TIRS 61

CHAPTER 61………..

: What My Heart Commands

Anselot brushed the dirt off his clothes.

It had gotten there from acting as a defeated villain in the duel a moment ago.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been a bothersome nuisance—something that would irritate him slightly.

But…

“Anselot, how… how could you do something so villainous!”

It was rather enjoyable to watch Luibel respond in a stiff, awkward voice that sounded like he was reading lines from a script every time he spoke.

Luibel Azester was clearly the type who couldn’t tell a lie.

“That’s part of what makes it appealing.”

Anselot smirked, thinking of Luibel.

Thanks to his masterful acting, Luibel completed the quest and entered the building with the saint.

Anselot glanced toward the reception room where Luibel was probably dealing with the saint, his brow furrowing slightly.

“That crazy woman…”

A horrified expression flickered across Anselot’s face.

Thinking about the two of them alone together made his complexion grow even worse.

Some time later, after returning the saint, Luibel came to Anselot and asked:

“What exactly did you do to Maria?”

“What do you mean by ‘what did I do’?”

“Maria was trembling while talking about you. She said you did something violent to her.”

Apparently, that crazy woman had been badmouthing him to Luibel.

“Me?”

“Even if it’s for acting, how could you actually threaten someone else?”

“Huh.”

A short, dry laugh escaped through Anselot’s teeth.

“What are you talking about?”

Raising one eyebrow crookedly, he protested his innocence.

“The one being violent wasn’t me—it was her.”

Anselot recalled the process of kidnapping Maria.

Her presence was essential for completing the quest.

So, much like he had stolen the relic from the temple the day before, he planned to “steal” her, perform the duel with Luibel, and return her afterward.

However, the moment she saw him entering in a suspicious manner, she clasped her hands in prayer and exclaimed:

“Oh, my heavens, Prince Anselot! The god Rus has answered my prayers!”

“…?”

“Ha ha ha, coming to your death on your own feet.”

A sinister laugh slipped through Maria’s lips.

While Anselot hesitated, her eyes went wild, and Maria suddenly lunged at him.

“Stay away from Luibel! A madman like you doesn’t belong with him!”

Though, ironically, swinging the saint’s staff embedded with sacred jewels while shouting that made Maria seem even crazier…

Unfortunately for her, her attack didn’t hit Anselot.

He easily dodged it, causing the staff to miss its target.

Angrily, Maria hurled the staff at Anselot, who had already moved deeper into the room.

“God Rus! Punish Prince Anselot with the power of sacred light!”

A flash of light erupted from the staff, illuminating the entire room.

Squinting briefly in the sudden brightness, Anselot froze as he took in the room.

It was full of curses and suspicious items aimed at him.

Darts stuck into what clearly resembled Anselot, partially burned papers with his name, and so on.

But the strangest thing was the portraits of Luibel decorating the walls.

News of the third princess Azester, Luibel, awakening as a swordmaster and leaving to prove the divine prophecy had spread across the continent, and her portraits circulated secretly…

The problem was the number.

There wasn’t just one or two; the walls were covered.

Some included Anselot, but in each, the prince’s eyes were hollowed out.

Mad… this woman must be insane?

A thought flashed through Anselot’s mind.

“Prince Anselot!! This #@$#@%!^@$…!!!”

Maria cursed in words unbecoming of a saint, shouting furiously.

Anselot turned to her, sensing something subtly off.

Unlike moments ago, when her wild eyes lunged at him, now it seemed as if she only wanted to capture his attention.

As he watched her for a moment, a crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Princess would probably find this amusing.”

“Huh!”

Maria finally shut her mouth and glared at him.

Of course. The crazy woman was flustered because Anselot had discovered her collection of Luibel’s portraits.

“If you behave during the kidnapping, I’ll keep it secret from the princess.”

“How can I believe that!”

“Believe it or not, doesn’t matter to me.”

“….”

