Death descended upon the once lush green forest.
Even though it had been a while since the flames that engulfed the entire forest subsided, the acrid smell of burnt wood lingered. The air was stagnant, as if the fire had consumed even the wind passing through the forest.
Ash flew up with every movement of the knights.
Adrian covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and kicked the fallen monster in front of him.
“Hah, because of this measly thing.”
The monster that had contaminated a vast area near the capital was only about the size of an ordinary wolf. With nowhere to hide, the monster was torn apart by the knights’ swords without putting up much of a fight.
Floyd looked around at the forest that had been teeming with life just hours ago.
They had suffered too great a loss because of that one small monster. He blamed his own weakness. If he had honed his senses more keenly and could control this mad flame at will, there would have been no need to scorch this vast forest.
At Adrian’s nod, one of the knights began to dissect the monster with his sword. It was to collect byproducts that could be sold at high prices.
Things like the monster’s heart, claws, eyeballs, and blood were difficult to obtain compared to their various uses, making them valuable. It was no exaggeration to say that Torkan’s wealthy storehouse was thanks to these monster byproducts.
“It doesn’t seem to have been a strong one. There’s only one magic stone, and it’s opaque,” said Kirshan, who had peeked at the dissection.
Monsters, big or small, had stone-like objects inside their bodies, and the number and transparency of these magic stones varied depending on the size and strength of the monster. Among strong monsters, some had magic stones as transparent and brilliantly shining as jewels.
“It would have been better if it were stronger. The clever ones are hard to deal with. All this because of just one of them.”
The forest burned by Floyd’s fire would not see life for a long time.
It was always like this where the madly blazing flames had passed.
Though it didn’t spread contamination like monsters, it left no life force in its wake. As if cursing everything it passed through, it burned everything without leaving even a small hope, not sparing anything.
“It will take about 3 to 4 years for the forest to recover. We’ll have to transport soil from fertile land and sprinkle water frequently for a while,” Kirshan said.
Floyd nodded halfheartedly at Kirshan’s words.
“Well, we can think about future matters later. We caught what we could have missed even after burning the entire forest, so this calls for a celebration. Everyone worked hard, so let’s go back, eat until we’re stuffed, drink until we’re drunk, and pass out!”
The knights cheered with a “Woah!” at Floyd’s shout. For a moment, the barren, dead forest was filled with vitality.
Floyd was always like that. Instead of regretting what had already happened or worrying about what was yet to come, he was a man who focused on the happiness right in front of him.
People were drawn to his cheerfulness and gathered around him. The captains of each knight order were no exception.
The knights, exhausted from the intense heat of the flames, the fatigue of tracking the monster, and the difficulty breathing in the ash-filled air, regained their spirits thinking about the feast and the Star Festival that would take place after returning to the capital.
Mounted on his red horse, Floyd chuckled at the sight of the knights excitedly talking about the festival, then took the lead and spurred his horse. Adrian and Kirshan on horseback rode alongside him like wings on either side.
After riding for a while, fresh air gradually began to mix with the air full of ash, burnt smell, and death.
Kirshan glanced at Floyd’s expression. Having solved a difficult problem, Floyd seemed not to think about the problems that would come later, pleasantly running his hand through his hair.
Kirshan thought that now was the perfect time to ask about the princess of Lily Palace. Whenever the topic of Roxiana came up, Floyd became unusually sensitive, making it difficult to bring up questions before.
“My lord, do you know how the princess of Lily Palace managed to heal the patients?”
“It must be holy power.”
The one who answered was Adrian, across from Floyd. As his dull silver hair fell in front of his eyes, he brushed it back irritably and continued.
“I hear that just before Kanta fell, that princess was in the Great Temple for a while.”
“That was probably for pre-marital prayer. She was originally set to marry Prince Pelur. Besides, if the princess knew how to use holy power, the priests wouldn’t have just sent her back.”
“Still, she’s a princess of a country. They couldn’t have imprisoned her just because she could use holy power. If it wasn’t holy power, how could she have healed all those patients in that situation? When I entered the treatment room later, I couldn’t sense any magical energy at all.”
“Well, I’ve considered holy power too, but… I don’t think the Great Temple, riding high with the Emperor’s backing, would have been considerate enough to Kanta to just send the princess back.”
