Those Who Carry the Stench (2)
The imperial palace remained eerily quiet until Elizabetta's matchmaking session came to an end. That was only natural. Ludmilla stood ready to march to war. The Seven Pillars of Valtaria, summoned from every corner of the empire, waited in formation. Knight orders under their command were stationed at the palace and every gateway, poised for orders. Even Jebeline, who had reached the absolute limit of her bladder and sprinted for the restroom. The imperial palace of the Valtaria Empire, packed with overwhelming military force, was like an impregnable fortress.
If one were to make a comparison, it would be a beehive swarming with enraged giant hornets. Still, it was too early to let our guard down. Variables and reversals always existed.
“Why do you look so serious?”
“It’s nothing.”
Elizabetta tilted her head as she asked. Had my expression slipped out unconsciously? I swept a hand down my face and suppressed the rising anxiety.
Suddenly my instincts started sending warnings… but I have no idea what they’re warning me about.
It felt like I had lost something and couldn’t remember where I’d left it. A sense of alarm lingered. A sharp premonition of danger stabbed at my mind. What the hell was it? There should be no reason to feel danger inside the imperial palace, which was practically a stronghold. Could there be a rat that had slipped past the tight security?
I even considered that possibility for a moment, but since it was nothing more than a vague hunch, I didn’t act rashly.
“We shall take our leave now, Your Highness Elizabetta.”
Young men with faces drained of color approached. They were the suitors who had been rejected by the imperial princess before they could even properly express their feelings. A truly unfortunate outcome. They had forever lost their one golden opportunity for meteoric success. Had they become the consort of the emperor’s most cherished youngest daughter, a smooth path to power would have been guaranteed—becoming a powerful margrave with formidable military strength, or perhaps even a chancellor wielding absolute authority.
But the villainess of the imperial family was never an easy opponent. That was why none of the suitors had managed to win the princess’s heart and were all eliminated from the competition.
“Cheer up. Good things will come your way.”
“I never expected to receive consolation like this. It’s fine. It was my own shortcomings.”
I witnessed the unfamiliar sight of Lue conversing with one of the young men. The youth was the son of a prestigious family who had proposed to Elizabetta. Were they acquaintances? No, that couldn’t be…
The young man who had been one of the princess’s suitors was not a character from the original novel. He was merely an extra whose name was never even mentioned. Naturally, there was no way he could have met the mascot of the Saint’s party before.
“We bumped into each other in the corridor earlier!”
“Really?”
It seemed the noble son who had collided with Lue while carrying a box of snacks was one of the suitors. Seeing how humbly he accepted Lue’s clumsy attempt at comfort, he appeared to be a genuinely kind-hearted young master.
But why? Despite the kindness in his eyes, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease. I watched the backs of the defeated suitors as they filed out of the matchmaking venue. Whenever I sensed this baseless discomfort, things always ended badly.
“Is something wrong?”
Lue, whose hand was still clasped in mine, must have noticed my strange reaction and asked.
“Seeing those pretty-boy gigolos made me feel sick.”
“Jealous Edan.”
Even as she spoke as if it were no big deal, Elizabetta requested the list of suitors and handed it to me. I wanted to uncover the source of that unease.
Flip. Flip—.
I quickly turned the pages of the document. The list contained names, family backgrounds, and brief details. I scanned the records rapidly, trying to identify the cause of the strange discomfort.
Dagilek Brannon. Second son of House Brannon. Red hair and black eyes. Graduated with top honors from the Theology Department of Elisti Academy. Winner of several piano competitions.
The young man who had triggered the unpleasant unease was an exceptionally talented individual. The word “perfect” suited him. Among the numerous suitors, Dagilek Brannon boasted an S-rank profile. The fact that he had graduated with top honors from the Theology Department of the prestigious Elisti Academy completely denied any connection to the demons. Especially since the Valtaria imperial family would have thoroughly investigated and selected the candidates.
If he graduated from the Theology Department, he must have received baptism from a priest of the Holy Kingdom. That means he can’t be a worshiper of the cults… Cultists can never receive the baptism of the Earth Mother. Well, there are exceptions, but…
It was impossible for a cultist who worshiped the Forgotten Gods to receive baptism from a priest of the Earth Mother. Having accepted the divinity of the cults, they could not be touched by the divinity of the Earth Mother. Forcing a baptism would trigger a Divine Clash and cause an overload. That was why cultists had long been searching for ways to somehow disguise the baptism of the Earth Mother.
“Lue!”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
While I was examining the list and considering various possibilities, Lue was happily sipping cocoa with Elizabetta. How carefree. I asked the fairy, whose mouth was covered in whipped cream.
“When you bumped into that pretty gigolo… was there anything suspicious?”
“Umm…”
I asked urgently. Lue’s head jerked sharply. Very quickly. It seemed she was desperately racking her limited brain to recall the moment.
“He helped me up when I fell. And he handed me the box of snacks I dropped.”
“And?”
“Nothing else.”