“Perhaps she’d be creeped out. A crazy woman collecting portraits of me.”

“Ugh…”

Maria’s expression paled as if Anselot’s “threat” were the most terrifying thing in the world.

“What are you planning by kidnapping me?”

Anselot answered with a menacing expression:

“To use you as a hostage to threaten the princess?”

“…!”

That was a mistake.

Maria, who couldn’t allow anyone to threaten Luibel, screamed again and even tried to bite Anselot.

“I thought my ears were going to be ripped off… I thought chunks of flesh were torn out…”

Just recalling that made his complexion go pale.

“That woman… was insane.”

Though this statement implied a lot, Luibel, unaware of what happened between Anselot and Maria, chuckled lightly.

“You were the one doing crazy things, yet why slander innocent Maria?”

“She cursed and bit me. Look at this.”

Anselot showed Maria’s bite marks on his arm.

“Good heavens, Maria… you must have been terrified…”

Luibel’s eyes widened.

She could never imagine Maria becoming such a ferocious madwoman.

After all, in the original work she had loved in her past life, The Radiant Legend, Maria was the perfect image of a saint.

The heroine faced many dangers but never once lost her temper.

The only time Maria got angry was when Hezen was involved with another woman.

‘Maria’s jealousy was extremely cute.’

The depiction in the original story, usually from Hezen’s perspective, created a distorted impression, which Luibel didn’t know.

“We’ll formally invite Maria to tea soon, so we’ll properly apologize then.”

At those words, Anselot’s expression grew extremely unjust.

Still, Luibel was relieved that his reputation hadn’t further deteriorated thanks to Maria’s cooperation and smiled brightly.

“That’s a relief. My reputation hasn’t dropped further.”

“Not really…”

He hesitated, about to say it didn’t matter, but froze at Luibel’s bright smile.

Why does she smile so beautifully?

What does it matter if my reputation falls?

“I don’t think she’d do that without expecting something in return.”

“We agreed to watch the festival together, so that’s not hard at all.”

“You should have left her be. I don’t care if I become a saint-kidnapper.”

Perhaps she was pretending to be curt to hide her slight irritation.

“I care!”

“?”

Luibel inadvertently raised her voice. Anselot blinked in confusion.

Blushing faintly, she cleared her throat.

“Anyway, there’s only one quest left in Luenhart, so rest up until the next one comes.”

“And you, princess?”

“I have things to do.”

“What could keep a princess busy?”

“It’s a secret.”

With that, Luibel waved lightly and left.

What cute plan is the princess scheming this time?

Anselot smiled wryly, watching her back, and grabbed Piya’s tail as she followed.

“Hey, dirty hands! Let go of my tail!”

“Hello, piggy bird. We have something to discuss.”

“You called me a piggy bird?! Are you speaking to the great Piya?!”

Piya, grown arrogant from royal treatment, flapped her wings in outrage.

Anselot’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the struggling bird in his hand.

“You had a personal motive in that choice you made about me.”

Piya chirped indignantly, pretending not to understand.

“I also enjoy throwing things to the floor. Want me to show you?”

“Help, Lulu! Anselot is trying to throw Piya to the ground!”

The pitiful Piya’s shriek of defeat echoed.

Busy? Do I have things to do?

Of course I do!

As I told Anselot, I was busy.

I was sending assassins after him and punishing those who tarnished his reputation!

‘I hope I can even clear his name before leaving Luenhart.’

No grand reason beyond that.

He had helped me a lot, and it was wrong for him to suffer undeservedly…

While I rationalized, his voice from that day came to mind again.

‘It’s not worth wasting your strength.’

‘The king favors his children anyway, no one would believe you.’

And the calm expression I couldn’t stop seeing since that day.

Yes. All those reasons about helping him and righteousness were just excuses.

I disliked that expression of Anselot’s.

It reminded me of my own past self, resigned to being unloved by family.

Even knowing he wasn’t weak.

This was simply what my heart commanded.