Chapter 109
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Before I Knew It, Eyes That See a True Powerhouse
That night, after safely escorting Sien back to the Mirmod estate, Matthias Mirmod summoned his closest friend, Grand Duke Sebastian.
He had first tried to capture the Saintess Melodia, but despite her recent release from confinement and the collaboration with the Duchess, whose rage had reached a boiling point, she had slipped through their grasp with ease.
“That woman seems to possess tremendous power. Is it the power of the gods?”
“Who knows.”
“She seemed to have a talent for bewitching people. Damn it!”
Delphia vented her frustration, admitting that she had unwittingly obeyed Melodia’s words.
It was truly astonishing to hear Delphia talk about bewitchment and obedience.
Matthias looked at Delphia and said,
“Then can you track Melodia down again?”
“For now. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Be careful out there.”
Delphia set off to capture Melodia.
In the meantime, all he had to do was sever all of Melodia’s limbs.
Remembering the prophecy book she had fled with in her arms, Matthias smirked wickedly as he summoned Grand Duke Sebastian.
From there, everything proceeded smoothly.
Matthias boldly and outrageously barged into the Emperor’s bedchamber.
But since he was a Mirmod, with Grand Duke Sebastian at his side, and the news he brought was of such gravity, his rudeness was of no consequence.
The Emperor was furious about the Pope’s kidnapping of a noble, and as they discussed how to deal with him, he suddenly paused.
The calm report from Matthias carried an eerie glint in his eyes.
“Your Majesty, the Pope has already taken his own life.”
At this moment, anyone seeing the murderous expression on Matthias’s face would never believe the Pope had committed suicide.
The Pope had clearly been killed by Matthias.
Yet the Emperor was not foolish enough to voice the truth.
Instead, he wiped his weary face and spoke.
“How fortunate that the Pope, who dared to kidnap a noble lady in my empire, steal life force from the slums’ children, and threaten imperial authority, has paid the fitting price for his crimes.”
“But there are still those who have not paid, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor frowned uncomfortably and asked,
“……Those who have not paid?”
Matthias spoke even more outrageously and insolently than his intrusion into the bedchamber.
“It is the Saintess Melodia, who fled to escape punishment the moment her crime of human sacrifice was exposed, and the Crown Prince, who dared to threaten the foundation of the empire, Your Majesty.”
And it was right then.
Whether he sensed his fate or had been tipped off by someone, it didn’t matter.
For some unknown reason, the Crown Prince burst into the Emperor’s bedchamber and dropped to his knees on the floor.
“Your Majesty! Do not listen to them. You mustn’t!”
“……Crown Prince. Calm yourself and stand. Matthias Mirmod, do you dare insult the Emperor’s bloodline?”
The Emperor’s voice carried an authority no one could defy.
But Matthias was different. He met the Emperor’s fierce gaze, intent on denying his words outright.
And it was right then.
“Your Majesty, I, a member of the imperial bloodline, have something to report.”
Sparks flew from the eyes of Grand Duke Sebastian, who had remained silent and dormant for ages, never coveting the throne.
“I have evidence of the illicit ties between the Crown Prince and the Pope, Your Majesty.”
The Duke’s words, standing quietly, left both the Emperor and Crown Prince momentarily flustered. The Crown Prince, in particular, was dumbfounded at the mention of hoarded evidence of his corruption.
“What? What nonsense is this? Trying to slander me again?”
“You must also atone for secretly offering treasures to the temple for the Saintess Melodia alone and abetting human sacrifices even among the empire’s citizens and nobles. Of course, I have evidence of that as well.”
The Emperor swallowed hard, and the Crown Prince screamed like a madman as he lunged at the Duke.
His vicious hand aimed for the Duke’s vital points.
“You bastard, how dare you!”
But the Duke was a veteran of countless battlefields.
He seized the frail Crown Prince’s arm in an instant and countered.
“Urk!”
“Crown Prince. Answer me.”
The Crown Prince writhed pathetically, glaring at the Duke.
“Let go of me!”
“I have evidence. Did you not collude illicitly with the temple, Your Highness?”
For the first time, the Duke, exiled to the north and wandering harsh lands solely because he posed a threat to the Crown Prince, raised his voice in defiance.
***
After hearing the whole story, I was genuinely impressed.
Dad and the Duke teaming up to take down the Crown Prince—villains were truly on another level.
“Ah, but there’s something regrettable about this story too.”
“What?”
It was perfect catharsis, though……
“Well, it seems the Saintess Melodia ran off with the original prophecy book.”
“Delphia couldn’t catch her?”
If they couldn’t catch the Saintess, the plan could go awry.
I was terribly anxious, but Dad didn’t seem too disappointed.
He shrugged and said,
“Yeah. She just went to catch her…… The Saintess will be caught soon. And all the important prophecies are already in our hands.”
“How can the important prophecies be in our hands if the book is gone……”
Seeing my dejected expression, Dad poked my cheek affectionately and comforted me.
