Ending Maker

The next morning.

Cordelia woke up and began to think about a problem that was trivial in some way, but could never be taken lightly.

‘Eueueue… what should I do?’

She was worrying about a punishment.

The punishment she wanted to give Jude for lying and making her use the name ‘Pink Bomb.’

‘He didn’t do it with any bad intentions, and it was only a nasty joke, but…’

It was still bad.

If he continued to do those things again, whether once or twice, and regardless if he had any bad intentions or not, he would end up developing the so-called ‘bad habit.’

There’s a saying that ‘He that steals an egg will steal an ox.’

‘No, isn’t the meaning there a bit different?’

Anyway.

The important thing is that I should not let it slide.

‘That’s right, Romantic Cat-unnie said in the past. That fights are important in relationships. That it’s over if you ignore it from the very beginning.’

Cordelia remembered the only member of the chat room whom she had played with and knew both her real age and gender, and as she recalled that unnie’s friendly advice, she began to think hard again.

What kind of punishment should I give?

Should I just hit him?

‘That’s a little too violent…’

If Jude had heard of Cordelia’s thoughts now, he would have said, ‘Didn’t you do it in the past?’ and mention one by one the times when Cordelia hit him. But what mattered now was the present.

Because unlike in the past, she strangely felt reluctant to beat Jude.

‘Come to think of it, Jude was like that before, right?’

She remembered what happened at the time when they were wandering in the underground of Endymion.

Cordelia giggled when she recalled the Jude who was struggling hard because he couldn’t hit the monster that had transformed into Cordelia.

‘He had liked me since then, huh? Hehehe.’

So he endured it because he couldn’t do it, huh?

Should I say that it’s commendable?

‘Should I just forgive him then?’

Cordelia’s heart softened a bit, and she pouted her lips as she pondered about it. But she soon shook her head.

‘I can’t do that. Yes, yes. That’s that and this is this.’

I must punish those who must be punished.

I must be angry at those who angered me.

“Miss?”

Eueue… what kind of punishment should I give then? If I tell him to kneel and raise his hands, will he really do it?

I think it’s a problem if he really does it, but it’s also a problem if he doesn’t do it.

“Miss?”

Should I spank his butt?

Make him shamefully pull down his pants and then spank him?

‘Umm… I don’t think that’s right…’

I feel like I’ll be the one more embarrassed when I spank him.

That’s obviously problematic.

So I need something different, something that would punish him that’s not strange….something that will fix Jude’s habit…

“Miss!”

“Eh?!”

The startled Cordelia jumped up from her seat and let out a strange sound, and Dahlia drew her face closer to Cordelia as she narrowed her eyes and said.

“What happened yesterday?”

“Huh? N-nothing. Nothing happened.”

“Something did. Something did happen, right? Did you two cross the line?”

“W-what line?”

“I mean, that line.”

At Dahlia’s words, Cordelia waved both of her hands in denial before she sat down on the sofa.

“I-it’s not like that. I’m just worrying about something.”

“What is it? Can you please tell me?”

“Eh?”

“I’m older than you, so I have more experience in stuff like friendship and romance… don’t you think so?”

“Your last words make you a bit unreliable though?”

“How do you see me as?”

“Well, Dahlia is a beautiful woman. You have a good personality too.”

When Cordelia spoke calmly and without hesitation, Dahlia’s cheeks blushed a bit and she was at a loss on what to do.

“Ahem, ahem. Anyway, please tell me what it is.”

“Umm… so this is my friend’s story…”

“I see, it’s about a friend.”

“Yes, it’s about a friend.”

Dahlia was slightly worried at Cordelia’s words.

Isn’t it quite obvious?

‘Let’s listen to it first.’

In order to make my innocent lady open her mouth, let’s set the pace first.

Dahlia smiled and nodded as if asking Cordelia to continue.

“What happened to your friend?”

“Eh? Uh… She said that she had a problem. For reference, my friend’s name is Scarlet. She’s not like a fictional character, okay?”

