The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 3.5

If I came out right after entering, the man at the cave entrance would notice, so I planned to kill some time inside before leaving.

All the visitors who entered the cave were going in one direction. So there was no need to worry about which way to move. I just walked slowly without hesitation.

Then I heard Allis’s voice.

“Have you seen the Duchess? She has beautiful blonde hair and pink eyes.”

“How can you see such things in this darkness?”

Allis was looking for me. Had she already secured the prime spot and was now searching for me? She’s quick.

At this rate, my plan would fail miserably. I needed to hide.

I hurriedly looked for a place to hide.

While the cave had the advantage of being dark, it wasn’t complex like a maze, so there weren’t many suitable hiding spots.

Even as I wondered if this was really necessary, my eyes were busy searching for a hiding place.

It seemed I had already come quite deep into the cave, as there were people around me who had found their spots and were making wishes.

Judging by how they were using tools to probe the crevices in the rocks before settling down, it seemed they were looking for points where divine power flowed to make their wishes.

As I looked around, I discovered a slightly recessed space that looked like a small room. It was a cramped space that would be full with just three or four people.

It was a suitable place to hide.

I hid myself in that space.

“Have you seen a blonde-haired noble lady?”

Allis was still actively searching for me.

I stepped back one more step and leaned against the cave wall. Then, I felt something touch my back.

What’s this?

Reflexively, I turned around at the touch. I saw that the cave wall protruded slightly. As if someone had deliberately made it, there was a rock protrusion about the size of two clasped hands.

Just as I thought it looked suitable as a pedestal for placing objects, I discovered that something was indeed placed on it.

It was an object that looked like a pebble. However, it was too shiny and glossy to be just a stone.

I unconsciously grasped it in my hand.

As if it was reacting to being held, the stone began to glow more brightly.

What is this stone that glows like this?

I hastily put the stone back down.

At that moment, I heard Allis’s voice very close by.

“Duchess! Where are you?”

I could hear her anxiously muttering, “What if she got lost?”

Then, the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.

“Are you here?”

The ‘here’ she was referring to was the narrow space where I was.

I was about to be discovered. That strange pebble was glowing more and more, gradually brightening this space. Damn it.

I briefly agonized over whether to just go out or continue to hide here. But soon, as Allis’s voice was heard, my time for deliberation ended.

“Duchess! You were here!”

She had finally found me again.

“Why were you here?”

“Ahaha… I was just looking around.”

“Oh, but this is…?”

She too had discovered that strange pebble. With it glowing like that, it was impossible not to notice.

Moreover, what was even stranger was that it was now floating in the air, just as I had left it after grasping it earlier.

“Why is this here now like this…”

It wasn’t just strange to my eyes; Allis was also bewildered.

“What is this stone? Do you know a lot about this stone too?”

Even as I worried that she might bombard my ears with all sorts of legends and cases related to this stone, I couldn’t resist my curiosity and asked.

“Ah, this is the ‘Priest’s Stone’ that detects divine power.”

“Huh? Detecting… divine power?”

Somehow, I had a feeling that the situation might be a bit serious. Something seems wrong.

“Yes. It glows like this when it detects divine power. In the past, they used this to identify people with divine power and send them to the temple. Among them, the exceptional ones became priests.”

“Are you saying this has detected divine power now?”

“Yes, did you… perhaps touch it, Duchess?”

“N-No way!”

I found myself immediately and forcefully denying it without even thinking. Too strong a denial is as good as an affirmation. Surely she won’t notice because of my strong denial, right?

“Well, that’s true. If you had divine power, you would have known since childhood.”

Allis tilted her head, looking at the stone.

“Ah, ah, it was like this when I first saw it too! I didn’t touch it.”

“Really? Someone touched it and then disappeared?”

“I guess so.”

“Yes. It glows like this when it detects divine power. In the past, they used this to identify people with divine power and send them to the temple. Among them, the exceptional ones became priests.”

“Are you saying this has detected divine power now?”

“Yes, did you… perhaps touch it, Duchess?”

“N-No way!”

I found myself immediately and forcefully denying it without even thinking. Too strong a denial is as good as an affirmation. Surely she won’t notice because of my strong denial, right?

“Well, that’s true. If you had divine power, you would have known since childhood.”

Allis tilted her head, looking at the stone.

“Ah, ah, it was like this when I first saw it too! I didn’t touch it.”

“Really? I wonder who touched it and then disappeared?”

“I guess so.”

The stone was still floating in the air, emitting light. As the light spread around, people started approaching out of curiosity.

“Oh, let’s quickly get out of here to avoid any misunderstandings!”

“Misunderstandings?”

“What if someone misunderstands that we touched it? Let’s hurry and leave.”

“Yes, a-alright.”

Allis seemed a bit flustered at my insistence to leave immediately.

“What about the wish?”

“Ah, right, the wish. Let’s make it quickly and leave.”

“Yes, I’ve already secured a spot over there!”

I went to the spot Allis had reserved, hastily made a wish that wasn’t really a wish, and then hurried towards the exit like someone fleeing.

The ‘Priest’s Stone’ was still emitting light. More and more people were gathering around it.

“I wonder who touched that stone?”

“Who knows…?”

“Did you see anyone before you went in?”

“Didn’t see anyone. If I had, I would have said so right away.”

I lied while trembling inside.

“Since the Priest’s Stone reacted, priests might come today or tomorrow.”

“What?”

I shouted in an excessively high-pitched voice, causing Allis to look at me strangely.

Realizing my mistake, I belatedly lowered my voice.

“Why are the priests coming? Do they know who touched that stone?”

I asked in a whisper.

“They come to take the person with divine power to the temple. But cases like today where the person who touched the stone disappears are rare, so I’m not sure if the priests will be able to tell who touched it.”

Taking them to the temple, huh. I had absolutely no desire to become a priest.

I just want to live comfortably as a duchess in the ducal residence, spending money!

“Allis, let’s leave quickly.”

I hastened my steps a bit more.

Fortunately, no one suddenly grabbed me from behind as we headed towards the cave exit.

Everyone seemed curious about who had touched the stone, but they didn’t seem to suspect it was me.

The reason for this became clear through Allis’s explanation.

“If you’re from the Empire, you go through a divine power detection ceremony as a child. So it’s more likely that a young child who hasn’t undergone the ceremony touched it.”

Everyone must be thinking it was a child, not an adult like me, who touched it.

I felt more relieved. At least I could be excluded from the list of suspects.

I secretly let out a sigh of relief.

“By the way, what wish did you make earlier?”

Allis asked curiously, blinking her round eyes.

My wish wasn’t anything special. I just wanted to enjoy this life healthily.

“Well, my wish was for health.”

“Ah, I see. If you use the hot springs more and rest comfortably in Pierce, your health will improve even more!”

Allis said with a bright smile.

However, I couldn’t smile as brightly as her due to my worries about what had just happened.

In Ekette’s memories, there was a recollection of undergoing the divine power detection ceremony as a child. Of course, no divine power was detected then, and Ekette lived an ordinary life.

So why was divine power detected now? It was strange.