Spoiler A Red Knight Does Not Blindly Follow Money

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by Rin.rinaaa, Jun 12, 2021.

  1. apple292008

    apple292008 Well-Known Member

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    In the newest raws, there's some dialogue where it shows the princess raising the dragon. this is speculation but I don't think she is evil just a little mentally ill.
     
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  2. apple292008

    apple292008 Well-Known Member

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    I can finally give you an answer. in the newest chapter, there is some dialogue that says that Judith and the commander have a 5 year age difference near the end of the chapter.
    P.S. the commander is 25
    Princess Isephina.

    sister of my friend.

    She is a pitiful person suffering from a mental illness.

    She is just that kind of awareness. (?)

    It's a sudden story, so I don't know what to say---. (?)

    I was just talking about this with the second prince.

    The prince also highly recommends that you and Isephina would make a good pair.

    Is this what he was talking about as he passed by?

    Why is the 2nd prince?

    I've heard that the Count gave Isephina the tiara he took from Dragon Lair.

    !

    The method of returning the items received from Jim back to Jim was also refined.

    So she can only appreciate you.

    Her evidently troubled handling was that she had to give it to Her Majesty Epina via Eden.

    She asked for it, so she'll bring it ---.

    I don't know if she even misunderstood later?

    However---.

    There was someone else she really wanted her to accept as a tiara.

    If it was Efina, I think that the count, a knight, was a good enough opponent to offer a sword.

    how about In this age, to have Pina as her mate?

    She wants you to give her a chance to become a member of the imperial family.

    ------.

    let's be calm Marriage is an important determinant of family power. Should I ask for time to think?

    Need a conversation within the family?

    Think carefully.

    No, it just buys time. not what i want

    What I really want is---.

    I'm sorry. Your Majesty, please reconsider.

    That's too sudden.

    ---Are you asking for time to think?

    It will be the same no matter how much time you have.

    My heart is set.

    Your Majesty, I apologize if my lack of loyalty put the Crown Princess ahead of you. Please do not doubt your loyalty.

    I am the unchanging sword of the Empire.

    No, it was already decided a long time ago.

    The buds I cherished

    Only now did I realize


    Jim never doubted the Count's loyalty!

    He was going to drop the gun in appreciation of your abilities!

    I'm sorry.

    all right, go away

    I'm going to pretend that nothing happened today.

    Today's paperwork is

    Oh, Kiryu, are you here now?

    What's wrong?? Were you summoned by the Emperor?

    His Majesty the Emperor invited me not to marry Princess Espina.

    ---Yes?

    So I refuse and come back.

    hey hey?!?!

    Haha, maybe that's crazy---.

    What the hell did you do, Kiryu!!

    Are you totally crazy?!

    Do this more slowly and carefully over time---.

    The emperor's intentions were clear.

    Now the 3rd Prince is greatly shaken by the raid

    Wanting a new center of power that can become a stumbling block in the struggle between the 1st and 2nd princes.

    He may have wanted to rein in the ambiguous attitude of the Knights Commander.

    Instead, you will be promised the prosperity of your family.

    It's like a marriage between a noble and an imperial family.

    I could have delayed the answer and looked around.

    but,

    at that moment

    your face came to mind

    Knight Judith---.

    Aaaaah I'm crazy unless I'm crazy---

    Commander?!

    Calm down! it'll be alright

    When you realize it, it was a very simple fact.

    Eat it, boss!

    The last piece of caramel handed out that day remains uneaten.

    I am a new knight who is five years old and younger--- Sir Judith---.

    What do we do?

    I wanted to see you right now.

    puck!

    great!

    No one else is chasing you?

    Huh! That's the last!!

    haha

    Phew

    dead and alive

    Why are they so persistent?

    Still, I had a name line, so---

    Shall we talk now?
    sorry I was lazy so i didn't correct it ;-;]
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2021
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  3. AasherJOY

    AasherJOY Member

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    so what i understood from the above spoilers in the previous threads is that Giryu Aka ML is 25 and Judith Aka is 20?...it is like this right?!?!?!
     
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  4. crunchberry

    crunchberry Well-Known Member

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    Right.
     
  5. Berry.Blast.20

    Berry.Blast.20 Well-Known Member

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    Any spoilers on the romance progression between the main leads ?...Like when do they kiss or something like that ?..

    Any fluff if you will?
     
  6. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    So, ML realizes his feelings after the emperor confronts him about marrying his mentally unstable daughter. That was already depicted in the manhwa. However, I thought the internal thoughts and reactions of ML and his assistant were hilarious. The assistant thought ML would make an excuse to buy time. He was all engaged thinking of how ML might answer the emperor only to hear ML blurt out his refusal in a roundabout way. The assistant had to practically restrain himself from moving to cover ML’s mouth. lol

    Anyway, after the emperor dismisses them, both return to the office and collapsed from the tension. ML actually impulsively rejected the emperor as himself rather than as the Count and head of the family. He saw Judith’s image flash before his eyes and he rejected the offer immediately. Now he realizes that he definitely likes Judith. He remembers her crying so sadly after she confirmed the third prince was safe. His heart felt heavy at that time but he didn’t know why. Then he remembers the caramel that Judith gave to him. He kept one of them and refuses to eat it because she gave it to him. He realizes that his feelings are romantic.

    However, he then starts to deny it. He tries to convince himself that he’s just interested in her because of her potential as a knight. He reminds himself that she’s a cherished subordinate. He also confirms that he denied the marriage because of his beliefs. He doesn’t want to be in that kind of subservient relationship with the imperial family. He can’t live his life that way until he dies. Him marrying the princess would be just like the emperor putting him on a leash. He’s loyal to the imperial family but he doesn’t want to be obedient in that way. Moreover, he has met the princess maybe twice and he has no interest in her other than as a member of the imperial family. He thinks marriage is a grave matter and he doesn’t want to marry under those circumstances. Still, no matter how many excuses he makes, ultimately, he’s forced to admit that he likes Judith.

    An hour later the culprit shows up to consult with him about the secret mission. Since the assistant is there, the assistant suggests that Judith and the commander leave the office because she looks like she has something private to discuss plus the commander spilt his ink pot all over his documents after Judith showed up unannounced. lol The commander decides to take Judith outside the palace to eat. He needs to wash off the ink from his hands so he tells Judith he’ll meet her at the palace gate in ten minutes. He goes to the bathroom, washes his hand. Next he washes his face twice. Then he starts to fuss over his hair until he hits his head on the wall and asks himself what is he doing. lol In other words, now he’s conscious of looking good in front of Judith.

    He takes Judith to a restaurant since she says she likes meat. They talk about the case with the dragon blood. Judith is more comfortable with him now. I think she became that way after he challenged the Black knight dude to a duel in front of all the nobles to defend her honor. After they leave the restaurant, Judith keep looking at him. He asks why is she staring so much. She tells him that his eyes, nose, etc. are nicely placed. He blushes. She keeps looking at him as they walk and he finally tells her to stop. She says he’s cute. lol In her thoughts, Judith thinks she likes him but quickly suppresses the thought because she claims she can’t afford “love” in her circumstances. However, she wishes that their walk together would last longer.

    Unbeknownst to ML, the princess is insisting on him marrying her even after he already rejected the emperor. She tries to get the second prince to find a way to get the Count to marry her. (May all their schemes to do this utterly fail) Apparently the kings from other kingdoms refused marriage to her and now she, her brother and the emperor are trying to saddle the male lead with her.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2021
  7. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • ML’s assistant notices that he’s very distracted nowadays. Work that should take ML ten minutes to complete takes about two hours. That’s because ML is hopelessly distracted. He’s still agonizing over his newly recognized feelings for FL. His assistant confronts him about his behavior and offers to be a sounding board for him. ML reluctantly reveals that it’s about a woman he cares about. The assistant mistakenly thinks that ML is probably fretting about the princess and perhaps he’s regretting turning down the offer to marry the princess because there are benefits to his family in marrying her. ML instead asks his assistant if it’s okay if he quits and basically run away to his estate outside the capital. The assistant thinks that ML wants to quit because they expect the emperor to retaliate in some way for defying his offer to marry the princess. However, the assistant reminds ML that he has responsibility over his subordinates and he can’t abandon them just like that even though he can afford to live a quiet idle life on his estate. ML acknowledges that his assistant has a point. It’s just that he finds himself falling more for Judith. He’s also sad that the caramel he bought and put in his office for her hasn’t been touched by her and he finds himself missing her all the time. He keeps wondering where she is and what she’s doing. He can’t simply go to see her without a good excuse so it’s troublesome. He’s never felt this way about anyone before. Fortunately, after talking to his assistant (they’re more like family though), ML begins to have a calmer mind and he starts working productively again.
    • The princess really chose ML because he’s strong. About a year ago, she asked her fourth brother to bring ML to her and introduce him. She’s been targeting him for marriage so that she can leave the palace which she considers a prison. She doesn’t like the way people pities her in the palace so she wants to live elsewhere. The emperor and second brother, on the other hand, want to cheaply send her off to ML. They reason it would cost less to send her to ML rather than foreign kings who will probably require a larger dowry. Since their attempt failed, the princess asks her second brother (the one who works with dirtbag black knight leader) to help her. The man invites ML to the temple to meet him. When ML gets there it’s the princess who meets him instead. ML is not happy about this. The princess confronts him and asks him if he really rejected the marriage. He honestly affirms the truth. The princess still tries to persuade him until he finally ends up telling the persistent girl that he already has someone in his heart. She still tries to convince him by talking about her status, benefits and marriage as a mutual partnership for nobles. ML admits he used to think that way but not anymore. He advises the princess to get back to her escort since it’s unwise to be there in the temple room without protection. ML then quits the room after making sure that the princess understand that it’s hopeless to pursue marriage with him any further.
    • The princess is very upset. She starts to get emotional because of a principle that ML told her (something along the lines that effort has its limit in this world) in his refusal and then her eyes turn from blue to black as she becomes emotional. At that moment, the dragon she raised begins to wake up to escape and run wild. By the way, the dragon was actually given to her by her second brother. He gave her the egg and magic scrolls. This occurred right after her mother’s death and she felt alone and abandoned by her father. She probably used the magic scroll to cast a spell on the dragon so that it will obey her as it grew up. Since the dragon is obedient to her, the second brother uses her to get the dragon blood. So it seems that the second prince is the one behind the dragon blood but the princess might not know what he’s using it for.
    • FL has already figured out that the princess cast a spell on the dragon while raising it. During her investigation, she took the dragon blood that Raymond (one of her five friends) gave her to the third prince’s magician. The magician told FL that the person who owns the dragon probably cast a spell on it while raising it. However, casting the spell on an overwhelming being like a dragon would make the person mentally unstable. FL realizes right away that everything fits now. The princess was that way because of the taboo magic she used to control the dragon.
    • As expected, the dragon goes on a rampage after its emotional connection with the rejected princess stirs it up. While Raymond and FL are walking to the Red knights building, they talk about Raymond’s findings in the forest. Raymond now works with the fourth prince after he was brought into the secret mission by Judith. Anyway, Raymond reports that he found traces of the dragon such as dragon scales and claw marks. He also found traces of magic circles. He draws an example of the magic circle for MC and she recognizes it as teleportation magic. Suddenly, the sound of loud bells permeate the atmosphere. Both knights react strongly to the alarms and soon see a dragon in the air flying low.
    • Against MC’s admonition, Raymond returns to the fourth prince’s palace to ensure the prince’s safety. MC wants to run away with her friends. They all died during the first timeline so she doesn’t want that to happen again. In the crowded hallway, she finds Louis and Violet and basically forces them to leave the building to run away to take shelter at the temple. Louis, at first seemed reluctant until he sees the huge dragon with his own eyes. ML is seen drawing near to the building on horseback and MC wants her friends to runaway ASAP. She probably doesn’t want them to have to obey ML’s order to go protect the imperial family. By the time ML gets to her, MC is ready to ditch everything too. ML orders her to go to the sword smith to get a sword he ordered the black smith to make. The atmosphere is strange because it’s kind of like ML doesn’t think she will obey and FL feigns like she will obey but really intends to runaway. Nevertheless, ML sadly watches FL leave and eventually turns his horse around to head to where the dragon is creating havoc in the east city.
    • FL truly intends to runaway. She thinks saving her life is more important than being a dead knight. There’s nothing she can do if ML’s assistant will die in this battle like he did in the first timeline. Her old self argues that she’s failing to live up to her resolution to live honorably as a knight. In a nutshell, there’s a struggle within her to runaway rather than obeying the order to get the sword. ML was wearing three swords so she make excuses to herself that he wouldn’t need a fourth sword. Nevertheless, she still wrestles with her thoughts as she runs away.
    • ML is fighting the dragon in the East. When he arrived on the scene, the smell of blood was thick in the air. Fortunately, he has his assistant and a few others there to support him. ML fights the dragon with his red ether. He inflicts damage to the wing and even injures the dragon to the point where its blood is flowing out. Unfortunately, ML’s support are either injured or killed by the dragon. ML tells his assistant to retreat with the injured. He stands to fight alone against the dragon. He already went through two swords which were destroyed by his ether. With his last sword, he inflicts more damage. However, he no longer has a sword to fight. He doesn’t expect FL to actually come. He doesn’t blame her for running away and trying to save her life. He thinks that the world has changed and not many knights will live with the old knight’s code of sacrificing their lives to protect the weak. He wonders where is Sen (might be the white knight commander) and where is the black knight’s commander. He doesn’t really expect the black knight commander to show up though. The dragon starts to approach ML who is unarmed now. He hopes that the reinforcements will come soon before the dragon wreaks more devastation. He thinks he’s hold out long enough. When the dragon was going to attack him, magic attacks the dragon from a distance. It turns out that FL brought him a new sword and some magicians accompanied her.
    • FL jumps off the horse and ML tries to catch her and both roll on the ground together. When they gather themselves, FL argues if ML didn’t think she would show up with the sword he ordered her to bring. ML doesn’t answer. FL is upset that he didn’t believe she would come. (But she really was thinking of bailing so he wasn’t wrong to think that way) ML tells her that it’s not that he doesn’t trust her. It’s more like he doesn’t believe that today’s knights believe in sacrificing their lives to protect the weak. FL had to admit that she wavered but now she wants to live her life as an honorable knight. The two decide to fight the dragon together. The magicians will continue to support them with shield magic, reinforcement magic, etc.
    • In short, the OTP fights a bloody fight against the dragon. At one point, FL runs in front of the dragon as bait and when the dragon opens it’s mouth to eat her, she releases golden ether (her ether color changed probably after the hourglass stigma appeared) into the dragon’s mouth while ML releases red ether pouring down from the sky to damage the dragon simultaneously, killing the dragon. The dragon throws FL away with a blast as it’s dying and ML catches her to soften the impact as the magic shield breaks. FL’s nose is bleeding and ML’s eyes looks like they’re bloody. FL asks if the dragon is dead. ML thinks so. He had felt like his heart would burst out his chest when he saw the dragon almost eat her. ML thanks FL for her hard work. He hugs her and FL relaxes in his embrace. She thanks him too for his hard work in bringing down the dragon. The chapter ends by proclaiming that after defeating the dragon, both knights become renowned throughout the empire.
     
