He had protected the Saintess with his own frail body.
To her, as a knight, this was the ultimate humiliation.
At the same time, it felt like a red-hot branding iron searing her heart.
“Give me your hand.”
Her tone was sharp, leaving no room for refusal.
Lynn instinctively tried to pull his hand back.
However, Vivian grabbed his wrist firmly.
She pulled a clean handkerchief from her robe and began to bandage him with movements that were both clumsy and rough.
“You are not allowed to do such a stupid thing ever again!”
She kept her head down, her voice muffled.
“Protecting people is my job, not yours!”
“You just… need to stay safely behind me.”
Lynn looked at her bright red ears, completely stunned.
‘This isn’t how the script is supposed to go!’
‘Shouldn’t you two be worried about the person who is about to die from poison first?’
“Brother…”
Lilith’s voice drifted over, sounding faint and full of grievance.
“My hand…”
Lynn snapped out of it, suddenly remembering the greatest threat by his side.
He turned his head and saw that Lilith’s lips were already turning purple, and her body was swaying precariously.
“The poison! Quick, neutralize the poison!” Lynn grew anxious.
He shook off Vivian’s hand and rushed to Lilith’s side to support her.
Alicia finally reacted as well.
She looked at Lilith’s poisoned arm with a complex expression.
There was jealousy, suspicion, and a trace of… gratitude she didn’t even notice herself?
But in the end, she was still the Saintess.
“O Holy Light, cleanse this filth!”
She reached out, and a sphere of soft white light enveloped Lilith’s arm.
However, the dark purple toxin only faded slightly; it wasn’t completely dispelled.
“What a powerful magical potion…”
Alicia frowned.
“My Divine Art can only temporarily suppress the spread of the toxin.”
“Brother, am I going to die?”
Lilith leaned into Lynn’s arms, asking weakly.
“Maybe dying is for the best… That way, no one will try to take Brother away from me anymore…”
‘Shut the hell up!’
Lynn screamed internally.
He was currently dealing with a massive headache.
On one side, he had a Saintess who saw him get a tiny scratch and immediately hallucinated a “sacrifice for love” scenario.
On the other side, he had a Princess who, because he had stolen the spotlight, had entered “the overbearing knight falls for me” mode.
And then there was the one in his arms—the true Demon King who had just performed a “tearing a man apart” act in front of him.
Now, she was pretending to be a frail, dying maiden to emotionally blackmail him.
What kind of miserable world was this!
Just then, a series of rhythmic and heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
“Your Highness! Are you alright!”
A squad of Royal Capital Guards clad in silver armor burst in, led by Vivian’s vice-captain.
Their expressions shifted instantly when they saw the carnage backstage, especially the pile of smoking, mangled flesh on the floor.
“Seal the scene! Protect Her Highness and the Lady Saintess!” the vice-captain ordered immediately.
The soldiers moved swiftly, encircling the three of them to provide protection and separating them from the shivering students.
The chaotic backstage finally regained some semblance of order.
But Lynn knew the real trouble was only just beginning.
“It’s him!”
A student hiding in a corner pointed a trembling finger at Lynn.
“He’s the one who saved the Lady Saintess! I saw it! He pushed her out of the way!”
“Yes! I saw it too! The assassin’s blade almost stabbed him!”
“Heavens, he’s a hero!”
The students’ frantic chatter was like a pot of boiling oil poured into an already volatile situation.
Hearing these words, a smile of “it was only natural” appeared on Alicia’s face.
Vivian’s expression turned colder, but her grip on her sword hilt loosened.
Even the vice-captain’s gaze shifted from scrutiny to admiration when he looked at Lynn.
Lynn felt lightheaded as the “hero” title was suddenly thrust upon him.
He wasn’t a hero.
He was just a player who had instinctively chosen the optimal solution to stay alive.
But now, no one would believe that.
In everyone’s eyes, his image as a man who threw his life away to save a beauty was permanently etched.
“Take him… and the three of them back to the Royal Palace,” Vivian commanded, looking at the semi-conscious Lilith in Lynn’s arms before glancing at Lynn and Alicia.
“The events of tonight are far too suspicious.”
Her gaze finally landed on Lynn’s hand, which was wrapped in her handkerchief.
“Until the investigation is complete, for your own safety, you must remain under royal protection.”
Lynn’s heart sank to his stomach.
It was over.
He had escaped the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair.
And this time, there were three tigers dragging him back to their nest together.
The Royal Capital Guards worked quickly.
Using their shields and halberds, they cleared a quarantine zone in the messy backstage area.
The vice-captain knelt, frowning as he used the tip of his sword to poke at the pile of rotting meat still emitting black smoke.
The stench almost made him gag.
“What kind of foul sorcery is this…” he muttered, his face pale.
Order was being restored.
The frightened students were being comforted by guards and moved to a safe corner.
Lynn was sandwiched between Vivian and Alicia, with Lilith still leaning weakly against him.
Looking at the well-trained soldiers, he felt a small sense of relief.
“Finally… some normal people had arrived to control the situation.”
With the royal family intervening and the incident being this massive, they should probably restrain themselves a bit, right?
That thought lasted in his mind for less than a second.
From start to finish, Alicia’s gaze never left Lynn’s hand.
That small piece of fabric, already stained red with blood, was like a needle piercing her pupils and stabbing into her brain.
He had bled.
To protect her.
This realization was like a seed taking root and sprouting wildly in her heart.
It grew into a twisted, towering tree, its branches heavy with the fruits of “guilt” and “ecstasy.”
“…”
She suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was like a mumble in a dream.
“What?”
Lynn didn’t catch it and asked instinctively.
Alicia didn’t answer him.
She lifted her head and surveyed the backstage.
Her gaze swept over the screaming students, the flustered guards, the filthy floor, the worn-out prop boxes, and the pile of rotting remains.
“It’s not enough…”
“Sin!”
Her voice grew louder, carrying a jittery, neurotic tremor.
“This punishment… the punishment for that desecrator… is not enough!”
“Your Holy Blood was spilled, staining this filthy place. Everything here, everyone who witnessed you being harmed, they are all guilty!”
Her voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and fanatical, like the most deranged preacher in a cathedral.
“Sin must be purified!”
**[Alicia Clemens Blackening Value: 99%]**
**[Warning! Blackening Value has exceeded the threshold!]**
**[Blackening Value: 105% (Data Overflow)]**
The System Panel in front of Lynn’s eyes turned so red it looked like it was dripping blood.
An immense, suffocating aura of holiness erupted from Alicia!
It wasn’t the soft white light of a healing spell.
It was a pure, condensed light of destruction, intense enough to incinerate everything it touched!
A white radiance spread out from beneath her feet.
The stone tiles on the floor were instantly vaporized, leaving not even a trace of dust.
Everywhere the light reached, debris, props, tables, and chairs vanished silently, decomposing into nothingness.
“Lady Saintess! Please calm down!”
The vice-captain gasped in shock, immediately raising his shield to block the path.
“Purification!”
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