Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 309
Epilogue
TL: Elphie / PR: Marm
The continent is divided into five regions: East, West, South, North, and the Center.
As autumn gradually brought cooler air, flocks of migratory birds soared southward, painting graceful patterns across the sky in preparation for the coming winter.
People seated outside the restaurant admired the magnificent scene above as they waited for their meals to arrive.
This restaurant was situated along the route leading to the southern regions. Naturally, it bustled with merchants from all corners of the continent.
Though many were strangers, they shared tables, exchanging warm greetings and discussing the latest news from their respective regions while enjoying their meals together.
And now, one person in particular had captured the attention of all the merchants in the restaurant.
“Don’t even get me started. The atmosphere these days is downright mournful. As you all know, dungeons have barely been appearing since the start of this year. The few lower-ranked ones that do appear vanish just as quickly. Even the mountain ranges near the Fortress, where dungeons used to be common, are empty. In the past, at least a hundred new dungeons would have emerged each month, but last month? Only twoâboth of them the lowest rank.”
A wave of sighs spread among the gathered merchants at his words.
Dungeons were a source of fear for many.
But at the same time, they were places of immense fortune, where one could obtain treasures and artifacts imbued with mysterious abilities.
And now, dungeons were disappearing.
“Hah, could this really be the end of dungeons?”
“They appeared out of nowhere one day. It wouldn’t be strange if they vanished just as suddenly.”
“That may be true… but the Alliance of Kingdoms must be in a state of emergency. They’ve been amassing wealth through dungeons for years. If that source of riches dries up⌠the Fortress will soon lose its power as well.”
At those words, a merchant sitting at another table turned toward them.
“Soon? The Fortress is already crumbling at an alarming rate. Haven’t you heard about the artifacts?”
At the mention of artifacts, every merchant nodded knowingly.
It had all started in the spring of this year.
Out of nowhere, the Fortress announced that it would no longer appraise artifacts.
Naturally, the pairs had strongly opposed the decision.
In order to sell an artifact for its full value at an auction, it had to be properly appraised by the Hand of Appraisal.
Yet now, the Fortress was refusing to conduct appraisals?
When the pairs questioned them for an explanation, the Fortress remained silent.
Then, at some point, a rumor began to spread.
One of the most famous artifacts, the Hand of Appraisal, had vanished.
As the rumor spread, not only the Pairs but also the various kingdoms demanded an answer. If it wasn’t true, they insisted, then the Fortress should present the Hand of Appraisal to prove that nothing was amiss.
Under the mounting pressure, the Fortress was forced to admit the truthâthe Hand of Appraisal had been lost.
But the problem didnât end there.
“More than half of the artifacts stored in the treasury have disappeared!”
“What are you saying?! What about the security artifacts?”
“T-Thatâs the thing⌠even those have vanished!”
“What?!”
The entire Fortress was thrown into chaos.
Since its founding, the Fortress had never once been breached.
And yet, not only had an enormous number of artifacts vanished, but even the very artifacts meant to guard them had disappeared?”
It was an unprecedented crisis.
Even that alone had pushed the chaos to its peak, and now, starting this year, the number of newly appearing dungeons had rapidly dwindled.
Everyone had noticed.
The once unshakable power of the Fortressâlong upheld for so many yearsâwas finally beginning to crumble.
And with it, the world would no longer have need for the pairs of purifiers and knights.
âAfter the Fortress, it was the Visconti Kingdom’s artifacts that all vanished, wasnât it?â
âI heard about that too. The princess, the strongest purifier of them all, completely lost her mind over it.â
That incident had shaken the continent almost as much as the Fortressâs downfall.
Cecilia, the princess of Visconti, had been born with purification abilities said to be the most powerful in history.
Ever since she came of age, she had practically swept up every artifact the Fortress had to offer year after year.
Thanks to her, Visconti had grown both immensely wealthy and overwhelmingly powerful in a short span of time.
But now, less than half a year after the incident, Viscontiâs prestige had plummeted.
Every artifact that Princess Cecilia had gatheredâalong with every artifact the royal family had accumulated until nowâhad vanished.
All of them, gone in a single night.
Upon discovering this, the princess had let out a maddened wail, thrashing about in a frenzy, vowing to hunt down the thief.
But just like the ones stolen from the Fortress, the artifacts from the Visconti Kingdom had disappeared without a trace.
Though Ceciliaâs purification powers remained intact, they were slowly becoming meaningless.
With dungeons dwindling, and only the lowest-tier ones appearing at best, there was little need for overwhelming purification power anymore.
Now, strong purification abilities were only necessary for healing those wounded by monsters.
The disappearance of artifacts did not stop there.
One by one, artifacts vanished from every corner of the continent.
The ones that remained were either so weak that calling them artifacts was almost laughable, or they had lost their power entirely.
âEither way, this year has been nothing but strange events from the very start.â
“Right. Sir Michael of the Holy Knightsâhis news was the most shocking of all.”
“When it first came out, it was absolute chaos. That devout paladin, excommunicated in an instant, only to marry a purifier he had just met?”
“I heard that the purifier was an absolute beauty. The kind that could make anyone fall head over heels at first sight. Even a paladin couldnât resist!”
Just thenâ
“Cough!”
A little ways off, a hooded figure choked, as if something had caught in their throat.
Beside them, a broad-shouldered companion reached out, patting their back gently.
The merchants exchanged knowing glances the moment they saw them.
âAh, lovers.â
âNo doubt about it.â
The way that broad-shouldered one touched the otherâso careful, so full of concernâit was obvious.
Some of the merchants chuckled softly, amused by the sight.
Just then, a worker stepped out from the restaurant, waving a paper bag in the air.
“Five orders of salad! No cucumbers, just as requested!”
The person who had been coughing moments ago stood up and raised a hand.
“Ah, thatâs me.”
The worker immediately handed over the bag, and the two hooded figures began weaving their way through the seated diners.
“Huh?”
One of the merchants sitting at the far end suddenly widened his eyes in surprise as he caught sight of the smaller figure.
At the same time, the taller, broad-shouldered man beside them subtly shifted, stepping between the merchantâs gaze and his companionâalmost as if shielding her. His expression darkened as he locked eyes with the merchant, a silent warning.
Then, without another word, the two slipped outside.
Even after they had left, the merchant remained staring blankly at the door.
“What’s up with you?”
“I⌠I just caught a glimpse of them for a second, but⌠that person was incredibly beautiful.”
“You act like you’ve never seen a pretty face before. You’re completely dazed!”
“You shouldâve seen her yourself. No, seriouslyâshe smiled for a second, and it was breathtaking. And the man next to her, that womanâs lover, he was just asâ”
Muttering to himself, the merchant suddenly paused as a realization struck him.
They had just been talking about him.
Sir Michael.
Not just a warrior of overwhelming strength, but a man renowned for his divine, almost otherworldly beauty. A face so striking that some believed it to be a gift from the gods themselves.
A merchant, lost in thought, recalled something elseâŚ
That purifier. The one Sir Michael supposedly fell for at first sight.
She was said to have silver hair and violet eyesâŚ
The realization struck like a bolt of lightning.
The merchant abruptly shot to his feet and rushed out of the shop.
But no matter how much he scanned the bustling streets, the two hooded figures had already vanished without a trace.
