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Brian has a routine as consistent as his daily workouts: visiting the academy’s reception center.

As Cyan’s steward, he checks every day for any letters or items for her and promptly delivers them if there are any.

Of course, given Cyan’s introverted nature, letters weren’t a frequent occurrence.

Aside from occasional affectionate letters from Alice, there were hardly any at all.

So today, receiving a letter from somewhere other than Alice was unusual.

There was no sender’s name on the letter, but upon checking the back of the letter, Brian’s eyes widened, and he immediately rushed to where Cyan was in the Royal Hall.

The letter bore the seal of the Vert family.

“Milord, a letter has arrived for you!”

Even amidst Brian’s frantic rush, the letter remained intact without a single crease.

“…”

Cyan didn’t inquire about where it came from.

It seemed as though he had already made a judgment based on the seal stamped on the letter.

As usual, he calmly checked the contents.

It was now his third year serving as Cyan’s steward.

It was expected that he would have developed some awareness by this time.

He didn’t explicitly say anything, but Brian had some idea of who might have sent the letter.

If the Vert family seal was on it, it must have been written by a member of the Vert family.

If it had been a letter from Alice, it wouldn’t have been packaged so formally.

Brian cautiously speculated that it might be something like an official document from the head of the family to a family member.

“Hah…”

Caught between a sigh and a bitter laugh, his expression clearly perplexed.

It seemed like he had read something unpleasant.

Without saying a word, Cyan stared at the letter intently for nearly ten minutes.

The air became increasingly heavy.

Brian, feeling the gravity of the situation, stood frozen in place, sweating profusely.

-Thunk

Then, for a moment, Cyan, with an indifferent gesture, tossed the letter to the floor.

“I’m going out.”

With just those words, thrown with a casual flick, Cyan left the room without another word.

Brian, unable to comprehend the situation, blinked in his place.

“What’s going on? What was that all about?”

Emily, who had been leaning against one of the walls watching the situation, rushed forward in a single step.

“I-I don’t know either! Maybe there was something uncomfortable in the letter…”

“This came from Velias, right? With a seal like that, it’s probably from either the eldest young master or the duke, right?”

In Emily’s hand was the letter that Cyan had thrown.

“A-Are you going to check it?”

“Huh? Oh, well, I mean, if he threw it away so casually, it probably wasn’t anything important…”

Even if they could ask about the content, the idea of secretly reading the master’s letter was something Brian couldn’t even imagine.

“Please, restrain yourself, Miss Emily. Even though he threw it away so nonchalantly, it might not be appropriate for us to read it…”

“I know! I’m aware of that, but…”

Even with her light-hearted personality, Emily still had her dignity as a maid.

However, fueled by her strong curiosity, both of them couldn’t tear their eyes away from the letter.

“Um, if it’s not really important, he’ll tell me later, right? Well…”

Emily, resigned, neatly placed the letter on the sofa.

Suppressing any lingering feelings, the two of them began to focus on their own tasks again.

*Squeak*

In the midst of it all, Nana, awakened from her nap, opened the door and stepped out.

“Haaam!”

With a cute yawn, she naturally approached the sofa and plopped down on it.

After swaying her tail for a moment and rubbing her eyes, Nana soon noticed the single letter placed beside her.

“…?”

As time passed, about five minutes.

During those five minutes, Nana’s eyes didn’t stray from the letter.

“Nana, are you awake?!”

Later, when Brian returned to the living room, he spotted the letter clutched in Nana’s hand and froze in place.

In response, Nana, with her drowsy eyes, tilted her head and asked,

“Is Papa getting married?”

* * *

[Why does the face of the new groom seem so gloomy?]

She’s calling me a new groom already, huh?

Responding would only tire me out, so I just let out a sigh to brush it off.

Given the recent behavior, I knew it was bound to happen eventually.

The engagement between Arin Sevellerus, the youngest of the imperial family, and Cyan Vert, the youngest of the Duke Vert’s family.

In fact, it was almost confirmed from the moment I, someone not even of noble descent, was assigned to the royal palace from the academy.

To claim ignorance would be a lie.

But isn’t this happening too quickly?

The princess and I are only thirteen now.

Among the nobility, it’s customary to get engaged before graduating from the academy, but even then, it’s usually around sixteen, maybe fifteen at the earliest.

Engagements at such a young age are extremely rare.

As anyone knowledgeable would know, an engagement between the imperial family and a duke’s family signifies more than just the marriage of two individuals; it signifies a kind of support system for each other.

