Then why had he not noticed from the beginning?
It was because of the condition of the body Edith had first been discovered in. Edith had awakened in Aisha’s body with only her soul.
Perhaps, just as that sorcerer had said, Edith’s soul had been forcibly transferred by someone.
‘Twisted fate. A damaged soul.’
The soul had likely been damaged during the process of forcibly separating it from its body.
Edith herself didn’t seem to know that someone had moved her soul, but Reminus was certain.
Because her soul had been forcibly bound to a body whose resonance didn’t match, her innate energy had been weak when he first found her, but now that she had found a suitable body, she had recovered to some extent along with her divine power.
The energy of Aisha’s body had been mixed in, so even Reminus hadn’t realized at first that the possessing soul was the Saint.
But now that the soul had fully adapted to its original body, it was radiating such a brilliant light.
That was likely also why the rain had subsided somewhat when she stayed here.
Reminus had also thought, ‘Huh?’ when he first heard that.
Because it would have been impossible with a half-complete Saint that hadn’t even received the mark. But if she were a complete Saint, it would be different.
He should have suspected it from the moment the resonance of her body and soul had matched so perfectly.
— “…Reminus?”
[Yes.]
— “I asked if I am hurt anywhere.”
[…Yes.]
— “Really?!”
Indeed, there was a small hole in Edith’s soul.
Through that hole, her divine power was steadily leaking out and dissipating into nothingness. Fortunately, the harmony between her body and soul was compensating for the divine power that would otherwise scatter.
Clicking his tongue, Reminus began to think about who could have done such a thing. The most likely suspect, to him as well, was Aisha.
What if Aisha had been unable to accept her fate from the very beginning?
— “Then what do I do? Is something wrong with me?”
It seemed foolish to use sorcery to imprison another person’s soul inside her own body, but the Aisha of that time might have been capable of it.
[Edith.]
— “Yes.”
[I am going to read the memories of your soul now.]
— “My memories?”
[…I have a suspicion, and to confirm it, I need to read your memories. But it will hurt.]
— “…It is better to know for sure!”
[No, it will hurt far more than you imagine.]
When asked if she was still okay with it, Edith nodded, saying it didn’t matter.
— “It has to be done in one attempt.”
[I promise.]
Reminus pitied this soul that knew nothing.
At the same time, anger rose toward Aisha, who had twisted everything into this mess.
If his suspicion proved correct, he would no longer be able to regard Aisha’s soul with the same sympathy as before.
Because she would no longer be entirely a victim.
***
Fwaaaah!
When Reminus’s touch reached Edith’s body, her soul initially showed no resistance, but the moment he tried to open the path to read her memories, it reacted violently.
— “Ugh!”
A small cry escaped Edith’s lips.
This wasn’t pain that would end with something so minor, yet she seemed to be enduring it.
— “Hnnngh…!”
But soon, her body trembled violently as she struggled to escape Reminus’s grasp.
— “Aaaah!”
She screamed and thrashed like she was having a seizure, and already there was no reason left in her eyes. Reminus focused, if only to lessen her suffering.
And he tore open and drew out all the memories her soul had lived through.
— “Huh—!”
At the same time, Edith’s eyes snapped open.
Her eyes were filled with confusion.
— “T-This… What is this? What… is this?”
The moment Reminus pulled out the memories that had been sleeping beneath the surface, Edith too had essentially regained the memories she had forgotten.
But before he could even answer, he sensed someone trying to enter the prayer hall.
It was Luzbel.
[Hm. This human has good spiritual perception.]
This was clearly something happening while she was in soul form, so an ordinary human wouldn’t have noticed anything strange, but Luzbel seemed to have sensed that something was wrong.
The truth behind everything had been revealed, and Edith had regained her memories.
It was unfortunate, but it was best to stop here for today.
Edith wouldn’t be able to endure any more.
Reminus returned Edith’s soul to the body where it belonged and whispered.
[I will come find you next time.]
Now, he could do that.
With that, Reminus vanished in an instant, and Edith opened her eyes in a dazed state.
“My Lady!”
Just as Reminus had sensed, the moment he disappeared, the prayer hall door opened.
But Edith, who had awakened, wasn’t in a state where she could think properly.
Because unimaginable pain came crashing over her.
‘This fraud!’
Edith thought inwardly, unable to speak.
He did warn her that it would hurt, but he never said the pain would still be this severe after returning to her body!
It was even worse than when she had been with Reminus.
Perhaps that was only natural.
Her entire mind had been torn apart to read the memories of her soul.
