Chapter 56
“Ca–Cardinal Gerdeus? What in the world….”
Damian stretched out his trembling hands, then foamed at the mouth and fainted right where he stood. It all happened so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to react.
At a loss for words, I simply stared at Gerdeus.
“Huff… huff… To think you would dare utter such blasphemy without even knowing who this man is.”
If left alone, he looked ready to smash someone with that lawbook again. Gerdeus, panting furiously, still hadn’t cooled his anger.
‘Is this really worth getting so worked up over?’
The thought crossed my mind, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on. We stepped over the collapsed Damian and began descending the spiral staircase that led underground.
Even when this had all been a game, I had been forced to visit the Holy See many times—but this was my first time actually entering its underground levels. In the game, the underground area of the Papal Palace had always been completely inaccessible to players.
By the time I started getting bored of going down and down endlessly, the staircase finally ended.
Two Holy Knights stood guard before a door shaped disturbingly like an iron maiden.
“Open the door.”
Gerdeus approached them and spoke in a stern, solemn tone. The knights cast wary glances at me and Allen, clearly uncertain, but since the one giving the order was a cardinal, they couldn’t dare object.
I hadn’t expected things to turn out this way from the start, but my decision to come here without bothering to disguise myself proved correct—the Holy Knights obeyed without a word and opened the door.
A passageway shrouded in darkness revealed itself. The stench that hit us was so putrid that even plunging one’s face into stagnant sewer water couldn’t compare. As soon as the door opened, the foul air rushed out, forcing me to cover my nose. Even Allen narrowed his eyes against the stench.
It was hard to believe this was the same building. The atmosphere underground was utterly different from that above. From the iron bars lined across the hallway came terrible groans and cries, and the deeper we went, the worse the smell became.
“This place confines heinous criminals,” Gerdeus explained. “The stench is inevitable.”
“Are you saying Evan is one of those heinous criminals?”
“N–No, of course not…! Forgive me. My foolish tongue spoke without thought.”
“I was just making conversation. Keep walking.”
I, of all people, knew best that Evan wasn’t a criminal. Even back when this was a game, his integrity was beyond question. What bothered me was simply being here for even one second longer.
“Please…”
As we continued following Gerdeus deeper inside, a prisoner suddenly clung to the bars and cried out,
“Please, get me out of here! I swear to the God of Light, I’ve committed no crime!”
“Best ignore him,” Gerdeus said calmly. “It’s a common thing here.”
“All I did was share food with the poor! How is that heresy? I’m innocent—please!”
“That’s the kind of excuse we hear from every criminal. You need not trouble yourself with such nonsense, Saintess.”
He brushed off the man’s tearful pleas with a cold glance. But soon, others started shouting their grievances too, one after another.
“Did all these people actually commit crimes?” I asked.
“Well…”
“So you don’t really know, do you?”
“My deepest apologies.”
Gerdeus bowed low.
“Let’s just keep going.”
As much as I wanted to think about the prisoners, checking on Evan came first.
‘How much farther is this?’
We had walked for what felt like ages. Was Gerdeus deliberately stalling, or was Evan truly imprisoned this deep underground? Either way, the cardinal showed no signs of stopping.
“Here we are.”
“Here?”
He finally halted where the corridor ended. A massive iron door stood before us—so solid it looked impossible to open by normal means.
‘This doesn’t make sense.’
I had already found it strange that Gerdeus was in possession of Evan’s crystal orb. If Evan had been locked up here, that would explain it—but the real question was why Evan was imprisoned in the first place.
Evan was one of the five strongest people in Eden—perhaps the strongest, if you looked at pure combat power. Even if his curse prevented him from using one arm, the idea that he could be trapped in a place like this was absurd.
‘Did the Holy See find some kind of leverage on him?’
Impossible. Evan was a perfectionist; he’d never allow anyone to get a hold over him. He wouldn’t even leave a trace of weakness behind. So then—why?
Questions kept spinning in my head, but I’d get answers soon enough once I saw him.
“Please wait a moment. There are quite a few keys here, so it may take me a bit to find the right one.”
Gerdeus pulled out a large ring of keys and began fumbling through them, trying to find the one that fit.
‘How long am I supposed to wait for this?’
There were countless things I wanted to ask Evan already. Even waiting for a few seconds felt like a waste.
“Move aside.”
“Pardon?”
“Now.”
Allen had already stepped back a good distance—smart kid, he always knew when to keep his distance.
If there’s no road, make one.
I’d heard that somewhere once. I wasn’t sure if it applied here, but it was one of those quotes that always struck a chord with me.
It’s true, after all—if something doesn’t exist, just make it.
“Ah… y–yes!”
Startled, Gerdeus quickly backed away from the door. I swung my fist with full force and smashed through the iron gate—along with part of the wall.
“……?”
Dust filled the air, clouding my vision. Through the haze, I finally saw him—Evan, shackled by both wrists, hanging shirtless against the wall.
His silver hair, normally slicked back neatly, was now long and unkempt, falling over his nose. His sharply sculpted face—once like that of a god’s statue—was now gaunt and hollow.
‘Maybe “shrunk” isn’t quite the right word…’
Either way, the man before me looked nothing like the one I remembered.
“Lady Estelle?”
Even so, his voice warmed the air the moment he spoke my name. His ice-blue eyes widened beneath his disheveled silver hair, filled with disbelief.
“You look worse than I remember.”
“…I’m ashamed.”
“Don’t stand there like some convict—lift your head.”
I stepped closer and broke his chains with a single touch, catching him before he collapsed.
“It’s all my fault,” he murmured weakly, leaning against my shoulder.
“What do you mean?”
“Because I failed to trust you, Lady Estelle… I ended up showing you this disgraceful state.”
“After all this time, you’re still saying pitiful things like that?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Evan’s voice trembled. And then—I felt something warm and wet against my shoulder.
‘Wait… what?’
Was he… crying?
‘Evan?
Why would he cry?
In Hero Maker, Evan was the only male lead who never shed tears—not once.
Allen cried whenever he remembered his hometown.
Dan wept for the first time after defeating Belphegor.
And the eccentric Archmage—whose face I’d never even seen—used to laugh and cry at the same time whenever one of his pranks failed.
So to see Evan—Evan—crying now was as shocking as that time, as a kid, when I lunged thoughtlessly during a spar with my father and got counter-punched in the jaw.
‘This is… kind of awkward.’
I wanted to comfort him properly, but I’d never been good at that sort of thing.
I was still wondering what to say when loud clapping echoed behind us.
“Ooh… such a touching reunion! Truly, this old man’s heart is moved. Ah, how precious and beautiful are the tears of one who has overcome such hardship! Inspiration overflows within me!”
I turned to glare at the tactless fool—and of course, it was Gerdeus. Any shred of respect for the elderly vanished on the spot.
Before I could say anything, I sensed Allen’s mood shift sharply beside me. Gerdeus, oblivious, tried to speak to him.
“Surely you agree as well, dear brother of the Saintess?”
“……”
“What a heartwarming, beautiful sight this is, don’t you think?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“…P–pardon?”
Allen’s cutting tone froze Gerdeus on the spot like a statue.
He didn’t even glance at the man again. Instead, Allen’s expression twisted in irritation as he glared—at Evan.
‘What’s with him now?’
Sure, he didn’t like Evan, but this was the first time Allen had shown such open hostility.
On one side, Evan was crying silently against my shoulder. On the other, Allen was seething with anger.
And me, stuck between them?
I felt like a shrimp caught between fighting whales.
