<Chapter 68>
The High Priest, who had been grinding his teeth in silence, suddenly slammed his fist upon the table, veins bulging across his forehead.
“It was purified by sacred power. But who could have…!”
“That too is nothing more than your speculation,” Deonis replied coolly, then ordered the corpse to be removed.
The High Priest hastily spoke again.
“There is more. Every person afflicted by the plague testified that they drank water produced by the magic tool.”
Deonis stepped forward before he could finish.
“And every one of those afflicted also received treatment from the priests.”
“What are you implying…?”
The High Priest stiffened, then continued, aghast.
“Are you questioning the sanctity of our rites?”
“I am saying only that the cause is uncertain. Anything they did could have triggered the illness. With no traces found on the corpse, how can you claim the magic tool is to blame?”
“Then I shall bring in those who were sick. They can testify that the symptoms began after drinking the water.”
But before he could even finish, Ryan quietly intervened.
“It was the magic-tool maker herself who revealed the cure to me. Knowing I would join the expedition—why would she commit such an act?”
“….”
The High Priest looked from Ryan to Melody, his gaze growing so sharp it nearly trembled with fury.
“The magic-tool maker also used forbidden tools in the forest!”
Unwilling to retreat, he produced more evidence.
“This proves it.”
It was the rope used to sever the Grizzlyfang’s leg and the hammer. Melody raised her hand.
“Speak,” Ryan said.
“That rope is a magic tool used in the temple’s own dissection workshops. The hammer is ordinary blacksmith work, entirely harmless. If you permit, I can demonstrate it here.”
“No! That object could harm someone!”
At the High Priest’s shout, Ryan pressed his fingers to his brow and sighed.
“But without seeing it, how can we know what it is? Proceed.”
At his permission, Melody murmured the activation formula:
— Harden.
Nothing happened.
Deonis lifted the hammer and brought it down upon the High Priest’s podium with a loud, echoing thud. The High Priest flinched and stumbled back.
And that was all. No destruction. No excessive force.
“That is the demonstration, Your Highness.”
The High Priest’s body began to tremble. Ryan regarded him calmly.
“I hereby declare Melody, maker of the magic tool, innocent.”
Cheers erupted from somewhere in the gallery.
Melody exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She had told herself there was no reason to fear, yet the moment the trial began, she had felt far from calm.
Deonis stepped quietly to her side and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him—there was unmistakable relief in his crimson eyes.
Then the High Priest spat out, voice twisted with malice:
“The truth will reveal itself in time, Your Highness.”
He left with cold arrogance, offering nothing but a final, cutting warning.
The temporary infirmary stood on the outskirts of the Calau territory, drenched in the scent of herbs and disinfectant. When Deonis entered, Rohan straightened from his bed.
“Are you recovering well?”
“Thanks to the treatment, I am quite fine.”
The holy knights had tended to him while they were trapped in the forest, and his condition had improved remarkably.
“How did the trial end?”
“It ended well. So rest a few more days until we return home.”
At the order, Rohan bowed with a faint smile.
“Thank you for your concern, my lord.”
Deonis looked around the makeshift infirmary—it lacked much, hastily assembled as it was. Noticing his gaze, Rohan spoke softly.
“You have changed.”
“I have?”
“You have regained the room in your heart to worry about me.”
Deonis fell silent. It was true. For so long he had been consumed by his own suffering, unable to see anything else. But now, though still within the barrier, he could clearly sense the pain and worry clouding Rohan’s face.
“I have been negligent.”
“No, not at all.”
Rohan shook his head.
“I simply never imagined the day would come again when you would worry for me.”
He remembered Deonis—the kind, once-gentle master he had served.
“When we return from the expedition, I shall reward the knights as well.”
Rohan thought for a moment.
“The banquet has already been held. Sending them home would be the greatest reward.”
“Home…”
Deonis repeated the word quietly. For some reason, Melody’s face came to mind. A place to return to. He was finally beginning to understand what a home was.
“So be it. No—I shall tell them myself.”
“They will be overjoyed.”
Rohan smiled, then added:
“And I suppose we must thank Lady Melody.”
“Thank me instead.”
He did not like the idea of anyone else holding Melody in their gaze. Awhin and Ryan were more than enough.
Rohan shifted and spoke again.
“Ah—before the expedition, the ravens delivered a report.”
He took out a document from his pack and handed it over.
“They could not find reliable information about Lady Melody due to the many years she lived outside the barrier. But from a few accounts, it seems she had more acquaintances than expected.”
“So people truly live outside the barrier.”
“Yes—surprisingly.”
Even a mere week outside had been torment. To think she had survived several years among monstrous creatures—it made Rohan admire her all the more.
“Instead, based on what little they gathered, they have investigated individuals who may be her father. These five men share similar identifying information.”
As Deonis turned the pages, his eyes narrowed. It meant Melody might have other family somewhere.
Whenever she spoke of her father, a deep, unhidden longing filled her expression. If she found her family, she would surely rejoice.
“There is no harm in confirming it.”
He gathered the documents and set them aside.
After a full day of sleep upon returning from the expedition, Melody’s routine returned to normal. The one noticeable change was the dukedom’s people—who now treated her with remarkable warmth.
“Lady Melody, do you like pie? I made this one with fruit jam. Please try it!”
As she came down the stairs, a maid rushed over with a warm pie in her hands.
“Oh dear, you look even thinner than before you left.”
When Melody accepted the pie, other maids hurried forward with gifts of their own.
“Please take this too! I heard you saved Coleman. Without him, I—well, I doubt I’d still be in my right mind. Thank you.”
Overwhelmed by the sudden flood of kindness, Melody could only blink in confusion.
