“Yawn, I slept well.”
Arundel stretched and got up. She glanced at the side. Thankfully, it was an empty spot.
“Well… It’s not something an emperor should do.”
She didn’t know if it was always like this, but compared to herself, Zion seemed busy every day.
He probably couldn’t sleep well because of the Mongmas, and she didn’t know if he was eating properly.
‘Why am I thinking like a mother.’
She must have really taken a dislike to Zion. She found herself worrying about Zion without realizing it.
‘I should worry about myself.’
Arundel sighed and checked her wrist…
“Ah…!!!”
It’s gone. The bandage on her wrist… was untied.
‘No way…Zion didn’t see it, did he…?’
Arundel’s pupils shook as if there was an earthquake. She saw the bandage wandering around the bed.
Arundel grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around her wrist again.
‘No… I need to stay calm at times like this.’
She had fallen asleep before Zion. So she didn’t know if Zion had seen this mark.
But… realistically thinking, if he had found this mark, wouldn’t he have woken her up immediately?
And really, if this mark was confirmed to be true, she would have been executed on the spot.
Thinking like that, Arundel’s anxiety subsided a bit.
‘Yes. If he saw this mark, he wouldn’t have stayed still.’
Arundel came to a clear conclusion.
But nothing was resolved. It was something that could be discovered at any time, not just now.
Also, because Zion was sharp like a snake, she was more afraid of being discovered.
‘What should I do with this mark.’
Arundel thought, stroking her chin.
‘It’s not that I can’t erase it, if it doesn’t work, come find me. The erasing ritual takes a long time.’
She recalled the irresponsible words Hills had thrown.
To solve it, she had to find Hills, but in this situation, she had no idea where he was.
To know Hills’ whereabouts, she had to contact a demon, but it was not easy with the body of the empress.
The fortunate thing was that the divine power had somewhat returned. With this amount of divine power, she could somehow threaten even a lower demon.
So, in this situation, contacting a lower demon and finding out where Hills might be was the most realistic method.
The problem was collecting information on where a lower demon might be,
“A person who knows demons well…”
Zion and Royden came to mind.
Zion was so sharp and quick-witted that it was dangerous to bring up demons.
Then the remaining person was Royden.
Zion didn’t like her meeting him, but he didn’t get angry about Hills either.
Besides, now was not the time to look at Zion’s face. It was urgent to remove this mark on her wrist.
“Then, to the training ground today!”
She headed to the training ground with vigor.
****
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The captain has been going out to the field a lot lately.”
Arundel’s face turned gloomy.
She had visited the training ground with light steps, full of anticipation that she had found a way to solve the mark, but Royden was not there.
“Then, when will he be back?”
“Well… that’s also very erratic. As you know, Your Majesty, these days the demons are ravaging the village.”
Thinking about it, Royden, the captain of the royal knights, would be one of the busiest people right now.
The cunning demons quickly hid their appearance and made good use of people’s hearts, so it was hard to suppress them with ordinary force, not divine power.
He must be having a hard time dealing with them.
‘I’m good at catching demons, too. It’s a shame.’
Arundel recalled her life in heaven.
The six tall wings symbolized ‘Lion of Light’ Arundel.
Arundel, who was the main character of the first heavenly horse war, had risen to the position of archangel, and the demons trembled just by hearing Arundel’s name.
But that was the past…
If the demons find out that she is in such a weak human woman’s body, they will be bloodshot and look for her.
No, according to Hills’ words, it seemed like that already.
Thinking like that, Hills wasn’t such a bad guy. Really worrying about her and doing this…no, still can’t forgive.
‘Do I look like I’m going to be fooled by such a demon!’
Above Arundel, who was grinding her teeth thinking of Hills, a clear voice came.
“Your Majesty the Empress! What brings you here?”
Royden greeted her cheerfully.
“Royden! I heard you were out in the field.”
“There was an injured person, so I returned for a moment.”
