Machart, Subjugation (4)

Immediately after Celista, who had appeared drawing a somewhat noisy gaze unintentionally, treated Machart’s injuries, a debate regarding the veracity of Machart’s and Ethan’s statements ensued, led by Seraphine.

It was a confrontation between Ethan, who claimed that Machart had used the power of the Demon Tribe and threatened his life, thus deserving death, and Machart, who claimed that Ethan was falsely accusing him of being a demon to kill him.

Naturally, the truth could not be verified by their conversation alone, so what needed to be used here was the ‘Mirror of Truth,’ one of the Saintess’s Authorities.

‘If I use this, revealing the true form of a demon hiding in human disguise will be instantaneous.’

Of course, to be precise, Machart was ‘still’ human, so even if the Mirror of Truth was used, he wouldn’t transform into a demon.

One might ask if this means the evidence linking Machart to the Demon Tribe couldn’t be revealed, but I had a plan for that part too.

From the start, Dark Magic had become an inseparable part of Machart, almost like his true self. So, if the true nature of the Dark Magic was revealed by the Mirror of Truth, Machart’s true nature would also be exposed.

“Celista-yang.”

“Yes, yes…!”

“Could you please use the ‘Mirror of Truth,’ one of the Saintess’s Authorities, on Machart-orabeoni now?”

“…….”

“Celista-yang?”

“Yes, yes…. I, I’ll try….”

At Seraphine’s call, Celista nodded with an obviously flustered expression, with great difficulty.

Since I knew she was the Fake Saintess, I could fully understand her reaction. And I also knew that Celista’s attempt to use the ‘Mirror of Truth’ alone would naturally fail.

From the start, Celista’s title was ‘Fake Saintess,’ so there was no way she could use the Saintess’s Authority. Perhaps in a few years, Celista would awaken as a Saintess herself, but the important thing was that it wasn’t now.

Currently, Celista still lacked the pure faith that was one of the Saintess’s qualifications. Machart and Seraphine probably knew this, which was why they each wore confident and anxious expressions, respectively.

‘Even in the actual game, Seraphine never called Celista ‘Saintess’ until she properly awakened.’

It was a minor foreshadowing that could only be found around the third playthrough. A subtle hint that while Seraphine called the protagonist ‘Hero-nim,’ her title for Celista was always fixed as ‘Celista-yang.’

And Machart was originally connected to the Demon Tribe through Evelyn, so he must have obtained information from that side.

“Hoo-eup, hoo-euhh…. Hoo-eup, hoo-woo….”

“Celista-yang, are you still not ready?”

“Yes, yes…. J-just a moment…. I-I’m nervous because it’s been a long time since I used it….”

I had planned to secretly cast the spell simultaneously and make it seem like she did it, as long as she just pretended to cast it. But it seemed Celista was having trouble even pretending.

From the start, her personality clearly wasn’t suited for lying. Promoting such a tender-hearted child as a Saintess for years was bound to make her timid.

If things continued like this, not only would Machart’s demon suspicions not be revealed, but Ethan’s Crime of Assassinating a Royal and Celista’s Fake Saintess suspicions would all come tumbling out. Unable to watch any longer, I quietly approached Celista from behind and gently took her shoulder.

-Thump.

“Hieuk! S-sorry….”

‘Celista-seongnyeonim, quietly.’

“Yes, yes…?”

‘From now on, I will whisper the incantation for the ‘Mirror of Truth’ to you, so please follow along slowly.’

“Yes, I, I underst….”

‘Don’t answer every time. Others are watching.’

Celista had to remain the ‘Saintess’ until the Demon King was subjugated. Her being a Fake Saintess could not be revealed here.

‘That way, I won’t have to bust my ass after graduating from the Academy.’

It was an important matter to me. The reason I even entered the Academy was to live a comfortable life after graduation. If that plan went awry, there would be no reason for me to have come to the Academy, even changing my fate to do so.

“Lilith-yang?”

“It seems Celista-seongnyeonim is nervous, so I will steady her for a moment, Seraphine-hwangnyeonim.”

“…Yes, do so.”

…Is the current Seraphine the Seraphine who knows I am the Saintess, or the one who doesn’t?

In any case, I had her permission, so I simply recited the incantation for the ‘Mirror of Truth’ into Celista’s ear.

‘Shedding the false mask, breaking free from the veil of illusion, the authority to reach the Mirror of Truth shall descend upon this place.’

“Sh-shedding the false mask, breaking free from the veil of illusion….”

