Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: The Puppet Pope
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A chill ran down her spine for no reason. As the conversation awkwardly trailed off, Juliet spoke up.
"If I wait, my companions will come to rescue me..."
Her words lost their strength.
The same unease from before reared its head.
Would they really come looking for her?
Would even one person notice she was gone and come searching?
As if reading Juliet's thoughts, Hildegart suddenly interjected.
"It's no use."
"Why?"
Lost in thought, Juliet snapped a little.
"Because your friends and family won't even notice you're missing."
Juliet caught the implication hidden in Hildegart's words.
It wasn't just that they wouldn't come to rescue her—they wouldn't even realize she was gone?
"...What do you mean by that?"
* * *
"Where the hell did she go...?"
Theo had woken up early in the morning and started rummaging through the Terrarium.
No matter how he thought about it, he was certain the person he'd seen yesterday was Juliet.
"Hey, you!"
But just then, Theo spotted a familiar silhouette and rushed over.
"Do you have any idea how much I've been looking for you since yesterday?"
Theo lashed out right away.
It was only natural that his mind eased at the sight of her.
He hadn't been at the banquet hall last night when all the chaos erupted.
The wolf was injured, Juliet was covered in blood—they said.
He'd thought he should at least check on her out of worry.
And then, while chasing after her, Juliet had vanished into thin air.
At any rate, seeing her face put his mind at ease.
He had no idea why Juliet was emerging from the west wing, where the priests lived, instead of the east wing for VIP guests.
Theo glanced up at the room she'd just come out of.
This was the ritual preparation room...?
"Theoharis Levatan."
"What?"
Did you just say my full name?
Theo was a bit flustered.
Upon closer inspection, today's Juliet seemed somehow off.
Her complexion was unusually pale.
Her voice sounded strange too.
"Theoharis."
"Huh?"
"I don't want to talk right now.
Leave me alone."
"Oh... okay."
Theo's expression turned serious as well.
Slam.
The door shut right in front of him.
Juliet had gone back into the room she'd just left.
Theo hurriedly checked the nameplate again.
Ritual preparation room?
"What the hell? Why's she acting like that when I was worried?"
Theo grumbled as he turned to leave. Seeing her face had eased his mind a little.
Scritch scritch scritch.
"Huh?"
Theo flinched at the faint sound from beyond the door.
It was somehow grating on his ears.
*
"A doll... you say?"
"That's right."
What Hildegart told her was hard to believe.
"A doll that speaks and moves like a living person. Indistinguishable from a real human on the outside."
Juliet blinked silently.
Even after spending seven years in the north and seeing all sorts of bizarre monsters, she'd never heard of such dolls.
'At least I've seen dead corpses come back to life and move...'
But those at least couldn't speak.
"Otherwise, why would the world think I'm dead?"
For the first time, Hildegart raised his voice in frustration.
That was true.
Pope Hildegart VIII, famed for his steadfast integrity, was publicly known to have passed from a silver death.
"But why go to such... elaborate lengths?"
Juliet asked cautiously, but Hildegart smiled faintly.
"You're wondering why he's kept me alive all this time?"
"Yes."
"Because I refused the succession."
"Succession?"
Hildegart explained what succession was.
It was something like a memory magic left by a previous pope for their successor upon death.
But Sebastian, who had deceitfully seized the papal throne, hadn't received the necessary memories from Hildegart. Instead, he'd imprisoned her alive here and was extracting the memories bit by bit as needed.
It was hard to believe.
"He locked me away here and manipulated my final words through my doll outside."
"But how can you be sure? I mean—"
Sebastian wouldn't have confessed his outside atrocities to her.
Juliet was curious how Hildegart knew for certain that his doll was being used to forge his will.
"How do you think I know?"
Hildegart smiled faintly again.
Ah.
Juliet suddenly felt that smile was eerie. And with that, realization dawned.
"There have been others since then."
After Pope Hildegart VIII's death was faked, others had been dragged to this underground prison and suffered the same fate as her.
"Yes, just as you guessed, Lady."
Hildegart let out a quiet sigh.
"For several years, countless people were brought here. Especially right after Sebastian falsely succeeded to the papal throne outside."
*Cough cough.*
A faint, muffled cough suddenly echoed from the dark behind him, startling Juliet.
"There's someone else imprisoned here right now?"
"Probably. We just guess when we hear signs like that from time to time."
Hildegart answered calmly, as if accustomed to it, but Juliet's expression grew grave.
The underground cells around Hildegart were all empty, but hearing something like a presence meant this prison was vast.
How many people were trapped here?
It suddenly clicked.
The sinister rumors surrounding the new pope.
Rivals vanishing without a trace, and the recent mysterious disappearances in Lucerne.
'Now it all fits.'
Juliet suddenly thought to ask.
"But why haven't you asked me anything?"
Hildegart hadn't even asked her name.
His unexpected answer, as he gazed at her intently, was this:
"Because you resemble Via."
"Who's that?"
Even as she asked, she had a rough idea.
That madman had called her 'Via' earlier.
Probably a lover or wife or something like that.
A lover for a priest who'd vowed chastity and devoted body and soul to the church his whole life—it was a bit odd.
At any rate.
Who could know what went on in a madman's head?
Juliet brushed it off.
"There should be a locket necklace on the clothes you're wearing."
"Necklace?"
Looking down at her front, Juliet indeed found one.
She pulled out a gold locket necklace from the collar that she hadn't even known was there.
It was a locket for holding a portrait or lock of hair.
Unlike the other items in the house, which were antiques, this one's design was from decades ago, but it was genuine.
*Click*, the locket opened.
"...Is this woman Via?"
Peering inside, Juliet felt an indescribable sensation.
It held a finely detailed portrait of a woman.
"Yes. Zenobia. Such a lovely girl."
Zenobia.
So that was her name.
Just as Hildegart said.
Zenobia, smiling shyly, had a gentler look about her, and aside from her violet eyes, she could pass for Juliet's long-lost twin sister.
"In my life, I'd never seen a child blessed with such abundant divine power.
Had she lived, she would have at least become a cardinal."
Hildegart's voice thickened with emotion, but Juliet felt a chill.
'She really does look just like me.'
"My first assignment as a low-ranking priest was overseeing the orphanage."
It was from decades ago, when Hildegart was young.
Juliet recalled the ruins she'd seen upon entering Lucerne.
"It was the site of a major fire.
They don't use the old building anymore."
So that's where the orphanage had been.
Both Sebastian and Zenobia had been children left there.
It was common enough.
Poor parents struggling to survive would leave their children at the temple's facilities.
If a child was lucky enough to have divine power, even a commoner could rise to high priest.
"Zenobia was especially gifted with divine power. Tremendously talented..."
Then one day, a fire of unknown origin broke out.
Many children died or were injured, and unfortunately, Zenobia was one of them.
"Ah, I see."
Juliet listened half-heartedly while meticulously examining the underground prison's walls with the lamp. It seemed unlikely, but there might be a clue to escape.
Just because the madman had a backstory didn't make his crimes any less criminal.
But Juliet couldn't help being shocked by Hildegart's next words, sighed out.
"They were such close siblings."
For a moment, Juliet doubted her ears.
"What did you say?"
"Didn't I mention? Zenobia was Sebastian's sister."
"Shh."
Scritch scritch scritch.
Her shock was brief.
Suddenly, Hildegart pressed a finger to his lips.
Forgotten Juliet