Chapter 243
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 243
“Kyaaa!”
“The Saintess, Saintess Corico is…!”
“Call the imperial physician! Quickly! Where is the physician?!”
In an instant, the Grand Banquet Hall descended into pandemonium. Those who managed to scream were actually among the more courageous.
More than half of the nobles, many of whom had only just celebrated their coming-of-age, were rooted to the spot, unable to move. Every single one of them was paralyzed with terror.
“M-Mother…”
A young lady with dark navy hair asked in a trembling voice.
“Can a person… really vomit that much blood…?”
“Shh…”
The countess reflexively covered her daughter’s mouth, but she too was trembling, her skin crawling with goosebumps.
It wasn’t just them. Something was wrong with the Saintess.
Corico Frezier. The Saintess, said to be the only remaining flesh and blood of the late Grand Princess Hyacinthia, was acting far too strange.
Even if one were to grind tens of thousands of grapes in a millstone, they wouldn't be able to produce that much juice. How on earth was she vomiting up such a staggering amount of blood?
It wasn't just strange… it was revolting. She looked less like a Saintess and more like a monster.
The nobles, caught in their own sacrilegious thoughts, hurried to turn their heads away. Then, with eyes full of even more guilt, they looked back at Corico, who had collapsed and was still retching up blood.
“The imperial physician is here!”
Several physicians rushed over and examined Corico, but they couldn't provide an immediate answer.
Eventually, even the Emperor and the Grand Duke of Frezier, who had been frozen on the dais, descended to demand answers.
“Physician! What is happening to the Saintess?!”
“Corico! Pull yourself together! Corico!”
“Y-Your Majesty…! Your Grace…!”
The elderly head physician, who oversaw all medical matters for the imperial family, hurriedly offered a respectful bow.
“I beg your forgiveness, but I cannot determine the cause of the Saintess’s condition. Does she perhaps have a chronic illness?”
Grand Duke Asis Frezier shouted in a fury.
“A chronic illness?! Corico is healthy! She has never been diagnosed with anything of the sort!”
However, the physicians were also breaking out in a cold sweat. They were desperately attempting various treatments, but the blood pouring from Corico’s mouth showed no sign of stopping.
“Your Majesty! Your Grace! The High Priest has arrived!”
“Saintess!”
Just then, a group of priests was seen rushing through the entrance. The one leading the charge was none other than the High Priest himself.
The startled nobles hurried to pay their respects, while simultaneously being reminded of Corico’s standing.
She was the Saintess. Important enough for even the High Priest to come running in such a frantic state.
Emperor Alexander was the first to raise his voice.
“High Priest! What has happened to the Saintess?!”
“Your Imperial Majesty!”
The High Priest spoke calmly as he pulled a small vial from his robes.
“It has not been long since she underwent the Saintess Ceremony. She is suffering from side effects because she cannot handle the overflowing divine power!”
“…Divine Power Side Effects?”
The Emperor’s voice wavered slightly at the High Priest’s words. The murmuring of the nobles took on a subtle shift.
Side effects caused by divine power.
Was that not a term all too familiar to the nobility of the Brillant Empire?
As if by unspoken agreement, their wandering eyes all converged on a single person.
* * *
‘Aren’t religious people supposed to be pure and simple?’
Contrary to my expectations, the High Priest’s silver tongue was quite cunning. Thanks to that one phrase, ‘Divine Power Side Effects’…
‘Everyone is stealing glances at Ferdinand.’
Well, he was the Crown Prince who had lived as a young boy for all that time, after all.
Because of Divine Power Side Effects.
Thanks to this, one thing became certain: the priests cherished Corico just as much as they had once fussed over the Crown Prince.
‘Considering the atrocities they’re secretly committing, it might be even more than that.’
I smiled coldly to myself as I looked down at Corico in my arms.
Text had been flickering before my eyes for a while now.
[System] Benefit: Kingdom-Toppling Beauty
[System] Permanent use is available.
[System] You can physically ruin a ‘country’ of any scale you desire.
‘A benefit with no cooldown is truly a weapon of the gods.’
Empress Carmi’s shoes were a successful hit.
Jjapddongbyeol was also a successful hit.
As proof, isn't Jjapddongbyeol currently a tattered mess?
And I even managed to land a indirect blow on Corico.
Yet, those rainbow-colored letters were still flaunting their presence, showing they could be used again at any time…
The beautiful colors were almost seductive, and once again, I felt like I was about to tear up.
Everyone, look at this!
Tulia, who used to be unable to use benefits freely because she was always calculating cooldowns and coin counts!
I’ve finally obtained an infinite benefit like this!
After nearly dying about ten million times!
I lowered my eyelashes slightly and stared at Corico, who was unconscious and leaking blood.
‘I’m of two minds, really.’
Whether or not to use Kingdom-Toppling Beauty on Corico. One thing was certain: if I chose the former, Corico would definitely die.
But I wasn't going to do that.
Meaning, I wasn't going to kill Corico right here and now.
It wasn't out of sympathy. I wasn't a kind enough person to feel pity for someone trying to kill me. Nor did I want to be.
‘Tulia doesn't have a high Villainess index for nothing, you know?’