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  8. Fudgex

    Fudgex Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the spoilers!!!
     
  9. Pansy25

    Pansy25 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the spoilers. Can I please ask what happened to the unstable princess? Did the Empire or emperor knew that she was the one who raised the dragon and was she ever punished for it?
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2021
  10. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • The first prince, Albert, works with the nobles who unilaterally decide to raise Jiryu’s rank from Count to Marquis as a reward for his service in defeating the dragon. That was easy to decide since Jiryu is already a noble. It’s the reward for Judith that poses a challenge since she’s a commoner. Her situation is unique and unprecedented. After pondering it at length, the first prince decides to award her with the Order of Brilliante medal. It’s the most prestigious medal an imperial knight can receive. It guarantees pension and rewards until the knight dies. The order also gives Judith the right to make summary judgment under imperial law. In other words, Judith will hold the authority to judge and punish an offender on the spot. The first prince acknowledges that nothing less would do because of her exceptional accomplishment in defeating the dragon and saving the imperial family a huge amount in collateral damage and human lives. Already her name has spread far and wide and “Judith” has become the most popular name given to new born babies over the past three days.
    • Judith spends time recuperating in the hospital. She receives tons of gifts, well wishes, invitations, food, etc. She has an injured nose, burns and cuts. Her friends visit her. They joke around and spend time together. Louis privately tells Judith that he intends to quit the knights. He says this incident made him realize that he would choose the count successor role over the knight role. Privately, he also sees Judith as a wall that he cannot overcome. Before, he used to think that effort would make up for his lack of talent but this experience forced him to acknowledge reality. Judith feels bad that he might have quit because she forced him to runaway but she doesn’t regret it because if the situation arose again, she would still do it again. She just feels bad that she might have stirred him to give up on his dream.
    • Desang, ML’s assistant, visits Judith in her hospital room. He’s also injured and in a wheelchair. They talk about many topics including about princess Josephina and Judith’s reward. Judith is told that the princess fell into a coma after the dragon’s rampage. The temple doesn’t seem to know why she fell into a coma but Judith thinks it’s because the dragon, whom the princess had a mental connection with, died. She doesn’t know if the princess will come out of the situation alright.
    • The two also discuss Judith’s reward. She’s quite alarmed when she learns about the authority that will be granted to her through the Order of Brillante. She will have the authority to make summary judgments on the spot using the imperial law as her guide. Desang informs her that it’s the imperial family’s way of demonstrating their trust in her. Judith wants part of the dragon’s corpse so Desang tells her to ask the emperor. Judith is reluctant to do that but Desang warns her that if she misses the chance now, it will be harder to ask later.
    • After Desang leaves, Judith begins to wonder if God Karnak sent her back to achieve some unknown goal. That’s because when she went to the blacksmith to get the commander’s sword, the blacksmith gave her an infamous sword called Sapphire Sod. She recognizes it from her life in the first timeline. The sword belongs to the first princess Olga who is also known as the Blue Knight. When the blacksmith gave it to her, he told her that someone from a very high rank left it with him to give to her. After the battle, Judith inspected the sword and noticed that her ether didn’t scratch the sword in any way at all. The sword is unblemished even though she used it to destroy the dragon.
    • Kiryu visits Judith in the hospital. He’s dressed in his uniform and except for bandages around his neck, there’s no visible signs of injury. Lately, Kiryu has been busy with funerals and surveying the property damage caused in the city. Judith notices that his hair is damp again today and uses a fluffy towel to dry his hair. She doesn’t even realize that the commander is surprised and stiffens as she nonchalantly dries his hair. She asks the commander why does he keep visiting the bereaved families. She thinks he’s making things hard on himself and none of this is his fault. Kiryu says it’s not tiring to him and if someone else goes, they’ll just get hit and spit on. Judith wonders if he’s saying that this has been his experience. She thinks he shouldn’t take this situation upon himself. Kiryu asks her if she doesn’t like when he has a hard time. Judith answers straightforwardly and says, yes [she doesn’t like it]. Kiryu asks her why. Judith pauses drying his hair and ponders this. She thinks she just doesn’t want to see him live uncomfortably doing things that are unnecessary while facing hardship. Judith jokes around and asks him if he wants to guess why. She blows into his ear and he jumps up startled. His whole body shudders. Judith laughs merrily. Kiryu is red like a tomato as he protests against her actions. He’s wary that she’ll try to do that again so he keeps his distance. Judith is laughing brightly as she teases him. Kiryu tells her that he notices that she vacillates between calling him by his name and calling him by his position. He tells her to address him comfortably so Judith tells him that she’ll only call him comfortably in private.
    • At the reward banquet, the emperor rewards Kiryu with the title of Marquis. He also gives him horses, other livestock, gold and three years tax exemption. In addition, his name will be engraved on the coins to be cast for the following year so that the citizens of the country won’t forget his achievement. For Judith, the emperor asks her what she wants. She simply asks for a mansion to be built on her father’s land and for the largest tooth from the dragon so she will be able to show her kids one day. The emperor will also reward her with silk and gold and her name will be engraved on platinum coins. The emperor originally wanted to reward her with the title of Count but her answer eliminated that possibility since she basically admitted that she doesn’t want to manage an estate. She just wants a place to lay her head. In addition, she’s awarded the medal of Brilliante.
    • Judith is very excited and goes on a shopping spree with a cautious Violet in tow. Judith has always lived frugally until now because of her very limited resources. Since it’s the first time in her life that she doesn’t have to worry about money, she can’t help buying lots of things she couldn’t afford previously like shoes, travel trunk, clothes, scented candles, quality weapons, etc. While she’s in a dress shop with Violet, they hear a commotion outside. They see a crowd gathered together and Kiryu and a messenger deliver flowers to parents who lost their son who was a knight who lost his life during the dragon’s rampage. The mother is seen rolling on the ground and the husband throws his shoe. Kiryu also gets soaked with water. (That probably explains why on two consecutive days he visits Judith with wet hair). Anyway, Judith and Violet witness this spectacle and Judith is pissed off. Kiryu sees Judith after a while and he’s embarrassed at first but then smiles at her. He joins the ladies in the dress shop. Judith dries his hair again while complaining that she already told him to stop engaging in this hard road especially since others can do it instead. Kiryu assures her that today is the last time. As the two are busy engaging in this discussion, Violet observes them and smiles as though she’s just found something to gossip about.
    • Kiryu is busy changing his shirt in the dress shop while Judith sits on the sofa flipping through a catalogue. She happens to turn her head and unbeknownst to Kiryu, a mirror reflects his image to her and she sees his muscular, broad chest and tight abs. Judith’s heart starts racing. It doesn’t help that there’s also a sheen-like glow on his skin after he was doused with water. Judith looks away feeling quite startled. She’s never imagined that his chest was so broad. Handsome Kiryu comes out after dressing in the shirt and he has three buttons loose at the top so his chest is visible through the opening. Even this bothers Judith as she’s torn between looking at his chest and turning away. lol It’s such a big deal to her because she’s only ever seen him in his uniform which buttons to his neck. Kiryu is quite unconscious of Judith’s reaction to him as he leans over to see what Judith is so intensely observing in the catalogue. He doesn’t think the earrings on the page suit her so he takes the catalogue from her and searches it. He’s near to Judith and she basically tells him that he’s too close. Poor Kiryu is also given the impression by her that he smells. He immediately withdraws from her and leans against the wall. Judith asks him if she hurt his feelings. He denies it. She tells him she’s leaving and rushes out the store. Poor man is left behind smelling himself. He doesn’t smell anything different. He usually washes quite thoroughly in the morning and evening. He decides to buy perfume after the girl he likes told him he smells.
    • Violet, who ran out the store with Judith, starts laughing at her blushing friend. She asks Judith if she likes men with muscular physique and a big heart. Judith denies it. Violet starts talking about dating. She asks Judith if she has anybody she likes. Kiryu flashes before her eyes but she shakes her head as though denying it. She tells Violet that she’s always thought of love as a luxury. She’s always been so busy taking care of herself and making ends meet. Judith asks about Violet what about her and Violet confesses that she takes love very seriously because she doesn’t want to be betrayed by the person she chooses to love. That’s why she’s cautious about any potential lover. Violet at first tells Judith that it looks as though the commander likes her but she thinks better of it after acknowledging to herself that she shouldn’t read into the commander’s feelings just in case she misunderstood his feelings.
    • Kiryu visits Desang in the hospital to help him discharge. Desang wants to know why Kiryu is wearing so much perfume. On their way out, Kiryu casually admits it’s because of Judith. Desang is shocked. He asks Kiryu what about the princess. Kiryu tells him he misunderstood. He was never interested in the princess. The two get in the carriage. Desang reminds Kiryu that he vowed three years ago that he won’t get involved with anyone until he retire from the commander position. Kiryu cannot remember at all that he said this. He begins to understand just how different his thinking is now compared to before he fell for Judith. It’s like he’s a different person now. He thinks of Judith and how much he’s fallen for her. Nevertheless, he thinks he shouldn’t do anything about his feelings since it’s probably better to keep them to himself. He doesn’t want to hinder Judith in any way and he doesn’t want people to gossip about her and try to undermine her accomplishments. As a result, when Desang asks if he wants any help, Kiryu says no.
    • The universe is so cruel to Kiryu because no sooner than he resolved to keep his feelings for Judith buried in his heart, she accompanies the third princess (wife of the third prince) to a charity ball wearing a dress that the princess provided. After greeting many people with the princess, Judith is finally joined by Kiryu and the fourth prince, Eden. Kiryu’s left and right ventricles are doing all kinds of rhythmic ensembles when he looks at Judith. He finds her very, very pretty. No matter how he resolves to suppress his feelings, every time he encounters her, his feelings keep growing. It doesn’t help that Judith eventually pulls him away to stay with her for the rest of the time at the ball. She claims she feels tired from greeting so many strangers and now she just wants to stay with him since he makes her feel comfortable.
    • Judith wants to try dancing for the first time. Kiryu says he will be her partner. He doesn’t mind her stepping on his feet since she doesn’t actually know how to dance. They dance three musical pieces and Judith has a lot of fun. Kiryu is the one suffering from her stepping on his feet but he doesn’t mind because he’s quite taken with how bright and cheerful she is. Judith genuinely enjoy the three dances with him but decides that they should take a break now. After they leave the dance floor, Kiryu offers to get them something to drink but before he leaves, something must have been stuck on his face because Judith pulls his arm and their faces somehow end up so close that she can count his eyelashes. She touches his face with her ungloved hand and Kiryu stiffens and blushes. Poor guy almost had a heart attack instigated by her bold actions. She declares that she fixed the problem and releases an embarrassed Kiryu who stutteringly thanks her. As he leaves to get them drinks, Judith catches a whiff of perfume.
    • Judith wants to know what was that just now. Her heart is racing as she wonders for the first time if the commander likes her. His reaction to her seems to have finally triggered her senses. Not to mention that he allowed her to dance with him while she trampled on his feet. She doesn’t think that anyone would allow that or react that way unless they like the other person. All his actions taken as a whole points to the possibility that he might like her. Still, Judith tries to deny her conclusion and slaps her cheek. Kiryu reappears just in time to see her slapping her cheek. She claims it’s a mosquito that was bothering her as Kiryu gives her the drink. Kiryu wonders about that because the weather is cold. Judith drinks her champagne as her heart flutters over the possibility that he might like her. Next moment, Kiryu presents her with a gift box containing Adamante earrings that he had especially made for her. The last time he saw her in the dress shop, he thought she was looking for earrings that were acceptable to wear to the banquet. He asks her to please accept the gift.
    • Judith thanks him for the gift but wants to know why is he giving them to her. Kiryu groans. He tries to find a reason. At first he says that he thought she needed earrings for the banquet but now he thinks about it, he hasn’t thanked her for saving his life. However, he asks her if he really needs a reason to give her the gift. He admits that he simply prepared them because he wanted to give them to her. Judith’s eyes tremble. She wonders if she’s mistaken that he likes her. She decides to ask him since she knows she would agonize over it the whole time. She opens her mouth and asks him if he likes her. Kiryu is silent. His demeanor suggests that he finds the question difficult to answer. He thinks it’s too light to say, “I like you” to her. He thinks “like” is a word that he can put in front of so many things. He can’t put the word “like” in front of his heart. After all, she’s a person that makes him emotional and happy just by looking at her. On a busy day, just hearing her voice for a while melts his heart. Notwithstanding, since he already resolved to bury his feelings, he decides to answer in a different way. He tells her that of course he likes her, that he’s proud of her and he cherishes her talent. He adds that he also respects her as a person.
    • Judith calmly receives his answer. She opens the gift box, removes the earrings and put them on. She asks Kiryu if they look good on her. He’s positively delighted. He tells her they look good on her. Judith is relieved and she promises him that she will keep them well. Internally, Judith is trying hard to keep her smile from drooping. She tells Kiryu that she’ll leave first since she has to return the dress to the princess. She tries hard to keep up her bright appearance until she walks away. When she’s alone, she’s instantly disappointed. The feeling of being broken into pieces stabs her chest. She’s also disappointed that Kiryu didn’t follow her right away. She feels ashamed and miserable about herself and her expectations. Now that it turned out like this, she regrets asking him if he likes her. She thinks she was deluded into thinking he did. She berates herself a lot by saying she’s a fool, she’s silly, she’s delusional, etc. The more she thinks about it, the more her heart aches. She tries to convince herself that it’s not something to be disappointed about. In anger, she throws away the empty gift box. She declares to herself that the day dream is over and it’s time for her to go back to where she belongs. She needs to return the dress and put back on her uniform and sword. That’s where she belongs.