As if to show a fierce battlefield, blood was splattered all over Royden’s armor.
“Are you busy right now?”
“I’m always busy, but I have time for Your Majesty.”
At Royden’s affectionate tone, Arundel was grateful again. He was a very pleasant young man every time she saw him.
“Here’s the thing… Can we talk somewhere where there are no people?”
Arundel looked around, wondering if anyone would hear the demon story. This place was too open on all sides.
“Let’s go behind the weapon storage.”
Royden said quietly.
Wondering if anyone was watching this scene, Arundel looked around and followed Royden.
Rustle-
The sound of leaves shaking came from quite a distance.
She looked back, but there was nothing.
‘Hmm…? Is it just my feeling.’
Arundel thought it was not a big deal and walked to the back of the weapon storage.
When the two were left alone in a quiet place, Arundel opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“Royden. Don’t listen to it strangely. Absolutely!”
“I understand.”
Royden also made a serious expression in response.
“I’m curious about the demons.”
“The demons… you mean.”
“Yes.”
Even though he said not to think strangely, Royden would definitely find this question strange.
But there was an inexplicable certainty that Royden would never tell anyone.
So she opened her mouth without hesitation.
“…Are the demons that appear these days strong?”
“Well, I don’t know what you mean by strong, but it’s threatening when you face it.”
“I see. It’s based on Royden, right?”
“Haha, yes.”
“So how many are there?”
“These days, they appear a lot in ‘Kesh Village’ located in the east of the capital, and so far… I think we’ve caught about 50.”
Arundel nodded at the detailed explanation.
“Did you get the answer?”
“Of course! Thank you, Royden.”
A soft smile hung on Royden’s lips.
“I won’t ask why. I think it’s just your simple curiosity.”
“Hahaha, yes. I was just curious because it’s been noisy lately.”
Arundel was grateful for Royden’s consideration, but she felt guilty and laughed awkwardly.
“As I mentioned earlier, the demons are not strong. But they’re annoying. They hide their appearance well and use people’s hearts well.”
Royden was a bit serious. He seemed to be worried that she might have unnecessary curiosity.
“Don’t worry, Royden. I’m not a fool to be interested in the demons.”
Arundel said, holding Royden’s hand. For a moment, Royden seemed to stiffen. He didn’t know why, but he seemed to collapse with a ‘bang’.
“Royden?”
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing.”
“That’s a relief, shall we go now?”
As Arundel was about to leave the back of the weapon storage,
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Did you originally know the Crown Prince of Shalbon Kingdom?”
“Ah… no. We talked a few times while staying, and we got along well in terms of personality.”
Arundel wanted to bite her tongue at the words ‘get along well in terms of personality’, but she spoke calmly because she could be suspected.
“Why do you ask?”
“No, you looked very close then. And…”
“And?”
“I had no idea he was such a powerful magician.”
“Hahaha, I didn’t know either.”
“When he was up against the emperor, he was actually at the level of a great magician… If Shalbon Kingdom had such combat power, it would be right to be on guard.”
Royden spoke with a rather serious expression.
‘I foresaw this situation…’
Arundel closed her eyes.
Surely from the moment that cunning demon entered the body of a prince of a palace, it was a fixed thing.
In the end, his light action led to such a big event.
Arundel sighed without knowing it.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Your Majesty. I just did it because as the captain of the royal knights, it’s important to know the surrounding forces.”
Royden explained with a regretful face.
‘Yeah, what could be wrong with Royden.’
Arundel smiled and reassured Royden.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes, I think I should go back to the field.”
With a word of caution to Royden, Arundel turned to the Empress’s Palace.
Rustle-
The sound of leaves shaking came again. This time it was certain.
‘One, two, three…!’
Arundel quickly turned around.
There was nothing behind her.
‘Hmm… is it a delusion.’
Because she was sensitive these days and her mental state was very anxious, it could have been.
Arundel didn’t think deeply and returned to the Empress’s Palace.
