Chapter 60 …
“So, what’s the urgent news?”
At Dante’s question, Nigel—who had been sprawled on his back—sprang upright.
Even with his round belly, the movement was impressively quick.
Nigel covered his beak with one wing, then cleared his throat.
“Ahem! The Duke of Winterberg entered the dungeon! Looks like he’s exploring it right now!”
“I see.”
Unlike Dante’s calm response, I was so shocked my ears rang.
‘Raul is nearby…?’
My heart began pounding erratically again.
Not my emotions—Muriel’s.
I clutched my left chest tightly and squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Muriel, you idiot. After everything he did to you, you still have lingering feelings for Raul?’
Just then, the system notification rang in my head.
Ding!
Wrong answer! Think again carefully!
‘…Not lingering feelings?’
“……”
Accepting the system’s advice, I carefully reexamined the storm of emotions inside me.
‘If it’s not lingering attachment… then this feeling is…’
Frustration. Boiling heat. A stabbing pain in the heart.
‘…Resentment?’
A chaotic mix of injustice and anger.
Toward the person who hurt her…
The regret of not being able to properly take revenge.
‘…So that’s what it was.’
No matter how soft-hearted she was, the truth was…
‘She wanted to pay him back just the same.’
She tried to give up on everything and close her eyes to it, but perhaps the resentment buried deep in her heart couldn’t be washed away.
“…Muriel, are you okay?”
At that moment, Rician’s voice came from beside me.
I turned to look at him.
His face was full of concern.
“……”
The moment I saw that face, the burning anger and bitterness slowly subsided.
And my heart grew calm.
As if by magic.
I gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Mm, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look well.”
“I’m okay.”
In truth, I wasn’t completely fine.
But words have a strange power—if you repeat them enough, at some point they begin to feel true.
“I’m okay.”
I said it once more and gently took Rician’s hand.
As I quietly met his eyes, I recalled the promise I had made to myself.
‘Don’t let the past hold you back.’
The words resonated with my heart.
After letting out a soft sigh, I added a small smile and turned my gaze to Dante.
Then, belatedly, I brought up the main topic—
The reason I had come to see him early this morning.
“Actually… Rician and I were planning to go look around the dungeon today.”
Dante raised an eyebrow slightly.
I continued in an even tone.
“I have to return to the farm tomorrow no matter what.”
If not today, the earliest I could see the dungeon would be a week later.
There was a lot to take care of back at the farm.
Since I wanted to look around as soon as possible, today was perfect.
‘Even if I run into Raul…’
It’s fine.
I won’t run away or hide like before.
“……”
Dante stared at me silently for a moment, then shrugged.
“That works out well. I was actually planning to show you the dungeon today anyway, Miss Muriel.”
“…I see.”
“That is, if you don’t mind running into the Duke of Winterberg. It’s not really my call.”
His tone was casual, but his eyes were carefully studying my expression.
I gave him a small smile and answered firmly.
“I don’t mind. I’ll have to meet him sooner or later anyway.”
“Oh? May I ask why?”
“Of course—to divorce him.”
Since it came up, I asked Dante if he could prepare the divorce papers.
He readily agreed and said he would have them ready today. Truly a capable guild master.
“But if you’re divorcing the Duke of Winterberg, shouldn’t the House of Terni be informed? There’s also the matter of asset division.”
“…The House of Terni won’t concern themselves with me. And as for the assets…”
The property Muriel had brought into her marriage with Raul amounted to thirty gold bars, fifty silver bars, and sixteen jewels.
Normally, a bride would bring at least ten times that amount—ornaments, castles, land, and more.
But the Duke of Terni had drastically reduced the dowry under the pretext that he would “take his daughter back someday,” clearly showing his lack of sincerity toward the marriage.
Naturally, Winterberg had considered it an insult.
‘They must have thought they were being looked down on—Raul and his retainers alike…’
That likely contributed to the mistreatment Muriel suffered at Winterberg Castle.
Even so, it didn’t justify their abuse.
“I’m not worried about asset division. He can keep it all.”
“If that’s what you want, Miss Muriel… though personally, I recommend squeezing as much as possible out of him.”
I gave an awkward smile.
“You’ll submit the divorce papers to the temple in Winterberg territory? Not Terni?”
“Yes. It doesn’t matter where, but the Winterberg temple is closer.”
Marriage procedures were handled by the temple.