    • On her way to the princess’s palace, Judith overhears an emotional argument in the gardens where no one should be. She stops to listen. She hears the heightened voices of Kalifa and the second prince, Edward. The prince tells Kalifa that she was the one who asked for his help. Kalifa answers that it was a story of a time long ago. The prince asks what about now. Kalifa says that their engagement relationship ended a long time ago. Judith is rooted to the spot because she can’t believe what she’s just heard. It’s the first time she’s heard that Kalifa was once the fiancée of the second prince. Kalifa tells the second prince that she doesn’t know what lingering attachment this is but it’s been the third time already. The prince says it’s not lingering attachment. Kalifa asks him then what is it because it surely cannot be the same thing as love. Judith is embarrassed by what she’s witnessing. She’s never seen this side of Kalifa. The prince says he wants to help Kalifa. Kalifa laughs sarcastically and asks him who does he think he is. She reminds him that when her parents and younger sibling were killed, she went to the palace to seek his help and he didn’t do anything while she was kicked out like a beggar. All he had said to her then is to wait for him. Kalifa adds that she waited only for him while she stayed at the duke’s estate until the day she was kicked out after receiving news of their broken engagement.
    • Judith could hardly breathe as she listens to Kalifa’s voice that’s filled with resentment. Kalifa continues to argue with the prince who apparently, judging by the content of their conversation, had asked her to leave the Black Knights. Kalifa tells him that unlike him, the black knights commander, Jermel, hasn’t abandoned her. The prince pleads with Kalifa by telling her that she’ll get into trouble by staying in the black knights. The two are excited and screaming to the point that they’re still totally unaware of Judith’s presence. Meanwhile, Judith’s heart is broken by Kalifa’s revelation of her past. She’s upset that she didn’t take Kalifa’s suffering and anguish more seriously. The only reason Kalifa joined the black knights is her goal of investigating the murder of her family which everyone else has forgotten. Now she knows how clearly her friend is still struggling in hell.
    • Kalifa tells the second prince to go back. She doesn’t want to listen to him anymore. The second prince warns her that she doesn’t know yet how twisted and weird Jermel is and he didn’t recommend her to the black knights because of her circumstances. Kalifa answers that it doesn’t matter because the black knights is the only place for her. The prince tells her how many times does he have to tell her that’s not true. Plus, she hasn’t even heard why he broke up with her that time. Kalifa doesn’t want to hear it. She starts to shout for him to let go of her hand. He starts to shout that he didn’t want to break the engagement either but the situation.... Kalifa cut him off by asking him how many times does she have to tell him to let go.
    • Judith hears the sound of them falling to the ground and immediately reveals herself. The prince has Kalifa pinned to the ground and he’s holding her wrist. Judith asks what’s this commotion. The prince tells Judith that it’s nothing and she should go back. Judith promptly tell him that she can’t do that. The man is annoyed and mocks her by saying if she feels because she earned a medal she can intervene in his business. He warns her not to preach to him. Judith says she can’t ignore seeing a woman accosted and pinned down. Kalifa drags her wrist from the man’s grip. The man’s face distorts and he orders Judith to go back. Kalifa shouts that he’s the one who needs to go back. She gets up and walks to Judith’s side. Judith hides Kalifa behind her. Kalifa tells the man that she doesn’t want to see him again. The irate man assures her that he will come back again. Kalifa warns him not to come back. The man casts a dark look at Judith and then leaves.
    • After the second prince leaves, Judith asks Kalifa if she was really once the fiancée of the second prince. Kalifa admits it. She drops to the ground and tells Judith to hold her hand. Judith removes Kalifa’s black glove and holds her hand. Kalifa says that she feels like she was abandoned by the world. She confesses that she once loved the second prince with all her heart. At that time she could afford to love him but not anymore. All that’s left in her heart now is revenge. Judith comforts her.
    • Meanwhile, the second prince is in his palace destroying everything. Chairs, tables, windows, mirrors, etc. There’s one thing he couldn’t destroy. The perfume that Kalifa had given him during the time of their courtship. He wonders where did it all go wrong. Was it two years ago when he failed to assassinate the first prince? Or was it recently when he failed to assassinate the fourth prince? Both assassination attempts had been carefully planned by him and both painfully failed. He didn’t succeed in killing William, the first prince and Eden, the fourth prince. He feels cornered. He also no longer have the second princess and the dragon under his control.
    • At first, the second prince intended to get rid of Kiryu by marrying the princess off to him. Two years ago, he realized that Kiryu was always an obstacle in his assassination plans. However, now that the princess has collapsed, his plans has suffered another blow. All he expected from the princess was her marriage to Kiryu and her foray into forbidden magic. Now he wants to kill the princess before she wakes up and reveals everything. He wonders how can he kill her. He only has a small amount of dragon blood left. That means he can no longer use it recklessly by giving it to people. Moreover, he can no longer kidnap people from the slums or kidnap mercenaries. (What a dirtbag!) If he knew his plan would go awry like this, he would have conducted the experiments slowly. He wasted a lot of dragon blood experimenting on others. He even experimented on the weak people but all the dragon blood did was cause black spots but it didn’t kill the person. (Makes me wonder if he did that to the third prince because it was mentioned that one of his symptoms is black spots) The guy has been raising the dragon on a teleport mana stone. He just didn’t think the dragon would go on a rampage and die like that.
    • The second prince thinks of the first prince and the support he’s gathered. Then he thinks of the biggest obstacle in his path to the throne: the first princess Olga. He reasons that the emperor hasn’t named a crown prince mainly because he’s still waiting on his cherished daughter who has been away for a long time. The second prince wants to seize the crown prince position before she returns.
    • A visitor suddenly enters his room. It’s Jermel and he nonchalantly comments on the mess of broken furniture in the room as though he’s accustomed to seeing it. The prince tells him to watch his mouth in the imperial palace. Jermel sarcastically tells him to excuse him. The prince asks him why he’s here. Jermel says it’s time to take the next step. The prince snorts. He thinks of his ruined plans. The dragon is dead and their plans to use it with the kingdom of Rosetta are in shambles. The prince points out that there’s not much dragon blood left so what can they do now? Jermel tells him that he’s too excited. He asks the prince if Kalifa not moving as he wants her to move makes him so angry. The enraged prince throws a candlestick at Jermel but it smashes into a cabinet. He warns Jermel not to put Kalifa’s name in his mouth. He tells Jermel to get out if he doesn’t have anything to do here because he doesn’t want to see his face. Jermel tells him that he doesn’t have to give up. He says there’s still something that they can do that’s also very interesting. However, it’s up to the prince to listen. The prince’s eyes turn creepily excited like a snake.
    End of volume 2
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2021
    ashash02, gnyaa, Lilazeaf and 63 others like this.
  11. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • Louis and Raymond are leaving the Red Knights. The first parting among the friends is Louis’s departure. He’s returning to the Marigold estate to continue in the position of successor. Before he leaves, he tells his friends that he will write to them. He hugs each of them and then turns to Kalifa. He stares at her with an expression filled with concern. He encourages her to contact him if anything happens. He will help her anytime. Kalifa assures him that she appreciates him saying that to her. Louis reaffirms that he means it. He turns to Judith and Violet with a serious face and encourages them to contact him as well if they need any help. He reminds them that even though he’s quitting the imperial knights, he’s still their friend.
    • Raymond also leaves the Red Knight to serve as the fourth prince Eden’s escort knight. Violet thought Judith would leave the imperial knights too after defeating the dragon but Judith confides that she can’t live comfortably without knowing that she’s receiving money every month. She only feels reassured when money consistently comes in. As long as she stays in the imperial knights, money comes in steadily each month. Violet wants to know if Judith will continue to work for the imperial knights until she retires. Judith honestly doesn’t know. Previously, she didn’t have the luxury of thinking too far into the future. Violet points out that now she has money, a house, friends and great achievements so what does she intend to do in the future. Judith says she doesn’t want to die alone so she’ll raise up students to keep her company. Violet chides her about her intention of raising disciples only to prevent her loneliness. Judith doesn’t see anything wrong with her intention because her teacher also did the same with her.
    • Violet and Judith throw out their garbage bags into the outdoor incinerator. While they take turns washing their hands, Violet sees the commander across the way and mentions it. Judith immediately flinches. She glances in the direction Violet mentions and sees the commander and Desang who are watching the tests for the new knights. Judith observes Kiryu. She remembers his answer to her question asking if he likes her. She thinks it was a bittersweet experience. She recalls his sweet voice but cruel answer. She doesn’t want to admit it but there was a luxurious feeling sprouting in her chest. It was a feeling she didn’t dare to touch. She simply looks at it like a feeling across the river.
    • After the charity ball, Judith consciously avoided Kiryu because she doesn’t feel confident that she’ll be able to calmly speak to him. She doesn’t want to see his face. She knows that until she quits the imperial knights she can’t avoid seeing him and she’s simultaneously comforted yet worried. She touches the earrings he gave her. She acknowledges the day dream is over but it still lingers in her heart. She tries to be content with the fact that he said he liked her as a person. She shakes off thinking about him with the hope that her mood won’t sink further. Violet tells Judith that the commander is waving to them. Judith pretends she didn’t hear Violet or see the commander waving and instead turns and heads back to her room to finish cleaning for any new arrivals.
    • Judith’s mansion is almost completed. Rojas, the magician, also brought some of his colleagues to help with building and garden construction. Judith thinks they’re only doing that to get her to give them the dragon bones. The emperor gave her more than the dragon tooth. She has bones, teeth, eyes, and a few other parts. In the end, Judith sends off the magicians with sandwiches for their labor. Most of the rewards Judith owns are kept in the bank. For the first time in her life, she’s debt free. When the mansion is completed, she intends to move out of the Red Knights accommodations. The only problem for her is Violet and Kalifa. She doesn’t want to leave them behind and intends to invite them to live in her mansion. She doesn’t know if Violet will accept the invitation since she’s quite popular and have lots of friends. However, Judith especially wants Kalifa to spend time away from the Black Knights so she wants her to live with her. Judith reasons that after each of her friends get a family, then she’ll take disciples to train and raise up. She tries to convince herself that everything will be okay even if she has no one left beside her in the end.
    • Days later, Judith is eating with Vista and Haley, the twins. They tell Judith about the increasing phenomena of magic spells in the capital and the strange appearance of bestial plants (Masu grass) that attack and kill humans. They’re all concerned because it’s rare for that plant to appear in the capital where the White Knights are stationed. They can understand if they appear in distant provinces but not the capital. Judith observes that the White Knights must be busy purifying the plants. The twins confirm this truth. They say everyone wants to think that this is a temporary phenomena but it’s occurred for four consecutive days now. Vista reminds Judith to always carry around a flame [starter] since it’s effective against the masu grass.
    • Judith and Vista visit prince Eden at his palace. Eden regrets that the dragon blood investigation ended up this way. He’s certain that the dragon was raised in the forest on imperial grounds but now that the princess is asleep, they won’t be able to get answers anytime soon. Someone asks if the princess hasn’t awaken yet and Eden gloomily nods his head. He admits that it’s hard to believe that his sister tried to kill both him and William using the dragon’s blood. Moreover, they traced the dragon blood to the assassination attempt on the first prince Albert’s life two years ago. In that incident, Albert’s fiancée was killed instead. Judith tells him that if he needs any help from her, please contact her. She leaves his palace after finishing her cup of tea.
    • Every night, Judith has been sneaking in and out of the Black Knights dorms. She’s doing this to encourage Kalifa. She’s ashamed, disappointed and sad that she only knew one side of Kalifa. In this timeline, she really wants to help Kalifa. On a particular night, she asks Kalifa to move into her mansion with her next year. Kalifa seems reluctant so Judith adds that she’s lonely and she wants Kalifa to seriously think about it. Kalifa agrees to think about it. Meanwhile, Kalifa seem to be softening up just a little. Judith’s visits make her smile and they chat and drink tea together. Nevertheless, Judith begins to grow impatient with Kalifa after ten days of waiting for Kalifa’s answer about living together. That makes her realize that although they both have certain circumstances in common, their chemistry wasn’t necessarily good. Kalifa’s attitude about many things is general nonchalance. She doesn’t think about things deeply. She doesn’t voice or likes or dislikes. It’s like she’s a person who wants to disappear like a fog and has no real attachment to life or the future.
    • While thinking on these troubles, Desang encounters Judith who is hitting her head against a wall. Judith assures him that she didn’t damage the wall. He asks about her morning patrol. She states she’s completed it. Suddenly, Kiryu’s head pops out a window of the building. He smiles and cheerfully tells Judith that he hasn’t seen her often these days. Judith wonders how he can talk so calmly to her. He asks if she had lunch. She answers no. She avoids looking at his eyes because he’s doing things to her heart. Kiryu chats with her some more. He tells her that the new knights are all looking forward to meeting her. Unfortunately, Judith finds it difficult to laugh and talk the way they used to. She feels like Kiryu is twisting her emotions like thread but then she admits to herself that it’s more like she’s disappointed because Kiryu only sees her as a subordinate. She finds it difficult to accept herself who’s disappointed by that revelation. She doesn’t want to admit that she’s greedy for him. Consequently, she decides to cut off any gap for love. When Kiryu asks her to have lunch with him and some of the new recruits, she sharply tells him that she doesn’t want to eat with him. She excuses herself and runs away.
    • Even after running away, Judith doesn’t feel better. Instead, she’s grown more disturbed. Her mood is so terrible that even Kalifa notices it when she visits her in her room that night. Judith doesn’t want to talk about her problem. She’s knows it’s unfair that she wants to hear more about Kalifa but she, herself, doesn’t want to reveal her issues. Eventually Judith encourages Kalifa to leave the Black Knights. Kalifa immediately grows cold when Judith mentions this matter. Judith asks her what did Jermel promise her. It turns out that all he promised was to cover up her crime when she kills the culprit behind the murder of her family. Judith laughs bitterly. She tells Kalifa that anybody can make a promise. It doesn’t guarantee that they’ll keep it. Kalifa thinks it doesn’t matter. What moved her is that Jermel reached out to her first. Nobody else offered to help her with the investigation of her family’s murder. In the end, Judith realizes that she isn’t much different from the second prince who told Kalifa to leave the black knights without offering an alternative to achieve Kalifa’s goal. She thinks her basis is equally weak. Kalifa’s reaction to Judith’s interference is almost total rejection. She even tells Judith that she’ll continue to live in the Black Knights accommodation and she won’t move to her mansion.
