"Cough!!"
After swearing, I immediately let out a harsh cough.
It was the result of forcing myself to shout loudly with my exhausted body.
"Ceres!"
“Why did you have to shout!”
Hames and Viol held onto me as I continued coughing, checking my condition.
Amidst this, only Sibylius showed no reaction.
Her face was frighteningly expressionless.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
As if giving me a last chance to explain, Sibylius asked, and I squeezed out my voice.
“No....”
I knew her unilaterally, but she didn't know me.
But…
“You... you’re one of the people I hate the most...”
I disliked Sibylius so much that pleasant words simply wouldn't come out.
“That’s absurd. Why do you hate someone you’ve never even met? Or do you also believe the ridiculous rumors about me? The ones about being a half-demon who secretly kidnaps and eats people.”
“No, I don’t believe them. You’re not that kind of person....”
The only one he ever tried to devour in his entire life was Ceres, so I could guarantee that.
As I clearly conveyed this fact, Sibylius's eyes showed a flicker of interest.
“Then why?”
Why?
Because he was the one who made it impossible for Ceres to use her divine power and gave her a terminal condition.
Sibylius. The great mage, a half-demon who had lived for hundreds of years, the one Viol had summoned to heal Ceres's body.
The methods I tried – increasing divine power affinity using holy power, protecting the body using mana – this guy figured it all out.
So at first, he wasn't on bad terms with Ceres.
Rather, he was the closest among the four.
To Ceres, he was a benefactor who completely healed her body and someone who was relatively reasonable among all the crazy people.
However, becoming close was the root of the disaster.
The old man, who looked young but had lived for centuries, began to obsess over a much younger woman.
Perhaps because love found him so late in life, his obsession was particularly severe.
Claiming his demonic nature awakened because of her, he even drank Ceres's blood!
'Now I cannot live without Ceres. So I will make it so you cannot live without me either.'
After saying this, he took advantage of a moment when the other male leads couldn't intervene and kidnapped Ceres.
He conducted all sorts of magical experiments, trying to cast a spell that would prevent her from leaving him.
As a side effect, Ceres lost the ability to use her divine power.
And by the time she was rescued, the experiments had not only erased her divine power but also left her with a terminal illness.
In effect, that bastard Sibylius delivered the final blow to Ceres's life!
I cursed him out even when I was just reading the novel; how could I possibly stay calm seeing you now that I've become Ceres?
“Get lost....”
Seeing she even held a syringe, I forced my unresponsive lips to move, rejecting her with all my might.
“...Go away now.”
“Yes, I will.”
Sibylius actually listened and started to leave, but Viol stopped her.
“If you leave without healing him, I’ll kill you!”
“Do as you please. He himself refuses, so there’s nothing I can do.”
Ignoring Viol's threat, Sibylius turned to leave without a backward glance, or so it seemed.
“Three times! No, I’ll triple the tenfold increase – thirty times the funding!”
“I will treat him.”
She immediately turned back.
“Wh-why?”
As I started to question Viol, she held onto me and tried to reassure me.
“Ceres, that woman isn’t here to harm you. I called her to treat your mana overflow.”
Mana overflow?
Is that why I'm in pain right now…?
"Ceres, this requires expert help. Even if you dislike demons, you must accept this.”
Hames also tried to persuade me, and she was right.
If it was a mana-related illness, leaving it to Sibylius was the surest way.
Even though she’s a psycho who could snap like in the original novel at any moment!
D-damn it.
I couldn't even move forcibly like before, so I had no way to refuse.
Sibylius casually injected my body again, then instructed the other two to move me.
“Let’s take him to my residence. Treatment will be more effective where I have proper facilities.”
“Can’t it be done here?”
“If there is someone here who knows magic better than I, we can certainly go to their residence instead.”
"...Alright."
Viol herself lifted me into her arms.
“Let’s go.”
“You intend to carry him yourself?”
"Yes."
"Wait."
Before I could voice my bewildered objection—
"Hold on, I’m going too."
“High Priest Hames, you too?”
“Am I not allowed?”
“Of course not!”
Sibylius vehemently opposed the Emperor and High Priest coming to her home, but the two insisted.
