CHAPTER 43
She didn't look like she was joking; she was completely serious.
I faced Sibylius, who shamelessly muttered those words. After meeting her eyes for a moment, I raised my voice.

"Hey! Does that even make sense?!"

I argued, baffled.

"Didn't you act all high and mighty last time? You said, 'I'm different from those idiots, I'll never love someone like you.' Just like that!"
"In truth, I was also an idiot. Are you satisfied now?"
"No, I'm not!"

After making a promise with me, changing her tune now was absolutely ridiculous.
Back then, she definitely showed clear signs of disliking me, and there hadn't been any events to progress our relationship since then, right?
For her to suddenly say she loved me, I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Just as I was about to argue again.

"Then what do you expect me to do?!"

Sibylius shouted.

"Ever since you left, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Your scent, your face, your voice! I can't forget any of it!"

...What the hell is she talking about?

"Because you won't leave my head and keep popping up, I can't do anything. I can't even sleep! I feel like I'm going to die at this rate!!"
"Hey, wait a minute."

I tried to stop Sibylius from screaming a serious love confession in the middle of the street.
But it was already too late, and the gazes of all the passersby gathered on us.

"What's this, a love confession?"
"Wait, isn't that Saint Ceres?"
"You're right, someone is confessing their love to Saint Ceres!"
"In the middle of the street like this? As expected of the Empire's greatest beauty!"

Everyone recognized me and whispered as if they were watching some entertaining event. I was so embarrassed.

"Aren't you embarrassed? Doing this while everyone is watching!"
"Who cares?! I might actually die from holding it in. If that's the case, I'll reveal my feelings anywhere, regardless of the place!"

Sibylius placed both her hands on my shoulders and held me firmly.

"Why? Why is it?"
"Wh-what is?"
"Come to think of it, you were unnaturally wary of me. You were certain that I would fall in love with you. As if you knew this exact moment would happen in advance."
"That's..."

I couldn't talk about things like the original novel or being transmigrated, so I trailed off.

"Well, fine. That's not what's important right now."

But Sibylius continued, as if that didn't matter.

"I won't demand that you love me back, so at the very least, please allow me to love you."
"What?"
"Isn't it unfair? It's fine for the other girls to cling to you, but I'm not allowed to."
"No, I hate it when the others do it too, you know?"
"It didn't look like that to me at all. At the very least, you're tolerating the other three loving you. So why am I the only one who can't? Why am I the only one denied even that?!"

Because I'm afraid you'll try to eat me or use me for live experiments.
Even if I said that honestly, she'd probably just ask what kind of bullshit I was spouting.
How should I excuse myself in this situation?
While I was racking my brain, Sibylius was still throwing out an outrageous love confession.

"I love you. I will grant you anything. If there's something you want, just say it. I'll mobilize all my abilities to make it happen!"
"What do you mean you'll grant me anything? You're just living off research funds in the forest..."
"Then shall I go to a country right now and conquer it? The only reason I stayed quiet until now wasn't a lack of ability, but a lack of reason to step forward. But now, I have a reason—you!"

I stared blankly at Sibylius as she shouted passionately.
Did she even know what she was saying? She was so excited she was just spouting whatever came to mind.

"Hey, let's calm down. Can't you see everyone is staring? This is seriously embarrassing."
"The one who should be embarrassed is you, whose identity everyone knows, not me. There aren't many people who know what I look like."

So it's fine if I'm embarrassed?!
I was ashamed, dumbfounded, and completely bewildered!
I was so confused, but the people around us didn't know how I felt and just cheered.

"Wow, incredible!"
"I don't know who you are, but I'm rooting for you!"
"Confess a bit more romantically!"

They were cheering without even knowing who Sibylius was, and hearing their words, she let out an "Ah," and made a strange expression.

"A romantic confession. Come to think of it, when immature women whisper sweet nothings to their lovers, they sometimes bring up the Demon King."
"What?"
"I will protect you. Even if the opponent is the legendary Demon King. Even if she were to resurrect right now and target you, I swear I will protect you. For me, these aren't empty words; it is genuinely possible."

Sibylius spoke calmly, as if stating something that was truly possible.

The day after Ceres went deep into the Imperial Palace.
Niobe, who had been wandering around aimlessly from a distance, had no choice but to leave the palace.
Her mission was to protect the last remaining King, Ceres, but since he himself said he was fine, there was nothing she could do.
Besides, since he was inside the imperial palace of the strongest empire of the era, there was no need to worry.
Leaving her subordinates behind to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, she returned to the Whiperion estate to handle another matter.

