Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Fake Saintess's True Identity
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"Hello, everyone!"
As usual, Astridje was in her office, receiving reports from her retainers gathered around her.
"There's something I must reveal to all of you."
"Kairen?"
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Kairen with a hint of surprise as he burst into the office without knocking.
"The person right next to me..."
"Kairen, wait a moment..."
"...is not the fake saintess—she's the real one!"
Before Astridje could say anything, Kairen pointed vigorously at the fake saintess beside him and shouted.
"......"
A heavy silence descended upon the office.
"...How should I explain this?"
The retainers cleared their throats awkwardly and averted their gazes downward amid the sudden turn of events. Astridje, who had been watching Kairen quietly, finally spoke with a troubled expression, rubbing her temple.
"Kairen, the fake saintess incident has already been thoroughly investigated on our side."
Kairen's face went blank for a moment upon hearing that.
"The one beside you is indeed a fake."
"What?"
"I don't know why you've gotten this misconception, but I can assure you."
Astridje began to gently persuade him in the kindest tone she could muster.
"After she arrived at the mansion, we ran the tests again just to be sure, but..."
Kairen interrupted her midway, speaking urgently.
"I-I can prove it!"
"......"
"L-Look?"
As Kairen reached out to touch the fake saintess beside him, black smoke began to rise from his hand.
- Sizzle...
He had been holding back tears welling in his eyes, but he yanked his hand back with a grimace.
"Ow ow ow."
But only for a moment. He soon thrust his burned hand forward emphatically and raised his voice.
"See? She has holy power!"
"Hmm..."
"If she were a fake saintess, my hand wouldn't have burned!"
Astridje, seated at the head of the table and listening silently, gestured to the maids waiting outside the door.
"...Bring him in."
Less than a minute later, someone was dragged in with a gag in their mouth.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Wh-Who is that?"
"A criminal who committed heinous crimes in Belverk territory."
Astridje gave a brief explanation to the startled Kairen, then signaled. The maids restraining the prisoner grabbed his hand and pressed it against the fake saintess.
- Sizzle...
To everyone's shock, the prisoner's hand began to burn just like Kairen's.
"Huh?"
Kairen stared blankly before breaking into a cold sweat and speaking up.
"Th-This... Yeah, he's a bad guy, so the holy power is purifying him..."
"That's not all."
Suddenly, Astridje tossed a stack of discarded documents from beside her desk at the fake saintess.
- Sizzle...
As the fake saintess absentmindedly caught them, the entire bundle began to rot away in her hands.
"Not only people—even objects decay upon touching her hands."
"......"
"I don't know what kind of ability it is... but one thing is certain."
Seeing Kairen finally fall silent, Astridje let out a sigh and continued her explanation.
"She is absolutely not a saintess..."
"Sh-She's definitely under some curse!"
But before she could finish, Kairen raised his voice again.
"Look at that wronged expression on her face. And I know—the Holy Church's backers... Well, it's not confirmed yet."
"Kairen, you must never assert anything without certainty."
Kairen flinched mid-defense and trailed off. Astridje, looking quite awkward as she pressed her forehead, offered him some advice.
"I-I know!"
"......"
"Something's suspicious about the Holy Church right now!"
Despite that, as Kairen persisted, Astridje averted her gaze quietly and fell into thought.
'...I know that too.'
Of course, Astridje was well aware that the Holy Church was suspicious.
'But I can't let you get involved in something like this again.'
Knowing Kairen's personality all too well, she wanted to sever any ties to the Holy Church before he could be put in danger once more.
'And above all, you're mistaken this time.'
Moreover, Astridje knew the true identity of the person beside Kairen all too well.
"S-So, at least hear her side first..."
"...Cool your head first."
In the end, with a somewhat darkened expression, Astridje issued an eviction order to Kairen.
"So, step out for a bit."
Kairen opened his mouth as if to protest, then furrowed his brows and dashed out of the room.
"I hate you, Mom!"
Leaving behind those utterly shocking words.
"......"
About five minutes after Kairen left the room.
"...Hoo."
Astridje, who had been sitting dazed with her mouth agape as if the shock hadn't worn off, finally came to her senses and sighed.
"How utterly ridiculous."
Then, with a sudden cold glare at the fake saintess left alone, Astridje spoke.
"When did your skills improve so much?"
"...Pardon?"
"Now you've changed not just your personality, but your appearance too. To the point where I have to observe this closely to see through you."
As she addressed her in an icy tone, the fake saintess, who had been glancing nervously, broke into a cold sweat and looked down.
"Wh-What do you mean..."
"Truth is my light."
"...Pardon?"
Suddenly, Astridje began reciting cryptic phrases.
"Darkness never forgets."
"Um... Eek?"
"Light remembers the darkness."
"St-Stop...!"
The fake saintess stared blankly at Astridje before staggering from a sudden splitting headache and collapsing to the office floor.
"Ah, aaaah...!"
"Your name is Licht."
At that low whisper from Astridje, just as the screams escaped her lips...
"......"
The fake saintess's eyes lost their light, her screams ceased, and her pupils gleamed black as she rose from her seat.
"Hierarchy Demon Rank 1, Licht. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Having finally regained her original personality, one she was duty-bound to remember.
"Why didn't you just tell me it was you from the start?"
"...My apologies. My personality had been swapped out."
"You could switch personalities on your own for a short time without me reciting the phrase."
Astridje fixed her gaze coldly on Belverk's head maid, who had returned to the mansion after so long, and began her interrogation.
"But revealing my identity carelessly would undermine the value of my infiltration mission."
"Still, did you have to fool even me?"
"There was no order not to deceive the family head."
Astridje shook her head in exasperation at the rigidly dutiful response, as always.
"You didn't fool your other personality too, did you?"
