Chapter 70

“Ah, no! He wasn’t threatening at all. He didn’t look strong either, and he didn’t harm me on the way here.”

She quickly added that explanation, half an excuse, after seeing the chill spread across Adam’s face at the mention of a royal knight.

But his expression didn’t soften.

Seeing the way his face contorted in worry, Eveline began fidgeting instead, feeling guilty.

She hesitated, then opened her mouth—maybe to ease his concerns.

“It’s true! I mean, really—why else would a man disguise himself as a woman just to show up?”

“Disguise?”

“He was walking around on his knees, pretending to be a woman! Of course, his body shape gave him away right away, but still! I wasn’t hurt or anything on the way here, so please relax, okay?”

The way Eveline exaggerated the story, playfully mimicking the scene, didn’t feel like a lie.

So at least… it wasn’t a royal knight.

Adam let out a small breath of relief.

Since they hadn’t sent someone threatening, it meant the emperor likely didn’t realize how important Eveline truly was to him.

“Ive, how many times have I told you not to follow strangers?”

“Well, yes, but…”

She only came because Adam was supposedly at the palace.

If she’d been on her own, she never would have come.

“Haa… Why did you follow them, then? Didn’t you think it might be dangerous?”

The scolding tone made Eveline pout, looking unjustly accused.

But instead of defending herself, she whispered softly, as if trying to calm his worry.

“The one in danger is you, Hero. You’re alone in enemy territory. And isn’t it better to face that together than alone? Nothing happened, after all!”

“……”

Even if she had been tricked, just seeing him alive and well now was a relief.

‘He was burning up with a fever just this morning…’

She’d heard him muttering in his sleep as though trapped in nightmares.

The names had come out slurred, but she was sure he’d said “Isella” and “Kyril.”

Did he have past connections with them—people he hadn’t told her about?

But his tone had been… fond.

‘He shouldn’t have any ties to Isella in this cycle, since he hasn’t taken on any companions this time.’

And sometimes, he called out to the god.

Eveline had only silently moved her lips each time.

Your one true god
watches over your hero.

The relic, oblivious as ever, simply displayed messages that a sleeping person couldn’t even see.

Still, after the message appeared, Adam’s expression would ease slightly—so perhaps it wasn’t entirely useless.

‘And thank goodness… he really does look better now.’

Eveline reached out and touched the crease between his brows.

“Your fever’s gone down!”

“…All that fuss for this?”

Adam brushed his own forehead where her fingers had just been and muttered quietly.

Then his eyes shifted, tracing along her cheek with his fingers.

“This is…”

Now that he noticed one, he began to see more. Similar marks dotted her arms too.

Small wounds—like she’d been pricked by sharp needles.

They were faint, but unmistakably present in several places.

It had to have been intentional.

And yet she’d told him nothing had happened.

For some reason, Adam’s throat tightened painfully.

It had to be anger.

But the target of his anger… was himself.

He had pushed her away to keep her safe, only for this to be the result.

Still, since no real move had been made yet, it seemed the emperor didn’t regard Eveline as anyone special.

Just a maid from the Demon King’s castle, perhaps. That was almost a relief.

And yet the very fact that the emperor was aware of her was enough to make Adam uneasy.

He had to ensure that only he became the target.

He had to send Eveline away—before the sparks landed on her.

‘Maybe I really do need to send her back…’

Adam slowly clenched and then released his fist.

Just imagining Eveline not being at his side made him feel strangely empty.

It startled him—how much she had come to mean to him.

His scattered thoughts snapped back into place when Eveline spoke again.

“I didn’t want to come either, you know. But do you know how hard that attendant pressured me?”

He kept bringing up Adam every time she so much as hesitated.

She hadn’t wanted to bring him any trouble.

Adam responded in an unnervingly calm voice.

“Next time, slap him.”

“How could I…?”

That had to be a joke, right? Eveline thought so.

But when she saw how serious his expression was, she shut her mouth.

“What if they use that to claim I disrespected the imperial family? Then what?”

“If you get caught, then so what? I wish you wouldn’t worry about things like that, Eve.”

“……”

That was when the emperor, as always, finally made his entrance—late.

Standing on the raised platform, flanked by his attendants, the emperor leisurely scanned the grand hall.

At last, his gaze landed on Eveline and Adam.

The oily glint in his eyes made Eveline shiver, and she rubbed her arms to shake off the chill.

Adam instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her behind him.

“I warmly welcome you all to my birthday celebration. And look who’s graced us with his presence—the elusive Hero himself. How could I not be delighted?”

The emperor waved a hand lazily in Adam’s direction.

“Come. Kneel.”

“What are you doing! Show proper respect to His Imperial Majesty!”

“This is why commoners are so uncultured…”

The nobles whispered as they watched Adam.

“What was the temple thinking, raising up a mere commoner as a Hero? Divine selection, they said—but it’s all lies. That high priest clearly conspired with the pope behind the scenes.”

“Still, isn’t it lucky he is a commoner? If he were the heir of a ducal house, he might’ve actually posed a threat to the throne…”

“Ahem. Quiet, now. Whatever the case, after the late emperor passed and his son mysteriously vanished, that man is the only one left of the royal bloodline.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

Adam ignored the noble chatter and took a step forward.

If they wanted a show, he would give them one.

‘As long as they don’t touch her.’

He was willing to bow his head. As many times as they liked.

Adam slowly approached the platform.

This entire charade was just one grand stage set for the emperor and himself.

The emperor must’ve expected to feel triumphant watching Adam kneel before him—but Adam felt no shame at all.

Your one true god
watches you silently.

Adam lifted the corners of his lips in a faint smile.

His god was always soft-hearted.

Once, he had trembled and licked the boots of the same emperor who’d condemned him to die—but now, none of it stirred any feeling in him.

Your hero smiles.

If anything, he was glad. Glad that his god was watching him.

“You seem to be in good spirits.”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t feel good, when I’m paying respects to His Imperial Majesty?”

The emperor’s smile faltered. Adam’s calm demeanor clearly irritated him.

As Adam stood up, he spoke again with a pleasant expression.

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried clearly across the room to every noble gathered below.

“And it’s all the better that I can pay tribute to the late emperor, whose birthday happens to be today.”

“You dare…!”

The emperor’s eyes flared as Adam mentioned the former emperor.

It was the look of a man silently demanding—Are you going to speak the truth, without proof?

Adam stifled a laugh.

“Surely, that’s why Your Majesty summoned me today on the late emperor’s birthday—to honor your late brother?”

“……”

“I heard it from the high priest himself. The two of you were very close… so close, you’d even die together.”

Adam’s calm, deliberate voice rippled through the hall, and the nobles began murmuring amongst themselves.