    • Since Kalifa is leaving the next day on a lengthy mission, she tells Judith that she won’t see her for a while. Judith walks away from Kalifa’s room thinking about Kalifa’s past that she knows of. Kalifa only survived the slaughter of her family because she was attending an opera show that night. When she returned home, she saw the murderers and her stigma awakened. She slaughtered the men who killed her family and all of the duke’s loyal knights and servants. The mastermind behind the order to kill the family and the motive that instigated it all are still unknown. All she knows is that Kalifa was subjected to daily appearances in court and rampant rumors that denigrated her character had spread like wildfire. Some rumors accused her of slaughtering her own family, other rumors said she did it because she was jealous of her younger sister’s marriage, others said that she plotted to kill her parents to inherit the duke estate. Even her other family members accused her and suspected her. Things got so bad that Kalifa left the duke’s house of her own volition. All she had now is her revenge and the promise that the Black Knights will cover for any murder she commits in the name of her revenge. Judith thinks that for something as brutal as the murder of her family, Kalifa should choose to have the murderer exposed and publicly executed for the crime of murdering her family. However, Kalifa instead chooses revenge. Judith is certain that Jermel has something else in mind but she doesn’t know what it is. There’s no way he’s helping Kalifa out of the kindness of his heart. She laughs bitterly and agrees that there’s no such thing for that man.
    • Judith jumps the wall to get out of the Black Knights accommodation, and eventually comes face to face with Jermel. Her heart races just as if she saw a monster pop out of a book. She reflects on the man standing in front of her and her foolish days spent as his subordinate. He’s a cold blooded man who is hard to understand. He’s a man who has no hesitation in his hand and no warmth in his judgment. She used to consider him a perfect superior. She thinks about all the dirty and dark jobs that they carried out as Black Knights. They used to torture people, assassinate royalty and others, start wars, make decisions which sacrifices the minority for the majority, etc. The members of the black knights work in the dark while aiming for the sun. They convince themselves that there’s a good reason behind their actions even as they pocket their rewards.
    • Fortunately for Judith, Jermel didn’t see her jump the wall. As they stand facing each other, Judith tells him if he doesn’t have anything to say, she’ll be on her way. She decides to walk away even though she has a strong desire to pull her sword when she remembers the time when he killed her in the first timeline. The man asks if her name is Judith. She sharply tells him not to put her name in his mouth. She walks away and the man says that she killed the dragon and save the third prince from assassination. He then shockingly asks Judith if she has the stigma of time. Judith is horrified but she doesn’t answer. The man is smiling as though he’s found a toy. He walks up to her and reaches out towards her neck. Suddenly, a hand reaches out and knocks his hand away. It’s the white knight commander who saw them and intervened.
    • The white knight commander cheerfully greets Judith three times before she pulls herself together and responds. The man has apple green hair and blue eyes. Judith thinks his attitude and appearance reminds her of spring. In a brief verbal exchange between him and Jermel, Judith concludes that the white knight commander is a weirdo. However, he basically gets rid of Jermel who was still insisting on talking to Judith alone. Before he leaves, Jermel promises Judith that he will look for her again to ask about the time stigma. After the bastard leaves, the white knight commander introduces himself. His name is Sen Anto. He tells Judith that he was looking for her so that he can retrieve the Sapphire sword.
    • Sen accompanies Judith back to the Red Knights dorm to retrieve the sword. He also intends to take Judith to visit princess Olga. Judith thinks that Kiryu’s description of Sen is perfectly accurate. In the past, Kiryu had described him as a faithful nutcase. Sen truly is a weirdo. He claims he practices love, justice and philanthropy. He shows Judith a finger heart when he says this. lol It doesn’t take long for Judith to give up being surprised by his strangeness. Sen asks her where did she put the sword. She admits it’s in her mattress. Sen is appalled that a national treasure is stored that way. Judith assures him that it protects the swords from scratches and dust. As Judith is about to enter the dorm, Kiryu appears and greets her good night. Sen calls out good night to Kiryu and tells him that the stars are so beautiful today. Kiryu says, “oh, okay” and then confusedly asks what kind of combination is this. Why is Sen and Judith together? Contrarily, Judith thinks that Kiryu and Sen makes a stranger combination. She doesn’t say this though but bluntly tells Kiryu that it has nothing to do with him. Judith ignores Kiryu and goes inside to get the sword. Kiryu, on the other hand, is able to confirm that Judith is avoiding and ignoring him. He wonders what he did wrong. Sen asks Kiryu if he wants to come with them to visit the first princess’s palace. Kiryu is shocked.
    • Judith is relieved to retrieve the sword from her mattress. She thinks it’s much better to return the priceless sword to ease her worries about its safety. She doesn’t get why princess Olga wants to see her though. She packs the sword but hesitates to leave the room before she gathers her courage. She remembers how stiff Kiryu’s face looked when she coldly responded that it’s none of his business. She steels herself not to be conscious of him. She doesn’t want to waste her feelings on someone who isn’t interested in her. Judith puts on her cold facade and takes firm control of her mind. When she meets the two men, she learns that Sen invited Kiryu to accompany them to the princess’s palace but she acts like she doesn’t care. Meanwhile, Kiryu is completely thrown off by Judith’s coldness. As he watches her walk ahead with a stiff back, he wonders what happened from the time they danced together so cheerfully at the banquet to now. His heart aches over how unfamiliar she appears to him now.
    • The three knights arrive at princess Olga’s palace. They are ushered into a drawing room by a servant. Sen excuses himself for a bit and Kiryu and Judith are left alone in an awkward atmosphere. Kiryu cautiously asks her if the Sapphire Sod is the sword she used to destroy the dragon. Judith confirms it is but in her thoughts she’s frustrated and sorry about how carefully he’s talking to her as though he doesn’t know how to treat her anymore. She thinks he doesn’t get angry with her but he steps back and observes just like the friendly person he is. She tells him some more about how long she’s had the sword in her possession. Eventually Kiryu asks her if she can’t look at him when they speak. He notices that she’s either ignoring him thoroughly or she keeps her silence. He didn’t know he could feel so miserable because the person he likes ignores him. Kiryu asks her if he did something wrong and that’s why she’s ignoring him. Judith claims she’s not ignoring him since she’s still talking to him. Kiryu tells her that this isn’t a conversation. He feels frustrated. He asks her if he did something stupid to her because her behavior towards him must have stemmed from something he did wrong. Since he doesn’t notice what he did wrong, he asks her to tell him. Judith replies that it’s not his fault and she doesn’t want to talk about it. Kiryu insists that he wants to know why she’s upset with him. She denies him and states that it’s her personal problem. Kiryu asks if that personal problem is related to him and that’s why things are like this. Judith tells him that it doesn’t matter.
    • Kiryu feels like he’s going crazy because talking to Judith is like talking to a wall. If the other person doesn’t want to listen to him or talk to him, then conversation cannot be established between the two. He realizes that Judith has no intention to talk to him. He sighs. He feels like there’s an indelible valley between her mind and his. He’s going crazy because he couldn’t see a way to fix it. When Sen comes back into the room, he asks if something is wrong. Judith tells him that nothing happened. Kiryu glances at Judith who just effectively said that the conversation that they had between them was nothing. He feels an indescribable sense of helplessness. Sen, knowing better, tells them that he doesn’t know what’s going on but he hopes they will make up soon.
    • The group joins princess Olga in her room. It looks like a cluttered mess with books on the floor, a sitting area and a bed. Judith is quite surprised by the appearance of room. Both she and Kiryu greet the beautiful princess who possesses a similar air to her father, the emperor. Like her brothers, she has black hair and blue eyes. The princess observes that Sen came with two persons instead of one. Sen points out that Kiryu will eventually learn of the story she intends to bring up today. Judith returns the Sapphire Sod to the princess who readily takes it. She tells Judith that she must have felt embarrassed to receive a sword that she never requested. Judith honestly confirms that it’s true. The princess laughs and thanks her for returning it safely. Judith tells the princess that she has a lot of questions. The princess encourages her and Kiryu to take a seat and she’ll slowly answer Judith’s questions.
    • The princess tells Judith that she heard of all her feats in defeating the dragon and she generously compliments Judith about her abilities. Judith definitely sees the similarity between the princess and the emperor. The princess thanks Judith and Kiryu again for defeating the dragon. She then changes the subject to a confidential matter and forbids them from speaking of the matter to anyone else. The princess starts to talk about something called orbs. It seems that they are made from a dragon’s heart and suppresses masu. It’s the principle of the strong suppressing the weak. For this reason, the dragon is regarded as sacred apart from the dragon’s affiliation with God Karnak. So, the orb acts as a deterrent for beasts by using the power or aura of the dragon. The princess reveals that at the time of the founding of the empire, Karnak placed four orbs in the East, West, North and South of the empire. The objective was to spread deterrence throughout the continent. On a map, she reveals the location of the orbs.
    • Kiryu rudely interrupts the princess because this information is highly confidential and limited only to the commanders and imperial family. The princess acknowledges that it should be kept secret but if one of the orb breaks, it’s changes things because magic will soar. Judith instantly feels a chill. She looks at Sen who’s prompted to divulge that indeed one of the orbs was broken. In her mind, Judith wastes no time in connecting the appearance of the masu grass in the capital and increased magic spells to this alarming piece of news. Kiryu is also shocked by the news. Sen reveals that the orb in the East was broken. He checked it out himself several times before finally believing it. There’s a heavy air in the room. The princess reveals that the south is ready with its army to protect the orb in that area through a reliable man. Only the north and west are concerning to them now. The princess states that they don’t know who hid in the dragon’s sacred place and broke the orb but she’s certain that’s why masu attacks against humans are increasing. The princess wants to retrieve the orb in the north using sapphire sod.
    • The princess also wants Judith to accompany her to the north to retrieve the orb. She claims it won’t take long because she’ll use teleportation. She wants Judith to protect her during the mission. Kiryu, sharply intervenes to disagree. He rightfully points out that if the worst case scenario happens and she gets injured, Judith will be entirely saddled with the consequences. He doesn’t think it’s wise to put such a heavy responsibility and burden on a single knight just because she wants to move comfortably and quietly. The eyes of Kiryu and the princess clash. Sen, lazing on a bean bag, interjects by revealing that he will also accompany the princess. The princess is surprised but pleased that Sen will join the mission. Kiryu thinks the situation is the same. If anything happens to the princess who is strongly beloved by the emperor, Judith will be the one who will have to bear all the consequences. He asks them if his assumption is wrong. Neither Sen nor the princess refutes Kiryu’s point. All the princess can say is that nothing will happen. Kiryu asks how does she know. She admits that she can’t tell him why but she has absolute confidence that nothing will happen.
    • Judith finally gives her opinion. She states that she will do the mission. Kiryu looks at her. Judith declares that she can do it so she’ll do it. She tells Kiryu that she understands why he’s trying to stop her but if he thinks of her as his proud subordinate, he doesn’t have to stop her. She assures him that she’s ready to take responsibility if anything goes wrong. She asks him to trust her. Kiryu is angry. He wonders if he’s a fool for worrying about her. He feels rejected but opens his mouth to advise the group that he’ll go on the mission too. They’re all surprised. Kiryu says it would be better than Sir Judith being the only escort knight. He adds that if anything happens to the princess, he would also be criticized for sending only one knight with her. Judith tells the commander that he doesn’t need to do this. Kiryu uses the same logic she used on him to defend his decision. The princess observes to them that their conversation and comments surprise her. She never expected that the two persons who slayed a dragon together would be so cold to each other. Neither of the two respond so she changes the topic.
    • The princess orders them to get ready to leave at dawn two days from now. Judith asks the princess if she has any idea who might have broken the orb. She adds that the princess seems too confident that she won’t be harmed on this mission. She wants to know why the princess has such a strong conviction. In order to answer Judith honestly, the princess orders Sen to go out with Kiryu. When the two ladies are left alone, Judith also wants to know how the princess knew to leave the sword with the blacksmith to give to her. The princess reveals the stigma located on her back. It’s a stigma of prophecy. She dreams almost every night. Some of her dreams fade into nothing and some become reality. She reveals that she saw Judith running to the blacksmith to get Kiryu’s sword. The problem is, she doesn’t know when a dream will become reality. Whether it’s tomorrow or next year, she doesn’t know. In a dream she also saw Judith mounting a horse at the swordsmith and she had sapphire sod in her hand. If it wasn’t for her recognition of the sword, she wouldn’t have known what the dream was about. Only when the dragon appeared in reality, the princess understood why Judith would go to the swordsmith in a hurry to retrieve Kiryu’s sword. Fortunately she had already sent the sapphire sod to the swordsmith in preparation for the future.
    • Thoughtlessly, Judith coldly tells the princess if she knew the future, why didn’t she change it. She could have intervened with her sister who lost her mind due to this dragon situation. The princess coldly replies that her first dream when she received the stigma was the vision of her death. She was killed by someone. In order to save her life, she decided to step down from her position. She lost all her support and the emperor was disappointed with her. Another time, she warned her brother, the first Prince Albert, not to leave for a certain destination because there might be an assassination attempt on his life. He left and came back alive but he lost his fiancée. As a result, her brother suspected and resented her. She thornily points out to Judith that her dreams can be just a dream or a prophecy. She cannot tell the difference. Moreover, who will believe her when there’s no objective basis? The princess reveals that no matter how hard she tries to change the future, she falls into a quagmire.
    • Judith apologizes to the princess for asking rash questions. The princess tells her that she didn’t mean for her to apologize. She just wanted her to understand her situation a little bit. Judith apologizes again. She states that she was excited and shouldn’t have acted that way. The princess says that at first she was going to announce the appearance of her stigma but she quickly banished the thought because stigmas are not good signs. Historically, they usually appear when the nation will enter a time of national crisis and danger. Therefore, she didn’t think it was good that a stigma appeared on her, a princess of the empire. She also states that when the Veritas empire begin to decline beyond human power, God Karnak says he will lower the stigma himself.
    • Sen returns to find princess Olga staring out her window. He soon puts her to bed because he’s sure she hasn’t slept enough. She suffers from terrible insomnia mainly because she’s afraid to dream. She questions if she’s seeing the future or is she being manipulated to fulfill the future. Sen seems to be very close to her. He’s the one with whom she chooses to share all of her worries. He watches over her after tucking her in. He sits at her bedside and starts to tell her a story to ease her into sleep. Usually his voice works to sooth her nerves and lull her to sleep.
