episode_0181

Episode 181

In the middle of the night, the saint opened her eyes.

The monastery was quiet without any sound. However, Leelia could tell. It is a sign of a curse. A strong curse could be felt at the main gate of the monastery.

‘…We have to hurry…!’

Leelia put on her outerwear and hurriedly ran out of the room. It is an extremely ominous curse. It was at a level that could have influenced all the people in the monastery.

“Seo, saintess…?”

Reelia shouted loudly as she passed the man on watch in the hallway.

“Please wake up Rebecca! To the front door!”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

From Leelia’s urgent attitude, it seemed like she recognized that it was an emergency situation. Reelia ran to the front door with all her might.

“Heo-eok, heo-eok…”

The front door, without any light, was pitch black. In the darkness of the night, something that looked like another darkness stood tall.

The darkness spread its arms. A woman’s voice came out.

“Are you really here?”

She is a very tall woman with long hair. The moment Leelia heard her voice, she felt goosebumps rising all over her body.

“What, what…?”

The magic power of the curse was radiating from her. But the moment Reelia approached, the black magic returned to her again.

‘You lifted the curse…?’

Her purpose was not to harm the people of the monastery.

A saint with the power to sense curses and purify them, was trying to pull her out. It was too late when Reelia noticed it.

“You are a good child, Saint Leelia. But if you go around removing the curse so carelessly, it won’t work. There will be no more room for us.”

“Ugh…”

It was a soft tone, as if scolding a child, but Rielia felt instinctive fear. I immediately turned around and started running into the monastery.

The tall woman stood there and did not move. Are you not chasing me? The moment I thought that, an intense pain struck my shoulder.

“Aaaah!”

It was after I fell that I realized something sharp had stuck in me. It was a long, sharp needle.

It was so hot. I continued to feel excessively hot pain for a single, thin needle.

It was a pain as if a heated iron was being continuously thrust into the area. I had never been hit by an arrow before, but it felt strangely painful.

Fortunately, the monastery people were gathering quickly. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Reelia flailed her limbs on the ground.

“Saint!”

When people anxiously surrounded the saint, the shadow seen at the front door had already disappeared somewhere.

‘To the princess, we must quickly inform the princess…’

Everything around me becomes blurry to the point where I can’t even be sure if it came out as words. The noises around the saint’s injuries seemed to be gradually moving away.

Leelia lost consciousness like that.

* * *

“I don’t want to believe it, but… this is basilisk poison.”

The doctor sitting next to Leelia’s bed spoke with a dark face. The body he showed of Reelia was terrible. Although it was covered with a bandage, the skin underneath was clearly discolored and was clearly visible.

Leelia’s body is small. He’s a small child that you wouldn’t even think of hitting, even just for fun. The moment I saw that small body horribly discolored by poison, I felt like my heart sank.

“I am truly sorry to tell you this, but… the saint will lose her life within three days.”

If I relax even a little, my emotions seem to overtake me. I asked the doctor, suppressing the emotions that threatened to burst out of my mind.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, this blue lesion seen where the poison was applied… It’s definitely true.”

“…How to decrypt?”

“It is impossible through ordinary means. According to legend, an antidote can be made using the blood of a basilisk… but I’ve never seen one before in my life. I am also truly sorry.”

I knew it meant nothing and it wasn’t his fault at all, but I wanted to punch the doctor in the face. Although it didn’t actually happen.

Uncontrollable emotions form in my hands and painfully dig into my palms. At that time, a weak voice was heard.

“…Princess…”

“Saint, you must not speak!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lipton… But I have to tell you… Ugh…!”

Leelia looked extremely distressed even when she spoke. I walked right next to Leelia and held her hand.

“Lielia… You don’t have to say anything if you’re having a hard time.”

“Princess, wow… It was a tall female shaman…”

Tall female shaman…

The shamans under Ktisha were likely to be in deep self-reflection for the time being. If so, there was a very high possibility that he was one of the shamans who appeared on the Avenue de la Seine.

“That person… was targeting me… I don’t know why… but it felt like he was trying to… kill me… ”

“I understand, Leelia. I will definitely catch that woman. I will definitely detoxify your poison as well. So… rest assured and rest well. Is that possible?”

Leelia smiled weakly. Seeing Reelia stroking my hand as if it were a magical object, I wanted to hug her tightly right now.

