Looking at the black paint, Olentia roughly breathed and suddenly thought of Dimidius with his black hair. His glossy hair looked so soft that she wanted to touch it. She had painted with black paint wanting to eliminate all the colorful hues, but he came to mind. She must have really gone crazy.

Ever since seeing Dimidius’s face in the office and in her bedroom, Olentia had been feeling like a fish caught in a net. And it wasn’t even a net thrown by Dimidius, but a net she had thrown herself and was now stuck in, unable to move.

Olentia let out a deep sigh and put down the brush. She no longer wanted to produce any more paintings, or rather, mere scribbles.

Only then did Bobby speak to Olentia while smoothing her chest.

“The elders of the Belial territory will be arriving soon. You must prepare, Young Lady.”

Today was the day Dimidius would meet with the elders in the grand council chamber to discuss the prosperity of the territory. Olentia would not attend the meeting, but she had to go out and greet them.

With Bobby’s help, she changed into outdoor attire. It was a rather heavy dress in a neat style, but it seemed to suit her current mood.

Olentia now headed to the main entrance hall. Dimidius was already waiting there.

Olentia and Dimidius did not say a word to each other. She felt that being by Dimidius’s side had never felt so lonely before.

‘I should just ignore him too. So don’t be sad.’

With that thought in mind, Olentia watched the carriages arriving one after another. Well-dressed gentlemen alighted from the carriages and approached Olentia and Dimidius with bright smiles.

“It is an honor for the family to have you come out and greet us like this, Your Grace.”

“I greet the lady for the first time. I am truly delighted to meet you.”

“You are as beautiful as they say.”

“How is your stay at the Grand Duchy?”

Olentia was out of her mind greeting the elders. It seemed like it would take quite a while to distinguish their families and names. Of course, there was no need to memorize them. After all, she would become someone completely unrelated to the Grand Duchy in 4 months.

Olentia intently watched Dimidius head to the grand council chamber with the elders after finishing the greetings. Dimidius left without even glancing at her once. He was a truly heartless person.

The attendant who received the letter sent by the empress swallowed dryly with a perplexed expression. It said that she would send dozens of assassins through the northern passage tonight. The north gate had been closed off with strong and high walls built up. Sending assassins there would be of no use.

“Of all times, the communication stone had to break down…”

The attendant was in a very difficult situation as the communication stone, the only means to contact immediately, was not working. He had to inform the empress of this, but it would clearly be too late if sent by messenger or carrier pigeon. It seemed that at least today’s operation would not be changed.

The attendant felt that the empress had made the decision too hastily. In the midst of the communication stone malfunctioning and being unable to report properly, such a critical issue had arisen. It seemed that the empress also had an urgent situation that left her with no choice.

Then there was no other way but to open the main gate with the other spies infiltrated in the Grand Duchy and hide in Dimidius’s bedroom.

Would it really succeed?

Although the attendant had lived as a cruel assassin, killing others, he had no idea what to do with the half-demon Dimidius. Dimidius was a man with a strength that made one’s body tremble.

Olentia went to bed early after seeing off the elders. It had been a tiring day and she felt like falling asleep quickly.

She fell asleep breathing evenly and had a dream.

In the dream, Dimidius was in the bedroom, and a few of the Grand Duchy’s servants secretly entered the bedroom. Before Dimidius could sense their presence, a dagger flew and stabbed his neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain and Dimidius collapsed on the spot. It happened in an instant, and it seemed Dimidius had died after being hit in a vital spot.

Moreover, the main gate was breached and other assassins also broke in.

Olentia woke up with a scream, startled.

“Aah! Haa… Haa!”

It was a very ominous dream. Unlike the prophetic dream showing assassins entering through the ivy-covered north gate, it was different. The future must have changed after building up the walls.

Olentia hurriedly put a robe over her negligee and headed to Dimidius’s bedroom. Suddenly, the lights in the corridor flickered and went out, becoming completely dark. She was so scared that her body trembled with each step, but she had no intention of returning to her room.

She had vowed to protect Dimidius.

She had another terrible dream. This time, it was not assassins but the Grand Duchy’s servants who took the lead. Since the future had changed, she had to change that future once more. Otherwise, Olentia felt like she would not be able to live.

Soon, she arrived near Dimidius’s bedroom. Olentia swallowed and looked down the corridor.

Surprisingly, a few servants were dealing with the knight guarding the door to Dimidius’s room. The future she had seen in the prophetic dream was unfolding right now.

As soon as they opened the door, Olentia ran towards it, shouting.

“Your Grace!”

She hoped he would quickly recognize her voice.

‘I will protect Dimidius!’

Even if he was someone who did not understand her heart, she did not want him to get hurt. Even if Dimidius acted cold, his heart might not be so.

How should she attack?

