Chapter 45
The moment blue light burst forth from the knight’s body was when a certain earl’s carriage from the eastern region slid into the courtyard.
As the knight’s body radiated that brilliant azure glow, the damp scent of soil and grass rushed into their lungs. It was as though they were strolling through a forest after the rain—refreshing, crisp, and filling not only their bodies but even their minds.
Before people could even gasp in awe, the flowers and grass in the garden, bathed in the light, began blooming out of season, competing with each other to blossom. Kalite let out a brief exclamation when she saw a daffodil sprouting right beside her feet.
“Welcome to the North.”
The knight who gathered the light back into himself bowed neatly toward everyone gathered in the garden. In contrast to the fantastical scene he had just created, his expression was utterly composed.
“Welcome.”
Even after the knight’s greeting ended, no one uttered a word. Soon, joy spread across Aaron’s face. Though no one said it aloud, everyone could feel it through their very skin—that was holy power. And not just ordinary holy power—it was incredibly strong.
“Haha, perhaps that welcome was a little excessive. My knight kindly spared his precious time to show you distinguished guests, who have come from afar, a beautiful sight. I wonder if it pleased you.”
At that moment, a strikingly handsome man appeared from behind the knight with a smile. It was Oscar Lefray, the current Duke of Yvonne. Marquess Eboia muttered with a sour face, “Such showmanship…”
Though the crowd seemed delighted, the one who had been made the spectacle, Lily, felt nothing special about it. Not only was it uncomfortable to have everyone’s persistent gazes sweep over her body, but scattering holy power evenly across the entire garden had been difficult. Simply releasing it would have been easy enough, but the problem was she had to avoid the carriages while doing so.
If I hadn’t trained controlling magic, three or four carriages would have turned into trees by now…
After bowing once again, Lily quickly slipped inside the main residence. Stewart was waiting there, shifting his weight impatiently from foot to foot.
“Why are there so many men here…?”
“Did you see, Young Master? I can control holy power much better now.”
Stewart, who had been muttering to himself, brightened instantly when Lily came in. He wasn’t ignorant of what it meant to hold a banquet celebrating the birthday of a nobleman of age and high rank. He knew countless young ladies would flock here. But what reason was there for all those troublesome men to come along as well?
Surely they hadn’t come to celebrate his birthday? It would have been enough to send their daughters. Was it really necessary to bring along a son with each daughter? Stewart glanced down at the beautiful young lady standing beside him.
“Lily.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“You look truly beautiful today.”
“Ahaha… thank you.”
Lily answered with a shy smile. Since morning, the maids had rushed in and put all kinds of makeup on her, so of course she looked prettier than usual.
But even so, compared to those young ladies…
Lily’s eyes drifted toward Kalite. Her deep-green hair fluttered lightly as she walked, so fresh and radiant that Lily couldn’t look away. Kalite stepped toward them like a fairy. Lily lowered her head and backed away a few steps.
“Have you been well, Duke Yvonne!”
The Marquess of Eboia greeted the duke with an overly bright smile. The duke responded with a smooth, painted-on smile of his own.
“The viscountess’s beauty is unchanged.”
“Haha, surely not as lovely as Lady Eretrea’s.”
It was obvious he wanted his daughter praised, so the duke gave him the words he wanted to hear. Behind the marquess, Kalite and Aaron offered their polite greetings.
“Ah, forgive me for the late introduction. This is my second son, Aaron, and my youngest daughter, Kalite.”
“Aaron Eretrea.”
“…Kalite Eretrea.”
Aaron smiled cheerfully like his father, while Kalite barely managed a faint, fleeting smile before quickly hardening her lips again. The only relief was that the Marquess, busy exchanging words with the duke, didn’t properly notice his daughter’s expression.
“You must be weary from your long journey. Would you care to rest until the banquet begins?”
Stewart wasn’t much different from Kalite. With only the corners of his lips pulled into a strained smile, he subtly urged the marquess to go and rest.
Just as Stewart said, the marquess’s party was indeed tired, and with the banquet still to be held that evening, they needed the rest. As well-trained maids escorted them away, Stewart loosened the cravat that had been choking his neck and sighed.
