After sealing the evil god, Sion arrived in his homeland, a journey that took a whopping three months.
In truth, even if Sion travelled slowly, it would never take three months to cover the distance.
However, due to numerous nations hindering Sion’s progress on the way back, the travel time ended up being much longer than planned.
‘Although I intentionally let them capture me.’
Sion willingly accepted the invitations from various countries that could have been refused.
He had one reason.
He wanted to make sure they heard the name Cassion.
Even if Sion hadn’t gone to such lengths, the hero who sealed the evil god would have been recorded as Cassion anyway.
The temple knew his name was Cassion.
But even with that knowledge, Sion chose to waste his time.
He just wanted to.
The people who held the highest positions in each country.
People that he and his family would never have dared to look in the face.
He wanted them to hear the name Cassion directly from him.
Truly, he felt that way for some reason.
With that, Sion grabbed the reins of his horse and continued his journey.
His destination, to be more precise, was not his homeland but the site of the orphanage that had burned down ten years ago.
“…….”
However, upon arriving at the orphanage, Sion was speechless for a while.
The place where the orphanage used to be.
It had been turned into one big graveyard.
‘Who on earth…’
Who made a grave here?
As he thought about it, Sion quickly realized who it was.
‘……Cecile.’
Sion had contacted Cecile two years ago.
When Sion asked the temple to find information about someone, they quickly located Cecile within a few days and informed him.
Fortunately, Cecile was safe.
And she was still living in their homeland.
Due to the considerable distance between the temple and their homeland, Sion couldn’t meet Cecile in person.
Instead, they exchanged letters, and through them, Sion learned that Cecile had surprisingly gotten married.
Moreover, she married a count.
Cecile was now a countess.
Though the letters mentioned it was a contractual marriage, Sion honestly didn’t fully understand the explanation.
A marriage is a marriage. What’s the difference with a contractual marriage?
Strictly speaking, isn’t every marriage a kind of contract?
Marriage requires documents and vows, after all.
But Sion didn’t bother expressing these thoughts in his replies.
In any case, Cecile, the one who sent the letters, seemed happy.
Then it’s settled.
Whether it’s a contractual marriage or just a marriage, it doesn’t matter as long as Cecile is happy.
At that moment, Sion’s heart felt considerably lighter.
And then again.
He vowed to achieve his purpose.
Soon, Sion descended from the horse and approached the grave slowly.
There was a single grave and a single headstone.
“If I had known there was a grave, I would have brought flowers…….”
As he muttered this, Sion carefully stroked the inscription on the tombstone.
The headstone did not bear the name of the grave’s owner. Instead.
[Seven angels are resting here.
Warning: As they are soundly asleep, anyone making noise nearby will be immediately punished.]
“……Haha.”
Sion laughed out loud.
It was exactly the kind of phrase Cecile would come up with.
After gently tracing each letter of the inscription with his fingertip, Sion stood up.
Surprisingly, there were no tears in his eyes, perhaps because he had shed them all ten years ago.
Standing silently in front of the grave, Sion turned around.
“I’ll be back.”
Next time, with flowers in hand.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Ack!”
“Ack!”
“Mon-monster! It’s a monster… Ugh!”
Sion, armed with a sword and the temple’s treasures, stormed into the Marquisate of Hildegarde.
Using the treasures, he cast a barrier across the entire castle, trapping everyone inside.
Swinging his sword, Sion mercilessly erased any life within the castle.
“Don’t back down! There is only one enemy!”
Soldiers, knights, servants, maids—none were spared.
Suddenly, Sion came across familiar faces.
The knights who had subdued him in front of the burning orphanage ten years ago.
“Don’t be afraid; if we work together, we can easily…”
Before the words were out of his mouth, the knight in the lead and the knights behind him fell in unison.
Sion easily disposed of the knights with an almost laughable ease, then resumed walking.
“So much for your rampage, you insolent bastard.”
Inside the Hildegarde mansion, within a spacious area resembling a grand hall, Zion encountered Marquis Hildegarde himself.
But he wasn’t alone.
Surrounded by numerous forces, Marquis Heldgarde seemed confident.
He had every reason to be; his forces consisted of elite warriors clad in armour, shields, and swords.
And battlemages, seemingly by the dozens.
A single battlemage was powerful enough to take on an entire army, but they were so rare and expensive that most families could only afford one or two as bodyguards.
Facing Sion, the Marquis commanded confidently.
“Kill him!”
But his command was returned to the Marquis’s troops, not Sion.
Just once.
Sion swung his sword once, and all but the Marquis lost their lives and crumbled to the ground.
The Marquis staggered backwards and opened his mouth after standing motionless in shock at the sight.
“……What do you want?”
“…….”
“Tell me what you want; I’ll give you anything. Money? Political influence? Or perhaps women?”
“…….”
“Especially women. Among my children, there’s one with exceptional charm…”
“Why did you do that?”
Sion, who intentionally spared Marquis Hildegarde when annihilating his forces, asked.
Until he set foot in the Marquisate, that is, until just a little while ago.
Sion had no intention to ask the Marquis questions about ten years ago.
He deemed it pointless to hear anything from the marquis now.
But when he saw the Marquis’s face up close, which hadn’t changed much from ten years ago.
Sion’s mouth betrayed his thoughts and moved uncontrollably.
“Why did you set fire to the orphanage ten years ago, killing everyone in it?”
As soon as the question was finished, Marquis Hildegarde immediately put on a composed expression.
“What are you talking about?”
“…….”
“What do you mean…… No, wait. I get it. It was a mistake.”
“What?”
“It was a mistake. All of it was a mistake. It wasn’t intentional, I apologize. Is that enough?”
Sion’s face hardened like stone.
Not a hint of doubt could be seen. Sion was certain.
“You don’t remember.”
“What are you talking about? I said it was a mistake!”
“You don’t even know who I am.”
“Who you are? You’re the one who sealed the evil god.”
Swoosh!
A chilling sound echoed.
Sion didn’t bother to look at his subdued enemy.
He simply stood, silently gazing into the void while gripping his sword.
An indescribable feeling took over his body.
An incredibly unpleasant emptiness.
…Perhaps that was the closest description.
Sion remained motionless for a while before turning away.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Please spare me… Aaah!”
“Kuck!”
Although Marquis Hildegarde was dead, Sion didn’t leave the Hildegarde mansion.
From the beginning, Marquis Hildegarde was not Sion’s sole target.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t have bothered to cast a barrier over the entire castle.
One by one, he hunted down and cut down the remaining people in the castle, like dealing with a nest of poisoned rats.
Finally,
“This must be the last.”
Sion stood in front of the bedroom, where the only survivor’s presence could be felt.
After confirming once again, with his keen senses, that there were no other survivors in the castle, Sion opened the door to the bedroom.
Inside, a woman was sitting.
Laila Hildegarde.
Sion recognized her at once.
He had memorized the appearance of all those belonging to the ‘Hildegarde’ family long ago.
To find and eliminate every member of their lineage, wherever they might be hiding in this world.
“Are you Laila Hildegarde?”
It was just a casual question.
“You’ve got the wrong person.”
Laila’s nonchalant response was unexpected, but Sion didn’t flinch.
