Chapter 16 (Part 10)

Delia, summoned—or rather, dragged—by Leonardo as soon as her mission ended, wore a deeply disgruntled expression.  

However, when she looked at Caleb, who was nervously fidgeting in the corner, her face softened into a serene smile.  

Seeing his sister’s duality, Leonardo said,  

“Stop tormenting Sir Martin.”  

“Isn’t it because Caleb knows I’m weak to him that he does these cute little things?”  

At Delia’s words, Caleb’s face turned bright red, as if he hadn’t expected her to be so blunt.  

Watching the two with an amused expression, Hara was nudged in the side by Hymen, who urged her to calm down.  

“T-Then, I’ll perform the purification.”  

At Hymen’s words, Delia sighed and replied half-heartedly,  

“So, you’re saying it’s just a matter of timing the purification spell correctly.”  

“Yes, yes.”  

Shrinking under Delia’s sharp gaze, Hymen clutched the hem of Hara’s clothes.  

Hara patted his large hand reassuringly and said with a grin,  

“The great healer wouldn’t bother tormenting a mere sorcerer. Don’t worry.”  

At Hara’s words, Delia briefly glanced at her but said nothing, turning her gaze back to the beast locked in the cage.  

Perhaps due to the sudden influx of people, the beast’s aura grew more menacing.  

Watching with indifferent eyes, Delia muttered to herself in disbelief,  

“In all my life, this is the first time I’m casting a healing spell on a beast.”  

At her words, Hymen stammered nervously,  

“C-Can you d-do it?”  

His face filled with worry about what might happen if she failed, Delia replied with a scoff,  

“What do you take me for?”  

Her cold words made Hymen flinch, and Hara, her face twisting in irritation, shouted,  

“Seriously! Great healer or not, stop scaring people! You’re making it impossible to focus!”  

Amused by Hara’s protective stance, Delia suddenly turned her gaze to Caleb.  

Though her expression seemed indifferent to others, Caleb felt a chill run down his spine.  

“Would you get angry on my behalf as well?”  

“Pardon?!”  

“…Never mind.”  

At her abrupt question, Caleb floundered in confusion, and a hint of bitterness crossed Delia’s face.  

Seeing this, Caleb swallowed nervously, the unexpected expression from the scariest woman he knew leaving a lasting impression.  

“Let’s begin.”  

At Delia’s words, Hymen and Hara stood up. They walked to the cage and began drawing a large sorcery circle in the air.  

Delia followed them, signaling with her eyes, and they activated the circle.  

At the same time, Delia attempted purification.  

“…This is insane.”  

Two Pla trapped inside the chaotic sorcery circle were enveloped by white mana.  

The sound of something loudly shattering echoed repeatedly, and soon, an eerie silence fell all around.  

Grace instinctively swallowed and glanced at Leonardo, her mind filled with worry that they might have failed.  

At the same time, Delia abruptly turned around.  

“You two, come here.”  

Leonardo responded to Delia’s words with an incredulous tone.  

“Why do we need to go there? Can’t we do it here?”

Delia frowned in irritation and turned her head.  

“I’m not the one who’ll regret it.”  

At her words, Grace shot up reflexively from her seat and began poking Leonardo’s side relentlessly.  

Reluctantly standing up, Leonardo grabbed Grace’s hand and strolled toward Delia.  

Delia, who was glaring at their tightly clasped hands as if it were an eyesore, gestured with her chin.  

“It looks like it’s ready over there. Go stand there.”

At Delia’s words, Leonardo glanced at Hymen.  

When Hymen nodded in confirmation, Leonardo tightly held Grace’s hand and slowly walked to the designated spot, where a white altar was prepared.  

“Are you okay?”  

“…”  

Grace, who had been tense as things were progressing faster than she had anticipated, only came to her senses after Leonardo repeated the same question twice.  

“Uh, yes? What did you say?”  

“I asked if you’re okay.”  

At his words, Grace repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists, damp with sweat from nervousness.  

Truthfully, Grace had only expected to inspect the antidote today and discuss it briefly before leaving.  

‘I didn’t think they’d proceed with everything right away!’  

What’s with mages being even more impatient than knights?  

But even so, she couldn’t possibly say she wasn’t ready now.  

‘If not now, who knows if Delia will ever agree to do this troublesome task again!’  

Even now, Delia was exuding annoyance, making it clear that she wouldn’t have stayed if not for Caleb.  

Grace swallowed hard and said,  

“I’m fine. I can do this.”  

