EP.116 33-2. Even Roses Made of Glass Have Thorns.
***
Phine Gransia was lying more and more often.
Originally, she was awkward at expressing her emotions and was straightforward, but she couldn't adapt to the recent changes.
"Oh..? Phine, didn't that man come yesterday?"
"Yeah, Licht said he was sick."
She didn't even know the reason herself.
Was it because one corner of her heart kept aching whenever Licht talked about other women or seemed to miss the Nameless Saintess?
A heart that stops beating and freezes just by seeing a precious person being friendly with someone else.
The chest pain, as if a sharp and cold object was stuck in it,
It came too cruelly to the princess who didn't know what love was.
In fact, this was also the reason why Emperor Roque was worried about his daughter.
Like long-lived elves, wolves only love one person throughout their lives.
Because the option of loving someone else doesn't exist for them. Once the Inurang tribe falls in love, that feeling is heavy.
But Phine Gransia now had no way of knowing that fact. Her heart beat differently when she was by the Dark Knight's side, or
"He had a terrible fever.. It was boiling. Licht."
She thought about him all day long on the days when he said kind words to her, but
It was all after she almost died at the hands of the demon lord. She thought it was a trivial feeling of worry or gratitude.
Sparks continued to fly in her empty glass heart, and a flame settled in her coldly frozen heart, gradually increasing the space.
"I'm cold.. I think I caught a cold.."
She was trailing off and lying. Because she didn't want him to fall into the apostles' schemes or get hurt anymore,
Whenever she saw him sacrificing for someone else, she felt like her heart was being torn out, so she stopped him.
Even though she didn't know exactly what her feelings were, Phine was trying.
They similarly had childhood traumas, and they were in a relationship where they saved each other.
Now they had become precious existences in the world, to the point of sharing heartbeats,
But the people involved didn't know love.
"My disciple.. is sick?!"
"He didn't seem like that though. How could he suddenly in one day…."
Hearing the news that Licht suddenly couldn't come out because he was sick, they couldn't help but express a little doubt to the princess.
"Phine, you know that our palace has warmth magic, right..?"
"..."
A situation where Drake, Sophitia, and even Asha Aureus couldn't help but be suspicious because things didn't add up.
The desire to actually confirm it was overwhelming, but because Phine's eyes sparkled sharply and threatened them, there was no one who could add more to those words.
"I didn't let him come out because I was worried he would overdo it."
Phine thought that even the strong him wouldn't destroy the Northern palace and escape, and
"I'll have to train him harder later!!"
Despite the suspicions of those around her, she played it off and asked for guidance to the defense line that was blocking monsters in the North.
A place where the piercing cold chilled her lungs, and where white breath came out when she exhaled.
"Here it is. Drake, Princess Phine Gransia."
Asha was slightly lifting up the giant phoenix wings there, showing how many monsters were outside.
"Uwooooo!!"
"Krrrrrr!"
At the foot of the mountains in the North,
A scene was unfolding where enraged monsters were charging and ramming their bodies against the high walls.
Snowmen that looked like yetis, and monsters living in the snowy areas in the form of wolves or bears.
The eyes of that group were all unfocused, and they seemed to be hell-bent on invading the areas where people lived, even if their whole bodies were covered in blood.
The excited cries call another monster, and the chain reaction of that monster attacking again to break down the wall.
"Like Licht told me before, the monsters are coming down to the Northern Territory where people live, so we are blocking them like this for now, but…."
It seemed like what the Apostle of Wrath had done, just like Licht had told her before.
"In the end, it's dangerous if we don't deal with the apostles."
"Living Sun, you are a spiritist. Your ability regarding emotions is weak."
It was a situation where maintaining the status quo was barely possible, and help was desperately needed, as the Emperor had dispatched Licht and Drake.
"We greet the Iron-Blooded Heart!"
"Sophitia Coldheart is here!! Show respect!"
The northerners saluted, seeing the reinforcements that came with Sophitia.
Everyone's faces looked tired and weary from the long-lasting battle.
Among them, a man with brown hair and bear ears walked out in front of the Northern Princess and knelt down.
"Captain of the Guard, has the apostle not shown himself today either?"
"That's right, Princess!"
Even if they rolled stones and threw spears from the top of the solid wall, the monsters' attacks were endless, and
"Thanks to the Phoenix Cradle, there won't be any injuries, and is there still enough food?"
"We have about a month's worth left."
She heard stories that they were coming non-stop, day and night, without a moment to breathe.
"It's cold.."
Feeling like her fingertips were falling off, Phine put on her Masterpiece again, and the golden-haired woman, who noticed it, created a small sun.
"Princess Phine Gransia, you will be warm if you use this."
"..Duke Asha Aureus."