In other words, for me, it means acquiring the title of the Empress Consort, and for Princess Arin, it means gaining the support of the Vert family.

Just looking at that, there’s nothing good for me in this situation.

Already, this information must have spread to other members of the imperial family, so from now on, there will be even more eyes watching and scrutinizing me.

Not only will there be people sent to monitor my every move, but a thorough investigation into me will likely begin as well.

And the more that happens, the more my movements will be restricted.

As long as the Emperor arranges it and my father agrees, I have no right to refuse this engagement.

That’s the same for Princess Arin too.

I’ve been dragged into the most troublesome situation.

For now, I’ll set that aside and deal with the matters at hand.

In the farthest corner of the courtyard, shrouded in dense fog, lies the altar of Aeru.

It’s my master’s sanctuary that I’m visiting after a long time.

As soon as I stepped onto the altar, the fog that had enveloped it began to dissipate, revealing his form.

(Kaeram or you, it seems those who come to see me never do so with a smile.)

Looking at me with a somewhat serious expression, Aeru said as if disappointed.

“I wish you could make a situation to laugh about.”

It was a response mixed with sincerity.

“I don’t have time, so I’ll ask you directly. Where is the master of the Bible?”

(…)

Aeru immediately closed his mouth without answering.

“If it were you, you would have known from the beginning, right? You knew and yet didn’t tell me or the Leader. So, this situation has arisen because of that…”

Aeru’s eyes, which had been gazing at me with a subtle smile, shifted slightly to the side.

[…]

Though he didn’t show it, I could roughly tell where his eyes were directed.

After a moment of silence, Aeru raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said, as if it were nothing significant.

(You know, I was once rejected by the divine realm. But that doesn’t mean my essence as a god has disappeared. It’s like how a human, even if mistreated among other humans, doesn’t become a beast.)

It’s a valid point.

Although the people I’ve killed so far might have been treated as nothing more than trash, the essence of being human itself couldn’t be changed.

Even our supreme gods would have been no different.

(There’s an immutable rule among the gods from the moment they’re born.)

“A rule?”

(Yes. It’s that you must never disclose what each other intends to do to anyone other than a god. Violating it doesn’t simply end with rejection.)

“What happens then?”

(You’re erased.)

I was at a loss for words at the succinct yet clear response.

My gaze naturally turned to Kaeram behind me.

(Furthermore, the master of the Bible you met would have been the same. Even if he knew about Kaeram, he wouldn’t have disclosed it.)

Now I understood why she had remained silent.

Both the Demonic Sword and the Holy Book must be seen as divine beings since they were born from the power of the gods.

But was there really a need for that?

Is it because those who are afraid of being killed by them are controlling the lower beings?

Moreover, to the extent of imposing such a tremendous restriction that would annihilate their existence if violated?

It was something hard for me to understand in my current state.

(Are you afraid? Afraid that your existence might be revealed by the owner of the Bible?)

I answered with silence.

It’s not particularly frightening, but it’s not like I’m not concerned either, an ambiguous feeling.

I couldn’t deny it.

(You understand. It must be concerning. The repercussions of your identity spreading to those around you.)

Did you feel like you hit the nail on the head?

Without realizing it, I chuckled.

I don’t particularly have a problem with my identity being revealed, after all, it’s not like the world can kill me.

However, lately, I’ve noticed that the things I need to protect around me have been increasing.

As an assassin who should prioritize only my own body, having things to protect feels like a joke I can’t laugh off.

Wasn’t I the one who vowed to live for myself now, breaking away from a life lived for others?

I don’t want to bother with trivial denials.

Unlike in my past life, where I only looked at that one bastard, now there are so many things

I want to hold in these two hands.

What’s there to worry about or make a fuss over?

It’s my job to protect them, and if there are entities threatening that, I’ll just have to find and kill them all, whether they’re human or divine.

(This is so intimidating that I can’t even bring myself to look directly at you. Just from the look in your eyes, it’s like they could kill a god.)

Aeru smirked as he watched me like that.

“In conclusion, you don’t really intend to tell me, do you?”

It’s not that he’s not telling me, but rather that he can’t.

Ultimately, it means I have to find it myself, and clinging to him any longer will yield no results.

I turned away.

(As the number of things to protect increases, so does the number of threats. Isn’t that what the owner of the Bible is thinking too?)

“What do you mean?”

(It means you should make allies to help you.)

Aeru wore a subtle expression as he looked at me again, as if he were trying to suggest something.

(How about looking for the tome?)