“Is it you, Matian?”

“Rukna, you deduced that.”

Matian pointed to the window frame with a sarcastic tone and a bright smile.

There was a footprint imprinted there, larger than Rukna’s but smaller than Matian’s.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have left something like this.”

How careless, anyway.

Matian contemplated whether he should give Rukna a branch of the climbing plant, Alechi, that he grew by the window.

Alechi’s pollen was hard to remove once it stuck and caused a rash when it touched bare skin, making it ideal for warding off intruders.

“…I’m sorry if it was a misunderstanding.”

“At this point, I’m curious why you suddenly accused me of being the culprit.”

Matian tilted his head askew, crossing his arms.

Throughout their time at the military academy, numerous incidents had occurred, but not a single cadet dared to suspect him as the perpetrator.

That was because he was the living embodiment of rules and a flawless model student.

That was precisely who Matian Wiegratz was.

But it seemed that only this Rukna Golden evaluated him differently.

It had been bothering him for a while now.

Rukna was, how should he put it? There were times when she felt out of place, like a being that deviated from the world’s common sense.

“You suspected me too, didn’t you?”

“Suspected? Me, you?”

“About the holy sword, as a thief, I mean.”

Rukna bit her tongue, regretting her words, but did her best to continue.

“I thought you might search my room to find the holy sword.”

“The official belongings inspection ended a few days ago, why would I?”

“Well, because you kept watching me.”

As Matian said, a large-scale inspection of belongings had been conducted to find the missing holy sword, but of course, the holy sword that had transformed into a necklace wouldn’t have been discovered.

Because of this, the imperial family and the military academy were leaning towards the hypothesis that the black magic group ‘Red Eagle’ had unfairly stolen and destroyed the holy sword.

But Matian’s gaze towards Rukna remained unchanged.

Due to those piercing blue eyes persistently tracking her movements, she had been so nervous that one day, while walking, her hand and foot on the same side jerked out together.

“That sounds like an overactive imagination, Rukna.”

Matian responded with a relaxed smile. Meanwhile, he inwardly reflected on his actions.

‘Have I been observing Rukna that much?’

It was a fact he hadn’t been aware of at all.

On the other hand, Rukna felt wronged.

It wasn’t an illusion that Matian’s gaze had been persistently following her wherever she went since entering this place! The days she hadn’t encountered him on this vast campus could be counted on one hand.

But she couldn’t argue about that now.

“Then why did you come to see me now?”

Rukna asked about his business while running her hand through her hair.

“There are three reasons.”

Matian answered while tapping the window frame with his fingertips.

“The first is because of your subordinate’s statement about ‘taking over the school.’ As the student council president, I couldn’t just let that slide.”

Matian treated the cadets of Ruibitdong as Rukna’s subordinates, not friends.

“That was just them talking nonsense. I have neither the intention nor the ability to do that.”

“Let’s say I believe that. The second is that you’re the suspect in two violent incidents that occurred in the alley behind Golden College.”

Rukna kept her mouth shut at the following words.

Better to pretend not to know. If she got caught lying and increased her demerits, her graduation might be delayed.

It was self-defense anyway since the other party started the fight first, but there was no need to make a big deal out of it.

Fortunately, Matian only glanced at Rukna, who was feigning ignorance, without pressing the matter further.

“And the last reason is…”

Matian’s lips moved without finishing the sentence.

Then he turned his body away from the window and walked briskly towards Rukna.

He extended his hand abruptly when he reached right in front of Rukna’s face.

Is he trying to fight? Even knowing that he wasn’t the type to touch someone carelessly unless it was for training, Rukna unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut.

However, the large hand went down and drew out the practice longsword Rukna had at her waist.

Sling.

‘Wha, what!’

Surprised by the sudden action, Rukna stiffened her body while pulling her upper body back.

Matian carefully examined the training longsword that every cadet in the military academy received.

He seemed to be checking if the holy sword had been disguised as a training sword.

He put the sword back into Rukna’s waist, tidying it up.

“I wanted to check this.”

Matian murmured. It wasn’t a lie.

But along with that, he also wanted to know why his heart felt at ease when he was near Rukna.

The reason why the unique sense of stability he felt when looking up at the holy sword stuck in the square persisted when he was near Rukna.

‘Is this why I instinctively seek out Rukna?’

It was the same now. As soon as his heart ached, he came to find Rukna like this without any plan.

‘But is this simply because of the latent holy power Rukna was said to possess?’

Matian gazed intently into Rukna’s green eyes.

Rukna endured that gaze for a few seconds before abruptly turning her head away.

There probably isn’t a woman in this world who could remain unaffected while continuously receiving the gaze of such a handsome man.

“Ah, do you still think I stole the holy sword that was stuck in the Square of Honor?”

