At that moment, Cassia was anxiously awaiting the return of Zester and the mercenaries who had gone to take part in the pagan followers’ rescue.
It was a rather cold down. She stood outside the inn, pacing and stomping her feet with a worried expression, when several heavy silhouettes drew near from the distance.
“Greg!”
Among the mercenaries approaching with quiet, agile steps, Cassia spotted Gregory and called out to him in relief. In truth, what made her even happier than seeing them was the familiar face trembling in Gregory’s arms.
It was Pia, looking gaunt and pale after only a few days. Thankfully, she was alive.
Cassia ran straight to Gregory, and the remaining mercenaries gave her a brief bow before dispersing swiftly.
“Pia, are you all right?”
“Madam, she seems to be in deep shock. Even when we speak to her, she doesn’t respond very well.”
“What?”
Cassia turned pale as she gazed at Pia in Gregory’s arms. Perhaps worried that Cassia, who likely understood the situation already, might be further distressed, Gregory added.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem Miss Pia was physically harmed, but what she saw and heard in there… well, it couldn’t have been anything less than shocking.”
“I… I see.”
Gregory chose his words carefully so as not to upset her, but Cassia was far too sharp to miss his meaning. She shuddered involuntarily, imagining the horrific place where Pia had been held.
“…What about the baron?”
Once she came to her senses, she grew worried about Zester, whom she had been waiting for all this time.
“Ah, Leader is—.”
Before Gregory could finish his sentence, a staggering presence approached from over his shoulder.
It was Zester.
“Honey!”
Suppressing the turmoil in her chest, Cassia ran toward him with a face full of relief.
“Ah… Cassia.”
Zester’s face looked blank and drained, unlike that of someone who had safely returned after rescuing the missing. Cassia reached out to cup his cheek, which sat much higher than her own, and met his eyes as she caught her breath.”
“You’re safe, right? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“Mn, I’m fine.”
Well, whether this could really be called ‘fine’ was another matter.
Among those rescued from the Lezebu Church were people who had already been assaulted and left physically injured. Those who had been locked up, waiting day after day to be called out, were mentally worn down, and those who had been beaten hated the Pope and the knights of Orobas all the more. A few had even raged that they would report everything to the imperial family at once.
To such people, Prince Eagle told them, ‘If you want to live, remain silent,’ bringing up the stories of earlier rescues whose hard-won lives had once again been extinguished in vain.
Watching all of this unfold, Zester fell into a contradictory anguish that he both understood and could not understand.
How could the very entity that should have been the purest, commit corruption, and yet could not be overthrown? How could those who deserved punishment not be punished?
It made no sense to him.
And yet, the fact that they stood at the very pinnacle of power, a level he could not recklessly challenge, and that he had no choice but to close his mouth and cover his ears…
That, he could understand.
One cannot set oneself on fire just to punish a demon.
No matter how much the powerless masses at the very bottom of authority struggled, it was meaningless. At present, the most formidable forces in the empire were the Vatican and the imperial family that stood behind it.
He thought of the second prince, Eagle Simone, whose face he had seen from afar during the victory ceremony at the start of the Imperial War.
Should he at least be grateful that Eagle, unlike the rest of the imperial family, was not simply turning a blind eye to the corruption of the Vatican? Or should he despair at a reality where such a small thing had to be considered a blessing?
“Honey.”
“Ah, yeah.”
At Cassia’s gentle voice, Zester finally emerged from his heavy thoughts.
Even though he hadn’t said a word, Cassia looked at him for a long while as if she could see everything he was thinking. Just sharing that look made him feel comforted.
Covering the hand Cassia placed on his cheek, Zester took in a slow, deep breath.
“Your hands are cold. Were you outside that long?”
“Mhm. I was waiting for you to come.”
“Silly. You should’ve waited inside.”
“I was too worried to do that.”
“Why worry about me…”
He didn’t know how to put it into words. For some reason, he lacked the confidence to face Cassia. He had risked his life to save strangers, and he had done everything he could, yet he felt a sense of shame.
Perhaps it was because he knew that, despite everything he had done, nothing had truly been resolved.
Cassia was perceptive. Even if he didn’t put into words the hell he had seen and heard, she would know. She would also recognize his own paltry position, lacking any power to uproot such corruption.
“I’m really proud of you.”
“…Huh?”
Yet an unexpected remark spilled from Cassia’s lips. Before he could even tilt his head in confusion, she threw her arms around him. Zester hesitated, mindful of his dirty clothes, but Cassia tightened her grip so he couldn’t pull away.
“I’m not as strong as you, and I’m afraid of getting hurt. I would’ve been so scared that something might go wrong that I might have pretended not to see, not to hear. But you didn’t do that. Even though it wasn’t something you had to do, or even had a reason to do.”
“Ah, I…”
“You did the very best you could. You’re really admirable, and I’m so proud of you. There’s probably no man as wonderful as you.”
Pulling back slightly from his chest, Casia looked up at him and smiled.
I’m so proud of you.
The praise felt undeserved, and the tip of his nose stung. His eyes grew hot again for no reason.
“I am… small and powerless. I probably don’t have the ability to accomplish the grand things you hope for.”
“What are you saying? You are enough as you are now, but you’ll become even stronger in the future. You have me, after all.”
