Chapter 94
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94
But the same voice echoed once more. She had lost so much blood that her mind was a haze, making it impossible to grasp the situation. Still, the memory of Azazel plunging a blade into her stomach sparked a dark, ominous suspicion. Why had one of Tenebrae’s guards stabbed her? Had Tenebrae ordered it? No. That couldn’t be right.
“I’m… I’m not Tenebrae.”
Unsure of what was happening, Jeremia tried to correct them. But the man just scoffed.
“Ha! Are you claiming to be Lady Jeremia, then?”
“Yes! I am Jeremia…!”
“How dare a cursed princess, who should have died long ago, impersonate Lady Jeremia?”
Jeremia had never heard the knights, who were always so polite, shout at her with such venom.
“And if you’re going to lie, at least hide your necklace properly.”
The knight pointed accusingly at her throat. Trembling, Jeremia reached for her necklace. Instead of the familiar green emerald, a dull, hideous black gem hung in its place.
W-why is this around my neck…?
Before she fell asleep, she had definitely been wearing her emerald necklace. Someone had swapped it while she slept.
Who?
It could only be the owner of the black necklace.
In that instant, Tenebrae’s face flashed in her mind. A series of memories assaulted her: Tenebrae urging her to run, offering no real explanation. Her unusually excited, affectionate attitude. The sudden request to swap necklaces right before their father's birthday banquet. The image of blood dripping from their father, hanging from the chandelier, onto Tenebrae’s face.
Wait, Jeremia thought, her blood running cold. Was Tenebrae really in shock? Or… was she smiling?
Her heart sank.
“Tenebrae did this?”
It was all a trap, designed to drag her into the mud. The black gem around her neck felt like it was mocking her. Why? Just… why? Endless questions clouded her mind.
While Jeremia was pinned down, Azazel emerged from the bushes, his pursuit having been leisurely. The knights tensed, warily eyeing the stranger with a blood-drenched sword, but Azazel simply gave them a polite bow.
“Who are you…?”
“I am Azazel Astaroth, a paladin.”
“Ah. You’re the knight who accompanies Bishop Marik.”
The man who had betrayed her trust and stabbed her wasn’t even one of Tenebrae’s guards. In contrast to the despairing Jeremia, the search party lowered their guard upon learning his identity.
“Yes, Sir Azazel. Did you capture the criminal?”
“I did. I was pursuing the fleeing Tenebrae Reverdi.”
“Liar! You’re Tenebrae’s guard! Let me go, I’m Jeremia!”
It was all lies, from beginning to end. Jeremia shrieked in denial, but no one listened. And why would they? Her vicious, screaming outburst was the very opposite of the innocent, gentle Jeremia they knew.
“Is she delusional? She seems to think she’s Lady Jeremia. Then again, no one in their right mind could murder their own father.”
The knight looked down at Jeremia with utter disgust. No, she wasn’t the one who deserved that look.
“Whoa, that’s a severe wound.”
“She resisted, so I had no choice.”
The wound in her stomach was as humiliating as it was agonizing. Jeremia had never been treated this way in her life. Everyone had always cherished and pampered her. She had lived a life where even a paper cut would cause a flurry of worry. Was the world always this cruel and terrifying?
“Sir Azazel, His Majesty will surely bestow a grand reward upon you for this achievement. I’m quite envious.”
The knights excused themselves to Azazel and began to bind Jeremia. With her legs tied, she collapsed onto the ground. Tears blurred her vision, but through the haze, she could clearly see a single insect crawling toward her through the grass.
The knights chatted amiably with Azazel. Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes, followed by a soft “meow.”
“A cat?”
“Ah. We’re in the forest. There are bound to be cats wandering around.”
Azazel looked around, scowling deeply, and pinched his nose as if a foul stench had suddenly hit him.
“It might not be a cat, but a suspicious presence. I should go check.”
With a fierce expression, he vanished into the thicket, leaving Jeremia and the knights behind.
“It definitely went ‘meow,’ didn’t it? What’s he talking about, ‘not a cat’…”
“Is he telling us to clean up his mess? This is why you can’t reason with those high-and-mighty temple bastards.”
Once Azazel was gone, the knights grumbled their complaints and prepared to move Jeremia. The knight who was about to hoist her over his shoulder suddenly tapped his companion.
“Hey… what if we steal the credit while he’s gone?”
“What? He’ll just say he was the one who caught her.”
