Delphine slowly opened her eyes to the bright light illuminating her face.

“Where am I…?”

She was lying in a very beautiful room.

The thin white cloth draped over the bed fluttered in the breeze, mixed with the scent of flowers.

It seemed she had fallen asleep exhausted from crying in the arms of Esmeralda, who resembled her mother.

Indeed. After escaping from the Pryde mansion, she had endured a grueling journey for nearly two months.

Enduring that hardship while pregnant, it felt as if all the fatigue had hit her at once.

After sitting blankly for a moment, gazing at the scenery of the room, Delphine slowly rose and approached the window.

Through the window, she saw a garden where beautiful flowers bloomed.

Was this place always as warm as a spring day all year round?

She wasn’t sure, but somehow she had a conviction that it would be.

Because this was where the woman loved by God lived a long time ago.

‘Together with their child…’

Delphine pictured in her mind the image of a couple with kind faces and their child.

Even though she was standing in a bright place, bathed in warm sunlight, a shadow suddenly fell over her face.

Ioan.

It was hard to imagine the three of them – him, herself, and their child – living happily together in such a bright and warm place.

Even in her imagination…

How can we be together? Where?

At that moment, the door opened with a light knock.

It was Esmeralda with her light silver hair hanging down.

“You’re awake.”

She smiled kindly at Delphine, who was standing by the window.

In her hands was a tray filled with food.

“You must be hungry?”

As soon as she heard those words, a hunger she hadn’t been aware of rushed in.

Really. Why was she getting so hungry all the time?

Delphine nodded, tugging at the loose nightgown she was wearing to hide her belly, not remembering when she had changed into it.

Then she sat at the small table next to the window and devoured the food.

When she had eaten enough, it was then.

Esmeralda, who had been watching her eat with a delighted face, suddenly opened her mouth.

“We only give birth to a single daughter in our lifetime.”

“…?”

Delphine tilted her head in confusion at the sudden words, and Esmeralda smiled brightly.

“A small blessing has descended into your womb.”

“…!”

Delphine was so surprised that she dropped the spoon she was eating dessert with.

“H-How…?”

She had been wearing loose clothes all along, so there were absolutely no clues to notice?

Esmeralda just smiled and giggled.

Her appearance looked like an older cousin who had gained a niece, so Delphine calmed her surprised heart a little.

“How far along are you?”

“…Four months.”

She was a little tense, but fortunately, Esmeralda didn’t ask who the child’s father was.

Perhaps she naturally assumed it was either Belli or Lin, Delphine thought.

Esmeralda put the spoon back in her hand and recited kindly.

“Pregnancy. His Holiness will be even more pleased.”

“His… Holiness?”

It seemed to be a term referring to the Holy Emperor who ruled the Holy Kingdom.

The leader of the Daal religion’s priests spread across the continent.

Yesterday, she had fallen asleep exhausted from crying and hadn’t been able to meet him.

“We can only give birth to one daughter in our lifetime, and even that is difficult to conceive.”

She hadn’t known that much.

Esmeralda added to Delphine, who was blinking awkwardly.

“That’s also why the Holy Kingdom tries so hard to manage our bloodline.”

For the first time, a sneer passed over Esmeralda’s kind face.

“…Manage the bloodline?”

“We are symbolic beings.”

Esmeralda explained with a shrug to Delphine’s puzzled question.

“Proof of the legend that God existed above and once descended to the ground to love humans.”

She explained in a calm and slightly resigned tone.

As descendants of the Holy Maiden, they receive the love and respect of people across the continent, but they have no real authority.

“Then…”

“The one who exercises real authority is His Holiness.”

Esmeralda calmly added.

“That blond man must have sought an audience with His Holiness first for that reason, right?”

“…!”

Delphine was startled and stammered.

“B-Belli did?”

“Yes. He said he had something urgent to tell him. …Something important and secret.”

Why did Belli seek out the Holy Emperor?

And without even waiting for her to wake up, alone…

Suddenly, she had an ominous feeling.

“Wh-Where is His Holiness now?”

“Where else would he be but in the audience chamber? Delphine? Are you okay? Your face is pale…”

“Esmeralda! I need to go there right now!”

Her heart pounded loudly.

