The Baby Fairy Is A Villain [EN]: Chapter 61

It was a peculiar gathering.

Serea Fron Ibroiel, the Empire’s Duchess, looked like she was in her 30s despite being 60 years old.

Hailon, the 1st Order Holy Knight of the Holy Empire of Hilderard.

And Kiernan Basilian, the master of the underworld and a skilled black magician, pretending to be a powerless Count.

These individuals, each harboring many secrets, had gathered for a midnight tea.

The temple’s bishop seemed eager to join the conversation, but Serea decisively cut him off.

The Archbishop, quite curious, personally brewed and served the tea.

He lingered so long that Serea almost kicked him out.

It would have been problematic if even a Duchess kicked a bishop, so it was fortunate that the bishop narrowly disappeared.

A teapot and teacups filled with warm flower tea were placed on the table.

However, no one touched them.

The atmosphere was not conducive to drinking tea, so Serea simply picked up the teapot and poured tea only into her teacup.

Pouring.

The tea filling the teacup had a light green hue.

Confirming the clear color and fragrance, Serea wore a slightly satisfied smile.

She took a sip of the tea and looked at the two men before her.

“…….”

In the silence, the two men stared at each other with such fierce eyes that it was surprising they weren’t drawing swords at any moment.

Serea moistened her throat with the warm tea, recalling what had happened earlier.

After the Countess’s death.

Kiernan’s mental state had weakened significantly.

This was a critical blow for a black magician who needed to control and suppress their power based on strong mental fortitude.

However, her disciple had a naturally cold disposition, allowing him to mask the injury he had sustained.

He objectively assessed his condition, accurately grasped his limits, and used his power accordingly.

Easier said than done, but the very act of handling the concept of ‘power,’ which was already vague, with such precision was already in the realm of monsters.

It was a fiercely tenacious sight that made Serea click her tongue.

‘But earlier…….’

Serea recalled Kiernan’s extremely unstable state.

After the Countess’s death, it was a moment when Kiernan, who had been living with a perfect mask, almost revealed his true self.

If Belzeon hadn’t arrived in time, Serea would have struck Kiernan.

If left alone, Kiernan would have actually used black magic in the temple, which was swarming with holy priests and holy knights.

She was dumbfounded by the sight of a guy who usually had such a sharp mind acting so foolishly.

‘Did he already give his heart so much to the adopted child?’

He had a fit at the word ‘leaving,’ but…….

Besides that, he seemed to have been enraged by the child showing signs of relying on that holy knight.

‘Always so full of jealousy.’

She couldn’t help but recall past events.

If the deceased Countess smiled or spoke with someone else at a banquet for even a little too long, his shady investigation hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Serea sipped her tea and shifted her gaze.

Kiernan was one thing, but the real problem was.

‘This man right here.’

The man who introduced himself as a Holy Knight belonging to the 1st Order Holy Knight Order.

Hailon, with his clean silver hair and blue eyes, possessed the appearance of a Holy Knight’s ideal.

His demeanor was the complete opposite of Kiernan’s, making it almost miraculous to see them side by side.

The reason why a Holy Knight of such a high rank as the 1st Order suddenly appeared in the peaceful capital of the Palen Empire was simple.

It was to serve as a guard for the Minor Saint Prayer Meeting.

She had heard that other noble families of the Empire also participated in the Minor Saint Prayer Meeting, and they also had high-ranking Holy Knights as guards.

Serea narrowed her eyes and stared at Hailon.

After the chaotic situation had passed and she examined him with a calm mind, the more she looked, the stranger he seemed.

‘No matter how I think about it, that guy doesn’t seem like just a Holy Knight.’

Those with power tend to recognize each other.

Because the power they possess is so immense, even if they try to conceal their energy, it inevitably leaks out to some extent.

However, there were always one or two creepy guys who would appear.

These were the ones who flawlessly organized their energy.

By organizing their energy, the opponent could only recognize that the other person was strong.

They couldn’t know the extent of that power.

It was a bothersome and tricky task, so Serea didn’t bother with such efforts.

She would flaunt her strength openly.

Not only Serea, but the vast majority of the strong did the same.

Showing off strength was a proud thing, after all.

Serea had only seen two people who obsessively organized their energy until now, one was Kiernan, and…….

The other was this ‘self-proclaimed Holy Knight’ before her eyes.

The position of a Holy Knight belonging to the 1st Order was clearly a guarantee of tremendous skill.

There was also the possibility that someone strong enough to conceal their energy might belong to it.

However, the experience and intuition she had accumulated over her long life were shouting.

‘That bastard is suspicious.’

The reason why she kept thinking that wasn’t just because of his energy.

Hailon had a different aura from the Holy Knights Serea had met so far.

Of course, his appearance alone was vastly different from ordinary knights, but that was a secondary aspect.

Hailon smelled of blood.

It was the bloodlust that had settled in his soul from having blood on his hands for a long time.

And those cold blue eyes were the same.

The blue eyes, which seemed cold at first glance, were not actually cold.

They were simply eyes that had no interest in anything.

[Have compassion for the weak and perform good deeds.]

That was the very first line of the oath that Holy Knights swore before God and the Holy King.

Serea was puzzled as to how someone who was indifferent to all things and knew no compassion could become a Holy Knight.

Frankly speaking, this man was not suited to be a Holy Knight.

Rather, he would be much better suited for other tasks where mercy and compassion were unnecessary.

For example.

‘An Inquisitor, perhaps.’

Serea downed the remaining tea in her teacup in one gulp.

Otherwise, she felt like she would burst out with vulgar curses.

If she assumed that guy was an Inquisitor, all the situations connected smoothly.

She had thought that Kiernan’s tail as a black magician would be stepped on someday since Inquisitors were frighteningly perceptive.

However, she was afraid when that time actually came.

Serea didn’t want to see her disciple, who was the joy of her old age, being executed by an Inquisitor.

He had walked the wrong path of black magic, but still…….

“Master, it’s Kiernan.”

The young Kiernan flickered in her mind.

She still wanted to save her disciple, who still felt young to her.

Serea was pondering a way, looking back and forth between the two men in front of her.

Very suddenly, without any warning, Kiernan abruptly opened his mouth.

“Sir Hailon.”

Unlike Hailon, who was sitting upright in his chair without any disarray, Kiernan, who had been leaning against the back of the sofa as if sprawled out, slowly raised his upper body.

“What did my daughter say to you? Did she say she didn’t like me?”

To think that the only thing he asked in this serious situation was such a childish question.

Serea had to try hard to suppress the urge to punch Kiernan in the mouth.

However, Hailon was no different from Kiernan.

“Nothing.”

Kiernan’s eyes sank at the short reply.

Seeing his eyes turning red, Hailon coldly told him again.

“The child said nothing about you. Nor did she show any signs of missing you.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it natural since she ran away from the Count?”

Their eyes met.

While glaring at each other, Hailon slowly continued to speak.

“The temple has a duty to protect the weak.”

Serea gripped her empty teacup and waited for Hailon’s words.

And Hailon finally scratched Kiernan the wrong way.

“Therefore, I intend to continue raising the child in the temple.”