sister Celin is doing well, so don’t worry. Once everything is over, you’ll find out where she is.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t trust us.”
With that, the girl prodded my chest as if this was truly the last and took a step back.
“Try trusting Sister Celin, just once.”
If I could.
With that, the girl vanished like the wind, just as she had appeared. I stared at the vacant spot, which left no trace, for a while before silently walking over and flinging open the cupboard door.
Cheap whiskey.
It was a night when I longed to drink bad liquor more than ever.
The die had been cast.
‘Greed’ promised to cooperate with me. Though they showed signs of withdrawing to simply indicate the location of ‘Jealousy’, what would happen when the decisive moment approached?
The two had already damaged their relationship beyond repair. To make matters worse, ‘Greed’ even revealed that this confrontation was taking place under the tacit approval of Delphrium.
She was not someone who couldn’t cross the line. If she had the will, she would make for a valuable pawn at any moment.
The final battle was fast approaching.
But as they say, good news always comes with bad tidings.
News both good and bad reached me around that time.
First, the good news.
The Imperial Princess had finally opened her eyes. In truth, it was a fainting spell caused by massive blood loss, so if her blood returned, there was no reason for her to remain unconscious.
However, when I visited the temple with a heart full of anticipation, I was met with a heavy silence.
The Emperor, the Sword Saint, and the Great Witch were all tightly-lipped, saying nothing. Shi-en, lying on the bed, was watching the adults as if she were a criminal.
What was going on?
The truth was revealed through Shi-en’s testimony.
Ceria had drained Shi-en’s blood. Like a ‘vampire’, until she fainted.
The moment I heard those words, I immediately raised my voice.
“No, why on earth?!”
The reason was quite obvious.
Ceria was of the vampire bloodline. Therefore, it wasn’t strange that she hid her monstrous nature.
Yet, the question was why now.
What on earth was going on?
Ceria had been calm until now. She hadn’t shown signs of rampaging even when meeting members of the vampire bloodline.
As various counterarguments swirled in my mind.
“I-I’m so sorry, Sir Ian…”
Seeing the Imperial Princess hang her head while choked with tears, I snapped back to reality.
Yes, the Imperial Princess was the victim.
If I were to weigh the gravity of the crime, my responsibility was the heaviest.
I had concealed Ceria’s origins. Not just from my party but even from Ceria herself.
It was a foolish judgment.
Honestly, I was afraid Ceria might get hurt, and because of that, I feared that suspicion would arise among my party members.
Excluding Celin, the only ally who truly believed in and cherished Ceria was Senior Delphine.
And this was the result.
Perhaps I may not have tried at all. I might have held on to a vague hope that things would somehow work out.
What a fool I was.
But regret is always too late, no matter how fast it arrives.
I had no choice but to recite words of apology.
“No, Your Highness. It’s my fault. The truth is, this situation was predictable…”
“No, that’s not true!”
However, the Imperial Princess’s reaction was far beyond my expectations.
Shi-en looked flustered, her face bearing a look of disbelief. She was at the brink of bowing her head if this continued.
“What… what do you mean? I was the one at fault, Sir Ian. Please don’t say such things. Don’t abandon me. I-I was wrong…”
The sight of the trembling girl murmuring to herself was unequivocally abnormal.
Especially with her father and grandfather as witnesses.
“Shall we have a little talk?”
Only after that honest conversation with the Sword Saint could I return.
It didn’t feel bad.
Rather, it was a chance to cool my head. Though I had no means to break through this situation.
Ceria was now a new variable. With no idea of where she had gone, my desire to rescue Ceria was immense.
It was then that an individual arrived.
The woman known as the sun of Alphenhausen, one of the highly regarded twins of Alphenhausen, Shiene Alphenhausen.
“It’s been a while, you silly hatchet-head. Today, I’ve graciously forgiven your rudeness from last time to have a more meaningful conversation… ugh.”
And bam.
A man knocked her out cold with a swift blow to her back of the head.
He was a sculpted handsome man. His flowing hair resembled a stream polished by nature itself, and his sparkling blue eyes shone like jewels.
Despite his delicate face, he possessed a well-trained muscular body.
The man, who did not seem normal at a glance, smiled gently as he said.
“Sir Ian, shall we have a conversation?”
The Empire’s first prince, Bulteon.
He was to become the final piece before the final confrontation with the vampire.