“Sien, want me to tell you something fun?”
“Mm……”
“The Pope, didn’t you think he was a bit lax with managing the prophecy book?”
Hearing that the Pope had been lax with the prophecy book immediately brought something to mind.
He had used the prophecy book’s pages to light incense near the altar.
“Hmm…… A little. But I thought there must be a reason to burn the prophecy book for incense. Like a condition that it had to be placed on the altar or something. But why all of a sudden?”
At that moment, a wicked smile crept onto Dad’s lips.
It was such a sinister grin that even I, who knew him well, felt a chill.
As my eyes drooped sadly, Dad hurriedly waved his hands and flashed his ‘gullible nice-guy smile’.
“So, my daughter. Listen well. Ashid deciphering the prophecy book was something special.”
“Huh?”
“Apparently, no matter how high your divine power, you can’t properly read the prophecy book. So the temple had a secret team of priests decoding it. About half of it was decoded.”
“What does that mean……”
Dad ground his teeth and said,
“There were quite a few priests in charge of decoding, and they’ve all fallen into my hands. They know parts of the content. Let’s go hear their testimony—no, interrogate them.”
I looked at Dad with pure admiration.
‘Wow, Dad really seems like a villain!’
But there was no time to marvel.
I nodded quickly and chattered on.
“Then where are those priests who were decoding the prophecy book now? You didn’t torture them, right?”
“……Just tied them up.”
“Let’s go torture—no, interrogate them! Where are they now?”
“Mirmod estate.”
I grabbed Dad’s hand and marched determinedly toward the estate.
Right now, Ashid was working hard not to kill a Mirmod. I had to do my utmost too.
That’s when we returned to the estate and faced one of the priests.
A priest, bound head to toe like a prisoner, looked at us with teary eyes.
“P-Please spare me! I’m innocent……”
“That depends on what you say, priest.”
Dad kicked the tightly bound priest lightly with his foot, then quickly straightened up when he noticed my gaze.
I gave Dad, still trying to put on his pious act, a cold look and said,
“Don’t hit him. We need to hear his testimony.”
I gazed at the priest with a hint of pity.
Of course, he was on Melodia’s side, but there didn’t seem to be solid proof he was fully aligned with her yet……
Above all, his pristine priestly robes were soiled with dirt and sweat, turned gray like a rat, which made him look a bit pitiful.
‘Keep your heart cold until we get the info, Sien.’
I thought of Ashid and steeled myself.
Then, I glared at the priest, whose pale lips trembled, and spoke.
“Priest, testify about your relationship with the fugitive Saintess Melodia. I heard you know about the prophecy book.”
“W-Well, I’m a priest who helped Saintess Melodia decode parts of the prophecy book……”
He trembled violently, biting his fear-turned-purple lips nonstop, barely able to continue.
I raised an eyebrow uncomfortably and asked Dad,
“Can you explain, Dad?”
“This one’s a priest who secretly decoded the prophecy book with Melodia. From what he said, even Melodia couldn’t fully decode it. That’s why she took the book and ran—to buy time to decode it.”
The priest hesitantly added,
“Y-Yes, that’s right. Melodia gave fragments of the prophecy book to some priests with strong divine power. Then she had them decode the contents. It was extremely difficult, so they had to pour out all their divine power—some vomited blood or went mad……”
“……That much?”
Melodia’s obsession with the prophecy book was tongue-tied worthy. Seeing my discomfort, Dad patted my shoulder and said,
“Keep talking.”
“Melodia said once the prophecy book was fully decoded, the world would change. Everyone would worship the gods, and the Saintess and Pope would sit at the top…… Those blessed by the gods would become the most special.”
“What did you decode?”
“What I decoded wasn’t much. Um…… It said the world would move as written in the prophecy book.”
I shrugged.
I had no intention of believing such ‘fatalism’.
There was one useful hint from the priest’s words.
In short, Melodia hadn’t fully decoded the prophecy book either.
“That’s enough then.”
Dad smiled softly at me too.
“Yeah, just catch Melodia, and we can change ‘fate’. Ashid will…… come back safe and healthy too.”
The priest—no, the prisoner—with purple lips clacked his front teeth together nervously and hurriedly said,
“Th-Then can you let me go now……”
“No. Shut your mouth—no, be quiet. You’re not leaving until the prophecy book is in our hands.”
At Dad’s belated pious act, I furrowed my brow, clung to his arm, and whispered,
“Still, he’s cooperating, so treat him well.”
“Should I?”
The priest glanced between me and Dad, then crumpled his body toward me, bowing obsequiously despite being tightly bound, looking utterly pitiful.
“Th-Thank you! You’re amazing! I don’t know much, but I’ll cooperate fully!”
The priest’s eyes, once filled with fear, had somehow turned into those that recognize a true powerhouse.
What the heck, this is really burdensome!