Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Revelations on the Road
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Clap, clap, clap. The sound from the front door made Rachel and Enoch turn their heads that way.
“What a wonderful conversation. Miss Rachel.”
Priestess Peace approached, clapping her hands.
“Everyone takes Enoch’s efforts for granted, but not you, Miss Rachel.”
“Well, consistent effort is hard work, after all.”
“Exactly. Humans aren’t machines. We grow by occasionally straying a bit and taking proper rests.”
Priestess Peace patted Enoch’s back. Enoch turned his head shyly.
“Remember this, Enoch. Pull a string too tight, and it snaps.”
“I don’t always pull it tight.”
“But you never loosen it either.”
Rachel nodded at the exchange between them.
Even in past loops, Enoch had never faltered once, waking her every dawn for training. She had gladly endured that effort.
Only days with visitors or when snow or rain fell were Rachel’s rest days.
“Why that look?”
Enoch showed doubt at Rachel’s clouded expression.
“It’s nothing.”
“That’s not nothing—your face looks strange!”
“It really isn’t. Shall we head out?”
Rachel passed through the entrance and stepped into the courtyard.
Her parents, who had been locked in a passionate display of affection in front of the carriage, spotted Rachel and quickly separated.
“Ahem. You’re out early?”
“I can see why Priestess Peace came inside.”
Priestess Peace wore a benevolent smile.
“A harmonious marriage is something to bless.”
“So she says.”
Rachel left those words behind and boarded the carriage.
Enoch followed her into the carriage, and only after Henri shared a fierce embrace with Evelyn did he climb aboard.
“Take care, dear! Rachel, listen to your father.”
“Yes.”
Rachel waved through the small carriage window. Once the brief farewell ended, the carriage soon started moving.
Henri gazed longingly out the window. Seeing this, Rachel made a comment.
“You must’ve wanted to stay glued to Mother all this time—how did you hold back?”
At Rachel’s sarcasm, Henri shot back.
“You look like your mom, but why’s your personality like that?”
“Guess my personality takes after you, Dad.”
It was like spitting in his own face, so Henri held his tongue.
Until last year, his daughter had been wary of him, but now she spoke sharply—and since his own actions were to blame, he couldn’t scold her.
The carriage interior fell silent for a long while.
There had been times when Enoch chatted animatedly with her, but now he sat with eyes closed in meditation, reviewing their sparring.
Much later, Henri finally spoke.
“Yesterday... is what you said true?”
“What?”
It was yesterday for him, but ages ago for Rachel.
She vaguely remembered major events, but detailed conversations were mostly hazy.
With time loops repeating, events that happened in one cycle sometimes vanished.
Rachel began to flounder in the waves of her memories.
“That your uncle’s targeting you, and Evelyn dies two years from now.”
‘Right, we had that talk.’
At Henri’s explanation, Rachel nodded faintly. She gradually recalled the conversation.
“You won’t believe me, Father, but shall we talk anyway?”
Rachel rested her chin on laced fingers.
“Father, House Emporus is a family contracted with a demon.”
“Is that true?”
Enoch, whom she thought was meditating, reacted first, leaving Henri unable to speak.
“Yes. They offered their daughters as sacrifices to demons and built their wealth. Father, it’s not that House Emporus never had daughters—they died right after birth, so none made it into the family records.”
“No...!”
“The records go back to ancestors before they received their title, right? The contract dates from then and has continued.”
His hands trembled. He seemed to mull over his daughter’s words, staying silent for a while.
But Rachel’s words weren’t finished.
“Have you never wondered why all your ancestors’ wives died young?”
His shoulders twitched as he listened to his daughter.
“You have, haven’t you? They killed them for bearing daughters. To hide the fact—or perhaps because they interfered with offering the daughters as sacrifices.”
For a man who loved his wife, it was unimaginable.
The carriage jolted. The tremor in his hands amplified, spreading to his shoulders.
“Your uncle is a Pseudo-Contractor. That’s why he’s targeting me and plans to kill Mother, who’s in the way. If we go to Harpa Castle to confirm this...”
Her voice lowered. The atmosphere turned somewhat eerie, as if telling a ghost story.
“We’ll all die.”
With that, Rachel straightened up and clapped her hands.
The two men, who had been listening spellbound, flinched.
“Why didn’t you tell Priestess Peace? If you had, she could’ve contacted the temple for help...!”
“Enoch, regrettably, the Church isn’t perfect. What would change if we told the temple?”
“We could execute the Black Sorcerer.”
Enoch answered without hesitation. It was the Church’s duty, so an utterly natural response.
Rachel nodded, tapping her knee with her index finger.
“Right. We could catch the Black Sorcerer hiding in Harpa Castle. But that’s it. If we’re lucky, we snag your uncle too, but the contract passes to someone else.”
“Then do you have a way, Rachel? How do we stop the contract from passing on?”