“Well… I’m not sure. What is this, exactly?”

Matian exhaled a long breath while firmly pressing his fist near his heart.

“By any chance, did you have a priest among your ancestors?”

“I don’t know well because I lost my memories.”

“Ah, right. You said you lost your memories.”

Matian nodded his head slowly. His complexion had improved compared to earlier, but he still looked pale.

“Are you… okay?”

“Ah, well.”

Matian stepped back while trying to smile nonchalantly.

“You’ve been sweating cold sweat like crazy since earlier.”

“It’ll get better after a while.”

He said that, but this time was particularly serious.

It was this manageable only because he was near Rukna; if he had been apart, he might have lost consciousness.

‘There must be a problem with the seal of the Devil’s Egg. I should visit the temple.’

Matian walked out to the entrance, determined to discuss the ominous signs with the High Priest.

“Where’s your room, Matian? I’ll take you there.”

“I’m not going to my room.”

“Then where are you going? Tell me. You look like you’re about to collapse any moment now.”

Rukna asked again.

It was unimaginable that someone who seemed unbreakable even in the biting winter wind would show such a weak appearance.

“Haha, collapse? Who?”

Matian wore a mask-like smile, trying his best to hide his condition.

“Thank you for inviting me today.”

Huh? Did I invite him? It seems like Matian came in on his own.

While Rukna was tilting her head in confusion, Matian put on his shoes, opened the door, and left.

“Wait, still, letting a sick person go alone…”

Bang!

The door closed firmly, cutting off Rukna’s words.

That manner, really.

Rukna glared at the closed door, pouting her lips. But worry followed immediately.

‘He really looked like he was about to collapse.’

Would someone who pursues perfection to the point of keeping his early morning training a secret from others want to show his collapsing appearance to others?

Rukna stood in front of the door for a while, then opened it and stepped out into the corridor.

While descending the spiral staircase, she looked at the corridors of each floor and the first-floor lobby, but Matian was nowhere to be seen, having walked away so quickly.

In the end, thinking that His Excellency the Student Council President must have gone back safely on his own, she was about to return when suddenly,

The holy sword spoke up.

“I sense an ominous aura nearby, Master.”

‘An ominous aura?’

“Yes, 42 meters straight ahead from here, then turn left.”

‘I see. I should be careful too.’

Rukna turned her steps back to her room, whether she sensed an ominous aura or not.

“Master? I said I sense an ominous aura?”

The holy sword’s voice grew as loud as an alarm.

‘Ow, my ears. You startled me! If there’s an ominous aura, I should take care of myself too. Why are you trying to push your precious master into danger?’

“That’s right, the precious master should go back and rest. Your choice will bring the empire’s downfall forward by one year.”

‘Suddenly downfall? Aren’t you going too far?’

“……”

‘You’re only quiet at times like this, you damn holy sword.’

Rukna quickly began to move as the holy sword had guided.

Matian left Rukna’s room and hurried his steps.

The further he got from Rukna, the more rapidly his condition worsened.

Not only cold sweat, but even nosebleeds were dripping down.

‘At this rate, I might really collapse.’

He was a figure who shouldn’t carelessly show weakness.

His strong self was ‘the descendant of the great hero who defeated the demon,’ and his weak self was ‘a variable that could turn into a demon at any time.’

It was the fate of one born with a fragment of the demon embedded in his heart.

In reality, his heart would ache as if having a seizure when someone tampered with the technique sealing the demon’s egg.

Even now, it was certain that the black magic group trying to summon the demon back to this land had attacked the seal.

‘Damn it, did they cast quite a powerful curse this time? I need to go somewhere with few people.’

Matian tried his best to keep his mind focused.

Fortunately, Closet College came into view.

It was a place with classrooms for learning holy magic, biblical studies, faith ethics, as well as herbology and anatomy, and behind it was an empty space with few people.

Was it because he felt too relieved at that moment? His weakened body collapsed to the ground.

‘No.’

He tried to stand up again, but his body wouldn’t obey. Matian used his last strength to hide in a corner where no one could see him.

And to not lose consciousness in the pain, he tried his best to recall his memories.

The first thing that came to mind was room 414 where the thief had visited, and the owner of that room.

The room where the scent of lilacs lingered instead of a musty smell.

Traces of Rukna visible among the scattered furnishings.

Rukna’s name, engraved without fail on the desk, bed, and small belongings in a round, bubbly handwriting.

The green eyes that would gaze at him and then slightly turn away, and the small feet that would fidget.

The white and pretty face, and the peaceful aura felt as he got closer.

‘What am I thinking about?’

It was absurd enough that he was thinking about Rukna while collapsed on the cold stone floor, but he felt as if Rukna’s aura was gradually approaching.

“Matian?”

Hearing even auditory hallucinations, he must have gone completely mad.