Chapter 10 (Part 5)

How much time had passed? 

She couldn’t tell. But when the carriage stopped, Yuliana knew they had arrived at the Holy Kingdom.

Hearing that they had returned with the saint, people quickly prepared the room where Yuliana would stay. Rybid carried Yuliana into his room, laid her on the bed, and left.

With the sound of the door closing, Yuliana slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The room was lavishly decorated in gold tones. Then, hearing the door open again, she quickly closed her eyes.

The voices of Aens and Rybid could be heard. The sound was so faint that Yuliana focused on it.

“The sacrifices are waiting. You must go quickly…”

“I’ll just take a look at Lia’s face before I go, so wait outside.”

“Understood.”

Yuliana felt a chill at the talk of sacrifices by the Holy Knight Aens and Rybid.

A sacrifice is something offered. To whom and for what are they offering sacrifices? But it didn’t sound like a good thing. The mention of sacrifices and rituals certainly didn’t seem like a good thing.

To continue appearing unconscious, Yuliana relaxed her whole body, kept her eyes closed, and listened carefully to her surroundings.

Rybid sat on the bed and began to gently stroke her hair. She wanted to scream and slap away Rybid’s hand, which she found so repulsive, but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t act rashly at times like this. What she had to do now was protect the child in her womb, no matter what.

“It’s about time to wake up…”

Every time Rybid touched her hair, Yuliana felt like bugs were crawling all over her body, but she endured it. She had to endure.

“Lia… I know you’re awake.”

But Yuliana didn’t open her eyes. Rybid tugged her hair hard and said.

“Luda is a precious person to you, isn’t she?”

At those words, Yuliana opened her eyes and glared at Rybid.

“If you touch Luda, I won’t stand by.”

“If you don’t stay still… Luda will be in danger.”

Yuliana bit her inner lip and held back her anger. She couldn’t act recklessly or speak carelessly.

“Stay still… Lia… Then there won’t be any pain. Not for you or the child.”

Rybid showed Yuliana a thick iron necklace… and fastened it around her neck, connecting it to a chain on the wall.

“I’ve left the chain long… so it shouldn’t be uncomfortable to move. Just endure it until the wedding.”

At the mention of a wedding, Yuliana was startled and said.

“What do you mean by a wedding!”

Rybid approached Yuliana, pointed at her belly, and spoke softly.

“I’m the father of the child in your belly.”

Yuliana felt a chill run down her spine.

“When it’s born, it will succeed me as the pope of the Holy Kingdom. It must be born healthy.”

“No.”

Yuliana pointed at her belly and glared at Rybid as she spoke.

“It’s not your child!”

“Even after seeing that divine power, you say it’s not my child?”

“Yes… It’s not. It’s Yan and my child!”

Bang! Bang!

At Yuliana’s denial, Rybid punched the wall hard and shouted.

“No! No! No! It’s my child!”

Rybid continued to punch the wall without stopping.

Bang! Bang!

“Hah… Ah…”

Blood dripped from Rybid’s fists as he gasped for breath.

“It’s my child… my child… I won’t let Duke Anthus take my child and my woman. Lia, you love me too… right? You don’t plan to go to that bastard… with my child.”

Rybid’s crazed eyes and twisted smile were enough to send shivers down Yuliana’s spine. He was not in his right mind.

Rybid’s face showed not a hint of doubt as he accepted lies as truth, ignoring reality. He truly believed that the child, which belonged to Anthus and her, was his.

Rybid, without wiping the blood from his hands, staggered toward Yuliana with open arms.

Even if he embraced her… she couldn’t move rashly. Rybid hugged Yuliana tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“Yes. I’m the father.”

Yuliana shed tears. As he wiped her tears away, Rybid whispered joyfully in her ear.

“Crying out of happiness… I’m happy too… Lia.”

Hugging her again, Rybid continued to whisper.

“Lia… Let’s quickly have our wedding before your belly grows and be happy.”

Yuliana quietly watched Rybid, who seemed completely insane.

No matter how loudly she shouted or asked to be let go, it would be useless. She mustn’t provoke Rybid, who had turned violent, ignoring the truth. She had to endure.

“Alright…”

Yuliana realized she couldn’t simply tell Rybid, “It’s not your child,” and attempt to escape. At times like this, she had to follow his words and find a chance to escape.

“Your Holiness… Please remove the collar… It’s not good for the child…”

As soon as Rybid put it on her neck, she couldn’t feel mana. Not being able to feel mana meant she couldn’t use it, and that meant she couldn’t call upon the spirits.

“There’s no need to put a mana restraint on my neck. Please remove it.”

“I’m sorry… Lia, I can’t remove it. Please understand.”

“If I wear this, I don’t feel good. If the mother feels bad, it affects the child too.”

Despite Yuliana’s earnest tone, Rybid hesitated for a moment before smiling brightly and speaking.

“If the child can’t withstand the mother’s stress, it’s okay if it dies… And we can have another child. But it’s a bit of a waste to kill this one now…”

With an expression devoid of deceit, he pronounced a death sentence on the child in her womb with a pure voice.

Seeing him speak so casually, Yuliana’s heart sank. She realized she couldn’t continue talking to Rybid.

Yuliana found it hard to fall asleep. Without a clock in the room, she couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

There wasn’t even a window in the room. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night. All she could do was eat the food brought by the priests and lie down. If only she knew Luda was safe… She couldn’t call upon the spirits because of the mana restraint around her neck.

Yuliana covered her face with both hands and sobbed. She wished and wished that it wasn’t real, but the reality of being unable to escape was agonizing. She wanted to rescue Luda and run to Anthus immediately.

What was he doing now? Would he come to rescue me after learning about my abduction? Did he even know I had been kidnapped?

After crying silently for a while, Yuliana felt a strange presence.

[You’re too noisy. I wish you’d stop crying!]

“Who are you?”

[Oh my, can you hear my voice?]

“Yes…”

[It’s been a while.]

“What?”

[You have spirit affinity. That’s why you can hear my voice.]

“Yes. I’m a spiritist.”

Yuliana stopped crying and listened intently. Usually, spirits reside in the spirit world and can only cross over to this world when summoned by their contractor. So the current voice felt very alien. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

“Are you a spirit?”

[Maybe? I don’t even know if I’m a spirit or not.]

Yuliana swallowed hard.

[I’m probably a spirit! But I’ve forgotten why I’m here. I’m just waiting for my disappearance.]

“Disappearance?”

For a spirit, disappearance signifies death.

[I want to disappear.]

Yuliana looked at the air with a face that seemed on the verge of tears. 

What story led it to wish for its own disappearance? 

Her heart ached.

“Aren’t you returning to the spirit world? What about your contractor?”

[I think I contracted with a man I truly loved… but I don’t remember.]

“You’ll be able to find your memories.”

[Still, I’m so happy! It’s been a long time since a companion with spirit affinity has come!]

The voice, sounding like a sad song, whispered past Yuliana’s ear.

[I’m so happy to be talking to someone after so long! You’ll stay here, right?]

The dark room suddenly lit up brightly. Startled, Yuliana looked around.

“Are you still here?”

Yuliana kept looking around and spoke to the air. But she didn’t hear the spirit’s voice.

“What on earth…”

A spirit not remembering its contractor is unheard of.

When a spirit’s contractor dies or the contract is terminated, the spirit returns to the spirit world. Then it waits for the next contractor to appear. A spirit cannot exist in this world without a contractor.