“My pitiful Enri. It’s okay. I’ll pretend not to know that you tried to betray us all. The cunning demon must have deceived you. Isn’t that right?”

In front of Helene, who smiled brightly, he couldn’t say a word, overwhelmed.

“Now, draw your sword. You’re going to defeat that demon. We promised that. I’ll be your compass, so just follow where I point.”

The faces of the confused knights still lingered in his mind. If that moment, if he hadn’t appeared, what would have happened?
If at that time, at that very moment.

What if he hadn’t appeared?

Could there have been a different choice than now?

“I curse you, Enrique! Every moment I loved you is a disgrace to me!”

The curse uttered by him, dying, shattered his soul. It was made like a completely twisted and broken toy, unable to be fixed again.

Enrique truly couldn’t feel any strong emotions from that time onwards.

After becoming the emperor.

Enrique started to fulfill almost everything Helene asked for.

It had to be right according to Helene.

Only then would his choices not be wrong.

To this day, Helene had not told anyone about the fact that he had tried to betray her.

But if he didn’t listen to her, she would definitely reveal that he had tried to betray.

What he had now were the stark evidence of betrayal.

He couldn’t die recklessly, couldn’t be happy, and couldn’t enjoy himself.

“I am a sinner.”

Living to endure suffering.

That was what he had to do.

“But if… by any chance, even if his physical body has faced death, if his soul is still alive. If that’s the case.”

Thunk!

Deepening thoughts stung him sharply. Enrique, who had finally cleared his thoughts over the overturned wounds, smiled, stretching out his arm.

“Ah, right. The very thought that someone like me killed him was arrogant.”

If he still existed somewhere and exercised great authority through the empress.

Or…

If he were harbored by the empress.

He would gladly submit this humble body.

“Please prove your existence. Make this unbelieving one believe. My god.”

The god Enrique worshipped was the only one in the world.

His god had returned.

Truly a miracle.

The Imperial Palace, which had awakened from a long winter nap and was bustling with activity, was as busy as a lively animal moving quickly to fill its stomach.

As a group of knights gathered, the kitchen, where they had the mission to feed them to their heart’s content, as well as the laundry maids, and even the servants who had to carry water directly, were all extremely busy without a moment’s rest.

“Move over there! Don’t collapse!”

“What is this wood? We should only use the best wood!”

“This price is not right! Show me something else!”

Three architects clashed heads, drew plans, purchased materials, and hammered away.

They were the female architects who held hands with him during the welcoming banquet.

As those who had to train from the morning, they had their training grounds and quarters located northwest of the empress’s palace to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun.
I decided to appoint a separate head servant to manage their quarters, and as an important position was added, the servants these days seemed to be putting in extra effort.

“The assistant candidates have arrived.”

“Yes, send them in soon.”

Now, I have taken over most of the tasks that the saint used to handle.

I thought Enrique would strongly oppose it, but he was surprisingly quiet, which was fortunate.

Helene might be dissatisfied, but it wasn’t a topic worth revealing.

The only concern was that having only one assistant might not be enough for minor issues.

“Today, there are seven applicants.”

“Seven? More than last week.”

“Could it be because of the empress’s widespread reputation?”

Mrs. Bertolt laughed as if genuinely pleased.

Originally, I planned to choose only one assistant, but now it has increased to three.

Although they all handle paperwork similarly, there was a need to specialize in their main responsibilities.

And today is the final selection among them.

Assistant candidates were sent by Duke Ahillo once a week…

‘Huh?’