“I see. Scarlet. Okay.”

Dahlia wondered if it was a young lady friend of Cordelia that she didn’t know, but she decided to listen first.

She stopped herself from saying her thoughts, and sent a glance to Cordelia to tell her to continue. Cordelia then spoke after clearing her throat.

“You see…”

To summarize Cordelia’s story, it was as follows.

Scarlet’s lover lied to Scarlet. It wasn’t a bad lie, but a mischievous one because he wanted to see Scarlet’s cute appearance, but she thought that a lie was a lie anyway, so she wanted to scold him.

But she was troubled on what to do, and on what kind of punishment she should give.

“Ahem. I see. I never thought that he was like that, so he lies too, huh?”

“Huh? This is about my friend though? Dahlia doesn’t know my friend and her lover, right?”

“Umm, you’re right. Anyway, what’s important is that he lied. And as the miss said, it’s only right to punish him. He might develop some real bad habits if you just neglect it.”

“That’s right, that’s it! I- No, Scarlet said that she thought so too!”

At times like this, it’s less suspicious if you say that, as a friend, you thought the same too.

Dahlia advised in her thoughts, but she soon touched her chin and spoke.

“Hmm… I’m sure this is natural, but is there something that your friend’s lover likes to do?”

“What he likes to do?”

“Yes, if possible, the things that your friend likes to do together with him.”

“Uh…”

Cordelia began to seriously think as she touched her chin like Dahlia, and she soon thought of one thing.

What Jude really liked to do.

What he had been trying to do these days.

In addition, as Dahlia had said, it was something that Jude couldn’t do alone, and was something that he only did with Cordelia.

“T-there is!”

“Then, he can’t do that.”

“Eh?”

“You have to prevent him from doing what he likes. For a limited time.”

Having said that, Dahlia crossed her arms and smiled before she continued.

“There are two types of punishment. One is to make someone do things they do not like, and the other is to prevent them from doing things they like. People’s opinions may differ on which one is more effective… but if it’s a punishment for a lover, the latter will be more effective. It will also help him make a reflection.”

“Ooooh…”

Her words were quite reasonable.

To make him do things that he dislikes and prevent him from doing things that he likes.

Then, it seems like the latter will work.

‘Because I felt like going crazy when I was banned from playing games.’

After recalling her past life, Cordelia widely smiled as she found a good solution, but she soon frowned again.

Because she recalled one important problem.

What Jude had liked to do recently.

So in short, I have to prevent him from kissing me in my forehead and cheek…

‘I-It’s something that I do not like too.’

No, it’s not that I like it, but if I think about it, it’s something that he shouldn’t be doing at all…umm…

Cordelia began to think again with a red face, and Dahlia narrowed her eyes.

“Miss?”

“Eueueue…okay. It can’t be helped. It’s more important to change his habit.”

Let’s just ban all skinship for a while. No holding hands. I won’t let him escort me too.

Cordelia made a decision and clenched her fists, so Dahlia spoke as she rubbed her chin.

“So, have you made a decision? On what you’ll be banning Lord Jude from doing?”

“Yes, I’ve decided. I’ll push it forward.”

“Okay, you did well. Please give my greetings to Miss Scarlet too.”

“Eh? Uh… yes. That’s right. Uh, because I’m worried for Scarlet.”

Cordelia spoke hesitantly as her face turned red, and Dahlia eventually smiled at Cordelia’s appearance, sighing as she thought.

‘It’s quite worrying.’

My lady is clearly smart and good when it comes to magic, but why is she this naïve?

Well… being so naïve is also part of my lady’s charm.

“Dahlia?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, Lord Jude is about to arrive, so you need to prepare.”

“Eh?!”

Cordelia strongly exclaimed and stood up from her seat.

And around an hour later.

“I’m… completely banned?”

“Yes, you’re banned for the week. Do you know why?”