At her response, Delia sighed and said,  

“Don’t be too tense. Overdoing it will only make things worse.”  

Delia’s cold words made Grace clench her fists tightly and nod.  

Unlike earlier, when she had trailed behind Leonardo, she now walked confidently to the prepared altar.  

Watching her, Delia smirked faintly.  

“Your lover is rather adorable.”  

Startled by her words, Grace flinched, while Leonardo retorted in an annoyed voice,  

“Please refrain from unnecessary comments, sister. Her adorableness is something only I need to know.”  

“Suit yourself.”  

Delia replied indifferently and gestured with her chin. With a sigh, Leonardo stood beside Grace on the altar.  

As the two stood on the platform, Caleb, who had been observing from a distance, approached and took his place at the center.  

“Then, let’s begin.”  

With his words, the sorcery circle engraved on the altar began to glow.  

As their entire bodies were enveloped by the green light of the sorcery circle, Grace, tense, tightly shut her eyes.  

Seeing this, Hara chuckled and said,  

“Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon.”  

No sooner had she spoken than a bright light enveloped the two.  

The warm, comforting light gradually eased Grace’s tension.  

“Ah!”  

Just when she thought everything would end peacefully, a sudden, tightening pain gripped her heart and began to intensify.  

As Grace gasped for breath from the excruciating pain, Leonardo pulled her into a strong embrace.  

Surrounded by his firm arms, Grace opened her eyes and looked up at him.  

Though his face was contorted with pain, his eyes were filled with concern for her.  

Seeing those eyes somehow reassured her.  

Despite the escalating agony, Grace closed her eyes.  

“Ugh…”  

“Argh!”  

As the suffocating sensation in their hearts and heads peaked, both of them collapsed to their knees.  

Caleb’s face twisted momentarily, but he didn’t stop channeling mana into the sorcery circle. If he retreated, there wouldn’t be enough mana to sustain the ritual.  

Just as the consciousness of the two kneeling figures began to falter,  

“Goddess, open your eyes!”  

Hara shouted loudly. At her voice, Grace instinctively opened her eyes.  

She saw dozens of sorcery circles rising and collapsing in disarray.  

At the same time, the suffocating sensation around her heart began to subside.  

“Just a little more!”  

At Hymen’s voice, Grace clenched her fists tightly.  

Leonardo, who was holding her, also tightened his grip.  

As Leonardo let out a faint groan, Grace extended her hand.  

She gently patted Leonardo’s back and whispered,  

“Don’t worry about me.”  

Adding that she could endure it, Grace smiled faintly.  

Meeting her gaze, Leonardo also smiled back.  

Someone muttered, “How can single people survive this?” but the two didn’t seem to hear and continued smiling.  

Suddenly, their bodies felt light.  

“—Huh?”  

Grace, being a knight, noticed it first and blinked in surprise.  

At that moment, the last and ominously dark red sorcery circle shattered.  

Looking around in confusion, Hara wiped the sweat from her brow and said,  

“You did well, Goddess.”  

Grace blinked, unsure if it was true.  

Delia approached her, grabbed her hand, and used magic to examine her body.  

Smiling lightly, Delia said,  

“You’re fine. The spiritual contamination has been completely resolved, so there’s nothing to worry about.”  

Delia then walked over to Leonardo and slapped him hard on the back.  

Startled by the unexpected hit, Leonardo glared at her with fierce eyes, but she said,  

“Don’t you dare cause something like this again.”  

“I won’t.”  

“Sure you won’t.”  

Scoffing at Leonardo’s confident words, Delia turned to Grace.  

Grace, who had been awkwardly standing apart from Leonardo, instinctively took a step back.  

Delia, about to say something, sighed and remarked,  

“You two might as well get engaged.”  

Caleb, standing directly behind Delia, flinched at her words.  

However, Delia didn’t turn around and simply waved her hand as she walked out.  

Her unexpected behavior made Caleb glance at her unconsciously.  

“Gracie, are you okay?”  

When Leonardo called her name, Grace reflexively nodded.  

Feeling much lighter than before the incident, Grace was still in a daze.  

Smiling knowingly, Leonardo reached out to hold her hand.  

He then used magic to check her condition again.  

By now, Grace could clearly feel Leonardo’s familiar mana enveloping her body.  

“Congratulations, Grace Lowell. You’re finally free.”  

At Leonardo’s words, Grace burst into tears.  

Her long, arduous two months of suffering had finally come to an end.