Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Witch's Sacrament
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#
The air holds a unique scent just before the rain.
Roberta looked up at the sky as she rode across the wide field. It was crystal clear, with only a few clouds, yet the wind carried the scent of damp earth. Her intuition told her it would rain soon.
“It’s going to rain.”
At the same time, Ulrich, beside her, said the same thing.
“Look, the rain clouds are coming. We need to pick up the pace.”
Roberta and Fritz looked back. Rain clouds had gathered in the distance. The sky was turning black, as if an ink brush had been dipped into the edge of a water bowl. They were moving fast. They would soon be upon the three of them.
This wasn’t Dithmarschen, and the season was summer. Getting caught in the rain wouldn’t be life-threatening. Still, they couldn’t afford to get soaked, so they spurred their horses on.
Fortunately, a hill was nearby. It was covered in lush trees, perfect for taking shelter from the rain. Just as the party reached the hill, the clouds arrived overhead. With a great whoosh, the rain began to fall.
“It doesn’t seem like it will rain for long.”
“Mm.”
Roberta shook her wet hair and looked at the edge of the clouds. Though the rain clouds were thick, she could see blue sky in the distance. It was a passing shower. She let out a short sigh and sat down, leaning her back against a tree.
Fritz, unconcerned about the rain, stepped out from under the trees to soothe the horses. The animals seemed frightened by the downpour, but they calmed as he stroked them, murmuring, “Easy, now. Easy.”
“…”
She shifted her gaze to Ulrich. He stood leaning against an old tree, his arms crossed, silently watching the plains. He was a man who rarely showed his emotions, so she couldn’t tell if he was truly admiring the scenery or lost in thought.
“My lord, where are we headed next?”
Roberta asked, looking up at him for a moment.
The trio’s final destination was Eisleburg. Their goal was to attend the royal wedding in the capital of the Osnover Kingdom.
However, she couldn’t guess their route. Hadn’t they spent a day in Luman’s village before? For him, this journey was more than just a trip to Eisleburg.
“We’ll be stopping by Meyer.”
Fritz, who had been stroking a horse’s head, turned in surprise.
“To my family’s estate?”
“That’s the plan for now.”
Meyer referred to the family of Count Meyer.
Ulrich had previously mentioned that his wife, Hilde, unable to bear children, had adopted several sons. Hohenlohe was the eldest among them, and the Meyer family were his direct descendants.
“Since I’ve left my domain, I thought I should pay them a visit.”
But Fritz’s reaction was hesitant.
“If we must go, it will be quite a detour…”
His voice trailed off as he glanced at Ulrich. He clearly wasn’t pleased about visiting his family home. In fact, he seemed to be subtly expressing his opposition.
‘Does he have bad memories there?’
Roberta tilted her head.
Why else would he react that way?
Could there be some discord she didn’t know about, related to why he came to Dithmarschen? It was strange, now that she thought about it. Fritz was the fourth son, but wasn’t Bernhard the eldest? The eldest son usually inherits the family title, yet for some reason, he had become the Duke of Dithmarschen’s steward.
She watched Ulrich’s reaction, but he was as composed as ever. He calmly waited for the rain to lighten, and as expected, it soon stopped.
The sky, swept clean by the rain clouds, was a pure, empty blue. The sun now poured its unobstructed light onto the damp fields.
Instead of feeling refreshed, Roberta fanned herself a few times against the sticky, humid summer air before getting up and mounting her horse.
#
The city of Tenoff was located in a territory between the counties of Goeten and Meyer. It was barely large enough to be classified as a city, but a city it was, a settlement bustling with people.
Passing through the eastern gate, Roberta dismounted and felt the familiar chaotic atmosphere for the first time in a long while. Near the market, the sharp voices of vendors hawking their wares, customers haggling, and people arguing filled the air.
Back when she was an ordinary priest at the Nua Grand Temple, she had told Bishop Alonso that she disliked this kind of atmosphere. That hadn’t changed. She still disliked the scattered clamor of a crowd.
But perhaps because she had spent a year in the north, or perhaps because she had experienced solitude in a land devoid of people, for a brief moment, the atmosphere felt strangely welcoming.
‘Alonso said this was a sign of getting older.’
She gave a dry laugh to herself and asked Ulrich.
“We aren’t staying the night, are we? We’re moving on right away?”
Ulrich, who was walking ahead, confirmed it.
“It’s not even noon yet, so there’s no need to stay. We’ll have a light meal and then leave.”
“Before that, may I have a look around the market?”
It seemed a market was open, she said.
“Go ahead. But don’t take too long. We need to reach the next stop before nightfall to avoid camping out, so we must leave before noon.”
After finishing her meal at the inn’s tavern, Roberta headed to the market with Fritz. Ulrich stayed behind at the inn, saying he had letters to write.
Tenoff was a small city, so the market was little more than a space with several stalls set up. Roberta planned to look for some travel supplies, including dried rations.
“Do you need anything, Fritz?”
Fritz waved his hands in response to her question.
“No, I’m fine. Just think of me as your porter.”
“A porter? You’re being too hard on yourself.”
Fritz gave an awkward smile.
“Well, it’s my first time traveling, so… there’s not much I can do.”
“That’s perfectly normal. Everyone has a first time.”
She gave him a gentle smile and patted his head. To her, the boy was like a younger brother, not too far apart in age, so she understood how he felt.
