The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

106 – 106. The Spreading Gray (1)

Since receiving the proposal, Ludmila intentionally exposed her left hand, proudly showcasing the wedding ring given to her by Edanant.

She received a wedding ring.

Now, she will marry Edanant in the spring of next year.

As she extended her left hand, the wedding ring sparkled with a radiant glow.

Until now, she had thought of makeup and jewelry as mere embellishments, a simple princess at heart. Yet, the sight of her adorned with such a beautiful ring drew countless gazes.

“I hear she’s promised to marry Prince Edanant of the Hoenberk family.”

“Prince Edanant… isn’t he the new hero of the Holy Kingdom, chosen by the Great Earth Mother?”

The Empire’s Red Dragon and the Holy Kingdom’s new hero.

They were undeniably a perfect match, a pair of handsome and beautiful figures.

The nobles of the Baltaria Empire, wishing for the prosperity of the royal family, sent their congratulations to the engaged couple.

“Congratulations! I heard you received a wedding ring from Sir Edanant?”

“Thank you, Sister Isabel.”

“You must have been preoccupied dealing with the cultists invading the Empire… Hehe, that must mean Sir Edanant really likes our Liza, right?”

“Ahem! I’m embarrassed.”

She was threatened with the choice of whether to risk her life or to give up the wedding ring.

— Of course, she couldn’t say that honestly.

So, Ludmila blushed and subtly turned her head away.

“Congratulations, sister! I heard the news too!”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, Alexis, who was sitting with Isabel, looked filled with excitement. The fact that Edanant, chosen as the new hero by the Holy Earth Mother, would become her brother-in-law seemed to bring him great joy.

The brother of Hero Maximilian.

And the newly chosen hero.

He was more than qualified to be selected as a son-in-law of the Baltaria royal family. Thus, the engagement was accepted without any dissent or opposition.

“…….”

Ludmila silently placed her left hand on the table, brushing over the wedding ring on her ring finger.

I’m happy.

I really received a proposal from Edanant.

There had been a minor incident along the way, but for now, she decided to focus on the outcome.

“Now that Mila has received a wedding ring too… there are now two married women in the Baltaria royal family? Hehe.”

The noblewoman with luscious chestnut hair casually revealed her wedding ring as she spoke. In response, Ludmila offered a faint smile.

Having remained unmarried until the age of twenty-seven, how much hardship must her family have endured?

The time had come to put an end to her spinsterhood.

Even if a natural disaster were to sweep across the continent, she would surely hold her wedding next year.

“I must be on my way now. I have matters to discuss with Edanant…”

“Already thinking of your husband? Ha ha, just kidding. Hurry back.”

Ludmila excused herself to Isabel and Alexis before rising from her seat. Edanant would be waiting for her in the parlor.

He likely wished to discuss the incident that had occurred in the Marquisate of Hoenberk.

The darkened aura.

The black flames that had turned the surroundings to ashes in an instant.

The power of the red dragon, yet something felt amiss.

The strength of the guardian dragon representing the empire had devolved into violence and cruelty.

Had Edanant not sacrificed himself to quell the madness, an unprecedented disaster would have engulfed the Marquisate of Hoenberk in merciless flames.

Uncontrolled power only ensnares the innocent.

She had to find a way to control that power.

Thus, with a somewhat heavy heart, she moved forward.

“What a coincidence, Saint.”

“It seems Edan has summoned both the saint and the princess at once.”

They say enemies meet on a narrow bridge, don’t they?

As Ludmila made her way to the parlor where Edanant awaited, she unexpectedly crossed paths with Jebeline in the palace corridor.

She greeted her with a formal bow.

It was basic etiquette towards the empire’s princess and the saint of the Holy Kingdom.

However, she showed no intention of hiding her discomfort towards her rival, immediately adopting a cold expression. The sight was as chilling as a winter gale, causing the palace maids to hurriedly retreat from the scene.

‘Did the First Saint always wear a ring?’

As Ludmila walked alongside her, she caught sight of the wedding ring on Jebeline’s ring finger.

Where on earth did she get it?

Could it be that Edanant had gifted it to her?

Narrowing her eyes, she gazed at the wedding ring adorned with glass-like diamonds. Aware of Ludmila’s scrutiny, Jebeline subtly smiled and raised her left hand.

‘She must have blackmailed Edanant to obtain that wedding ring. Who would have thought the saint of the Holy Kingdom would engage in such shameless behavior… By the way, the design is quite similar. Could it be a replica made to resemble the original?’

