Chapter 96: I’ll Wipe the Temple Off the Face of the Earth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96: I’ll Wipe the Temple Off the Face of the Earth
I gave him a big thumbs-up. This time, he truly deserved the praise.
Dantalion smiled, picked me up, and stood. He then extended a hand toward Marianne.
“Leading the Moon of Life Festival must have been exhausting. You should stay at the Imperial Palace for the time being.”
“I—I…”
Marianne hesitated at Dantalion’s suggestion.
It seemed he intended to protect her by keeping her at the palace, fearing the Temple might pull something nefarious again if they took her back right away. After all, there was still a week left of the Moon of Life Ball.
“Your Majesty, you cannot decide the Saintess’s residence so arbitrarily.”
“Arbitrarily? I made a suggestion out of consideration for the Saintess’s hard work. Does this look like coercion to you?”
“It’s not that, but…”
As expected, no one could beat Dantalion in a war of words. Even the High Priest, who seemed so formidable, was helpless before him.
[Way to go, scary Sword Master!]
[He really is Master’s new papa!]
Haha.
Desmond and Bibi shouted in excitement. Feeling proud myself, I reached out to her.
“Let’s go together, Sister!”
“O-Oh, okay. I mean—yes, Your Highness.”
Marianne, who had almost reflexively answered as if she were speaking to a younger sibling, caught herself and corrected her speech.
I was busy looking after her. When I gripped Marianne’s formal robes with my small hands, she gave a bright smile.
“I’ll stay by your side, Your Highness.”
“Yay!”
And so, the midpoint of the ball came to an end.
*
In the end, it was decided that the Imperial Family and the Temple would cooperate to resolve the Southern Plague.
Marianne came to stay at the Empress’s Palace. It was the safest place for her.
But this isn’t going to solve everything.
Even if the priests went there, they wouldn’t be able to stop the plague. It was caused by a demon’s poison. Unless the Empress Dowager withdrew the poison, no one would be able to purify it. That was how it went in the original story, too.
I have to find a way to send Ilnes there.
Fortunately, there was a demon on our side who was an expert on poisons: Ilnes, who was under a proxy contract with Nathaniel. I sank into deep thought, weighing my options.
[Just send Ilnes and his proxy contractor over there.]
[That’s right. Even if he’s in a child’s body, he’s sturdy and will hold up well.]
How am I supposed to do that?
If Nathaniel went alone, he would inevitably run into people from the Temple, and they certainly wouldn’t leave him be. They would try to drag him back and turn him into a weapon again.
That High Priest was more than capable of doing such a thing. I still couldn’t forget the chilling way he had glared at me during the ball.
“Dia, is something bothering you?”
“Huh?”
Perhaps because my expression was dark, Nathaniel asked with concern. I shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
“Really?”
“Mhm.”
Maybe because I had just been thinking about him, it was hard to lie. Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed.
I didn’t think he used to be this quick-witted. Lately, Nathaniel had become much more expressive and sharp-eyed, and his scrutiny felt so burdensome that I awkwardly turned my head away.
“Y-Your Highness.”
“Saintess Sister!”
Marianne approached me. Having shed her heavy formal robes, she was dressed in her usual modest attire.
Since she was at the Imperial Palace, she could have worn a much prettier and more lavish dress, but this was very much like her.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Mhm! Did you sleep well too, Sister?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Marianne nodded with a smile.
Seeing how much prettier she looked when she ate and rested well, it made me even angrier to think that, if things had gone wrong, she might have been suffering through a grueling march right now.
“But… is it really alright for me to be here…?”
“The Emperor said it was okay! You just have to stay here with Dia!”
I spoke as if throwing a bit of a tantrum and squeezed Marianne’s hand. Her eyes widened in surprise before she broke into a melting smile.
“Yes. I’ll stay with you, Your Highness.”
“Hehe, yay!”
Genuinely excited, I hopped up and down while holding her hand.
“My, it seems we have another guest in the palace.”
“Teacher!”
Melissa entered the room and looked down at me with eyes that seemed to be watching a little troublemaker.