****
The next day.
Arundel’s morning was as usual.
Summer was almost over, and the weather had cooled down to a perfect degree, tempting Arundel to stay in bed longer. However, she had things to do today, so she forced herself to get up.
She felt like she had become lazier since becoming human.
But… the atmosphere in the Empress’s Palace was a bit strange.
‘Why is it so quiet…?’
Arundel looked around. There was no sign of anyone outside the bedroom.
Surely, in this strange atmosphere, Arundel got up.
“Belle…?”
There was no response.
“Head maid!”
Arundel called out loudly to the head maid. Again, only Arundel’s voice echoed back faintly.
Arundel changed her clothes by herself, tied her hair roughly, and went outside.
Fortunately, the guards were still standing. The guard who spotted Arundel didn’t know what to do.
“Your…Your Majesty the Empress, you’re awake.”
“Why is it so quiet today?”
“Well… that’s…”
“Huh?”
“Ah, there’s a strange flyer stuck in front of the Empress’s Palace…”
“A strange flyer?”
“Yes… so all the maids went to collect the flyer.”
The guard couldn’t speak clearly about the flyer.
Arundel, sensing the unusual situation, grabbed the door handle to check it out herself.
Then, the guard stopped her in a hurry.
“Now is…! It would be better not to go out…”
Arundel was even more curious about the situation outside.
What on earth was the flyer that caused such a fuss? Arundel opened the door, passing by the guard who was trying to stop her.
“Your… Your Majesty the Empress. You’re awake.”
The head maid, who was removing the flyer stuck in front of the palace, greeted Arundel with a stiff face.
Arundel, who had come outside, looked around.
Flyers were plastered all over the Empress’s Palace, and not only that, countless flyers were scattered on the ground.
Arundel bent down and picked up one of the flyers.
And she slowly read the content written there.
“Empress Irina, having an affair with Knight Captain Royden…?!”
Arundel’s face turned pale with shock.
“Yawn, I slept well.”
Arundel stretched and got up. She glanced at the side. Thankfully, it was an empty spot.
“Well… It’s not something an emperor should do.”
She didn’t know if it was always like this, but compared to herself, Zion seemed busy every day.
He probably couldn’t sleep well because of the Mongmas, and she didn’t know if he was eating properly.
‘Why am I thinking like a mother.’
She must have really taken a dislike to Zion. She found herself worrying about Zion without realizing it.
‘I should worry about myself.’
Arundel sighed and checked her wrist…
“Ah…!!!”
It’s gone. The bandage on her wrist… was untied.
‘No way…Zion didn’t see it, did he…?’
Arundel’s pupils shook as if there was an earthquake. She saw the bandage wandering around the bed.
Arundel grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around her wrist again.
‘No… I need to stay calm at times like this.’
She had fallen asleep before Zion. So she didn’t know if Zion had seen this mark.
But… realistically thinking, if he had found this mark, wouldn’t he have woken her up immediately?
And really, if this mark was confirmed to be true, she would have been executed on the spot.
Thinking like that, Arundel’s anxiety subsided a bit.
‘Yes. If he saw this mark, he wouldn’t have stayed still.’
Arundel came to a clear conclusion.
But nothing was resolved. It was something that could be discovered at any time, not just now.
Also, because Zion was sharp like a snake, she was more afraid of being discovered.
‘What should I do with this mark.’
Arundel thought, stroking her chin.
‘It’s not that I can’t erase it, if it doesn’t work, come find me. The erasing ritual takes a long time.’
She recalled the irresponsible words Hills had thrown.
To solve it, she had to find Hills, but in this situation, she had no idea where he was.
To know Hills’ whereabouts, she had to contact a demon, but it was not easy with the body of the empress.
The fortunate thing was that the divine power had somewhat returned. With this amount of divine power, she could somehow threaten even a lower demon.
So, in this situation, contacting a lower demon and finding out where Hills might be was the most realistic method.