“No, think about it. He’s not here right now, is he? If we bring the princess in, the credit is ours. Even if he claims otherwise later, it’ll be his word against ours. Who would they believe?”
“That’s true.”
The knights’ eyes met, then locked onto Jeremia. If they were going to steal the credit, they realized they didn’t need to bring her back alive.
“Just in case she tries to spout some nonsense to His Majesty about us pulling a fast one…”
“Lady Tenebrae. We’re terribly sorry about this.”
“No! I won’t say a word! Please, don’t kill me!”
One of the knights drew his sword. The sharp ring of steel sent a shiver down her spine. If she were taken alive, she could at least plead her case to her grandmother. But they were going to kill her right here.
Betrayed by the sister she trusted, framed for murdering her beloved father, and now about to be executed by order of her grandmother. She lamented her own foolishness for failing to see Tenebrae’s betrayal. She was bitter, resentful, and furious.
The one who should be lying here wasn’t her, but Tenebrae. The one who should have died was Tenebrae!
Most of all, Tenebrae was a monster. Tenebrae, who had killed their father, deceived her, and even stolen her name. Tenebrae, who was probably sitting in her room right now.
It was the first time she had ever loathed someone so intensely.
The blade was pressed against her throat. She had lost so much blood from Azazel’s attack that her vision was already fading. Honestly, she would have died soon even without a finishing blow.
As the cold edge touched her skin, she squeezed her eyes shut. But instead of a flash of pain, a heavy weight simply slumped against her.
“Ugh, gasp… pant.”
Jeremia let out a ragged breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Opening her eyes in confusion, she saw the knight collapsed unconscious beside her. Not just him—the other knights were also sprawled on the ground, knocked out without her even noticing.
Only one person remained standing. Black hair, blue eyes…
“Father?”
The familiar features belonged to the Crown Prince. Of course, she thought. Father came to save me. Hovering on the brink of death, the line between dream and reality blurred, and the thought didn’t seem strange at all.
“…Please save me. I don’t want to die.”
If it was her father, he would surely save her. Jeremia squeezed out the words with all her remaining strength. It felt like she was screaming loud enough to shake the forest, but the sound that escaped her lips was nothing more than a faint, pathetic whimper.
But the voice that answered was not the Crown Prince’s.
“Lady Tenebrae?”
Jeremia’s eyes snapped open. It wasn’t her father. It was only when she heard Gabriel’s voice that she realized she’d been begging a father who was already dead.
“I’m not Tenebrae… I’m Jeremia…”
As Jeremia whimpered, Gabriel rummaged through his coat. He pulled something out, and when she flinched, he held it up to reassure her.
“Holy water?”
“Yes. I’m going to heal you, Princess.”
“Why are you healing me?”
With her ankles swollen, her skin slashed by branches, blood pooling from her abdomen, and her face drenched in tears, Jeremia demanded to know why he was helping her.
“Because you are badly hurt.”
Gabriel uncorked the vial. He poured the holy water over her wound, but contrary to his expectations, nothing happened. Had he brought fake holy water by mistake? He could have tested it by cutting himself, but unfortunately, Gabriel’s body was unaffected by holy water.
“…Does holy water not work on your body?”
“What…? That’s impossible…” Jeremia gasped, utterly confused. Members of the imperial family used holy water to heal even minor paper cuts. Having enjoyed that privilege her entire life, the idea of it not working on her was absurd.
“Then why…”
“How did she get that wound?”
An unexpected voice chimed in.
“A knight named Azazel stabbed me.”
Without even registering that the speaker had changed, Jeremia relived the pain of Azazel’s blade and seethed with resentment.
“Jelly?”
Jelly gave a half-hearted wave to Gabriel, who had recognized him.
“If the one who stabbed her was Azazel Astaroth, then it’s only natural that it won’t heal.”
Gabriel knew that name well. He was famous as Bishop Marik’s personal knight.
“What do you mean, ‘natural’?”
The Sun Goddess loved humanity, so her blessing extended to all of mankind. However, those who blasphemed and turned their backs on the deity—the apostates—were denied her grace. Their sins ran so deep that only after cleansing the stains upon their souls multiple times could they return to Rachel’s embrace.
“Wounds inflicted by our kind cannot be healed with holy water.”
There was another exception. The Sun Goddess loathed the non-human creatures born of Leah, the sister who had betrayed her. Consequently, if holy water touched these creatures, their flesh would melt away, and any wounds they inflicted could never be restored by its power.
“Then what should we…”
Gabriel looked down at Jeremia, his expression heavy and grim.