Chapter 621

The next day. "I know now." "You seem to enjoy this." Charlotte, who met me in the hallway while being held by Harriot, said with a nervous expression as she saw me in the form of a cat. "Meow!" "And pretending not to enjoy it like this makes me even more angry." "No way! I'm not enjoying it that much! It was originally requested by Baktong!" "Why? It's cute." Of course, Baktong was stroking my head vigorously. Yeah. Can't you do it when I like it so much? Huh? "I'm not disagreeing, but a bad habit gets worse if you don't." That's harsh. It's not that bad of a habit, and it's even worse for someone who's already bad. But I'm not really on the good side of habits. "Anyway, lend it to me for a moment. I have something to say." "Huh? Yeah, yeah." Harriot cautiously handed me over to Charlotte at her words. Of course, our former princess was merciless. -Snap! The princess grabbed my neck. -Meow! "Hey, hey! You can't do that!" "It's not even a real cat. And besides, what if it was a real cat? It's a world where people handle everything." Harriot couldn't help but be violent, but Charlotte didn't care at all. "Come find me later." "Uh...." -Meow! Woof! "It's noisy." -.... If you keep talking, I feel like I'm going to spin around a few times like this. Not everyone likes cats. Of course, it seemed like she didn't hate cats, but rather hated me, who was disgusting in the form of a cat. * * * Charlotte brought me to the office and sat me down on a chair. Of course, I returned to my human form. Charlotte sat opposite me, resting her chin on her palm and looking at me quietly. "I have a lot to thank you for, and I really like you, but... how should I put it? You're a really weird pervert. I didn't know it would be this bad." That's true. I didn't think I had this kind of taste either. But it feels good, doesn't it? Do you know how many people just overlook it if it's cute? Even the guys who know who I am are laughing, right? To some extent, even Galarch didn't react badly, right? Isn't it all over if you get eaten by an orc vampire? No, was it because it was ridiculous? "If you're going to like it, like this side of me too." "...." "....I'm sorry." Charlotte was really angry, and suddenly I got goosebumps all over my body. Let's do things in moderation. Charlotte's red pupils stared at me. "But anyway, was there anything you couldn't say at the meeting yesterday?" "It wasn't that I couldn't say it, it was just that there wasn't anything to say at that moment." "What is it?" "Olivia Lanchet wants to use Illeion Bulton." "Ah...." "It's a waste of manpower to just let her play around, isn't it? She has her own skills, and she's a veteran." Translation: Illeion Bulton handed over the position of commander of the Holy Knights to Rowen with a simple transfer of power. Therefore, when the Allied Forces begin their march, Rowen will be in charge of commanding the Holy Knights. There is some noise, of course. The members of the Allied Forces' Holy Knights can't help but know that Illeion Bulton's sudden retirement was not voluntary. They can sense that there is some political intrigue involved. However, Illeion Bulton's closest aides have already been silenced. They know that the leadership of the Divine Sect has essentially fallen to the Demon King, but they also know that revealing this would have serious consequences. Everything cannot go smoothly. Illeion Bulton was someone who could not be left alone, and he had to endure the inevitable noise that came with swallowing the Divine Sect. Therefore, if Rowen fails to take control of the Allied Forces' Holy Knights, Illeion Bulton may be put back into action. That would be both Rowen's and my failure. Anyway, Illeion Bulton, the former commander of the Holy Knights, retired quite unexpectedly, but he is spending his retirement in the Demon King's territory. That's not entirely meaningless. Illeion Bulton's closest aides know the details of the incident and know that Illeion Bulton has been living under my influence since his retirement, although they don't know about the Edina Islands. Therefore, those who are loyal to Illeion Bulton are in a situation where they are holding onto me as their lord. There is a reason why they cannot act rashly. Olivia Lanchet wants to use Illeion Bulton, who is resting after his sudden retirement. "How? It's ridiculous to deploy him in the war." "I'll figure it out. I think the important thing is to make him agree with the Divine Sect's principles." "Ah... she wants to convert him?" "Yes." There is no such thing as a demon. There are only other names attached to the gods. And the power that is manifested is not consistent. Olivia Lanchet wanted to make the former commander of the Holy Knights a member of the Divine Sect. "Honestly, I'm not sure..." I partly agree with the saying that the position makes the person. To be precise, the position makes one arrogant. If I were to be caught up in the Empire and mobilized for something, I wouldn't feel any less miserable there. If it were someone else's will, it would be even worse. Of course, Illeion Bulton has no decision-making power, but I don't want to force him to do something like that and make him feel uncomfortable. It's not a situation where Illeion Bulton can do anything significant just because he's starting to feel resentful. "What will happen if Illeion Bulton is converted, Reinhardt?" "We'll probably become priests or holy knights..." The Divine Sect is not a demon religion. It is a new form of faith that agrees that both the demon religion and the Divine Sect have the same roots, different from the Five Great Divine Sects and the demon religion. And that is closer to the essence. Illeion Bulton will be converted to the Divine Sect, not the Five Great Divine Sects. What does that mean? "If his thoughts on the demon religion change, what will happen then?" "I guess he'll be able to use the power of the divine sect... Well, it's up to him."

Priests of the Divine Sect sometimes use opposing divine powers. Of course, not everyone can do it, but it's not that rare.

For example, the Holy Knights of Tu'an use both the power of healing and corruption. Like Olivia Lanchet.

"That's what's important."

"Do you want to empower Illeion Bulton? It could be helpful, but as long as Immortal is around, there's a high chance we won't participate in the war. And we don't even know if he'll be on our side. It might be better to leave him alone."

