Chapter 151
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 151
While the people didn't know the exact circumstances, they quickly realized Gabriel was the reason they were about to die. Humans on the brink of death sometimes became remarkably sharp.
"We escaped the flames, and now you're telling us to get our heads chopped off? I—I don't want to die!"
"P-please save us."
"You're a knight, aren't you...? Please, save us."
They also knew exactly how to win his sympathy. The people begged Gabriel for their lives. His childhood trauma made it impossible for him to turn away anyone begging for help. He saw his younger self, his dying friend, superimposed over their desperate faces. The world had once mistaken Gabriel's shallow conviction for goodness.
"Commander... They're the ones who badmouthed Lady Rohanson, so can't we just let them die?"
"Shut up, Michel!"
Raphaella barked at Michel for spouting nonsense and grabbed Gabriel's shoulder.
"Commander. Even if you choose them now, Lady Rohanson will understand. She is particularly soft on those she considers her own, isn't she?"
Raphaella’s words were a pretty platitude, a persuasion beautifully wrapped with a ribbon. The only flaw was that no one could know what was actually inside the box. Would Evangeline truly understand Gabriel’s choice?
"Commander, it's alright. You can save the people, just as you wish."
Raphaella's voice overlapped with that of Bishop Marik. Gabriel felt suffocated.
Why? His loyal lieutenant seemed absolutely certain he would choose the many over Evangeline. Raphaella was comforting him, perhaps worried he would feel guilty for abandoning the young lady.
But unfortunately for Raphaella, the one Gabriel wanted to choose was Evangeline.
Yes. Even after witnessing three people die just moments ago, Gabriel still wanted to choose Evangeline. The convictions he had built over a lifetime were rendered useless before her. She had become his new guiding light.
He felt that choosing Evangeline, no matter the situation, would always lead him to the right answer. The memory of the hand she had reached out to him was his salvation. Gabriel realized he wasn't so different from Michel, who everyone whispered was mad.
Above all, even if Evangeline might understand, Gabriel refused to do anything that would feel like a betrayal.
Saraka read the answer in Gabriel's silence.
"If it were the Sir Gabriel I've seen so far, you would have chosen the majority without much hesitation."
And she was deeply impressed. Truly, what kind of trick had Evangeline Rohanson used to captivate Gabriel so completely? She was indeed worthy of being the adversary Saraka had chosen.
"Ah! How wonderful it would have been if that unwavering faith were directed at Lady Rachel. If you possessed a blessed body, would that adoration have reached the Goddess?"
But she soon answered her own question, channeling the one who ruled her convictions—Bishop Marik.
"No. The almighty Goddess Rachel must have known long ago that you would choose Lady Rohanson, which is why she erased your blessing."
Saraka had meant it as a condemnation, but to Gabriel, it sounded like an unexpected compliment.
The idea that he was cursed because he was destined to meet Evangeline—ironically, it sounded incredibly fateful. If his entire unwelcome past existed solely so he could be saved by her... then perhaps a sliver of value had finally been granted to a life that had been nothing but a cycle of abandonment.
Gabriel chose Evangeline with his silence. Yet, he could not completely turn his back on the people of the mansion. Though he had not chosen them, if Saraka ordered the knights to slaughter them, Gabriel would gladly lay down his life to stop it.
Saraka lost interest in his unwavering attitude.
"How boring."
What slipped out was her true nature. Loathing that she had let her mask of Bishop Marik slip, even for a moment, Saraka wanted to leave quickly. No one else would have noticed, but she couldn't tolerate it. As expected, she couldn't mimic the Bishop perfectly. Not yet. Not when she hadn't killed Evangeline or achieved feats as grand as her idol's.
"I shall respect your wishes, Sir."
Fortunately for Gabriel, Saraka had no intention of slaughtering everyone in the mansion. According to Hena, even if they meant nothing to Gabriel, they would serve as useful hostages against Evangeline. They would also be useful in testifying that Evangeline was a demon.
"I shall offer you a different choice, Sir."
Instead, Saraka declared, she would punish Gabriel. Her original plan had been to drive a wedge between him and Evangeline by forcing him to testify that she was a demon. Since that had failed, she would at least subdue him so he couldn't interfere. She couldn't kill him—his bloodline was too useful. He was a perfect pawn to use against the Emperor.
"You may use a bit of force to subdue him. Sir Gabriel is a paladin; no matter how badly he is injured, he can be healed, can he not?" she said, knowing full well that holy water had no effect on him.
Bishop Marik's knights subdued him, severing the nerves in his wrists and ankles.
For Gabriel, this choice was far easier. Because out of everything in the world, he valued himself the least.
