The easternmost part of the capital of the Alkedania Empire.

In the center of a mountain made of white rocks stands the massive temple of Ribedon.

Although a few priests were awake, it was too late for anyone to enter or leave without permission. A portal opened at the entrance of the temple, and a figure in a red cloak appeared.

“Commander Hillstain!”

The two soldiers who were on guard, raising their sword blades cautiously at the unexpectedly opened portal, quickly bowed their heads after recognizing the visitor.

There were set times when people who were not affiliated could use the temple.

Even nobles of high rank could only enter and exit at the times set by the imperial family and the temple, and especially knights with special abilities were not allowed to enter without permission.

This change had occurred since the previous Saint lost her power. After numerous Saint candidates entered the temple and frequently died, special measures were taken to prevent this.

As a result, in recent years, the rules regarding the times for entering and exiting the temple had been revised even more strictly.

However, there were exactly three exceptions.

Three powerful ability users indispensable to the Empire.

Crown Prince Killian Dietrich, the Imperial Knight Commander Hillstain Mathias, and Duke Dante Ian, who was subjugating monsters in the southern desert. These three men.

Originally, there should have been four, but after a certain incident a few years ago, Killian came to hate Edan terribly, and currently, the Grand Duke was in a state of being banned from approaching.

As Edan needed the most healing power due to his strongest abilities, banning him from entering the temple was a terrible thing that threatened his life. This was especially true as the number of monsters appearing on the unbreakable wall in the north was increasing, and the scale of the war was growing.

But Killian absolutely refused to allow the Saints’ healing power to be shared with Edan.

After the previous Saint lost her power and died, he used that as an excuse to block him further.

‘With his strong abilities, Prince Edan will take the lives of many Saint candidates. Won’t it be difficult to handle the aftermath? You should also consider the lives of many knights who need healing power.’

At first glance, those words seemed to be for the sake of the Saint candidates and other ability knights, but in fact, it was no different from telling Edan to die in pain. However, the Empire still needed Edan’s power, and fortunately, he was being granted potions containing the Saint’s healing power by the Emperor’s authority.

Unlike Edan, Hillstain, who had no such restrictions, stood in front of the massive temple door and leisurely ordered the soldiers.

“Open the door.”

“Yes!”

Creeeeak- The soldiers moved quickly. As the huge white door of the temple opened, a vast green and splendid garden appeared.

“Loyalty! Please enter!”

Receiving the soldiers’ sharp salutes, Hillstain strode towards the largest building located in the center among several structures.

He walked along the well-maintained marble path with well-trimmed trees and not a single weed, passing the white stairs. Then, after entering the temple building, Hillstain walked down the pure white corridor to reach the most secretive and deepest place.

His destination was the room of the Grand Saint on the top floor of the building. Where Ivy was.

“Saint.”

Upon arriving in front of the room, Hillstain knocked on the door out of courtesy.

Although no answer was heard yet, it was literally a knock to announce his arrival, so he opened the door wide without hesitation.

He thought he might enjoy the fun of waking her if she was asleep, but despite the late hour, Ivy was chatting with her serving maids.

“Oh my. Sir Hillstain!”

Startled by the sound, Ivy turned her head towards the door. Upon seeing Hillstain standing there, she smiled broadly as if overjoyed and ran towards him.

Grasping the fluttering pink dress skirt, she ran to him. Seeing her approach, Hillstain narrowed his eyes and bowed his head at the same time.

“I greet Grand Saint Ivy Violet.”

Meanwhile, Ivy came right up to him and looked up at him. She seemed to have become much more beautiful than when she first came up from the countryside.

Her already fair skin had become even whiter and emitted a soft light like pearls. Ivy blinked her large eyes with long, lush eyelashes and grabbed Hillstain’s hand.

“I’ve told you many times that you don’t need to be so formal.”

“Now that you’ve become the Grand Saint, I must treat you with even more respect.”

Pleased by his words, Ivy smiled innocently.

And she added.

“But I’m worried that it feels like there’s a distance between us, Sir Hillstain.”

“That won’t happen.”

Hillstain, who had been standing at the doorway, stepped into the room and dismissed the maids with a light gesture.

Click. As the door closed, Hillstain immediately grabbed Ivy’s waist and pulled her towards him.

“I’ve told you many times. I’ll always be by your side, Lady Ivy. I’ll do anything you want.”

Despite his strong grip, Ivy didn’t resist. Yielding her waist to him, she blushed as if shy and whispered with her pretty lips.

“But why did you come today? It’s not your usual visiting day.”

Hillstain usually visited on Mondays or Tuesdays at the beginning of the week to receive Ivy’s healing power.

