Two weeks had passed since Alon left for the Palatio Marquisate.

Including the time he had departed from Ashtalon, it had been a full month.

By now, he should have arrived at the Marquisate.

However, this time, Alon was heading to Divine Land first instead of the Marquisate.

That’s because traveling to Divine Land was a bit quicker than heading directly to the Marquisate from Ashtalon.

Since Divine Land was along the route to the Marquisate anyway, he decided to stop by and check on the situation first.

Alon arrived at a village about a day away from Divine Land, and there he encountered something strange.

“Evan.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is that?”

“……”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know either.”

It was a statue of himself erected in the center of the village.

Or rather, a statue of “Kalannon.”

When he saw villagers kneeling in front of the statue and bowing their heads earnestly, Alon turned to Evan.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“……Do you really know nothing about this?”

“Marquis, do you seriously think I’m pretending not to know?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“Right. Though I must admit, it’s a little disheartening to have it confirmed like that……”

Alon already knew Evan’s position.

In truth, Evan’s status was a bit ambiguous.

Technically, Evan was the one managing Divine Land on Alon’s behalf.

That’s why he had been pleased when Divine Land and its order of knights were first formed.

But lately, Alon had heard that more and more things were happening without reporting to Evan first.

When Alon nodded without protest, Evan let out a sigh.

“Whether it’s Sili or Deus, they just rush into things like it’s nothing. It’s honestly exhausting sometimes.”

“Have you ever had to clean up after them?”

“Hmm…… not exactly.”

Alon briefly thought, “Then what’s been so hard for you?”

“Wow, it’s a statue of Master! It’s really well made!”

From the carriage, Seolrang, who had been napping while clutching Blackie, suddenly sprang up and started checking out the statue.

Before long, Alon figured out what was going on.

“They say Divine Land sends out volunteer groups regularly.”

“……Volunteers?”

“Yes. Apparently, they hand out food and preach, things like that.”

“Did I ever give an order like that?”

“No, I don’t believe you did.”

“I see……”

Evan had asked a villager and gotten the answer.

As Alon absentmindedly responded, he suddenly found himself wondering just how far things had spun out of control—and that led him to think of Yuman.

‘Now that I think about it… the Saint must have heard about the creation of Divine Land too, yet he never mentioned it.’

In a way, Yuman should’ve been the one most affected, yet he had let it go so smoothly that it was almost suspicious.

Just then—

[Meowwww~!]

From a distance, Alon spotted Seolrang flying around like an airplane, holding Blackie high above her head.

Blackie looked like he was crying out “Save me~!!!”

His eyes were absolutely pitiful.

But more troubling than that were the villagers.

Even with Seolrang putting on a whole show nearby, they were still bowing devoutly to the statue.

Not just a few people either—there were a lot of them.

That many people were offering prayers to the statue?

“……Evan.”

“Yes, Marquis?”

“Who did you say came through here again?”

“I heard it was Sili.”

“……Sili, huh.”

So that’s why.

“Maybe it’s some kind of hypnosis technique.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, never mind.”

Alon muttered to himself without realizing.

The next day.

Waking up a bit earlier than usual, Alon made his way to Divine Land and arrived at a cliff overlooking the area around noon.

And then—

“Evan…….It looks bigger than last time.”

“It’s not just a little bigger, sir.”

“Whoa, so this is Divine Land!”

Alon saw how drastically Divine Land had changed.

It hadn’t just grown in size—

“It’s practically a whole settlement now.”

Divine Land had transformed into a full-scale settlement.

“……Wouldn’t it be better to just call it a village now?”

Evan added, looking at the endless rows of tents, and Alon had to think.

‘I knew the divine power had grown absurdly strong… but I didn’t expect it to be this much.’

With his lips tightly shut, Alon began walking toward Divine Land.

As he approached, as if they had been waiting for him, knights came running from afar just like before.

“We’ve been expecting you!”

A knight at the front bowed sharply as he shouted.

“Right.”

Nodding, Alon entered the now-massive Divine Land.

Before long, he could see the knights and soldiers waiting in orderly formation.

That wasn’t all that surprising anymore.

It was a sight he’d grown used to.

After all, knights and soldiers had been around since the beginning.

But what left Alon staring blankly at the scene—

‘No matter how you look at it, isn’t this… a bit much?’

If someone else were to witness this, they would probably think:

—This guy’s seriously preparing for war!

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“I didn’t know, but… are you secretly preparing for war or something?”

Of course not.

He wanted to respond immediately, but with knights and soldiers in front of him, he held back and tried to move elsewhere.

That’s when—

“……?”

He spotted a very familiar face.

No, not just one.

“Ryanga? And—”

Ryanga, awkwardly wearing armor that didn’t suit her.

And—

“Historia?”

Historia stood there, wearing her usual blank expression.

“Ahaha… Hey, Chief.”

“Hi, Divine One.”

Ryanga subtly shifted her gaze to the side, and Historia just stood there with the same vacant look as always.

What on earth is going on here?

***

Ryanga’s original goal in leaving the Ronovelli Forest had been to bring back Blue Ghost.