It was a wedding ring with a design so similar that it was immediately recognizable.

It’s a counterfeit.

Rudmila declared at once that it was a fake.

Because her own wedding ring, a gift directly from Edanant, was the genuine article. Thus, Rudmila let out a slight scoff at Jeblinne, who seemed to be desperately denying her defeat.

‘What are you staring at? You, a spinster, who forcibly snatched a wedding ring.’

At Rudmila’s blatant reaction, Jeblinne snorted.

Just as Rudmila believed her wedding ring to be genuine, Jeblinne also held the conviction that her own wedding ring was the real deal.

Because the ring she received was a keepsake left by Edanant’s mother, who had passed away early.

It was the wife’s role to inherit the mother’s legacy.

The wedding ring possessed by the spinster princess was merely an ancient artifact passed down through the heads of the Hoenberk family. Thinking this way, Jeblinne cherished her own wedding ring even more.

‘The wedding ring I received is real.’

‘The wedding ring I received is genuine, you know?’

Without a hint of concession, Rudmila and Jeblinne arrived simultaneously at the front of the parlor, glaring at each other as they placed their hands on the doorknob.

Then they swung the door to the parlor, where Edanant was waiting, wide open.

* * *

The Demon Realm.

A territory dominated by demons that crossed over from another world.

A man had reached the land of the demons.

Clad in a black priest’s robe, the man gripped twin swords, dripping with fresh blood, as if to show that a battle had just taken place.

Ilkeron Nebiacus.

The captain of the guardian knights representing the Holy Kingdom and the strongest among the Seven Great Lords.

The Cardinal of Darkness.

A monster that had purged countless apostates.

The cardinal, having piled up heaps of demon corpses, began to wipe his blood-stained glasses, silently letting time pass in the center of the bloody chaos, as if waiting anxiously for someone.

“…Master.”

“You’ve arrived, Maximilian.”

How many minutes had passed like this,

when a man with flowing black hair walked in.

Ilkeron, seeing a familiar face, smiled brightly and exchanged greetings.

“Did the Holy King send you?”

“Of course. Do you think I dropped by out of boredom in my retirement?”

He had long since passed on his duties to his successors in the Kingdom of Seonghwang and retired, but he was called back into the mortal realm by the summons of Seonghwang, an old friend and superior.

Ilkeron smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth deepening as he adjusted his glasses.

“It’s far more serious than I expected. The end of the world foretold by the Earth Mother has already begun.”

Regions covering half of the demon realm had turned ‘gray.’

Gray.

A colorless ash hue, devoid of any vibrancy.

The space, shrouded in gray—symbolizing the end—had stolen not only color but also time. As if to prove this, the demons of the demon realm, swallowed by gray, stood frozen like plaster statues. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on a scene.

It wasn’t just a problem for living beings.

All objects existing in the material world had lost their vitality.

The gray was spreading further and further.

Soon, it would swallow all colors present on the continent.

The cardinal dispatched from the Kingdom of Seonghwang made a brief sign of the cross, mourning all living beings consumed by gray.

“Have you come to stop Beatrice?”

“Surely not. I don’t have the heart to wage an all-out war against the Saintly Party.”

He was aware of the plan to resurrect the Plague of Death.

Maximilian glanced subtly at the elderly cardinal, sensing the intervention of the Earth Mother.

“The Plague of Tyranny has been resurrected in the Baltaria Empire. It has been released from the seal of the One True God.”

“…What?”

The Plague of Tyranny.

An ancient specter that had been vanquished by the One True God had returned.

At Ilkeron’s words, Maximilian’s eyes widened as he spoke.

“Is it really necessary to awaken the Plague of Death? Soon, the Plague of Famine will also be resurrected.”

“…….”

The Plague of Tyranny had returned.

Inevitably, the Plague of Famine would follow suit.

If the Plague of Death were to be resurrected as well, an uncontrollable situation would unfold.

This could not be allowed to happen.

The resurrection of all plagues signified the disgrace of the One True God.

The reason the Cardinal of the Abyss had arrived in the land of demons, eroded by gray, was ultimately to persuade the Saintly Party to cross the line. And he announced that the Plague of Innocence was on the verge of complete resurrection.

“Maximilian. I propose a deal in the name of the Holy One True God.”

The cardinal, burdened with loyalty, extended his hand.

It was a gesture asking for a response to the deal with the Earth Mother to prevent the world’s end.