Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Angel of Death
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The stained glass of the cathedral shone transparently in the dawn light, and beneath the falling rays, one man bowed his head. The onlookers were all speechless at the sacred sight of the man praying quietly amid the scattered light—Cardinal Clavis. It was a scene perfect for capturing on canvas, but in truth, the priests attending him knew better. They knew the cardinal's debauched reality. He put on a pious front with a beautiful shell in public, but behind closed doors, he indulged in vulgar pleasures, mocking and insulting the divine rather than worshiping it.
After a long silence, Clavis drew the sign of the cross and opened his eyes. As he rose, the waiting priests attended him and reported.
“Your Eminence, the investigation of the relic brought by the Eastern Duke is complete.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Engi Rubel was correct. All of them were artifacts made in the era of the castle lords.”
“Then we’ve identified the king who swallowed the first cry?”
“Yes, just as you suspected—King Chelleste. We found his seal in the ancient documents.”
Clavis nodded pleasantly at the priest’s report.
“Lady Lena was right about everything. A fine harvest. His Majesty the Emperor will be truly delighted.”
Clavis said this with a gentle smile. It was the cardinal’s habit. He judged all matters by the emperor’s standards. His Majesty will like it. He’ll dislike it. He’ll be disappointed. So people thought Clavis revered the emperor utterly, never dreaming he wanted to kill him.
“Now that we know how to enter the castle of the wraiths, we should set a date. Contact the dukes and coordinate the next expedition.”
The priests bowed their heads at the cardinal’s command. But one of them spoke up again.
“There is a separate report.”
“What is it?”
“The Crows in the west are acting suspicious.”
“What’s that heretic up to now?”
The reporting priest’s voice was grave, but Clavis, receiving the report, remained as flippant as ever. The Crows of the west. He was the most dangerous of the heretics who had abandoned the gods for the wraiths. About three years ago, he had appeared and seized control of the ruined west, using altars to build his forces. The north had launched several subjugation campaigns, but he had survived them all—a true empire-worst criminal in name and deed.
“Two days ago, the wraiths in that area showed strange movements. Fortunately, they haven’t attacked nearby villages, but no one knows when something might happen, and everyone is anxious.”
As the priest raised the issue, he glanced subtly at Clavis. It was a silent plea to at least pretend to resolve the chaos in the west. Five years ago, after being devoured by wraiths, the west had become a powder keg. It had turned into a wraith den threatening the adjacent north, and now an enigmatic figure called the Crow had nested there. Yet Clavis Sirenchium, the former Western Duke himself, ignored the problem entirely and played at being cardinal. So this upright priest hoped Clavis would finally face it and take steps to fix it.
“Hmm, is Iura bored now that he’s come down to the imperial palace?”
But as expected, Clavis didn’t even pretend to listen.
“We need to conquer more tombs diligently. Won’t the wraiths in the west disappear on their own then?”
The priest’s face hardened coldly at the irresponsible suggestion.
“The residents on the border live in fear day by day.”
“What’s there to fear? If they die, they’ll be embraced in the gods’ arms. That’s something to rejoice over.”
“Your Eminence…”
“Priest.”
As the priest tried to protest again, Clavis called to him with a smile. The summons dropped like ice to the floor.
“Those who believe in the gods must be bold even before death.”
Clavis placed a hand on the priest’s shoulder. It was a light touch, but the priest shivered. He clearly remembered that hand draining the life from a human.
“If you’re afraid, pray, and tell them that. If they’re lucky, the gods might help.”
Clavis whispered this to the frozen priest. Then he added with a bright smile.
“Anyway, it won’t be long now. The indifferent gods have finally heard my prayers.”
Clavis gazed joyfully at the image of the savior engraved in the stained glass, murmuring something incomprehensible. He knew a lady who shone just like that. A monster he had created, named Lena Rubel. The angel of death who would shatter this wretched empire and grant him peace. Clavis spread his arms in worship. Standing amid the colorful lights beneath the sparkling stained glass, he was beautiful as ever. It was that beauty that let such a wretched being play at being the empire’s cardinal.
***
At around the same time, Marquis Rubel was preparing to go out for the first time in a while. Prince Rubid had finally come to his senses and summoned him.
“Is your shoulder any better, my lord?”
“Well, not really.”
When the old butler asked while draping a jacket over him, the marquis answered lightly. He then slightly rotated his still-creaky shoulder. The marquis had injured it during the last expedition. When Prince Rubid’s slash swept him up and he fell, Lena had grabbed his arm, severely dislocating his shoulder. So he had been recuperating ever since.
“I hear she’s been exploring tombs lately?”
“Yes, with the Eastern Duke, from what I’ve heard.”
The butler, realizing the marquis was talking about Lena, deftly picked up the thread.
“And the rumors say things between them are more than ordinary.”
“Between the Eastern Duke and…?”
The old butler reported in detail the rumors swirling around the Eastern Duke and the proxy of the Southern Duke. The marquis burst into hearty laughter.
“That figures. She doesn’t miss a single opportunity. Even the mighty Eastern Duke has finally met his match.”
The marquis spoke with feigned pride. The butler was inwardly flustered.
“She’s grown up so well, hasn’t she?”
“You mean Lady Lena?”
“Yes, she was always a promising child from a young age. But this exceeds even my expectations, doesn’t it?”
The butler couldn’t understand why the marquis was saying such things. He smiled awkwardly, and the marquis added,
“Thanks to my well-raised daughter, I might even get the Eastern Duke as a son-in-law.”