The problem was collecting information on where a lower demon might be,
“A person who knows demons well…”
Zion and Royden came to mind.
Zion was so sharp and quick-witted that it was dangerous to bring up demons.
Then the remaining person was Royden.
Zion didn’t like her meeting him, but he didn’t get angry about Hills either.
Besides, now was not the time to look at Zion’s face. It was urgent to remove this mark on her wrist.
“Then, to the training ground today!”
She headed to the training ground with vigor.
****
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The captain has been going out to the field a lot lately.”
Arundel’s face turned gloomy.
She had visited the training ground with light steps, full of anticipation that she had found a way to solve the mark, but Royden was not there.
“Then, when will he be back?”
“Well… that’s also very erratic. As you know, Your Majesty, these days the demons are ravaging the village.”
Thinking about it, Royden, the captain of the royal knights, would be one of the busiest people right now.
The cunning demons quickly hid their appearance and made good use of people’s hearts, so it was hard to suppress them with ordinary force, not divine power.
He must be having a hard time dealing with them.
‘I’m good at catching demons, too. It’s a shame.’
Arundel recalled her life in heaven.
The six tall wings symbolized ‘Lion of Light’ Arundel.
Arundel, who was the main character of the first heavenly horse war, had risen to the position of archangel, and the demons trembled just by hearing Arundel’s name.
But that was the past…
If the demons find out that she is in such a weak human woman’s body, they will be bloodshot and look for her.
No, according to Hills’ words, it seemed like that already.
Thinking like that, Hills wasn’t such a bad guy. Really worrying about her and doing this…no, still can’t forgive.
‘Do I look like I’m going to be fooled by such a demon!’
Above Arundel, who was grinding her teeth thinking of Hills, a clear voice came.
“Your Majesty the Empress! What brings you here?”
Royden greeted her cheerfully.
“Royden! I heard you were out in the field.”
“There was an injured person, so I returned for a moment.”
As if to show a fierce battlefield, blood was splattered all over Royden’s armor.
“Are you busy right now?”
“I’m always busy, but I have time for Your Majesty.”
At Royden’s affectionate tone, Arundel was grateful again. He was a very pleasant young man every time she saw him.
“Here’s the thing… Can we talk somewhere where there are no people?”
Arundel looked around, wondering if anyone would hear the demon story. This place was too open on all sides.
“Let’s go behind the weapon storage.”
Royden said quietly.
Wondering if anyone was watching this scene, Arundel looked around and followed Royden.
Rustle-
The sound of leaves shaking came from quite a distance.
She looked back, but there was nothing.
‘Hmm…? Is it just my feeling.’
Arundel thought it was not a big deal and walked to the back of the weapon storage.
When the two were left alone in a quiet place, Arundel opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“Royden. Don’t listen to it strangely. Absolutely!”
“I understand.”
Royden also made a serious expression in response.
“I’m curious about the demons.”
“The demons… you mean.”
“Yes.”
Even though he said not to think strangely, Royden would definitely find this question strange.
But there was an inexplicable certainty that Royden would never tell anyone.
So she opened her mouth without hesitation.
“…Are the demons that appear these days strong?”
“Well, I don’t know what you mean by strong, but it’s threatening when you face it.”
“I see. It’s based on Royden, right?”
“Haha, yes.”
“So how many are there?”
“These days, they appear a lot in ‘Kesh Village’ located in the east of the capital, and so far… I think we’ve caught about 50.”
Arundel nodded at the detailed explanation.
“Did you get the answer?”
“Of course! Thank you, Royden.”
A soft smile hung on Royden’s lips.
“I won’t ask why. I think it’s just your simple curiosity.”
“Hahaha, yes. I was just curious because it’s been noisy lately.”
Arundel was grateful for Royden’s consideration, but she felt guilty and laughed awkwardly.
“As I mentioned earlier, the demons are not strong. But they’re annoying. They hide their appearance well and use people’s hearts well.”
