Chapter 246
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 246
“Your Imperial Highness! Please, come to your senses! You have been bewitched!”
Ferdinand asked back without even blinking.
“Bewitched, you say? And who exactly has bewitched me?”
“Why, the Grand Princess of Frezier, of course… Hic! Y-Your Highness!”
The high-ranking priest, who had been screaming until his neck turned crimson, let out a startled hiccup.
Ferdinand had just shattered the sixth sacred relic.
Ruthlessly.
Without a moment’s hesitation…
“Priests,” Ferdinand said, his voice eerily calm. “If you wag those tongues one more time, the entire temple will burn next.”
“……”
Seeing the shattered fragments of the relics—items essential for the High Priests to offer their prayers—the high-ranking priests lost the courage to open their mouths.
Their faces turned pale as they exchanged uneasy glances. When would the High Priests return? When would the Alliance arrive?
How much longer must this holy sanctuary be trampled by that devilish Frezier?
How could a Saintess have been born from such a family?
Crash!
“Y-Your Highness!”
The high-ranking priests trembled, their faces ghostly white.
They hadn't even said anything this time! Why was he suddenly destroying another relic?
Regardless of their reaction, Ferdinand remained expressionless. With a sharp tilt of his chin, he ordered the priests to be dragged away, and the knights of the 3rd Imperial Knight Order immediately carried out his command.
In the now-silent prayer room of the High Priest, Ferdinand leaned down.
“……?”
He picked up an ‘object’ that had fallen out of the relic he just smashed.
It was covered in scorched, brownish bloodstains…
Why was something like this hidden inside a sacred relic?
“……”
Ferdinand inspected the mysterious object in silence before pulling out a handkerchief. He wrapped it carefully to ensure the surface wasn't exposed and tucked it into his coat.
Then, he walked out without a backward glance.
“Your Highness.”
The Imperial Knight waiting outside bowed his head immediately. Ferdinand asked, “Where is the Crown Princess?”
It was still incredibly jarring to hear Ferdinand constantly refer to the Grand Princess as the Crown Princess, especially since they hadn't even had an engagement ceremony, let alone a wedding.
To put it bluntly, he looked like a total besotted fool.
Fortunately, the Imperial Knights were generally a taciturn bunch. Even if they weren't, no one in the world was bold enough to act flippant in front of the Ferdinand.
“She is in the west wing. I shall escort you.”
* * *
“……?”
Ferdinand handed me something strange. To be honest, it was a very unsettling sight.
I don’t even want to touch it…
It looked like it had been dipped in blood multiple times. Eerie, brownish stains were scorched onto its surface.
I wanted to call Ferdinand back, but the situation was what it was.
‘He said he found this after smashing the High Priests' sacred relics…’
“But why are you giving this to me?”
“Because you are always the one who discovers the important things.”
“You’re just saying that to dump this creepy thing on me, aren't you?”
“Not at all.”
Ferdinand let out a short laugh.
“I’m serious, Tulia.”
Perhaps because he was exceptionally tall, he disappeared into the distance with a few long strides before I could even think to call him back.
‘I’ll ask him later.’
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hall.
“Grand Princess! The Saintess has awakened!”
“Really? I should go see her. She’s being protected in the Temple of Light, right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Lead the way.”
I tucked the object Ferdinand gave me into my clothes and started walking.
The Temple of Light.
It was the place where Ferdinand had saved me from the monsters before, and the very spot where I had placed my Kim Ddong-byul in place of Jjapddongbyeol.
A makeshift bed had been set up there, and Corico lay upon it, receiving the devoted care of the priests.
“Corico just woke up?”
“Yes, Grand Princess.”
It had been my choice to bring the unconscious girl from the banquet hall to the Great Temple under the guise of ‘protection.’
Pale from the heavy blood loss, Corico stared at me with hazy eyes. The moment her eyes widened slightly—
[System] Activating Benefit: Kingdom-Toppling Beauty!
[System] The ‘Souls of Murdered Children’ is collapsing for the third time!
“Aaaagh!”
Corico screamed again, vomiting a sudden surge of blood.
“Saintess! Saintess!”
The priests surrounding the unconscious Corico turned pale, though for a different reason than before.
