episode_0125

“High Priestess! High Priestess! Just a moment, please…”

“Cornelia, please close the door.”

“Market Deputy! This is not acceptable! There are things that must be asked of the High Priestess!”

Thud.

The door closes, separating the bustling outside from the quiet inside.

The paparazzi-like figures that had been constantly following me are now a thing of the past.

For the time being, I plan to stay here at Briem Manor.

“High Priestess…”

“I did it in the end.”

“Gosojang. Did you report it?”

“Yes! That’s why the investigators kept bothering me, but I managed to fend them off! No matter what they asked, I couldn’t answer. I didn’t even think about the specific details of the incident.”

“…”

Cornelia’s mouth hangs open in disbelief.

I understand why she would react that way.

I committed such an outrageous act.

“Will the investigation proceed?”

“It will. The High Priestess’s credibility is stronger than you think. Whether the incident actually happened or not is uncertain, but once the High Priestess has identified a specific person, the investigation to find that person must begin.”

“High Priestess. But once the investigation is over, it will be revealed that it was all a lie.”

“I know. I will be branded a liar, and the High Priestess’s position will be greatly shaken. But it had to be done.”

“Sigh…”

Cornelia’s sigh makes me flinch and shiver.

I can’t help but feel sorry for Cornelia.

How much have I indebted her until now?

And now, I have committed such a heinous act that she vehemently opposed.

Of course, there is a reason for it, but…

“Have you eaten?”

“No…”

“Come in. Don’t stand there like that. I’ll prepare a meal soon. Would you like to use my room?”

“Yes, thank you…”

Cornelia offers to accommodate me without questioning or probing.

Her thoughtful consideration is so warm.

Cornelia is so kind that I can’t understand why she is so kind to someone like me, a troublesome woman.

“I was going to apologize when I met her…”

I look at the portrait I drew and chuckle.

It really resembles Eugene.

I didn’t know I had such talent.

I wished to see this face again.

To meet her again and apologize.

But now, that might not be possible.

Even if we were to meet again, Eugene would probably look at me with nothing but contempt.

My wish, now, cannot be fulfilled.

Because I ruined everything with my own hands…

“Come out to eat!”

“Yes.”

I bury my face in Cornelia’s pillow, then sluggishly walk out towards the dining room.

Cornelia is alone in the spacious dining room.

It seems she has dismissed all the servants.

As the meal begins, the dining room is filled with silence, except for the clinking of utensils.

After a while, Cornelia looks around cautiously before speaking.

“Um… Can I speak out of turn?”

“Feel free. There is no such thing as speaking out of turn between us.”

“High Priestess. I believe this time, you clearly crossed the line. It’s not just any other crime, but an attempted rape by the High Priestess warrants the death penalty. It could completely change one person’s life. I couldn’t help but think that it’s not only a threat to the High Priestess’s own existence but also a huge burden on that person… I had such thoughts that crossed the line…”

Cornelia speaks well, but she trails off at the end, avoiding my gaze.

She seems scared.

Seeing them proceed with the investigation on attempted rape without any evidence, it’s enough to make one fearful.

“Even if it means doing that, I have to find that person.”

“What do you want to do when you find that person?”

“I want to apologize…”

“That apology. They won’t accept it. The hatred towards the saint is so intense that they won’t even hear an apology.”

“…”

It’s true.

The person who left because they were tired of my clinginess.

But if they were to come back and find out that I’m chasing them for attempted rape, how shocked would they be?

How disgusted would they be?

How much would they hate me?

“Clear the warrant before it’s too late. You can say it was a misunderstanding and make it all go away.”

“I can’t do that… I’m sorry. You gave me advice and I…”

“…”

The conversation ended there.

Cornelia didn’t try to convince me any further.

But from her attitude, I could sense a subtle disappointment.

It’s clear what kind of disappointment it is.

It’s a disappointment in me as a human.

A disappointment in the saint’s character.

Perhaps the anonymous plea to stop the investigation that was sent to the Papal See was also written by Cornelia.

Clearly, Cornelia is trying to help me.

She hopes my reputation won’t be tarnished.

‘I should probably tell her…’

With that thought in mind, in a moment of hesitation.

“I’m done eating.”

Clatter.

Cornelia stood up, pushing her chair back.

I desperately grabbed her wrist.

“Wait.”

“…?”

“I have something to say.”

Even though I’m sure she won’t believe me.

I have to say it.

If I don’t, I’m afraid my relationship with Cornelia will be forever ruined.

After cleaning up the dishes.

Cornelia and I went out to the balcony.

A beautiful view of the city of Cologne spread out before us.

“Where should I start… It goes back quite a while.”

“Yes. Please tell me slowly, Saint.”

“Do you know where I’m from?”

“I do. Isn’t it Britannia? I heard you sought asylum in the Holy Kingdom during the Republican Revolution…”

“You know it exactly. When I was young. The wind of revolution blew, and I lost my parents to the guillotine, and I grew up on a distant path of exile. But all along the way, there was a foul stench in the air. When I asked what it was, the servants wouldn’t answer and covered my eyes, preventing me from seeing around me. When you’re young, the more they try to hide it, the more curious you become. So, secretly, I opened my eyes and looked outside. And in the distance, I saw a gentle hill with white smoke rising above it. At that time, I didn’t know what it was. But as I grew older, I understood. What I saw that day was a mountain of corpses.”

It was a dreadful era.

An era where all of Britannia was engulfed in hatred and anger.

An era where the sins of wicked nobles were turned upside down, and kind people like our parents died.

An era where even the commoners who surrounded them were dying in the thousands.

It could be called an era of madness.

In contrast, the Holy Kingdom to which I sought asylum was a nation governed solely by reason and logic.

Nobles did not exploit people to maintain their power.