Cassia shrugged her shoulders playfully.
It had been a joking remark, yet there was truth in it. Even this rescue plan might not have moved him if it had appealed only to his own conscience. His desire to see Cassia’s happy face had been stronger.
‘How much stronger can I become?’
Zester felt a sudden surge of ambition.
The dark reality, where one could not see even an inch ahead, had tightened painfully around his chest, yet somehow, within it, he didn’t feel entirely defeated. The thought that he, who believed he was nothing, might actually achieve something and have a desire to grow stronger…
Zester thought that all of it was probably because of Cassia’s presence right before his eyes.
Holding Cassia’s small body as she smiled brightly, Zester quietly closed his eyes. Despite the chilly dawn air, it felt warm, as if he were holding light itself.
* * *
The birthday of the first imperial princess of the Simone Empire, Iskria Simone.
With the festival period officially announced, the capital, Kshetra, was far more festive than the day before.
Cassia and Zester prepared from early morning to enter the imperial palace, with Clara, James, and the mercenaries seeing them off.
“Still, you may be nobles in name, but is it really fine for just the leader and the madam to go alone? Wouldn’t it be better if we tagged along like attendants at least?”
Greze was already ignored for being a small territory. Gregory asked because he felt uneasy about the decision for only the baron and baroness to enter the palace without even a single attendant.
Is he right? It had been Cassia’s idea, but Zester found himself wavering internally.
“Hmm, no. The nobles coming up from the provinces will drag along long processions of attendants to show off their power. Even if all of you gathered, our scale would look laughable compared to theirs. It would only invite more comparison.”
It hurt to hear, but it was true.
“On the other hand, nobles who reside in the capital enter the palace frequently even in ordinary times, so just because it’s the festival period, they don’t usually bring a separate procession. Typically, only the noble couple attends. It’s better to enter quietly by blending in with the style of the capital nobles. Besides, we can request servants or guards from the Imperial family if needed, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
As Cassia explained point by point, everyone who had been wearing worried faces nodded in agreement.
“Then, we’ll be off. James, make sure to go to the merchant guild every day and help Collie out.”
“Don’t you worry, Madam.”
“Clara, you…”
“Don’t worry about that either, Madam.”
She had asked Clara to stay at the inn and keep Pia company so she could settle down. Clara had a natural talent for putting people at ease, so spending time with her would likely calm Pia naturally.
Clara, James, Gregory…
Looking at the fairly reliable workers of Greze, Cassia smiled with satisfaction. Leaving them behind, her steps felt light.
* * *
The Greze carriage arrived at the imperial palace.
The birthday event had been scheduled for the afternoon, and since it was still early morning, there were not many nobles entering yet. Cassia’s plan to come in a bit early, to avoid the awkwardness of entering alongside the prominent nobles invited to the imperial event, was a very sound choice.
After Khan the coachman dropped Cassia and Zester off and was guided to the stables by an Imperial attendant, the two were left standing there alone. The Imperial Palace looked even more enormous when viewed from the ground than from inside the carriage.
Zester kept swallowing dryly, his throat bobbing over and over.
The ornate and massive entrance to the palace was not a heavy iron gate like most castles, but a luxurious white gate of wrought iron. As the majestic silhouette of the main palace building and the large, spire-topped annexes came into view, Zester stiffened even more.
The gatekeepers managing entry were also another source of his unease. When he saw them in their neat uniforms, adorned with long red crested hats and imperial insignia hanging in clusters, Zester stopped and took a deep breath.
“Wife.”
“Yes?”
“H-Hold my hand.”
“…Anyone watching would think you were about to have a private audience with His Majesty himself.”
To be shaking this much over just two gatekeepers. Cassia burst out laughing at the absurdity.
“Hand.”
“Alright, alright. Haven’t I told you a hundred times? Stand tall, shoulders back, and don’t stammer like an idiot.”
“R-Right…”
“You’re stammering.”
“Right!”
Zester grabbed Cassia’s outstretched hand so tightly it might break and shouted loudly.
After walking a little farther, one of the gatekeepers bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle to greet them.
“We sincerely thank you for honoring us with your presence. For what purpose have you come?”
‘Stay calm, stay calm.’
Zester kept calming his heart inwardly as he reached inside his coat, pulled out the imperial invitation he had received beforehand, and held it out to the gatekeeper.
“We have come to celebrate Her Highness the Princess’s birthday. We are from the Greze territory in the north.”
After checking the invitation, the gatekeeper immediately pulled the doors open with force. The grand white iron gates swung wide to either side, as if welcoming them. The gatekeeper bowed once more.
“We sincerely thank Baron Greze and Baroness Greze for your visit. We pray to Lord Orobas for Greze’s boundless prosperity in step with the empire’s flourishing.”
“Thank you.”
Zester gave a small wave and, together with Cassia, entered with a nonchalant stride. It was a fairly smooth start that felt quite like a natural-born noble.
Cassia thought he was doing quite well, but after walking a good distance, Zester stopped and turned to her.
“Whew, ha, whew, ha.”
What was this? He must have been extremely tense.
“Pfft.”
Looking up at Zester as he stood there wide-eyed, catching his breath, Cassia couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing again.
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 87 - July 18, 2026
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 86 - July 18, 2026
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 85 - July 8, 2026