Chapter 72: Holy Water…? – 1

Chapter 72: Holy Water…? – 1

“…There’s such a thing?”

“B-but there was definitely no mana unique to a priest?”

The surrounding nobles began to murmur.

Well, I was also amazed when I first saw Lucia’s potions.

Their first impression of Lucia almost got weird, but fortunately, the potion’s effects were so outstanding that curiosity seemed to outweigh any negative views of Lucia.

…Of course, I also stepped in on purpose.

‘…Did Lucia calculate this and challenge him to a duel?’

Lucia isn’t so foolish as to not know this is a formal occasion.

Especially, she’s not a child who wouldn’t know how to treat me, the host and Duke’s daughter, in such a setting.

…Especially since those graceful movements are like something straight out of an etiquette textbook.

I’m starting to get curious about the true identity of this self-proclaimed commoner, Lucia.

It’s easy to mimic etiquette, but it’s hard for someone to move gracefully so unconsciously.

……I didn’t particularly want to know, but it was a fact I had come to realize.

Anyway… the point is that there’s a high probability Lucia is acting with this situation in mind.

She was already scheduled to be introduced as someone sponsored by the Duke’s family, but she probably wanted to properly show her worth.

…Or, it could just be that she genuinely found that crazy bastard Angelo disgusting and challenged him to a duel.

‘That makes sense… I also couldn’t stand looking at that son of a bitch’s face, so I found a suitable excuse to kick him out of the Defense Force.’

He’s a useful guy in terms of skill, personality, and even administrative matters… but he’s a crazy bastard who completely negates all those advantages when he sees a pretty person.

The bigger problem is that the category of ‘pretty person’ doesn’t discriminate by age or gender, I suppose.

Of course, he doesn’t genuinely act that way because he sees that person as his future partner.

He’s just a damn crazy lunatic who, when he sees a ‘pretty person,’ praises their beauty and tells them that he feels such a way.

If you’re going to be crazy, be crazy in a nice way; being crazy like that is just hopeless.

…That crazy bastard kept doing that to me, so I just hung him upside down and showed him some Defense Force torture devices, and that’s what he said himself.

Still, he was a useful guy, except for that part. Perhaps because he was so crazy, he treated me as a ‘pretty person’ rather than the Duke’s daughter.

Should I call it a good experience to escape the tiresome treatment of being the Duke’s daughter, or an experience where some crazy bastard looked at me with deep eyes and sang of my beauty, giving me goosebumps?

…Looking at it this way, Lucia really shamed him nicely. If she had just told me, I could have had him broken in a few places under the guise of ‘training’ at the Duke’s family.

‘…Still, he’s a crazy bastard who keeps some boundaries… but honestly, considering Lucia’s looks, it’s understandable.’

If Angelo is the type to throw crazy flirtations at ‘pretty people’ regardless of age or gender, Lucia has a charm that devours age and gender and captivates people.

Before, that charm seemed hidden by a cute feeling, but recently, that sexiness has become overtly apparent.

Therefore, I can understand why this crazy bastard acted that way… but forgiveness and tolerance are completely different categories from understanding.

‘How should I deal with this guy now…?’

As I was thinking that, Lucia whispered softly in my ear.

…The nobles, though stunned, were not watching Lucia’s actions, their attention drawn to Angelo, whose body was recovering in real-time.

“…Thank you. My reason was temporarily paralyzed because of that damn crazy bastard.”

“……So that’s what it was.”

“Why, are you disappointed?”

“No, I understand. I’ve… had a similar experience. But please be a bit more careful in the future. You might unnecessarily damage your reputation.”

“Heheh. I believed that even if I caused trouble like this, you, unnie, would come to clean it up anyway.”

Lucia’s face was filled with strong trust as she said that.

…Well, that’s why she called me by my name even in this setting, I suppose.

‘……If she’s going to call me, she might as well just call me unnie.’

Of course, the nobles, who knew nothing of the relationship between me and Lucia, nor that Lucia had saved my father during the last attack, would have been completely flabbergasted.

Moreover, their perception of me would change a lot… but I don’t really care.

After all, that ‘inhuman Duke’s daughter’ is a manufactured image. My father lives his whole life that way because that was his original disposition… but I have no intention of doing so.

