Chapter 79
“Sienna. What are you doing coming to such a dangerous place? This area is contaminated — just breathing here will strain your heart. What if something goes wrong…!”
Of course I got scolded.
I stuck my lip out and mumbled like it was a habit. Then I called him by the sort of name Aina would use.
“Daddy didn’t come to see me, so I came to find him… Daddy is scolding me…”
“Scolding? Where would I have to scold you for?”
As expected, the duke quickly softened and soothed me.
“Are you feeling any pain?”
“If I were sick, would I have let Noah come all the way here?”
Of course I had secretly followed him.
When I glanced at Noah, he gave a small sigh and nodded. It meant he’d let it slide.
Not noticing that signal, the duke fumbled and asked me,
“…I received a letter saying you found a cure. Did you make that medicine?”
“Did I only make it? I also took it. Can’t you tell just by looking? My complexion is different.”
The pale, hollow look was gone; life had returned to my face.
“The pharmacist who made it confirmed it, and other doctors examined me several times. They said I’m fully cured.”
“…Noah, did I hear that correctly?”
“I watched Sienna from the moment she took the medicine until she was declared cured. So you can stop worrying now.”
“Really?”
The duke’s voice trembled pitifully at the end.
“Father, Sienna will not die. She’ll live a long, long life.”
“That’s right. Why would I die? I’ll live out my days peacefully. With my brother and father…”
“Sienna!”
Before I could finish, the duke hugged me tight.
“Thank God. Really, thank God.”
Hot wetness touched his shoulder. His trembling voice was full of tears.
I reached out and patted his back.
“I was a poor father and couldn’t be by your side when you needed me most. I’m sorry. And thank you for holding on.”
“No, it’s fine. Noah and others were by my side.”
If Father had seen me coughing up blood and collapsing, his heart would have been torn.
I actually felt relieved that he hadn’t seen that.
I didn’t want to give my father, who had already lost my mother, another sorrow.
“Let’s go home now.”
“All right, we should. Let’s go home right away.”
We were in the middle of that tearful, touching family reunion when—
Boom! Thud! Crash!
A loud noise shook the ground below.
The duke reflexively held me tighter and shouted sharply.
“What is going on!”
Rina, who had been watching upstairs, hurried down and reported the situation with a hardened face.
“The doors are locked.”
“As you ordered, we closed every door.”
At the priest’s soft voice, the white-haired old man who had been bowing toward the inverted cross slowly opened his eyes.
“Well done. Crawling here with your own two feet — a foolish unbeliever indeed.”
The old man rose from his kneeling position and, with heavy steps, walked past the priest and sat in a chair.
He was the founder of the Order of Light, their spiritual anchor, and the one who had branded the villagers with black magic.
“Master.”
No one had known his true identity: he was the leader of the Order.
The priest, who had been kneeling, crawled forward on his knees and bowed his head before the leader.
“What do you wish us to do now?”
“Put them all to sleep. It would be a waste to kill them immediately.”
The leader smoothed his long beard and peered into a crystal orb.
He saw the people in the prison gradually regaining consciousness.
“That was a strong sleeping potion. How did it get undone?”
“Well… one of the priests came in. We suspect it’s Ethan Dyke, the candidate for the next deputy priest.”
“What did you say?”
Bang!
The enraged leader slammed his fist on the chair arm and rose.
“How dare that insect of a heathen set foot in our sacred congregation!”
Outside, in the world, the Order of Light was considered heretical — but in their own terms, it was the Grand Temple that were the heretics.
“Summon the executioner at once!”
“Yes, Master!”
“We’ll show them the might of the Order. When everyone is asleep, start with that heretic and kill him! Cut off his head and send it to the Temple!”
There was a chilling sound of teeth grinding. A voice with bulging veins snapped.
“And feed the lord’s son to them as well. How dare he deceive us and side with unbelievers? Summary execution.”
“Yes!”