Royden was a bit serious. He seemed to be worried that she might have unnecessary curiosity.
“Don’t worry, Royden. I’m not a fool to be interested in the demons.”
Arundel said, holding Royden’s hand. For a moment, Royden seemed to stiffen. He didn’t know why, but he seemed to collapse with a ‘bang’.
“Royden?”
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing.”
“That’s a relief, shall we go now?”
As Arundel was about to leave the back of the weapon storage,
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Did you originally know the Crown Prince of Shalbon Kingdom?”
“Ah… no. We talked a few times while staying, and we got along well in terms of personality.”
Arundel wanted to bite her tongue at the words ‘get along well in terms of personality’, but she spoke calmly because she could be suspected.
“Why do you ask?”
“No, you looked very close then. And…”
“And?”
“I had no idea he was such a powerful magician.”
“Hahaha, I didn’t know either.”
“When he was up against the emperor, he was actually at the level of a great magician… If Shalbon Kingdom had such combat power, it would be right to be on guard.”
Royden spoke with a rather serious expression.
‘I foresaw this situation…’
Arundel closed her eyes.
Surely from the moment that cunning demon entered the body of a prince of a palace, it was a fixed thing.
In the end, his light action led to such a big event.
Arundel sighed without knowing it.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Your Majesty. I just did it because as the captain of the royal knights, it’s important to know the surrounding forces.”
Royden explained with a regretful face.
‘Yeah, what could be wrong with Royden.’
Arundel smiled and reassured Royden.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes, I think I should go back to the field.”
With a word of caution to Royden, Arundel turned to the Empress’s Palace.
Rustle-
The sound of leaves shaking came again. This time it was certain.
‘One, two, three…!’
Arundel quickly turned around.
There was nothing behind her.
‘Hmm… is it a delusion.’
Because she was sensitive these days and her mental state was very anxious, it could have been.
Arundel didn’t think deeply and returned to the Empress’s Palace.
****
The next day.
Arundel’s morning was as usual.
Summer was almost over, and the weather had cooled down to a perfect degree, tempting Arundel to stay in bed longer. However, she had things to do today, so she forced herself to get up.
She felt like she had become lazier since becoming human.
But… the atmosphere in the Empress’s Palace was a bit strange.
‘Why is it so quiet…?’
Arundel looked around. There was no sign of anyone outside the bedroom.
Surely, in this strange atmosphere, Arundel got up.
“Belle…?”
There was no response.
“Head maid!”
Arundel called out loudly to the head maid. Again, only Arundel’s voice echoed back faintly.
Arundel changed her clothes by herself, tied her hair roughly, and went outside.
Fortunately, the guards were still standing. The guard who spotted Arundel didn’t know what to do.
“Your…Your Majesty the Empress, you’re awake.”
“Why is it so quiet today?”
“Well… that’s…”
“Huh?”
“Ah, there’s a strange flyer stuck in front of the Empress’s Palace…”
“A strange flyer?”
“Yes… so all the maids went to collect the flyer.”
The guard couldn’t speak clearly about the flyer.
Arundel, sensing the unusual situation, grabbed the door handle to check it out herself.
Then, the guard stopped her in a hurry.
“Now is…! It would be better not to go out…”
Arundel was even more curious about the situation outside.
What on earth was the flyer that caused such a fuss? Arundel opened the door, passing by the guard who was trying to stop her.
“Your… Your Majesty the Empress. You’re awake.”
The head maid, who was removing the flyer stuck in front of the palace, greeted Arundel with a stiff face.
Arundel, who had come outside, looked around.
Flyers were plastered all over the Empress’s Palace, and not only that, countless flyers were scattered on the ground.
Arundel bent down and picked up one of the flyers.
And she slowly read the content written there.
“Empress Irina, having an affair with Knight Captain Royden…?!”
Arundel’s face turned pale with shock.
