Chapter 137
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137
The Duke looked away from Canna, a silent signal that she was permitted to stay.
Good, that’s settled. Now, what should we talk about? Is it finally time to ask about Amaranth directly? Seeing as Lady Agera used a spell circle, the one tucked inside Amaranth's diary must have originated from here.
As I mulled over how to bring it up, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the Duke’s pen against paper. Then, a page turned, and he broke the silence.
“So. I hear you are distributing holy water?”
How did he know that? I was planning to tell him today.
Then again, I had mentioned it to Rico, so he must have heard it from her. Rico! I thought she was on my side, but she’s still playing the spy? Of course, being a mature adult, I decided to be generous and overlook it without holding a grudge.
“Yes. If we have them drink holy water, we can weed out those who ate the rats.”
Pretty genius, right?
It was the method Pudding had suggested. That boy is so smart. Isn't he a prodigy?
Using holy water was a brilliant approach because it wouldn’t harm ordinary people. If they drank it, we had a guaranteed way of identifying and dealing with the hosts. And if anyone refused to drink it out of fear, well, that made them a prime suspect.
“Seeing how confident you are, you must have already tested it,” the Duke said, his brow furrowing.
Was he upset that I’d experimented on someone in the estate without his permission? But the subject was Nigella, who was definitely a host!
“I used Nigella. You can hear the details from Rico.”
Oops. The sarcasm slipped out before I could stop it. I just felt a pang of betrayal, knowing Rico was reporting my every move to the Duke.
As soon as the idea came to me, I’d had Rico bring Nigella to Canna. They tested several methods and confirmed that the holy water only worked when ingested, not when sprinkled on the skin.
Of course, I didn’t witness it myself. I wanted to participate, but Canna was so overprotective—insisting she couldn’t let me be present when we didn’t know what might happen—that I had to stay put.
She warned me so fiercely not to even go near the holy water. I mean, what did she think would happen? That I’d melt on contact? Does Canna think I’m made of cotton candy? I’ve already touched holy water more than twenty times while cleaning up rat carcasses.
But because the usually gentle Canna had pleaded with such a cold, deadpan expression, I ended up promising not to get involved. It’s always the nice people who are the scariest when they get serious.
Instead of me, Rico stepped in to assist Canna.
“Since its effectiveness has been proven, surely you understand.”
Even if I didn’t see it, Rico did, so she could explain it to the Duke. Or perhaps she already had.
“…From now on, never lay a hand on a member of this household without my permission. Nigella is the only exception I will tolerate.”
Yeah, yeah. A maid is more important than your disowned granddaughter, is that it? I felt my words would drip with sarcasm, so I just smiled instead of replying. The Duke looked like he wanted to say more, but realizing it was pointless, he just sighed. He really had softened up. The “family regret” trope was finally on the horizon.
It seemed the matter of Nigella was settled. I wondered what else there was to say, but the Duke hesitated for a moment before speaking, his tone suddenly tense.
“That holy water… do you intend to make Agera drink it as well?”
He was incredibly serious, as if the entire conversation had just been a prelude to this question.
“Lady Agera?”
Was there any need for that?
Piecing together what I’d heard from Rico, the ‘rats’ were ultimately a manifestation of Amaranth. They were created to fill the void left by Lady Agera’s daughter. Since the creators needed Lady Agera, they wouldn’t have infected her. If there was anyone in this estate who didn’t need to drink holy water, it was her. Conversely, the one in the greatest danger was me.
“Lady Agera doesn’t need to drink it.”
At my answer, the Duke let out a visible sigh of relief. It was the first time I had ever seen him look so vulnerable.
But why was he so worried in the first place?
“Is there a reason why Lady Agera shouldn’t drink holy water?”
“…As you know, is Agera not possessed by a specter?” the Duke asked, rubbing his face with a lamenting sigh. Even as he spoke, he sounded deeply embarrassed by his own wife. He loved her enough to catch rats for her, oppose the temple, and even bring me—the granddaughter he detested—to keep her company, yet he was ashamed of her? What a hypocritical, petty old man.
No wonder he threw Amaranth away and cut ties with her.
I felt a sudden surge of duty to correct his rotten mindset.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Grandfather, but Lady Agera will be perfectly fine even if she drinks holy water.”
“Nonsense. Agera is possessed by a specter and has even dabbled in sorcery. It is only natural that she has incurred the wrath of the Sun Goddess.”
A wave of irritation washed over me. This was absolutely, definitely not because I had grown fond of Lady Agera.
But think about it. Even while suffering from dementia, there were exactly two people Lady Agera recognized without fail: Amaranth and the Duke. Her memory was stuck decades in the past, and he had aged so much he should have been unrecognizable, yet she still knew him.
And this was how he acted. How could I not be furious?
