When the truth was finally proclaimed, the banquet hall became noisy again.

“Then…… are you saying the Duke stole a fake holy relic?”

“Nonsense! I saw the sun rise that day with my own eyes!”

“It works up to twice, you stupid man!”

“If those words aren’t lies, why isn’t the sun rising? Surely you’re not saying the power of the rockdragon’s heart is just a one-time thing!”

The voices asserting their opinions were so sharp that small arguments were breaking out all over the banquet hall.

Felton, frozen in shock like Geril, looked at Bellota. Even in this situation, she maintained her composure, holding her hands together and holding her head nobly high. Her face was calm, as if she had anticipated all these reactions.

Just what is this…… As Felton was trying to organize this confusing situation, Geril, who had been trembling with blood rushing to his face, suddenly burst out in a loud voice.

“Stop! Everyone shut up!”

At that fury, everyone turned to look at Geril in surprise.

“I went to the Forbidden Land myself! How dare you…… how dare you deny the oracle!”

As Geril, having lost his reason, shouted while staring at Bellota with bloodshot eyes in extreme agitation, Felton quickly blocked Bellota and glared at Geril.

“Do not come any closer.”

At Felton’s warning, Geril tightly clenched his trembling hands. Blood trickled down from Geril’s hand, cut by the sharp edge of the holy relic. That stinging pain barely calmed his reason. After catching his breath for a moment, Geril muttered in a voice filled with killing intent.

“The Saintess will bring calamity to this empire.”

But such words could no longer shake Bellota. Bellota met Geril’s gaze without avoiding it and parted her lips.

“Please stop insulting God, Duke Lylester. This is the sacred Grand Temple, and,”

The blue eyes confronting him were unwavering and firm.

Never,

“I am God’s representative, personally chosen by the Holy Spirit.”

As if saying she would never yield to him.

At that straight gaze, Geril’s face turned pale. It felt as if Bellota’s gaze had become an unbearably massive weight pressing down on his entire body. At that moment, majestic bell tolls rang throughout the banquet hall that had been frozen still.

Dong, dong, dong—

At that sound, Felton’s eyes, which had forgotten even to breathe, flew open. It was the bells announcing midnight. It didn’t take long for everyone in the banquet hall to notice. Those who heard the bells looked at Bellota with tense faces.

Bellota, standing straight with her hands clasped while staring at Geril, was still fine. She neither transformed into a monster, nor was covered in horrible boils, nor turned into a black stone—she remained peaceful as always. She didn’t lose her reason or collapse from being consumed by a curse of lust as the rumors circulating throughout the empire had claimed.

“Ah, heavens.”

Of course, tears welled up first in the eyes of the most devout who had believed in Bellota until the very end.

“It was nonsense after all! What curse!”

“Oh, God.”

“Could this rumor also have been spread by the Duke?”

“Ha, so he was just venting after being rejected.”

“Where did he get that replica from? Could Lady Margaret’s illness be related to this?”

The arrows of criticism that had been threatening Bellota’s throat for days turned toward Geril with surprising speed. Geril could only stare blankly at Bellota with a face hoping this was all a dream.

Bellota steadily met Geril’s shameless face, which was looking at her desperately as if begging her to say this was all a lie. Soon she delivered the final blow in a gentle voice.

“Since His Holiness the Pope has personally gone to where Viscount Cadlack buried the genuine article, he will soon find the real holy relic and reveal the truth of this matter.”

Only then did Geril’s arrogant eyes slowly crumble as he faced the reality of his situation.

“You should prepare an explanation for why the replica that should be with Lady Margaret is in your hands, Duke. Of course, Lady Margaret will certainly recover and reveal the truth, so it would be better to refrain from any more lies.”

Simply telling him what would happen next was the last consideration Bellota could show Geril.

Those gathered in the banquet hall realized that everything had come to a conclusion. The rockdragon’s heart Geril had brought was revealed to be fake, and the Saintess had not transformed into a monster even after midnight passed.

The Emperor, who had been watching this whole situation, couldn’t hold back and exhaled an irritated breath.

“Let us leave now. To think we were used for such nonsense.”

