At the empire's frontier stood a remote, desolate little village.
It was noon, and the blazing sun scorched the cracked earth.
"Bang!"
Two elite church knights clad in heavy black armor, with the totem of a bleeding black serpent branded onto their chests, brutally kicked open the wooden gate of a rundown farmhouse courtyard and strode inside.
The courtyard's owner was an ordinary farm girl with a sturdy build, callused hands, and such an unremarkable face that she would vanish into any crowd.
She was an orphan with no parents.
Now, facing two lofty church inquisitor knights reeking of blood, she stood alone in the middle of the yard, her hands twisting tightly around her coarse apron as her whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind.
Her cloudy eyes were filled with primal fear, nervousness, and utter dread of authority.
"Look into my eyes, peasant!"
One Black Serpent Knight impatiently stepped forward, roughly yanked a finely crafted parchment scroll from his waist, and snapped it open before the girl.
"Look carefully. Have you seen the man in this portrait lately?!"
The parchment depicted a young, breathtakingly beautiful boy, meticulously painted by one of the royal court's finest artists. His features were exquisite, his gaze calm, carrying a dazzling air of devotion.
The girl stared at the portrait for a second, then suddenly shuddered all over.
"N-no... No... Replying to you, my lords, I-I've never seen anyone so good-looking..."
Speaking in an extremely grating, earthy dialect, she stammered out her answer and shook her head like a rattle drum, not daring to look at either knight again.
"Crash—!"
Just then, an unusual sound of something heavy collapsing came from behind the dilapidated thatched cottage.
The two Black Serpent Knights exchanged glances, their expressions instantly turning cold. Their hands reflexively