Chapter 102
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102
Jeremia stood dazed, stunned by Gabriel’s words, before finally managing to speak.
“Tenebrae…”
She fell into deep thought for a moment, then spoke as if she had come to a decision.
“You two are trying to stop Bishop Marik and Tenebrae, aren’t you?”
It’s not that we’re trying to stop them, I thought. Bishop Marik was the one who picked this fight.
After muttering her twin’s name, Jeremia seemed to steel herself. “I will help in any way I can.”
“Thank you, Lady Jeremia,” Gabriel replied readily, as if he had been waiting for her to say just that.
Even though Jeremia was in Azazel’s body, she still bore a remarkable resemblance to Gabriel. Was it the shared bloodline?
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
Come to think of it, Gabriel is royalty, isn’t he? And not just any royal—he’s first in line to the throne, ahead of Oratorio, that ridiculously handsome, blond imperial grandchild. If we’re fighting Bishop Marik and Tenebrae, doesn’t that mean we’ve unintentionally been dragged into a war for the throne?
I could already guess how the story would unfold from here. It seemed this novel was destined to end with Gabriel becoming the Emperor.
* * *
After sorting things out with Gabriel and Jeremia and deciding on our next move, I returned to the dungeon.
Fortunately, the guards hadn't changed shifts yet. Sir Ante was lying on the bed with his face covered, wearing my dress.
Pudding, who must have overexerted himself using wide-area magic against Azazel, had reverted to his cat form and was now cradled in my arms. When he saw Sir Ante occupying the bed, he scowled and tried to scratch him, but I held him back.
“Pudding. Be a good boy, okay?”
Let it go, Pudding. Sir Ante even wore a dress to create an alibi for us. Let’s give him a pass just this once. As I gently stroked his fur, Pudding retracted his claws, satisfied.
“Sir Ante.”
“Lady Rohanson! You’re back!”
Sir Ante lifted his head, his face bright red. He was clearly embarrassed to be caught lying in a bed wearing another woman’s dress. I pointed to the garment and asked, “Did anyone come by while I was gone?”
“Yes. A few of the guards… Ah, I apologize for putting on your dress without permission. I heard footsteps coming down to the basement, so I threw it on in a hurry.”
I was about to tell him how well it suited him, but I figured that would only humiliate him further. I held my tongue and changed the subject.
“You weren’t caught, right?”
“No, no. The other knights stopped by to check, but they must have thought I was sleeping because they left right away.”
Phew. Thank goodness. Since Sir Ante and I have a similar build, they didn’t seem to notice the switch.
“Was that guy okay?” I asked, concerned that the abusive knight who had been tormenting Sir Ante had retaliated in my absence.
Sir Ante nodded vigorously. “Yes! He acted completely human.”
He used to be a thug who’d all but thrown his humanity away, but I guess he was finally a decent person now. Since he’s human again, maybe I should start a campaign to eradicate workplace violence. I bet it would be a massive success.
“So, Lady Rohanson. How did things go? Did you find Lady Tenebrae?”
“Yes. I found her.”
Ah. Sir Ante and the others wouldn’t know that Tenebrae and Jeremia had been swapped. I debated how to explain it, but since I couldn't be sure if I fully trusted him yet, I just nodded. If I told him and the information leaked to Bishop Marik, it could get dangerous.
“…How did you injure your hand?”
Sir Ante’s eyes went wide as he stared at my heavily bandaged hand, as if he’d seen a ghost. Since I’d left and returned with an injury, he was bound to be worried. I was so touched that I almost blurted out the whole story. I need to keep my mouth shut.
“I made a mistake while handling a sword.”
I conveniently omitted the part about blocking Azazel’s attack on Pudding. The core of the matter was that I got cut by a blade, so it wasn’t technically a lie.
“Oh, and you’ll probably hear news soon that Lady Tenebrae has passed away.”
When I gave him the heads-up, Sir Ante’s face turned pale.
“Is that why the sword… Y-you definitely said you wouldn’t participate in executing Lady Tenebrae…?”
Don’t tell me he thinks I went and sliced Tenebrae up.
So much for being touched. Do I really look like that kind of person? I guess Sir Ante has heard his fair share of the rumors about me.
According to Gabriel, the gossip had gotten much worse while I was locked up. The mastermind was Bishop Marik, but the rumors painted me as the one controlling the Princess, spreading spellbooks to breed heresy, and manipulating demons.
None of it was true. It felt like Bishop Marik was deliberately leaking these stories to make me out to be the root of all evil.
“Of course, I didn’t do it,” I clarified with a gentle, innocent smile. There really was a lack of trust between us. While the others I was close to had usually received my help at some point, my relationship with Sir Ante was strictly transactional.
Ah, I just realized I forgot to mention him to Gabriel. But since Bishop Marik is probably watching like a hawk right now, it might be better to bring it up after things have settled down.