The Emperor glared at Geril, who stood there miserably with all traces of his confident attitude gone, then turned away in annoyance. This incident would surely bring arrows of criticism to the imperial family as well.

“We should go too. It’s well past midnight.”

“We just wasted our energy on pointless things.”

Those who realized everything had concluded could no longer bear their tired bodies and began filing out of the banquet hall. Bellota, who had been watching Geril standing frozen in place staring at the dirty floor with blank eyes, slowly turned around as well.

Bellota headed toward the back door of the banquet hall as Felton guided her. Leaving the banquet hall filled with brilliant lights and bustling sounds revealed a dark and quiet corridor that seemed like a different world.

Thud.

When the banquet hall door closed behind Bellota, she was swallowed by darkness.

“……”

The world she stood on turned upside down, and heat immediately rushed to Bellota’s face, which had maintained a calm expression throughout.

“Ha……”

As her body started to collapse, staggering from the dizzying sensation overtaking her mind, someone caught her in an instant. Bellota just squeezed her eyes shut without resisting the one who embraced and pulled her along. The touch around her waist was familiar. It was Seiden.

“Hnng……”

A groan that she had barely managed to hold back escaped painfully through Bellota’s lips. Only the sound of two people’s footsteps echoed through the dark and quiet temple corridor.

“It’s all over.”

Seiden’s voice, heavy with deep breaths, penetrated her eardrums, soothing her who was writhing in pain.

“You endured well.”

Each time that heavy, comforting voice descended on her head, surges of tearful sorrow welled up in Bellota’s eyes.

“Hic……”

Bellota noticed her body was rapidly heating up. It was at a frightening speed, like she’s trying to pay back everything she had been suppressing all at once.

“We’re almost there now. You did well.”

Every time Seiden whispered, the heat inside her body intensified explosively. As her body, having lost its holy power and unable to endure that tremendous curse, collapsed, Seiden quickly scooped her up and moved rapidly.

Seiden entered a small chapel at the end of the corridor and locked the door. Then he laid Bellota down on the small bed and immediately kissed her deeply.

“Mmph……!”

Seiden’s tongue entwined with hers, and the enormous power contained within him seemed to pour and overflow into her fragile body. Though it was overwhelming, Bellota was nonetheless grateful for it, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Seiden’s neck and received that power with all her might.

Cold yet hot energy flowed down Bellota’s throat. The more power flowed in, the hotter Bellota’s body became. Seiden deeply embraced her body as it melted limply.

It was Seiden who had persuaded Van to reveal the truth at this banquet. In fact, it was closer to blackmail. He had declared that if Van didn’t tell everything he knew about the holy relic, he would stop supplying the medicine that was barely keeping Lady Margaret alive.

Seiden was convinced that the dark mage cooperating with Geril must be the one who had the Demon God Book, and he had intuited that the stolen holy relic had been used for Geril. And if all these guesses were correct, the holy relic stolen from Lady Margaret must surely be the one Geril had brought claiming it was from a rockdragon. Considering the timing of when Lady Margaret fell under the curse and stabbed herself, and when Geril appeared, it was quite a reasonable deduction.

Seiden had thoroughly investigated House Cadlack. As a result, he discovered that their ancestor had been the most devout among those who were messengers of the Holy Spirit in the beginning. He even found records that they had received a holy relic containing tremendous holy power as a reward.

According to records, the holy relic had disappeared at some point hundreds of years later, but Seiden suspected that record was fabricated and that Lady Margaret would have the holy relic. However, Lady Margaret was fighting for her life. So all that remained to him was her butler, Van.

Of course, it was close to gambling. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that Van knew nothing about the holy relic. But after meeting Ms. Pamela, Seiden was seized by the conviction that perhaps the servants who had served them for a long time might know more than the family members themselves. His guess was successful.

“As the Commander said, Duke Lylester’s holy relic is indeed House Cadlack’s holy relic.”

Faced with Lady Margaret’s life and death, Van turned his back on his loyalty to his former master, his fear of Duke Lylester, and concerns for his future safety, and revealed everything he knew.