Chapter 98: To the North

“Evan.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about marriage?”

“Yes?”

Evan was momentarily flustered by Duke Cabaro’s question.

What did he think about marriage?

‘What else could it be…’

He thought of it as a grave.

Of course, Evan had never been married.

But the era he had lived in—what kind of era was that?

An era where you could watch an elephant’s trunk being healed from inside your room.

An era overflowing with all kinds of information.

Through that flood of information, he knew exactly what process marriage went through, how many rough paths there were, and what problems arose even after getting married.

That’s why people didn’t say those words for nothing.

Marriage is the grave of life.

Korea’s exceptionally high divorce rate probably had something to do with it too.

Because of a culture where people constantly compared themselves to each other, perceptions of marriage had hit rock bottom.

But this world was different.

Marriage was a kind of weapon.

For nobles, marriage was natural; not doing it made you strange.

Someone with serious flaws in family or appearance.

Moreover, it was the healthiest and most mature period of life.

Because there existed a separate maturity period when noble blue blood and talent could be passed down, they married early and had children.

Shorter average lifespans also played a part.

Therefore…

“Evan. What do you think about marriage?”

…Duke Cabaro’s question like this wasn’t completely out of the blue.

If anything, it felt late.

He had already held his coming-of-age ceremony, yet he didn’t even have a decent fiancée.

Did that mean he wanted to get married?

Absolutely not.

Evan was a self-made romantic. He pursued natural meetings.

Rather than weighing families and interests, he wanted to date purely because of each other’s charm and strengths.

Too much of a dream?

Honestly, with Evan’s face, it was doable.

Sure, weird women would flock to him, but he could also attract the non-weird ones.

Evan forced himself to regain composure and opened his mouth.

“…I haven’t really thought about it.”

“For what reason?”

Evan felt his throat clog.

He’s asking again?

‘If I don’t have thoughts, I just don’t—what reason do I need…?’

But since he was asked, he had to answer.

Instead of the “just because” that had risen to the tip of his tongue, Evan gave a different answer.

He wasn’t sure the duke would like it, though.

“…I prefer natural encounters.”

Blind dates? Arranged meetings?

They felt burdensome.

It wasn’t because he was some pathetic guy.

If things went wrong, wouldn’t the person who introduced them end up in an awkward position?

For nobles, it was even worse.

All those entangled interests and power struggles…

A family like the Alkarts could ignore most of it.

The question was only how long that would last.

“I see.”

Did he accept that?

Evan sneaked a glance and inwardly sighed in relief.

Seeing Evan like that, Duke Cabaro also felt reassured.

‘It seems there isn’t any girl he’s interested in.’

Evan resembled Duke Cabaro strikingly.

To put it bluntly, he was handsome.

He must have felt his own popularity at the academy too.

‘I wondered if he met someone he liked there… but it seems not.’

There were certainly many girls around Evan.

Starting with the children he brought—Lapis and Frey—both female.

And Aegis, who traveled with them.

None of them had any flaws in appearance.

Whether they behaved like nobles remained to be seen.

However, the problem was…

‘The age gap is severe.’

Lapis and Frey were young, Aegis was much older.

Aegis’s abilities were indeed outstanding, but as a father, he didn’t want to recommend her.

“If a lady you’re interested in appears later, tell me.”

“Yes.”

“When the time comes, I’ll introduce some to you.”

“That’s all right.”

This time the answer shot out firmly.

He had somewhat expected it.

Marriage between families was business, not love.

The duchess certainly lacked nothing in family background, yet the two had married for love, not business.

The same went for Evan’s mother.

She became a concubine because of family status, but there was no lie in the fact that they loved each other.

‘He’ll meet a good woman later.’

Small talk ended there.

The duke got to the point.

“The Grand Duke of the North has contacted me.”

“…The Grand Duke himself, sir?”

“Yes. He says he wants to meet you.”

The Grand Duke of the North.

The living shield protecting the empire’s northern border.

His status could practically be considered higher than a duke’s.

If ducal houses were pillars supporting the empire, the Grand Duke was responsible for an entire portion of the supported empire.

Such a great personage had personally requested to meet Evan.

The duke nodded.

His expression was as blank as Evan’s, but somewhere in it lay satisfaction.

“I wondered what you did there… so meeting Professor Moriarty was all a stepping stone for this.”

Huh?

“Everyone knows Professor Moriarty is close with the Grand Duke of the North. It’s also famous that contact was cut off, but unexpectedly, they’ve been keeping in touch all along. Was this what you were aiming for? Well done.”

They’re close?

‘…I literally just found out right now?’

He only knew they had a connection through marriage; he had no idea they were close enough to call friends.

Evan gradually began feeling the weight of Duke Cabaro’s gaze.

Those eyes dripping with pride and joy hidden behind that stern face.

Even pride that his son was being recognized by a big shot.

It was so burdensome he felt like he’d go mad.

‘No…’

I really didn’t do anything.

It was true he met Professor Moriarty.

But in that process, almost nothing was led by him.

He was merely dragged around half-conscious by events, yet why…?

“The Grand Duke wishes to see you in person. What do you think?”

Duke Cabaro spoke as indirectly as possible so as not to pressure him.

Of course.

To Evan listening, it sounded exactly like ‘Get your ass to the North right now.’

“…The North.”

Evan let out a deep sigh.

Only inwardly.

“I’ll… go once.”

The North.

There’s something terrifying there.

It’ll be fine, right?

And that very night.

-I heard you’re departing for the North.

-Even my sister… had already figured it out?

“???”

A letter arrived for an unknown reason.

None other than from Arthur Modriter, Knight of the Full Moon.