    • In her room, Judith removes the choker and looks at the time stigma on her neck. It’s been there for months now and she still doesn’t know how to use its power. She wonders if she regressed through the stigma. Perhaps it was triggered at the moment of her death in the first timeline. She reflects on the theology that Louis taught her. She remembers that God Karnak said that if things aren’t corrected, he will intervene himself. Judith wonders what does the God Karnak want her to do. What does he need her to fix? These questions remind her of Jermel’s question about whether she has the stigma of time. She wonders why he asked about that stigma.
    • All these matters gives her a headache. She wishes there was someone who would tell her that everything will be fine. She always wanted to hear such comforting words but there was never anyone to comfort her as she lives hardly. She starts to feel incredibly lonely. She doesn’t want to admit that there’s no one by her side. Rather than drowning deeper in these negative feelings, she tries to think rationally. She concentrates on the fact that she has Violet and Kalifa. She tells herself that this loneliness and hopelessness are only temporary emotions. She hears the echo of Kiryu’s words of praise as his subordinate in her mind. She persuades herself not to get greedy. She doesn’t want to think about anything so she goes to sleep. In her dream, Kiryu appears. He smiles at her and tells her that everything will be fine.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2021
    Saijka Riin, ashash02, gnyaa and 68 others like this.
  12. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • On the appointed day, the disguised princess and her group leaves on their mission to the north. They use teleportation magic three times to gain three distances before resting at an inn for the day. Since the teleportation can put a strain on the body, the princess decides to be careful about it. She’s the one who’s actually casting the magic but the teleportation affects them all. Sen buys out the inn so the group is the only occupant. It doesn’t take long for the exhausted princess to fall asleep in the room she shares with Judith so Judith leaves the room to go downstairs for dinner.
    • Judith descends to the first floor. Sen and Kiryu are there but she only talks to Sen. She informs him that the princess fell asleep. Kiryu tells Sen that he will go up to guard the princess while they eat since she shouldn’t be left alone. He says he will come back down to eat after Sen finishes his dinner. After he exits the room, the innkeeper brings out the food. As Sen and Judith begin to eat, Sen asks Judith if she doesn’t get along with Kiryu. Judith doesn’t answer. Sen points out that discord among members in the group affects the mission. Judith thinks to herself it’s pathetic that others can read her so easily. Sen looks at her and voices the exact thought that’s in her head almost as though he can read her mind. He asks her if she hates Kiryu. After a bit, Judith says no, she doesn’t hate him. Sen asks her then why does she ignore Kiryu so openly. He clarifies that he doesn’t want to interfere between them but if there’s something bad that occurred that one side chooses to ignore to the other side unilaterally, he thinks this should be considered. Judith assures Sen that there won’t be any problem with the mission. Sen disagrees. He states that’s for him to judge. He asks her if she doesn’t like Kiryu. Judith says she doesn’t hate him. Sen asks if she likes him.
    • Judith turns her head and stares at Sen who then burst out laughing. He asks her isn’t it too obvious? Judith reiterates that she doesn’t hate Kiryu and she won’t interfere with the mission. Sen gives up and admits that he can’t force someone to talk against their will. He adds, however, that he thinks the situation is pathetic because they both seem very conscious of each other. Judith admits that if the commander is conscious of her, it’s because of her actions. Sen asks again why is she ignoring Kiryu. She confesses that she’s trying to keep her distance. Sen points out that she’s ignoring the commander instead of keeping her distance like she claims. He says that she even pretends not to know Kiryu when he tries to talk to her. Judith reiterates that she’s just trying to keep her distance. Sen tells her she’s very stubborn. He humors her and asks her why is she distancing herself from the commander. She says it’s natural to keep a distance between the commander and his subordinates. Sen finally calls her out on her crap. He drops the bomb that he was one of those who went to the therapy center to see her when she was recuperating from her injuries in the fight against the dragon. He actually overheard her banter with Kiryu and repeats her conversation word for word to her. (lol) Judith is totally caught off guard. Sen asks her what happened since then because she and the commander obviously seemed close then. Judith tells Sen that she doesn’t want to tell him. Sen is fine with that but asks her if she intends to continue like this. He further explains that he’s nervous about everything he’s seeing especially since she blatantly ignores the commander even when he tries to talk to her quietly and in secret.
    • Judith knows she’s wrong. At the banquet, she left the banquet without telling the commander that she was offended by his answer. She realizes that the commander must have been embarrassed by her sudden cold attitude. Contemplating it from his perspective, she thinks it would have been unbearable to her if suddenly he started ignoring her and distancing himself from her. She wonders if her behavior is too much. She knows that now she’s aware of her feelings, things can never be the same but perhaps her behavior is too much. Judith asks Sen what kind of concession does he want her to make. Sen says he doesn’t expect a lot but he wants the princess to be comfortable. He doesn’t want her to have to be conscious of the discord between her and Kiryu. As it is now, meals are uncomfortable because of the unfriendly atmosphere.
    • Judith apologizes but Sen says he doesn’t want an apology. Furthermore, he says that due to the nature of his job, he can sense hatred and disregard very well. The White Knights is the order that serves the poor and heals the sick. They’re mostly good people and their divine power is based on their altruistic nature. Sen asks Judith for the last time if she likes the commander and if that’s why she’s ignoring him. Judith only stares at him silently but her eyes are not calm. Sen feels the heaviness in the room and decides to step back. He tells Judith that he crossed the line and apologizes. Judith tells him it’s okay and she’ll retire to her room now.
    • Judith meets Kiryu when she goes up. The first impression she gets is a picture of a man full of thoughts. He asks Judith if she ate well. She answers yes and thanks him. An awkward silence ensues and Kiryu looks at her with a puzzled expression. He expected her to avoid his gaze so he’s confused. The feeling of being ignored by the person he likes was not a good one even if it’s covered by empty words. He possesses a friendly personality but he isn’t foolish enough to be an emotional pushover. Since he’s also human, he’s frustrated that he doesn’t know the reason for her behavior towards him. He thinks about the fact that he cannot ignore her because he likes her. When they teleported earlier that day, he felt dizzy and that made him naturally wonder if she also felt dizzy. He also wondered how she was adapting to the cold, if anything was bothering her and if anything was hard on her. What he wanted to say to her was all piled up in his heart. The old saying that “indifference is the opposite of love” are words that sharply stab his heart when he remembers it. He thinks that she can ignore him but he can’t ignore her no matter what she does. Due to this surmise, he concludes that there’s no chance that she can love him. He definitely thinks she’s the winner. When he tries to figure the root cause of their issue, he can’t even find the answer. And without knowing what ignited the issue, he has to constantly censor himself which renders him pained, tired and stressed.
    • The next day, the group arrives closer to their destination. The teleportation continues to inflict them with bouts of dizziness and fatigue but the person who suffers the most is the princess whose stamina isn’t as robust as the trained knights. Fortunately, Sen is very attuned to the princess’s condition so he’s very considerate of her and takes good care of her. While he escorts the princess to the inn to rest first, Judith and Kiryu are left to their own devices. Heeding Sen’s advice from the previous night, Judith invites Jiryu to accompany her to purchase flame stones. Kiryu is so shocked by her invitation that he actually stutters at first but accepts the invitation. Judith doesn’t know how to act like she used to before. When she looks at Kiryu, she feels an urge to act according to her heart. She wants to do nothing but stare at him or hold his hand like they did during the banquet. This affectionate feeling is special to her but she also finds it strange. She couldn’t figure out how to tighten the reins on her mind so she could more effectively control her thoughts towards him. She knows she can’t stay like this forever and tries to think of something to say to at least soften the atmosphere between them.
    • Kiryu, on the other hand, is tasting the feeling of traveling between heaven and hell just by the fact that Judith invited him to accompany her. Now he can’t help asking her if she’s not angry at him anymore. She answers that she’s not angry at all. He asks then what was it. She answers that it’s just that something was bothering her. He asks what was it. She says it’s hard to tell him. He tries hard to smile and takes a step nearer to her but she gradually widens the distance again. Kiryu finally wonders if she’s conscious of him but decides that it can’t be true. He thinks if a person likes someone, he/she can’t ignore the person as much as Judith has ignored him. In his mind, there’s no option where a person avoids the person he/she likes. Consequently, Kiryu continues to ponder on the reason why Judith is treating him this way. He even wonders if she’s maintaining her distance because she was scouted by a different knight order.
    • The two shop for the flame stones. Judith is the one choosing since it was her decision to go shopping. Kiryu stands back and watches. He’s not keen on sparking any conflict between them by interfering. However, after she was taking a long time to choose the stones, he cautiously offers his advice. They end up purchasing several stones and Judith thinks it’s a waste according to her frugal temperament. She concludes her contention by accepting that it’s not her money that’s paying for the supplies anyway. Kiryu chooses not to aggravate the situation but he does ask her if she didn’t bring an extra weapon. Judith says she doesn’t need it but Kiryu thinks it can save her life especially since ether destroys weapons or renders them useless after a few uses. Judith talks about her belief in not being greedy for weapons. Basically, she and Kiryu take a different perspective on the issue.
    • In his thoughts, Kiryu acknowledges he loves Judith and there’s something he came to realize about that love. No matter how much he loves her, he recognizes that he can’t change her. Nevertheless, he wants her to be greedy for good quality weapons so that her life isn’t endangered. He wants her to be able to effectively protect herself. That’s why he wants her to have the extra weapons rather than the single weapon she brought. He also wants her to have and experience all the best things in the world. He wants her to cherish and love herself more and if she would allow him, he also wants to love her.
    • Kiryu tells Judith that it’s okay to treat herself more generously. He thinks she more than qualifies to do this. He lists all of her recent accomplishments and points out that she deserves quality weapons. He also encourages her to give herself a little more freedom. Judith considers his words. She asks herself if she can really cut herself some slack and enjoy herself more. She realizes that no one has ever told her this before. She looks at Kiryu. More than ever, she feels that she can never go back to the way she was in the past with him. Just seeing him right now makes her heart full.
    • Slightly before dawn on the next day, the group arrives in the area of their final destination. The last leg of their journey involves taking a wagon half way up a very tall mountain. Kiryu secures two wagons and Judith goes to buy their breakfast. Judith travels with the princess while Sen accompanies Kiryu on the second wagon. As they start their journey, the sun begins to rise in the East. The place is cold because they’re in the north so they warm up using the flame stones. As they head out, Judith and the princess talk about liking someone. Judith instigated the conversation by making an unconscious comment. The princess answers her while looking softly at Sen. She tells Judith that understanding someone is more about putting that person into one’s heart. She says that’s why when she can’t handle it, her heart hurts. The princess thinks it’s a blessing to love someone because it expands her world and makes her a better person. She also thinks the process of loving, understanding and getting to know someone can be painful. After listening to the princess, Judith feels that she’s been foolish in front of a really important relationship. She feels pathetic. She wonders if she should be honest with Kiryu about her feelings. She still doesn’t have the courage to do it right now but she understands that nothing can be solved by avoiding it like a habit.
    • On the group’s hike to the holy place on the mountain, they encounter masu grass. Sen purifies the grass while Judith and Kiryu attack and defend. The battle takes a while to finish because masu grass has the same appearance as normal grass. Consequently, it camouflages itself well in normal grass and if they miss even a tiny bit of it, it will grow back stronger than it was before. When the three complete the eradication of the masu grass, Sen talks about the unusual appearance of the grass and Kiryu concurs with his assessment. It’s clear that something is making the growth and strength of masu grass increase. Judith is the only one to say out loud what the others are thinking. She asks the princess if the masu grass’s unusual appearance is because of the single broken orb. The faces of the other three all grow dark and gloomy. They’ve already met masu grass six times in a row and this frequency was exceptional for one party alone to encounter. Judith asks if one broken orb can change the threat this much. This stirs Sen to ask the princess the exact location of the northern orb. He thinks he needs to retrieve ASAP.
    • The four continue their walk and Judith notices blood on her path. It leads her to discover a dead body in the bushes. Kiryu joins her while Sen and the princess stand back. Judith observes that the man died from dragon blood because of the apparent scales on his arms. Surprisingly, Kiryu tells her that he knows the face of the dead man. He says that he’s a member of the Black Knights. Judith scrutinizes the man’s face but she doesn’t recognize him at all from the first timeline when she was a black knight. Sen says a prayer for the dead man then urges that they should leave as quickly as possible. He doesn’t like the signs in the weather. They all feel strangely uneasy. Sen advises them to walk at a faster pace.
    • On the way to the holy place where the orb is located, Judith sees more red soil. She gets an unpleasant feeling. When they arrive at the altar, they find that the orb is already broken. The princess stares in disbelief at the broken residue. The princess’s shocked expression leads Judith to conclude that it’s certain that she never dreamed of this outcome. Kiryu observes that the sharp broken edges of the orb suggests that it was recently broken. Judith looks closer at the orb and agrees with his conclusion. The princess is quite disappointed that their mission to retrieve the orb failed. She declares that the magic used to spread deterrence is now broken. It takes a lot of strength to break the orb so Kiryu and Judith string the circumstantial evidence together but they keep it to themselves for the time being. They speculate that the culprit is probably the dead body they found with clear signs of dragon blood consumption. However, they know that the second princess is still in a coma so that means someone else is involved with dragon blood.
    • Judith thinks of the failure of the investigation to find the culprits responsible for the attempted assassination of the third and fourth princes. The investigation was passed on to the first prince but Judith speculates that the first prince chose not to look too deeply into the matter just in case any of his supporters was responsible. While the first prince was glad that his brothers returned safely, he didn’t want to jeopardize himself politically. In Judith’s private investigation into the dragon blood, their team strongly suspects the involvement of the second princess but she and Kiryu know that she’s still currently in a coma. They now realize that someone else is probably involved with the dragon blood. Judith’s thoughts lean towards someone else in the imperial family because in the first timeline, Jermel was uninterested in the dragon’s blood. Moreover, since they found the dead body of the black knight earlier, she believes that Jermel probably moved on the order of an imperial family member.
