He had the strongest army among all the emperors in history. Furthermore, the empress was from a knightly family, so it would be easy to enlist lower-ranked knights.

If rebellion broke out, it would be a tough fight that couldn’t easily determine the outcome for a while.

So, the victory or defeat of this fight was in Christine’s hands.

In which side she chose to align herself with.

“You’re considering joining forces with Lady Isabella after all?”

“Well.”

“Then why did you assist Duke Roderick?”

“Duke Roderick intended to go to Rusulph in the meantime if he could oust Yan. But he ended up dying like this.”

“Still, you’re not planning to let the emperor go free like this?”

“Well… I’m quite a pacifist…”
Zimmer looked at Christine, who casually made such a statement, with a perplexed expression.

What? Since when did she…?

Of course, Christine also immediately wanted to storm into the palace and tear Yan apart.

But that was the worst possible approach. He didn’t want to return to being a beast.

Besides, Yan wouldn’t leave things be as a Duke Roderick.

Right now, he wanted to live a peaceful life in Rusulph with Adele. He wanted to have children resembling the two of them, go fishing together, and be a good dad like Mark.

“Did you confirm Stone’s corpse?”

Suddenly, Zimmer’s expression darkened.

“I instructed the knight order to bring Stone’s corpse. However, it’s gone.”

…What?

Christine’s expression shook significantly.

“There were traces of being dragged and a large amount of blood leading deep into the forest. It’s undoubtedly someone who took away the immobile guy.”

“Darn it, who…!”

“We’re in pursuit, so we’ll likely receive a report soon. Is it the emperor’s doing again? If he tries to revive that guy…”

“That’s impossible.”

Christine said seriously but firmly.

According to the book Adele read to her, wounds inflicted by the same species took longer to heal.

In reality, even in a coma, he continued to hear her voice. The voice that used to sound like a dream now vividly echoed in his memory.
Following the content of that book, Christine’s wounds, torn by Stone, were not healing either.

And if the memory is correct, he inflicted even more fatal injuries on Stone. Adele accurately shot the guy’s head.

With that level of damage, there was no hope of survival.

It had to be that way.

But what was this unsettling feeling?

All the blades were in this direction…

At the same time, inside the Vatican.

“Did you hear about the Prayer Room at the Tower?”

“The rumor that strange cries are heard every night?”

“It sounded more like the howling of a beast than cries. I couldn’t sleep in the early morning, so I took a walk near the Tower and was startled. What’s going on?”

“Really?”

“What are they hiding? These days, the Tower guards have been unusually severe.”

The training priests, whispering while organizing the scriptures, lowered their voices.

This place was the Vatican within Bluegale.

Inside the Vatican, the training priests were always forced into prayer, reading, and contemplation. Any unnecessary actions, especially moving their lips needlessly, were considered sins.

However, forbidden stories became even more enticing to the young priests in their twenties.

“Leana, have you heard about it?”

Someone asked, and the training priests all looked at a girl with a mischievous expression.

There was a girl about 15 years old, scrubbing the floor there.
The girl was wearing a small, tattered black dress, covered with an apron. The apron, originally white, had turned a worn-out gray.

“Leana!”

When the training priests stomped their feet in front of her, the girl barely stopped scrubbing the floor.

Wiping the sweat running down her forehead with the back of her hand, she was so beautiful that her shabby attire seemed dull. Her transparent and fair skin, flushed cheeks, and doll-like gray eyes were captivating. Her radiant silver hair combined with her face to create an enchanting aura.

“Yes, is there something you want me to do?”

As Leana asked with a vacant expression, the training priests nodded awkwardly.

“Let her be. She can’t hear us anyway.”

“Yeah, she probably didn’t hear anything.”

Leana laughed cheerfully, as if she couldn’t hear the voices.

The training priests shook hands with her, smiling as if accepting her condition.

“Just continue with your cleaning.”

Leana continued to smile, bowing her head slightly.

Leana was from an orphanage sponsored by the Vatican. Despite her dark ears, the Vatican had brought her in for simple errands and odd jobs.

After about five years, Leana had explored every nook and cranny of the Vatican.

The rumored Tower Prayer Room was no exception.

Leana, still smiling, walked down the hallway with a bucket of rags and a large water jug.

“Leana, you’re working hard again today.”

“Leana, stay strong!”
Priests and training priests passed by her, cheering her on. No one thought of sharing the burden of this little girl.

Of course, she just smiled and bowed her head.

“Looks like she doesn’t know it’s tough. Why is she smiling like that?”

“She probably has nowhere to go if she’s kicked out from here.”

“Is it because she’s lacking something?”

She had no idea that the people cheering her on were whispering such things behind her. She still continued to smile.

Leana crossed the corridor and descended the stairs leading to the underground. There was a storage room there where cleaning supplies were kept. It was a dim and nauseating place, so naturally, it was rarely visited.

While Leana’s face continued to smile, the laughter disappeared as she entered.

“Phew, should be safe here, right?”

Leana, who had organized the cleaning supplies, closed her eyes quietly.

Soon, a faint chant flowed between her small, red lips.

After a moment, her body disappeared like smoke.

Whispering…

The place where Leana appeared was a dark basement.

It had a more unpleasant smell than the basement she was in a while ago.

The floor was damp, and the walls were covered with white mold.

This place was supposed to be the Tower’s Prayer Room, where people used to whisper. In reality, it was the worst prison within the Vatican.

And now, trapped inside that prison, was a giant wolf with brown fur.
“Hello, brown wolf?”