Eventually, Sibylius had no choice but to return to her residence with both of them in tow.
However,
“Do not enter my workshop.”
At the door, she snatched only me away and intended to leave the other two outside.
Viol, having been snubbed at the door, twitched an eyebrow.
“You’re telling me, the Emperor, to just wait outside your house?”
“The Emperors before you never let me into their homes for generations, so why should I let you into mine? And frankly, you two would only be a hindrance.”
Sibylius spoke coldly, then finally looked at Hames.
“Even you, High Priest, won’t be much help in this situation. The best you can do is step aside so as not to interfere.”
“Can you heal Ceres then?”
“If you two don’t cause unnecessary trouble.”
"Understood."
As Hames nodded, Viol cursed, "Damn it."
She knew that with one person agreeing, she naturally had no choice but to stay behind as well.
Unable to even argue, she could only watch resentfully as I alone was carried inside by Sibylius.
Yes, me alone.
I was carried into her laboratory, unable to resist the very person who could ruin me.
…Why isn't she obsessing now, of all times?!
I resented the other two for handing me over to her and not even coming along, but it was too late.
Sibylius laid me on a bed in the eerie room filled with magical tools and said.
“I’ll start with an examination first, so don’t resist unnecessarily.”
As Sibylius gave the warning, I waved my hand dismissively.
"No, stay away....”
“Why are you being such a pain when I’m trying to heal you?”
You saying you'll heal me while using magic on my body is kind of traumatic for me.
One wrong move and it could be a death sentence.
“Don’t touch my body....”
"Stop being annoying."
As I continued to wave my trembling hand, Sibylius looked thoroughly annoyed.
She grabbed both my hands, forcefully holding them to stop me from moving.
When I still tried to resist, her expression shifted to one of disbelief.
“Even though I’ve eased it, the pain must still be considerable, yet you’re trying so hard to move.”
Sighing as if she had no choice, she said,
“Let’s try to find a compromise we can both agree on.”
“What compromise....”
“You dislike me, and I dislike you. But I still have to treat you to get my research funding.”
She said she would accommodate my requests if possible, as my cooperation as the patient was necessary for the treatment.
“Should I wear a mask to hide my face if you find me so unsightly? Or should I swear an oath never to engage in personal conversation with you?”
It was a rare opportunity, but I couldn't answer rashly.
What should I demand? No. My body hurts too much, I can't think straight.
Having no other choice, I spoke more directly.
“Don’t... fall in love... with me...”
“...Is that your condition?”
Sibylius looked dumbfounded, then a smirk touched her lips.
“Do you really think I would fall for you? After all the nonsense I’ve heard from you?”
“If I’m unlucky... it might happen...”
The Empire’s greatest beauty! Just how many women has he charmed to think like this so naturally? It’s almost admirable how different your way of thinking is from someone like me.
“But rest assured.”
Sibylius brought her face close to mine as I lay there, her dark eyes meeting mine directly at point-blank range.
“Unlike those idiots outside, I won’t be swayed by your pathetic good looks. There is absolutely no chance I will ever fall in love with you. Never!”
“Damn it!”
Viol punched a nearby rock, shattering it.
Forbidden from even entering the house by Sibylius, she couldn't contain her anxiety.
'Surely his condition won't worsen while I'm not there?'
She couldn't bear the worry for Ceres.
Smashing the rock didn't calm her down.
She kicked a tree, snapping it, and stomped the ground, digging it up.
Unable to control her emotions, she repeatedly struck whatever forest objects were within sight.
“...Ceres.”
In any other place, someone might have told her to maintain her dignity, but the only person with her was Hames.
Hames paid no attention whatsoever to Viol’s actions.
She simply stared endlessly at the closed door Ceres had entered, her eyes filled with worry.
As the two were occupied in their own ways.
“You?”
“What are you doing here?!”
A presence was felt, and something startling happened to both of them.
A beautiful woman with blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
The Empire's greatest knight, who shouldn't have been there, had appeared.
Moreover, she was fully armed, sword and all.
“You, why have you come here?”
Viol asked, suspecting the reason.
Then, Alios met the eyes of her sovereign, the Emperor, directly and replied nonchalantly.
“To kill you.”