“Umm…”

At Cordelia’s words, Jude thought for a moment and soon nodded.

“I understand.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll do that.”

“Uh…okay.”

What’s with that indifferent reaction?

Shouldn’t you look a bit sad or something?

The confused Cordelia glanced at Dahlia who replied with her eyes.

‘He’s just pretending to be strong.’

It wasn’t as much as Jude, but Dahlia could talk to Cordelia with her eyes to some extent.

Cordelia nodded right away and then raised her chin.

But it was at that moment.

“Ah, but what should I do?”

“About what?”

“Did you forget? Today is the farewell party for the northern nobles.”

“Eh? Ah, that’s right. It was today, huh?”

Seven days had already passed since the founding anniversary celebration.

The chaos that had occurred on the royal capital had delayed most of the scheduled events, but for the nobles who had originally gathered to attend the founding anniversary celebration, it was time for them to slowly return home.

Here in Pleiades, it was really hard to meet relatives in other regions unless they were geographically close or they were really close friends, which was unlike Jude and Cordelia’s past lives.

Therefore, the northern nobles decided to have their last gathering before returning home, and that gathering was scheduled for today.

“If we go there… I’ll have to escort you…”

Jude looked at Cordelia and trailed off the end of his words, and Cordelia pouted her lips before she snorted and said.

“Okay, I’ll allow you to escort me. But only up to escorting, okay?”

“I understand. Thank you very much for giving me your permission, Princess.”

Jude slyly smiled and lightly kissed the back of Cordelia’s hand, and Cordelia once again made a promise to herself.

‘Only escort is allowed! Only escort!’

Anything beyond that is unconditionally OUT!

Cordelia pledged to herself several times as she clenched her fists, while Dahlia sighed as she watched from the side.

Because at that moment, Jude’s lips were still on the back of Cordelia’s hand.

‘Well… she still has a long way to go.’

Dahlia sighed as her shoulders sank, while Maja happily smiled as she watched from the other side.

***

The farewell party of the northern nobles was held in a mansion owned by Count Crossbell in the royal capital, and it was for a simple reason.

‘Because Sylvia’s mansion is the largest.’

After all, the Crossbell family was the richest among the 12 northern families.

In any case, Jude and Cordelia entered the splendid mansion of the Crossbell family and came across an unexpected sight.

“On that day, Lady Cordelia… I mean, Countess August Chase was really like an angel.”

“Was she so beautiful?”

“Indeed! She wasn’t just beautiful, she even had that sacred aura on her!”

There was a girl making a fuss as she praised Cordelia.

But that girl looked really familiar to them.

‘Emma Ficus?’

When Cordelia looked at Jude in surprise, Jude was calmly smiling rather than being surprised.

The reason was simple.

‘She seemed to have opened her eyes to the truth of this world now.’

Jude said that as if it was completely natural.

‘W-what are you saying?’

‘I mean, it’s true. You’re an angel. You’re also very beautiful, right?’

Cordelia turned red and was flustered at Jude’s straightforward answer.

His words were all true, and he was not ashamed in saying it. But for Cordelia, she would have been embarrassed to say such words out of her mouth.

‘Anyway, let’s greet her.’

‘Eh? Can we just pretend that we don’t know her?’

Isn’t the situation a bit embarrassing now?

But despite Cordelia’s reluctance, Jude had already made their presence known.

Emma Ficus noticed Jude and turned to him, and she widely opened her eyes.

“L-Lady Cordelia?”

“L-Lady Emma.”

Cordelia responded with an awkward smile, and Emma Ficus was in a flutter as she blushed, showing a slightly different reaction from what Cordelia had thought.

There was a reason why she blushed.

‘She’s really happy.’

Jude’s analysis was accurate like always.

Emma Ficus was not blushing now because of shame.

She was now like a fan who had met her idol singer whom she had envied so much, so she was really happy and at a loss on what to do.

“I-I’m really grateful for back then. Thank you very much.”

