Chapter 247
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247
The priest hesitated for a brief moment before shaking his head.
“No. He did not go quite that far. You know better than anyone what kind of temperament His Highness the Crown Prince possesses, Your Holinesses…”
“Sigh…”
The High Priests let out a collective, strange sigh.
They exchanged glances and stepped forward.
“We can no longer stand by and watch the Crown Prince be seduced by evil.”
“Your Holiness? What do you mean by…”
“The Saintess continues to vomit blood, and the Crown Prince is destroying sacred relics! The root of this evil is undoubtedly Frezier!”
One of the representatives of the delegation spoke up cautiously.
“...Your Holiness. The House of Grand Duke Frezier is a family of great renown. However…”
“In the name of the Divine.”
Startled by the High Priest’s solemn tone, the surrounding priests hurried to their knees.
“Recently, the Grand Princess of Frezier took it upon herself to become the lord of the ‘Belus Territory,’ a land abandoned by God located in the Borderlands. It is clear that something treacherous and foul is manipulating her…”
“...”
“As servants of the Divine, it is only right that we put an end to this calamity! From this moment forward, the Grand Temple will use all its might to purge this evil!”
The moment the High Priests gave their authorization, the clashing of blades and shouts erupted from all directions, piercing the air.
* * *
“Those crazy bastards! According to that precious Continental Law they love so much, they’re supposed to wait at least an hour after a public declaration!”
Leon Frezier spat out a curse as he swung his sword.
“Back off! You sons of bitches! Have you all lost your damn minds?”
But the Holy Knights only swung their swords back, their eyes bloodshot. It required a significant amount of skill to merely knock unconscious knights who were lunging with lethal intent, fighting as if they were ready to die.
Fortunately, Leon Frezier boasted swordsmanship skills that were unprecedented even in the history of the Academy, but not every knight under his command was the same.
It was a desperate struggle.
The longer this bloody battle dragged on and the more blood was spilled, the more disadvantaged Frezier became.
If it were only the Frezier family gaining a bad reputation, he wouldn't have cared.
‘If that were the case, I’d just kill them all! I’m pissed off enough as it is!’
However, because of Tulia, Leon Frezier had to suppress his murderous intent.
She was the undisputed Grand Princess, and she had directly accused the High Priests.
Among the believers, there were many who were truly devout, but there were also those who had gone fanatically insane.
What if Tulia was put in danger?
He could follow her and protect her for the rest of his life, but what if she was attacked by fanatics during a brief moment when he was away?
And so, Leon Frezier broke the legs of the Holy Knights as peacefully as possible.
“Aaargh!”
“Go to sleep, you bastard.”
He had already knocked out over forty Holy Knights by striking them hard on the neck.
Leon Frezier strode forward with his sword in hand, his eyes constantly reading the flow of the battlefield.
The Holy Knights were numerous.
Whether it was because of the High Priest’s declaration or because violence had already broken out, knights from the Kingdom Alliance delegation were also drawing their swords and joining the fray.
But if one looked closely, it was obvious.
While the Holy Knights pretended to attack the Brillant Knights and the Frezier Knights in front of them, they were gradually shifting toward a specific direction.
If so, she would be there.
That ill-tempered girl whom the High Priests feared so much.
He hadn't heard anything about Tulia’s exact whereabouts, but it wasn't difficult to figure out which area needed defending.
If she had decided to go there, then he had to protect that path.
* * *
“Found it!”
When I shouted with a feeling close to ecstasy, a question came from right beside me.
“Lady Tulia. Is this the place you were looking for?”
“Yes. Ramus.”
Ramus Jeremiah.
My slave.
My subordinate.
My informant.
He was currently being utilized for a different purpose.
He was following me with the gagged Corico tied to his back.
To be clear, I hadn't ordered him to come inside and serve me.
It was entirely Ramus Jeremiah’s own choice.
What was it he said?
That he could never miss an opportunity to learn the secrets of every nook and cranny of the Grand Temple?
‘I guess you really do have to risk your life to become the best at anything.’
Being half-insane was a bonus, of course.
Ramus Jeremiah asked, “Lady Tulia. Is there really an Extreme Poison Relic inside here?”