Seeing Delphine’s expression, Esmeralda immediately stiffened her face and abruptly stood up from her seat.

“…Let’s go. I’ll take you there!”

Graniel I ascended to the position of Holy Emperor three years ago at the exceptionally young age of 46.

There were concerns that the new Holy Emperor, responsible for the peace of the continent, was too young for the position.

There were also movements blaming the young Holy Emperor for the recent stirrings of a second continental war.

‘At such a time, the appearance of a new descendant of the Holy Maiden is clearly a favorable factor…’

The audience chamber of the central temple located in the Holy Kingdom.

Graniel I skillfully concealed his inner thoughts and smiled warmly.

“I will highly commend your efforts in escorting the Holy Maiden here.”

In response, the blond man who had requested an audience with him smiled back with an angelic face.

“Thank you, Your Holiness.”

Belli had already perfectly memorized and mastered the forms of address and etiquette.

Lin and Marian, still clumsy with the Northern Continental language, sat quietly at the audience chamber table.

What an odd combination of companions.

Graniel I observed them with curious eyes and asked.

“Occasionally, descendants of the Holy Maiden who have been wandering the continent like this appear. …Where have you all come from?”

Straight to the point.

But there was no time to hesitate, so it was rather welcome for them.

Belli brought out his true intentions without hesitation.

“Your Holiness. Do you remember the lowly servant from legend who blasphemously killed God’s child and ran away three hundred years ago?”

“Why suddenly… Of course I know. And that it’s not a legend but history.”

“Then do you also know what happened to that man who made a contract with the devil?”

“That’s…”

“Using the power of the devil, he founded the Devil’s Empire on the peninsula below the Antes Mountains.”

“…!”

Graniel I rarely showed his emotions, but his eyes widened in surprise.

That wasn’t all.

Shock swept across the faces of the people present.

‘It’s no wonder they didn’t know.’

Belli thought inwardly with a cold face.

A small peninsula located beyond the tall and rugged mountain range.

With a powerful confusion magic barrier in place, there was no way for the people of the continent to know of the empire’s existence.

“We have come from there, Your Holiness.”

Belli continued in a pleading tone to the shocked Holy Emperor.

“Under the control of the devil, where humans exploit other humans…”

He went on to tell of the emperor who wielded absolute power, Veritas.

And also about the human factory that produced black crystals.

And that aside from the few humans living within the central barrier, the rest were living inhuman lives, drinking dirty factory wastewater.

“…The devil treats that place like his own lunchbox.”

“This can’t be… Oh, God…”

Graniel I let out a groan-filled lamentation.

The public’s assessment that he was a young pope whose youthful vigor had not yet faded was not entirely wrong.

The gaze of the pope, who had been pretending to be gentle, changed in an instant.

The pope’s eyes, possessing the clearest white light of anyone, flared up with righteous anger.

“If that is truly the case, it is an issue that cannot be overlooked.”

Holy power is mainly specialized in healing and exorcism rituals, but sometimes force is also necessary to carry out God’s will.

Graniel I was a former holy knight who had greatly distinguished himself in the continental war.

It was also the reason he was able to ascend to the position of Holy Emperor at such a young age with the support of people across the continent.

“We know the way to that devil’s empire.”

Belli pierced the young Holy Emperor with his blue eyes and recited.

“Gather the holy knights for a holy war, Your Holiness.”

“…!”

“The best way to deflect internal problems is to create an external enemy.”

Belli had already assessed the state of the continent and the Holy Emperor’s lacking position.

Seeing the Holy Emperor skillfully hiding his emotions and refraining from answering, Belli whispered in succession.

“And the best justification for that is war.”

Uniting the divided continent with the goal of exorcising the remaining devils on earth.

At the same time, conscripting an army and reducing the military power of each country.

The man’s words needed to be verified, but it was an offer the Holy Emperor could hardly refuse.

Conviction slowly began to take hold on Graniel I’s face.

“Your Holiness.”

It was then that a servant guarding the audience chamber door came to inform them of the Holy Maiden’s request for an audience.

As soon as permission was granted, the closed door of the audience chamber swung open.

Distinct red hair rippled like waves.

Graniel I’s face visibly brightened upon seeing Delphine, who had rushed in urgently.