Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Vesuo Volcano
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Jade and Danel climbed up Vesuo Volcano. Though it was called a volcano, the path was well-paved all the way to the crater, and the slope was so gentle that it was actually easier to climb than an ordinary mountain. On horseback, it took only half a day.
Tourists often risked the danger to see the spectacular sight of the lava bubbling in the crater, but no one came up in the dead of night like Jade and Danel.
"Isn't it a bit dangerous to come at night?"
Jade asked.
"What choice do we have? We planned to stay at Juphea Cathedral tonight and climb early tomorrow morning, but it's already too late."
Danel replied in a tone that implied it was all her fault.
"Was Juphea Cathedral closed at night?"
"Try taking you there at this hour. The only one awake, Bishop Ducar, would throw a fit about an excommunicated priest being brought into a holy place. I'd have to spend an hour showing him the emperor's pardon to calm him down. Then I'd probably have to debate doctrine on the emperor's abuse of pardons for another three hours. Wouldn't it be better to push the schedule even if we're tired?"
"We wouldn't have this problem if we hadn't gone for that wine."
"We wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't gone looking for that grave."
"I had no choice."
"I had no choice but to drink."
"Does Bishop Ducar still resent me?"
"A lot."
"How much?"
"He believes the sanctity of Juphea Cathedral was damaged because of you."
"Was it?"
"I don't know. But I do know that the congregation has grown over the last three years."
Jade was surprised by the unexpected news.
"Grown? Not shrunk? Why?"
"How should I know?"
Danel feigned ignorance before continuing.
"People are drawn to the mysterious. Didn't you use a power I told you not to, right in front of everyone? There were plenty of witnesses. So naturally, rumors flew—some said it was demonic power, others holy power."
"I'm more shocked that it even became a controversy."
"You're depicted as a saint in some tales, a demon in others. Controversy draws crowds, crowds draw money. Juphea Cathedral has probably received more offerings in the last three years than in the previous decade. And Bishop Ducar cherishes that money dearly, so he can't help hating you for dragging him into worldly worries."
Danel continued in a voice suppressing laughter.
"Now that I think about it, he probably won't even acknowledge that the Rom priesthood reinstated you."
"That's true."
"What do you mean, true?"
"Look at us—we're clearly fugitives sneaking away under cover of night."
"That's unavoidable under the circumstances..."
"I've thought about it for three years and come to this conclusion: on 'that day,' I abandoned the priesthood myself. Even if Rom's emperor pardoned me, or even if Bishop Ducar acknowledged me, it wouldn't change my decision."
"Why are you so desperate to torment yourself? The people of Gervia seemed to like you. I've heard rumors a few times. They say you give good prayers and have a good reputation. Even Cardinal Pietro mentioned that..."
Jade cut Danel off.
"I've never prayed. When people came to me, I listened to their stories and gave advice. That just made more come. Abbot Thomas makes his sermons too difficult."
Jade gazed down at the crater below as she continued.
"Once, someone brought a broken tray. They said it was a gift in the name of God, so fix it in the name of God. I told them it would stick if they called on a blacksmith's name instead and introduced them to a good one from the north named Holson. He's incredibly skilled—nothing he can't fix. He mended the tray perfectly. Then people started calling me the priest who performs the miracle of mending broken trays."
"People believe what they want to believe and see what they want to see. So what miracle came after that?"
Danel teased.
"Nothing. People started expecting real miracles. Someone even brought a dead goat's corpse, begging me to revive it."
"Did you refuse?"
"What was I supposed to say? 'You raised it to eat anyway, so roast it well'?"
Danel burst into laughter as if it were the funniest joke. Jade continued regardless.
"That's when it started, I think. They began suspecting that my previous miracles were demonic powers."
"That's understandable. You can't blame them for thinking that."
Jade suddenly remembered and asked.
"By the way, when they heard I was to be burned at the stake, did the villagers support it or oppose it?"
"I didn't stick around to see, but does it bother you?"
"I'm not sure. Whether it bothers me or not. Whether I want to know or not."
"You think too much."
"That's true."
"You said you don't pray, but what prayer did you give Lord Braune earlier?"
Jade shot Danel a sharp glare. It felt like he was asking something he already knew. But Danel's expression seemed genuinely curious. He was such a good actor, though, it was hard to tell.
"Weren't you eavesdropping?"
"I tried, but I couldn't hear well. I only saw the lord kneel before you after you finished speaking. It was dark, so even that was hard to make out."
Jade looked down at the crater, then suddenly picked up a stone and tossed it in. The heat made it vanish midway, before it even hit the lava.
"Lord Braune knew Mitchell was a demon, too."
"He did?"
"More precisely, his wife noticed first, and then his father followed. He said Mitchell wasn't that good a child."
"Noble daughters rarely are."
"It was worse than that. He said her pranks were so vicious, it was unbelievable."
She had heard some of that even three years ago. This time, she just heard more details.
"She treated servants and slaves like animals and was very greedy. Once, while eating, she threw a plate at a Boai slave because her slice of cake was late. Then, after collapsing as if dead and waking up, she suddenly became kind."
Lord Braune had knelt before his daughter's grave, weeping as he told Jade. That's when he realized his daughter had been swapped. At first, he wanted to believe the incident had changed her for the better.
His wife was the first to notice and start fearing Mitchell. From the moment the perfect daughter of her dreams appeared before her during pregnancy, she knew something was wrong.
Then Jade declared Mitchell a demon and burned her. She was deeply shocked—not by her daughter's death, but because her suspicions had been confirmed.
For the past three years, his wife had lived in silence without speaking of it, only recently confiding in her husband. She feared being labeled a devil herself, and the terror of having lived even briefly with a demon wearing her daughter's face had kept her silent.
It was understandable. The rich, nobles, and royals of each city rarely fell from grace in an instant. Even if captured as prisoners in war, they could ransom themselves and recover within years. Droughts or plagues in their territories harmed the commoners. But religious excommunication could strip everything away in a moment.
Jade skipped the details and said to Danel.
"The question that tormented Lord Braune for three years was one: What happened to the real Mitchell? I told him she was already dead. Had she ever been a demon? I asserted no. Was there suffering in Mitchell's death? I said I didn't know, since I hadn't seen her collapse in the garden. But at least since no demon was involved in the child's death, any pain would have been natural suffering, unrelated to any evil demonic power."
At the final question that followed, Lord Braune knelt before Jade and burst into tears.
"What he said next while kneeling wasn't a prayer—it was a question. He asked about the white light and fire I showed when killing the demon. I told him it was the light that burns demons."
"A technical, stiff answer. You should have said it was the holy light that purifies evil."
"That would be a lie."
"Some lies are good ones."
"I don't think they're good lies. The demon vanished, and Mitchell returned to her original dead state. I don't want to use the word 'purification.'"
"Whether you like it or not, that's how it'll be described. So what will you call it next time you use that power?"
Jade pulled a book from her bosom. She held it out toward the crater.
Danel's mouth snapped shut in shock.
"I won't use it anymore, so no need to name it."
Jade continued, arm extended.
"Lord Braune and his wife wanted to visit me in Gervia several times but couldn't because they feared the eyes of those around them."
Danel stared at the black leather book faintly reflecting the red glow and replied.
"That's understandable. If it came out that it was a real demon, they could become targets themselves. Religious trials have spread like a fad since the Holy Grail expedition began."
In Pharens and Glitten Kingdoms, rumors said burnings replaced weekly services. Jokes even circulated that people were more used to the smell of burning flesh than incense. It was milder near Rom, but the tense atmosphere had clearly reached Gervia.
Jade didn't want to dwell on it and changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, tell me about the Holy Grail expedition."
"The emperor mentioned Vesuo Volcano."
"I'm asking about the Grail, not the volcano."
"It's connected. He said he dreamed of this volcano erupting, burying Bompei, and the aftermath setting Rom ablaze. Then an angel appeared and said finding the Grail would prevent the disaster."
Jade shook her head.
"The Holy Land Recovery War thirty years ago and the Grail expedition three years ago both stemmed from such 'visions' of unknown origin."
"Don't say that in Rom. Not even the emperor's pardon could protect you from those words."
"So Father Danel was assigned to find the Grail?"
"With you. That was my condition. And for that, we need that book."
"Why this book? Is a demon guarding the Grail?"
"Who knows."
"The Grail probably couldn't be found even with tens of thousands of troops and dozens of knight orders. And we're going to find it—just the two of us?"
"Who knows."
Jade finally pulled the book back into her bosom.
Danel turned away with a brief sigh of relief.
"Let's go. Before the volcano erupts while we're here."
"If the angel said in the dream that finding the Grail would stop the eruption, doesn't that mean we have at least a year or two?"
"What nonsense? Volcanoes erupt without warning."
"Huh? That doesn't fit the story."
Jade asked, then realized belatedly.
"Ah! Father Danel thinks the emperor's dream was nonsense too?"
"Honestly, I think he might not have dreamed it at all."
Danel mounted his horse, and Jade did the same. Under the moonlight, the two horses slowly descended the slope.
"The emperor's clever. Since Rotican's Holy Emperor proposed a Grail expedition based on his vision, he could do the same with a dream. A volcano at Bompei makes a perfect excuse."
"Then why not raise an army like the Holy Emperor? Why pick a powerless old man and an even more powerless young woman?"
"He wanted to keep it secret."
"You're saying something inconsistent again. If he's using the dream as an excuse to do something, he should proclaim it publicly. 'The angel demands the Grail!' or whatever."
"You're right. Maybe the emperor's not as clever as I thought."
"Or maybe he really did have such a dream."
"Could be."
Danel chuckled dryly.
All the way down the mountain, Jade was lost in thought.
'Father Danel isn't lying. But he hasn't told me everything. I should have thrown the book into the volcano after all. It wouldn't burn, but no one could retrieve it.'