The butler got chills at the nonchalant words. It seemed the marquis had completely forgotten what he had done to Lena. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly play the father so casually. The butler busied his hands to hide his dismay. For some reason, the marquis seemed oddly cheerful. And the butler knew from experience that his stern master became especially lenient when plotting something. So he wanted to escape this moment. But he still had an important matter to report, and after agonizing, he finally spoke.
“And there’s something about young Master Engi as well.”
“What?”
“It seems the young master has taken an interest in the lady. I saw him with that maid.”
“That maid?”
“The young one who entered the palace with Lady Lena.”
At the butler’s explanation, the marquis nodded belatedly with an “Ah.” Then he muttered in disbelief.
“The future marquis… with a maid…”
“From what I overheard, they’ve been meeting often.”
“And asking the servants all sorts of questions, digging into old matters.”
“Shall I warn him?”
“No need. Do you think he’d listen?”
As soon as Engi was mentioned, the marquis’s excited face darkened again.
“Poking around without even realizing his tail’s being stepped on. If only he took after his sister even halfway.”
The marquis sighed repeatedly at Engi’s clumsiness. Even amid that, his pride in Lena shone through, making the butler even more curious about his master’s mind. And as the butler predicted, the marquis had just finished his calculations. A few days ago, in the tomb, when the ground collapsed beneath him, the marquis had sensed death. The certainty that this time he would truly die had overwhelmed him like inescapable fate. But suddenly, a force stronger than death snatched him. Amid the shock of his arm nearly tearing off, when he faced his daughter’s vivid face, the marquis felt as if he had met a god, a demon, or some absolute being. The hand that gripped him was lion-strong. And her face, smiling after saving her father—what of it? The marquis had never seen anyone smile so nobly. He had been overwhelmed even then, but he had still tried to kill Lena with his final weapon. Yet Lena returned alive once more. Seeing his daughter waiting for him after he returned first from the tomb, the marquis felt trapped in a nightmare. Afterward, using recuperation as an excuse, he secluded himself and agonized. The daughter who was evidence of treason. The daughter demanding he reveal it and seek forgiveness. The daughter who wouldn’t die no matter how many times he killed her. And the daughter promising to give him chances again and again. Thinking himself cornered, the marquis realized something in that moment. Lena was leaving him unscathed. No retaliation, no accusations. Lena truly intended to give him a chance. Until the tomb conquest ended. Realizing her seemingly absurd proposal was real changed the marquis’s thinking. This was certainly a crisis, but it could also be an opportunity. If he followed Lena’s conditions, he could kill her repeatedly without worrying about revenge until the tombs were conquered. If it didn’t work out, he could still beg forgiveness. That way, he would regain a daughter who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the dukes.
‘If I can just avoid the emperor’s reprimand, I could rise even higher than now.’
In the empire, rise and fall were determined by bloodline. Better to be the father of the Southern Duke’s proxy or the Eastern Duke’s father-in-law than a mere plaything for an immature prince. So the marquis decided to exploit this opportunity fully. He would kill Lena whenever a gap appeared. But preparing for the chance she wouldn’t die, he would play the father while finding ways to evade the emperor’s wrath. Nothing new. He had overcome countless crises climbing from the gutters to here. This was just one more, a stepping stone to lift him higher. Above all, the marquis trusted his own bad luck.
“So, that maid—does she seem useful?”
The marquis asked. Smiling faintly as he once did with his daughter, in the gentlest voice imaginable. The old butler closed his eyes for a moment. As if mourning the position forcing him to sin again.
***
“Milady, time to get up!”
At Uni’s chirping voice, Lena opened her eyes languidly. Thinking she had slept deeply, she stretched, then grew a bit flustered realizing she was in bed.
‘Why the bed?’
With sleep still clouding her eyes, Lena sat up and rummaged through her memories. She had no recollection of lying down in bed yesterday.
‘What happened?’
Thinking slowly. Yesterday, Lin had come soaked by rain. She had let him up, and they talked briefly while he dried off.
‘Then what?’
Lena thought hard with her foggy mind.
‘Did I fall asleep?’
Nodding inwardly at the likely guess, she returned to her first question.
‘But why the bed?’
It was a simple matter, but still drowsy, Lena couldn’t find the answer. Then Uni, watching from the side, came to the pitiful lady’s rescue.
“Lin carried you.”
“Lin did?”
Lena’s eyes widened at Uni’s words.
“Where is Lin?”
“He left at dawn, after putting you in bed.”
“Oh…”
Lena let out a short sigh at Uni’s explanation. Come to think of it, she vaguely remembered being lifted in her sleep. That must have been Lin.
‘But why didn’t I wake up?’
Lena wondered in disbelief. Normally, she snapped awake at footsteps outside the door. Yet she slept through being carried. This was a first.
‘Did I relax too much?’
Lena was quite shocked at her own negligence. Sitting there in reflection, Uni muttered softly from beside her.
“They said it was an alliance.”
Looking over, Uni stared with a betrayed expression. Of course it was a joke, but Lena found the words and actions oddly disconcerting. She forced a smile to hide her feelings.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Save your excuses. You’ll have plenty of time to do that today anyway.”
Uni, already turned around, pulled clothes from the wardrobe without noticing Lena’s agitation. It had been a while since it wasn’t her uniform—a lady’s dress.
“You know you’re meeting the old man today, right?”
At those words, Lena forgot her embarrassment. It was the moment she had been waiting for, finally here.