‘First, you must believe in your own power. If you don’t believe, you will never be able to manifest it.’

The words Archbishop Werbu had said back then came to mind.

Olentia believed in her power and gathered energy in her fingertips. She felt the blood rushing through her body and a white light began to coalesce.

‘Can I finally attack?’

While she was anticipating, the servants-turned-assassins swung their swords at Olentia. Olentia was startled and dodged while concentrating on creating a white sphere.

“Quickly take care of the Grand Duchess first!”

“The Grand Duke will notice and come out at this rate!”

The assassins now surrounded Olentia as if it was a free-for-all, their eyes glinting sharply. At this rate, it seemed her life would be taken before she could protect Dimidius.

Olentia looked at the small sphere that had formed between her hands with a desperate face. It seemed she had to at least try using this first.

Olentia sent the small sphere to the assassins. Then one of the assassins dropped his sword and stepped back.

As if that was the signal, the other assassins rushed forward shouting, and at that moment, a rather large sphere was completed in Olentia’s hand.

‘This is it! It formed properly!’

Olentia attacked without delay. As the white sphere bounced and touched their bodies, they fell to the ground groaning. It was a truly mysterious power.

Bam!

At that moment, the door opened and Dimidius came out from the bedroom. He stood in front of Olentia and spoke to the enemies.

“There were traitors mixed in the Grand Duchy.”

“Ugh! Reinforcements will arrive soon. Everyone, hold out until then!”

A man dressed as an attendant shouted and took a defensive stance again.

Then Dimidius drew a sword he had brought from the room and faced them. The sound of swords clashing was sharp. It seemed Dimidius alone had the strength to face several opponents.

Then there was the sound of someone running down the corridor, and Killen appeared and said,

“A few of them have infiltrated through the main gate. Your Grace! It seems a spy who infiltrated as a servant helped them!”

After dealing with all the servants-turned-assassins, Dimidius took Olentia’s hand and led her.

“It’s dangerous to stay here. My Lady. Please follow me.”

Olentia ran with him in a daze and met Podion and Nicholas halfway. Dimidius entrusted Olentia to them and said,

“Nicholas. Podion. I leave the lady in your care.”

Nicholas, the commander of the Belial Knights, and Podion, Olentia’s bodyguard knight, answered with a salute.

As Dimidius tried to leave like that, Olentia shouted to him.

“Please be careful! Your Grace!”

The image of Dimidius from the dream, dying with his neck stabbed by a dagger that flew in without time to react, flashed before her eyes. It seemed she had prevented that situation just now, but there was no telling how the direction of the future would flow.

Olentia trembled, clenching her teeth in fear. She couldn’t believe that she had used the white sphere to attack, and she was very worried that assassins had snuck in.

Seeing Olentia like that, Podion carefully grasped her shoulder.

“My Lady. I think it would be best to return to the bedroom. We will protect you, so don’t worry.”

Olentia knew that Podion and Nicholas were skilled. What she was worried about was Dimidius’s safety. Even though she knew Dimidius became invincible when using demonic powers, Olentia’s heart only sank heavily.

Who on earth had planted spies in the Grand Duchy and sent the assassins?

Could it be the empress’s doing like 5 years ago?

If so, it felt suffocating. Confronting the empress was an extremely difficult task.

Dimidius searched for the hidden assassins with Killen and the Belial Knights. The assassins moved so swiftly that no matter how much he looked around, they were hard to spot. The dark night also made it more difficult to find them.

It was when Dimidius was surveying the surroundings with sharp eyes near the fountain.

Swish−.

A dagger flew at him dangerously. If Dimidius had not dodged with his animal-like senses, it could have hit him in the head.

Dimidius ran straight to where the dagger had flown from. With the use of demonic powers, it was instantaneous, and the assassin who had thrown the dagger was caught. Dimidius had no intention of killing him. He planned to capture him alive and gain leverage against the empress, who was presumed to have sent the assassins.

In that way, Dimidius caught the assassins who had snuck into the Grand Duchy one by one. He locked them up in the underground prison and thoroughly searched the Grand Duchy. He was concerned that there might still be assassins left. It would be troublesome to have hidden assassins when Olentia was in the Grand Duchy.

However, the problem was that spies posing as servants could still remain in the Grand Duchy. That was something he could not resolve immediately.

Dimidius entered the musty-smelling underground prison and looked at the captured men. They were all wounded and bleeding.

“Who is behind you?”

Dimidius asked even though he knew it was not an answer he could easily hear. It was a formality.

The assassins spat from inside the prison and wore a bitter smile.

“You’d better not waste your effort. None of us will open our mouths.”

It was the same 5 years ago. The assassins did not reveal the mastermind until the end, and Dimidius could not find evidence that the empress was the culprit. It would be troublesome if the same thing happened this time.