Part 2, Chapter 20
Part 2, Chapter 20
Translation: godsn
High Priest Paolo chimed in agreement.
"Truly, those are the words befitting the Goddess's Proxy. Since you have welcomed this unprecedented celebration under the divine will of the holy Goddess, how about showing the mercy of the Goddess to the Emperor of Valdina as well?"
"......"
Claudio and his son exchanged silent glances. They couldn't comprehend why the Holy Kingdom was trying to protect them.
Yet with their involvement, the seemingly impossible entry into Valdina was beginning to look feasible.
'Whatever the reason, things are unfolding better than I anticipated. If I can just ride this current momentum...!'
"Your Majesty, sob, please bestow the mercy of the Goddess upon us."
As Joaquin resumed his fake lamentations, Iason Castulo recalled the events of a few days prior.
Before departing for Valdina, covert allies had sought him out.
"I cannot fulfill the Emperor's command to reintegrate the Claudio family into the Valdina Royal Family. There's no way those siblings would accept Claudio."
"Do not worry. We have allies there as well. You shall obtain what you desire, Grand Duke."
'Is that man the ally they spoke of...?'
Iason's gaze sharpened as he internally scrutinized Paolo, who was fervently spouting his rhetoric.
"All the dignitaries gathered here will remember Your Majesty's benevolence. When this news spreads, even His Holiness the Pope will rejoice."
Meanwhile, Paolo was subtly applying pressure by invoking the Pope.
'You arrogant northern bastards, do you really think you can defy our Holy Kingdom no matter how high and mighty you are? I'll engrave it in your minds that there's no future on this continent if you disregard us.'
Initially, he had protected Claudio for the sake of the Saintess, but it was gradually becoming a matter of pride.
Perhaps he still hadn't forgotten the humiliating memory of being forced to flee Valdina in disgrace three months ago.
"......"
Pelleus remained silent.
Paolo twisted his lips and turned toward Medeia.
"And what of the Princess of Valdina? Do you believe you must sever blood ties and strangle them at all costs?"
'I will absolutely expose that witch's true face for the sake of the Saintess!'
In High Priest Paolo's eyes, who had been dancing to Rachel's tune for the past few months, Medeia was the very embodiment of evil scheming against the Saintess.
It was a malicious question designed to trap her no matter how she answered.
As Pelleus moved to intervene, Medeia subtly caught his sleeve to stop him.
'Rachel, you're using Paolo to confront me in your stead—your methods haven't changed a bit.'
Just like in her past life, she still preferred to thrust her blade from the safety of the shadows.
Medeia's lips curled ever so slightly.
'All the more reason I'll drag you out.'
I won't let you hide behind the veil any longer.
In her past life, Rachel had been revered as the hero who saved the continent. Yet her deeds consisted solely of shuttling between the Holy Kingdom and Kazen.
She had never slain an Evil Dragon nor suppressed a Monster Wave, remaining comfortably ensconced in her tranquil temple. But simply by virtue of her title as the Saintess, the world treated her as a hero.
Seeing how they swayed like reeds at her every word and gesture, it seemed this life would be no different.
In that case.
Medeia intended to hurl a stone into that unshakable faith.
As all eyes in the banquet hall focused on the answer the Princess of Valdina would give, her pale lips parted.
"The Saintess has declared that we must embrace the faults of our kin."
"......"
"But since when has the doctrine of the Goddess preached unconditional forgiveness for sinners?"
Her unwavering emerald eyes fixed on Rachel.
"To accept everything without righteous judgment would be to defy the will of the Goddess."
Her calm voice rang out like a slap across Rachel's pale cheeks.
"The mercy of the Goddess signifies discerning love, not boundless permission. Saintess, can you truly call the latter divine providence? I find it utterly incomprehensible."
Medeia tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled.
"Th-that's..."
Suddenly confronted with an arrow of words aimed directly at her, Rachel was at a loss for speech. Her mind seemed to turn completely blank.
Paolo stepped forward in place of Rachel, who had been rendered speechless.
"Princess! How dare you debate doctrine before the Holy Kingdom's Representatives? Such arrogance!"
"How could I possibly deny the words spoken by the Representative? But if it truly is the Goddess's will, then of course it must be accepted."
Paolo, finding an opening in Medeia's words, paused, his eyes gleaming.
"Then are you saying, Your Highness, that you would take responsibility and take in Claudio's family?"
"High Priest, shouldn't we first determine whether the Goddess truly wishes to welcome rebels back into Valdina?"
Medeia pointed out.
"Ha! The illustrious princess lives up to her reputation—both beautiful and virtuous. But this old man must speak his mind."
Rising to her provocation, Paolo raised his voice as if his faith had been questioned.
"The Goddess abhors the arrogant. Did Icarus know when he fell to earth with broken wings? Could he have foreseen the punishment that would befall his hubris—daring to fly against the heavens and challenge the gods?"
When the princess didn't respond, Paolo grew even more emboldened and raised his voice further.
"Do you not know who the Representative is? She who conveys the words of the Absolute! The Saintess's will is the Goddess's will—how dare you doubt the Goddess—"
"Kyaaah—!"
At that moment, Paolo's lengthy tirade was abruptly cut short by a prolonged, echoing scream.
"The Goddess Statue—it's weeping tears of blood!"
A noblewoman, her face drained of color, was pointing at the Goddess Statue.
"Nonsense! How could a statue shed tears?"
"Look there, look!"
The noble stretched out her arm toward the banquet hall's wall. Following her finger, the gathered crowd erupted in sounds of shock and horror.
From both eyes of the Goddess Statue hanging on the wall, crimson tears were truly flowing.
The blood-red tear tracks stood out starkly against the white marble statue. Moreover, the fact that the bloody tears streamed from both eyes made the sight even more grotesque.
What in the world was happening?
Even Rachel and Paolo were momentarily stunned.
Then someone shouted:
"The Goddess is enraged! She weeps tears of blood because you've distorted her will!"
The crowd found his words plausible.
What other reason could there be for this miraculous phenomenon to occur on the perfectly intact Goddess Statue at the very moment the High Priest declared the Saintess's will to be the Goddess's?
The Goddess was making her will known.
"That's impossible. It's fake. She would never deny me. I'm the Saintess, how could—"
As a frantic Rachel tried to approach the Goddess Statue, Medeia's voice cut through the air.
"Does the Saintess consider herself equal to the Goddess, that she declares the weeping statue false?"
At Medeia's words, the expressions of the Holy Kingdom's priests changed.
No matter how long they had awaited the birth of the Saintess, a Representative was still just a Representative—she could never speak for the Absolute.
Paolo hesitated. Ironically, his own words from moments ago came back to him:
"Did Icarus know when he fell to earth with broken wings? Could he have foreseen the punishment that would befall his hubris—daring to fly against the heavens and challenge the gods?"
The punishment for arrogance bestowed upon one who dared oppose the gods.
"...Saintess..."
Even the High Priest, who had revered her like a zealot, now looked at her with confusion. Rachel's agitation exploded.
"Princess, don't you slander me!"
She snapped sharply.
This was a far cry from the serene, gentle Saintess they had always known.
Medeia observed her dispassionately.
'Rachel, I've never seen you make that face before. The face I remember was always brimming with composure.'
The sight of her flustered and confused—unable to grasp the situation—was both unfamiliar and amusing.