"Correct. My other personality currently believes herself to be a commoner-born true saintess."
She shot a glance at her longtime personal maid, who had never shown a shred of flexibility, and let out a deep sigh.
"...For some reason, Kairen seems convinced you're the real saintess too."
"Yes, it appears so."
"No, haa... Never mind."
Astridje, who had opened her mouth as if to scold her further, realized they still didn't communicate well and changed the subject.
"...How are things with the eldest daughter?"
"Then, I shall begin my report on double-agent activities."
The head maid straightened up immediately, as if she'd been waiting, and launched into her report.
"The eldest daughter's movements are highly unusual at present."
"......"
"Of course, the eldest daughter's faction doesn't fully trust me yet, so information is restricted, but..."
She lowered her voice slightly and finished chillingly.
"...Rebellion may occur soon."
A brief silence settled over the office.
"It would be more like a succession battle than outright rebellion."
"......"
"I myself became family head through a succession battle. It's a right guaranteed to heirs."
Astridje corrected sharply amid the silence, and the head maid spoke quietly.
"But the line between a succession battle and rebellion is one the family head knows best..."
"...Enough."
Astridje cut her off before she could finish.
"Watch your words."
"...My apologies."
As Astridje warned with reddened eyes and a chilling expression, the head maid bowed her head silently and fell quiet.
"I understand the situation with the eldest daughter. Now explain this incident."
Astridje ordered the report anew from the now truly reticent maid.
"Originally, I was supposed to be retrieved by the eldest daughter's side while maintaining the saintess personality. That was the plan."
"...So Kairen's unexpected actions derailed things."
"It was difficult since my personality hadn't switched back, but I extinguished the lights to aid the eldest daughter's side, so I shouldn't face suspicion."
Astridje, who had been listening silently while tapping her pen, tilted her head and asked.
"Was infiltrating the Holy Kingdom as the fake saintess also the eldest daughter's faction's plan?"
"Yes. They created the personality of a commoner girl who received a divine revelation to seize the Holy Church from within."
"Then, was there a reason the plan went awry?"
The head maid's impassive expression turned eerie for a moment.
"The real saintess appeared."
"Hmm."
"The timing was rather unfortunate."
As the two emanated a tense atmosphere, the retainers in the office all paled and bowed their heads. The head maid's report continued.
"I've heard the Holy Church has been quite chaotic lately."
"Yes. Currently, the Pope's faction and the saintess's faction are at odds."
"Do you know the details?"
"The orthodox faction, led by the Pope, upholds the existing doctrines of the Holy Church. The reformist faction, led by the saintess, pushes new doctrines. That's the conflict."
Recalling the information from the emperor who had recently visited Kairen's room, Astridje frowned and asked further.
"How serious is this conflict?"
"In my view, it's verging on civil war."
"Hmm..."
Astridje pondered briefly.
"Which faction led the experiment on Kairen?"
Her eyes flashed red as she asked chillingly, and the head maid, bowing slightly, reported in a low voice.
"...I haven't identified that yet."
"......"
"My apologies. They're such a closed group..."
Astridje closed her eyes quietly at the response, then nodded and spoke.
"That's enough for the report."
"Shall I rejoin the eldest daughter's side now?"
"...Not before you do something for me."
The head maid, preparing to leave, paused mid-step.
"Any command."
She elegantly lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed, ready to obey her master's orders as always.
"Play along with Kairen."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not joking. This is a very important mission."
For the first time since beginning to serve Astridje, she looked up with a questioning retort.
"...Kairen yelled at me."
Astridje's expression had already turned sullen, lost in her own thoughts.
"And... he said he hates me."
"......?"
"That's never happened... before."
To the head maid, who had only ever seen her master's blood-splattered face or emotionless corpse-like demeanor, this was utterly incomprehensible.
"Could puberty have come early? If so, I need to prepare in advance..."
Yet Astridje muttered anxiously, wearing the expression of a novice mother flustered by her sulking child.
"...What are you doing?"
She suddenly looked up, issuing a command to the dazed head maid with reddened eyes.
"Go play along with him, Licht."
Thus, following Astridje's orders, Head Maid Licht stepped blankly into the corridor.
'Not a difficult command.'
After a brief fluster at her master's unfamiliar demeanor, she schooled her expression coldly and murmured inwardly.
'Just play along with the child.'
As Astridje's personal maid since her unremarkable days, this was an exceedingly simple task for her.
'...Has the family head softened so much?'
Strolling quietly down the corridor, she pondered with a chilling expression.
'Over just one child, why...'
Just as her gaze turned utterly merciless...
"Ugh..."
"......?"
"...I said some awful things to Mom."
Suddenly, a sullen voice echoed from the far end of the corridor.
"......Ah!"
The head maid halted. Kairen, who had been crouching and mumbling dejectedly, suddenly looked up.
- Pat pat pat...
He ran over with a bright smile, arms outstretched toward her. Licht froze, unsure how to respond.
"...I've been waiting, Big Sis."
Kairen nestled into her frozen embrace, beaming innocently.
- Sizzle...
"...Get off."
As black smoke rose from Kairen's entire body, the head maid snapped to her senses and shoved him forward urgently.
"Hey, Big Sis."
"......"
"I don't have proof yet, so I can't clear your name."
Undeterred, Kairen looked up at her earnestly, standing on tiptoes.
"But I can protect you."
He rummaged in his pocket, blushing slightly.
"To keep Mom and everyone from messing with you... this is the only way."
"......"
"So..."
Suddenly, he pulled out a flower and waved it. The head maid stared at it coldly.
"Go out with me from now on!"
At Kairen's thunderbolt declaration, she gaped in stunned silence.
"...Fake dating!"
Kairen added softly with a bright, crinkling-eyed smile into her ear.