“……”
The tension drained away at Lue’s answer that there had been no particular oddities. Her response only further supported the pure innocence of the young man named Dagilek Brannon, who had nothing to do with demons or cult worshipers. Was it just an old woman’s worry? I had suspected an innocent person for no reason. I closed the document and let out a sigh. It was the emptiness of failing to find even a single piece of evidence.
“He smelled like Edan. Maybe he doesn’t wash often.”
“What?”
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Lue looked up and said.
“He had a terrible rotten dirt smell! And there was a rusty iron smell too! I don’t understand why he didn’t spray on any perfume before meeting the beautiful princess. He’s the first person I’ve seen who’s dumber than my Luinong friends.”
“…Stench.”
Dagilek Brannon carried a stench? No, that was absurd. If there had been such a strong odor, Elizabetta, who had been sitting across from him at the table, would surely have noticed. I had briefly brushed past him as well, but I only caught a faint whiff of perfume. Only the fairy Luinong had detected the ‘stench’ that no one else could sense. What could that possibly mean?
Stench. It was proof of corruption and a symbol of decay. It was also akin to the Earth Mother’s punishment inflicted upon those who served the Forgotten Gods. I narrowed my eyes at Lue’s testimony that a foul stench had emanated from Dagilek.
The stench is the mark of corruption. A sign of those who worship the Forgotten Gods. It is the Earth Mother’s curse that cannot be hidden, no matter how perfect the disguise.
The suitors, whose ambition to become the emperor’s son-in-law and rise to sudden power had been crushed, complained bitterly about Elizabetta, who had shown them a thorny and merciless demeanor. They had entered the imperial palace with dignity as candidates, only to leave having experienced nothing but the infamous sharp tongue of Elizabetta. To think she would act so arrogantly after being dumped by the hero…! Damn it. In the end, it was all for nothing. How was he supposed to tell his family the humiliating news that he had been disgraced in front of the Platinum Princess?
The suitors who left the imperial palace each wore grim expressions as they scattered in different directions.
“……”
Dagilek, the suitor from House Brannon, was no exception. After passing through the castle gates, he climbed into the carriage of House Brannon that had been waiting in advance.
“I was half in doubt, but it seems you made it out safely. I had predicted a pessimistic outcome.”
A woman with red hair who greeted Dagilek inside the carriage spoke up. Surprisingly, although her appearance was that of a young woman in her prime, her voice was extremely hoarse. It was unmistakably the voice of an elderly man.
“Heh, hehahahahaha!! As expected of a princess who inherited noble blood! It was like receiving a goddess herself!”
The face of the handsome young man named Dagilek crumpled like a piece of rotting meat. The skin covering his face melted and sagged like flowing mud. No mask in the world could hide true malevolence. As if to prove it, every time the monster disguised as Dagilek Brannon grew excited, his once beautiful face collapsed hideously.
“With such vivid pure blood, she would be the perfect vessel to contain our god. The deity will surely be delighted! After seeing the Platinum Princess, I am convinced!”
Elizabetta von Valtaria, whom he had faced across the table, was a Holy Grail far beyond what they had desperately sought across the entire continent. A body to descend a god into. Noble pure blood that would ultimately complete the ascension of evil. If extreme pain and fear were injected into her flesh, she would become even more perfect.
The reason he had infiltrated the imperial palace by disguising himself as one of the princess’s suitors was to visually assess Elizabetta’s suitability.
“…Well, it was worth the effort.”
How much preparation had gone into infiltrating the imperial palace, which was no different from a wolf’s den? They had killed the real Dagilek Brannon, who had been chosen as a suitor. They had worn his skin. Then they had manipulated his soul and possessed his body. They had shown meticulous care—blocking all traces to pass through strict security, temporarily sealing their power with blessings, and even taking every measure to avoid detection by holy power. Thanks to mobilizing so many cult worshipers, the deception had succeeded.
“But four hours is the limit. Any longer will be difficult. If you had delayed even a little, you would have been detected immediately by the empire’s Red Dragon and the Holy Kingdom’s White Dragon. You would have been captured without being able to use any of your power.”
Even after mobilizing countless cult worshipers, four hours was the absolute limit. Infiltrating an impregnable fortress was a life-risking endeavor even for seasoned cultists. It had been an extremely dangerous deception. But the gains were enormous. They had confirmed that Princess Elizabetta was the ultimate Holy Grail.
Ever since being jilted by the hero Maximilian, Elizabetta had completely cut off all outside activities. That was why they had no choice but to take the risk of infiltrating the imperial palace to make contact with the Platinum Princess. And—.
“Did you plant ‘it’ on the princess’s close aide?”
“Of course.”
The group formed by cult worshipers who had fled from the Demon King’s army and the suppression of the Holy Kingdom—the Guides. The purpose of these cruel criminals was to secure living sacrifices to descend their god. A cunning malice, intending to bring a miserable end to the villainess Elizabetta, began to slowly reveal itself like poisonous fog rising from the ground.