The reason I wasn't blowing Corico up right now was simple.
‘If I kill her, it’s over.’
I instinctively realized that doing so would be like scrubbing away the clues I had worked so hard to find.
I wanted to know the secrets of this world. To be precise, I felt a strange pressure that I had to perfectly understand the truth behind ‘Han Ina’ and ‘Tulia Frezier.’
Who am I, and why did my mother die?
How are Main Quests and Benefits being delivered to me…?
And above all, Kim Ddong-byul.
Who the hell is that guy?
To find out all of this—to see it through to the end—I steeled my heart once more.
When I closed and opened my eyes, my vision was as crimson as autumn leaves.
Grandfather, who had been looking at Corico with a cold expression, spoke.
“Tulia. Put Corico down. Your arms must be numb.”
“I’m fine, Grandfather.”
It was true. I was still holding Corico. The front of the dress Adel had spent days agonizing over was already being stained deep red with blood.
Except for when the physicians urgently told me to lay Corico on the floor, I never let her out of my arms.
“The Grand Princess has such deep affection for the Saintess…”
“Our children are still trembling in the back, yet the Grand Princess hasn't let go of the Saintess for a single moment.”
“As expected of a Grand Princess of the bold House of Frezier.”
“The Saintess seemed to subtly avoid the Grand Princess, but I suppose that’s because she grew up as a commoner…”
The complexions of several priests standing at the edge turned pale. They had ears, so they couldn't help but hear the nobles whispering.
Well, to be honest, those words weren't particularly helpful to me either.
‘They sound nice, but this girl doesn't seem like an ordinary person.’
She wasn't the type of existence whose story would end just by being kicked out of high society and confined to a rural estate.
To be honest, I was a little nervous.
As I tightened my grip on the arms holding Corico, the High Priest practically foamed at the mouth.
“Grand Princess! Hand over the Saintess!”
“Oh my.”
With a look of shock, I practically tossed Corico to him. Then, I immediately cried out, pretending to be on the verge of tears.
“High Priest! You’re truly too much!”
“G-Grand Princess?”
The High Priest looked taken aback instead. He clearly hadn't imagined I would react this way.
“I… I was only holding Corico because I was afraid she’d be uncomfortable…! If you say it like that, you make it sound like I’m bullying her! High Priest, do you dislike the fact that we get along…?”
“T-That is utter nonsense…!”
Who had ever dared to pick a fight with the High Priest like this? Everyone was usually too busy bowing down in awe.
Thanks to that.
“What was that?”
“Why is the High Priest acting like that? The Grand Princess was supporting the Saintess until her dress was completely ruined.”
“Doesn't it seem like the High Priest is trying to incite a fight between the two of them for no reason?”
This time, the nobles’ voices grew loud enough to be heard.
Regardless of anything else, they were the pillars of the Brillant Empire. They were bound to be more lenient toward the prestigious House of Frezier of their ‘own country’ than toward a High Priest belonging to a ‘foreign nation.’
Naturally, the High Priest’s face turned livid.
‘Hmph.’
No matter how many wicked deeds you’re committing, in the end, you’re just a High Priest.
When it comes to the swamp-like world of high society, you can’t possibly keep up with Tulia.
I said with a sorrowful expression.
“Never mind that, just save Corico first! Are you going to just let my cousin stay in pain like this?!”
The High Priest was robbed of even the timing to make an excuse. He seemed to realize that rambling now would only disadvantage him.
He eventually gritted his teeth invisibly and uncapped the small vial he had taken from his robes earlier.
The liquid, sparkling as if made from ground jewels, didn't look like an ordinary potion at first glance. If an elixir of eternal youth existed, it would surely look like that.
The High Priest carefully trickled the potion into Corico’s mouth.
‘That is just a normal potion, right?’
‘Surely it’s not another one of those horrific things made from the blood of children?’
‘But somehow, I feel like it is…’
My gut was telling me so.
I thought to myself, suppressing the urge to gag. Meanwhile, the Emperor showed his curiosity at the perfect moment.
“High Priest, what is that elixir?”
The High Priest replied as he carefully fed the potion to Corico.
“Your Majesty. This potion is a Sacred Relic. It is extremely rare, with only one bottle existing even in the Temple, but if the Saintess drinks it, she will surely overcome this vomiting of blood and regain her strength.”
“I see…”
The Emperor’s voice was calm, but as I watched his expression, I laughed inwardly.
‘If he had heard there was one more bottle left, he definitely would have tried to get his hands on it somehow.’
Even I thought of Qin Shi Huang’s elixir of immortality when I saw that beautiful potion; would the Emperor be any different?
Powerful men always show great interest in eternal youth and life.
‘But Your Imperial Majesty. You have nothing to be envious of.’
Because.
[System] Using Benefit: Kingdom-Toppling Beauty!
[System] The ‘Souls of Murdered Children’ collapse once more!
Boom!
A sound like the world was tearing apart!
A scream, incomparable to the one before, filled the Grand Banquet Hall. Jjapddongbyeol, attacked twice by ‘Kingdom-Toppling Beauty,’ was now so damaged it was hard to even recognize its shape.
And of course.
Corico, who was in the High Priest's arms, also transformed into a state far more horrific than before.