A mountain far from the king's villa.
"...under?"
The man who had been spying on the king's annex through a cylindrical telescope was startled and let out a hollow laugh the moment his eyes met Olivia's through the window.
"Did you see me?"
Our eyes met, but it was definitely too close to be a coincidence.
The man, startled by the princess's gesture, which pointed precisely at the disguised location with her finger, hid behind a tree and began to collect his thoughts.
"..."
Even though he knew that wouldn't happen, the man, who couldn't easily relax because his opponent was Desmund, let out a soft sigh and took a water bottle from the backpack on his waist to quench his parched throat.
"Gulp... Gulp... Phew, it's been so long since you've been on a mission, you're nervous."
Normally, I would have thought it was a coincidence, but the opponent was the Desmunt family, who had a firm grip on the underworld of the empire.
I thought the biggest problem was that I let my guard down when I received the mission from my home country, even though I had done all the research and preparation beforehand, and the security was more lax than I expected.
Nothing had happened yet, but it was a dangerous mission because if something went wrong, they wouldn't even be able to find the body.
"I need to come to my senses..."
The man began to open his telescope again towards the star, forgetting what had just happened.
Because it was impossible for anyone but a monster to find themselves at a distance that was invisible to the human eye.
It was even more impossible for a princess with a disability to discover herself.
The man, with a trembling heart, brought his eyes to the telescope lens and began to observe the scene inside the window.
"See... I told you it was nothing to worry about."
I muttered to myself to calm my fear and slowly focused on their daily lives.
"There are no security guards..."
With the sound of the lens zooming in.
"There are no armed knights... either."
The man continued with his work.
"Is Desmond not the same as he used to be? Why isn't there even a single person escorting the princess?"
The interior was not visible in detail because it was hanging in a square, but the man let out a hollow laugh at the sight of the unguarded figure.
To one red-haired man.
Because there were only two princesses.
Just a moment ago, I had seen the princess talking to someone, so if I waited a little longer, I would definitely be able to see the face of a high-ranking Qing official.
The mission given to him by his home country was to discover the purpose and intentions of Desmund's visit to Qing. Furthermore, he was to prevent any harm to his home country.
Since I had information about the escort and the general structure of the annex, I could return to my home country as long as I knew who I was meeting.
The moment the man's hand moved to turn the dial to look out the annex window again.
"What are you looking at?"
The man's voice, approaching silently, began to ring coldly in my ears.
The intruder, holding the telescope with the warmth of his hands, smiled and asked, "What are you looking at with the telescope that makes you so focused?"
"What are you looking at that's so funny that you don't even notice the person next to you?"
"..."
“I’m curious too. Shall we take a look together?”
The moment the intruder's voice rang in his ears, the man asked in a low voice, his voice sharp.
"...Who are you?"
"I'm just a passerby."
"..."
"Maybe so."
The man's hand slowly reached for the dagger on his waist.
‘Because I put it on the black floor… If I open a gap and stab it right away… .’
It was a mistake to lose focus because of the surveillance. It was humiliating to think that a prosecutor of his caliber could make such a basic mistake. But the man quickly mentally reviewed the situation and moved slowly.
He thought that since God was protecting him, he would surely be able to overcome this adversity with ease, and slowly reached out for the dagger he had prepared for suicide.
"hmm..."
The intruder, whose life might soon end, looked beyond the telescope and opened his lips in a low voice.
"You were looking at the king's annex."
"...!"
"Why are you looking over there? There's such a thing as privacy."
"..."
The man, who was reciting the details of what was beyond the telescope in a way that didn't match the seriousness of the situation, had a faint smile on his face and didn't move his eyes anywhere else.
"Do you know that?"
"What are you asking?"
"Secretly spying on a noble is considered a severe punishment in the empire."
"..."
“I don’t know about the laws of the Qing Dynasty, but… I guess they’ll probably punish us just as severely as they would in the Empire.”
The hand reaches out for the dagger.
If you stretch a little more.
If my middle finger touches the tip of the dagger, I can overcome this adversity. I am a knight beloved by God.
The intruder's clothes smelled of iris, but the man quickly reached out for the dagger's handle to snatch even that scent away. Without a moment's hesitation, he turned around and reached out.
Although murder is an unforgivable sin in the doctrine of the Catholic Church, if the Pope gives permission, murder is considered innocent.
"I didn't mean to kill you, but I'm sorry."
I didn't have to worry about going to hell.
The man, who thought he had plunged his sword deep into the intruder's chest, spat out an apology to the unknown person. He had practiced the move hundreds of times, and there was no way he could make a mistake.
but.
"it's okay."
The moment the uninvited voice was heard from the bedside, the man slowly raised his head with a trembling heart.
He must have been stabbed in the lungs and couldn't speak.
"I didn't intend to do anything bad, but now I've made up my mind."
The man, who saw the wrists of the intruders, who were holding daggers, turn limply with laughter, trembled with disbelief at the uninvited situation.
"What... is happening..."