But today was Friday. Although Hillstain could come and go as he pleased regardless of the day, an unannounced visit, especially at such a late hour, was puzzling even to Ivy.

It wasn’t a visit for treatment either, as there was hardly any pain from side effects on days when he didn’t use his ability.

“I have something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

Hillstain loosened his grip on Ivy’s waist, releasing her.

Instead of asking the question right away, he turned his gaze towards the enormous pile of dresses that the maids had been organizing.

“It seems you were in the middle of choosing a dress for the celebratory ball.”

“Yes. Oh!”

As if she had a good idea, Ivy quickly picked up a dress that was lying on the bed and held it up against her body.

“Sir Hillstain, how about this? Does it suit me?”

It was a beautiful dress with diamond jewels embedded like stars on a pastel blue fabric.

It was clearly top-quality at a glance. One could easily guess who sent it.

‘A gift from Lord Killian.’

Although he thought the flashy design wasn’t to his taste, Hillstain smiled willingly and answered.

“It’s pretty.”

“Really? Then how about this one?”

Excited, Ivy held up another dress against her body to show him.

After doing this three or four times, Hillstain, who had been watching her actions from a few steps away, approached Ivy. Then he ran his fingers through her hair.

“You look beautiful in anything.”

At this, Ivy lowered her head slightly with a crestfallen expression.

“But…”

“What is it?”

“I’m just a rustic girl from the countryside. Even though everyone compliments my brown hair, saying it’s pretty, I don’t think it’s pretty at all.”

“What are you saying? There’s no woman more beautiful than you, Lady Ivy. You’re the Empire’s greatest beauty.”

“But… I’m worried. The ball will be attended by noble ladies and young ladies, not commoners like me. No matter how much I dress up, I wonder if I’ll look pretty…”

Uttering these worried words, Ivy’s eyes reddened as if she was truly concerned.

Stroking Ivy’s cheek, Hillstain gave her the answer she wanted to hear.

“At that event, no one will dare praise the beauty of any woman other than you, Lady Ivy. If anyone does, I’ll eliminate them.”

Ivy’s pure and pitiful eyes sparkled, and her face filled with a smile.

“Really?”

As Ivy clung to his arm, intertwining her fingers at this simple compliment, Hillstain nodded with a satisfied smile.

And finally, he brought up what he most wanted to ask.

“By the way, Lady Ivy.”

“Yes!”

Ivy responded in a pretty voice as she put down the dress she had been holding.

“That friend you said you were looking for, what was her name?”

Pause. Ivy’s hand, which had been arranging the dress, stopped, and she slowly turned around to look at Hillstain.

“Could it be… you found her?”

Hillstain shook his head.

“Not yet, but I was thinking of starting to look for her in earnest. So, what was her name again?”

Ivy answered with eyes full of expectation.

“Latieana Merigold. As I explained to the Crown Prince last time… she has very pretty cherry blossom-colored hair. She’s short… um…”

“Yes. Please continue. The more detailed the description, the more helpful it will be in finding her.”

“I’m a bit hesitant to say this…”

Ivy put her finger to her lips and hesitated. She remained silent for a moment as if it was difficult to say, but soon continued.

“There’s nothing particularly pretty or special about her, so I’m not sure what else to say…”

“Then I guess we’ll have to search based on just her name and hair color.”

Ivy, who seemed to have hesitated for fear of speaking ill of her friend, regained her smile at Hillstain’s nonchalant response.

“Yes. It’s a really rare and beautiful hair color. I was so envious of it.”

“I see.”

As Hillstain nodded, Ivy approached him pleadingly.

“You’ll definitely find her, right?”

“Yes, of course. I want to claim the promise you made.”

“Of course. If you find Latieana, my promise will be yours, Sir Hillstain.”

Hillstain bent down towards the brightly smiling Ivy, grasped her hair, and kissed it.

Ivy smiled happily with her pretty face, without a trace of shadow.

Looking at her, Hillstain recalled the matter of the promise.

After coming to the temple and finishing her adaptation, Ivy Violet immediately poured an incredible amount of healing power into Crown Prince Killian.

Thanks to her healing power, Killian was freed from pain and found peace, and he told Ivy he would grant any request she made.

He thought that she, having grown up poor in the countryside, would naturally ask for precious jewels, expensive dresses, or material things.

However, Ivy made a request that overturned all expectations.

‘Please find my friend! Please!’

When he asked the soldiers who had come with her, they said that originally two Saint candidates were supposed to come to the temple.

Because the area was so rural, they had to travel by carriage to the place where the portal was, but suddenly one of them fell from the carriage.

They said it was strange because the door wasn’t open or broken.

‘It was an accident. My friend was just trying to get some fresh air… but by mistake…’