And commoners did not stab nobles to death with spears.

In fact, if you delve deeper, you can see that the Holy Kingdom is far from being an ideal country.

But that’s a different story.

“But later, I had a question. I understand that what I saw then was a mountain of corpses. But what was the white smoke rising above it?”

“Could it have been the corpses being burned…?”

“I also thought so. But the smoke from burning corpses is black.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. It’s black. I heard that too. But what I saw was close to transparent white. As time passed without solving the mystery of what it was, I was dispatched to the battlefield.”

“Are you talking about the Britannia conquest?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

That’s right.

The war that destroyed my homeland, which I had fled.

The war in which the Crusaders, led by the Holy Knights, conquered Britannia in just 10 weeks and ended it.

“One day. The Crusader camp was ambushed at midnight. The battle continued all night, and when the sun rose, the enemy’s bodies covered the surroundings. But then something else appeared. White smoke rising like a ghost above the bodies. A smoke that no one else saw, no matter how much they asked, only I could see.”

“Is it like a soul?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen that kind of smoke from people who died in hospitals. Maybe it only comes from the bodies of those with strong grudges. But why did I tell you this long story.”

He’s not really listening seriously.

He seems skeptical.

I raised my head to finish the story.

And there, the beautiful view of Cologne unfolded.

In the midst of it all.

“That smoke now. It’s rising heavily in Cologne too.”

The white smoke.

Like smog, it’s billowing and swirling.

It’s been like this for a few days.

It’s strange that I’m the only one who feels it.

“They say it’s dangerous, but no one believes me. The only person who believes my words unconditionally is Eugene. I must find Eugene no matter what.”

I must find Eugene.

By any means necessary.

Even if I’m hated by Eugene······.

Otherwise, many people might die.

I have a bad feeling about this.

***

“Two weeks ago, the Vatican received a complaint from Saint Jill Diner. She claimed that a man named Eugene, a resident of the Holy Empire of Hameln, attempted to rob her but failed and fled. The Vatican considered this a serious matter and launched a secret investigation······. There are not just one or two suspicious points. First, the fact that the man named Eugene is a relatively recent resident. And the fact that there are no witnesses. Of course, no one could openly doubt the Saint’s testimony, but all of us, including the Pope, suspect that the Saint made up a non-existent person and falsely accused him. But now. It seems that the person is not entirely non-existent?”

“······.”

Thud.

Nicholas pulled out a paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

On the paper was a face that looked exactly like mine.

It’s my portrait again.

It’s quite well drawn when you look at it.

Except for the nose, it’s believable that it was drawn looking at me.

I didn’t know Jill’s drawing skills were this good.

“The Saint drew it herself. You. What is your relationship with the Saint?”

“What relationship? I don’t even know her face.”

“Don’t lie. Let me say it again, I’m here to help you. So please tell the truth. Do you really have no connection with the Saint?”

“Yes. I’ve never even been to Hameln.”

“Sigh. What on earth is going on······.”

Surprisingly, it’s all true.

I haven’t even met Jill face to face in this episode.

I’ve sent a warning letter about the assassination at the cathedral, but there’s no evidence that I sent it.

Even if I say that I have no acquaintance with the Saint, it’s not strange at all.

“Is there absolutely no trace of straw? Have you ever done anything worthy of the saint’s grudge?”

“No. I am just a regular wandering mercenary. I only hear about the saint occasionally in the newspapers or through rumors, but I have no contact with her.”

“This is absolutely insane. Why would the saint have any connection with a random mercenary like you?”

I want to go crazy and jump around.

This crazy guy, I spared his life and now he wants to repay me with hostility?

With the executioner in front of me, I can barely contain my anger, my blood pressure rising so high that my brain might burst at any moment.

“He wasn’t this annoying before…”

Apart from my anger, I feel a sense of regret.

The quality in the first round clearly fits the bill of a stubborn girl.

Because I made her that way.

I tailored her to be a pushover, a perfect target for defeat.

Sending spam emails all over the world to find me is not something a normal person would do.

But I know she knows how to keep her cool.

A real lunatic would be the 6th round Jill who decided to invade Petenburg, not the 1st round Jill.

“Is there some reason for this?”

Is there a reason she must find me, even if it means asking for the charges to be brought to the gallows?

I have a moment of doubt.

There is no other way to find out.

I have to contact Cornelia.

Cornelia would know recent events and whereabouts of Jill well.

“I have no contact with the saint. I understand. I will take care of it, so you don’t have to worry. However, you must keep what happened here a secret and promise not to set foot in the Holy Kingdom again.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, Inquisitor.”

“What do you mean?”

“I must somehow enter Cologne. I have people to meet and things to do.”

I have to contact Cornelia.

I also need to make sure Cornelia is safe.

If Jill has some deep thoughts behind this mess, I need to find out what it is.

And I must not forget to search for the true identity of Velfegor.

I must never turn back from here.

“You must enter by any means necessary? Even if you risk being caught and executed for attempted rape of the saint?”

“Yes. It’s a task I must undertake even if it means death.”

“This is getting more complicated… It was already difficult to control the checkpoint…”

Nicholas takes off his glasses, sighs deeply, furrows his brow.

Then he flicks his finger towards the door.

The door opens with a creak, and a knight in full armor enters.

“Trustworthy knight. Wherever you go, you must accompany this person and follow his instructions. If necessary, there is no one else here who can protect you. Do you understand?”

“Oh…”

The knight stands at attention next to us.

Shining armor.

Shimmering blonde hair and blue eyes.

And a beautiful face.

As soon as our eyes meet, I freeze stiff.

“Hello. I am Solara Artemisia, the Vice Commander of the Holy Order of Knights.”

The one who appeared before me was none other than the knight Solara.

The guy who would later become one of the Four Kings of Corruption.