“Your Grace.”
I addressed him by his formal title, drawing a line between us. I had purposely called him “Grandfather” every time just to get on his nerves, so using his official title felt foreign.
“What do you actually know, Your Grace? You knew absolutely nothing, yet you cut down what Lady Agera summoned and brought us to this point. Can you truly claim to know more about sorcery than I do?”
Trying to lecture me—the one who started resolving this crisis less than a week after arriving—was like trying to teach a fish how to swim. The Duke knew this all too well, so he remained silent.
“Lady Agera is not possessed by a specter. She is just… sick.”
“It is an illness that cannot be cured with holy water.”
“Such illnesses exist in this world.”
What a cruel, ignorant world. Just because holy water doesn’t work, they claim someone is cursed or possessed. As if being sick wasn’t miserable enough, they brand the person a sinner. It made me bitter because I knew so many people like that. Just thinking about Ryder made my chest ache.
I had no idea what that young child could have possibly done to be called cursed, yet they had vilified him for it. It was utterly ridiculous how all talk of his curse vanished the moment Ryder died and Melek possessed his body, walking around perfectly fine. Ironically, with Melek inhabiting his body, now was when he was truly possessed by a spirit.
“Using sorcery doesn’t make you a demon. She won’t die if she drinks holy water.”
In fact, even I—who had used sorcery to plant Jeremia's soul into Azazel's body—didn’t die from touching holy water. When Hena poured it on my hand to treat the wound from Azazel's sword, it was ineffective, but it certainly didn’t kill me. The holy water didn’t work simply because Evangeline's body was constitutionally immune to it, not because she was cursed.
But the Duke rejected my words.
“…That contradicts everything I know to be true.”
Well, of course it did. The temple was bluffing, lying to preserve its authority. With a villain like Bishop Marik in charge, there was no way the temple was clean. Besides, in most stories, religious organizations are always the bad guys.
“Didn’t I tell you? Your Grace’s common sense is shallow.”
“…Then, as you say, Agera has neither been abandoned by God nor possessed by a specter…?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“What utter nonsense!”
The Duke roared, slamming his hands on his desk and flipping it over. That temper of his—the one that had thrown a wine glass at me during our first meeting—was still very much alive. Yes, now he’s finally acting like himself. He’d been treating me like a granddaughter so suddenly that I’d almost thought he was a different person. I figured I’d humored him enough.
Canna threw herself in front of me to shield me.
Papers scattered through the air. The inkwell went flying, splashing pitch-black ink all over the Duke before clattering to the floor. It rolled to a stop at my feet, leaving a dark streak across the strewn documents.
The Duke looked ready to grab me by the collar. I tapped Canna on the shoulder, gesturing for her to step aside. When she hesitated, I spoke.
“Step aside, Canna.”
“But, Miss…”
“It’s fine. Go on.”
I hated using a commanding tone with Canna, but I was terrified she might get hurt trying to protect me. Though trembling, she couldn’t bring herself to disobey and moved away.
Yet, the Duke didn’t approach. He looked like he wanted to throttle me, but he was holding back. He really had softened since our last confrontation. So, I took a step toward him.
Then, I firmly grabbed both of his hands, stopping him before he could throw anything else. The Duke tried to shake me off, but I was surprisingly strong. My physical strength seemed to surpass that of an average adult man—was this some kind of “villainess buff”? Sure enough, with his hands in my grasp, the Duke couldn't budge an inch.
“Why are you so angry? Because I spoke the truth? Are you going to threaten to tear out my tongue again?”
“Silence! Do you think I am incapable of carrying out that threat? This time, I will personally cut out your tongue so you can never utter such nonsense again!”
Honestly, I didn’t even understand why he was so furious. Hadn’t he already admitted this was all his fault? He should be blaming himself, not Lady Agera. He was the one who’d been babbling about being a sinner.
“You know the truth. You’re just taking your anger out on me.”
“Silence!”
He could yell all he wanted; I wasn’t about to stop. With both his hands pinned, he couldn’t cover my mouth anyway.
“You love Lady Agera, don’t you, Your Grace?”
“……”
Ah, fascinating. He didn’t even try to deny it. So his love for her was real. What a twisted romantic.
“If you love her, then believe me. Lady Agera is fine. She is just a little sick. The fact that she cannot be cured with holy water is not because she is cursed.”
“……”
“I can swear it on my mother.”
The words slipped out from habit. It was all the fault of those rotten kids back in my world who would constantly say, “Swear on your mom?” at every little thing.
But mentioning her mother—Amaranth—seemed to work. The strength drained from the Duke’s hands. Sensing he was no longer about to strangle me, I let go. As expected, he didn’t try to strike me. Instead, he took a step back, averting his gaze as if trying to escape my words.
“…How could…”