Chapter 59

I was stunned.

‘Why the hell is he here?’

I knew full well that at this point, Dad’s offensive barrier wouldn’t be enough to stop Usher.

That’s why I’d been waiting for someone else.

‘The person Daddy said would come in his place.’

He’d promised they’d definitely arrive within the hour.

Even if that person didn’t make it in time, I still had a card to play—

‘…But I really don’t wanna use it.’

It came with a nasty backlash, so I’d saved it as a last resort.

Anyway, someone did show up in the end, but…

A royal spy?

“Ack—! W-what do you think you’re doing…?!”

“Ohhh, Sir Usher! Nice of you to speak up. Caught red-handed, red-handed! Gyaaaah, arrest him now!”

Antonio slashed his index finger through the air, and as if by magic, Usher’s mouth was sealed shut.

“…!!”

Veins popped at Usher’s temple.

But it only lasted a moment.

“…”

He looked at me once, then scanned the wrecked room and the situation—then quietly backed down.

He must’ve realized it was too late to do anything now, and that the odds were against him.

At the same time, Antonio’s divine power began restraining Usher’s entire body.

‘Tch. Quick-witted bastard. Should’ve kept thrashing.’

Would’ve made it easier to deal with him.

I dropped straight to the floor with a heavy thud.

‘Haaah… but it’s over. Crisis averted.’

Or… is it?

I glanced nervously at the royal spy, his eyes covered in thick bandages, and shrank back slightly.

“Are you alright?”

Antonio asked kindly, but I didn’t respond.

“…How’d you know to come here?”

“Ahahah~ With all that ruckus outside the main building, how could I not know?”

Was one of the onlookers his informant?

“When I heard you were spending the morning all alone without your Guardian, I dashed over like the wind!”

“But only Laura knew about that…”

“Oh, I’m suuuper close with Lady Laura!”

Yeah, right.

But still—where’s the person Daddy promised to send?

I flicked a glance at Usher, now bound and quiet, and was just about to frown and speak when—

“Oh nooo. Ack! Are we seriously just breaking down the door like this?”

A voice called out from behind Antonio.

“I know the knight patrol should be showing up soon because of the barrier alert… You’re not gonna dump the blame on me again, are you, Sir Antonio?”

Someone stepped through the doorway.

Dark blue hair tied back in a long ponytail.

Tall and broad-shouldered—a female holy knight.

‘That woman…’

The face was so familiar that I instantly recognized her.

She was the one Daddy had asked to act as my temporary Guardian.

According to the backstory, she used to serve under him in the Azure Holy Knights when he was still a hero.

For reference, after Dad became Corrupted, the Azure Knights disbanded and scattered.

“You hear me, right? I better not be disciplined for this.”

“Ahaha~ Of course not, of course not, Dame Alexa!”

Our eyes met.

And hers went wide.

“Oh my goodness—is that perfectly round and golden bread bun of a cutie our old Captain’s candidate for Pope? She’s too adorable!”

“Tadaa~ That’s right!”

“Why do you get to hang out with her, Antonio?”

Antonio turned his head just in time for our eyes to meet—or, well, it felt like it, even though his were still wrapped in bandages.

I could almost see the faint glint of his golden eyes behind the cloth.

He beamed.

“You can thank me all you want, mkay~!”

I wrinkled my nose and ignored Usher’s burning glare aimed squarely at me.

…Like I want to say thanks.

* * *

A short while later—

“Are you alright, Candidate? Sir Tatum—no, the suspect—will be taken into custody by our unit!”

Not long after Antonio and Alexa had appeared, a group of holy knights rushed in, heard the situation, and hauled Usher off.

Some of Usher’s own subordinates were among them and clearly stunned.

‘But with two witnesses, he’s done for. There’s no way he’s talking his way out of this.’

Especially since one of those witnesses was a cleric directly under a Cardinal…

They were basically the central powerhouses of the organization.

‘Still, he’ll probably slither out of it again.’

Usher had been undercover here for over a decade. His foundations were nothing to scoff at.

But now that this is the second official incident—after breaking into my room before—he won’t be able to play the same tricks anymore.

“Haaah…”

I really need to level up or something. Otherwise, I’ll just keep being a target! Being a lowbie sucks!

“Are you alright?”

I turned at the low, husky voice—unusual for a woman—and saw the towering holy knight standing steadfast before me.

‘Whoa… she stands just like Daddy…’

Alexa seemed to hesitate for a moment, then suddenly knelt on one knee in front of me.

Like she wanted to meet me at eye level.

She even braced her hands on the floor and started lowering herself further.

‘How low are you trying to go??’

She looked like she was about to prostrate herself.

“W-What are you doin’?”

“Eh? Ah… I think I read somewhere that holy knight protocol says we can’t be higher than the Pope candidate in stature. Right? I think…?”

“Thath’s only when I’m in a chair…”

“Ah-ha! The lil’ one—er, Candidate—is so clever!”

Alexa immediately straightened her back.

“Forgive the delay in introducing myself. I’m Alexa Michelle, here at the recommendation of my captain—no, Sir Derek. Please, just call me Alexa!”

Her sharp, fox-like eyes didn’t match her bright, cheerful voice.

Her greeting was rough but respectful—just like Dad’s used to be.

“You were in serious danger. I don’t know the whole story, but thank goodness I wasn’t too late. The moment I got the message from the Captain, I rushed straight over!”

“…Mmh. But why’d you come with that guy?”

Right now, Antonio was staring at me like a kicked puppy, and I was very much ignoring him.

Wasn’t like that from the start, though.

I had thanked him out of basic courtesy… but then he invited me to visit his department, and that’s where I dropped the conversation.

‘Are you nuts? Like hell I’m walking into a spy nest.’

“Ah, Sir Antonio? I bumped into him on the way. He’d just found out you were alone and insisted on tagging along…”

Just then, a faint light blue glow flickered between me and Alexa. Divine power.

Alexa, still smiling, lowered her voice beneath the magically silenced field.

“Just got a weird feeling, is all. Y’know… you don’t get too chummy with central department people.”

The glow vanished like it had never been there.

‘Damn, she’s sharp. I thought she was all bark and sunshine.’

I was still inwardly impressed when Alexa raised her voice again.

“Seriously, I was so worried…! I was rushing over, and midway through, Sir Antonio just dumped Pope Candidate Emmet on me and took off!”

My eyes flew open.

“Gasp. Thath’s why you were late?”

“Nope! I dumped him too and kept runnin’!”

“…”

Eek.

The indignant sound came from Antonio, who’d been staring at me the whole time.

“So mean! You left our Emmet alone in a cold hallway? Dame Alexa, I’m reporting this to the committee!”

“Hah! Go ahead. I’m not scared of that! What kind of person just abandons their own Pope candidate in the first place?!”

…They’re both acting like clowns, but the scary part is—they’re not.

As the two bickered out of nowhere, someone else began approaching us.
 

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Translator: Japchae