    • Sleet starts to fall and the princess insists that they descend the mountain as soon as possible. Sen asks if she wants to stop by the castle in the north but she rejects the idea. She’s not even supposed to be outside the palace and if it gets out that she left, it will cause an uproar. Moreover, the duchess knows her face so visiting the castle is out of the question. On their way down, the sleet increases and the weather is extremely cold. They don’t have much flame stones left either to keep themselves warm. Kiryu suggests that they stay at an inn he saw earlier. However, more trouble shows up when a flying beast name Griffin starts to stalk them as prey. Sen takes the charge to fight the beast and runs back up the hill. Kiryu stays with the princess on the path down which is now mixed with mud and sleet. Judith is some distance from them and Kiryu takes hold of the princess’s arm and he jumps with her. He looks up to give an order to Judith but several unexpected things occurred one after the other. Judith, who noticed the disturbance a step too late, is hit by the Griffin as it emerges from the bushes. The beast then throws a staggering Judith down and flies up in the air. The beast then descends towards a falling Judith.
    • Judith rolls down the mountain towards the valley. Thanks to the protective magic on her body, the dirt, stones and plants didn’t cause any abrasion on her body except in one unprotected area. She smashes into a tree and stops rolling. She feels pain all over her body especially in her back. She’s grateful that she at least didn’t lose her mind. She sees and hears the Griffin in the sky above looking for its prey. She stays still lying on the ground to evaluate her situation. The Griffin eventually discovers her and flies towards her. Judith avoids its attack by using the terrain to her advantage as she runs zigzag among the trees. The Griffin frantically chases her especially since she damaged its wings with her gold ether. Next Judith executes her strategy to attack the beast’s body. She blows its feet off then severs its head.
    • In the aftermath of the fight, Judith surveys her clothes and she has a lot of the Griffin’s blood on her. Her clothes, shoes, weapons and even her skin gives off the scent of the beast’s blood. This is bad news because the scent will draw masu grass and undoubtedly other Griffins. Moreover, it’s getting dark and her physical condition isn’t the best to climb back up the valley. She decides to wash away the blood. The experience makes her feel like she’s on death row. Cold snow is falling heavily and the water in the valley feels ice cold. Judith is forced to wash away the blood on her arms, her legs and on her sword. She feels like she’ll faint from the ice cold water. She can’t stop trembling and when the wind blows it only makes things more difficult for her.
    • By the time Judith completes cleaning off the Griffin’s blood, every part of her body is freezing. Slipping her feet back into her boots felt like she’s walking on ice. When she rubs her hands together, there’s absolutely no warmth. The last flame stone she had fell out of her grasp during her fall. By now the valley is also dark and she starts to climb the valley. Every step she takes feels like hell. She starts to feel dizzy and distressed. She doesn’t even know which direction she should take and the falling sleet keep covering up her footprints in the snow. Her body temperature is also much lower than it should be. For the first time in her life she’s assaulted by the realistic fear that she just might die.
    • Judith wants to call for help but wonders who should she ask. She already decided to live alone without depending on anyone else because the only person she could trust in this harsh world is herself. Everyone who isn’t her is, in the end, only another person. That’s why she thought she would be strong by herself. She thought it would be okay so she’s forgotten how to ask for help. She can’t remember the last time she asked someone to help her. She now realizes that there comes a time when everyone becomes weak. It’s not because they’re lacking and incompetent. Talent alone isn’t enough to live in the world. No matter how strong and outstanding a person may be, there comes a time when a person needs others. In the face of possible death, she asks herself what’s the use of talent now. Before, she turned a blind eye to her loneliness and weakness because of her pride. Even at this moment it was difficult for her to shout for help from anyone.
    • Judith’s teeth are chattering and she starts to grow deaf from tinnitus. She eventually collapses against a tree. She simply doesn’t have the energy to walk anymore especially with the cold wind blowing at her front. Her whole body feels cold as ice. She thinks again that she decided to live alone and thought that she could live alone because she’s a strong person. She asks herself who could live in the world alone. She starts to call Kiryu in a crying voice as he naturally comes to her mind. To her it feels like she’s calling him after a long time. She thinks of his smile that warms her cold heart. She starts to call louder. She thinks he’s the only person who occupies her lonely and empty heart. She doesn’t have the strength to lift a finger and tries resolutely to hold on to her mind. She knows she’ll die if she let’s go of her mind but she doesn’t have the strength to keep her eyes open. She wonders if it’s an illusion that she hears someone calling her name from far away. The person is desperately shouting her name. She looks up at the sky and asks if she’ll die like this. She begins to recall something about stars that her mother once told her when she was a child and it leads her to memories of the time she danced at the banquet with Kiryu. She honestly admits that she wants someone to hold her hand.
    • While Judith is in a daze, someone really calls her name but she doesn’t answer. It’s Kiryu and he calls her name several times and asks if she’s hurt. Judith feels like she’s going to cry when she hears him. Kiryu asks her if she’s crying and inquires where does it hurt. He hugs her and realizes that her body feels like ice. Judith digs into his arms when she feels his warm body temperature. Kiryu grows very anxious and starts a flame stone. He gives the stone to her and begs her not to lose her mind. He lifts and carries her as he climbs the valley in cold sweat. Kiryu grows very afraid as he notices Judith’s terrible state. He’s more frighten than he’s ever been in his life.
    • Judith wakes up feeling warm. Before her is an old silver haired man with a long silver beard. He looks irate and cantankerous. He and Judith immediately has a short war of words. The man grumbles that he’s never seen a man so careless in his 8,000 years of life. He doesn’t understand why Karnak gave Judith a stigma. Judith is startled by the man’s remark. The man asks her what would she have done without him. Judith asks him if God Karnak really gave her the stigma. The man points out that she’s talking to him from the Dragon’s holy land. He says that the only person who can talk to the Dragon command from the Dragon’s holy land is the one who gave the stigma himself. Judith and the man argue. He hits her with some gourds that fall from the sky. He says considering what she did to him it’s only fair. She asks what does he mean and where are they. The man’s mouth twitches because of her ignorance. He asks if the person who brought her here didn’t even tell her about the place. She explains that it wasn’t necessary to know the details because they only came to retrieve the orb which was broken. The man tells her that all they need to do is make a new orb from his heart. He knows that she has his heart so she shouldn’t pretend to be innocent.
    • Judith now realizes that he’s the silver dragon. The dragon tells her that this holy place is where the dead dragon gather. She asks his name but the man laughs. That’s because he has many names after reincarnating continuously. He tells Judith that he’s the dragon she killed. To be reborn, a soul returns to the Dragon’s holy land. Judith feels somewhat anxious as she wonders about the dragon’s motive for bringing her there. Does he want to retaliate? The dragon tells her that the reason he’s talking to her is because of her stigma of time from Karnak. Judith asks him if he knows about the stigma. The dragon explains that there are powers that Karnak left behind for humans to use but there were some powers that were so powerful and absolute that they couldn’t be handed down to humans. The stigma of time is one of them. It’s a stigma that Karnak directly passed down to Judith. She asks the dragon why did Karnak choose her. The dragon says that she’ll have to ask Karnak that himself. Judith asks how. The dragon says he doesn’t know. He last met Karnak thousands of years ago. Judith is annoyed. The dragon tells her that he can roughly guess Karnak’s intention. Judith asks him to tell her. The dragon snorts and says he doesn’t want to tell her.
    • Judith reasons that she shouldn’t expect kindness from the dragon she slayed. Therefore, she asks him why did he bring her here and what does he want. The temperamental dragon prevaricates for a bit until he finally asks about the second princess. He’s worried about her and it seems as though he wants to ask Judith to protect her. He thinks that now he’s dead she must be lonely again and ignored by everyone. Judith asks him if he knows who the princess handed over his blood to. He says most of the time he was asleep because of forbidden magic. Judith tells the dragon that she doesn’t have the authority to keep the second princess safe. The dragon demands that she somehow find a way to do it. They go back and forth bickering on this issue until Judith points out that he’s not even a child so he shouldn’t whine. The dragon tells her that if the child dies, he won’t reincarnate anymore. Judith asks him what does that have to do with her. The dragon treats her like she’s an ignoramus. He grudgingly explains that without dragons reincarnating the orbs won’t work anymore to protect the empire. It’s an agreement established between Karnak and dragons approximately 1,500 years ago to protect the land where dragons and humans can coexist. He basically tries to blackmail Judith into ensuring that the princess is at least protected until she regains her senses. He claims he doesn’t want to protect a land where the princess no longer exists. Judith being Judith informs him that she doesn’t work for free. The dragon says that he already prepared a reward. Judith asks him what is it but he doesn’t answer. Instead he leaves after touching her forehead.
    • Judith wakes up to pain and suffering. She hears Kiryu calling her name. She opens her heavy eyes and Kiryu hugs her. She feels unbearably cold and she sees that Sen is healing her with divine power. She asks where are they and finds out that they’re staying at the castle. She wants to know why and Sen tells her that the inn was too far so they had no choice but to come to the castle. Sen also tells her that she has hypothermia and she almost died. The body temperature of Kiryu who’s tightly hugging her feels like a lifeline to her. She sees the worry in the eyes of the three people and thanks them for helping her.
    • Judith begins to recover her body temperature in front of the fireplace in the guest room where she’s staying. She drinks warm soup and drink warm tea but it takes a considerable amount of time for her body temperature to return. Through Sen, she’s informed of a few things. First, the princess’s identity is kept secret in the castle to prevent it slipping out that she left the palace. Secondly, she learns that she really could have died. Sen tells her that it’s fascinating that she’s alive. He says that her body was as cold as ice. He thinks it’s like someone held on to her soul so that she wouldn’t die. He adds that when she opened her eyes it was like a miracle. Judith wonders if this was the dragon’s reward. He sent her soul back after it was roaming in the land of the dead. She begins to wonder how can she protect the second princess as the dragon requested. Sen tells her he’s glad that she’s okay. Judith awkwardly thanks him and he points out that the one she needs to thank is Kiryu. He searched the area to find her and then hiked all the way back up the valley with her on his back. Hearing this, Judith reflects that she doesn’t know what kind of face to make in front of Kiryu. Since she woke up, he’s been silently staying by her side. Right now he was away in the castle thanking the Marquis for their hospitality.
    • After Sen leaves, Judith makes up her mind to talk with Kiryu. She wants to thank him for saving her life and apologize for her past behavior. She believes she’ll regret it if she keep her distance. She shouldn’t be stubborn anymore when she knows she likes him. For the first time in her life she’s started to like someone and she’s greedy for him. She wants to get closer to him. She doesn’t want to miss out on him. She decides to apologize even if she can’t tell him the reason why she acted like that. Kiryu knocks on her door and slowly opens it. He asks if he could come in and she allows him. He asks for permission to sit next to her and she nods her approval. He sits down and asks if she’s feeling better. She says she’s fine. Kiryu says that since the first time they met, she always says she’s fine like a habit. They stare at each other. Kiryu tells her that she must be hurting after such a painful ordeal.
    • In his thoughts, Kiryu ponders on many things concerning her. He sometimes have dark thoughts that she’s strong on her own and she doesn’t need him. She’s an ether master and knight of the order of Brilliante. She’s confident and competent on her own. Kiryu stops himself from dwelling on these negative thoughts after a bit. Judith softly thanks him for saving her life. She even remembers him carrying her on his back. She asks if she wasn’t heavy. He denies it. Kiryu reflects that all he was cognizant of was the fact that her body temperature was so low. He tells her that he wanted to go into a bear cave and light a fire but Sen stopped him. Judith reminds him that it’s winter and bears are hibernating. Kiryu says he would have told the bear to leave the room. Judith burst out laughing. Kiryu’s eyes widen. It’s been so long that he’s seen her laugh and she laughs for a long time. Judith finally apologizes to him for ignoring him and not telling him the reason. Kiryu doesn’t say anything and Judith explains that she’s usually like this. She has a habit of avoiding things when she feels uncomfortable. She says she’s sorry for the second time. She asks him if he worried a lot and why does he always care so much about her. After all, she’s just one of his knights.
    • Kiryu’s reaction is intense. He looks like a man who suddenly had an epiphany. He recalls the question that Judith asked him on the night of the charity banquet. “Do you like me?” He remembers thinking that she was probably asking jokingly so he thought he shouldn’t say yes seriously. He thought it would be better not to give her an answer that would put pressure on her. Consequently, he wrapped his feelings in words that were good to hear. But what if that was a very important question? What if this was the reason for her coldness?
    • Kiryu tells Judith that he will ask her one question. He wants to know why did she keep wearing the earrings he gave her when she kept avoiding him. After a long silence, Judith confesses that she kept wearing them because they represented his heart which are the words that he said to her on the night of the banquet. Judith thinks about her honest desire to be loved by someone and how she wishes it’s him. She tells him that he must have purchased the earrings with a light heart but they’re very precious to her. Kiryu tells her if that’s her answer, then he’ll answer her question. He tells her that a girl he likes almost froze to death. Judith stares at him and she sees the intense fire burning in his eyes. Kiryu confesses to her that he likes her more than anyone else in the world. He says it twice. Judith is so surprised that her mind turns white. Kiryu tells her that he’s in love with her. Judith asks about his previous answer at the banquet hall. Kiryu tells her that he only answered in that way to avoid burdening her with his feelings. He apologizes to her for acting cowardly. Judith listens to him as he pours out his heart. They’re all things that she hears for the first time in her life.
    • Judith pulls herself together to respond to his confession. Her cheeks are flushed. She asks him what would he say if she says she’s not burdened by his confession. She tells him she likes him too. Her gaze awkwardly vacillates between the floor and him until he pulls her into his arms. She finds his chest warmer than the blanket. Kiryu tells her that he’s going to continue holding her like this until she pushes him away. Judith softly whispers that he should keep hugging her just like this.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
  13. Fudgex