***

Full Moon Church.

A religious order that worships the moon as god.

Once rivaling the Sun Church in scale, its size had now shrunk tremendously.

Small temples.

Few believers.

Yet no one could ignore the Full Moon Church.

Arthur Modriter, Knight of the Full Moon.

Rumor had it his martial prowess alone rivaled innocence itself.

Before the accident that took his Aura Hole, he was considered the continent’s greatest sword, the one who moved while the kingdom-bound Innocence stayed put.

But an individual cannot become a group.

Still, the reason no one touched the Full Moon Church was…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Very few knew her identity.

Yet because her status and honor were so extraordinarily high, orders had been given that no one must touch her.

The shrine maiden of the Full Moon Church.

Laila.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

In a flower field where only flowers that bloomed under moonlight grew, a girl in pure white clothes screamed and writhed with her whole body.

A girl with soft violet-tinged hair.

She possessed beauty as though molded by a god, but that beautiful face was so distorted by pain that one could barely recognize her expression.

Divine descent.

The day the god wished to bestow power.

The day when moonlight was strongest—the desperate struggle to endure the moon god’s attempted descent using nothing but pathetic human will.

‘…Damn it.’

KWAAAK—

Arthur clenched his teeth and fists.

The shrine maiden.

His little sister was suffering like that.

And what on earth could he do?

Nothing.

Continent’s greatest sword?

Knight of the Full Moon?

Titles like that were utterly useless.

He had abandoned being a knight to become a holy knight, but nothing changed.

…We have to change locations.

Lately, the moonlight had been growing stronger.

He had heard there was no precedent for a god coveting a body this much.

Just what kind of constitution did Laila have that not only the moon god but every god coveted her?

That’s why they chose to rely on the moon god—because it was the strongest.

Because it was known to be the most indifferent.

But that was a lie.

The moon god was greedy.

It could not accept that even its own bright light originated from the sun.

That pure white moon was trying to break out of its shell, and one method it chose was Laila.

…We have to run.

From this church.

To protect his sister.

“…From now on, you don’t need to bring the letters. Instead, I have one request.”

Once he made up his mind, they had to leave this place.

He would take only his sword, a cup, and a single bottle of liquor.

Everything else was for his sister.

Their destination was decided.

The illness of his sister that not even any god could cure.

Because a god descended, it was called divine illness.

Naturally, it could not be cured.

Medicine had not developed properly, and holy power only widened the vessel to accept divine power.

The moment the vessel grew larger, pain was inevitable.

Only one last hope remained.

Evan Alkart.

He had to find him.

The latest piece of information he obtained.

The Grand Duke of the North had shown interest in Evan.

He would probably head there.

He even had a kingdom—the king who ruled a nation—beneath his feet, so a grand duke shouldn’t scare him.

Moreover, the North was where divine influence was weakest.

Even the Sun Church paid it no attention.

“Send this letter.”

Arthur handed over the letter.

The bird took the letter in its beak and fluttered! soared into the sky.

The letter was long.

It explained his sister’s condition, why he needed Evan’s help, and more.

Even the vow that he would offer himself if needed.

-Please take ‘us’ with you as well. To that snowy field.

He prayed that place would become salvation for them.

***

“Hmm, hm hm.”

Elora hummed cheerfully.

The person playing Go with Elora right in front of her was trembling.

Right beside her, someone who had collapsed like a corpse reached out.

Elora snapped her fingers—BANG!

The hand exploded outright.

“AAAAAAAAARGH!”

“Mmm. No can do. If you touch my body without permission, it makes things difficult, you know?”

“…Stop it.”

The man—a devil worshipper who had snuck into the North—gnashed his teeth and spoke.

“Stop toying with us now…!”

“Okay. I will.”

“…Y-you’re really stopping?”

“Yes.”

Elora smiled brightly.

“I need to know where all of your fates have scattered so I can exterminate every last one, right?”

“…!”

BANG!

At that moment, the devil worshipper’s head exploded.

The rest followed the same fate.

Under the night sky, every devil worshipper died.

“Ugh. The stone got dirty.”

The shrine maiden wiped the white Go stone clean and, with blood-stained hands, placed a black stone.

Tak.

In the shrine maiden’s eyes, fate was still visible.

More precisely, its flows.

There was a reason she captured the devil worshippers and forced this game.

“Is something like a great war about to break out?”

Fates normally spread chaotically like an anthill.

Yet something was strange.

They were gathering toward the roots, converging in one place.

The Knight of the Full Moon who did not worship the moon but offered his sword for the shrine maiden.

The shrine maiden born as a natural vessel capable of accepting gods, coveted by every god, suffering from divine illness.

The great guardian who was destined to lose everything—the Grand Duke of the North.

The worst hybrid created by the overlapping of two fates that should never overlap—the daughter of the Grand Duke of the North.

The fate that would overturn everything.

The old man who wished to become history itself… who abandoned everything he had and chose the life of a wanderer for that sole reason.

The sin born with the fate to dye the whole world in blood.

And Evan Alkart.

“It’s going to be fun.”

A deep smile formed on the shrine maiden’s lips.

“Who will be the first to bow their head to Evan?”

The one holding the black stones from birth was Evan.

Born holding black stones, with innate intellect and planning, he was already many moves ahead.

The Saintess of the Sun?

He had already observed that her fate could emit no light at all before Evan.

They were merely insignificant things that couldn’t shine in front of Evan.

The shrine maiden looked forward to only two things.

What kind of plan Evan would devise.

And.

How these people…

“How they will be played with. I’m really, truly looking forward to it.”

[End of Part 1]