Slowly and clearly, Celista recited the incantation for the Mirror of Truth that I whispered to her.

Although she stammered a bit, it didn’t matter. The Saintess’s Authority wasn’t the kind of power that would be interrupted by such minor errors. In the first place, even if Celista recited a completely different incantation, as long as I recited it correctly, the Mirror of Truth would activate, so it didn’t really matter.

‘When all illusions are revealed as falsehoods, through divine power, the truth of the world shall be faced.’

“Wh-when all illusions are revealed as falsehoods, th-through divine power….”

Still, her diligent efforts to follow an incantation she’d never heard before were admirable.

Well, there was no harm in memorizing it now. After all, once this matter was over, she would awaken as a true Saintess.

With that thought, the two people’s synchronized incantations slowly continued to the very end after a long activation, and the final incantation from Celista’s lips quietly echoed through the Star Palace backyard.

“…When the Mirror of Truth is complete, all illusions shall become one vortex.”

-Paak!

At the moment Celista’s final incantation was completed, the ‘Mirror of Truth’ I had created shone upon Machart, and a small, circular holy magic circle that appeared in the air enveloped Machart’s form in pure white light.

About five seconds passed like that.

As the Mirror of Truth, which had enveloped his body in light, finished its work, he leisurely revealed himself from within the light.

…No distinct features of a demon, such as horns, discolored skin, or inverted eyes, were visible on his form.

“…So, is it over?”

“…….”

“Nothing seems to have changed. I don’t feel any horns on my head, nor does my skin color seem different.”

“…….”

“A Saintess wouldn’t simply pretend to use the Mirror of Truth and just shine a light spell on me, so the fact that I haven’t turned into a demon means you’ve lied, hasn’t it, Ethan-gongja?”

Machart stroked his own head and approached Ethan with a relaxed air. He was confident that since he hadn’t demonized, the Mirror of Truth Celista used must have been a fake, a mere trick.

However, everyone else, except Machart, already knew in their minds that the Mirror of Truth had worked correctly.

And why wouldn’t they? The current Machart was displaying undeniable evidence of Dark Magic right on his ‘face.’

“Assassination of royalty… no, to be precise, it would be the Attempted Crime of Assassinating a Royal. That would be fortunate for you, I suppose.”

“…….”

“Attempted assassination is a serious crime, but at least the punishment will be better than for actual assassination. Even if your head rolls, you can still protect your family and fiancée, can’t you?”

“…….”

“Of course, the Blackwood Family will no longer be a Ducal Family, and your fiancée will no longer be a noble. Don’t worry, I’ll take her into my hands and take good care of her….”

“…Wh-who are you?! Wh-where is Prince Machart-nim?!”

“……What?”

Machart’s expression, which had been taunting Ethan as if certain of his victory, instantly stiffened. It seemed he was flustered by the accusations coming from the group of nobles he had thought were on his side.

Machart, who had no way of knowing what ‘face’ he currently wore, confidently walked towards the crowd as before. However, the Noble Lady who had spoken out recoiled with a disgusted expression as Machart approached.

“What are you talking about, young lady? I am right here. Your lovely….”

“D-don’t lie…!! Th-the Prince-nim…. The Prince-nim couldn’t possibly be an ugly man as disgusting as you…!!”

“…Ugly… man?”

While Machart, whose personal trigger had been pulled, was momentarily flustered by the Noble Lady’s words, the crowd, who had seen his face up close, also began to hurl accusations at him in unison.

“Wh-where did you hide the Prince-nim! Give him back!”

“Don’t pretend to be Prince Machart-nim with a face like that! It’s disgusting!”

“Don’t come near me! Die!!”

“W-wait…. What on earth are you talking about….”

Machart was losing his mind from the sharp accusations of the noble scions who had always shown him favor, especially the Noble Ladies who would swoon at his every word. He stumbled backward and accidentally fell onto his backside.

Machart’s expression contorted at the collective criticism he had never experienced before, and one of the seemingly smarter Noble Ladies muttered an answer that seemed to approach the truth.

“C-could it be that the true form revealed by the ‘Mirror of Truth’ is, could it be….”

At that one remark from the unnamed Noble Lady, the crowd began to murmur among themselves, looking at Machart’s face, and a hand mirror fell in front of Machart, who had realized something was wrong.

“Machart-orabeoni, would you like to check your face?”

“…….”

Machart quietly picked up the hand mirror Seraphine had thrown with a look of contempt.

Reflected in the hand mirror he held was only the face of an ugly man, as if roughly molded from clay.