Since I’ve already received permission that I no longer need to maintain that ‘perfection,’ I plan to reveal my sometimes emotional and much more ‘human’ self to the noble society.

Of course, I will be more ruthless and cold than anything else towards the sons of bitches who dared to target the Duke’s family and my father and Lucia.

“By the way, this is actually a good situation.”

“What is?”

“At least people won’t think things like, ‘Why did such a child receive the Duke’s family’s patronage?’ when they see me.”

“Indeed, that’s true. Looking at those worms arguing over whether the potion you made is holy water.”

In fact, the awakened Angelo, that crazy bastard, was shouting that it felt like he had drunk holy water, causing the nobles to grow increasingly noisy.

One side was arguing that it was holy water, or something equivalent, while the other was arguing how it could be holy water when no mana unique to a priest was felt.

…Judging by Lucia’s dumbfounded reaction, the latter seemed to be correct.

“Pfft. Holy water, you say. There’s no way I could make such a thing… huh?”

Saying that, Lucia stared blankly into the air for a moment.

She was mouthing something, as if she had seen something shocking.

“…I can make it?”

“……I don’t know either.”

Saying that, Lucia quickly turned her head.

…Unfortunately, Lucia seemed unaware that her reaction was equivalent to saying, ‘I can make it!’

‘Holy water made by a commoner… that would be enough to overturn the church several times over.’

In fact, the potion Lucia just made is already extremely dangerous.

Not natural healing like herbs, but healing to the extent of reattaching shattered bones, and such instantaneous healing at that…

Because the Holy Kingdom and the church, fearing their livelihoods would be taken away, might do anything crazy.

‘It’s so bad that people even say, ‘Hate the Pope and the church, but love God.’ among themselves.’

When it came to matters of God, they were most respected, but conversely, in everything else, the church and the Pope were utterly despised.

Analyzing the words of God, who created this world and still occasionally performs miracles, and recreating those miracles, is undeniably impossible without the Holy Kingdom.

The problem is that these crazy clerics are using it to monopolize healing and engage in various profiteering schemes.

Looking at their behavior, excluding their piety, one wonders, ‘How on earth do such people recreate God’s miracles?’ That’s the clerics of the church.

Therefore, evangelists and pastors who truly wish to spread God’s word, miracles, and power are not affiliated with the church.

No, even if they were affiliated, they would have quit long ago.

…Because of this, those currently in the church, with very few exceptions, are all desperate to protect their own interests…

‘They wouldn’t openly touch someone sponsored by the Duke’s family, but there would be many underhanded schemes.’

Unfortunately, Lucia didn’t seem to know this far.

Indeed, on the surface, the clerics of the church appeared more pious and purposeful than anyone else.

It’s just that when money and vested interests come into play, greedy materialists emerge instead of that piety.

“…But are we just staying like this? Why don’t we introduce me now?”

“Huh? Should we? By the way, Father… hmm, as expected, he’s watching with a smile.”

My father’s expression rarely changes, and even when it does, it’s only by a tiny bit, but there’s one exception.

…When he’s watching noble fights.

Considering that my father was the one who put the dueling ground in the middle of the banquet hall in the first place, the answer is quite clear.

Therefore, my father seems to perceive this incident caused by Lucia as an event that broke out in what would otherwise be a boring banquet filled with formalities.

Well, he is someone who has the ability to suppress any noise that might arise.

“…That? It’s no different from usual?”

“If you watch Father for a long time, you’ll understand. He secretly enjoys meaningless squabbles among nobles.

It’s entertaining, but… he also likes it because those worms exhaust themselves.”

“That’s quite a Duke-nim-like thing to say.”

“Right?”

Saying that, Lucia and I slowly ascended to the podium in the banquet hall.

…The nobles were still fighting over Lucia’s potion, and Angelo was passionately praising Lucia’s potion.

‘That bastard, he’s not actually in love this time, is he?’

Suddenly, that uneasy thought crossed my mind, and I turned to look at Lucia’s face beside me.

…Hmm, her beauty was enough to make that crazy bastard pledge his life.

Unfortunately, Lucia seemed to treat Angelo as a thoroughly disgusting creature.

‘Well, if problems arise later… I’ll just quietly bring him to the Duke’s family and ‘train’ him.’

It must have been a coincidence that Angelo’s words stopped for a moment, as if he felt something chilling.