* * *
Before long, the raging flames that threatened to swallow the Rohanson mansion subsided. In the meantime, reinforcements had arrived, and the knights now completely surrounded the estate.
The mansion's residents proved to be incredibly useful hostages, keeping Gabriel—who valued human life above all—in check. Thanks to them, Saraka was able to take custody of the demon with ease.
"Bind that man and put him in the carriage."
"Yes, Bishop."
At Saraka’s command, Jelly was bound. It would have been better if he had slaughtered the knights and escaped, but whether he was drained of strength or the holy water was just that effective, the demon allowed himself to be quietly tied up and loaded into the carriage. His golden eyes glared at Saraka.
Why isn't he resisting?
Saraka tried to guess the reason. She deduced that if he went wild now, it would only provide concrete proof for the accusation that Evangeline controlled a demon. Furthermore, after jumping into the flames with a body already ravaged by holy water, Jelly was in no condition to escape anyway.
Captured by Bishop Marik’s knights without even being able to resist, Jelly felt a deep shame at his pathetic state.
He even secretly hoped Evangeline would come to rescue him. This was partly Canna's fault; she had bragged so much about Evangeline's overwhelming power when she was rescued that his ears had practically grown calluses from hearing it.
'When the Young Lady appeared, I thought an angel had descended.' 'At that moment, I heard the sound of trumpets.' 'With just a flick of her finger, the Young Lady hacked the man who captured me to pieces.' 'Flames erupted from the tips of the Young Lady's feet, and that loathsome house burned down. It felt like the purification the priests talk about until they're blue in the face, but honestly, isn't the Young Lady a real angel?'
Having heard it hundreds of times, he had it all memorized word for word.
Saraka questioned the demon.
"Your name?"
"How merciful of a devout bishop to ask for my name."
As Jelly sneered, a knight kicked him.
"The Bishop asked for your name!"
Being beaten by a mere human was unpleasant enough, but the fact that the one who kicked him was a paladin made it doubly disgusting. Jelly was so irritated he feared he might accidentally kill the man, so he decided to simply shut his mouth.
When no answer came, Saraka held out her hand. A quick-witted knight placed a vial of holy water in her palm. The knights grabbed Jelly's jaw to force his mouth open, and Saraka poured the holy water down his throat until she got an answer.
Jelly recalled that something similar had happened during his first meeting with Evangeline.
I almost died back then.
While his mind reminisced, his body reached its limit. Jelly's insides, already in a terrible state, began to melt. Fearing that by the time Evangeline came to rescue him, he would look like discarded leftovers, Jelly surrendered and opened his mouth.
"Cough... Jelly, it's Jelly..."
"Jelly?"
"Why? Is it so s-sweet your tongue feels paralyzed?"
His pronunciation was a mess because of his melted lower jaw. It was a truly sweet name to give a creature that could barely speak. What Saraka wanted was surely not the snack-like name Evangeline had given him, but Jelly firmly resolved never to reveal the name ‘Andras.’
Shoving aside the groaning, melting demon, Saraka turned to Hena and asked about Azazel's whereabouts.
"Where is Azazel?"
Azazel had been subdued with holy water after being used to cover Pudding's eyes. Once his location was revealed, knights brought out Azazel, supporting him as he bled from the mouth. Their attitude was far more respectful than how they treated Jelly; publicly, Azazel was known as Bishop Marik's bodyguard, and it was believed he had merely been on a temporary assignment, not that he had deserted.
The knights shed tears, believing their Bishop's bodyguard had infiltrated the mansion to capture Evangeline Rohanson, only to be captured himself, imprisoned, and subjected to terrible suffering.
* * *
Jeremia was quietly handed over to Bishop Marik's carriage and seated on a bench. Compared to Jelly, who was bound and thrown onto the floor, it was a considerable difference in treatment.
Jeremia remained frozen as they led her, unable to offer any resistance. She still couldn't escape the shock of Hena's betrayal—the realization that she had been completely fooled, that she had helped harm her savior, Evangeline, and had nearly gotten everyone in the Rohanson mansion killed.
Why, Hena...?
She was still chewing over the question she had asked herself hundreds of times, finding no answer, when a voice cut through her thoughts.
"Hey."
"..."
"Thish one'sh completely out of it. Azadel. Hey, Astaroth. Tadte. Can you hear? Are you deaf?"
Even though Jelly was calling out to her, his voice slurred from the holy water, she couldn't react. This was unusual; Jeremia had long ago developed the habit of answering Jelly's calls immediately, as he was extremely short-tempered and hated being ignored. Left with no choice, Jelly checked for any listeners nearby before calling out once more, this time putting more strength into his voice.
"Yedemia."
Jeremia barely reacted to his voice.
"Are you finally back to your shensesh?"