A Performance Cut Short

There were so many problems that he couldn't even decide where to begin, and for once, Asselin found himself speechless.

He was not a man who easily lost his composure, but this moment demanded that he grind his teeth to keep his surging emotions in check. After fixing Libitina with a frigid glare, he turned his gaze to Hina first, and the rigid knight stiffened further under the look, her expression snapping to attention.

Asselin issued his order in the driest voice he could manage.

"Knight Hina, your punishment for disobeying orders will be handed down later."

With a jerk of his chin that meant dismissed, Hina quickly moved out of the way.

"I'm the one who persuaded Knight Hina."

Despite his efforts, Libitina cut in with perfect composure. She looked utterly unbothered, as though completely oblivious to his displeasure and hostility.

She had barged uninvited through the ranks of knights on the verge of battle and nearly caused a serious incident—how could she possibly be unaware of her own fault? Worse, by some talent of hers, she had even egged a loyal knight into committing a grave offense!

Frankly, if it had been up to him, he would have locked this woman up before discussing Hina's punishment at all. If only the Lux hadn't ordered him to bring her to Elham, instructed that she be kept safe, and promised that an officially sanctioned priest would be sent from the capital to verify her claims!

Mentally reciting the orders that had been given to him, Asselin replied in a blunt tone.

"Disobedience of orders is punished severely, regardless of the reason."

"I told you, I persuaded her."

"I understand that you urged this behavior without a moment's thought for the punishment Knight Hina would face. Kindly refrain, in the future, from ruining a promising knight's career with your shortsightedness."

At the smooth, cutting rebuke, Libitina's brow furrowed. And yet she remained every bit as bold as before.

"Knight Hina did nothing wrong. She simply followed the orders of a superior officer—someone who outranks you."

Asselin's eyes narrowed at her utterly absurd claim.

"You outrank me?"

"I'm a Saintess."

In an instant, silence fell over the surroundings. Asselin noticed that all the frozen knights had turned their ears to Libitina's words.

"A Saintess is a blessed seeker of salvation. Her authority surpasses that of anyone within the Order—because she is God's chosen representative on earth."

And perhaps this woman orchestrated this whole spectacle on purpose.

To flaunt her existence before a crowd of witnesses like this, secure influence for herself by whatever means, and prepare for whatever might come next.

The problem was only that her method had been reckless, brazen, and far beyond her station.

"The field commander is me. The 'rank' you claim has not been recognized, and your 'orders' did not follow proper procedure. Therefore, Knight Hina's insubordination remains valid."

Asselin's eyes went cold and flat.

"I will take into account the fact that no one was injured. Not that it makes the insubordination any less inexcusable."

At that, Libitina's eyes went wide.

"Vice-Commander, you're seeing my power with your own eyes and still…."

Asselin was well aware that she found talking to him frustrating—she had made her displeasure plain enough. But he had assumed she wouldn't dare try anything clever here, surrounded as she was by loyal holy knights. Any ordinary person would feel too intimidated by the sight of dozens of armored knights even to approach and strike up conversation.

This woman, clearly, was no ordinary person. He had known that from the moment she came tumbling out of the sanctuary, and her temperament was no exception.

Asselin accepted it. He had intended to treat her with the utmost leniency per the Lux's orders—but the woman was too sharp-witted and quick to judge for that to be sustainable.

He took a single step toward Libitina. Tilting his head slightly toward her, Asselin spoke in a low voice, pitched for her ears alone.

"Yes, others might just about swallow your act. But you won't fool my eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"I confirmed the holy relics you looted from the sanctuary. And not just one or two."

"Looted? Holy relics?"

They were standing close enough already that he could peer deep into those violet eyes. Filled with nothing but genuine shock from every angle, they made him forget the situation entirely for a moment and feel a pure, involuntary admiration. Truly, anyone would fall for such an artless, innocent performance—if they hadn't been suspicious of her from the start and wary at every turn. Even now, just for an instant, hadn't she looked like someone who truly knew nothing at all?

But Asselin was the one who had caught her unconscious body at the sanctuary's entrance. The bag she'd been carrying had been stuffed with items that belonged to the Order—items taken from the tomb beyond any reasonable doubt.

Hina had concluded that she was not a monster. But there was no way she could truly be a Saintess from five hundred years ago, so the most rational explanation was that she was a grave robber. Having settled on that conclusion, Asselin had isolated her from the other knights under a convenient pretext—to cut off contact with any accomplices. If some unknown accomplice had any sense at all, they would abandon any rendezvous the moment they learned Asselin was glued to her side.

If the Order's verification process officially appraised those items as "holy relics," her crimes would become clear. Until then, he had simply been humoring her with the title of "Saintess." There was no need to reveal so early that he already knew she was a thief and raise her guard.

"I can't imagine how you managed to breach the sanctuary, but we'll be investigating it, so the answer will come out soon enough."

Asselin revised his plan of humoring this woman only until they reached Elham.

She needed to understand her position: caught red-handed after daring to rob the sacred tomb of a Saintess. This was no time to keep up such shameless fraud in the face of holy knights—this was the moment for her to confess her crimes and beg whatever mercy she could get.

He had dropped the hint, so it would have been lovely if she'd grasped it. Unfortunately, Libitina still showed no sign of comprehending the situation. Blinking her large eyes up at him with a face of maximum innocence, she replied in a vaguely disgruntled voice.

"Hold on. You're speaking down to me now?"

So she intends to keep up this damned Saintess game even at this point?

Then again, this was a woman bold enough to rob a Saintess's tomb; a crisis like this probably didn't even register as one. Asselin shot her a contemptuous glare.

"You can't have robbed the tomb alone, so you must have a gang. And dealing with a single demonic beast is more than manageable if you've simply studied the beast-response manual the Order distributes."

"Beast-response what? The Order distributes things like that?"

Asselin stepped back without deigning to answer. Glancing briefly at his adjutants clustered together, he jerked his chin toward Libitina.

"Take her."

Ideally he would have escorted her himself, but he had a crumpled Ant-on carcass off in the distance that needed examining first. It was also the reason he hadn't punished Hina on the spot.

In short, Asselin was far too busy to waste time on Libitina. He couldn't fathom why Hina had defected to the woman's side, but he trusted his adjutants—he assumed that this time, his orders would be carried out properly.

"This way, please."

True to his expectations, Calman and Ixion approached Libitina with strictly businesslike attitudes. Not a trace of the curiosity they'd shown her over the past few days remained; instead, their stiff faces carried wariness much like Asselin's own. The moment he confirmed it, Asselin turned to walk away, relieved—

"Uh, Vice-Commander…?"

At Calman's bewildered call, Ixion's voice rang out in alarm right behind him.

"Wait a moment! Excuse me, sir?!"

The instant Asselin saw the woman who had been standing there perfectly fine a moment ago suddenly crumple, her face drained white, he shoved his adjutants aside on pure reflex and reached out his arms toward her. Even as he caught her, he tried to scoff—so determined to keep the act going to the bitter end. But he was soon forced to fall silent, his face going grim.

The body in his arms was burning hot.