Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
Ah... So Raphaella was basically a hostage, too. Bishop Marik really is something else.
"Even if I'm the black sheep of the family, I'm still Duchess Baal's son, aren't I?" Raphaella said. "She must have figured I'd be useful if she kept me at the Rohanson mansion."
There were exactly three ducal houses in the Empire. First was House Hosaquin, a founding family whose reputation had faded over time. Second was House Baal, headed by Raphaella's mother, Duchess Baal. The last was House Mayfield, whose head had been the king of another nation before it was annexed into the Empire, earning him the title of duke.
It seemed she planned to use me to purge House Hosaquin and Raphaella to destroy House Baal. She was steadily preparing to eliminate two of the only three ducal families in the Empire. House Mayfield was so remote and treated almost like a foreign nation that she probably saw no reason to bother with them, which is why they were being spared.
If she placed Princess Tenebrae on the throne and swallowed up the ducal houses, the entire Empire would fall right into Bishop Marik's hands. As expected of the mastermind behind the scenes, her resourcefulness was no joke.
"Looking at this," Raphaella chuckled, gesturing to the knights Pudding had dealt with, as if trying to lighten the mood. "It's almost as if Bishop Marik is some kind of prophet."
The knights were no longer collapsed on the ground. Instead, they stood perfectly upright, without a single tilt. Anyone passing by might have given them a thumbs-up for their exemplary discipline, marveling at their flawless posture. Of course, they hadn't actually regained consciousness. Pudding was simply using his telekinesis to prop them up. It was a quick fix to prevent anyone wandering by from finding them unconscious and reporting it to the Temple.
Raphaella tore his eyes away from the knights, changing the subject.
"By the way, you were amazing earlier. Did you know I bowed my head along with everyone else, even though I'm not even a Rohanson?"
Wait, when did you bow? I thought. Then again, it probably would have been awkward to be the only one standing tall in that situation. That was just the power of crowd psychology.
* * *
It was a bit awkward to admit, considering we were bitter enemies, but the holy water was an absolute top-tier healing kit. With efficacy like this, it was no wonder Bishop Marik found it so easy to whip up religious fervor while suppressing heretics.
Just as it had worked back at the Duke's estate, the holy water did wonders to calm the people of the Rohanson mansion and quiet their grievances. A few even came up to hesitantly offer me their thanks.
Normally, receiving gratitude would make me feel good, but it only left me feeling more conflicted. The problem was figuring out what to do with everyone in the mansion.
I had originally planned to just drop by quietly, get the full story, make sure everyone was safe, and then slip away... but now I couldn't just leave them behind. If I did, they would all think I had abandoned them.
Besides, once those knights woke up, they would undoubtedly claim the mansion's residents had used black magic to knock them out, rather than admitting they had been bested by Pudding. Their lives were already hanging by a thread under the accusation of being the devil's minions; adding wicked sorcery to the list would seal their fate. Leaving them here was practically a death sentence.
That meant I had to relocate all of them... but where on earth was I supposed to take them? Realizing I couldn't solve this on my own, I called for Canna and Daisy. Raphaella, whom I hadn't invited, somehow managed to slip into the meeting as well.
"Please consider me the Commander's representative," Raphaella said.
Since he claimed to represent Gabriel, I couldn't exactly kick him out. And so, with Raphaella included, we began brainstorming a plan.
"Should we hide them in the mountains?" Canna suggested.
"The terrain isn't suitable for hiding such a large group of people," Daisy countered.
"What if we take them to a remote village and ask the locals to hide them?"
"A suspicious villager would probably run straight to the Temple to report us."
"This is too much trouble. Shall we just kill them all?"
"...Pudding."
It seemed Pudding's mercy had expired the moment he finished delivering the holy water. He grumbled, annoyed that I was wasting my energy on such things.
Sigh. If only we had an underground bunker or something. Of course, there was no way such a thing existed in a RoFan novel, so it was nothing but wishful thinking.
With Gabriel injured, the only places I could turn to for help were the Duke's estate or House Toten. But the problem was that Bishop Marik surely knew that as well. If we smuggled the servants out, she might lead her knights straight to them. That would only result in unnecessary casualties.
When we failed to reach a conclusion, Pudding, seemingly fed up with the stagnant discussion, tugged on my arm.
"I think dealing with that Rat is far more urgent than worrying about these humans. It disgusts me that a filthy creature like that dares to wear Lady Evangeline's face, and who knows what it will do next? Next time, it might not stop at just starting a fire."
I understood his concern. Through this incident, the Rat had likely learned that causing reckless chaos was an excellent way to torment me. If it pulled another stunt while we were still struggling to clean up the mess at the Rohanson mansion, things would spiral completely out of control.
"You may consider human lives cheap, but Lady Rohanson does not," Raphaella retorted, his voice laced with disapproval at Pudding's disregard for life.
