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After somehow clearing up the misunderstanding with Iris,

I had to sleep while being tightly held by her.

Perhaps she was feeling extra clingy today, as she was particularly demanding.

As for Acrede, an unexpected figure came to take her away—

Cardinal Centriol.

He was someone who should have been executed long ago, yet he had come for Acrede.

Before Centriol's execution, it was Acrede who had saved his life.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Centriol. The only thing I can do is forgive you."

Acrede sincerely apologized for not being able to save his son.

"Even so, please don’t forget that your son was always proud of you. Your life was, without a doubt, something he was proud of."

Centriol had once been a devout believer.

Bringing back the dead was an unforgivable act, even for his son.

Centriol knew this very well.

But clinging to that hope was the last flickering ember of his shattered soul.

Now that the ember had died out, all that remained in Centriol was grief and guilt over his lost son.

Acrede understood Centriol’s pain.

Even toward the man who had tried to kill her, she showed compassion.

In front of Acrede, Centriol wept.

He sobbed like a child, unable to contain his sorrow for his son.

Acrede stayed by his side, praying that his son could fly freely in the embrace of the goddess.

Centriol acknowledged his sins.

And he resolved to become a father his deceased son would no longer be ashamed of.

The Saintess personally granted him a pardon.

Even the Holy Church did not object to this.

After all, executing a paladin and cardinal of the church was not something the Holy Church welcomed.

However, that did not mean they simply let him go free.

Acrede personally inscribed a blessing onto Centriol’s heart.

If Acrede so wished, the blessing would activate, instantly killing him.

In exchange for this, Centriol became Acrede’s personal knight.

He was no longer a paladin nor a cardinal.

His only remaining duty was to serve as Acrede’s knight.

So this is who’s been accompanying Acrede on his personal endeavors.

If it was someone like Centriol, it made sense.

He had only been defeated by the Duke of Whitewood.

Otherwise, he was one of the Holy Church’s strongest knights.

With him around, Acrede’s safety was assured.

"Senior, you don’t look too well."

During my morning jog, Aisha casually brought up the topic.

"I had a rough night’s sleep."

Just thinking about what Iris had put me through still made my body ache.

But recently, Iris had been sleeping much better.

Thanks to the efforts of Eve and me, taking turns to help her sleep comfortably.

As a result, the power of nightmares that once plagued her had begun to diminish.

And this was accomplished without the Flame of Resolve.

A truly satisfying result.

Because of this, Iris no longer needed to undergo morning training.

Perhaps because she enjoyed sleeping now, she even started sleeping in more.

And soon, Duke Robliage will start noticing this too.

Iris is the vessel of the Demon Sovereign.

And the one who turned her into that vessel was Duke Robliage.

He had allied himself with the Demon Sovereign.

There was no doubt he would realize that the power of nightmares within Iris was weakening.

Duke Robliage desired to rule the empire.

Iris was a tool he wanted to control at will.

Now that the shackles he placed on her were being undone, he would never sit idly by.

Sooner or later, Duke Robliage would try to contact Iris.

And in the process, he would focus on those who had intervened.

Eve was the key to lessening Iris’s nightmares.

Eve’s Azure Flame and the White Dream Sword.

These two factors played a decisive role in weakening the nightmares.

As for me, all I had done was train Iris in the mornings and act as her sleeping companion.

And even that was as Hania, not Hannon.

Duke Robliage is more likely to focus on Eve.

I felt sorry for Eve, but this was necessary.

If he was distracted by her, things would proceed more smoothly.

I should give Eve a heads-up later.

"Not long ago, you had an incident at the Demon Dungeon. You should take care of yourself."

"I will."

With Aisha’s concern in mind, I safely completed my morning training.

Today marked the end of the autumn break at the Academy.

It was time to return to the academy, so I finished my morning preparations and headed out.

As I was walking to the martial arts department, leaving behind Card, who was dawdling,

I spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

It was a face I hadn’t seen since our last conversation.

I approached from behind and called out.

"Isabel."

"Ah… Ahh!"

Isabel flinched in surprise and lost her footing.

Even with her athleticism, she tilted far enough that she could have fallen.

I quickly reached out and grabbed her waist.

She froze in place in the exact position she was about to fall.

Slowly, Isabel turned her gaze backward.

When our eyes met, she stiffened completely.

"…Isabel?"

When I called her again, Isabel flinched and avoided my gaze.

"Th-Thank you for catching me. Can you let go now?"

"Sure."

As I released her, Isabel awkwardly straightened herself.

Something seemed off about her today.

She must have noticed it herself because she covered her face with her hands, looking confused.

"Beeel~."

At that moment, a drowsy voice echoed.

When I turned my head, I saw Sharin lazily walking toward us.

When our eyes met, she smiled brightly and waved her hand.

"Husband."

Such a carefree girl, even this early in the morning.

But seeing her smile put me in a good mood.

Then, Sharin suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She glanced back and forth between Isabel and me, raising an eyebrow slightly.

She then walked over, stepping in between us.

After that, she hooked her arms around both mine and Isabel’s.

I felt a soft sensation through my sleeves.

"Let’s gooo."

Sharin leaned forward, urging us to walk.

Isabel and I had no choice but to move with her in between us.

Throughout the walk, Isabel remained silent,

while Sharin wore a slightly sulky expression.

I had no idea what was going on between them.

Had they fought without me knowing?

But if they had, Sharin’s reaction seemed more like mild sulking than true anger.

To anyone else, she probably looked the same as usual.

"Husband."

Then, Sharin called me.

"You know… I don't have many precious things."