Divorce was the same.
Both spouses had to sign the divorce papers…
‘Raul will probably sign easily.’
I wasn’t worried about that part.
Though the man would supposedly come to regret things deeply after Muriel fell ill, right now he was probably desperate for a divorce.
‘No need to worry about the Terni family either.’
To them, I was nothing more than a tool that had outlived its usefulness.
And where do useless tools go?
Straight to the trash heap.
They wouldn’t spare another thought for something that had already been thrown away.
…That’s how it was.
‘Though if they find out I have purification powers, who knows how they’ll react.’
I just need to finalize the divorce before that. Everything after can be dealt with later.
‘The remaining variable… is whether the temple might raise objections.’
In that case, the couple would be summoned separately for detailed questioning, and three priests would reach a unanimous decision.
If they ruled that the marriage should continue, there would be a six-month cooling-off period.
‘If things go badly and I have to wait another six months…’
I’ll just have to ask my reliable rope—System God—for help.
( › ⩊ ‹ )♡
You’re on my side, right? Got it, thanks.
“Then shall we go take a look at the dungeon before noon? A seaside walk and a meal at a nearby restaurant would make it perfect.”
Dante stood and made the suggestion.
I smiled brightly at him, took Rician’s hand, and stood as well.
“Sounds good. Let’s go right away!”
* * *
Swaaa—
The waves that rolled onto the sandy beach crashed into white foam.
Below the dizzying cliff that stretched from the shoreline—
A snow-white palace stood tall, half submerged in the shallow sea.
‘So that’s…’
The newly appeared dungeon.
They said it was palace-shaped, and it truly was.
‘Something about it feels ominous. This is going to be a tough one to clear…’
At first glance, it resembled the Taj Mahal in India…
But there was no garden—just a single pure white palace rising alone.
Our group observed the dungeon from a moderate distance.
A non-rampaging dungeon wasn’t dangerous even up close, but you could never be too careful.
As I quietly watched the white palace, a question came to mind.
“Dante, what does the inside of the dungeon look like? It’s hard to judge just from the outside, right?”
“That’s right. As for that dungeon… once you enter through the main gate, there’s a garden.”
“Huh? A garden?”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“A literal garden. Soil, grass, trees, sky. Everything looks real.”
“Wow… now I’m curious what it looks like.”
“If you’d like, you can accompany the guild members during the next subjugation. The explored areas aren’t too dangerous as long as you know where the traps are.”
I thought it over for a moment before speaking.
“It’s not just the combat team that goes during subjugation, right?”
“That’s correct. The support team goes too. Sometimes we have to camp inside the dungeon for up to a week… and without Allen, things become a mess. In many ways.”
As expected—Allen really was the handler and mom of those lunatics…
‘Rear support, huh… I might actually be useful…’
I was quietly lost in thought while staring at the snow-white palace when—
Suddenly, a commotion broke out near the dungeon’s main gate.
‘…What’s going on?’
Blinking in confusion, I exchanged glances with Rician and Dante.
They looked just as curious.
So I took the lead and ran ahead.
“Excuse me! What’s happening?”
As we approached the gate, dozens of people were gathered in a chaotic crowd.
‘Most of them are injured…’
They glanced at me and answered with grim expressions.
“It’s dangerous—don’t come any closer. During the dungeon subjugation, the monsters suddenly went berserk…”
“…I’ve never seen monsters that big or that threatening before…”
“What if a monster overflow happens? Did we trigger something wrong?”
“Calm down! We need to save people first!”
While overhearing their conversation, I recognized the familiar emblem embroidered on their capes.
‘This crest is…’
A sprig of mistletoe, a white owl, and crossed sword and shield.
The emblem of Winterberg.
“Healer! Is there no healer?!”
“I’ve exhausted all my divine power…”
“What kind of useless healers are these?! Damn it!”
“Hey, that’s going too far!”
“What about potions? Any high- or top-grade potions left?”
“S-sorry… we used them all earlier… only mid-grade potions remain…”
Some shouted with grave faces.
Some were on the verge of tears.
Others hung their heads in guilt.
Only now did I realize…
They were familiar faces I had seen somewhere before.
‘…Raul’s retainers.’
And at the center of the circle they formed—
One man lay limp.
An enormous amount of blood poured from him, soaking the sand.
The moment I recognized that pale face, my expression hardened.
‘…Raul.’
