<Chapter 22>

“So, is there anyone around you who’s gravely ill? Not necessarily from a disease—just someone in so much pain they might as well be dying.”

“Why are you asking that? You dashed over here as soon as you heard about the accident—are you hoping to cure some rare illness and make a name for yourself across the continent?”

“And what would I even do with fame? Anyway, I’m asking seriously, so you should think about it seriously too, Your Grace, the Duke.”

“…Again with this…”

Calling me “Duke” over and over.

“Pardon?”

Temenos barely swallowed the rest of his words and turned his head away, avoiding Inosensia’s wide-eyed gaze.

He clenched his teeth as if scolding himself.

‘Seriously, what is with this woman?’

Saintess or not, her identity didn’t matter. What mattered was that he couldn’t make sense of her thoughts.

Why isn’t she afraid of me? Why isn’t she trembling or avoiding me like others do? Why can she speak to me so casually?

This was the first time in his life he’d encountered such confusion. Though part of him wanted to keep his distance, the moment he heard she was in danger, his body moved on its own.

Even now, Temenos couldn’t tell if the warmth he felt beside him was something he welcomed or something he found unsettling.

“Hey, are you even listening to me?”

“…I am.”

“Then answer me. Let’s say the world ends tomorrow, and you only have today left. Who would you want to spend your final day with?”

“Why should I even consider such a thing seriously?”

“Why do you think? You know I received an oracle yesterday, right?”

Temenos flinched. Inosensia’s words sounded as though she were asking, “Are you still spying on me?”

And truthfully, he had a guilty conscience. Hadn’t he ordered Kei to record her movements through vision magic not long ago?

‘Don’t tell me Kei confessed everything.’

Considering Kei had practically dragged her here without hesitation, it wasn’t an impossible thought.

‘I’ll have to separate those two somehow.’

Ignoring his stinging conscience, Temenos opened his mouth to speak. He’d already been intending to question her about the oracle, so the timing seemed convenient.

“Did the oracle warn you about today’s landslide?”

“I thought it might at first, but now, I don’t think so.”

“And what exactly does that mean?”

“The oracle only said that someone would die. I don’t know exactly when or why, but…”

As usual, Inosensia gazed directly at Temenos with unwavering eyes.

“It’s certain that the person is someone important to you.”

“It’s not.”

“Huh? How can you be so sure?”

“God wouldn’t give an oracle just to warn about something like that.”

So, she really is a fraud, isn’t she?

Temenos gave her a skeptical look, but Inosensia, oblivious to his doubt, burst out indignantly.

“Something like that? Are you belittling the value of life just because it’s not yours on the line?”

“You might not remember this since you’ve lost your memory, but God’s oracles have always warned about massive catastrophes—natural disasters, wars, plagues—things that result in the deaths of countless people.”

Temenos fixed his gaze on her, determined to catch even the slightest hint of hesitation.

“Not once has an oracle ever warned about the death of a single individual.”

But Inosensia showed no sign of faltering.

On the contrary—

“Then maybe that one person’s death will be the cause of the world’s end.”

There wasn’t the slightest doubt or hesitation on her face. Her belief in the oracle she’d received, and in God who had given it to her, was absolute.

For a moment, Temenos was stunned.

He had never, not even once in his life, felt such intense conviction or pure faith.

“And besides, didn’t the last oracle I received warn about my death? That time, God warned about a single person’s death too, didn’t they?”

“…That’s because you’re the Saintess, beloved by God.”

In the end, Temenos found himself admitting aloud that she was indeed the Saintess.

And with that admission, he felt oddly relieved.

His mind had been too tangled. He didn’t want to keep doubting her identity anymore.

From that moment forward, Temenos decided to accept it. He wouldn’t question her memory loss, nor would he doubt that she was truly the Saintess.

“Even if I concede that God might warn of one person’s death, I’m certain that warning wasn’t for my sake.”

“And why are you so sure? I’m the Saintess, and I’m going to be your wife.”

