Episode 52 – Suspicion

*

Mela’s son, Edward, was anxiously killing time outside Dena’s room.

What the hell was the man they brought in to lift Dena’s undead curse doing? Not a single sound came from the tightly shut room.

As if no one was there, in the silent hallway, Edward suddenly realized he knew nothing about this mysterious doctor, and he became very uneasy.

He didn’t even know the man’s name.

He was wearing ominous-looking attire, but that must be the garb worn by plague doctors who need to minimize contact with patients, so was he really a doctor?

But curses and divine power were clearly far removed from medicine.

Unfortunately, the number of priests in this world who could heal was very small.

As such, the miracle of healing was an incredibly powerful and rare miracle among the miracles of divine power bestowed by the Goddess.

Even the few priests who existed were all traveling with soldiers on battlefields or to exterminate monsters, so naturally, medicine developed to fill the void.

However, its efficacy was far below that of a miracle, in reality.

Well, that’s why it’s called a miracle, I guess.

Edward fidgeted anxiously, pressing his ear against the tightly closed door.

Still, no sound could be heard.

The only reason he trusted this strange doctor was because he was introduced by Baron Salvier.

Of course, he had witnessed with his own eyes Baron Salvier being freed from the undead curse and walking around perfectly fine, so he was certain that this doctor had the ability to lift the curse,

But still, Edward felt uneasy and was on tenterhooks for some reason.

Maybe Baron Salvier was fooled.

He wouldn’t care if some heretical black magic could cure Dena, but what if there was some ominous price or side effect?

Ah, maybe he was begging for help from someone who defied the Goddess’s will, and that’s why the Goddess wouldn’t bestow a miracle to save Tess.

In the agonizing time where each second felt like ten minutes, Edward’s insides were burning up.

That’s when it happened.

“…Edward?”

“Wh, who is it?”

In the darkened hallway, someone was approaching from afar, holding an oil lamp.

The warm orange light of the lamp scattered the darkness as it drew closer to Edward, step by step.

“Why are you still up at this hour…? Ah, were you watching over Dena?”

The woman who approached Edward was his mother, Mela, with hair as warm and orange as the lamp’s light.

“Ah, it’s you, Mother.”

“Good evening, Edward.”

As Edward felt relieved, Mela greeted him with a warm smile.

She looked back and forth between Edward and Dena’s door, then spoke to Edward in a worried tone.

“Edward, I’m proud and love how much you care for your siblings. But, you need to sleep, don’t you? It’s not a good idea to nurse your siblings to the point of harming your own body.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Hehe, I’m not trying to scold you. Just take it easy…”

“Yes…”

Edward looked at Mela.

Even though the hand holding the lamp was lower than her face, so the lighting was coming from below, her face was full of shadows and worries.

Edward carefully asked his mother a question.

“…Mother, why are you still awake at this hour?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Mela couldn’t continue her sentence.

In fact, she hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep for days.

*

The reason Mela couldn’t fall asleep was partly due to the terrible tragedies that had occurred in the mansion one after another, but the decisive cause was the great shock she had received from her conversation with Robin a few days ago.

She had vaguely noticed Robin’s affair, but there were so many women who admired the Hero, and he had been a trustworthy leader throughout the journey to defeat the Demon King, and he had finally become a hero of the Empire, no, the entire continent, and had even risen to the position of nobleman,

She thought that some rumors were bound to follow someone who had achieved such fairytale-like accomplishments.

However, Robin, who seemed to have had all his masks stripped off after losing Daniel a few days ago, was not someone who could be explained away by a mere moral lapse.

Robin’s shameless behavior was shocking, but what was even more shocking was Robin’s confidence.

Robin’s attitude, as if he felt no shame for what he had done, came as a shock to Mela beyond imagination.

Mela couldn’t believe that what she had seen that day was Robin’s true nature.

He was the one who had embraced her until the end when she was frustrated after losing Ed, and he had worked hard to erect a statue of Ed so that his sacrifice would not be forgotten.

Robin just smiled at me as I looked at the completed statue, crying that I couldn’t forget Ed, and hugged Mela, saying, ‘I won’t forget my friend Ed either, so it’s okay.’

After that, Robin married her because he couldn’t leave her alone, and even gave her a garden full of Salvier flowers to help her recover.

Mela was moved by Robin’s heart and gradually fell for his consideration and kindness.

And eventually, she came to love him as a wife.

She still missed Ed in a large part of her heart, but Robin even understood that.

Mela felt greatly blessed that the two men she loved most in her life were both wonderful people, and she raised two children.

In Mela’s eyes, Robin began to change after Lara disappeared with Lily.

Robin, Jennifer, and herself all used every method to find her, but as in the past, there was no one who could find Lara once she had decided to hide.

Perhaps the only person who could do that was Ed.

Rumors of Robin’s affairs also started around that time.

When Mela took in a maid named Mena, who was on the verge of being kicked out of the mansion because she couldn’t handle any work, she heard the maids whispering that she had slept with Robin.

However, there were many maids in this mansion who admired Robin.

And it wasn’t just maids, when she went to social gatherings or balls, noble women ranging from 10 to 60 years old were always hovering around Robin, flirting with him.

Mela was very unpleasant at first, but Jennifer said, ‘It can’t be helped, so don’t worry about it anymore,’ and didn’t care.

Certainly, admiring him was something she could understand as a woman, so Mela also decided not to worry about it to some extent.

Looking back now, Mela wondered if she should have corrected it back then.

If she had warned Robin for sure back then,

Wouldn’t she have been able to avoid seeing such a terrible sight a few days ago?

Wouldn’t Robin have become this kind of person?

Mela was so caught up in regret that she couldn’t fall asleep.