The intruder smiled slightly and spoke, holding the familiar dagger in his hand.
"Are you looking for this?"
Red hair.
A bright smile.
It's a face I've seen before.
-Who is this person?
-They say he's Desmund Olivia's butler.
-...
-You said you've been by the princess's side for quite some time, so get close to her and get some information. If you think she's getting in the way, you can kill her.
-All right.
The man, recalling what he had heard from the Prophet, closed his eyes tightly and felt that things had gone wrong.
Because he intuitively realized that his usefulness ended here, with his wrists broken without strength.
With a thud, the red-haired man took a step toward her, his lips parted in a bitter slur.
"I have a lot to ask."
"..."
“You have plenty of time, so take your time and enjoy yourself.”
If only I could die...!
The moment the man's gaze turned to the sword on the floor, I felt a sharp pain along with the man's hand grabbing my head violently.
"Where are you looking?"
I see the man's smile as my vision darkens with a dizzying pain ringing in my head.
"Not Elisha."
"...no."
"Please check if there is an abandoned house nearby."
The man was laughing.
"I'll do it this time."
*
An abandoned house filled with the smell of blood.
"Phew."
After a long time of doing something bad, I wiped away the coldness in my eyes and looked at the black gloves I was wearing.
"..."
There was a lot of blood on it.
Hair is also sparsely attached.
It wasn't a very pleasant feeling to see the sticky, dried blood, but I sighed at the thought that I had no choice but to do it.
"Whew..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Saint."
Elicia, who had been standing by, extended her hand in greeting, telling me to throw away the blood-stained gloves.
I shook my head with a refreshing smile. It was my fault, and leaving the cleanup to them made me feel like a corrupt employer who wouldn't even pay me.
Of course, I was still a bad employer, but I didn't want to become an even worse person than I was now, so I smiled as I grabbed the end of my glove and took it off.
"it's okay."
My thoughts are complicated.
It's not that I didn't notice the surveillance, but I couldn't pinpoint its exact location.
I smiled bitterly and reproached myself, thinking that if the young lady hadn't pointed, I might have only noticed the presence of surveillance after the man finished his report.
Sword Master, can't you find that either?
As if she knew these complicated feelings, Elicia, who was handling the aftermath, opened her heavy lips as she sent the corpse of the dead person to the subspace.
"Are you blaming yourself?"
"...I don't feel so good."
"...cognition-impairing artifacts were discovered on the corpse. Hands, feet, shoulders, clothing, and even a telescope. There were five types of artifacts in total."
"..."
"I think it's only natural that the saint didn't notice. I didn't notice the surveillance either."
With her lips pursed tightly, Elicia changed the subject and began to praise the young lady.
"It seems like the saint is a very kind person."
"Are you a young lady?"
"Yes, I was very surprised that you even told an ugly girl like me that I was pretty... and that you wanted to call me 'sister'."
I smiled at Elicia's kind smile despite the embarrassing incident just a little while ago, and her words cheered my heavy heart.
"I'm sure it's not a lie."
"...yes?"
"If you're ugly, you're the kind of person who would say you're ugly. And why is Lady Elysia ugly?"
"Well... I..."
"You are quite beautiful. Of course, you are not as beautiful as the young lady, but you are a beauty that will not be bowed to anywhere in the empire."
"..."
Elicia's face was turning red.
It seemed like the girl was bothering him because of this reaction.
Leaving behind Elicia's flushed reaction, I sat down on the old chair and began sharing with Elicia the information I had gained from my bad deeds.
"So... I tried to get some information by torturing him."
"Yes, your majesty."
"Something interesting is happening in the Holy Land."
"..."
“I couldn’t dig up the details because I don’t know them either, but the certain information is that there is a traitor in Desmund who is in collusion with the Holy Nation….”
-Why were you watching us?
-...The home country told me to keep an eye on Desmund and the Qing. Now that I've told them everything... Please... Please... Kill me.
-If you're talking about the home country, you're probably talking about the Holy Land.
-...
-So what is Seongguk trying to do?
-...
-If you won't tell, I will turn you into a warlock and send you back to the Holy Land.
-Please, just that…!
-The doctrine of the Goddess Church states that if you use black magic, you cannot go to heaven… right?
"So there are traitors in the Qing Dynasty too."
His story, which he told with trembling eyes, contained quite a bit of information.
One is the rebirth of the holy sword.
The purpose is to artificially create a holy sword and to complete it by killing the Qing King.
And finally.
"Are you preparing for war?"
"Yes, that's what they say."
"Why did the Holy Nation go to war..."
"I don't know either."
It was said that the Holy Nation was preparing for war.
I couldn't figure out what they believed and why they were preparing for war. They died before they could even find out. And I couldn't figure out where they were going to wage war.
It was definitely Qing, but I frowned and sighed because it didn't seem like Seongguk was doing this just for Qing.
I guess so.
"I think I should look into the Holy Land."
I felt like I had to be a little bit of a bad person.