Calliona thought she understood why Julian had asked for the “city closest to the villa.”

She quickly checked the map and said,

“The closest place to the Duchess of Idra’s villa is the Sinesse Marquessate. We can send a communication there.”

Communication orbs only existed in major cities. So to contact someone far away, you had to send the message to the nearest city.

“Of all places, Sinesse...”

Julian rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t specifically told Rosie, but in any case, the Sinesse Marquess family and the Noart Count family could never be on good terms.

“It’s a bit awkward to send it in the name of Noart. May I ask to send the communication under Your Majesty’s name? As if sending it to Lady Idra.”

“That would be best.”

Calliona nodded and pulled the signal cord.

“I’ll send a communication to the Sinesse estate right away.”

“Please do.”

Only then did Julian seem to regain his senses. He stood up slowly and gripped his sword. Then he spoke with a resolute expression.

“Then, I’ll prepare a few things and head to Arhad.”

“...What?”

“Now that it’s come to this, I have to rescue that Yuta bastard.”

He raised his eyebrow and continued calmly.

“Ever since I learned Yuta Orgon’s true identity, that bastard has been like a destined rival to me.”

“Mm, mmhmm...”

“Your Majesty, do you know who the most unbeatable opponent is? Someone who’s already dead.”

Calliona, who had been writing the letter to send via the communication orb, made a sour face.

“I can’t let our RosieRosie miss him, grieve for him, and end up thinking of him more fondly than me.”

There wasn’t a trace of naive humanity—only the kind of logic that seemed more reasonably insane.

“It’s a long journey to Arhad.”

Julian slowly bowed to Calliona.

“This time I’ll prepare more thoroughly than before, and I will return safely, Your Majesty.”

Calliona stared at him.

Only now did she realize something.

For example—the fact that Julian, who cared for RosieRosie so deeply, was ultimately going to inform her of Zahid’s danger.

“Return safely, Julian.”

So Calliona said boldly.

Words she hadn’t been able to say nine years ago, or even yesterday.

“I will bravely carry out my duty and wait for your return.”

Julian and Calliona’s eyes met.

Julian bowed once again and exited the palace. At the same time, Calliona’s letter was transmitted via the communication orb to the Sinesse estate.

* * *

[Big Brother’s Heart]

A few days before Aietar sent the letter to Julian—

Yuta was staying in Arhad, tending to Aietar’s needs. Of [N O V E L I G H T] course, he was also secretly opening paths for Zahid, who had sneaked in with him.

For several days, Yuta had even hidden Zahid in his room, feeding and letting him sleep there while avoiding others’ eyes.

“You’re done washing. That’s a 10-point penalty, Zahid.”

“...Huh?”

“If someone with a body that nice walks around naked in front of me, it hurts my feelings.”

He playfully gave penalty points, reminiscing about the old days.

“Ah, then 10 points won’t do... Shouldn’t I get 30?”

Each time, Zahid responded smoothly—nothing like when he was eleven.

“It only makes me feel worse, so the penalty is canceled. The gown’s right here, so just put it on. From the perspective of someone with a delicate, slender, sympathy-evoking body, I’m feeling inadequate.”

This life, really...

No matter how he thought about it, it was a bond he couldn’t explain.

When I first met him at the Academy, I found him insufferable for acting all high and mighty as Rosie’s fiancé.

But now, somehow, he’d become the one taking care of him.

And through that, he came to understand Julian’s feelings, too.

He hated the fact Zahid was Rosie’s fiancé, but still said he was like family...

How absurd, that the only person in the world who could understand Julian Noart was now himself.

Truly, life is unpredictable...

Of course, hiding Zahid wasn’t the only thing Yuta was doing.

“Father, please have some tea while you work.”

Each night, Yuta brought warm tea and snacks to Aietar’s room.

“It’s my duty to find the successor, but I worry every day that Your Grace might fall ill because of my shortcomings.”

Aietar was thoroughly reviewing the list of “children who failed to learn letters properly at a young age” every night.

The first high priests had often entered political marriages with nobles. So at the very least, it was highly probable the successor would have noble blood.

That was also why Aietar had dispatched Yuta to the Academy at just the right time.

So it’d be nice if he just left the Noart family out altogether.

Yuta swallowed dryly, looking at the mountain of documents before Aietar.

Very few people know about the connection between Noart and Sinesse...

Rosie’s maternal grandmother, Penelope Sinesse, had abandoned her family name to marry into the Noart family fifty years ago.

She had long since passed away, and the current Marquess of Sinesse had actively covered up those events—so the chance of Noart being on the list was low.

But just to be safe, it would be best for Yuta to access the files and delete Rosie’s name himself.

However, Aietar hadn’t granted him that level of access.

“Father, I know I’ve failed until now, and I’m shameless to ask this, but please trust me...”

Yuta spoke desperately while glancing toward the fireplace.

The weather wasn’t cold enough for a fire, so the fireplace wasn’t lit. But he had opened the passage connected to it—so Zahid should be nearby, eavesdropping.

Zahid had first asked Yuta whether they couldn’t just assassinate Aietar.

And Yuta had stopped him, saying, “Someone with that much divine power would recover instantly after an attack.”

That was why Aietar didn’t worry about his own safety despite only minimal guards.

Yuta was also someone from the Temple and was considered to have strong divine power. But Aietar’s divine power wasn’t even comparable to other priests.

Possibly because he had once used the “Relic of Strength” to extract divine power from most Divine Beasts...

Rosie’s divine power was several times greater than Yuta’s—and Aietar’s was several times greater than Rosie’s.

In the end, Zahid couldn’t even think about assassination or attacks and was quietly gathering information instead.

“I’ve been thinking deeply, Father. Maybe I was too caught up in worldly things all this time... I did it all for Your Grace, but perhaps I was blinded by fleeting popularity...”

Yuta lowered his head with a sorrowful expression.

“Coming to the Holy Land of Arhad let me reflect on myself. Following your rebuke, I’ll now devote myself to finding the successor again.”

Then, after a long silence, Aietar finally opened his mouth.

“...Very well.”

His tone was soft and slow.

“I trust you, Yuta. My most loyal son.”

His red eyes slowly turned to Yuta.

“We’ll be starting the ritual soon.”

“The ritual...?”

“Yes. A ritual to obtain new power.”

Aietar rose slowly.

Yuta showed no sign of tension, simply clasped his hands, and watched Aietar.

“It’s time to use the Relic of Strength. I want you to stay by my side.”

“If it’s to stay by your side...”

“The earth of Arhad is saturated with divine power. I will bury myself in it and activate the Relic of Strength, absorbing the divine power through the soil.”

Aietar’s red eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

“I’ve done it before. I borrowed four Divine Beasts and had them wrap around my body for a month. After all, divine power can only be transmitted through contact.”

That was true. To transfer divine power, you had to hold hands or place a hand on someone’s head.

“In other words, I’ll be buried in the ground and unconscious for a whole month...”

Yuta swallowed dryly.

After several days of infiltration in Arhad, they had finally obtained information that could be called a breakthrough.