“Probably?”
“Probably…”
That was right.
The justification I had used from the start to search the Grand Temple was that the High Priests had tried to poison the Saintess, Corico.
I looked around with a sense of grim satisfaction.
“To think they hid it in a place like this…”
Honestly, it was staggering. I never imagined the place I had searched for so desperately would be decorated so luxuriously.
At first glance, it looked like a simple drawing room for VIPs. It was a grand space, like the villa of some tycoon, decorated everywhere with lavish tapestries.
The floor was laid with beautiful olive-green marbled stone, and the exquisite furniture made of dark oak was generously gilded at every corner.
Lace curtains made of rich, smooth, and glossy taffeta perfectly isolated this cozy space from the blood-soaked scene outside.
“Gentlemen,” I said.
“Break everything in here.”
“By your command!”
“You cannot!”
For the record, there were quite a few people here besides me, Ramus, and Corico.
There were the knights under Frezier’s command, as well as high-ranking priests.
Since the High Priests might try to fabricate a story that I harmed Corico (which was technically true), I had dragged these priests along as witnesses, captives, and a way to vent my frustration.
“We found the Grand Princess of Frezier!”
“She’s in here!”
“This is the place!”
Just then, a commotion erupted from the entrance.
I turned around. A swarm of priests with bloodshot eyes was pouring in.
Behind them were Holy Knights with swords drawn, and even numerous members of the delegation and their subordinate knights.
“Grand Princess Frezier! Surrender quietly!”
“Surrender?”
I rolled my eyes once and asked, “Is the Kingdom Alliance here to attack Frezier and Brillant? Is this war?”
“Stop the wordplay! According to Continental Law, we will no longer tolerate any more violence!”
“Is that so? Then should we just let our Corico keep vomiting blood like this?”
At those words, the eyes of the Alliance delegation turned toward Corico. She was still spewing blood.
Ramus Jeremiah’s back, where he was carrying her, was soaked crimson, so there was no need to describe how gruesome the sight was.
Then, a High Priest stepped forward and spoke.
“It is true that the Saintess became like that after taking the potion I gave her. However, we have already determined the cause to be a side effect of her divine power.”
“...”
“So, cease this conflict at once. We have already reached a conclusion, so by what right does the Grand Princess trample upon the hallowed Grand Temple?”
[System] Would you like to use the Benefit ‘Kingdom-Toppling Beauty’?
‘Ah.’
My impulses were getting hard to control…
The urge to just blow up these babbling High Priests was…
I started racking my brain to come up with a justification.
Or rather, I was about to.
“Is a justification necessary?”
The need to think quickly vanished.
I turned around and my eyes widened.
“Frezier has already had the safety of its direct lineage severely compromised.”
Leon Frezier was walking in, his sword hanging low.
He was covered in blood from head to toe, making him look like a monster from a battlefield. It was a sight that naturally stole one's breath away.
“Don’t you dare try to stop my sister. Haven't things already come this far anyway?”
“...”
The members of the delegation stammered at his words.
It was true.
The situation had already reached this point.
What reason did Frezier have to turn back now?
None.
“And my sister is the Grand Princess of Frezier. Her will is the will of Frezier.”
Leon Frezier stood before me like an immovable mountain and spoke.
“Keep doing what you were doing, Grand Princess.”
“...”
I immediately turned my head.
“Smash all the furniture and tear up the walls and floor!”
“By your command!”
“Grand Princess Frezier!”
“Stop this instant!”
“Don’t look back. Just keep going!”
The last voice was Leon Frezier’s. I watched without blinking as the knights began to frantically demolish the drawing room.
“...!”
Slowly, a strange silence began to spread. Massive pieces of furniture were being reduced to splinters.
And beneath the walls and floors that were being torn and ripped away… an unnervingly orderly layer of bricks was revealed.
And then…
“...What is that?”
“Are those stains… bloodstains?”
“What on earth is…!”
A massive iron door, heavily smeared with brown bloodstains, appeared.
Anyone with eyes could see it now.
This drawing room was nothing more than a deception, and behind the luxurious facade lay an unknown, secret place.