    Fudgex Well-Known Member

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    My heart feels so full after reading this <3 Thank you for the spoilers!!
     
  14. iamwhoami

    iamwhoami Well-Known Member

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    Oh
    My oh my oh my i was literally screaming like my mouth is smiling from ear to ear
    Thank u very much:blobpats:
     
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  15. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    Haha. Well, I’m glad you guys enjoy it.

    The next chapter drops a huge bombshell that I didn’t see coming. I truly never imagined this development. Wait for it. I don’t think it was spoiled on the thread previously. It’s not romantic development though.
     
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  16. Pinkredible_Pinkberry

    Pinkredible_Pinkberry Well-Known Member

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    You can't stress me like this! I'm now so curious I feel like I'm about to explode! :blobcat_rawr::blobastonished:

    Thank you very much for sharing this with us btw :blobhug::blobtaco:
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
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  17. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • Kiryu lost his loved ones twice. When he was seven years old, his mother died after promising him she’ll be healthy soon. In the face of such a lie, she was unable to get out of bed and eventually died. The second time was when his younger brother, Alpen, died. His brother wanted to follow in Kiryu’s footsteps and use his talents to help the world. When he returned home dead, Kiryu stayed in his bedroom for two months and shut out the world. Love taught him pain and the world taught him resentment. When he entered the academy, he was faced with rumors that he drove his younger brother, who wanted to be like him, to his death. All that changed when he inherited the count title and became an ether master who drove out masu that rushed into his territory. People’s attitude towards him then began to change. He had many reasons to resent and hate the world but he eventually chose to love the world because for him love was easier to give than resentment.
    • Early in the morning, Judith finally falls asleep. Kiryu, who is with her, puts her to bed and gently strokes her hair. He finds it hard to believe that the day finally arrived where he’s allowed to reach out to her from this close distance. He wonders how much joy and pain will she be to him now. He tearfully thanks the world for the precious person beside him. He thinks Judith is really adorable. He wants to see her smile and resolves that he must try harder to make her happy. To him she’s become the person who makes him look forward to each day. He carefully kisses her forehead and leaves her room. It was the dawn of the happiest day of his life.
    • Judith wakes up thinking about the night she spent leaning on Kiryu who kept her warm. She recalls the time she spent in the sleet feeling cold and abandoned by the world and compares it to the warmth she feels now. She recalls Kiryu laying her down on the bed but after that everything was blurred. She falls asleep again and wakes up later in the morning. She washes up then goes to greet the princess in her room. The princess inquires about her health and Judith assures her that she’s fine. The two eat together in the princess’s room before the princess informs Judith that she has something to say to her. Judith tells her that she also has a matter to discuss with her. Judith goes to check the hallway and finds Sen there. She talks with him for a short time before returning to the princess’s room and locking the door behind her.
    • In a nutshell, the princess asks Judith if she can give her the dragon’s heart in her possession so that they can make a new orb. She’s not worried about the orb in south because the military that the first prince oversees is actively protecting it. The biggest problem is the orb in the West. The Bergs once supported the first prince. Their daughter was the fiancée of the first prince but she died in the assassination attempt on his life two years ago. As a result, the Berg family dropped their support for the first prince and developed an antipathy for the imperial family. There are also rumors that ever since the daughter died, the father is slowly losing his mind. This is why the West is a major concern because the princess believes that they’re probably neglecting the protection of the orb. Judith also knows from her life in the first timeline that the Berg lord gradually lost his mind over the death of his daughter and a future war will occur in the West against a plethora of beasts. That probably hints that the orb will be destroyed since the deterrence magic will fail.
    • Judith tells the princess that she’ll give her the dragon heart. The princess is relieved and delighted that Judith will give it to her without a huge price unlike Sen’s conjecture. Judith divulges her experience with the silver dragon to the princess who is quite surprised. She doesn’t reveal everything though including the fact that she has the stigma of time. Although she’s grown close to the princess, she doesn’t want to get carried away and reveal this matter. She acknowledges that people in power can change their attitude and mindset according to any change in their position. Meanwhile, the princess is thinking on how much she really likes Judith.
    • Judith asks the princess to listen to her without asking questions. This will be the price for the dragon heart. The princess accepts. Judith’s first request is for the princess to protect the second princess until she regains her consciousness. The princess readily acquiesces. She says she’ll bring her younger sister to live in her palace. Judith inquires into the security of her palace and the princess assures her that her people are trustworthy. Moreover, Sen comes and goes frequently from her palace so the second princess will have the blue knight and white knight protecting her.
    • Secondly, Judith states she heard that the blue knight can nominate another knight as the blue knight. The princess confirms this is true. She asks the princess if she will accept another person into the blue knights. The princess asks if she’s interested in joining her order. Judith says it’s someone else that she wants to join her order. It’s a person that she wants to remove from the Black Knights. She thinks the person will not be happy and will probably resent her for it but she doesn’t want to lose that person. After she finishes her explanation, the princess looks at her and tells her that she’s such an attractive person. She says it hasn’t been a long companionship but she’s been thinking this while watching her on this trip together. She adds that Judith has the determination to know when she shouldn’t bend and she also has a hidden softness inside. She feels that it’s fortunate that there’s a knight like her in the empire. Judith feels embarrassed by the princess’s praise. The princess tells her if there’s anything she can do to be her strength, please tell her at any time. She also shyly asks Judith if she can visit her at her palace after their mission ends. She claims most of her friends are already married or she’s lost contact with them. Judith assures her that it would be an honor to visit her at her palace.
    • Judith meets Sen in the hallway outside the princess’s bedroom. They chat for a bit before Judith asks about Kiryu’s whereabouts. Sen informs her that Kiryu left early in the morning to hire a wizard for their return trip to the capital. Judith is worried that he didn’t get much sleep before he left. Sen asks if she resolved her issue with Kiryu. Judith confirms that she solved it well. Sen laughs and tells her that’s a relief. Sen begins to talk about the fact that he cannot retire because he has no successor. It’s rare to find another ether master in the white knights. Sen starts to tell Judith that he can send her a great offer. Judith sharply and succinctly rejects him. Sen complains that she’s so blunt in her refusal. Judith tells him that it’s equal to him telling the princess that she would take half her palace’s budget as payment for the dragon heart. lol Sen is embarrassed but still tells Judith that she should think about his offer again. He claims the White Knights eat better than the other knights orders. Kiryu arrives just in time to hear this and shouts to Sen to find someone else.
    • Judith turns to see Kiryu and both she and Sen greet him. Kiryu asks Sen if he has a conscience and why is he trying to fool other people’s knight. Sen replies that his body and mind are dedicated to God Karnak. Kiryu tells him not to even dream of enticing Judith. He tells him to go away with a wave of his hand. Sen asks if he was able to hire a wizard. Kiryu says he brought two of them and they’re on the first floor. They decide to leave for the capital within an hour. Sen goes downstairs to meet the wizards leaving Judith and Kiryu alone. Kiryu says he can’t trust anyone in the world. Judith assures him that no one can seduce her away from the Red Knights so he shouldn’t worry about it. Kiryu asks her if she slept well last night. She says yes, thanks to him, but she’s worried he didn’t get much sleep. He admits he only slept a few hours but he’ll rest up when they get back to the capital. Judith agrees that resting in one’s own bed is the best. She asks Kiryu why he’s laughing though. Kiryu admits it’s because it feels good to hear her call him like she used to in the past. He tells her that the world was pretty cold when he was ignored by the person he likes until a few days ago. Judith tries to quietly scold him but ends up laughing. She wants to know how he could be satisfied with that much. She tells him she still has a long way to go and it’s time for him to come to tropical climate from the cold weather. She blows him a kiss with her right hand and winks at him. She then teases that she’ll see him later. All Kiryu could do is watch her with an open mouth as she walks off while silently laughing inside.
    • At the palace, Eden is visiting the third prince’s palace and he’s enraged by the fact that the investigation into their attempted assassination hasn’t led to fruitful results. He berates the first prince Albert for trying to cover up the investigation in his own political interest. He and William have a heated exchange because to him it doesn’t seem as though William cares as deeply about this matter. In the end, Eden leaves in a huff and as soon as the room is empty, Prince Albert enters the room. It seems as though he was hiding in an adjoining room. From their conversation, it looks as though Albert and William have joined hands to solve this dragon blood case. They don’t seem to be close because William coldly tells Albert that this will be the last time he’ll work with him. Albert talks about Edward, the second prince whom he’s been investigating in tandem with the testimonies from the case in which his fiancée died.
    • Albert brings up the topic that he didn’t know princess Olga was once attacked by someone who consumed Dragon blood. He asks William how was he able to communicate with Olga. William says he wrote her a thank you letter for saving his wife, Seria. Olga once wrote him a letter asking him to give up on Seria giving birth to a child because she will definitely die in childbirth. Thanks to that, William still has his wife by his side. Albert thinks Olga is too ominous. He laughs and asks if Olga is still acting like a saint. Nevertheless, it’s still a fact that William heeded Olga’s advice and his wife is still alive and Albert rejected her advice and his fiancée died. William says for a second time that this is the end of the deal between him and Albert. Albert gets up from the sofa and states that the second princess will have a hard time as soon as she wakes up because of her alleged involvement in the dragon blood case. William asks Albert why did he suddenly strengthen his security forces in the south. Albert replies that he won’t tell him. William says that he’s cold but he’s glad that he’s cold. Albert smiles and tells him to let them do this well. They’re joining hands to deal with Edward. After Albert leaves, William thinks about his two younger siblings and feels sorry that he can’t perfectly protect or turn away from them.
    • Judith returns to the Red Knights order only to find out the news that she’s been promoted to senior knight manager. She receives a new uniform from Desang and instructions to start wearing it the day after the next. Judith thinks the promotion is too soon. It took her a year and a half to be promoted when she was part of the Black Knights and even then there was a backlash against her because of the incredibly fast promotion. It led to the knights refusing to serve her as platoon leader. Due to this, she asks Desang if her promotion isn’t too fast. Desang acknowledges that it’s true but reminds her that it’s only natural that she, as an ether master, should be leading instead of participating as a platoon member of someone else’s team. Any platoon leader would be intimidated by her presence as a mere member of their team. He tells Judith to consider that platoon leader’s position. Besides, the accomplishments she’s achieved make it clear to other platoon leaders that it’s natural for her to be promoted. Consequently, Judith has to attend senior level training two days from now.
    • Judith leaves the Red Knights office with her new uniform. She thinks at this rate she might end up becoming a leader. She thinks a promotion is good but it’s different to what she imagined. The image she had in her mind was to lie down and play on holidays with a decent salary. She thinks of Kiryu who is busy with the other commanders because of the broken orbs. She knows that a higher salary means more work. She acknowledges that it will be harder to quit the imperial knights for the time being.
    • The next day, Judith goes to the bank to retrieve the dragon heart from her underground safe. She takes it to poor Rojas and asks for his kind cooperation in making a new orb. Rojas, of course, feels slighted because he’s been trying to get her to give him a dragon part for three months now. He tells Judith that he feels like he’s been getting a lot more work since he became acquainted with her. He reminds her that he’s not the only court magician there. Judith tells him congratulations for getting more work in his later years. Rojas practically screams that she doesn’t have to celebrate. He complains that he’s busy teaching his students and doing researching yet she wants him to make an orb. Judith knows he’ll end up doing it anyway so she asks about the teleportation circles he had researched in the Herringcia forest (imperial grounds forest) She asks if he was able to trace where the destination led. He explains the genius of the teleportation circle they found and the ultimate answer about destination is the kingdom of Rosetta.
    • Jermel comes back to find Kiryu sitting among confidential documents in his office at the Black Knights order. He wants to know what’s going on here. Kiryu asks him if it’s okay to have confidential documents lying in plain sight. The guy’s office is a huge mess with documents disorganized everywhere. Jermel sits down at his desk and asks Kiryu to say what he wants and leave. Kiryu asks about Valdemic Arencia, a knight that came in six months ago for the Black Knights. Jermel claims he doesn’t remember the knight. Kiryu tells him that the name was on the list of the Black Knights roll. Jermel claims he’s never been free to know the names of each of his Black Knights. He turns around to take off his outerwear and skillfully hides his expression. Kiryu asks him if he remembers the knights who joined his order two months ago. He says no, he doesn’t remember. Kiryu asks him if he’s ever remembered anything in his life. lol Jermel says there’s nothing he needs to know. After some more uncooperative conversation between them, Kiryu tells him that a knight who was a member of the royal guard and a black knight of the second prince was found dead where the orb was broken. He asks Jermel if he’s going to claim it’s a coincidence. Jermel says he doesn’t know what Kiryu is talking about. Kiryu says he already knows that Jermel is politically on the same boat as the second prince. He knows he moves the Black Knights very often for the second prince. Jermel claims that Kiryu can’t accuse people without witnesses or evidence. He tells Kiryu to get out if he’s done. Kiryu who is unfazed by Jermel’s attitude tells him that he’ll leave when he wants especially since he, Jermel, won’t remember anything anyway. Kiryu tells Jermel that he needs to hear an explanation for the broken orb. He knows that Lord Valdemic had joined the ranks of the second prince and since his body was found in the confidential vicinity of the orb, an order must have been issued. Jermel smiles drily. He reminds Kiryu that the only person who can compel him to answer is the emperor.
    • Kiryu knows this is true. Unlike the Red Knights who move for the empire, the Black Knights move for the royal family. The difference was subtle and large. That was the Black Knights justification for their shady actions. If the order is to change, it will have to change internally first. Jermel tells Kiryu if he’s curious he should persuade his prince. Kiryu asks why should he put so much effort into it. He looks at his watch and throws down the document he was holding. He says some parting words to Jermel before joining Haley outside. The whole point of Kiryu’s unproductive conversation with Jermel was to buy time for Haley to gather information. Only after they exit the Black Knights grounds that Haley starts to report to Kiryu the information she gathered from her colleagues in the Black Knights. She informs Kiryu that Sir Valdemic recently returned to the Black Knights for a mission. He asks her if the information is reliable. She says she’s sure since it came from her colleagues.
    • After sending Haley back, Kiryu contemplates the information he knows. The only people who know the location of the orbs are the imperial family and Knight commanders. Therefore, who benefits from breaking the orbs? The first person that comes to his mind is the second prince Edward. Jermel moves at the command of the imperial family. Still, he wonders if there’s anything he missed. One by one he thinks of each imperial family member. Public sentiment in the Veritas empire is quite sharp. There are still voices who criticize the imperial family for the dragon rampage. Therefore, he wonders why would a member of the imperial family break the orbs when it will only heighten public sentiment against them if the empire’s security plummets? He excludes the first Prince Albert from his suspect list because the emperor is currently testing Albert’s ability to take charge of public affairs. Breaking the orb would be akin to him strangling himself politically. Kiryu also eliminates fourth prince Eden since, objectively speaking, there’s no benefit for him in breaking the orb. Only prince Edward and prince William remain. The supporters of third prince William are similar to the supporters of first princess Olga. They want an emperor who will spread power in various ways. The supporters of second prince Edward, on the other hand, are warlord nobles who’re allowed to muster private armies. If the orbs are broken and the danger increases, the first person to gain power would be this group. They were the kind of people who thought of the lives of knights as consumables.
    • The Rwalhmei family, led by Kiryu, has an excellent reputation for swordsmanship. As a form of social responsibility, they foster the talent of outsiders. Their goal is to train as many knights as possible so they can save the lives of the majority. However, Kiryu refuses to put his people in key positions that involves politics. If they get caught of in political disputes, it can lead to the downfall of their family. His goal is to maintain proper wealth and reputation while fulfilling his responsibilities as nobility. That’s the life of a noble he was taught. This is why he couldn’t understand nobles who participated in the fight for the throne. Nevertheless, he doesn’t want to disparage those nobles who participate in the political fight because, as he learned from Judith, if he lives his life making judgements only according to his values, he could suffer a setback. Notwithstanding, if the second prince becomes the next emperor, he intends to quit the imperial knights, return to his territory and live his life quietly. One question that puzzles him is how does Jermel benefit from all of this. He finds it too much for Jermel as a commander to support breaking the orbs when it undoubtedly leads to the endangerment of the empire.
    • Judith approaches Kiryu and calls him three times before he finally hears her. She asks him what he was thinking about so deeply that she had to call him for a long time. He apologizes to her. She asks him if something’s wrong. Kiryu says he was thinking about something he couldn’t answer. Judith tells him that’s a waste of his time. She tells him if he has a lot of time, he should use it more meaningfully. Kiryu asks her how. She says, for example, spending cozy time with her. Kiryu’s eyes widen. Judith tells him that she’s thinking of going shopping to buy a sword.
    • Judith finally decides to buy a proper sword because one regret after almost dying is enough. Kiryu gladly accepts her invitation to accompany her and the two leave the Red Knights premises. Judith wants Kiryu to take her to a blacksmith he would recommend but he thinks it’s better to go somewhere she likes. After all, he notices their tastes are very different. They end up going to a place that Judith frequents to the point where the blacksmith tells her that he hasn’t seen her in a long time so he thought she was dead. Judith begins to look through the swords in the shop. Kiryu has watched her shop before so he’s already prepared to wait a long time before she picks her chosen sword. He tells Judith that he hopes she can choose one today. Judith reminds him that they still have to eat dinner together that night.
    • While looking through all the swords in the shop, Judith acknowledges that she still likes money. However, rather than being a slave to money, she thinks she should be the master of her money instead. She will no longer confine her life into the frame of material value where she’s always thinking that she has to live within her means. Some of the most valuable things to her now don’t have material value. Thinking along these lines, Judith confesses to Kiryu that she used to think of quitting the imperial knights if she had a lot of money. She tells him if she had a lot of money, she thought she would do nothing but eat the most expensive and best three meals each day without thinking about anything. Kiryu is honestly surprised by her admission. Judith tells him that she thinks it’s better to live as a knight after all. She’s earned enough money to the point where she can quit her job. Kiryu tells her if he wasn’t an imperial knight, he would have been looking for a way to help the world. Judith says she can’t believe he’s talking like a saint. Kiryu asks her if he looks like an abominable person. Judith says not enough to be abominable but she thinks what he said about helping the world is more like something a white knight would say. Her subsequent remarks make it clear that she has a cynical view of the world and those who practice good deeds. Judith tells Kiryu that she believes everyone’s nature is evil and he says he believes everyone’s nature is good. They look at each other and laugh. Judith wonders why do they like each other when they’re so different.
    • While trying out swords, the two continue to talk. Judith thinks swordsmanship is her only talent but Kiryu disagrees. He thinks her persistence and interest in the sword can be considered a talent. He’s grateful to the person who taught her the sword since the empire was blessed by her achievements. Judith confides there were more talented people in her master’s class when she was young but she doesn’t know if those people quit the sword or continued wielding it. This is why Kiryu thinks her persistence in loving the sword is also a talent since she faithfully continued with it through many hardships. Kiryu caresses Judith’s cheek before gently kissing it. He tells her his talent is loving her. He confesses again and tells her he loves her. Judith stiffens and her face turns red with embarrassment. She hits him on his back with the sword in her hand and tells him that he’s good at throwing out cheesy lines like he’s drunk. The whole time after the surprise kiss, she’s secretly tickled both in her chest and on her cheek and her heart is pounding. She makes a note to herself that she’ll get revenge another time.
    • At last Judith picks a sword but her comments on the sword leads to a curious effect. She says the sword is too shiny and it will reflect in the dark. Kiryu replies that it shouldn’t matter because it’s not like she’s a Black Knight who’s going to kill someone. (I think he means in terms of assassination and other covert killing) Judith stiffens as though she was caught off guard. Kiryu adds but if they do night battle, perhaps she should choose something else. Before he could finish speaking, however, Judith abruptly declares she’ll purchase the sword. Kiryu at first feels strange about her sudden decision but reasons that she has clear likes and dislikes so she wouldn’t purchase the sword if she doesn’t like it.
    • While Judith purchases the sword, Kiryu removes his gloves so he can hold her hands on their way to dinner. Judith pretends not to notice as they intertwine fingers. After dinner, she invites him to her mansion which was completed during the time she was away in the north. Kiryu is pleasantly surprised by her invitation and insists on bringing a gift. Judith rejects this idea however since she hasn’t furnished the house as yet. The two walk through the streets until they arrive on the outskirts of the capital. Kiryu sees her mansion for the first time. When she opens the front door with her key, he notices that her hand is slightly shaking. He realizes how much this place must mean to her.
    • Inside, they tour the mansion. Judith is very moved that she finally owns a place she can call home. She’s bombarded by thoughts of her life in the first timeline. She wonders if she had lived wisely and properly, maybe she would have been able to live well well without wandering and regretting. Kiryu asks her what is she thinking. She asks him if he has any regrets in his life. He slowly hugs her and tells her that there’s no one who doesn’t have regrets. She says he doesn’t look like someone who would have regrets. She asks what does he regret. Kiryu reveals that when he was young, he rode a horse with his younger brother and they fell off. While he almost died, his body was intact but his younger brother, who also survived suffered a serious knee injury. He regrets not holding the horse reins more firmly. After that day, he felt that he shouldn’t do anything that he would regret but it doesn’t always go his way. Judith apologizes for touching his painful regret. Kiryu says it was a long time ago and his brother is dead. Judith is surprised to hear that his brother is dead. She thought he had lived a life without ups and downs.
    • Kiryu changes the heavy atmosphere by telling her that he’ll invite her to his house later. He says he drew a family portrait himself since drawing is his hobby. Judith tells him she’s looking forward to his invitation. Privately, she also wants to see where he grew up. Kiryu asks her if she’ll live in the mansion starting next year. Judith says yes providing nothing special happens. The two leave the mansion and walk back through the streets side by side.