When her body couldn’t take it anymore and she fell asleep without knowing it, she dreamed of a naked Robin, the disappeared Lara, and the dead Ed appearing and blaming her.

Mela couldn’t refute their words and just shed tears, and when she woke up and wiped her face, she realized that she had actually been crying while sleeping.

A feeling of being trapped in a swamp where she couldn’t do anything, where she couldn’t escape unless someone saved her.

Mela was familiar with this terrible feeling.

Because that’s how she felt right after she lost Ed.

Mela felt like her mental state was returning to that time and was terrified every night.

There was no doubt that neither Ed nor Robin would be there to save her this time.

To shake off the terrible and disgusting fear that quickly took hold in her mind, Mela went for night walks for several days.

That’s when she saw her son, Edward, today.

*

“I fell asleep early, so I woke up early. So I’m just coming back from a night walk.”

Mela lied to her son.

Edward nodded and replied briefly, ‘I see.’

In fact, as soon as he realized that the person who had appeared was his mother, Edward’s gaze was only directed at Dena’s door.

Mela spoke to her son.

“It’s not unreasonable to worry, but why aren’t the priests coming…? Was there no priest on standby at the cathedral?”

“Didn’t you know…?”

“Know what?”

“That Father… no, Count Boldiras is interfering with Dena’s treatment.”

“What…?”

Mela almost dropped the lamp in her hand.

Mela, having spent a long time in aristocratic society, immediately understood Robin’s intentions.

He must have wanted to hide the fact that an undead had appeared in the mansion.

But she couldn’t believe that her husband didn’t even care, even though the price of keeping that secret was the life of his daughter, who wasn’t even ten years old.

What added credibility to the words was Edward’s attitude of calling his father ‘Count Boldiras’ as if he were a stranger.

Goodness, how far is Robin’s rampage going to go?

At the end of Mela’s shock, anger began to creep in.

Edward continued to speak.

“Actually, I was introduced to someone who lifted Baron Salvier-nim’s curse by the Baron-nim, and I let him into Dena’s room just now.”

“…Baron Salvier-nim?”

Mela recalled her last meeting with Baron Salvier.

After suffering so many misfortunes from this family, that kind person left this mansion with the words that he wouldn’t contact them for a while,

He’s someone who can’t refuse a request for help, even after continuous harm and disappointment.

Mela felt so sorry and ashamed that she lowered her head.

However, unlike Mela’s emotions, her son’s voice, which continued to speak, was filled with doubt and anxiety.

“Yes… but, I’m a little uneasy.”

“…Uneasy?”

“That person… is a little strange.”

Edward explained about the man the Baron had introduced.

He was definitely a suspicious person.

Of course, she didn’t want to doubt the Baron’s kindness, but Mela was worried that he might be using forgotten ancient black magic or radical heretical methods.

Such treatments definitely had side effects.

Unlike the adult Baron Salvier, something unbearable might happen to the still young Dena.

Moreover, as a former Saintess, Mela was as wary of heretical methods as the current priest, Edward.

Mela said to Edward.

“If that’s the case, you should have told me in advance, I might have been able to notice something…”

“Yes, I didn’t even think of that. I was too hasty.”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

‘You don’t know anything.’

Mela gritted her teeth, recalling Robin’s mockery.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she said to Edward.

“I’ll go into Dena’s room once,”

“Yes? Bu, but,”

“There’s no such thing as a spell that fails just by opening the door. That goes for miracles and curses alike.”

“…But, what if something happens to Dena…”

“I’ll go see the Pope himself and bring a priest no matter what. Don’t worry.”

“Mo, Mother, wait!”

Mela turned the doorknob of Dena’s room with all her might and opened it.

“What are you doing?”

“Kyaa!”

As soon as she opened the door, a tall man in a black robe and a bird beak mask was standing right in front of her.

Mela was so surprised that she fell backward.

The bird beak mask stared blankly at Mela, then spoke to Edward, who came to help her up.

“It’s done, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes? Ah… Dena.”

Edward helped Mela up, then entered the room with her to see Dena.

The symptoms of undeadification that had been tormenting Dena had completely disappeared, and she was breathing quietly, saeak-saeak-, with a more comfortable expression and sound.

Edward ran out of the room, approached the doctor, and bowed his head.

“Th… Thank you. Thank you so much!”

“Hmm,”

The doctor listened to Edward’s greetings without paying attention, rummaging through his pockets.

He took out a thrice-folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over, urging.

“It’s not time to rest assured yet. Her body is too weak. When she wakes up, feed her this vegetable porridge for a while, and she needs to rest.”

“Ah, yes, I understand.”

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Ah, should I get you a carriage…”

“No need. Don’t follow me.”

The doctor walked down the hallway, tok-tak, tok-tak.

Covered in black clothes from head to toe, he quickly blended into the darkly lit hallway and disappeared, making it impossible to find his figure.

Only the strange footsteps echoing in the hallway indicated that he was moving away.

Edward bowed his head once more in the direction the doctor had disappeared, then entered the room.

“That’s a relief. Mother.”

“…”

“…Mother?”

Edward looked at Mela.

Mela’s face, as she stared intently at Dena without saying a word, was somehow strange.

“Mother… what’s wrong?”

“…That person just now. Who the hell is he…?”

“Yes…? We, well, I don’t know his identity either. The Baron-nim said he didn’t know either…”

Mela closed her mouth and touched Dena’s shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages.

Not only the curse, but also the wound on Dena’s shoulder had completely disappeared.

Mela was very familiar with the sensation that reached her fingertips every time she touched Dena.

She realized it immediately.

“Edward…”

“Yes?”

“This is, divine power…”

“Then… are you saying that person is a priest?”

“No… I don’t know, this is…”

Mela’s senses could clearly tell.

‘This is the divine power of a Saintess.’

.