Chapter 44
“You—you satanic bastard! Kyaak!”
“Ethan?”
“Been a while, Siena. And you too, damnable false doll. Long time no see.”
As soon as I spotted Ethan, I grabbed Ban, who was charging at him, and glanced between him and Oel.
Right after I mentioned needing materials, Ethan appeared—
“…Wait. A living sacrifice?”
“Why the hell would it be that?”
Ethan scolded me to stop spouting nonsense.
“Lady, your imagination is certainly fresh. Though, admittedly, the idea of a living sacrifice sounds amusing.”
At Oel’s added remark, Ethan hesitated mid-step. He must’ve been left with trauma from when I’d once kidnapped him.
“Joking. It’s a joke.”
When Oel told him to come inside already, Ethan sat across from me, though his expression was none too pleased.
“Siena. Why is it that everyone around you is abnormal?”
“Abnormal? How dare you say that about me!”
Before I could reply, Ban bristled, growling at Ethan.
“I’ll throw you into the pits of hell!”
“I wasn’t talking about you, demon. You’re not even human.”
“T-that’s true. No way I’d be lumped in with lowly humans! You’re insufferable, but at least you have eyes.”
“…I have nothing to say to that.”
Ethan looked utterly dumbfounded. His eyes seemed to ask me where on earth I’d found such a fool. I only shrugged.
Ban, puffing out his chest proudly, was promptly ignored by Ethan.
“More importantly, Siena. At the banquet that day—”
Oh, I knew it.
The moment Ethan arrived, he had to bring up Daphne. I shuddered and cut him off.
“That wasn’t me, okay? You saw the trial, right? I was the victim. So no Daphne talk allowed.”
I crossed my arms in an X to make it clear. Ethan, momentarily at a loss for words, sighed.
“…I was going to ask if you were alright.”
“You? Asking about me? Not Daphne, but me?”
Impossible. I eyed him suspiciously.
“Hey Heren, did something happen to him? Or is this an impostor?”
“Surprisingly, he’s real.”
“Then maybe he ate something bad? Hey, what did you have for lunch? Out with it.”
“Even when I worry, you make a fuss.”
Ethan muttered curtly, turning his head—looking half embarrassed, half annoyed.
For a moment, his expression overlapped with Ban’s sulky pouting from a few days ago.
“…Are you sulking?”
“Who’s sulking?!”
“If not, then fine. Why snap at me?”
Ethan shot me a sharp glare, his voice trembling.
Normally he’d just ignore me. Acting like this only makes it more suspicious.
I kept staring at him, curious—until suddenly, Heren’s hand gripped my chin and turned me toward him.
“Heren?”
“Shishi, stop staring. I’m starting to get jealous.”
The low timbre in his voice made my eyelids twitch.
“Why are you like this again?”
“Why else? You’re looking at someone other than me.”
Wait… is he still role-playing?
I never told Heren it was over, but… After the coming-of-age, wasn’t that supposed to end naturally?
Of course, Heren wasn’t like normal people. His act was still ongoing.
“Ugh, gross.”
With a gagging gesture, Ban leapt from my arms and plopped himself beside Ethan.
Ethan, seeing Ban crawl onto him, looked horrified.
“Get away from me right now and go back to Siena.”
“Hey! After seeing that disgusting scene, how can you tell me to leave?!”
Ban pointed accusingly at us, seething, while Ethan frowned.
“…Admittedly, it’s not a pleasant sight. Blasphemous, even. Keep your distance, wizard.”
“Ah, so the lofty priest finds it too stimulating, eh?”
“You—”
“Then you leave. Problem solved. Out.”
Behind Heren and Ethan, I almost imagined a dragon and tiger clashing.
Oel, watching the whole mess, let out a long sigh.
“This is chaos.”
For once, I completely agreed with him.
Pressing his fingers to his temples, Oel clapped his hands, bringing the room back to order.
“Enough chatter. Time to explain. Lady, the final ingredient isn’t the priest himself—it’s his holy power.”
“Holy power?”
“Not just any. It has to be pure, clear, and vast—on par with the High Priest’s own.”
At Oel’s words, I looked at Ethan.
As the strongest candidate for the next High Priest, his divine power was indeed remarkable.
“Originally, we were going to ask the High Priest directly. But Priest Ethan volunteered. His holy power is nearly equal, and his stamina far superior. That’s why he’s here.”
“Ethan—you volunteered?”
So he wasn’t dragged here, but came willingly. Surprised, I stared at him. He gave an awkward cough.
So that’s why he’s here…
But one thing still nagged me.
“Still, even after over ten years of blessings, it never really helped me. Will it even work?”
“Not alone, no. But if combined with all the ingredients—”
Oel’s confident smile returned.
“The synergy will be enormous. Don’t worry. I’ve made a cure for the Breath of Death before; the results are guaranteed. Ethan will just suffer a little.”
To brew the cure, the priest would need to pour out divine power continuously, like feeding wood into a fire until the dish was finished.
Easier said than done. It drained both stamina and spirit.
“Will you be alright? It’ll be exhausting…”
“We’re in the same boat, so of course I’ll do it. Besides, if you die, I’ll be in trouble too.”
His voice was as curt and prickly as always, yet strangely, my chest stirred.
It felt awkward—almost wondrous—that someone I once saw as an enemy was helping me.
So I gave him something I never had before: genuine thanks.
“Ethan, really… thank you.”
“…What’s with the sappy thanks? Forget it.”
His brusque answer only made me laugh. For a moment, I thought I saw his ears turn red.
“It’ll take about three days. I’ll send it to you once it’s ready.”
With Oel seeing me off, I left Valhalla.
Now that the cure was nearly within reach, I felt lighter, almost healthier already.
Humming, I stepped into the street. Knights trailed behind me—bodyguards assigned by Noah after the incident at the coming-of-age.
“Lady, please, let’s head straight to the carriage. We’ll escort you to the estate.”
“No. I’d like to walk a bit.”
Instead of climbing aboard, I wandered down the street, the knights keeping their distance behind me.
Heren walked at my side.
“Heren, you once said there was another person with the same illness as me. What happened to them?”
“They died.”
His flat tone made me nod absently—until the meaning hit me, and I froze.
Wait. Of course they died. It was 500 years ago. No way they’d still be alive now.
Heren had a way of saying things so misleading.
“I meant during their life. They were cured, right? They recovered?”
“Yes. Completely. Healthy enough to run like a foal in the fields.”
My heart leapt with hope.
“And how long did they live?”
“Twenty-four.”
My heart plummeted again.
“T-twenty-four?! I thought at least sixty…”
Seeing my trembling eyes, Heren chuckled and ruffled my hair.
“Don’t worry. They didn’t die from the illness.”
“Whew… really?”
“Yeah. They died because of me.”
“…You mean you… killed them?”
My heart jerked up and down like a rollercoaster. I edged away.
Heren gave a bitter laugh and pinched my nose.
“Shishi, I’m not that much of a monster.”
“Ow! Just say it in words!”
“…But ultimately, it was my fault. So their death was, in the end, because of me.”
His voice, heavy with confession, pressed down on the air. He looked as if he bore the weight of their death himself.
I studied his darkened face and asked softly, “Were they someone you knew well?”
Heren looked down at me.
There it is again. That look.
Every so often, he gazed at me like a man terrified of losing something precious.
“Heren.”
At my call, he gave a faint smile.
“Yes. I knew them well.”
The moment I saw that smile, realization struck.
“…It was a woman, wasn’t it?”
“Why? Are you jealous?”
His teasing tone only confirmed my suspicion.
So it really was a woman!