Sharin is someone who simply goes with the flow.

She doesn’t usually place much value on things.

But even for her, there are some things that are precious.

For example, Isabel.

"But I don't want the things I treasure to clash and break apart, you know?"

Sharin looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

"Do a good job, okay?"

"I have no idea what you're telling me to do well."

Sharin pouted and swung our linked arms around.

If she had something to say, she should just say it outright.

This wasn’t like her.

Still, from her words, I understood one thing.

‘I thought my situation with Isabel was settled after that day.’

Did I say something wrong back then?

It made me think.

"You're thinking something incredibly clueless right now, aren't you?"

Sharin shot me a glare, but there was nothing I could do.

My relationship with Isabel was too complicated to be defined in a single word.

"More importantly, I have something for you, Sharin."

Before she could get any grumpier, I decided to change the subject.

I reached into my pocket and took out a small accessory box.

It was something I had bought on the day I went on a date with Seron.

I had promised Sharin I would buy her one back when we were helping with Grantoni’s work.

And so, I had bought this to keep my promise.

The moment Sharin saw the accessory box, her eyes widened.

As I handed it to her, she took it with both hands and clicked it open.

Inside was a ring embedded with a blue gemstone.

The gem shimmered like a galaxy, and the ring itself was designed to enhance the efficiency of magic use.

It had been quite expensive, but considering how much Sharin had helped me, I wanted to get her something good.

Sharin stared at the ring, her eyes blank with surprise.

Meanwhile, Isabel, for some reason, was watching us with a stiff expression.

Just as I was about to question her gaze,

Sharin suddenly grinned and rubbed her face against my shoulder.

"Husbaand, you’re being so sweet."

Her sulky expression had disappeared, replaced by a delighted smile.

Her reaction was so happy that it made me feel good about the gift.

"Put it on for me."

Sharin held up her left ring finger.

The finger that was traditionally used for engagement or wedding rings.

I hesitated for a moment, but the two of us were technically engaged.

And Sharin was openly expressing her feelings for me.

It would be strange to put it on any other finger.

Taking the ring from the box, I slipped it onto her finger.

Sharin admired the ring on her hand with a joyful expression before looking up at me.

"Now, this is proof that I belong to my husband, right?"

"It’s just a ring."

"No, it’s not just a ring. It’s a gift from my husband."

Already in high spirits, Sharin suddenly turned around and dashed off.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the Magic Arts building.

"I'll let it slide today."

Let what slide?

I had no idea, but Sharin disappeared into the building with a carefree stride.

As I turned back, my eyes met Isabel’s.

And I froze.

Because her eyes—

They were as lifeless as they had been the first time I met her.

"…Isabel?"

When I quickly called her name, Isabel looked at me with those same hollow eyes.

"I see. You and Rin were engaged, weren’t you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah."

"I had a vague idea, but… Rin really likes you, doesn’t she? And she’s already told you that, hasn’t she?"

Ever since Sharin realized her own feelings, she had been consistently expressing them to me.

Of course, Isabel must have noticed too.

"Yeah, she has."

"That’s good. I could never imagine Rin getting married to someone, but if it’s you, I think it’ll be okay. You’ll take good care of her."

Isabel was congratulating me, yet her eyes said something else.

They remained empty, lifeless.

That unsettled me.

Then, as if something had come to mind, Isabel continued.

"More importantly, what about Seron?"

Seron.

Another girl who had been expressing her feelings for me, just like Sharin.

Isabel had known about Seron’s feelings for me for quite some time.

I hesitated briefly.

How should I answer?

But in the end, I came to a simple conclusion.

Excuses wouldn’t help here.

What was needed was honesty.

"…I haven’t given either of them an answer yet."

"You haven’t answered them?"

Her confusion was understandable.

Both girls had been so open about their feelings, yet I hadn’t given them a response.

I thought for a moment but decided to tell her the truth.

"Isabel, the only reason I can stay in this form is because of the Veil Bandages. And those bandages come with a risk."

"A risk?"

"I lose certain emotions—love, anger, and soon, sadness too."

Isabel’s eyes slowly widened.

She hadn’t known.

But since she had already seen me using the Veil Bandages, there was no point in hiding it any longer.

I didn’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings between us.

"Right now, I’ve already lost love. My anger is almost gone too. Soon, my sorrow will fade away as well."

"Wait, then, right now—"

"If I take off the bandages, I won’t be able to enter the Demon Dungeon anymore."

Isabel’s lips parted slightly.

"I have a goal. And to achieve it, I must remain at Zerion Academy."

Isabel understood.

No matter what, I couldn’t remove the Veil Bandages.

Understanding that, she bit her lip.

And then, she grasped the true meaning of my words.

"If I’ve lost love, I can’t answer their feelings."

Only after regaining love would I be able to respond to them.

If, by then, they had already lost interest in me—

Well, there would be nothing I could do about it.

It wasn’t as if I had no regrets about possibly missing the chance to be with someone.

But giving them an answer while I didn’t even understand my own feelings?

That would be disrespectful.

"So, I’ll only answer them after I regain love."

I had laid everything bare.

Now, it was up to Isabel to accept it.

As I anxiously glanced at her, she suddenly tilted her head.

The lifelessness in her eyes faded.

"I see."

For some reason, she seemed… relieved.

"That means you can’t date anyone until then."

"Uh, well, yeah."

"Got it. We should hurry. We’re going to be late."

Isabel’s steps were lighter than before.

Watching her back, I could only wonder why.

And judging by her expression,

she didn’t seem to understand her own emotions either.