Of course, that was just an excuse—her real goal had been to see Alon.

Anyway, because of that, Ryanga had headed to the Palatio Marquisate.

Before long, she arrived in Divine Land.

But there was something she hadn’t expected.

Alon hadn’t arrived yet, and Historia was already there.

Of course, that alone wasn’t a big problem.

Ryanga and Historia actually got along quite well.

So Ryanga planned to talk with Historia for a day and then return.

In truth, even the reason she had used—bringing back Blue Ghost, who didn’t want to return—was no longer valid, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

Therefore, Ryanga had planned to leave Divine Land the next day.

But just before leaving, Blue Ghost strangely insisted she have a sparring match with Historia.

That was the start of it all.

After the duel, Ryanga was immediately approached by Deus, who suggested she join the Order of Knights.

Naturally, she planned to refuse—but then Blue Ghost whispered to her.

How about trying it out casually, like a little experience?

It was total nonsense—but a little intriguing nonetheless.

If she did that, it would give her a proper reason to meet Alon again.

So Ryanga, who only meant to join temporarily for that reason, eventually became—

One of the Four Knights who guarded Kalannon.

That was how Ryanga ended up staying in Divine Land as the Order’s captain.

But of course, she couldn’t tell Alon the truth.

“Uh, just? I got interested in it—”

In the private room where she was supposed to explain things, Ryanga said that and laughed awkwardly.

“…You were interested in this kind of thing?”

“Yeah—something like that.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yeah.”

Alon tilted his head at her clumsy answer but didn’t press further.

‘Well, Blue Ghost seemed like that too.’

Alon glanced at Blue Ghost, who was striking a victory pose in the distance for some unknown reason.

Then he turned to Historia and asked,

“So, what about you, Ria?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“I just came where I was supposed to.”

“Hmm.”

“Is that so?”

Ria perked up her ears and wagged her tail as if proud of her decision.

Alon nodded, accepting her words without question.

Then he recalled something else.

“By the way, what’s this about the ‘Four Knights’?”

He knew there was a knight captain, but he’d never heard of a Four Knights system before, so he asked.

“They’re the knights who guard only the Divine One.”

Ria answered simply.

“Guard knights… Is that what this is?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are the other two?”

“The remaining two spots are still vacant.”

“Then why call it Four Knights already… no, who even made up that name?”

“The Saint did.”

…What is that Saint even doing without my knowing?

That fleeting thought passed through Alon’s mind when—

“Marquis! Welcome!”

That very Saint appeared with a bright smile on her face.

***

While Alon was inside Divine Land—

“Um, Lord Alexion?”

“What is it?”

“There’s… a guest here to see you.”

“A guest? I thought I had no more appointments today.”

At the Palatio Marquisate, Alexion received news of a visitor from his secretary.

“Do you remember the matter of the Marquis’s partner from last time?”

“…Someone’s already arrived?”

“Yes, sir…”

The secretary hesitated for a moment, then clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

A question mark formed in Alexion’s mind.

It had only been a few weeks.

He never imagined someone would arrive this quickly.

‘More than half of them probably haven’t even arrived yet.’

After thinking it over briefly—

“Well, bring them in for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

‘Can’t just send them away.’

He gave the order, then shrugged to himself.

‘But who could it be? Count Zenonia? Or Duke Altia?’

He had sent invitations to over a dozen noble ladies.

So many candidates ran through his head in a short time, but Alexion stopped thinking about it.

Whoever showed up, he needed to stay sharp.

He had to select the most suitable partner for the Palatio Marquis.

Even if the candidate was a powerful noble.

Alexion steeled himself mentally.

He took a breath to remain cool and objective.

But it didn’t last long.

Alexion’s resolve crumbled instantly.

Because the person who walked through the door was—

“…??”

“Hello.”

—Cardinal Yutia.

Alexion froze on the spot.

He had never sent an invitation letter to Cardinal Yutia.

“Wh-what brings you here—”

He asked awkwardly.

“I heard you were looking for a partner for the Marquis, so I came for the interview.”

“How did you even—”

Yutia’s voice was gentle and steady as she continued.

“Oh right. Since you didn’t send me a letter ‘by accident,’ it’s lucky I happened to ‘not know’ about it, isn’t it? Huh?”

…

That statement was full of holes.

He hadn’t sent her a letter in the first place.

Most of the partner candidates probably hadn’t even been contacted yet.

How did she ‘happen’ to find out, realize he ‘accidentally’ hadn’t sent her a letter, and still show up this early?

But—

Alexion couldn’t refute her.

“—Was it… not an accident, then?”

The moment Yutia, her red eyes gleaming, parted her lips—

One name flashed through Alexion’s mind.

Yutia Bloodia.

The absolute power holding control of Rosario.

And the moment someone crossed her—

They vanished without a trace.

Hence, her alias: “Pure White.”

Therefore—

“Uh—”

“Yes?”

“It… seems I made a mistake.”

“So it was a mistake after all?”

“Y-yes… it really was……”

Alexion chose survival.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep