# Enhanced Translation
Ivan was not permitted to return to his teaching position, but since they couldn't prevent him from managing the orphanage, Elizabeta reluctantly had to approve his excursion.
"Don't you think this is unreasonable?"
"Your Majesty. The Minister of Internal Affairs' approval documents have been submitted."
"Enough, enough! Bring them here. Enough!!"
The biggest reason was the backlog of work that had been postponed day after day. Fundamentally, Elizabeta was not a person of leisure. Since dictatorial power meant having exclusive authority over all state affairs, her absence had been causing paralysis in the national administration.
Therefore, during those three weeks when she devoted herself to nursing Ivan, virtually all operations of the Pritzenkaya central administration had been at a standstill. Now she was paying the price for that.
"Ugh... Vanka... I miss you..."
"Lord Yeremov has been gone for less than an hour, Your Majesty."
"Aren't you married? Why don't you understand my feelings?"
"Since losing both my legs, I've been walking on eggshells at home. It's actually more comfortable to be working."
Elizabeta ignored Dmitri's words and let out another deep sigh.
Just an hour so far? He said he wouldn't return until nightfall, which meant she had to spend at least fourteen more hours like this.
But keeping him by her side would make it impossible to focus on work, which was an even bigger problem. She was a person with exceptional self-control, but even dams collapse catastrophically once they break.
Her remarkable self-restraint, maintained for over ten years, had vanished without a trace in just these few days.
When Ivan was out of sight, she worried about what he was doing, whether he was eating properly, and whether he would return half-dead again.
When Ivan was in sight, she couldn't focus on work because she wanted to do "more enjoyable" things. Honestly, that might be more important than running the country.
"How much more time has passed?"
"Three minutes, Your Majesty. Honestly, this is getting serious."
"You think so too?"
Elizabeta glumly flipped through the report.
And the moment the text entered her vision, the Iron-Blooded monarch began to oversee state affairs again. She pressed her lips together and turned the pages, starting her work.
## EP 33. Interwar Period.
"Ha, yes, that's right!!"
Isabelle gritted her teeth as she strode across the campus grounds that had become familiar to her.
The voices of classmates greeting her from all around didn't reach her ears. The lively Isabelle who always cheerfully returned greetings was gone now. That person died two weeks ago.
Now she had been reborn as Dark-Isabelle. As Anakin Skywalker and SkullGreymon prove, dark evolution guarantees unconditional performance improvement.
"You did it first, didn't you? Ha!!"
In the classroom.
"If you're going to be like this, I've got nothing to lose!!"
While eating lunch.
"Honestly, what am I lacking? I'm young, pretty, talented, and fun. I don't lack anything!"
Even on her way home, her anger progressively swelled. She couldn't even gauge how the day had passed. She just opened her eyes, stayed angry, and suddenly it was evening.
Isabelle prepared dinner alone again today. While preparing the demon realm's special dish that she was now sick of, she slammed the kitchen knife down on the cutting board repeatedly.
"Honestly? That man has no principles, right? No loyalty? Hmm? Don't you think so? Don't you?"
"I... uh, well. Yes. I agree."
"Then what should I do!"
"Calm Isabelle down?"
"No! Aren't you from Tilles?!"
Oskar, who had been dragged to the dinner, could only quietly nod in the face of Isabelle's fury.
"Right?"
"What are Tilles people best at?"
"Righteousness?"
"...?"
What kind of place does Oskar think Tilles is?
Isabelle quickly caught herself as she was about to reflect. Jedi who have fallen to the dark side and Space Marines who have fallen to the Immaterium never reflect.
"Adultery!"
"...?"
What kind of place does Isabelle think Tilles is?
The answer is "normal Tilles." Strictly speaking, "adultery" is nearly an obsolete word in Tilles. The general romantic pursuit of someone who has a spouse is commonly referred to as "forbidden love."
Oskar blankly stared at Isabelle, who was dismantling kimchi in a frenzy. The bright red seasoning stained her apron, making her look like she was dissecting a monster with that expression.
"How many years have you and I spent in the Tilles court to say something so naive?"
"I, I've never been to the salons..."
Oskar (son of the Guardian Lord, not invited to social gatherings) and Isabelle (daughter of the Hero, couldn't be invited to social gatherings due to being a commoner), the two Tilles outsiders, became momentarily dejected.
"Do you think I don't know? When we were about 12? Remember that? The royal tournament."
"I remember."
"Remember how all the participants received handkerchiefs when they pledged to their ladies?"
"Right?"
In Tilles' traditional tournament culture, this was a common occurrence. Knights would speak the names and honor of the ladies they served, and those ladies would give flowers and handkerchiefs to wish them luck—quite a common sight.
Isabelle tore a strand of kimchi with a crunch, dropped it into the stew, and said ominously:
"That's all adultery. The competing knights all have families, and those ladies all have families too."
"...Oh."
What a novel perspective.
Oskar quietly marveled.
"Tilles people are most sincere when pursuing married individuals."
A nation with such laws should perish. (Tilles has actually half-perished.)
"So what are you trying to say?"
"We need to create a long-term external activity that requires the entire Hero Party to deploy together."
"What about classes?"
"Did we skip the entire second semester because we were diligently attending classes? Life experience is the real education!"
Speaking like someone from a very specific profession, Isabelle turned toward Oswald.
Whether it was because of the kimchi-stained apron and the knife dripping red liquid, or because of Isabelle's crazed expression, Oskar unconsciously took a couple of steps back.
"You'll help me, right?"
"I... I want to attend classes."
"You. Will. Help. Me. Right?"
"I guess I have no choice."
After all, the Hero Party is supposed to follow the Hero's directives.
A knight of Tilles never submits to fear, so Oskar's agreement now was definitely not due to terror.
When attempting to seduce someone who is already taken, Tilles people become three times stronger than normal. This is a historically proven proposition, so the current Isabelle can be considered at least three times stronger than Oskar.
Oskar knelt before this strict logic of power.
Traditionally, Droan observes monogamy. If someone has an affair, they either get divorced or die. In fact, these two outcomes are essentially the same. In Droan, divorce with clear fault leads to a duel (to the death).
Among Droan's old sayings is this: Beware of women, children, and the elderly. Since healthy adult men are obviously to be feared, this means that the entire population of Droan belongs to the warrior class.
Since dying in a duel leads to heaven, Droan women also typically learn weapon skills. After all, everyone wants to go to heaven.
Therefore, Asidis was deep in thought while polishing Boomer III (6 months old, baton).
"Could I defeat the Queen?"
"Asidis...?"
"The odds are fifty-fifty... about that much?"
"Where did that calculation come from...?"
"All duels have only two outcomes: win or lose. So the probability is fifty-fifty."
"That... makes sense...?"
Music majors don't study mathematics.
Yu-ri nodded in admiration at this remarkable conclusion. (Illustrators are not proficient in mathematics.)
"Let's fight first and repent later."
"Asidis, calm down first. This, this would be a crime."
"Challenging a Yarl is legal though?"
"I don't know Droan law well enough..."
"Foreigners are supposed to respect cultural relativity."
Is that the right context for that phrase? Yu-ri was somewhat bewildered, but as Koreans are extremely sensitive to mentions of cultural relativity, she had no choice but to agree.
Yu-jin, who had been listening from the side, giggled and rubbed his hands like a schemer. Having nothing to do until the Saintess prepared her plan, he needed to relieve his accumulating stress.
"There's a folk tale from Krasilov. Hehe. Have you heard of Romeo and Juliet?"
"...?!"
Yu-ri startled and looked at Yu-jin. Yu-jin continued speaking, ignoring her gaze.
"It's a story about love between a man and woman forbidden by society and law."
"Oh, oh. Yes. And?"
"To cut to the chase, they both committed suicide."
"...Why are you telling this story?"
"Listen a bit more. According to legend, they were just sixteen and fourteen years old."
"So."
"Think about it. What could kids that age know about love? Do you know why such youngsters would consider suicide?"
"Why?"
With Asidis growing noticeably colder, Yu-jin grinned and said:
"Because they were told not to."
"...!"
"People naturally want to do what they're forbidden to do. Society? Law? Custom? Morality? The more these things stand in the way, the more true love burns brightly. Is your love fake?"
"...!!"
"You need to... prove it, right?"
"Yu-jin!! Are you crazy?!"
"...Should I send the duel challenge to the royal palace?"
