The reception room after Vivian left.

“Trian, contact Duke Schneider immediately. Tell him I will be visiting soon.”

At Veronica’s order, Trian wore a perplexed expression.

“Your Highness, I know it’s presumptuous to ask, but do you really believe all those delusional words?”

A voice filled with doubt. Trian’s reaction wasn’t incomprehensible.

To him, Vivian was just a serial kidnapper of handsome men.

Suddenly hearing talk about being able to see the future and having to stop a demon, there was no way he could accept it.

“Besides, a demon… Isn’t that an imaginary creature? A demon destroying the Schneider territory of all places. I listened quietly because you were speaking seriously, but it’s nonsense.”

It was the first time seeing him so earnestly expressing his bewilderment.

Veronica waited for him to calm down before speaking.

“I’m not certain yet if her words are true. But I can assure you of one thing, Trian. Demons exist.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“You once asked me why I try so hard to become the Emperor. I’ll give you the answer I postponed. It’s all because of demons.”

Trian remained silent, still not understanding. His eyebrows shot up towards the sky.

“Siegfried is a demon. And he brainwashed my mother. The current Empress only pretends to be my mother on the outside, but in reality, she’s nothing more than Siegfried’s slave.”

“……”

“Trian, I don’t want to lose my people to demons ever again. This isn’t just about those around me. I have a duty to protect as many citizens of the Empire as I can.”

“…That means, you’re going to prepare for war as Vivian Schmidt said.”

Veronica nodded slightly. A resolute smile hung on her lips.

“Vivian Schmidt has already proven to me that she possesses a special ability. So I cannot disregard her words.”

At Veronica’s firm voice, Trian Schneider nodded in understanding and slightly bowed his head.

‘There must be a reason for Her Highness to speak like this.’

Although he still didn’t fully believe all of Vivian Schmidt’s outrageous statements, Trian was someone who unconditionally trusted his master’s choices.

“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll send a messenger to Duke Schneider as you ordered.”

Trian immediately went outside.

‘It seems I’ll be returning to my hometown after a long time.’

Since becoming Veronica’s guard, Trian had never once returned to the Schneider territory.

Yet his first homecoming happened to be for preventing a war with demons.

With mixed feelings, he sent a messenger to his hometown. The message stated that he would be visiting soon, accompanying the Imperial Princess.

Two days later, I headed to the Belvedere ducal residence. It was to ask for help from Dietrich and Lubi.

‘I told Veronica to prepare for war, but it will be too much for her alone.’

The demon, Gregory, was the strongest among the high-ranking demons.

In other words, he was second in rank only to the king in the demon realm.

‘He must be much stronger than the demon I saw before.’

Previously, even Dietrich alone could handle a demon, but this time would be different.

Because Gregory boasted overwhelming power.

Even in the original story, Ludovica lost when fighting against him.

‘And when he was about to kill her after she fell, Callys appeared and escaped with her.’

It was the first moment in the original work where the protagonist’s group was defeated.

I recalled the scene from the novel where Gregory first appeared.

Callys and Ludovica had visited his mansion to meet Duke Schneider.

However, that night happened to be when the red moon rose.

Following Belial’s orders, Gregory led hundreds of demons to take over the Schneider territory, a strategic point of the Empire.

Sensing something amiss, Ludovica and Callys fought against Gregory along with Duke Schneider’s eldest son.

Naturally, the battle was not easy.

Countless demons simultaneously attacked civilians, while the protagonist’s group was busy defeating demons scattered about.

They quickly tired amidst the endless stream of demons, and Duke Schneider’s eldest son fell in battle.

And the one who appeared before the exhausted Ludovica was Gregory himself.

In fact, Siegfried, who had already anticipated that Ludovica would go to the Schneider territory, had ordered Gregory in advance.

To eliminate the sword saint who would become a troublesome opponent in the future.

Gregory, a loyal servant, deliberately appeared before Ludovica to obey the king’s command.