"...."

Charlotte opens her eyes wide.

"...Sorry, can you tell me where I was stupid and how?"

"I thought you were just saying that you're not good at this and it doesn't suit you, like a habit... But it seems to be true."

Royal duties. Everyone knows that I hate it.

"If Illeion Bulton can use the power of the divine sect and really becomes converted, there will be backlash within the Holy Knights, not to mention the huge impact it will have on the Divine Sect. Assuming we show it publicly."

"Ah... it's a political issue."

I hadn't thought about that aspect because I was only focused on the war.

It wasn't about Illeion Bulton's personal strength.

It was about the influence that converting Illeion Bulton could have.

"Even though Rowen has control over the Huangdo faction, it's difficult for him to control the Holy Knights of the coalition army. We may need to bring Illeion Bulton back if necessary. But it's better to change his way of thinking a bit than to bring him back like this."

Bringing back Illeion Bulton is assuming that Rowen has failed. But in that case, if Illeion Bulton is already converted to the Divine Sect, he will do what Rowen should have done but failed to do.

In fact, many people at the coalition army's base are skeptical and resentful of the sudden replacement of the Holy Knight Commander.

Rowen is in the same situation as Illeion Bulton was in Huangdo. There may be several difficulties, and those difficulties will only grow.

Olivia Lanchet naturally predicted such a future and was considering converting Illeion Bulton, who was just idling around, and reinstating him as commander.

Rowen has control over Huangdo, and Illeion Bulton has control over the coalition army's Holy Knights.

"It would be best to completely incorporate Illeion Bulton and convert him. ..."

Olivia probably had that thought, and Charlotte seems to be positively evaluating Olivia's proposal.

"Hmm... It would have been better if we had done it earlier." "At that time, there was a lot to do, such as rebuilding the Divine Sect and overturning the system, while not being caught outside. But now I think it would have been better to do it sooner. 'No, if we had done it hastily, we would have only received backlash.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'It's better now.' About two months. It's enough time to organize my thoughts and feel a change in my feelings. * * * Can Illeion Bulton be called a war captive? The Empire and we are at war, but it's not a war where we raise swords against each other. Should we say that we are secretly waging a united front against a common enemy? When I asked if he would die or retire, Illeion Bulton did not necessarily fight to the death. In other words, he is equivalent to a captured general who entered the enemy's base without knowing that it was an enemy base. He didn't defect, but he's in my grasp. He can't be considered a war captive, but Illeion Bulton's current state is practically no different from that of a war captive. He's not actually a royal or a king, but if we consider his actual position, he can be called a captive of a higher level than a king. So Illeion Bulton needs appropriate treatment for a person, even if he has no authority right now. It's even a persuasion trip. Therefore, Charlotte, the regent of Edina, and I, the actual owner of Edina, decided to meet Illeion Bulton together. 'But is this right?' '...Is it?' 'Even though we're in a similar situation... Even though Liana said it's okay...' 'Staying there?' 'Yeah.' Illeion Bulton was a very special person who served as the commander of the Holy Knights. It was difficult for us to find a place where even one retired commander of the Holy Knights could receive proper treatment. Originally, even Lazark, who was a royal, could not be called a palace. It was inevitable because it was a royal palace in a small province, but in Charlotte's eyes, who was a princess, it might look like a rural lord's castle. We did force Illeion Bulton to retire, but we didn't want to make him feel bitter, so we wanted to treat him in our own way. But there was no place to do so. Charlotte and I were walking along a quiet street outside Lazark. 'Madam said it was okay, and Bulton is okay too, so what's the problem? And since Liana doesn't say anything, it doesn't seem dangerous.' '...Is that so?' So Illeion Bulton ended up living like a gourmet at the mansion of Yelena, Liana's mother, in the outskirts of Lazark. So there." Translation: As one of the countless mansions built during the time when the Granatz dukedom was at its height, we couldn't just limit ourselves to that environment. In reality, Illeion Bulton and Lady Yelena seemed to be getting along without any problems. But... something... feels off! I can't quite put my finger on it! I know it's not really strange, but I tend to be conservative! It's just a little weird! "What are you even thinking?" Charlotte asked me with a disgusted look before walking ahead. Is it just me who's weird? * * * Strictly speaking, the residence of Lady Granatz, Liana's mother, is a more luxurious building than the Lazark Royal Palace. It was only natural, considering the Granatz dukedom had a prestige that couldn't be compared to the Edina royal family, a small country in the southern archipelago. There was bound to be a difference between the nobility and the royalty, even among the imperial aristocracy and the vassal states. Being a royal didn't necessarily mean being higher than the nobility. There were even cases where one was both a noble and a royal. Wasn't Harriet, the daughter of Duke Sangtuan, not much different from the royalty? This was no longer a mansion, but the Granatz dukedom's main residence. As we walked down the path and saw the view of the beach, we saw someone's back. It was a familiar back. "What brings you here?" Liana turned to me and asked, as if she had heard my footsteps. Then she looked at Charlotte. "I brought Seopjeong to see Mr. Bulton." "Ah, that guy." The former commander of the Holy Knights, who had a great reputation and prestige, had become a guest here. No, even if Bulton had been an active commander of the Holy Knights, Liana would have just called him "that guy." Liana gestured towards the beach. "We were on a walk. We'll be back soon." Hmm. "Uh!" Before I could say anything, Charlotte pinched my side. "What are you doing?" Liana looked at Charlotte, who suddenly pinched her side, and tilted her head. "Huh? Oh, no, nothing." Charlotte awkwardly laughed and shrugged her shoulders.