I felt a pang of guilt, like I was just using him. I have to tell Gabriel next time that there’s a talented individual here. Let’s get Sir Ante a special promotion to Paladin through connections! In this damn class-based society, you might as well ride the right coattails.
“And don’t worry, we weren’t caught,” I added, remembering how he had trembled with fear that the other knights would find us out. “Isn’t that a relief?”
“Yes, yes. It is,” Sir Ante replied, visibly relieved.
“Sir Ante. Take this.”
“…Holy water?”
Although Evangeline’s body is cursed and holy water has no effect on me, I thought it would be good to have some for emergencies, so I’d grabbed a few vials from the Rohanson mansion. I planned to use them if Gabriel or my kids got hurt. While packing them, I remembered Sir Ante limping after being beaten by that thug, so I decided to give one to him.
“It won’t do to leave your leg in that state for too long.”
“Thank… thank you. Thank you so much, Lady Rohanson.”
Sir Ante accepted the vial, his gratitude overwhelming. He looked far too apologetic. It’s all give-and-take, Sir Ante. This isn’t charity; it’s payment for staying locked in this cell for me.
He drank the holy water immediately, and the effect was incredible. That one small vial instantly healed his ruined leg.
“It would be best to keep limping in front of others for a while,” I advised.
He was already taking flak for supposedly colluding with me. If his injury suddenly healed, it would seal his fate. Sir Ante nodded, understanding the situation.
Before long, the other knights came down to the basement to signal the shift change. Sir Ante took off the dress, stood outside the cell as if nothing had happened, and gave me a slight nod as he left.
Once he was gone, I told Pudding to return to the mansion, since he couldn’t be seen by anyone else. He put on a cute act, not wanting to leave, and I almost wavered. But I managed to maintain a stern expression and told him to go. Pudding gave my hand a playful, painless bite, then vanished in a flash.
Now I was alone. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bed.
Searching for Jeremia, fighting Azazel, discovering the truth about the spell circle, and planning for the future with Gabriel… it had been an incredibly busy day.
My eyelids grew heavy with fatigue. When I woke up, the news of Tenebrae’s execution would have spread throughout the entire Imperial Castle…
* * *
Evangeline had returned to the dungeon first, explaining that there wasn’t much time before the guards’ shift change.
This meant the knight currently on duty was already on her side. She had also told them that if they needed to contact her, they could pass a message through a knight named Antenor Nain.
While Gabriel committed the name to memory, Jeremia prepared to say goodbye to her own corpse.
They had already agreed to hand Jeremia’s body over to the Emperor. According to Bishop Marik’s plan, Jeremia was supposed to have been killed by Azazel, not resurrected in his body. To prevent the Bishop from suspecting anything, Gabriel and Jeremia had decided to play along.
“Lady Jeremia. Thank you for agreeing to my suggestion,” Gabriel said, bowing politely.
Even if her soul now inhabited another body, it would be strange not to feel any lingering attachment to the vessel she had lived in her whole life. Jeremia had made a monumental decision.
“You saved me. I am merely returning the favor.”
Since she could never return to that body anyway, it was better to be of some help to Evangeline and Gabriel. Even as she thought this, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. To look upon one’s own corpse—what a truly bizarre moment.
Seeing it from another’s perspective, it was indeed difficult to distinguish her from Tenebrae. With the black necklace, anyone would believe it was her twin. And, come to think of it, Jeremia’s corpse would be announced as Tenebrae’s.
Regret and longing dripped from Jeremia’s eyes as she stared at her body. Watching her, Pudding chimed in with a complaint.
“Astaroth doesn’t make such sentimental faces.”
Jelly snickered. “Yeah. That bastard is supposed to have a baseline level of smug obnoxiousness.”
“Astaroth is a hedonist with an incredibly short temper,” Pudding added.
“It’s also hilarious how he’s sensitive to smells when he reeks of fish himself,” Jelly finished.
Pudding and Jelly took turns badmouthing Azazel under the guise of explaining his character. Jeremia was torn. Should she join in on trash-talking the man she also disliked, or should she be offended, since she now had to live in his body?
“Tart. Get it together.”
When Jelly called her by that bizarre name, Jeremia asked, bewildered, “Where did the nickname ‘Tart’ come from?”
It was derived from Azazel Astaroth.
“It’s Lady Evangeline’s naming style. Why, you don’t like it?” Jelly asked shamelessly, pouting.
No wonder, Jeremia thought. I did think it was strange that their names were Pudding and Jelly. Lady Rohanson certainly has a unique way of naming things.
She quickly changed her tune. “No, I like it very much.”
“That guy over there is Meringue. Tart is better than Meringue, right?”
Both were terrible. Unable to voice her complaints, since Evangeline herself had chosen the name, Jeremia bit her lip in frustration. However, since the outward appearance was that of Azazel biting his lip, Jelly and Pudding squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of him making such a face.