Sixteen wasn’t a young age. It was an age where one was expected to pull their own weight. Especially in a remote place like Dithmarschen, where one was forced to do so from an even younger age.
But Fritz was originally a young master, wasn’t he? Even though he had spent years in Dithmarschen as the lord’s attendant, he was born and raised in the County of Meyer. He had gone from being the young master of a prominent noble family to a servant.
“When I was your age, I was busy running errands for the adults. Well, that was less than ten years ago, I suppose.”
“You, Priestess?”
His tone was incredulous. She laughed to herself, thinking she must have really become an adult. It had only been a few years since she was busy trailing after Alonso.
“For now, just watch what Lord Ulrich and I do, and learn. Then, whenever you get the chance, you can try doing things one by one.”
“Yes…”
Fritz hesitated before nodding. But while he seemed to understand, there was an air about him as if he wanted to say something else but swallowed the words. She noticed but didn’t press him.
He must have his reasons. If it was something that could be resolved by talking to her, he would have said it. If not, what could she do? She continued through the market, making light conversation.
“You damn thing, hold still!”
And just then, a commotion broke out.
The two stopped talking and turned their heads. In a corner of the market, a horse was rearing up on its hind legs, crying out. Next to it stood a man who appeared to be its owner, angrily yanking on the reins.
“I told you to be still!”
The horse’s head was pulled limply along with the reins. It was a small animal. So young it looked like it could be a foal, it struggled and cried pitifully. Each time, instead of calmly trying to soothe it, the owner cracked his whip.
Seeing the young horse’s back being whipped, Fritz frowned and turned his face away. The man clearly didn’t know how to handle horses.
What could he possibly gain by treating it so roughly, Fritz muttered to himself with a sigh. Even if he felt pity, there was nothing the boy could do.
A horse was property. One couldn’t meddle with another’s property. All Fritz could do was leave to avoid the unpleasant sight.
“Let’s go somewhere else, Priestess Roberta.”
But she didn’t move to leave.
“Priestess?”
“Just a moment.”
She frowned, looking at the young horse.
“…”
Roberta felt something that Fritz hadn’t.
The moment she laid eyes on the young horse, she felt a sense of wrongness. It was a feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on. A fleeting, subtle sensation that anyone else might have dismissed as a trick of the mind.
Roberta didn’t just let it go. She focused her attention, carefully observing the young horse. And then she felt the flow of mana.
All living things have mana flowing through them. Normally, this flow is difficult to perceive. The amount of mana is too small and its flow too gentle to be felt even a single step away. Usually.
It was like being unable to feel the heat of a person with a fever without touching their body.
And yet, she could feel the flow of mana from the young horse. She could sense it even from dozens of paces away. As she drew closer, step by step, the feeling became clearer.
‘It’s not my imagination.’
Masking her thoughts with a smile, she spoke to the horse’s owner.
“Are you alright? Your horse seems quite wild.”
“Ah, Priestess. My apologies for the unsightly display. It’s unusually fierce for a young one.”
The owner nervously slapped the horse’s cheek. The horse cried out again, but swallowed its cry when the owner made a motion to slap it once more.
Roberta forced herself to smooth out the frown that threatened to form at the owner’s behavior. Using the excuse that it might be acting out because it was in pain, she approached the young horse.
The terrified horse shied back even more as she reached out her hand. But the owner pulled on the reins, and it could retreat no further. In that moment, Roberta placed her hand on the horse’s head.
‘The amount and flow of mana aren’t normal.’
Through her fingertips, Roberta felt the mana flowing through the horse’s body. The flow was certainly strange. Unlike any horse she had ever ridden, the amount of mana was considerable, and its current was turbulent.
It was not a natural amount or flow of mana. It was like when she imbued a sword with mana to sharpen its edge—an artificial infusion of mana causing a change within.
“Fritz, go get Lord Ulrich. Tell him his confirmation is needed.”
“Yes.”
After Fritz left, she asked the owner.
“Did you raise this horse yourself?”
“No. I caught it wandering in the mountains a while ago.”
“So you don’t know who the owner is.”
“Yes, I’ve asked around, but…”
The owner explained that he had never properly raised a horse before. He didn’t have the means to. His only intention was to find the original owner and get a reward, or to sell it for a decent price.
The young horse, listening to their conversation, let out a small cry toward Roberta. It wasn’t the pitiful cry it had made at its owner. It was a bizarre sound, made by opening and closing its mouth like a person.
On top of that, it scraped the ground with its hoof. The road was well-paved, so it left no mark, but the young horse made the unintelligible gesture to get Roberta’s attention.
It wasn’t just the mana; the horse’s behavior was strange.
‘Could it be?’
Just as her suspicion solidified, Ulrich arrived.
He didn’t ask Roberta for an explanation. Even though Fritz couldn’t have told him much, he simply walked up to the young horse and stroked its long head.
“You were lucky.”
What did he mean, lucky? Ulrich handed the horse’s owner a handful of gold coins. The owner, who had been standing there dumbly, gaped as the gold was placed in his palm. Then, as if afraid it would be taken back, he quickly stuffed it into his pocket and left in a hurry.
After handing over the gold, Ulrich paid the man no mind as he left. He stroked the trembling, terrified young horse and gave a gentle smile.
“There’s no need to worry, child. I know the situation you’re in.”
At that, the young horse nodded its head and cried mournfully.
“My lord, is this what I think it is…?”
“Yes. This child was originally human.”