    So, the bombshell for me is solely Jermel’s identity.
    • Princess Olga finally comes out of her palace in an official capacity. She meets in a conference room with her brothers, Albert, Edward, William and Eden. Both Albert and Edward are contentious in their conversation with her. She endearingly calls them Albi and Eddie but both brothers reject her nicknames for them claiming that they’re grown adults now. Albert resents her because she forewarned him about the assassination attempt on his life and his fiancée died. He tells her that she only say ominous things. Edward is probably cold towards her because she might still be a contender for the throne. Only William and Eden keep their mouths shut even though they have mixed feelings towards her. Eden is still hurt because when he left for the academy, she wouldn’t come out to tell him goodbye even though he waited outside her palace. It seems she was like a mother figure to him. Despite the tense and somewhat cynical atmosphere, Olga talks about the broken orbs. The brothers want to know if she only came out because the orbs broke. Only Eden realizes that his sister’s eyes are like those of caged beasts who were hurt by humans. Olga decides to get to the point of her meeting. She informs them that now the orbs are broken, a new blue knight will be appointed. Her brothers doubt their ears. Blue Knight. Edward realizes there’s only one person who will qualify. His face turns white.
    • Judith practices her sword. She realizes with certainly that her ether is definitely a gold color now. She traces the color change back to the time she saved the third prince William and Rojas from the assassination attempt on their lives. She speculates that the color change might have started when she saved the life of a person she killed in the first timeline. Kiryu once taught her that the strength of her ether is linked to her emotions. While using the sword, she realizes that the more she changes from her first timeline self, the underlying emotions make her ether increasingly stronger.
    • A confused Violet interrupts Judith’s training. She’s just learned from Desang that she’s appointed to protect Princess Josephina for the next three years. She wonders why would a new knight like her be appointed to such an important person. Judith invites her to go inside with her to talk. She has something she wants to tell her. Violet is anxious. In the dorm room, Violet drinks Judith’s tasteless lemon tea for a long time before she finally asks a silent and troubled Judith what’s wrong. Judith is trying to make up her mind about what to say to Violet. She’s about to make a decision that’s unlike her former self so she’s anxious. After a bit, Judith takes off her choker to reveal her stigma. She tells Violet to please listen to her as calmly as possible. She divulges to Violet that she lived a very different future than now. She tells Violet her story about regression against time. She tells her that she spent six years as a black knight; she tells her about the terrible things she did including killing the third prince; she tells her about the deaths of all her friends; and finally she tells her about how Jermel killed her.
    • Violet listened to Judith’s long story and tells her to stop talking because Judith kept going. She repeats the names and deaths of their friends and asks Judith if any of that make sense. Violet asks if she knew about the dragon and the assassination attempt on the prince’s life. Judith tells her no. She was in another province working as a black knight when the dragon appeared and with the third prince, she chose to protect him this time around instead of harm him. A bitter silence ensues. Violet asks Judith how could she endure living as a knight after they all died. She asks her if she’s okay now. Judith finds Violet’s question unbelievable. How can she still be worried about her after all she revealed? Judith asks her if she trusts her. Violet asks her if she lied. Judith reassures her that everything she said is true. She’s not lying. Violet tells Judith that she’ll believe her. Violet thinks through various points that could be doubted but ultimately chooses to believe Judith.
    • Violet asks what does Judith’s return has to do with her protecting the second princess. Judith tells her that she asked princess Olga for a favor. She informs Violet that princess Olga will also remove Kalifa from the Black Knights and nominate her to the Blue Knights. She tells Violet that Kalifa committed suicide in the past timeline. She says she has no idea why and she’s not confident she would find out the truth. She adds that Kalifa joined the Black Knights for revenge so there’s no way she will come out on her own two feet. Violet agrees. Judith also tells Violet that she had to save her as well. Previously she died by masu but she doesn’t know all the details because she was only focused on making money then. Since she doesn’t know the details, the only way to prevent it is to keep Violet from being sent on missions to fight masu. As the second princess’s attendant, that problem should be solved.
    • Violet tells Judith that she understands she did this to save her but does she realize that she’s messed up her plans and career to ease her guilt. Judith acknowledges that it’s true but she had no choice. In her thoughts she reflects on the fact that she almost lost Kiryu and Raymond because she kept thinking the dragon won’t attack until a few more years. Raymond even went into the forest to investigate traces of the dragon shortly before the dragon went on a rampage. Judith pleads with Violet to help her out. Now that the future has changed, she can’t be certain of anything. Judith tells Violet that in the face of death, money means nothing. She reflects on how she’s changed from her past life. From a person who died alone to a person who learned how to ask for help. Some might consider that weakness but some will say she learned to support life through people and not money. Violet looks at Judith who’s showing her vulnerable side. She thinks of Judith’s brilliant accomplishments and feels privileged to be able to witness her friend’s weak and ordinary side. Violet finally asks Judith what kind of help does she need.
    • Prince Edward is in his palace full of anxiety and anger. He thinks about the choices that others have made that have affected his life. The first choice that affected him was the discovery that he was the emperor’s illegitimate child. Both him and Jermel are the illegitimate children of the emperor and their mother is also the same woman. The first choice involved the day that both boys were brought before the emperor and the emperor had to choose one who will live as a prince and the other would become the successor of a Marquis house. The emperor chose Edward because of his blue eyes. He reasoned that the empress would more likely accept him instead of Jermel who had his mother’s red eyes. The emperor assured Edward that no one will know he’s an illegitimate child. He will replace the empress’s stillborn child and he will be treated as if the emperor had been raising him secretly. He will also get the empress to accept him. Things progressed as the emperor arranged and Edward became the legitimate child of the empress. As he adapted to palace life, enjoying the power and luxury, he shamelessly and secretly decided to become the crown prince. As times passed, he began to feel terribly guilty because Jermel was left behind at the Marquis place. He felt indebted to Jermel who wasn’t the son who was chosen.
    • Years later, Jermel became a ether master and the emperor was very proud of his son even though he had turned a blind eye to him. The day Edward met Jermel again, Jermel told him that he doesn’t want to blame him for enjoying the life of a prince that much. However, Jermel adds that if Edward deserved the prince qualification, he should have been given the qualification as well. Edward asked him what does he want. Jermel tells him he wants him to become the emperor. That’s the only way he can repay him. Jermel tells him that he shouldn’t forget that he ought to fulfill his needs for his sake. So Edward who pretended to be unwilling, jumped into the fight for the throne.
    • Edward felt sorry for Jermel so he didn’t blame him for the things he did. He often pretended not to see Jermel’s excessive behavior or faint resentment towards him. But, he couldn’t stand the aftermath reaching Kalifa. He couldn’t stand Jermel making a mess of her life not once but twice. Therefore, he goes to visit Jermel in their old home where Jermel is the Marquis. He asks Jermel if he’s the one who broke the orb. Jermel basically thinks of Edward like someone who is indebted to him so he treats him somewhat like a nuisance. Edward tells him that because he broke the orb, his sister Olga was forced to come out. Not only that, she intends to appoint Kalifa as the Blue Knight.
    • Finally, something rattles Jermel. His face hardens violently. He asks who said that the princess will appoint Kalifa as Blue Knight. Edward is so self absorbed that he doesn’t realize his brother’s agitation. Instead he tells Jermel that it’s always because of him that Kalifa is caught up in these schemes. Jermel gets up from his seat and tells Edward it’s because of him. He’s always the one chosen and he’s always the one who’s given the right to choose. Jermel’s red eyes shine with contempt. He mocks his brother’s indecision of vacillating between becoming the emperor or not becoming the emperor. Jermel tells him that he makes the choice so he shouldn’t shake off the responsibility.
    • Jermel decides that he has to go check out the truth behind Kalifa becoming a blue knight but before he leaves, Edward asks him if he hadn’t said he wouldn’t become the emperor, would he have left Duke Impenor alone? Jermel tells him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Isn’t the case involving the Impenor vague? Edward screams at him but Jermel leaves the mansion without looking back.
    • Edward thinks about the day Kalifa came to him for help after her family was murdered. The second pivotal choice in life was his engagement with Kalifa. It was the first time he fell in love. Moreover, Kalifa chose him out of the four princes. He and Kalifa got along well and loved each other. He even thought pursuing a family life with her as a grand prince would be nice. Therefore, he told Jermel that he’ll give up the throne and the Duke Impenor agreed with him so Kalifa could live freely and more happily. He didn’t know that Jermel would slaughter the Duke Impenor and his family. He found out on the day Kalifa came to the palace begging for help. Jermel was in his palace when she came. He had just confessed that he was the one who killed the duke and his wife. Edward was so shaken that he ignored Kalifa’s cries for a long time when she was outside his palace. As long as Jermel was there, he was on edge. Eventually he went out to send Kalifa away. Jermel told him that he should become the emperor for Kalifa’s sake. This became Edward’s third choice. He had to become the emperor for Kalifa. He thinks that’s the only way that he would make her smile again. At the end of it all, Edward thinks that these choices were forced on him and he never had a choice. He sits down helplessly in a chair and his eyes rests on a book that Jermel had thrown at him. It’s a new book on stigma.
     
  18. Pinkredible_Pinkberry

    Pinkredible_Pinkberry Well-Known Member

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    Jermels identity has been mentioned earlier, but wooooow, both him and his brother are messed up.
    How messed up isn't it that
    Jermel reached out a hand to Kalifa and that Kalifa feels indebted to him when HE killed her family. I really think this revelation is what caused her to kill herself in the first timeline.

    Also, some parallel between Edward and Judith, in that both of them made bad choices while thinking that what they were doing was right. Unlike Judth though, who owned up to her mistakes in the past, and the mistakes she's made in this time, and resolved to improve herself, Edward seems to be in total denial of his own responsibility in it all, and don't intend to make any improvements anytime soon.

    Those two last sentences though, seems as if Jermel intends to make Edward hound Judith for her stigma, thinking that everything will be okay so long as time is turned back and he's given a new try. Think this is what was meant earlier when Jermel asked Judith if she has the stigma of time and looked at her like a toy?

    Thanks for the spoilers! :blobpopcorn:
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
  19. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    I think you mean Edward, not William. I took a look at the chapter ahead and Jermel
    seems to have a stigma of looting or something along that line. So it looks like he’s stealing stigmas from stigma owners. I just glanced through the pages as the app translated them so I have to read through them properly to see if that’s the case.
     
    lan2001h, djan29, aineria and 13 others like this.
  20. Pinkredible_Pinkberry

    Pinkredible_Pinkberry Well-Known Member

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    Changed it :blobsweat_2: I did our dear William dirty there.
    Also
    How in the world did Jermel of all people end up with a stigma?? Do people just get them randomly if they're nobles, with Judith being the only one given one directly? I suppose this is part of why Judith received one in the first place