#99
As soon as I heard his proposal, I took a step back, feigning caution.
“A knight order…?”
Naaman smiled pleasantly, as if he weren’t suggesting something blatantly obvious.
“They will serve as your hands and feet, acting on behalf of Hebel.”
Ah.
So in plain terms—
They wanted to plant spies in Jabis.
It wasn’t even subtle.
The Jabis stronghold had always been closed off to outsiders.
Unless you were a lion beastman, you couldn’t work in the estate, let alone step foot inside.
And yet—
I had become an exception.
Before I was Zerakiel’s wife, I had simply been his pet, allowed to roam the estate despite not being a lion.
That alone had been enough to rattle people.
Now that I was recognized as the Saintess, it was obvious they wouldn’t let me return alone.
I had expected some kind of interference—just not this blatant.
‘It might be better if Ella is there, too.’
If I had to be watched, I’d rather have her with me than a group of unknown Hebel spies.
Besides, from what I had observed, Ella didn’t seem particularly fond of Hebel.
If she were truly loyal to them, she would have handed the stolen envelope to Isaac, not me.
But she hadn’t.
And that told me everything.
Ella didn’t trust Isaac.
She claimed to respect him, yet she never turned to him when it mattered.
But—
Would she even agree to leave with me?
From what I had seen, Ella seemed to have a reason for staying in Hebel.
Her position was vague, but she had never complained about it.
Normally, people fixated on what they lacked when they felt safe and well-fed.
But Ella?
She never seemed dissatisfied at all.
‘Maybe she has her own reasons for staying.’
If that was the case, accepting this deal without asking her might only make things worse.
“I’d like to hear Ella’s opinion first,” I said carefully.
Isaac’s smile widened slightly—as if he had been expecting that response.
“She would be honored,” he said smoothly. “It is, after all, a generous position for someone of her status.”
He was so certain, so absolute.
It was clear—
Whether Ella wanted to or not, they would force her into this role.
Calling her his daughter meant nothing.
The moment an opportunity arose, he was ready to use her.
I had no intention of letting that happen.
I tapped my chin, pretending to mull it over.
“In that case… how about this?”
Naaman and Isaac both looked intrigued—but Rachel?
Rachel was smirking, as if already entertained by whatever I was about to say.
I straightened up and spoke firmly.
“I won’t stop you from forming a knight order,” I declared. “But only Ella will be allowed to enter Jabis’ main estate.”
Naaman’s brows lifted slightly.
“Of course, she will still be required to stay in the outer estate with the rest of the knights most of the time,” I added.
Isaac’s face darkened immediately.
“That would defeat the entire purpose of the order,” he protested.
Not my problem.
I ignored him and turned directly to Naaman.
“I’d love to let them in, truly,” I said sweetly. “But as you all know, my dear husband is a completely uncontrollable lunatic.”
The room tensed slightly at my casual remark.
I smiled wider.
“Even protecting Ella alone will be a struggle. So unless you don’t mind your priests dying off one by one, I suggest they stay outside the main estate.”
In simpler terms—
Anyone but Ella steps foot inside? They’re dead.
I used Zerakiel as my shield, letting them interpret the threat however they liked.
Isaac turned red with anger, his jaw tightening.
But Naaman?
Naaman only laughed quietly.
“If that is your wish, then so be it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The priests of Hebel cannot stay outside Hebel for long anyway, so they were already planning to protect the Saintess by rotating shifts with minimal personnel.”
“Well, unlike Ella, the others are bound by Hebel’s restrictions.”
From the beginning, beastmen who had formed contracts with Hebel were mostly unable to survive outside Hebel.
Those with weak pheromones, abandoned by their kind, were sometimes able to move outside Hebel for short periods. However, those without pheromones at all wouldn’t last even a day outside—they would simply die.
‘Wait a minute, does that mean Ella has pheromones too?’
I suddenly noticed the contradiction and tilted my head. I had never once felt pheromones from Ella before.
“But Ella doesn’t have pheromones. Is she really able to leave Hebel?”
“Ella’s case is a little different.”
“Different?”
“That child lost her pheromones later in life.”
“What?”
Is that even possible?
I was about to demand an explanation, baffled, when Ella happened to arrive.
“Did you call for me?”
“Ah, come in.”
Isaac welcomed Ella and led her to stand before me. I gazed at her quietly.
I had been worried since I heard she was being disciplined, but she looked relatively fine.
“The Saintess wishes to have her first dance with you.”
“Oh, it’s an honor.”
Ella smiled awkwardly and bowed politely before me.
By the time Ella and I reached the center of the hall, I noticed that her hands were unnaturally cold. I frowned. They were ice-cold, as if she had just come out of a freezer.
Now that I looked closer, her lips had a strangely bluish hue. Though she had tried to cover it with rouge, she couldn’t completely hide the faint purplish tint.
“Were you scolded badly? I heard you were punished for breaking a promise.”
“Oh, it’s fine. The punishment was lighter than usual. I just had to endure a bit of cold.”
“…What?”
“Huh? What did I just say?”
Ella blinked, as if she had accidentally spoken too honestly.
That innocent expression somehow made me even angrier.
“Hey, Ella. That wound I saw last time—are you sure you just tripped?”
“Lady Cersia…”
“Did Isaac hit you?”
“…”
“You have to tell me the truth so I can help you.”
Hearing my serious tone, Ella opened and closed her lips a few times before finally whispering,
“You don’t have to help me.”
Her face was more rigid than usual. She didn’t seem to realize that it made her look pitiful.
“Why not?”
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. Especially not you, Lady Cersia… I’ve already done so many things I should apologize to you for.”
When did we even meet long enough for her to feel sorry toward me?
Ella had never wronged me, which made her response even more baffling.
“When have you ever done anything wrong to me?”
“Someone like me is nothing special. If I stay by your side, I’ll just be a burden. Once you really get to know me, you’ll regret ever saying you’d keep me close.”
Ella spoke defensively and then pressed her lips shut, as if she truly believed she deserved whatever was happening to her.
She had no idea how infuriating that was.
I scowled and muttered, “Why is everyone around me so obsessed with pretending to be fine?”
Zerakiel was like this too. And now Ella.
What kind of world was this, where everyone only knew how to hurt themselves?
And why couldn’t I just ignore them?
“Lady Cersia?”
“Stop that. Apologizing for nothing.”
It only gives the other person the satisfaction of feeling superior.
Ella looked nervous at my scolding. I gently squeezed her cheeks—not enough to hurt her—and spoke firmly.
“Don’t say ‘I’m fine’ either.”
“…”
“Because you’re really scared, aren’t you? You’re afraid that if you ask for help, they’ll reject you.”
“…!”
“If you keep adjusting to others and blaming yourself, you’ll lose who you are. Is that what you really want?”
Ella’s eyes widened at my words. Soon, her sky-blue eyes welled up with tears.
“I… I don’t want that.”
“Of course you don’t.”
“I really, really don’t…”
Ella started crying, seemingly unaware of what she was even saying. The beastmen watching us began whispering, assuming I was bullying her.
I ignored them.
Instead, I gently wiped away Ella’s tears and firmly declared,
“Whether you want to or not, Isaac has already decided to send you to my side. So stop being stubborn and just stay with me.”
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