Then he attacked her without hesitation.

Gregory’s truly frightening aspect was not his unique ability to control demons, but his physical abilities themselves.

Befitting the second-in-command of the demon realm, he was a formidable opponent for humans even without his unique abilities.

This was no different for the exhausted Ludovica. In the end, she fell fighting against him.

She reached a critical state where her life was about to be taken, but fortunately, Callys escaped with her.

However, the Schneider territory eventually fell into Gregory’s hands.

Due to this incident, the wealthy Schneider ducal family was on the verge of complete collapse.

The Duke, who lost his territory overnight, needed a vast sum of money to somehow revive his family.

He, who had previously supported Veronica, turned his back on her due to money and sided with Siegfried.

He received an enormous dowry in exchange for marrying off his surviving daughter to him.

‘He probably couldn’t have imagined that his territory ended up like that because of Siegfried’s actions in the first place.’

The Duke’s misfortune didn’t end there.

On the wedding night of the Imperial Prince and his bride, Lilia was brainwashed by Siegfried and fell into a catatonic state.

Of course, the Duke never knew until his death that his daughter’s soul had already been broken.

‘Thinking about it again, it wasn’t for nothing that it was a depressing story. Among the supporting characters and above, almost none survived with all limbs intact except for Callys and Ludovica.’

The Schneider family was a renowned swordsmanship family.

Although they were overshadowed by the Belvedere family’s outstanding magic swordsmanship skills, they also boasted remarkable abilities.

‘That’s probably why Trian, the second son of the Schneider family, could take a position like being the Imperial Princess’s guard.’

Yet even Trian’s older brother, who boasted great swordsmanship, couldn’t overcome the flood of demons and fell in battle.

‘The same would be true for the knights under Veronica.’

It was clear that they alone would struggle even with the demons, let alone fight Gregory.

To prevent the upcoming incident, someone with overwhelming power was desperately needed.

So today, I came to the ducal residence to persuade Dietrich and Lubi.

‘I need their strength.’

A battle where lives would be at stake. It was uncertain if they would readily agree to help.

Especially Dietrich, who was already busy managing Belvedere territory affairs.

‘But I have to somehow get them to participate. Otherwise, the Schneider territory will definitely be taken.’

I entered the mansion nervously.

Following the servant’s guidance, I arrived in front of the reception room, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

‘Let’s somehow persuade the two of them!’

However, it seemed my determination was unnecessary.

“Welcome, Miss Vivian.”

“Hello, Vivi.”

The welcoming faces of Dietrich and Lubi somehow seemed different from usual.

“What’s with you two? Your clothes are different from usual…”

“Oh, this? It’s battle gear. It wouldn’t be right to wear casual clothes when participating in battle.”

“What?”

What’s going on? How did this happen?

Not understanding what they were saying, I just stood there staring at them blankly.

Ludovica smirked as if she’d seen something cute and approached me.

Naturally playing with my hair, she explained.

“A demon and monsters will attack soon, right? Two days ago, Imperial Princess Veronica proposed that we fight together.”

“So you agreed to that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

Dietrich and Ludovica’s answers came simultaneously.

What? When did Veronica explain this?

‘She really handles things quickly…’

It seemed my decision to bring Veronica on our side was the right choice after all.

‘Thank goodness… With just the two of them, we have a chance.’

While I was feeling relieved, Ludovica handed me something. It was a few documents.

“What’s this?”

“After the trial, I investigated with my brother, and it seemed like we should give this to you before departing.”

Wondering what she meant, I examined the documents.

The image drawn on the front was familiar. It was a picture of the oddly shaped restraint that had suppressed my ability.

“That restraint seemed strangely familiar, and I had seen it in a book about relics.”

Dietrich interjected then.

“Upon investigation, it turns out it was used in the past to suppress the holy power of priests.”

“…?”

“The probability that your ability is holy power has increased even more. Or rather, it’s practically confirmed.”

At this sudden statement, I froze for a moment.