It became known that holy power was much more effective against monsters flowing out of the rift than magic.
As knights and priests who could use holy power died fighting monsters, the Empire and the Great Temple began to manage people who could use holy power, claiming it was to reduce further sacrifices.
As a result, those with the talent to handle holy power became affiliated with the temple regardless of their will, and could not leave the temple without the temple’s permission.
Those who knew, knew that the pretext of reducing futile sacrifices was just a means to strengthen the power of the Empire and the Great Temple. By managing the power to confront monsters, the Empire and the Great Temple made all countries on the continent depend on them.
Floyd, who had been silently listening to his subordinates, slowed down his horse to let the knights following behind pass first. After confirming that the knights who had gone ahead were far away, Floyd lowered his voice and said,
“The princess is said to be a spirit.”
Adrian and Kirshan thought they had misheard, as those words from their lord’s mouth were so unfamiliar.
“What? What did you say?”
“Sp… spirit, what did you say?”
“Spirit.”
Floyd repeated once more.
“Spirit.”
Adrian and Kirshan blinked their eyes and exchanged glances.
It was a world where people knew of the existence of spirits, but no one spoke of them. Eventually, Kirshan cautiously asked.
“The… spirits we know of? The unholy beings said to dwell in earth, fire, wind, and water?”
Floyd found it difficult to answer decisively, as he himself struggled to fully believe her words.
“Well… the princess said they weren’t unholy beings.”
Adrian snorted in disbelief.
“That princess, is she not a bit mentally unstable?”
Floyd drew his sword, sheath and all, and struck the back of Adrian’s head. It was so fast that Adrian, unable to block in time, rubbed his head but persisted.
“No, my lord. I don’t mean the princess is bad. Think about it. Her family all dead, her country fallen, overnight from princess to slave, it’s not strange if she’s lost her mind. Rather, it’s remarkable she’s kept her sanity this far.”
Adrian skillfully dodged another incoming sheath as he spoke.
“It’s truly admirable that the princess healed people. I’m glad and grateful she saved Denis. If Denis had died, Hexton would have gone mad. I felt like I would have lost my mind too. Hexton seemed almost insane even though the child hadn’t died yet. But the princess, her parents dead, all her siblings dead. It’s natural to go mad. Wow, now that I think about it, even I would go mad in that situation.”
Adrian nodded in admiration of his own hypothesis and then said,
“My lord, that princess needs proper treatment. I hear there are doctors who communicate well with mentally ill people. We should bring such a person to attend to the princess…”
“There are those who say spirits create the rifts.”
Kirshan interjected, as if unable to tolerate Adrian’s nonsense.
“Some even say spirits themselves are monsters.”
“Indeed.”
“But among the remaining literature, there are quite a few documents favorable to spirits. The Empire has designated such literature as forbidden books, not for just anyone to read, but there are a few volumes in the Grand Duke’s library too. Those books say that long ago, spirits had good relationships with humans and made the land fertile for them or brought rain during droughts. Especially strong spirit mages…”
As if to retaliate for interrupting his words earlier, Adrian cut in.
“Hey, why are you getting so serious again? That princess is just mentally ill… Agh! My lord!”
When Floyd kicked the side of Adrian’s horse, the horse shot off like an arrow. Kirshan watched Adrian’s retreating figure without sympathy and said,
“Strong spirit mages could accept spirits into their bodies and use their powers more directly and intensely.”
“What do you think? Is there really a possibility that the princess used the power of spirits?”
“No.”
The one who answered was Adrian, who had already returned.
“My lord, you mustn’t get involved. I’m certain that princess is very mentally ill. Before it gets worse, it would be better to have her receive treatment quickly…”
Floyd tried to kick the horse’s side again, but Adrian stretched out his leg to block Floyd’s kick. While the two men repeated urgent attacks and defenses, Kirshan, who had been pondering alone loftily, opened his mouth.
“The Great Temple will do anything to make God Weden the only deity. Let’s assume they spread false rumors and exterminated spirit mages to check the spirits that were once worshipped as gods. And if that princess is truly a spirit mage and healed people affected by magical energy with the power of spirits.”
“Meaning spirits are not monsters, but beings that can confront monsters.”
Kirshan gazed at Floyd.
“Yes, like your flames, my lord.”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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