Inside the Relic were various snacks and toys, to be given out as a special gift to only one child through a lottery at the end of the play.

It was a gift that children were sure to love.

Stroking the Relic, Iren smiled quietly.

“Receiving this, they can’t help but think of Lucia and me at least once.”

Indeed, what he had prepared inside the Relic were dolls adorned as a bride and groom with black and pink hair.

Even if immediate results weren’t apparent, it was his little trick to implant the idea in a child’s mind.

Imagining Leon’s face souring at the sight made Iren grin so widely it almost bent him over.

“…You seem more jovial than I thought, Your Highness?”

“Quite different from his appearance.”

Upon unexpectedly seeing the Crown Prince, the actors playing the roles of the Black Knight and White Mage whispered to each other.

Then, someone shouted at them irritably.

“Hey! What are you doing? Planning to ruin my debut? Stop chatting and prepare for the stage!”

“Yes! Going now!”

The Black Knight, tying back his black hair, hastily moved.

[Star Icon]

After the war, the Eldarion Empire made great efforts to stabilize the situation.

Among those efforts was a play commissioned to a venerable theater troupe, an historical play crafted for children to easily understand and enjoy.

The play was surprisingly successful, selling out even black market tickets, and thanks to word of mouth, everyone who could come to the palace gathered to watch.

Thus, with the children settled in their seats, the performance began.

Soon, the curtain was drawn, revealing a radiant silhouette of a white goddess.

[A long, long time ago, barbaric tribe Titurshan appeared on the continent. They attacked the sacred race of Hasnasin, and four heroes sent by the Aesir gods were there…]

As the solemn voiceover ended, a goldenmasked Imperial Knight appeared.

[“I am a Knight of Eldarion! The Imperial Knight!”]

“Wowwww!”

As the children cheered the hero’s appearance, two more knights appeared in sequence.

Each donned masks of their own unique colors and assumed various stances.

Then, after a brief moment of everyday life scenes, the Imperial Knight shouted.

[“Enemy knights! Justice on the continent is crumbling! We must go to save the Hasnasin!”] [“I see. To keep the peace, we have no choice…!”] [“You’re right. We can’t just stand by, they’re too pitiable!”]

Joining in, the White Knight was the only one using honorifics, and for some reason, the crowd nodded in silent understanding upon seeing the dazed Leon.

However, among those watching the play, the knights had a different reaction.
Especially the Knights of Darkness knew full well how unrealistic this dialogue was, being the ones who had actually fought on the front lines.

“What’s this? I get preaching peace to kids, but isn’t an enemy knight still an enemy knight? Why would a knight order that hasn’t even properly participated in the war act like they’re the leader?”

“Shush, Gilliana. Just let it be. Don’t shatter the children’s dreams.”

Upon Vernon’s words, Gilliana began to mockingly imitate a naive person.

Then, Hiss, who had been standing beside the excited eagle, spoke.

“So when does the Knight of Darkness show up?”

“They must be the strongest knights, so they appear last, haha.”

And so, behind Gilliana’s laughter, the play continued.

The stage for the heroes, who had set out to find the tormenting Titurians, shifted from desert to forest to meadows. The grand spectacle continued until it seemed to reach its conclusion.

When the Titurians and the princess, who was the ultimate power in that place, revealed themselves,

“What the! That’s not a princess!”

Whether startled by the fearsome makeup of the monster named the Titurian princess, the princess cried out.

It was a cry full of unbearable anger, but more than that, the eyes of the Knights of Darkness widened at the next scene.

The person who appeared as a Titurian henchman was in the guise of the Knight of Darkness.

And with that shocking scene frozen, the narration resumed.

[Unfortunately, the Knight of Darkness who was bewitched by the Titurians grew up with a cruel disposition, and now the three gathered heroes will enlighten him…]

When they lost words at the booming sound, jeers from other knight orders followed.

The play resumed.

[“Thankfully, you’ve come to your senses, Knight of Darkness!”] [“Damn, to think I was fooled all this time. Thank you. I’ll repay this favor with their lives. None of them will survive this place!”]

The nowawake Knight of Darkness began to slaughter the Titurians in his fury, and the remaining heroes began to dissuade him.

[“Knight of Darkness! This isn’t right! You can’t just kill lives like this!”] [“Exactly, they’re still human beings!”] [“What nonsense! Get out of my way!”]

No one could stop the formidable Knight of Darkness.

And finally, the last enemy knight who tried to stop him,

[“No! Let’s resolve this through dialogue… Ugh!”] [“No! The enemy knight!”]

In the process of stopping the Knight of Darkness, a Titurian barbarian stabbed the enemy knight.

Thus ended part one, with the wailing Knight of Darkness.

As if looking forward to part two, the grand and magnificent music began, and people started cheering.

So,

The cruel Knight of Darkness had been a bewitched enemy henchman, and the remaining three were true heroes calling for peace, ending part one.

“Is this… insane?”

How angry must Berlin have been, a kind and diligent person, to curse like that?

The same was true for the Aces.

“What is this? Captain, why are we like this?”

“That’s just an insensitive blockhead, Captain! Did you see!?”

“…I won’t let this go…”

They were pulling feathers out of the unfortunate eagle in their anger.

Yes.

If you look closely at war, it’s not clearly black and white.

The empire that won the war wanted to make Titurians clear villains. The enemy knight appearing as a good figure was because he was being protected nearby and had enormous support from the citizens.

So, it was permissible to see that the Knights of Darkness were designed as halfvillains for a dramatic reversal.

However, what they heard more clearly than their own voices, or the laughter of the other knights around them,

Was the sobbing of Nia that could be heard even among the children’s cheers.

“…That’s not my mom…”

At that sobbing, Lucia, who had been inside the puppet mask, began to seethe with black anger.

And Leon, who only stared blankly at his own finger in this chaotic situation that gave some amusement and some anger,

‘Was he briefly here? Where had he been…?’

For a moment, he was distracted by the jewel on the bracelet that had shone in the greenhouse.

And as he continued to look,

“…?”
The black gem suddenly began to glow red again.

‘Here, it’s here?’

He quickly lifted his head and looked around.

Fluttering feathers, sharp beak.

‘Could it be…?’

Léon began to chase the retreating figure of that disappearing puppet costume.