The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

107 – 107. The Spreading Gray (2)

Ludmila in the morning,

Jebeline in the afternoon.

Surely, that was how they had agreed to meet.

Why on earth were the imperial princess and the saint of the Holy Kingdom arriving at the same time?

I looked at the little messenger who had delivered the message to the princess and the saint. He wore a foolish expression, sucking on a lollipop, seemingly unaware of the embarrassment radiating from my partner.

“Ahem…! What’s going on, Edanant? To call both me and the saint at once.”

The princess, with her luscious golden hair, spoke with a shy expression.

She subtly extended her left ring finger.

It was surely to flaunt the wedding ring she had forcibly taken with brute strength.

Under normal circumstances, I would have burst into laughter at the princess’s cute display of affection. But unfortunately, I had no such luxury at the moment, as the saint beside me wore a displeased expression.

“How much did you miss me that you called me to the reception room? You could have come to the palace comfortably.”

This time, the saint, with her enchanting silvery hair, blushed as she spoke.

She raised her left hand, proudly displaying her ring finger.

It must have been to show off the wedding ring she had obtained using her lifelong wish.

I cautiously observed Ludmila’s reaction.

What would happen if it were discovered that I had handed over my mother’s last keepsake to Jebeline? Surely, it would bring down the tyranny that had pushed the House of Hohenberg into crisis. I swallowed hard, recalling the precarious situation from that time.

“Saint, Edanant called me to see him.”

“That can’t be. It must be another misunderstanding on your part, Your Highness.”

The princess and the saint clashed sharply.

As I watched their confrontation, I pinched the soft cheek of Ruinon.

“Hyieeek…! W-why that!”

From now on, I vowed not to assign even simple errands to the cute yet foolish fairy.

I made that promise while facing the disasters looming before me.

“Edanant.”

“Edan.”

Ludmila and Jebeline, glaring at each other, called my name simultaneously.

I took out the leather gloves I had prepared for any unforeseen circumstances and covered my hands.

“What’s the matter?”

Of course, he must have matched our couple rings.

The intense anticipation in Ludmila and Jebeline’s gazes asserted that.

They were trying to prove their affection for me through the couple rings we wore as a pair.

I had prepared the gloves to prevent that.

After all, disasters occur in completely unexpected situations.

“…Hmm?”

“…….”

The princess and the saint both flinched at the same time.

The leather gloves covering my hands made it impossible to check for a wedding ring.

Did he really wear a wedding ring?

I could only confirm its authenticity by taking off the leather gloves.

I tried to appear as calm as possible under Ludmila and Jebeline’s blatant stares. If I showed any signs of nervousness, like a thief caught in the act, my true intentions would be exposed in no time.

“It’s already early autumn, so the weather has gotten quite chilly, hasn’t it?”

Good.

Even I thought it sounded natural.

I stretched my hands toward the crackling fireplace in the parlor. At that moment, Ludmila and Jebeline both let out deep sighs simultaneously.

“Huh? It’s not that cold. The fireplace is right next to us.”

“I feel cold. I guess I’m just sensitive to the chill.”

The foolish Louis was trying to break the mood.

I countered, showing an exaggerated shiver at Rue’s words.

* * *

Having experienced a series of strange events, Ludmila finally realized that the Empire’s Red Dragon was, in fact, a puppet of tyranny, fallen under the control of the Earth Mother.

Everything was a lie.

The status of the Red Dragon, revered as the guardian dragon of the Empire, was nothing but a hollow reputation.

Ludmila, who had once taken great pride in being the Red Dragon of the Baltaria Empire, began to show signs of deep self-loathing after realizing the truth.

“Are you alright?”

“…Mm, I’m fine.”

Edanant approached, limping.

It was a trace of the beating inflicted by Ludmila, who had fallen into the role of the Apostle of Tyranny.

It wasn’t just her legs.

Her face was heavily bandaged, and her arms and legs were in casts.

Ludmila couldn’t help but chuckle as she looked at the scarred Edanant. Despite the situation requiring her to think deeply about her future actions, every time she saw Edanant, laughter bubbled up inside her.

“Where has the First Saint gone? She was just here…”

“It seems the Holy Kingdom has sent a personal letter from the Sovereign. It was probably dispatched as soon as the Sovereign arrived.”

The Holy Kingdom.

At those words, Ludmila frowned.

Perhaps it was because she had awakened as the Apostle of Tyranny.

As the image of the ‘Earth Mother’ worshipped by the Holy Kingdom flashed in her mind, a wave of contempt surged within her.

Ludmila, who had once revered the Earth Mother as the one true deity, loyal to the Valterian Imperial Family, began to see Gael as an enemy. It might have been due to the divine presence of the calamity god that enveloped her. Edanant looked at Ludmila with concern.

“Could it be that the First Saint…?”