The Whiperion family mansion, which she returned to after just one day, was a mess.
The servants had stiff faces, and the inside of the mansion wasn't even cleaned properly.

'The territory's residents I saw on the way here seemed fine, but these people can't be.'

Because they were keeping their mouths shut and the news hadn't spread yet, the territory itself was peaceful. However, the servants working in the household had seen what happened yesterday, so they couldn't possibly be unaware of the uproar.

"Where is the Count?"

Niobe clicked her tongue and asked one of the servants for Ares's whereabouts.

"Ah, Commander Niobe. Didn't you follow Lord Ceres?"
"My Liege is currently doing well inside the Imperial Palace. I returned alone because I wanted to ask about yesterday's events. I wish to consult with Count Ares."

Niobe's current public identity was the Commander of the escort knights protecting the family's heir, Ceres. Even though she held a relatively high status and was the one asking, the servant hesitated to answer.

"What's wrong?"
"...Count Ares is not in a good state right now."
"Did she collapse from shock or something? That shouldn't be the case."
"That might have actually been better."

The servant spoke reluctantly and guided Niobe to Ares's room.

"What a disaster."

Upon entering the room, Niobe immediately understood why the servant had said that.
Almost everything in the room was smashed, and half-drunk liquor bottles were broken, rolling on the floor and spilling their contents. It wasn't just one bottle, but several in this state.
The culprit behind this, Ares, had her face buried in her partially shattered desk, supporting her head with both hands while exuding a gloomy aura.

"You're a Sword Master too, so you wouldn't even get drunk. You just threw a pointless tantrum."
"...Did Ceres come with you?"

As soon as she confirmed Niobe's arrival, Ares asked for Ceres's whereabouts first.

"No."

Niobe spoke bluntly to Ares, who flinched but looked at her with expectant eyes.

"He is at the Imperial Palace."
"You just left him there at the Imperial Palace, by Emperor Viol's side?!"
"Is there a problem?"

Niobe said, as if she genuinely didn't understand.

"That Emperor undeniably loves My Liege. There's no need for me to protect him from her. On the contrary, she would protect him even if I told her not to."
"And what if the Emperor defiles Ceres?!"
"Then our Whiperion blood will automatically enter the imperial lineage, making this entire Empire the descendants of our Holy Kingdom. Sounds good to me."
"What?!"
"It's a joke."

Niobe shrugged.
If it seemed like Viol was actually going to do something to Ceres, she never would have left his side.
And...

'My Liege's reaction wasn't bad either. He didn't show any signs of disliking her, seeing how he followed along without complaint.'

If they were to marry consensually, it wouldn't really matter, would it?
Niobe told Ares it was a joke, but she thought the two of them getting together was quite a likely possibility.
She liked the Emperor more than Alios, considering she had come immediately when Ceres needed help.
However, that wasn't what was important right now, so she saved her breath.

"I will mention two highly important facts. One is that My Liege, Lord Ceres, is adopted. Two is that despite this, the blood of Whiperion flows through his veins."

She wasn't certain just because he possessed Divine Power. Not all Divine Power was the same, but what she felt from Ceres was undoubtedly the unique Divine Power of the Whiperion family.

"How exactly was he adopted?"
"...To be precise, I wasn't the one who adopted him," Ares answered reluctantly. "My late husband took him in as an adopted son before he died, so I ended up taking him in as well."
"Ah, the husband you treated so coldly that he died, and for whom you didn't shed a single tear."
"...Where did you hear that?"

Ares glared at her with a straight face, but her expression was answer enough.

"We heard Duke Gravius telling My Liege. Judging by your expression, it wasn't just empty talk, but the truth."
"That woman, spouting unnecessary nonsense!"

Ares flared up and completely smashed the already battered desk.

"...Ignore whatever that damn bitch spouts. I did my part as a wife. I ensured he lacked nothing materially."
"But you gave him no love? If you had given him even a tenth of the love you give My Liege, he probably wouldn't have died."
"Shut up! What exactly are you trying to say?!"

As Ares lashed out in irritation, Niobe narrowed her eyes.

"I only want one thing. My Liege's exact origins. If the husband who adopted him is dead, does that mean no one knows?"
"...There is one person."
"Who?"
"The exclusive mage working for our Whiperion family. In fact, she was the one who introduced Ceres to my late husband."
"I've never seen such a person."
"She has wanderlust, so she usually wanders around here and there. She only comes when called for work. I'll contact her right now and tell her to come here."

Ares rummaged through the ruined room, found a magic communication device, and activated it.