Part 2, Chapter 12
Part 2, Chapter 12
Translation: godsn
"This... this catastrophe......"
Paolo, who had unwrapped the bandages, was at a loss for words. The state of the festering wound was utterly horrifying.
"Can't you sense the demonic energy?!"
"These are claw marks from a lich. It seems the Saintess was injured during the ghoul wave."
The captain of the Holy Knights examined Rachel's wound. Having exterminated numerous magic beasts before, he was quite familiar with such injuries.
"To leave the Saintess in such a dire condition! Do those Valdina bastards have any sense at all?!"
Paolo's wrinkled face contorted with fury as he seethed with rage.
"I won't stand for this, whether it's my new empire or not. I'll go find those wretches right now and—"
"High Priest, you can vent your anger after saving the Saintess first. Time is of the essence. Hurry."
The captain of the Holy Knights stopped Paolo as he tried to storm out of the cottage house.
In this situation, Paolo's holy power—the highest-ranked among their group from the Holy Kingdom—was desperately needed. Knowing the knight captain was right, Paolo barely suppressed his explosive rage and returned to the Saintess's side.
'With the High Priest's holy power, there should be some improvement...'
Yet, the knight captain furrowed his brow with an inexplicable premonition that this wouldn't end so easily.
Before long, news that the Saintess had collapsed and remained unconscious spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the Valdina Royal Palace.
However, the reason for her collapse—that she had sustained injuries—was kept strictly confidential.
"If people learn that the all-powerful Representative is suffering from demonic energy, their faith will wane. Instead, we must do everything in our power to ensure the Saintess's swift recovery."
"Yes, High Priest."
But contrary to their hopes, Rachel showed little sign of regaining consciousness. As her fever raged and she teetered on the brink of death, Paolo grew frantic.
"Why won't the holy power take effect? Neither medicine nor holy water is working."
Terrified that they might lose the Saintess they had only just found and return her to the Goddess, Paolo's eyes grew bloodshot. That, above all else, had to be prevented.
"Could it be... divine fever?"
The captain of the Holy Knights, who had been watching over Rachel, cautiously suggested.
"If neither medicine nor holy power can heal her, perhaps she was exposed to some malevolent energy nearby and is now suffering from divine fever. It might even foreshadow some ominous event about to unfold here in Valdina."
The Holy Kingdom's history contained records of saints who had directly experienced and suffered from visions of the future.
"Don't spout nonsense. How could evil energy taint one chosen by the Goddess Herself?"
Just then, before Paolo could finish speaking, Rachel opened her eyes.
"Ah, I'm scared. I can feel it, O Goddess..."
Her feverish face murmured in delirium.
Scared?
Paolo poured holy water into Rachel's mouth. Only then did the flush on her face fade slightly as she weakly opened her lips.
"I had a dream... A terrifying, horrifying dream where six evil spirits surrounded me. They reached out from the black earth beneath dense thickets, trying to swallow me whole— Ah, I'm so afraid."
Paolo found it strange.
There was something unsettling in the Saintess's disjointed words—something that didn't quite fit as mere aftereffects of the ghoul wave they had encountered on the plains.
"Don't tell me......"
"High Priest—!"
At that moment, as if struck by a thought, Paolo suddenly bolted outside.
Something had been nagging at him ever since they arrived.
'This building......'
His eyes fell on the landscaping decorating the cottage house's surroundings. Paolo strode purposefully toward the most lush-looking tree among them.
The entire time, an ominous energy—incongruous with the beautiful interior—had been tugging at his nerves.
He began digging into the ground like a madman.
He didn't care that dirt lodged under his wrinkled nails or that his cream-colored priestly robes were getting filthy.
"High Priest, what in the world are you doing?!"
The captain of the Holy Knights was baffled by this inexplicably bizarre behavior. He even had to gauge the reactions of the palace servants, who were shocked to see someone digging up the royal palace's grounds.
"I apologize. The High Priest occasionally exhibits unpredictable behavior, so I beg your lenient understanding—"
But the Holy Knight Commander had no need to make excuses for the High Priest's eccentricity.
"Behold! This is the reason!"
For the cause of his bizarre actions had been unearthed from the pile of dirt Paolo had dug up.
"Kyaaah! What in the world is that?!"
The maids' screams echoed. Before the High Priest, six dead rats wrapped in cloth had been revealed.
"Wh-what on earth is this...?"
Rachel's face, who had been relying on the Holy Knight Commander, turned as pale as a blank sheet of paper.
"I knew it would be like this."
Paolo trembled with fury.
Far from being surprised, he sprang up from the ground as if his suspicions had been confirmed.
A single dagger lay atop the corpses of the dead rats.
Beneath the dazzling golden dagger, the rats' right front legs had been severed.
It was a grotesque and horrifying sight. What else could be the reason for burying the corpses of rats—symbolizing the number of demons—beneath the Saintess's quarters?
"This is clearly a curse targeting the Saintess!"
Paolo roared in outrage.
The Saintess's feverish delirium had all been due to this vile ritual.
"What depraved wretch dares conspire against the Goddess's Proxy?! May they fall into hell and writhe eternally in the pits of fire!"
Paolo snatched up the dagger resting on the corpses. The radiant silver blade gleamed under the sunlight.
Though smeared with bloodstains, the dagger's material was unmistakable.
"That... is mithril."
Someone murmured as if entranced.
Mithril was a natural resource—exceedingly rare and difficult to obtain.
Judging by the bloodstains on the dagger, it seemed the rats' front legs had been severed with it before being buried together.
What kind of deranged individual would use such a precious weapon for such a despicable curse?
The severed front legs of the rats, coincidentally, matched the exact same side where Rachel had been wounded.
"Ahh!"
At that moment, Rachel let out a horrified scream.
Her slender arms trembled violently—pointing straight at Medeia, who had just entered the Cottage House.
While High Priest Paolo was frantically digging up the ground, Valdina's envoys—having heard of the Saintess's worsening condition—were also making their way to the Cottage House.
"Your Majesty. Am I seeing this correctly? What in the world is the High Priest doing over there?"
Siseo halted, narrowing his eyes. Beside him stood the Valdina siblings, Pelleus and Medeia.
"I've already sent Lord Hertos. Priests, medicine, physicians—we've done all we can."
"Pelleus. But you know we must show our sincerity first, don't you? After all, it's the Holy Kingdom."
At Medeia's suggestion, they headed toward the Cottage House. Dianzel and the King's Royal Guard followed closely behind.
By the time they entered the Cottage House, the growing clamor prompted Pelleus to raise his hand, halting their steps.
The moment he saw the revolting rat corpses sprawled across the floor, he instinctively shielded Medeia, pushing her behind him.
"Do you see this, Your Majesty? These vile creatures were buried here. With such malevolent energy festering, is it any wonder our Saintess fell ill with fever? How does Valdina intend to explain this outrage?"
Paolo demanded, his trembling voice thick with fury toward Valdina.
'Forget our previous agreement—the moment we return to the Holy Kingdom, I'll have Valdina excommunicated from the Old Religion!'
After waiting so long for the Proxy's descent, he had nearly lost her to such a futile end!
"......"
Pelleus's blue eyes swept across the scene, assessing the situation.
Then it happened.
"Ahh...!"
As if confirming that all the spectators were in place, Rachel finally made her move.
Her trembling hands fluttered to her eyes before she pointed accusingly at Medeia—as though she had just realized everything.
"You knew about my injury, didn't you, Your Highness?"
All eyes turned toward the princess, abruptly dragged into the center of the incident.