“Also, Sienna Winter. That woman will be our first sacrifice.”
“Will your lord descend into the woman’s body?”
“He will come down to take her body. Even if that doesn’t happen, her blood can be used to make our summoning rituals stronger. Prepare without fail.”
“Understood.”
The leader’s lips twisted as he looked into the crystal orb at the image of the father and daughter embracing each other tenderly.
‘Sienna Winter, how dare that filthy unbeliever insult my lord. I will make you regret it.’
He thought of how they had made the Order a laughingstock at the café in front of everyone.
And how they had denied his lord — my father.
Finally, how they had mocked his warning and flirted with each other as lovers.
One by one, the leader had piled up his rage at Sienna’s actions and, waiting for a chance to repay her, the Winter duke’s arrival in the village had come at the perfect time.
‘A chance I cannot miss.’
He imagined what face she would make if his reckless action caused her to lose her father.
The thought of that proud, arrogant face collapsing in fear and terror gave him chills.
“Will we spare the duke?”
“We cannot. A human as sturdy as the duke has a high chance of resisting the ritual. Capture both the duke and the marquis alive.”
The Order had planned a ritual tonight on the full moon, offering the duke as a sacrificial offering.
If it succeeded, there would be no greater joy; even failure would leave little regret.
They planned to put the duke’s severed head in a box and send it back to the Winter house.
They would say it was the penalty for ignoring their warnings.
Above all, if they killed a highly respected duke from the Empire, people would fear the Order even more.
It would be an unparalleled example.
“If, by some chance, they escape from the underground…”
A gleam flickered in his otherwise cloudy eyes.
“Release them.”
“…Are you sure? We may have to abandon this place then.”
“I don’t care. We have paradise.”
As long as that place remained safe, the Order could fall and be crushed and yet rise again.
“Our father gave us that paradise for times like this. Do not be afraid — free them all.”
“Yes, Master!”
The priest’s eyes were full of faith as he looked at the leader.
Satisfied, a pleased smile spread across the leader’s face.
After the priest left to prepare the operation, the leader watched the crystal orb, waiting for everyone to fall asleep.
People scurried about to find the corridors.
But standing still, watching this place…
Startled.
‘Did our eyes meet?’
It was only a split second, but our eyes definitely met.
It was as if he knew someone was here — he singled me out exactly.
‘How did he recognize me?’
The clouded pupils that had been watching Sienna shifted targets.
That fixed gaze began to follow Herace.
Bang, bang, bang!
Noah struck with sword techniques, but the iron door showed no sign of opening.
“Brother, there’s a spell on the door. It won’t open easily.”
“Can you see anything?”
“Yes, black magic is tightly wrapping the door.”
The black aura surrounding the iron door churned.
‘If my brother the Swordmaster’s blade can’t break it, how strong must that leader be?’
Even so, Herace would probably be stronger, but I couldn’t help but be worried.
“I’ll call Heren.”
I went down the stairs and looked around.
There were five people we had rescued in total.
My father, three of the duke’s knights, and the castle gatekeeper Popu.
The dozen or so knights had been reduced to just three.
They had all lost their lives in the forest and here.
If we had come even a bit earlier, some of them might have survived.
That thought weighed on my heart.
‘Get a grip. First we have to get out of here, then think about everything else.’
I approached Ethan and asked,
“How are they?”
“They’re almost healed.”
Thanks to Ethan, everyone woke up safely and could move without trouble. But one man, Popu, who had injured his leg, was still being treated by Ethan.
Lucas was glued to his side and wouldn’t leave him.
Ethan glanced at the stairs and asked me,
“How do you think — will it open?”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll make it open.”
Ethan’s eyes changed in a strange way. I asked, puzzled,
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t look scared.”
“Right, Heren will open it.”
At my reply — more like infinite trust — Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“The one you trust has been staring only at that spot for a while.”
“Is that so? What’s there?”