“It’s likely the calamity of famine sealed by the Earth Mother, just like the calamity of tyranny.”

Though they were thorough adversaries, they were of the same kind born from a single myth.

If the red dragon represented the calamity of innocence, then surely the white dragon must also embody the calamity of innocence.

The calamity of famine.

At Edanant’s response, Ludmila trembled at the corners of her mouth.

“I still can’t believe it. Could it be that I was the Apostle of the Calamity God…? Am I not akin to the vile beings that raided the Valterian Empire?”

“…Ludmila.”

The princess muttered as she looked down at her own hands.

Apostle of the Calamity God.

A vicious group that slaughtered innocent people and committed large-scale human sacrifices.

Countless lives were lost.

The raid in the imperial capital had destroyed the homes of the citizens.

It was only natural for Ludmila to feel contempt and self-loathing upon realizing she was the Apostle of Tyranny. Her noble pride had always been immense, and thus her heart was bound to suffer.

“If you hadn’t intervened… the Marquisate of Hohenberg would surely have been swept away. If the calamity of tyranny had resurrected, many citizens of the marquisate would have been harmed. That terrifies me. If we cannot suppress the calamity of tyranny that incessantly incites destruction, it will ultimately lead to horrific loss of life.”

“…….”

What Ludmila truly wished for was always the peace and safety of the citizens.

Peace and safety.

It was no exaggeration to say she had always fought desperately for them.

She bit her lip, revealing her fear.

Ultimately, the terror that the tyranny’s calamity might run rampant and harm innocent people made Ludmila infinitely weak. Her shoulders trembled pitifully, as if to show him.

“Whether it be the divinity of the Creator God or the divinity of the God of Calamity… I believe all powers depend on how they are wielded. I am also an apostle of the God of Calamity, yet have I not saved countless people until now?”

“Isn’t our situation different? You wield the calamity of innocence at will… while I have lost my reason to the calamity of tyranny.”

Eda-nant, who had been listening intently, reached out his hand.

Ludmila hesitated but eventually grasped the hand he offered.

She felt the cold metal.

It was Eda-nant’s wedding ring on his ring finger.

Fortunately, the wedding ring Eda-nant wore was a blue diamond. Had it been the glass-colored diamond he gifted to Jebeline, she would have witnessed the immediate reappearance of the apostle of tyranny.

“I will always be by Ludmila’s side. If Ludmila goes on a rampage again, I will stop her then as well. That is my role, is it not?”

“Hmm… A philanderer straddling both me and the First Saint speaks quite nicely.”

As she pointed out his infidelity, a look of embarrassment crossed Eda-nant’s face.

Then Ludmila burst into a giggle, her cheeks flushing a rosy hue.

“You.”

“……!”

As the princess with luscious blonde hair took a step forward, she imprinted a soft warmth onto Eda-nant’s dry lips.

It was an exceedingly sudden kiss.

Eda-nant’s eyes widened in surprise.

In contrast, Ludmila tightly shut her eyes as their lips met.

She licked her dry lips with her tongue, drawing in saliva.

Then, she bit her lips firmly, conveying a strange pleasure.

Eda-nant reacted stiffly to Ludmila’s bold kiss. However, he soon embraced the slender waist of the princess with both hands, reciprocating the kiss.

* * *

The gray, which had been rapidly expanding its power like a ravenous beast, began to slow down.

An anomaly occurred.

It was right after the calamity of tyranny was resurrected.

Perhaps they deemed it sufficient as the “axis of evil,” the driving force to sustain the world.

The pitch-black cardinal, who had been gazing at the gray-stained stagnant world for a while, sighed and wore a meaningful expression. His gaze remained fixed on the world tainted gray.

“Next, it seems it will be time to resurrect the calamity of famine.”

“How amusing. To think that a nation worshiping the Earth Mother would attempt to resurrect the calamity of innocence, which stands in opposition to the one true god.”

I know.

It is a rebellion against the edicts of the one true god.

But what can be done?

It is a matter that concerns the future to be passed down to the descendants.

Therefore, I had to prevent the entire continent from being shrouded in gray like the demon realm, no matter what.

Even if it meant committing the grave sin of forcibly corrupting the First Saint.

For a long time, the Holy Kingdom had been preparing a ritual to summon the calamity of famine. Until now, the ritual had been postponed due to the opposition of the Holy King, but now was not the time to be picky about means and methods.

“Thank you for making the difficult decision, Maximilian.”

“……”

“I’m curious, why are you so intent on protecting Edanant until the very end? He is a being from the outside world who unlawfully seized your brother’s body, is he not? For you, the existence from the outside world must be an enemy who not only extinguished your brother’s soul but also stole his body.”

“…I know that as well.”

Maximilian could not possibly feel any animosity towards the being from the outside world.

That is why he must have ‘gladly’ accepted the deal with the Holy Kingdom.