I’m a Holy Knight, but I Contracted with an Evil God - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 47.
“You called for me?”
Following the messenger’s guidance, Leon arrived at a small tent not far from the central barracks.
It appeared to be Raphthio’s private quarters—sparse and modest inside.
“Ah, come in, come in.”
Raphthio gestured to a seat, and Leon settled across from him without hesitation.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, a long time indeed.”
An awkward silence descended.
Though Leon had crossed paths with Raphthio more than once since joining the Light Cult, this was the first time they’d faced each other alone.
Leon was aware of this, and he slowly steadied his breathing.
He had to keep his changes hidden from Raphthio’s acute senses.
“Your accomplishments have been considerable.”
After a long pause, Raphthio broke the silence, his voice as gentle as ever, yet tinged with a strange hesitation.
Leon sensed that Raphthio had some difficult matter he was struggling to broach, and he felt a peculiar bitterness rise in his chest as he shook his head slightly.
“Please speak freely. You were the first follower of the Light I ever met, so you mean a great deal to me. Please, don’t hold back.”
Raphthio fell into thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Very well. If that’s what you wish, so be it.”
Silence resumed after that, but Leon waited without impatience.
If anything, it was Raphthio who seemed anxious.
Or rather, he appeared to be studying Leon intently with his characteristic perceptiveness.
Yet the density of that piercing awareness, which would normally have felt like needles against skin, was strangely muted today.
Just as it had been when they met again in Elderit.
‘Has he received another Oracle?’
The Oracles Raphthio received varied widely.
Some were proclaimed openly to the world, while others were kept secret.
Some were held in strictest confidence within the cult, known only to a select few.
It was entirely possible that Raphthio had received a new Oracle without Leon’s knowledge.
……
While Raphthio hesitated over his words, Leon employed his now-refined senses to control his aura perfectly.
Compared to how anxious he’d been in Elderit right after his regression, wondering if Raphthio might detect Arcerial, this was nothing short of remarkable progress.
‘……Again.’
When Leon noticed Raphthio’s index finger tapping slowly against his thigh beneath the table, he understood that whatever the High Priest was struggling to say was genuinely difficult for him.
Or perhaps it was an extremely personal matter.
With this much reluctance, that seemed more likely.
Reaching that conclusion, Leon decided to take the initiative and break the ice for Raphthio.
“Is there something you wish to say?”
“……Word of your deeds—subduing the Mutant-Infected Creature in Silvaren Forest and saving countless people in the Eastern Gorge—has spread across the entire continent. Have you heard that an invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. I received word from the Knight Commander of Ayla’s Knight Order.”
So it was about the invitation.
Leon felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he waited for Raphthio to continue.
“You seem quite composed, receiving a summons from the Imperial Court.”
“I was surprised when I first heard of it.”
“You don’t appear so now. You came straight from the Knight Commander’s tent, and you only heard the news moments ago.”
“I simply regained my composure quickly.”
“That’s surely a good thing. It’s wise to possess such a skill.”
With the brief praise, the air in the tent grew subtly heavy.
Leon could sense intuitively that the Imperial invitation was merely bait for opening the conversation—the real matter was only now beginning.
Raphthio set aside his characteristic gentle smile and spoke in a more grave tone.
“I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“I would recommend that you seek entry into House Servalin.”
“……What is your reason?”
Leon made no attempt to hide his wariness.
Against someone like Raphthio, who possessed senses as sharp as those of an elite knight, showing immediate suspicion was far more natural a response than clumsy composure.
“The Imperial Court is a nest of vipers. And for a commoner, that viper’s nest becomes a fatal weakness—even if you are a Stigma Manifestor blessed with Golden Glory.”
Having said this much, Raphthio’s expression twisted slightly, his mouth corners pulling back.
It was the kind of sickly smile peculiar to someone who had endured something.
“It’s somewhat embarrassing for me to say outright, but House Servalin, to which I belong, is one of the most renowned noble families in the Roscardia Empire. I can assure you I would become a steadfast patron to you.”
Leon did not respond immediately.
And Leon fell silent, as if carefully weighing Raphthio’s proposal.
Raphthio allowed Leon to believe he was cautiously guarding against this sudden show of goodwill, calculating the gains and losses of the offer.
But Leon, who knew Raphthio’s nature better than anyone, was troubled by something entirely different.
Rather than rush to a conclusion, Leon posed a question.
“Your stated reason benefits me. What does House Servalin gain from this?”
Raphthio chose his words carefully in response.
As though he wished to avoid any misunderstanding whatsoever.
Yet the explanation that followed was something Leon found utterly impossible to accept at face value.
“……It would be difficult for you to accept merely that I wish to help a young boy without a proper patron, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then know that I wish to establish ties early with a Stigma Manifestor of promising future.”
“…….”
The added explanation was certainly plausible.
On the surface, at least.
Yet what Leon could not shake was the lingering doubt: was this truly Raphthio’s real reason?
But regardless of his doubt, Leon’s answer was already decided.
“I accept gratefully.”
“You agreed far more readily than I expected.”
“Though my birth is humble, I have long heard tell of House Servalin’s renown. There is no reason to refuse such an offer from a house of such standing.”
Leon was no longer naive enough to be easily deceived, whatever hidden motives Raphthio might harbor.
Indeed, it suited him well.
For the value that the Servalin name carried was considerable, just as Raphthio had said.
Before his return, he could not have leveraged that value, but the Leon he was now had full confidence he could wield that influence to great effect.
Moreover, Raphthio’s claim that the Imperial Palace was a nest of vipers was no exaggeration whatsoever.
Within that vast serpent’s den, the Servalin name would prove invaluable for rooting out the corrupted fruit entangled with those scattered across the continent.
So he would don the shield of Servalin and gladly march into that heart of darkness.
And with his own hands, he would cut down their throats.
* * *
‘Irritating.’
【You’re more irritable than usual today.】
‘The uniform is uncomfortable. And the fatigue from travel keeps piling up.’
Roughly adjusting the collar of his dress uniform that drew his neck taut, Leon fixed his gaze on the enormous golden doors before him.
‘If only I’d had a day or two to rest.’
The past ten days—from receiving the Imperial summons to entering Rostelion, the capital of the empire—had been an exhausting journey in every way.
Worse still, upon arriving at Kars Village, he’d barely had time to recover before preparations were complete and he had to depart immediately for Rostelion.
【The real problem seems to have been that complainer and the fanatic bickering endlessly.】
‘True enough. If the other carriage hadn’t held only Commander Ayla and High Priest Raphthio, I would have truly…….’
Sion and Tristan, whom he’d shared a carriage with for all ten days, had behaved with such childish pettiness.
He’d suspected their relationship was poor, but being forced into such cramped quarters with them both was something Leon had not anticipated would be this bad.
He only later came to appreciate how fortunate it was that his illness upon reaching Kars Village had allowed him to avoid being caught in the middle of their unbearably petty quarreling.
And since their pathetic bickering had continued right up until now, mere steps from entering the banquet hall, Leon’s exhaustion could only deepen.
“Pretending to look at ease just because you’re noble-born?”
“You seem quite uncomfortable, Lord Barca. Though I suppose someone who doesn’t normally wear his uniform properly wouldn’t find such an occasion pleasant. My apologies—I should have been more thoughtful.”
“Want to die?”
“We’ll enter shortly. Both of you—be quiet.”
Only after Ayla fired those words at them with a glacial tone did Sion and Tristan finally fall silent. Corbin, who had been trembling with suppressed laughter on his shoulders this whole time, finally covered his mouth and sank into a seat. Even Raphthio, standing foremost, could be seen biting his lip to contain his mirth.
Even the High Priest at the front seemed to be stifling laughter, his lip caught between his teeth.
And in a voice that had not yet shed all its amusement, he whispered softly.
“Let us proceed.”
At the same moment, from beyond the massive, heavy doors came the sonorous cry of a chamberlain ringing out clearly.
“The noble Light Cult, representing the righteous will of Arcerial! High Priest Raphthio Servalin and his contingent! Commander of the Second Knight Order of the Light Cult, Ayla Harben! Elite Knight of the Light Cult, Corbin! And the heroes who resolved the great disappearance in the Silvaren Forest and Eastern Gorge of the Ilseyran Region! Lord Sion Arcadius, Lord Tristan Barca, and Lord Leon!”
Before the chamberlain’s announcement was even finished, the massive doors began to part slowly with a deep grinding sound.
And beyond them, dazzling chandeliers flooded the space with light so brilliant it stung the eyes, and the Imperial Palace’s grand banquet hall—brimming with the greed and vanity of hundreds of nobles—finally revealed its overwhelming presence.
“…….”
The moment the doors opened, the noise filling the vast hall fell silent as if by illusion.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes turned as one toward the newly arrived faces.
They were sticky, utterly blatant gazes meant to confirm the heroes of exceptional deeds, and most especially the young boy at the center of attention.
Sheathed in arrogant superiority—eager to witness the spectacle of a common peasant trembling beneath the weight of the Imperial Palace’s majesty.
Those stares were thick and heavy enough to freeze even Sion and Tristan, who had been snarling at each other mere moments before.
【Behold those eyes. They are no different from serpents hunting their prey.】
It was arrogant delusion.
The prey would not be himself, but them.
Leon stepped forward without hesitation into the very heart of the nest, where hundreds of serpents writhed and coiled.
Continues in the next episode ▶
A holy knight who made a contract with an evil god
Author
Ram Dat
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
March 27, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227066
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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