Seeing her smiling like a fox like Nex, Phine suddenly remembered what Licht had said yesterday.
"Then what about the relationship between Asha and Nex seniornim."
In reality, the Nex that Phine knew was kind when he was young, but the news she heard after she was trapped in trauma and cut ties with him was that he had become a villain.
That was also because he was ostracized from the family because he couldn't produce a spirit.
"Are you saying that it's okay for Nex senior and Charitines senior to be unhappy?"
When she reunited with Charitines later, he had become a gentle lamb, and she thought he was a different person because of his playful and joking personality.
Is engagement really that important?
Doesn't getting married necessarily mean becoming happy? The white-haired girl couldn't find the reason why she had to persuade Asha as the Dark Knight had said.
"Parents can't be honest with their children, that needs to be resolved."
She tilted her head. The woman in front of her looked confident. One of the Ten Greats who protects people in the North without hiding anything.
What secrets could this Asha Aureus be hiding that she can't be honest?
"Asha, spirits are creatures that are conceived from emotions.. is that right?"
"Ah.. Yes, if you are talking about my phoenix, that's right, Princess Gransia."
Watching the phoenix feathers fluttering, Phine felt a question.
The Ten Greats could also realize emotions and use spirits, so there was no reason to ostracize her son like that.
Rather, it was unnatural and contradictory that the person who knew better than anyone else the reason why the spirit wasn't coming out was trying to force him into a marriage with other young ladies.
While Phine was starting to grasp something awkward based on what Licht had told her yesterday,
"This, there are too many monsters!!"
Drake let out a hearty laugh while counting the number of groups gathered under his feet.
"I'll have to climb the mountain while catching and killing them!!"
With those words, the Grand Sword Master jumped down below the wall. He fell in a posture of bringing his sword down, splitting the head of a large yeti in half.
"Who can stop this body!! Euhahaha!"
Blood splattered in an instant due to the silver swordsmanship that cut flesh and broke bones, and the pure white snow was covered in red. The group of monsters being erased.
Seeing the Dragonslayer who started fighting right away as soon as he arrived, the Living Sun sighed and covered her forehead.
"That idiot.. still…."
As if she was used to this, the golden-haired woman was racking her brains, and Sophitia calculated it with a cold gaze and revised the strategy in real time.
"Asha, Phine, let's go down too. In the end, we have to deal with the apostles."
"Yeah, I know, Sophitia."
It was dangerous if the spiritist had difficulty controlling her emotions.
She took the method of placing Asha Aureus in the rear, Drake in the front, and herself and Phine in the center.
"It would have been perfect if the person named Licht had stood in front with Dragonslayer…. What a shame, Phine."
"Y-Yeah, I guess."
The Northern Princess, who had been watching the princess since she was young and was close to her, saw through Phine's awkward lie and gave her a slight look.
It was obvious that she was protecting the talented reinforcements who had subjugated the demon lord and even received the Emperor's order with her own exclusive decision.
"Phine, let's talk later?"
"..Huh? What talk..?"
Sophitia was convinced when she saw Phine Gransia, who was greatly agitated like a cat caught stealing.
A girl with snow-white wolf ears and a tail who couldn't suppress the feeling of love, which wasn't enough to be called love at first sight.
"Just, the story of the newly released romance novel."
Just like the gigolo had done to the Dark Knight, the strategist Princess was about to give advice to the autocratic princess.
The Glass Knight, who had been healthy until yesterday but said she had a cold, or who was showing off her possessiveness by using her tail to show that it was hers.
In fact, the tail is an important part for the beastkins.
Using it to wrap around or allowing it to be stroked is mostly an act that is not allowed unless it is a partner.
It was possible that Phine Gransia didn't know this, or that she knew it but deliberately didn't tell the man named Licht the truth.
"Isn't the Northern Great Bear's recommended novel appealing, Platinum Wolf?"
"Sophitia's eye for things has been reliable since a long time ago."
It was something that Emperor Roque might have been shocked to see and taken out an ax, but she couldn't help but laugh as she saw her friend, who was in love and was hesitating.
"But what's it about..?"
"The content where the queen protects the knight in chess."
If she told her straight out, things could go wrong. Already, judging from the situation, it was obvious that the man her friend liked was locked in a room.
"What's that. It's strange."
It was better to speak slowly in a metaphorical way. The moment she went wrong here, she could use her power.
"Anyway, read it later. It's fun."
"Yeah, if it's enough for you to recommend it.. it might be okay."
The black-haired bear beastkin, who had finished thinking, took out the spear she was carrying on her back and tapped the floor, and a staircase carved out of ice was immediately created.
"Now, Princess first."
"Hehe, thank you, Sophitia."
The heavily armored Glass Knight nodded and focused on wiping out the enemies in front of her.