“We have to bring down House Emporus. Even if someone keeps the castle, we need to seize every asset until anyone can see the house is ruined. The Church doesn’t have that authority, right?”
It was true.
The Church could execute Black Sorcerers but couldn’t arbitrarily dispose of their assets.
Even if they did, it required the nation’s permission.
“Your uncle’s with the Third Prince’s faction. So we make the Second Prince’s faction tear into House Emporus.”
“Is that possible?”
“I’m going to meet someone who can help. He’s very picky and suspicious, but he loosens up with a priest along.”
The explanation ended. Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her head and back against the seat.
The carriage’s jolts transmitted through her back, but Rachel had long grown used to the discomfort.
‘Even if I get used to everything else, I can’t get used to regressing.’
Grind. Her teeth clenched.
It reminded her of regressing after Chris caused Henri’s death.
‘Our family tried to help him!’
Chris’s face came to mind.
Tears streamed down his face, but his mouth smiled.
A look of sorrow for killing his helper, yet joy at surviving himself.
Thanks to that, she could abandon all pity for him.
The carriage kept rolling. Before reaching Harpa Castle, the sun set, so they prepared to camp by the forest river.
The coachman gathered dry branches nearby and began digging with a shovel. Rachel pulled out a pot from the carriage.
“Let’s go together.”
Enoch picked up vegetables like potatoes and onions and suggested they go together. The two headed to the river.
At the water’s edge, Enoch squatted and began prepping the vegetables.
“You’re good at this?”
She had known him long, but this was a first.
Rachel blinked and asked. Enoch replied without taking his eyes off the potato.
“Yes. Labor is sacred. I did it a lot at the temple.”
“I see.”
Rachel filled the pot with water. Then she blankly watched Enoch’s hands.
His white hands gripped the kitchen knife, swiftly chopping all the vegetables to uniform sizes.
The chopped veggies went into a wide wooden bowl.
“Shall we head back now?”
By the time they returned, a small campfire was lit.
Enoch stuck thick branches around the fire, hanging the water-filled pot and an empty one over them.
He put butter in the empty pot, added onions once it melted, then tore and added jerky.
In the other pot where the water was boiling, Enoch dropped in the prepped vegetables one by one.
He added seasonings and eventually mixed everything together.
“Enoch? Planning to ruin the food?”
With tomatoes added, the reddish dish resembled lava.
Seeing the freshly made, dubious visual, Rachel chided him, but Enoch scooped some with a wooden spoon and held it to her lips.
“Blow on it—it’s hot.”
Rachel eyed the spoon suspiciously, blew, and opened her mouth.
“Huh?”
“How is it?”
“Why is this so good?”
Thinking it was poison cooking, she tilted her head at the unexpected tastiness.
“Did you purify it once?”
He understood her meaning at once and lightly replied while stirring with the ladle.
“I don’t make poison.”
“Cooking well too? You’re a cheat.”
Watching Enoch cook reminded her of the red-haired man she met at Flora House before.
‘Who the heck was he?’
She knew nothing but the name Karl, yet his intense impression made him pop up often.
Once the cooking finished, Enoch served the soup into dishes.
Rachel shook her head at Henri, who hadn’t lifted a finger during the whole process.
“What were you doing, Father?”
He pointed to one side with his spoon. A blanket spread on the bare ground stood out.
“Sleep there.”
Not just Rachel—even the coachman and Enoch’s expressions turned subtle.
“You treat the outdoor ground like a bed.”
It was spring now. But nights were chilly.
With cold rising from the earth—perfect weather for lockjaw—he thought sleeping on one blanket was fine.
“You’re hopeless.”
“You grew up soft.”
Even the polite Enoch subtly roasted him. But Henri didn’t notice.
“I was loved growing up. I was smart, you see.”
At Henri boasting proudly, Rachel just focused on slurping her soup.
After the meal, the coachman dug up the ground, laid heated stones, and spread dry straw on top.
Returning from dishes, Rachel thought the coachman had the world’s toughest job.
‘How’d he end up hired by our family?’
Yet aside from pity, the bedding he made was cozy.
Her back was toasty warm. Henri and Enoch flanked her sides, and a blanket overhead blocked the wind.
Plus, from her lying spot, the Milky Way was visible—a poetic touch.
“So many stars.”
“The twinkling ones look just like your mother’s hair.”
“How did you survive in the capital?”
“I just endured.”
“But no matter how I think about it, you’re the one at fault, Father.”
Henri knew it too, so he couldn’t argue. Soon, he acquiesced instead of rebutting.
“I’m glad you realized it now, at least.”
“Of course. Enoch, you sleeping?”
“Not yet.”
“Good night then.”
“Good night, Rachel. Sweet dreams.”
After Enoch’s farewell, her eyes grew heavy. She felt she’d have good dreams, as he said.
‘Something I had to do comes to mind, though...’
Drowsiness numbed her thoughts. Rachel decided she’d remember tomorrow and fell into deep sleep.