No, don't misunderstand, Raphaella, I thought. Pudding is just going through a sensitive teenage phase. And he has very clear priorities. Before I could even open my mouth to defend him, sparks began to fly between the two.
Fortunately, our soft-hearted Pudding was the one to back down.
"The servants of the Sun don't know Lady Evangeline visited the mansion, so they won't lay a hand on these pests just yet. Besides, Bishop Marik must have kept them alive for a reason."
He was right. While Bishop Marik mercilessly slaughtered entire families at the slightest hint of heresy, she had spared the residents of our mansion. Since she had a reason not to kill them immediately, she wasn't going to suddenly change her mind and execute them out of the blue.
"Then why did Bishop Marik keep us alive?" Daisy asked.
"Daisy, what was the atmosphere in the mansion like after Bishop Marik left?" Pudding asked.
Before I arrived and cleared up the misunderstanding, I had been branded a devil who set fire to the mansion to kill her own family. Even the servants who had been slaughtered by the paladins were killed under the pretext of being infected by my "evil energy."
Daisy nodded, catching on to Pudding's point.
"It certainly wasn't filled with loyalty and gratitude toward Lady Evangeline like it is now."
Daisy glanced toward the servants as she spoke, and Pudding nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. It's only like this now because Lady Evangeline visited and healed them with holy water. What do you think they would have done otherwise?"
"They would have been the first to testify that Lady Evangeline is a devil..."
Bishop Marik had likely hoped the servants would save their own skins by testifying that the false rumors were true, just as Kochia had done. Fortunately, the old butler's speech and the holy water had averted that disaster for now.
I made a mental note to thank Jelly properly once we rescued him. It was a relief that he had sacrificed himself to save the servants, keeping the casualties to a minimum.
"Keeping the Rohanson servants alive benefits Bishop Marik," Pudding continued. "They make excellent hostages, and they're easy scapegoats."
She could threaten to execute them to blackmail me, or she could slaughter them herself and claim she was purging heretics who followed me.
If I used teleportation to evacuate everyone in this situation, rumors would immediately spread that Lady Rohanson had used black magic to make them vanish, or that they had been sacrificed.
Dammit. She had set up the board so perfectly that every single move played right into her hands.
"See? You get it now, right?" Pudding said. "They were kept alive for a reason, so they won't be killed immediately. No more objections to catching the Rat first, right?"
Silence fell over the room as Pudding finished speaking.
"What about the Baal Duchy?" Raphaella suggested.
It seemed Raphaella was deeply uncomfortable with leaving the servants behind. Raphaella, are you actively trying to ruin your own family just like Bishop Marik wants?
"I couldn't possibly impose on you like that," I replied, rejecting his offer without a second thought. "I'd rather ask my grandfather for help."
If we had to flee to a duchy, sneaking into the Hosaquin territory was a much better option. It seemed like the most viable plan. Perhaps I could deal with the Rat first, and then ask the Duke to provide a safe haven for the servants in return. He was, after all, one of only three dukes in the Empire; surely he knew of a secret hideout that even Bishop Marik was unaware of.
"And Sir Raphaella, I think it would be best for you to return to Duchess Baal."
"There's no one else to protect the Rohanson mansion, is there? Since Bishop Marik ordered me to stay here anyway, I'll remain and guard the estate."
I had urged him to leave out of genuine fear that he would drag his family down with him, but he simply shook his head, casting a leisurely glance at Daisy. Flirting in a situation like this? Well, I suppose that's exactly why they're doing it. Because this is a damn RoFan novel.
And with that, the decision was made. We would return to the Hosaquin estate to capture the Rat.
Despite my anxiety, I had to leave the servants behind and return to the Duke's estate with Pudding. Canna chose to stay at the mansion, arguing that her presence as my close confidante would help ease the servants' fears. Beyond that, she also seemed to want to atone for Hena's sins.
Since I had teleported from the Duke's office, that was exactly where we reappeared. The floor was spotless, meaning someone had already cleaned up the mess I had made while doing my flower fortune-telling.
Sitting at his desk and reviewing paperwork as usual, the Duke looked up to greet me.
"You're late."
"Things got a bit complicated. Has Rico returned yet?" I asked, taking a seat.
"No. I gave orders to bring Ricoradca to me the moment he was spotted, but there has been no word. It seems he has not yet returned to the estate."
I had no idea what that demon was doing. He lived and breathed for Agera, yet he was still wandering around instead of coming home. I had planned to grab him the moment he showed up, but he was taking his sweet time. With every second counting and no telling when the Rat might strike next, I couldn't afford to just sit around and wait.
"Grandfather, I think I need to use a rather extreme method to catch the 'Rat.'"
"And why are you asking for my opinion on the matter?"
"Because it's a method I know you won't like."