It had been torn apart by a god, no less—there was no way a human body could endure it.
“Ugh…”
“…What is happening to you?”
Luzbel, startled the moment he saw Edith collapsed, rushed toward her, and at the same time, Edith coughed violently.
“Cough…”
But it wasn’t an ordinary cough.
She was coughing up blood.
“T-This, what is—!”
The priests of the temple turned pale and didn’t know what to do, and Luzbel also let out a horrified cry.
“What is happening?!”
He hoisted Edith onto his back, her unable to make any sound and merely rolling on the floor, and ran without stopping.
“The door!”
When he returned to the carriage they had come in, the coachman and knights, who had been idling, jumped to their feet.
It was because Luzbel’s entire body, from his shoulders down, was soaked in blood.
“What happened?!”
“Start the carriage! Now!”
“Y-Yes!”
The coachman hurriedly whipped the horse, and Luzbel laid Edith down.
But the shaking carriage wasn’t comfortable, and Edith suffered even more, continuously coughing up blood.
Thinking that his arms would be better than the hard carriage seat, Luzbel pulled Edith into his embrace and endured the shaking with his aura so he wouldn’t be thrown off balance.
“Cough.”
It was better than when she had been laid on the seat, but she still looked to be in agony.
“Please endure just a little longer.”
Luzbel bit his lip anxiously, fearing that Edith might stop breathing at any moment.
***
Naturally, the manor fell into chaos.
Edith, who had left saying she was going to the temple, returned not only collapsed but covered in blood.
“What is this?!”
Verina was horrified and tried to tend to Edith, but Luzbel was faster.
He didn’t allow anyone to even touch her and urgently demanded that they call the physician immediately as he carried her into the bedroom.
“Huh…”
It was a bit absurd, but for now, the most important thing was to confirm what had happened to Edith and whether she was alright, so all she could do was wait for the physician.
The physician was busy today as well.
The moment he hurried in and checked Edith’s condition, his face turned pale as he examined her thoroughly.
“You don’t know why this is happening?”
“Correct.”
She had suddenly collapsed at the temple and was coughing up blood.
Just in case, he asked Verina whether she had any chronic illness, but Verina shook her head.
She did have difficulty walking long distances, but there had been no other problems.
But even in the midst of all that, Edith was still coughing up blood.
However, perhaps because the pain was too severe, she was unconscious.
“…Her condition is not good. If she continues coughing up blood, then perhaps…”
She could die. That was the physician’s diagnosis.
“What? Th-Then my Lady…”
Verina’s face turned deathly pale. She had been perfectly fine before going to the temple, so why had she suddenly collapsed?!
And die?!
“We will have to observe her condition. We cannot even find the cause of why this happened.”
“A-Another physician! I will call the physician from House Capanteni!”
In other words, she didn’t trust him.
It could have been an insult to his pride as a doctor, but since they were from a different House to begin with, he understood that she might not trust him.
But that meant Edith’s condition would be reported to House Capanteni.
Even though nothing had been confirmed yet.
Normally, Luzbel would have detained Verina first to prevent that situation and plan what to do next.
House Capanteni, who couldn’t stay calm when it came to Edith, would surely act emotionally.
To prevent that.
However, the current Luzbel looked completely out of it. Since the very person who should have stopped her was in that state, it was Monet who stopped Verina as she tried to leave to contact them.
“Eek! Let go of me!”
“Lock her up so she doesn’t do anything foolish.”
“Mmph!”
Before Verina, her eyes wide in shock, could say anything, she was restrained and dragged away, and the air in the room grew even colder.
The servants who liked and followed Edith became terrified.
If Edith were to die here like this…
The relationship between House Valencia and House Capanteni would spiral out of control.
“Gasp…”
The head maid also turned pale and drew in a sharp breath, and Monet, seemingly thinking the same thing, asked the physician to do his utmost.
“Even if you did not say it, I would.”
The physician wasn’t a fool either, so he knew Edith absolutely had to survive. It was just that, unlike his intentions, Edith’s condition wasn’t responding cooperatively.
“…Blood…”
And Jeron, who until now had been staring at Edith being carried in while coughing up blood with an unreal expression, murmured in a small voice.
“Is this really blood?”
“…Young Master.”
The head maid held Jeron’s shoulder with a sorrowful expression.
“She’s… acting, right?”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a joke, so there was no one who could answer that question.
“…Why? Suddenly…”
Jeron couldn’t finish his sentence, and only suppressed tears rolled down his cheeks.
And as he watched Edith struggling even while unconscious, he trembled violently.