“Eh? Uh, yes. I’m glad that you’re okay.”

“How can you say that… when I was so mean to you…”

Emma Ficus was deeply moved by Cordelia’s words as her eyes reddened with tears, and all the young people around them looked at Emma Ficus and Cordelia with curious eyes.

And so, Cordelia ended up being embarrassed.

‘What’s wrong with her!’

Can a person change like this just because I saved their life once?!

It was an oddly disrespectful remark, but fortunately, Jude was the only one who could understand her thoughts.

“Lady Cordelia… no, Countess August Chase. The countess of that day was really…”

Emma Ficus held Cordelia’s hand and began to testify, and the level of attention around them became even higher.

‘No, I’m not that nice of a person, okay? It’s true that I’m an angel, but I’m not that kind of angel. So please… eueueue.’

But it was almost impossible for Cordelia, who was a real angel, to remove her hand from Emma’s tight grip.

Therefore, she had to listen to the embarrassing praise as her hand was held, and she was forced to smile at Emma Ficus while being embarrassed at the gazes directed towards her.

‘Ah, seriously! Why are you looking at me with such sparkling eyes!’

Cordelia became uncomfortable with Emma Ficus in a different sense than before, and she looked back at Jude as if she was asking for help, but seeing that he was smiling at her with a sly expression, it seemed like he had no intention of saving her.

‘I hate you! I really hate you!’

But it was at that moment.

The hand of salvation was extended to Cordelia from an unexpected place.

“Countess August Chase.”

‘Sylvia-unnie!’

Once Sylvia, who was the host of this farewell party, appeared and spoke, Emma Ficus had no choice but to stop.

“I apologize, Lady Ficus, but the countess has a previous engagement with me. We’re going to talk a bit about the rights to the new shampoo and conditioner…”

“Yes, she’s correct. We have an agreement to talk. Lady Emma, I apologize, but can I leave for a moment? It’s really important.”

Cordelia spoke desperately, and Emma Ficus was saddened by the situation and retreated with a look of regret.

“Haa… Thank you very much.”

“Please don’t be so polite to me. You’re a countess now.”

“And you’re the next Countess Crossbell.”

Sylvia smiled at Cordelia’s charming words, and they stepped out of the banquet hall.

Because she said that they had something to discuss, they went out even for just a short time.

With Cordelia having been stolen from him, Jude had a bitter smile before he turned his gaze to the other side.

Since they were one of the main characters in the battle at the royal capital, the interest Jude received was also enormous, and there were many people who came to talk to him.

But Jude had a trick unlike Cordelia.

He pretended to deal with them moderately as he drove them away slowly, and eventually, only Lucas remained by Jude’s side.

“Only the two of us are left now.”

“You’re right. Anyway… I’d like to express my gratitude to you first. Maja said that you came to visit us twice.”

“It’s only natural. I’m just glad that you have recovered safely.”

As Lucas nicely smiled, Jude also smiled and thought for a moment.

He wasn’t as excited as Cordelia in shipping Lucas with Scarlet, but Lucas seemed to be interested in Scarlet in the first place, so he wondered on how to get the two to meet.

But it was at that moment.

“Then, Lord Jude, have you heard?”

Lucas still called him ‘Lord Jude’ instead of Count August Bayer, and Jude stopped his thoughts and showed interest in his words.

“What are you talking about?”

“It seems like there will be a fighting competition. They said that it will be officially announced this afternoon.”

Jude gently nodded at Lucas’ words.

He hadn’t told this to Cordelia yet, but he had heard of it from his father this morning.

“Because the royal family have to show to the public that they are doing well.”

“Yes, especially when the Argon Empire is watching.”

There were many reason why they were holding an event in this situation, and one of it was the ‘vacancy’ in the Ten Great Swordmasters.

The Lord Protector who repelled the empire twice, and First Sword, the Sword Saint of Light, were no longer members of the Ten Great Swordmasters.

