Chapter 46
“I want to stay by your side for a long time, Young Master.”
“…Then just stay with me. Why do you have to go to war?”
The child’s voice trembled, thick with unshed tears.
“I don’t have the strength to protect you… I barely have enough strength to protect myself.”
“No! You’re super strong, Lerry!”
She had once taken great pride in the title of youngest knight in history. But that pride had been short-lived.
Once she joined the Order, she realized there were countless knights more skilled with a sword than she was.
At best, Rayana was still just a budding knight.
The child looked up at her, clearly not understanding her reasoning.
“If I hadn’t been adopted into the Chester family, I wouldn’t even have been eligible to apply for the Order.”
And the fact that she had yet to take the promotion exams in the last five years was proof of her circumstances.
She couldn’t afford to stay stagnant.
To rid the boy of the demon within him, she needed far more power than she had now.
It was something a low-ranking knight could never obtain.
Rayana had only recently come to this realization herself, so she could understand why the child couldn’t.
“Do you remember when I said I’d protect you?”
“…Mhm.”
“That’s why I’ll come back to you alive. You know the saying—Valencias don’t die, right?”
Theodore nodded.
It seemed the Grand Duke had told him that.
Yet the real Valencia standing before him looked more like a fragile rabbit in the woods, and Rayana couldn’t help but smile.
Like a knight pledging loyalty to her lord, she placed a hand over her heart and stood tall before Theodore.
Though he didn’t yet understand the meaning behind the gesture, the round-eyed boy looked up at his fiancée.
“I will return as a greater knight than I am now. So please wait for me here, Young Master.”
Seeking his permission, Rayana pulled out a necklace she had entrusted to the demon.
Even after learning its true origin, she hadn’t been able to throw it away.
It reminded her of her birth father, but more than that, it was a keepsake from her mother.
It had been her most treasured possession in life.
“This is a necklace I cherish… cherished more than my life.”
Rayana placed the necklace—so precious to her mother—gently into Theodore’s hands.
“I entrust it to you, Young Master.”
“W-Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because it’s more important than my life. I’ll come back alive to retrieve it, so please keep it safe until then.”
Theodore held the necklace with care, lost in thought.
After a while, he looked up and asked in a cautious voice, full of desperate hope.
“Lerry, are you really going?”
Hoping, even now, that she might change her mind.
Rayana understood that hope—but this time, she couldn’t back down.
“I’ll return. Please… grant me your permission.”
“…Then you have to come find me. I’ll be waiting.”
Though Theodore’s slow reply was filled with lingering regret, it was a mature answer for a seven-year-old.
And so, Rayana succeeded in getting her young fiancé’s permission.
After the storm of emotions had passed, Theodore tugged at Rayana’s collar, meeting her eyes.
He looked like he had something more to say.
“Then keep your promise. No matter what it is.”
He gripped Rayana’s left wrist tightly.
By coincidence—or perhaps not—it was the spot where the demon’s mark remained.
Rayana simply nodded.
At the temple, news had come of a new divine prophecy.
The Grand Duke quickly requested an audience with the imperial family.
Once granted permission, he headed straight for the Emperor’s audience chamber.
“Please share the contents of the new divine message.”
He skipped any formal greeting. This was a matter of life and death for his son, after all.
Aureciad, the current Emperor and Crociad’s younger brother, shared the same appearance and build but had a gentler expression.
Even when his older brother barged in and demanded answers, Aureciad was unbothered. He was generous like that.
“…It came from the messenger of the gods. Please, see for yourself.”
He handed over the scroll, and Crociad quickly scanned its contents.
[A corrupted one shall appear in the ancient temple of demons and break the seal.
On the day the vessel and sacrifice’s lives are lost, the world shall be consumed by evil.
Thus spoke the gods:
The only salvation is the Blue Lion. That one shall halt the demon’s curse and save the world.]
Crociad furrowed his brow.
His grip on the scroll tightened as he tried not to crumple the paper.
The march to war was approaching. He had been anxious they’d be sent without understanding the prophecy.
A corrupted one will break the demon’s seal…
Perhaps Theodore’s recent episode hadn’t been a mere coincidence.
Crociad’s gaze sharpened.
The only salvation: the Blue Lion.
Blue hair. Blue eyes. Blue… what else?
He pondered for a while before suddenly realizing something.
Unconsciously, he was trying to fit Rayana Chester into the role of the Blue Lion.
So I was wrong to think the demon liked her, and she might be the savior…?
Disappointment crept over him. He had hoped the pair wouldn’t end up twisted like he and his wife.
Rayana was stronger and healthier than his late wife, so he had hoped the demon’s curse might pass her by.
But now, the divine message seemed to say otherwise.
“The army departs in two weeks. Please decipher the prophecy as quickly as possible.”
Crociad made the request earnestly, and Aureciad gave him a wry smile.
“Brother, you don’t need to be so formal when it’s just the two of us.”
Aureciad had always found his brother intimidating but had never disliked him.
He’d always admired him, always looked up to him.
“Now that you are Emperor, I cannot speak to you as casually as before.”
“But when you sat on the throne, you never demanded formality from me.”
Crociad’s expression turned slightly awkward at Aureciad’s pointed comment.
It was hard to ignore such a subtle plea from his five-years-younger brother—but times had changed.
Aureciad hadn’t become Emperor as a formal successor, but was hastily put on the throne. His support base was weak, and his education incomplete.
Being seen fraternizing too casually with Crociad, the rightful heir, would only harm him.
Yet Aureciad didn’t seem to care.
“You don’t even accept my greetings in public anymore. It makes me sad.”
It was as if he still thought himself a ten-year-old child.
“So at least when it’s just us, please treat me informally. Like before.”
“…Very well.”
Crociad yielded, not wanting to push him away.
He wanted to grant a rare family member’s request.
“I’ll send word the moment the message is deciphered, Brother.”
Aureciad smiled warmly as he saw him off.
For someone rumored to have coldly thrown his brother into battle just to keep the throne, his demeanor was surprisingly kind.
The day of departure for the Grand Duke’s Astell army and knight order was fast approaching.
Rayana strolled through the garden, steeling her resolve.
Is the Young Master asleep?
She looked up at Theodore’s window.
The lights were out and the shutters drawn.
She thought she had no regrets left, but one thing still lingered in her heart.
The small master of the house. Her fiancé.
Theodore Valencia, who had sobbed and begged her not to leave.
“Young Master, are you asleep?”
In the end, Rayana visited his room in the dead of night.
She knew it was improper, but if she didn’t say goodbye now, she wouldn’t see him for years. Better to be improper and leave with no regrets.
“No. Come in.”
At his invitation, she opened the door. Theodore sat on the bed, hugging his knees.
“Why are you still awake?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Rayana didn’t ask why.
His face was filled with resentment toward her.
And she could understand it.
