Chapter 39.1

It was the archbishop who came to the Empire. The description that the external affairs were handled by the archbishop and the internal affairs were mainly resolved by the saint seemed to be true to some extent.

The archbishop was an old gentleman who looked kind and upright.

But now, that did not matter.

Thump, thump.

‘I can’t believe he’s here.’

My heart began to beat faster.

Behind the archbishop were several priests and paladins. I was not sure if all of them were here, but it seemed like a few were. Still, I recognized him at a glance.

…Seraphina’s first love.

A young man born with a miserable fate to have his head cut off at the hands of a tyrant for the sin of gaining her love.

Eden.

An upright young man with dark blue hair neatly cut stood in the third row with his head slightly bowed.

‘Right… Of course, Eden would come.’

It was because he is a paladin.

Perhaps, I was staring too intently, and when Eden raised his head slightly, our eyes met. His black eyes stared intently at me. I quickly turned my gaze to the archbishop. At the same time, Eden also lowered his eyes when I avoided his gaze.

Then, I heard a sweet yet eerie voice next to me.

“Welcome to the realm of Actilla, believers of Tunia.”

I flinched.

Since I was distracted by Eden for a moment, I was overwhelmed by the presence of my husband sitting to my right. His reclining upper body slowly tilted forward.

“Those who ask for help, you must’ve brought me the sincerity to offer.”

‘…He looks like a real villain.’

The circumstances of the Temple of Tunia are all well-known facts, and it should be understandable… Well, Raniero was the villain, though.

The benevolent archbishop opened his mouth with a stiff smile on his face.

“Of course, great son of the God Actilla. It’s small, but…”

“No.”

Raniero interrupted him and smiled lightly.

It was a rude attitude.

“You don’t have to extort material things you have for that, don’t you?”

Oh, but what he was saying is correct.

I slowly turned my eyes to look at Raniero’s side face. Opening his eyes a little wide, his long eyelashes fluttered. He was like an angel in disguise. He seemed innocent even though he was making an awkward joke.

“I’ll have mercy on you, and I won’t accept any offerings you bring.”

Something feels a little ominous…

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Even though I was not the type of person to say this—

“Instead, everyone kneel down, look up to me and beg for your life.”

—I thought it would be like this.

“Beg and plead for the mercy of the blood and flesh of the God of War to show you the mercy of slaughter.”

Raniero Actilus said in a gentle voice.

The audience became quiet as if water had been poured on them. Only Raniero, who was on my right, was smiling.

I glanced down at them with a complicated mind.

The people of the Temple of Tunia, who have treated Actilus as barbarians or ruffians… A treacherous attitude that came to ask for help when the aid was needed must have condemned their heart as much as they would not want to. Now, this humiliation they had to endure was, in a way, coming to them.

Nevertheless, no one would fall to their knees easily.

…Even the archbishop, who has been collecting offerings to show ‘sincereness’ even in their circumstances. They just stumbled and looked at each other’s faces, wandering in confusion.

Meanwhile, Raniero was pleasantly appreciating the disgrace that bound their limbs.

‘But, in the end, they’ll have to kneel.’

Even if they went back like this, there was no way that the power of the Tunia Temple alone could handle the wave.

‘And, would they have wanted to come to Actilus?’

Actilus would have been the last resort… The last straw caught by the God of mercy, rejected by all who sought for help. If they turn their back because of humiliation, they would really have no choice now.

Somehow, it was a bit pitiful.

‘Grandfather archbishop, make a decision.’

What difference would it make to shiver in shame? In this case, just close your eyes and kneel once…

As an opportunist who was more timid than anyone else, I sent a sad telepathy to the grandfather archbishop.

That was then.

Among the paladins in the line, someone’s head was lowered. Raniero’s gaze and mine naturally turned towards it. At the same time, embarrassed Paladins took a step back from him. So, I could see that it was Eden who knelt before anyone else.

‘…Huh?’

I was surprised and covered my mouth without realizing it.

‘Eden?’

Not only did Eden get down on his knees, he even lowered his head slowly. The archbishop’s eyes began to moisten when he saw that. He then also eventually fell to his knees. As the two fell to their knees, everyone’s heads began to drop like waves.

“Hahahaha!”

Raniero, who had been wounded by the hypocrisy of the Temple of Tunia, laughed happily. However, I was not happy. I just kept staring at the dark blue hair.

…Eden was the first to kneel on his knees?

‘Isn’t this character collapsing?’

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

Even after returning to the Empress’s Palace, the shock of Eden kneeling first did not disappear from my mind.

Although the Temple of Tunia was an underdeveloped area, as the beasts continued to appear, the training of troops to counter the beasts has been steady. It means that it was a chaotic place where Paladins gathered.

Eden ascended to the heights of the Tunia Paladins with his innate martial arts skills and an upright mind. Although he was still young at the age of eighteen, he was a sure-footed person who was recognized by everyone.

‘The original description was like that.’