Temenos was left speechless as Inosensia poked his chest with her finger.

“If you lose someone precious and grieve, I’ll be sad too.”

“……”

“So think about it seriously. For my sake, if nothing else.”

*  *  *

That night, Temenos lay in bed, unable to fall asleep, restlessly tossing and turning.

“The oracle only said that someone would die. I don’t know exactly when or why, but… It’s certain that the person is someone important to you.”

“If you lose someone precious and grieve, I’ll be sad too.”

‘Someone will die, huh……’

For him, death wasn’t an unfamiliar concept.

Five hundred years ago, when the first emperor unified the divided lands into an empire, the scriptures recorded that the Pope at the time, with the power of God, used the four great temples as keystones to establish a massive divine barrier across the entire empire.

That barrier prevented monsters from attacking people.

However, three hundred years ago, three of the temples fell, and the barrier collapsed with them. Currently, only the capital, where the last surviving Great Temple is located, remains protected by a divine barrier.

Thus, the capital became the only land safe from the monsters.

Since then, the empire began referring to lands protected by the divine barrier as the capital, the northern lands as the North, the eastern as the East, and the southern as the South.

The Great Temple dispatched extermination squads composed of priests and holy knights to aid in monster extermination efforts in the East and South.

However, none were sent to the North—the land of sinners, said to have been punished by God.

But the North thrived regardless. Without the temple’s aid, they managed to repel the monsters.

The first Duke of Winstein, granted his title for his efforts, successfully drove the monsters beyond the mountain range.

It became Temenos’ and the Winstein Order’s duty to ensure the monsters stayed behind the barrier.

Klein lost his eyes, and many knights lost limbs while fighting the monsters at the barrier.

But if one looked at it differently, they could be considered fortunate; at least they had survived.

Every winter, during the monsters’ hatching season, many knights and soldiers lost their lives at the barrier.

Temenos had spent every winter at the barrier since he was ten years old.

The deaths he personally witnessed numbered in the hundreds.

If asked whether one more death would be particularly shocking…

How could it not be? No two deaths were ever the same.

‘Could someone I know really be the one to die?’

To a god who oversees the entire world, the death of one person would surely seem trivial.

Even now, Temenos found it hard to believe that Inosensia had received an oracle warning of such a death.

But he had decided not to doubt her status as the Saintess anymore.

Temenos ordered David to investigate everyone tied to the Winstein household, from their sworn vassals and knights to the servants in the castle and the merchants supplying goods. He needed to confirm if anyone was gravely ill or at risk of death.

David already had his hands full with tasks related to the upcoming wedding, so the investigation would not be completed in a day or two.

Although it didn’t matter how long it took, Temenos hoped it would be resolved before the wedding day.

On the day of the wedding, an envoy sent by the emperor would arrive at the castle.

Temenos wished for this matter to be settled before the envoy could discover Inosensia’s identity as the Saintess.

If something goes wrong, I’ll kill the envoy if I must…

As his crimson eyes gleamed with grim resolve, Temenos suddenly sat up.

His gaze turned toward the window.

Beyond the half-drawn curtain lay a pitch-black night.

Fixing his eyes on the inky void, Temenos focused all his attention on his left ear.

—Fweeeep.

Faint yet clear, a whistle sound reached him once again.

This was no ordinary whistle; it was one only he, a “monster,” could hear.

The moment Temenos confirmed he wasn’t mistaken, he immediately grabbed his cloak and stepped outside without hesitation.

*  *  *

The last time Temenos had heard this whistle or seen its owner was three years ago.

Three years—a short time for some, a long time for others. Long enough for a boy to become a man.

Yet, at the familiar spot beneath the old tree near the defensive wall, the boy waiting for him looked exactly the same as he had three years ago.

His face was as youthful as ever.

“Ferry.”

As the boy waved enthusiastically at him, Temenos recalled the first time they met, back when he was ten years old.
 

<To be continued>

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