Around the time Shekina and Dehan received some strange news—
Arthur was heading toward the Imperial Palace with Yuriel.
Since they had come to the capital for the selection of the new Pope, it was customary to pay respects to God in the temporary prayer room set up within the palace.
As they arrived at the prayer room, Arthur shrugged lightly while looking at Yuriel.
“I’ll just wander around nearby. It doesn’t feel right for me to go into the prayer room.”
“A-ah, r-right…!”
No matter how harmless Arthur might seem, a demon was still a demon. As a being inherently distant from the divine, entering a space so closely connected to God would have been completely inappropriate.
“I-I’ll just be quick a-and come out soon!”
“Take your time.”
“O-okay!”
With clenched fists and sparkling eyes, Yuriel looked fired up. Arthur thought he resembled an eager puppy… but wisely kept that comment to himself. Smiling gently, he waved at him, and Yuriel disappeared into the prayer room.
“Hmmm.”
Arthur crossed his arms and looked around.
It was his first time visiting the Imperial Palace. The opulent and radiant splendor captivated his gaze.
While it was nothing compared to the inherent magnificence of the Demon Realm, for a human structure, it was admittedly impressive.
‘Still, it’s just that.’
Arthur subtly shifted his gaze and locked eyes with a knight standing five steps behind him. The knight was clearly there to ensure Arthur didn’t wander freely around the palace.
“Excuse me.”
Arthur smiled cheerfully at the knight and spoke.
“Would it be okay if I looked around a bit?”
Seeing the knight frown, Arthur quickly added.
“The garden, I mean. I heard the Imperial Garden is really beautiful. I was curious.”
The knight stared quietly at Arthur, who spoke with calm composure. Despite his dark nature, Arthur wore a friendly expression that made it hard to see him as suspicious.
Eventually, the knight nodded.
“I’ll accompany you.”
“Of course, you should.”
With the knight following three steps behind, Arthur slowly began walking out of the building.
The moment they stepped outside, warm air—so different from the chill of the North—rushed to greet them. Arthur started whistling softly as he made his way toward the garden.
He could feel the knight’s gaze trailing him, but it wasn’t particularly sharp or hostile, so he ignored it. Apparently, the knight hadn’t deemed him a threat.
“What’s that over there?”
After walking for a while, Arthur pointed at a glass-enclosed space and asked. The knight responded curtly.
“That’s the greenhouse. You can’t enter without an invitation from the imperial family.”
“I see.”
Arthur slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again. A sharp glint flickered in his brown eyes. He stared intently at the distant greenhouse until he managed to magically project its interior into his view.
‘One, two… four.’
Excluding the ones who looked like attendants, there were four people seated inside. Judging from the aura he sensed, some of them were likely royals. Arthur focused his mind further.
‘…Hm?’
He furrowed his brows. Something felt off—an unfamiliar aura.
‘That’s…’
Lucifer?
‘No. That’s definitely Lucifer’s energy.’
He wanted to investigate further, but without actively using demonic energy, that kind of magic would be pushing it. Pressing his tired eyes with his fingers, Arthur looked away.
‘If his energy is here…’
Arthur recalled the intel Shekina had once brought him—that the crown prince had killed the emperor and was now deceiving everyone by pretending to be the emperor himself.
‘They suspected it was through a deal with Lucifer… and they were right.’
Of course—our brilliant Shekina had seen through their schemes a decade ago.
“Excuse me.”
Arthur suddenly turned and stepped closer to the knight. Startled by the sudden change, the knight looked at him, and Arthur locked eyes with him and spoke directly.
“I’d like to request an audience with His Majesty.”
“…Excuse me?”
At that moment, Arthur’s eyes gleamed once more—a mind control spell had just been activated.
“Could you go relay the message for me? Tell him that a messenger from the Daimon family seeks an audience with His Majesty. The reason is…”
“He seeks an audience… Y-yes…”
“What reason should I give, hmm…”
Arthur exaggeratedly stroked his chin in mock contemplation, then grinned brightly as an idea struck him.
“To offer information that will help keep secrets even more securely in the future.”
For a moment, a sly smirk crept across Arthur’s otherwise pleasant face.
***
Beep, beep—
The communication orb disconnected. Shekina stared down at the now-murky crystal ball with a deliberately serious expression, blinking slowly.
“Did you hear that?”
Dehan nodded.
“Yeah. He’s really pissed.”
“…Why though?”
Shekina genuinely couldn’t understand. Everything had seemed fine when they left the castle. What could’ve changed? She furrowed her brows.
“Did we mess something up? Did you do something wrong?”
Dehan slowly rolled his eyes.
“Hmm.”
He answered with a slight shrug.
“The only thing I can think of is blowing up half the training ground during my spar with Sir Salmon.”
“…That’s not a small mistake.”
“The Commander told me to just say he did it in his sleep.”
“……”
What happened to discipline?
Shekina blinked in surprise for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“Well, I doubt he’s mad at us specifically… right?”
“Right.”
Dehan nodded and gently patted Shekina in reassurance. Then he voiced a thought that had been lingering in his mind.
“Maybe… he figured out who was behind the attack on us.”
Shekina’s eyes widened.
“Lucifer and the Elders?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. No way Nord would’ve said anything…”
Just as she was about to dismiss the idea, Shekina suddenly recalled the fact that the ones who attacked them were under the Elders’ command—and that Nord wasn’t the type to forgive that kind of betrayal.
“…Maybe.”
She crossed her arms and tilted her head back and forth in thought.
“Yeah. Since they were trying to kill us, Nord probably got furious once he found out and told the Boss. And then the Boss got really pissed and started tearing through the Demon King’s Castle.”
As she pictured the scene in her head, Shekina’s eye twitched slightly. She could clearly imagine the castle in shambles.
“We should delay going back as much as possible.”
“Yeah. I was thinking the same.”
Dehan grinned and tugged gently at Shekina’s sleeve.
“Let’s tour the capital.”
“……”
“I really want to go.”
“……”
“Just once?”
Where did this guy learn to whine like that? Shekina let out a dry laugh, and Dehan clung to her again, playfully pleading.
“Alright, fine. Let’s go. But let me get ready fir—”
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Both Dehan and Shekina’s eyes widened—no one was supposed to come looking for them.
A voice called from outside:
“Hello, Lady Shekina Daimon. I bring a letter from His Highness the Prince.”
It must be from Benita. Shekina finally gave permission to enter, and a knight opened the door and stepped into the room.
“His Highness asks if you’re available to come to the palace right now.”
“Right now?”
Shekina’s eyes widened again.
“Yes, right now…”
The knight continued.
“Sir Arthur is currently with His Majesty. His Highness thought you might wish to join them.”
“……”
Why is Arthur there again?
Shekina felt a little dazed.