Two of the Ten Great Swordmasters disappeared, so they had to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

‘It’s possible to do so for First Sword’s position, but the Lord Protector’s position isn’t something that can be easily replaced.’

After all, it was impossible to replace the Lord Protector who was a symbol of the Sälen Kingdom’s defensive capabilities, unlike First Sword who was just a strong swordsman.

But that didn’t mean they could just leave it empty.

‘They need a new great swordmaster.’

It was not enough to put Count Bayer as the Sword Saint of Wind to fill the spot vacated by the Sword Saint of Light.

Since two people were gone, they needed to at least have one new great swordmaster.

‘For now, Gaël is also a candidate.’

His father had told him that this morning.

In addition to Gaël, there were also several young knights in the kingdom who were called as the next Ten Great Swordmasters.

The royal family’s plan was to bring them together this time to demonstrate their skills, and then give to at least one of them the title of great swordmaster.

‘It seems like even the talented people who did not participate in this anniversary celebration were also called in.’

There was Richard Galleon, who gained the nickname ‘The Lion’s Sword’ by distinguishing himself within the Knights of the Golden Lion, the most elite knights of the Sälen Kingdom.

There was Aios Lain who was known to be the fastest and strongest swordsman among the Jackdaws protecting the north.

There was Kajsa’s older brother, Calix Ophand, who was known as the Sea Serpent Slayer and called as a Disaster of the Southern Seas.

‘And my brother is included too.’

One out of these four. If possible, they would even appoint two to the Ten Great Swordmaster position.

Obviously, if all four showed skills that were less than expected, there would completely be no appointment, but anyway, the royalty’s intentions were quite clear in this event.

“It will be held five days from now… and there are some thoughts that it is being held quite urgently, but there’s no problem with the progress because the fighting competition is an event that was originally supposed to be held. And frankly… I’m really looking forward to it.”

As Lucas spoke with shining eyes, Jude smiled bitterly.

He would act like that because it was an event that had something to do with them.

‘Those below 20 years of age could participate too.’

The event was divided into the adult division, which was for those who were 20 years of age and older, and the youth division, which was for those younger than 20 years old.

“It’s been a while since we’ve fought shoulder to shoulder.”

“You’re right.”

The fighting competition regularly held by the king was not just a one-on-one battle.

It was a group battle that was more like a war than a sparring match, in which participants were divided into the northern, central, and southern regions. The three groups would battle it out in one place, and victory would be awarded to the last group standing.

‘This is the last event in the royal capital before we go to find the Ultimate One.’

It wasn’t that bad.

It was also good to work with Lucas after a long time, and above all, since it was a competition, a good prize would be awarded if they won.

‘It’s also good to test the results of my recovery.’

His sixth door was still incomplete, but he had succeeded in stabilizing the Black Sun to some extent.

‘I’m curious on who will come from the south.’

For the central region, they would send participants from the Knights of the Golden Lion and the Sword School, so he wondered on who would be sent from the south.

Jude silently recalled the talented people from the south, and soon realized why he was so excited.

‘This is the first time I’ve experienced this event.’

In the game, the royal capital was destroyed, so the fighting competition did not take place.

And the following year, the fighting competition was not held too. Because the Sälen Kingdom itself was on the brink of destruction.

As a result, Jude had only heard of the fighting competition unique to the Sälen Kingdom as a background setting, but had never really experienced it.

But when a fantasy event like a fighting competition was held, he couldn’t help himself from smiling.

‘I’m a rotten water after all.’

Someone who gets excited for new content.

Jude had a small smile before he turned his gaze and looked at the place where the other rotten water was, and this time, he laughed out loud.

Cordelia was suffering from Emma Ficus’ second onslaught, and was desperately sending a rescue signal to him.

‘Jude! Jude! Help!’

How could he turn away when she was pleading to him for help?

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

After he asked Lucas to excuse him, Jude quickly headed towards Cordelia.