"No, that's not it. Do you think His Majesty's brother, who hasn't shown any interest until now, would suddenly become available in the free agent market if you defeat His Majesty? Think about it. There's a better way."
Despite some incomprehensible vocabulary, Asidis began to fall deeper into his words.
According to ancient Earth texts, priests who lose their holy power can transition to dark priests. At this point, all priests have lost their holy power, so every priest in this world essentially has the opportunity for dark priest transcendent evolution.
Clergy become more devious in speech the more they fall from grace. In that sense, Yu-jin began to whisper in Asidis's ear with devilish eloquence.
"You have to win him."
"...!!"
"By any means necessary, doing your absolute best. Proving it with all your might... isn't that true love?"
"That makes sense...!"
Droan's ancient law strictly forbids spousal infidelity. This means that once someone becomes a spouse, they can prevent infidelity.
Whatever the process, if marriage can be achieved, exclusive possession becomes possible. The subject's consent isn't particularly important here.
Asidis lowered her head. Her soft hair cascaded down, covering her face like a curtain. From beneath it, a chilling voice resonated.
"The end justifies the means..."
It's not contradictory to decide on marriage by abduction in defiance of social norms and international law, yet follow Droan law after marriage. This is because Droan's laws exist not in the human realm but in the moral realm. For the same reason that morality is not codified into law, the eldest daughter of the moral nation of Droan raised her Boomer.
At that moment, Elfihera was sniffling with tears welling in her eyes, dramatically shaking her magnificent blonde hair.
"S-something that big won't fit...!"
"You can do it."
"N-no..."
"Your father asked me to do this."
"That's a lie!! My father would never— mmph...!!"
"Clench your teeth."
Elfihera sniffled and moved her jaw with difficulty. A terrible taste spread throughout her mouth like sand, between the thick and rough texture.
Chewing on the nutrition bar, Elfihera looked up at Ivan with a face that seemed about to vomit.
"I expected as much, but how many days have you gone without eating?"
"Ugh... mmph... bleh... t-ten days..."
"You've only been supplementing calories with magic. Elfihera, the human body cannot maintain performance on calories alone. If essential nutrients are lacking, all sorts of deficiency symptoms will follow."
Vitamin deficiencies can cause scurvy and night blindness. Sodium and iron deficiencies can lead to anemia and dizziness.
Fortunately, elves are closer to trees as a race, so their caloric consumption during non-combat times isn't drastic, but maintaining physical performance is always a major concern.
At Ivan's words, Elfihera painfully swallowed the nutrition bar and exclaimed:
"B-but I can't eat this stuff forever!"
"The curse won't last that long. Not a lifetime."
"Do you think I'd eat this if you weren't here?"
"You should. If you want to live."
"T-then you should f-feed me every time."
At Elfihera's words, Ivan sighed. Considering Beolgrin's request, he couldn't refuse.
Watching his expression, Elfihera briefly smirked, but quickly composed herself when their eyes met.
She quickly rinsed her mouth with water and opened her lips.
"F-feed me again."
"Eat it yourself."
"I'll throw it away. It's like cheap dog treats that even our Montblanc won't eat... Come on, quickly. Ah—"
"Beolgrin spoiled his daughter too much."
"Hmph, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to complain to my dad?"
Elves are a long-lived race, and they generally feel less grief over the death and separation of relatives. But even considering that, isn't this reaction too unfilial?
It had been barely a month since Beolgrin's death.
However, Ivan looked into Elfihera's eyes and sighed.
"Fine."
A face withered from not eating anything except water for over ten days, with taste buds ruined by the curse of the God of Gluttony.
Beneath that, anxiety, sadness, and nervousness showed through.
Though she was trying to act strong, how could he not recognize it? He had seen that expression countless times at his orphanage.
It was the expression of children with nowhere to turn. A trace of suffering, disguised as cheerfulness but not completely erased.
She was a displaced person who had lost not only her parents but also her support base and country. Considering the political situation in Kalion, she was now essentially a noble from a fallen nation, relying on a foreign country without any backing.
"Hehe."
Elfihera took another bite of Ivan's nutrition bar and snickered.
Orphans don't refuse. Especially war orphans. Ivan had arranged a room for Elfihera at the orphanage.