“I guess I’ll end up causing trouble to the princess again…”

“Lungs… What do you mean…”

“Please protect everyone in the monastery… This place is already dangerous. It might appear again.”

“Rielia…”

If I don’t hold back, I feel like tears will flow right away. Reelia did not ask for an antidote until the end. It made me very angry, but I held back.

“I understand. We will prepare a space for the monastery people to stay inside Lurie for the time being. Of course, you too… I will use all my wealth and power to obtain the antidote! So please hold on… please…”

“Don’t cry, princess.”

Before I knew it, I couldn’t hold it back and the tears were flowing. On the contrary, Leelia was smiling helplessly.

Reelia lifted my hand with difficulty and brought it to her face. Leelia’s cheeks were so cold.

“I’m fine. I don’t regret anything. Everything was fun, but the greatest luck was meeting the princess.”

Reelia closed her eyes and quietly placed my hand on her cheek. As if he wanted to engrave that texture forever. I was just staring at it, dumbfounded.

Leelia opened her eyes and said as she let go of my hand.

“I will rest for a bit, princess… please…”

Leelia lay down deeply on the bed and closed her eyes. The doctor immediately checked Leelia’s pulse. I wiped my tears, got up and headed to the door.

There was no time to just be sad.

This is all my fault. It’s my fault for procrastinating. I wanted to hit myself hard for accepting this situation as something limited to the details.

The reason they attacked Leelia is obvious. Because Reelia’s divine power is the biggest threat to those who use curses.

If you think about it, it’s a ridiculously self-evident fact. I should have predicted it. It was my mistake to not be able to do that and leave Leelia here.

I can’t forgive.

The most unforgivable ones are, of course, those who attacked Leelia. This is no longer the work of the Marquis of Sesennes. It will make me deeply regret touching Leelia, touching my precious saint.

The next thing I can’t forgive is myself. And the next thing I couldn’t forgive was Leelia.

Are you saying it’s a nuisance? Are you leaving the work behind? Are you okay?

I am not okay at all. When fighting against Mystilia, Riellia did not grow at all from the fact that she was told to stab herself.

Just because you are a priest or a saint, does that mean you have to take an attitude of being so knowledgeable about life? Do you think that if you just make sacrifices, everyone will be happy?

Even though everyone I’ve met so far in my life is like that, I’m different. It was so embarrassing that I couldn’t stand it.

If you had cried and clung to me and asked me to find an antidote, I wouldn’t have been so angry.

I can never forgive Leelia. So you should never let it die. After treating that blue wound cleanly, you have to make your body pay the full price.

I gave Rika the necessary instructions and walked toward where the abbot was.

* * *

Riellia was transported to the royal palace in a carriage that placed utmost emphasis on comfort. Alexandre, the royal physician, examined her. The conclusion reached was the same as that of the village doctor.

The basilisk’s venom is highly preservative, but its blood appears not to be. That’s why the antidote was rare compared to the poison. Alexandro explained that it could only be manufactured using high-level preservation magic.

But I couldn’t help but feel sad. Reelia only has three days left. I didn’t have any time to rest.

First, I visited the headquarters of Roberts Company. There, he was instructed to use all channels of the Roberts Company to gather information about the antidote to Basilisk. I emphasized several times that we should move right away.

Meanwhile, Rika was entrusted with the task of preparing a space for the monastery people to stay. After confirming the number of people, we purchased several empty buildings and decorated them as temporary shelters. Since Rika has ties to the monastery, she will do it without difficulty.

Next, we headed to the guild. A large amount of money was entrusted with the task of finding an antidote to the Basilisk. I heard that it would be difficult in three days, but I didn’t want to miss out on even the slightest possibility.

While I was taking them down, I was extremely exhausted. But I felt like despair would eat into my heart if I didn’t do something.

A report came in from Rika. It was news that a place for the monastery people to stay had been secured. That’s a really good thing. But I didn’t feel happy.

There may be information about an antidote. I took another step towards the headquarters of Roberts Company.

When I opened the door and entered, there was a suspicious merchant, Escarade.

“It’s been quite a while, Princess Sera Lustier. Are you not feeling well? Your complexion doesn’t look that good.”

I approached him without even thinking about receiving a greeting. I asked him straight away with my eyes wide open.

“Is there an antidote to the basilisk?”

He answered as if nothing had happened.

“Yes? Ah yes. Yes.”

To me, his voice sounded like an angel’s trumpet.