She must have already heard from Veronica that Marianne was here, but her acting was top-notch.
“Can Sister join our lessons too?”
“Well, if the Saintess is willing?”
“I—I would like that.”
Upon seeing Melissa, Marianne grew tense again. I shook the hand I was holding to signal that it was okay.
“I am Melissa Renid, Saintess. It is an honor to meet you.”
“Ah, the honor is mine. I am Marianne… Lionel.”
After glancing at me for a moment, Marianne used the surname she had recently been granted.
Come to think of it, I heard that Cedric and Gloria had officially married as soon as Veronica and Dantalion’s ceremony was over.
Since Gloria was a commoner and was being revered as a Holy Mother, the Temple had held a quiet, brief ceremony, so it seemed not many nobles had attended.
Regardless, thanks to that, Marianne could officially enter noble society, which was a good thing.
I didn’t mind at all, but Marianne was still walking on eggshells around me. I tapped the back of her hand with my fingertips as she looked down like a sinner.
“Teacher Mel knows everything!”
“Pardon?”
“Dia can even read books because Teacher taught her!”
“W-Wow. That’s amazing.”
At my innocent praise, Marianne fortunately regained some of her spirit. I sat down beside her as she gave a faint smile.
“Let’s see. I assume the Saintess is already receiving etiquette training at the Temple?”
“Ah, yes.”
“It might be slightly different from Imperial etiquette, so it might be good to compare the two.”
“How could I possibly…”
“Oh, why not? Both Their Majesties have permitted this.”
Melissa continued smoothly with a playful smile. Marianne, who had been shrinking back, stared at Melissa in a daze.
“If it were the Temple, they wouldn’t have said that.”
“What did they say to you at the Temple, Saintess?”
“There, they…”
Marianne’s eyes grew hazy as she recalled the past. I watched her with renewed interest.
“They told me never to repeat anything I saw or heard there to anyone…”
“Ho? And?”
“And… they were very scary when they taught me. They never let a mistake slide.”
“In what way?”
“That’s, well…”
Marianne grew flustered by the continued questioning. She suddenly looked around the room as if she were afraid of someone.
Just what did they do to this child?
I smelled a rat.
Thinking about it now, there was no way the Temple—which was on the same side as the Empress Dowager, who used demons to commit atrocities—would treat Marianne well just because she was the Saintess.
I should have taken Marianne away from those lunatics sooner. I gritted my teeth.
“It’s alright, you can tell us, Saintess. You are safe here. No one will know what you’ve told me.”
“Well, those people…”
Whether she gained courage from Melissa’s words or simply had a long-standing desire to tell someone, Marianne spoke up, her voice thick with emotion.
Then, she pulled up her sleeves. Upon closer inspection, thin scars remained.
“If I couldn’t do as I was told, they would strike my arms and legs with a rod. The wounds healed thanks to divine power, but the scars that didn’t quite fade are like this…”
Marianne couldn’t finish her sentence and lowered her head. I, too, lost my words and fell silent.
“Those people inflicted many wounds upon your precious body.”
“A-Ah, no. It was because I made mistakes, so…”
“It is only natural for a child to make mistakes. Their thoughts and actions were wrong. You did nothing wrong, Saintess.”
Melissa spoke firmly as she patted the shoulders of the trembling Marianne. At that, Marianne burst into tears.
“I’m so… so scared. To be honest, I don’t want to go to the plague region. I don’t want to go back to the Temple, hic…”
With her face set in a terrifyingly grim expression, Melissa pulled Marianne into an embrace. I also gripped Marianne’s hand tightly again.
[Hmph, those bastards have always pretended to be kind on the outside while committing all sorts of foul deeds behind the scenes.]
[People who hit children are the absolute worst! They should all be hunted down and killed!]
Desmond and Bibi shouted in a rage. I nodded in agreement.
I’m going to raze the Temple to the ground.
The day the Empress Dowager is ousted, the Temple won’t be safe either. I will make sure every last one of them is purged.
I ground my teeth, making a silent vow.