Seeing someone vomit blood so horrifically right in front of them—is it finally starting to feel real to them?
‘But even after losing this much blood, Corico is still alive.’
It was an amount of blood loss that would have killed a normal human several times over. Do these people really not realize something is wrong?
Perhaps they just brushed it off because she is the ‘Saintess.’
I blinked, mocking them inwardly.
‘Meanwhile, Jjapddongbyeol is still holding strong despite being tattered.’
I had suspected as much because it looked so similar to Kim Ddong-byul, but its durability was no joke.
I glanced at Jjapddongbyeol, which I had hanging from my waist like an ornament. The exterior was almost completely destroyed, but the core remained intact.
‘The system called this the Souls of Murdered Children.’
Then just how many souls were poured into it for it to remain standing after being attacked three times like this?
The thought sent a fresh chill down my spine.
‘I have to settle this here before the Alliance arrives—no, maybe even if we have to declare war like Lisian said.’
If we were to retreat from the Great Temple this time without any results, under what pretext could we ever invade this place again?
This shining temple, the spiritual pillar of the Spring Continent, revered by countless believers.
I shot a cold glance at Corico, who was still bleeding like a burst wine skin, and stepped outside.
The scene outside was still pure chaos.
‘Is there any way to speed things up?’
I was pondering the benefits I possessed when I spoke up.
“Ramus. The map is being completed in ten-minute intervals, right? Bring it to me again.”
“Were you making a map?”
At those words, I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up. A pair of amber eyes was looking down at me.
“……!”
His cheeks were a bit gaunt, but his smile was as rich as a field of wheat.
If kindness could be molded into a human form, wouldn't it look exactly like the man standing before me?
“……Benjamin?”
“Have you been well, Tulia?”
“What about you?”
“I…”
Benjamin’s gaze wavered gently, like ripples catching the moonlight.
But it was only for a moment.
“I have been well.”
He wore a peaceful, happy smile, like a child basking in enough light just by looking at me.
That was why. That was why this man felt like he would stay in a corner of my heart forever. Not as a romantic love, but under the name of a certain bittersweet affection.
“I heard the news. The Great Temple is quite vast, isn't it?”
“Ah… are you here as the representative of the Kingdom Alliance?”
Benjamin let out a soft chuckle.
“Of course not. Would I ever do anything that opposes you? I simply came to give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
“I happen to have quite a lot of things, don't I?”
Benjamin’s playful smile lasted only a moment before he held out something incredible.
My eyes widened as I unfolded the paper with a puzzled expression.
“I thought that for a man with so much, offering only a carriage and treasures as a coming-of-age gift to the woman he likes was a bit lacking.”
What Benjamin had given me was a map of the Great Temple.
* * *
“I declare by the authority of Continental Law! The unilateral search of the Great Temple by the Grand Ducal House of Frezier and the Brillant Imperial Family is a violent act that lacks legal justification under the strict judgment of the Great Kingdom Alliance!”
“Therefore, the Grand Ducal House of Frezier and the Brillant Imperial Family must immediately cease their illegal encroachment upon this sacred domain!”
“This resolution is a legal warning based on Continental Law, and we notify you that if you continue to refuse, the Great Alliance will respond firmly using all available means!”
It was a powerful declaration of will, showing they were prepared for armed conflict.
The High Priests stood supported by others, their faces haggard.
“The Saintess? Is she safe?”
“That is… the Saintess has vomited blood once more and lost consciousness…”
“……”
At those words, the expressions of the delegations from various kingdoms soured.
But that was it. They had already concluded that the act of trampling the Great Temple just because the Saintess vomited blood after taking medicine given by a High Priest was excessive.
The High Priests gritted their teeth and asked something else.
“And His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince…?”
“His Highness is already inside assisting. He even went so far as to destroy sacred relics because the high-ranking priests said a few unpleasant words to the Grand Princess…”
In an instant, the High Priests' expressions shifted sharply.
“…He destroyed sacred relics? Which relics did he destroy?”
“Just… he destroyed every relic in sight.”
“By any chance…”
A High Priest asked with a look of dread.
“Did he also destroy the relics in the High Priest’s prayer room?”