“Stewart, I know how you feel.”
The duke, smiling brightly at the guests entering, moved his lips just slightly so only Stewart could hear.
“But do try to soften your expression. Every single one of these people came here just to see you.”
“I’ve told you many times, the banquet is unnecessary.”
“Then you should have been born in some humble rural viscount’s family.”
Though their quarrel was rather childish, their composure never faltered, and outwardly they still looked the very image of elegant, noble grace.
Standing a few steps behind, Lily couldn’t hear their words. Yet even from that small distance, she felt as though an immense rift stretched between herself and Stewart—a dividing line separating their worlds.
He’ll probably dance with a lady like her, won’t he?
She imagined the scene of a dazzling ballroom, where two figures, brighter than the chandelier above, would clasp hands and dance. Just the thought was beautiful—and it left Lily feeling deflated.
Someone like her, a mere commoner, had no place in such brilliance. Amidst the nobles, Lily felt the harsh reality of her station. All she could do was stay silent and bow her head.
While everyone else laughed, Lily alone wore a face that seemed on the verge of tears.
❀ ❀ ❀
The High Priest was holed up in his room, opening a glass vial. As soon as the stopper came loose, a familiar fragrance spread—the clear, weighty scent of Hegelstern’s holy power. Inhaling it deep into his lungs, his heart finally calmed. He pressed his nose against the vial and hastily gulped down the holy power.
“Ugh… hah… ah…”
Short groans spilled repeatedly from his lips. Words too, but they formed no coherence. The priest tossed aside the blanket covering his body. He was burning up. To soothe the heat, he needed Hegelstern’s holy power, but it was far too scarce.
In truth, he wanted to seize Hegelstern and drink her holy power dry until this endless thirst was quenched. For days on end, the unrelenting craving tormented him.
About two weeks after cutting off Hegelstern’s holy power, the symptoms began. Outwardly, he managed to hold on before others, but inside, his body constantly itched and stung, nearly unbearable. After a month, his bones ached, no matter how much he ate his stomach felt empty, and a dull headache clung to him all day, making each passing day pure torment.
And after a month and a half…
“Ugh—ahhh!”
It felt as though his whole body was burning alive. Only Hegelstern’s holy power could suppress it. Trembling, he grabbed another vial. Pouring its contents down his throat lessened the pain slightly. Collapsing on the floor, he forced his upper body upright with a shaking hand.
“…This won’t be enough.”
He had always thought her beauty would eventually bring trouble, but never imagined that trouble would mean her seducing the young Duke Yvonne and fleeing north. Grinding his teeth, the priest seethed.
He had no choice—he would have to drag Lily Hegelstern to his side himself.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried. Of course, he had made multiple attempts since the moment she left the temple. The best chance had been to strike her party before reaching the North, but that ended in utter failure.
Learning from that, he tried sending men through the treacherous northern mountains. But some never even crossed the mountains, while the few that did all disappeared without a trace.
From the second failure, he learned again and mixed mercenaries into a trading caravan. Yet they too vanished without a word.
He had no time to wait endlessly for missing men, so his last resort was to bribe the knights of the Northern Order. Many of them had sick family members, so he targeted the newer knights especially. Borrowing the name of another noble, he offered this: if they carried out a few light tasks involving Hegelstern, he would ensure their families were healed, and even support them to live comfortably in the capital. Some eagerly grasped his hand. But then…
“Stewart Lefray… damn him!”
The knights he had painstakingly swayed were all lying cold and dead on his bed when he returned from morning prayer.
One after another, all five returned as corpses. Just recalling the labor of burying them himself made his teeth grind even now.
“There must be another way…”
His eyes slowly shifted to the wall, where countless pictures hung—images of Stewart and Lily smiling together.
“Ah…”
If he couldn’t extract Lily, then he only needed to lure her out. And fortunately, Stewart’s birthday was approaching.
“Hahaha! Ahaha, hahahaha!”
Of course. How could one chosen by God falter at something so trivial? The High Priest bent over laughing until his waist ached.
With bloodshot eyes and foam bubbling at his lips, his laughter was less that of a man and more like some monstrous thing wearing human skin.
