15. Party Animals are Here
When there was no progress in recruiting Lara, Prince Sidhar first joined hands with the two saintess candidates—the nobleman's daughter and the wife of the farmer.
They were fake saintesses who were set up by the Prince. So when the Prince visited the temple, they knelt in front of him and uttered their prepared line,
"God will choose you."
A powerful image reached the hearts of the people of Hautean with a significant meaning. The way the saintess, whom they believed and followed like God, took the Prince's hand and swore allegiance to him was no different from God's direct declaration that the monarch of Hautean was Prince Sidhar. While looking at that sight, Lara was once again convinced that the Prince had joined hands with the black sorcerers to create the fake saintess.
Demian returned to his room late at night after investigating the fake saintess and black sorcerers. In his room, Lara said to Demian.
"It's going to be a little different now. Those fakes have joined hands with the Prince."
They were eating late-night snacks prepared by Konny.
"I have never seen such fakes like them."
"How were they?"
"The nobleman's daughter is excited, saying that she will seduce the Prince and marry him. The farmer's wife is thinking about getting a good deal and running away sooner or later."
"I already expected that."
Demian said that it was such an interesting snoop. The nobleman's daughter, who, before becoming the saintess, had been playing around profligately every day. As a result, she could no longer stand the lonely night and seduced the young priests. The wife of the farmer stole the bribes that had entered the temple, delivering them to her husband.
"I still haven't found the base for the black sorcerers yet. But there were some weirdos attached to the temple."
"Who?"
"Mercenaries in priest robes, spies pretending to be workers, and maids trained to be assassins?"
They were people put up by Prince Sidhar. Lara clicked her tongue and said.
"That's just too much."
"The farmer's wife caught on faster than the nobleman's daughter. She seems to know that she won't be able to be a saintess any longer. She's already got her things packed up, so she's probably planning to run away at night after the banquet."
"She probably knows that she's being watched."
"And…"
Demain thought for a while with his finger rubbing his chin. Casually, he said.
"The Prince is planning to use the black sorcerer to attack the saintess welcoming banquet."
Lara, who was mumbling with dessert still in her mouth, frowned sharply.
"Attack? The royal banquet?"
"Yeah."
"Who in the right state of mind would…"
"Sidhar won't miss the chance that he could use at the banquet. It's a perfect chance to put Princess Sonnet and the saintess candidates together and kill them. I don't know about anything else, but he will definitely try to kill Sonnet. If I were him, I would take this chance to get rid of the King as well."
Lara had lost her appetite. When she put down her fork, Demian picked up the last remaining dessert and put it in his mouth.
"He's probably prepared with powerful magic."
"Can we stop him with only the guardian knight alone?"
"That's what I want to ask. What are you going to do now, Saintess Lara?"
"Don't call me that."
"Go ask your God."
"I don't really feel like talking to him."
"Why?"
"He's not a very good conversation partner. His head was always in the clouds when I asked him questions. He only talked about what he had to say and then he quickly disappeared."
"That's how God is."
"How do you know?"
"There are some men who say that sometimes on the battlefield. When humans need him the most, God only watches from afar. When he needs something, he randomly shows up, suddenly leaves his revelations and complicated work, then runs away."
"I really agree with you."
Lara got up and approached the window. The night breeze was quite cold. And because the house was by a river, it also felt like the wind was blowing strongly.
"Demian, if one day, people found out that I'm a saintess and I'm being hunted by the demon, don't think about getting revenge."
"What?"
He asked back. When Lara turned around, Demian's face was horrifying. She grinned as she looked at him.
"Why are you making that face? I'm just saying. Saintesses have always been hunted by the demon, after all."
Demian still could not relax his face. His distorted eyes wriggled. She meant to say not to be too sad or angry and to live happily ever after even if she had died. Lara left the window and approached him. Then, she reached out her fingers and slowly rubbed between his eyebrows and forehead.
"I'm always wondering why you always have such a scary face. This part is too tight. You look scary when you laugh and I think you will also look scary when you cry."
"I was just born like this."
"Don't lie. Where in the world would a baby be born with such a scary face? You have lived on the battlefield for too long that your face has hardened."
Lara stayed like that until his expression had softened. Despite living recklessly, his skin was smooth. Even his eyebrows were even. Needless to say, his sharp nose and red lips were beautiful.
"Demian."
"What?"
"Smile."
Though she said that, she did not think he would smile. As Lara had expected, Demian raised his head and looked at her with a frown.
Lara said to him.
"Demian."
"What?"
"Promise me that you will tell me if, one day, you have any desires to be fulfilled."
Demian stayed silent.
"Something that you want to have, somewhere that you want to go, something that you want to do, or someone that you want to meet… Anything is fine."
She would make it happen. For him to be happy.
Every time Lara made eye contact with him, she was distressed by the image of the ruined Demian. Demian's eyebrows, which had been twisted and wriggling, had now been straightened out. Lara felt it with her fingertips, not her eyes. After being lost in her thoughts, she came to her senses and made eye contact with him again.
Demian smiled slightly.
"Demian?"
A fierce smile as ever. But he did not look as angry as he used to be. He entangled Lara's hand with his own. Then, he told her.
"Fool."
"What?"
"If I have something that I want, will you make it happen? Since you're a saintess, will you do anything for me even if you have to bother God?"
"I won't be able to bother God though."
"Fool."
Demian kept calling Lara a fool.
"If it's true that the demon wants the saintess, then I will be their opposer."
"Demian!"
"I don't want to be the same as I was in the past that you had told me… But I won't leave you no matter what. Because I have to protect you and fight for you."
"That's not what I meant."
"Desire?"
Demian smirked again. His face that had been stretched out was dangerously distorted.
"Do you know what happens when a man who has never felt desire in all his life, wants someone for the first time?"
His hand was hot. She felt a stabbing pain in her chest.
"He becomes a madman."
"So… what do you want?"
"A woman."
Now, moving away from her fingertips, the rising temperature had moved to her abdominal area. Lara held Demian's hand and slowly opened her mouth.
"What kind of woman?"
"Fool."
He drove a wedge in.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Lara shared the fact that Demian had been investigating with Isadora and Sonnet.
Since Sonnet was still young, it was the nobles who mostly consulted with Lara. As they were so close to the Princess that she had called them her masters. They could not repress their astonishment when they heard that Prince Sidhar had ordered the black sorcerers to attack the banquet. They said that it was treason, should it be true, and that they needed to gather evidence.
Unfortunately, the banquet could not be canceled. However, they could not just sit helplessly and suffer without doing anything, and so this banquet would be a golden opportunity for them to capture the villain and get their hands on decisive evidence.
It was an operation that could kill someone if they failed. However, Sonnet strongly agreed more than anyone else, so the preparations went smoothly.
It was like walking on thin ice. On the surface of the water, people who were delighted with the arrival of the saintess kept talking about the peace of Hautean, and below the surface of the water, they put their swords into each other's vital points.
The black sorcerers who were on board with Prince Sidhar moved secretly in Western Hautean. They were ready to attack the saintess welcoming party under the connivance of the Prince. The fake saintesses were busy preparing for the banquet, not knowing that they had been chosen as a sacrifice to get rid of the Princess. Meanwhile, Hautean's most expensive dress fabrics and accessories continued to enter the temple.
Princess Sonnet had also secretly gathered her power. Among them, there was the Grand Chamberlain of the royal family, as well as the long-time guardian knights of the nobles and royal family. Of course, Thousand Gold Isadora was also with her.