The child opened his eyes wide in disbelief, trembling, but the man laughed, stretching his mouth wide, gripping the child’s head.

“I’m going to purify you. Rest for now.”

“No, no. Mom, Mom…”

Thud.

That night. A man hoping for the advent of an ancient god left his ritual with only the last sacrifice, two victims confined to his altar.

Early morning after a night steeped in the stench of blood.

No, it was such a faint light that no one would argue it was dawn.

Olivia, upon her arrival from the Nord Kingdom the night before, fainted before she could do anything. She was now facing the man whose face she had not properly seen.

Yes, she was facing the ‘man’.

It was clearly not a ‘daughter’.

Olivia opened her eyes thinly and stared at the man from Nord Kingdom.

“…To inform His Majesty…”

The man was the next king of the Nord Kingdom. Therefore, he was reciting that the Crown Prince was His Majesty, but Olivia was letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Could a Crown Prince be important? She thought he would at least bring his daughter, if not a wizard.

He had to come because it was related to the ancient gods.

Hmm?

Olivia, who had been leaning her chin with a gloomy face, blinked her eyes quickly.

If he had to come but didn’t, there must be a reason.

There could be countless reasons why a wizard or a wizard’s daughter cannot move.

Firstly, the Nord Kingdom must be busy, like a hornet’s nest stirred up in preparation for the sudden national funeral.

In such a situation, according to Cryer, it would not be easy for a wizard who is ‘deeply infiltrated internally’, or his daughter, to leave on a long journey.

And there might be a one in ten thousand chance, but the ‘ancient gods’ could have been detected in the royal family of Nord Kingdom and they might be harboring their bodies.

If it’s neither, they might both be sick and unable to move.

However, she wanted to confirm one thing for sure.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Olivia cut off the man’s speech and asked.

“Is there a similar event happening in your country as is happening in the Empire right now?”

Unless he was a person with a hearing impairment, it was a very clear question to answer.

Yes. Or no.

However, the answer returned was quite nonsensical.

“Thank you for the Empire’s interest, what the Crown Prince has requested is nothing more than the swift arrest of the criminal and…”

A deep line formed between Olivia’s brows. She raised a hand to silence him for the time being.

“You didn’t answer my question. Let me ask you again, are there any serial disappearances or murders happening in the Nord Kingdom?”

Only then did the man give a proper answer.

“No.”

And Olivia, who had never taken her eyes off the man, felt a strange sense of incongruity.

Having gone through four continentscale wars, and evading Cryer’s sword no less than four times.

For Olivia, observing someone or something keenly was a matter of life and death.

And these observations accumulated as her experiences through four brushes with death.

So she noticed the man’s unusual behavior, or should I say reaction…

Of course, it’s possible to give strange answers to my questions if he’s determined to break off with the empire.

Although it makes no sense in the current situation, it can happen anyway.

However…

“Oh dear.”

As if she had accidentally slipped, Olivia splashed tea towards the man’s face.

And she was able to confirm the strangeness she felt clearly.

The tea was not so hot as to steam, but he didn’t even blink when the tea flew directly at his face.

“Are you okay?”

In response to Olivia’s negligent words, the man from the Nord Kingdom obediently nodded his head.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

At his answer, Olivia’s mouth curled up in annoyance.

How could he be fine?

Although the tea didn’t soak his face thoroughly, at least it should have splashed into his unblinking eyes.

This is strange.

As the surrounding servants hurriedly cleaned up the tea and wiped the tea spill.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

After Olivia’s permission, the door silently opened and Cryer revealed himself.

He was disguised as a supremely ordinary knight.

Like a gigantic beast hiding its ferocious teeth and powerful claws, he skillfully concealed the subtle oppression it exuded.

Of course, he wasn’t so ordinary when you saw his face, which was ‘unnecessarily handsome’ according to Olivia’s assessment, and everyone nodded in agreement even if the princess fell for him at first sight. His shoulders were broad and hard as steel.

And as soon as Cryer stepped into the room, the man’s expression, who had been smiling consistently as if wearing a mask, changed for the first time.

The man’s eyes, which never blinked, widened as if about to rip apart and captured Cryer.

Inside the pupils of the man’s eyes, deeper than what could be seen, Greta’s eyes sparkled purely, the eyes controlling the man like a puppet.

Ah, finally.

To see Cryer, who was so vividly drawn even when her eyes were closed.

Although she couldn’t see him directly in front of her, just seeing him move overwhelmed Greta.

But Cryer didn’t give the man a single glance. He only looked at Olivia and approached her.

“Glory to the empire.”

Olivia also slightly bowed her head to Cryer, who was paying his respects more courteously than ever before.

“Cryer.”

The moment she took Cryer’s name in her mouth, the man’s pupils from the Northern Kingdom flickered greatly, but it was so fleeting that no one noticed it.

“You came just in time.”

Olivia naturally positioned Cryer by her side and pointed at the man.

“How about exchanging greetings with a person from your hometown after a long time?”