Chapter 35

The place where they briefly stayed was a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Compassion.

Early in the morning, she visited the priest at the chapel and received divine power treatment.

After examining her body for a long time through divine power, the priest removed his overlapping hands and said, 

“There is nothing particularly wrong.”

“Particularly? Then are you saying there’s something just wrong?”

 Eched raised the question. His face was grave as he probed further about her condition.

“Well… it’s something I’ve never encountered before, so it’s hard to say.”

The priest overlapped his palms again on the back of his hand and continued,

“When I inject divine power like this, at a certain moment, it feels like it suddenly gets blocked. As if something is obstructing the flow of divine power. It’s similar yet different from the sensation of forcing divine power into someone who doesn’t have it.”

“Is it bad?”

“No, it’s not bad. It’s just that you don’t seem like a person with divine power, but that doesn’t mean it’s harmful. Although rare, there are people with divine power who have low affinity for it.”

The priest stood up, brushing off his robe, and added, 

“So, nothing particularly bad.”

‘Well, except for one place.’

Shaterian looked up at Eched, who stood as the priest rose. Eched promptly extended his hand.

“Well then, let’s head back.”

Even without him saying it, she knew where they were going—Astrea’s ducal estate.

Grumbling that she didn’t need help, she still took his hand to stand. Ignoring Eched’s faint smile, she thanked the priest.

“May the Goddess’s blessing be with you.”

Receiving the blessing in return, they boarded the carriage and set off for Astrea’s ducal estate.

Eched and she had both taken a temporary leave under the guise of convalescence. She cited mental and physical exhaustion, while Eched used his side wound as an excuse.

Still, Eched, ever diligent, decided to work from the estate, leaving her to enjoy perfect rest.

She even managed to fend off her older sister, who had been eager to visit, and wrote a heartfelt reply to the Emperor’s apologetic letter, where he expressed regret for sending her to such a place.

However, there was nothing she could do about Orgon, who stood firmly in front of Duke Astrea’s estate.

***

The suffocating parlor was as cold as Orgon’s icy gaze.

With a loud clink, Orgon set his teacup down forcefully and glared at her with even sharper eyes.

“Is this why you told me to stay longer at the temple?”

She shivered. Trying to warm herself with the hot tea, she replied, 

“You knew I’d stop you if I found out. And since you told me to stay with Anella, does that mean Anella was originally the target for abduction, and Gusto just happened to show up, leading to you being caught instead?”

Without any hints, he quickly and accurately deduced the situation.

“The purpose of kidnapping Anella was, of course, divine power.”

“Oh, you’re so smart… Sorry.”

Wilting under his sharp gaze, she quickly averted her eyes.

Even in an empire abundant with people possessing divine power, strong and pure divine power was rare.

A person with such divine power could imbue blessings into their words, and objects they possessed could gain mysterious powers.

Orgon sighed deeply and began scolding her.

“Why are you so reckless? What if something had gone wrong?”

“I didn’t know Gusto Avidita would show up…”

“Even if he hadn’t. What would you have done by going there?”

Still, she had been somewhat helpful. Thanks to her memory of the original story, they had found the auction house quickly and even discovered the hidden space.

“This time, I truly felt it. So, I’m thinking of learning swordsmanship again. From Eched.”

“…From the Knight Commander?”

“Yes. That’s why I decided to stay here.”

“You?”

Orgon looked utterly shocked.

Well, it was shocking. The idea of her learning anything from Eched was unimaginable.

“But do you really have to stay at the estate to learn?”

“Yes. I’m learning, but I don’t want others to find out.”

She had her pride, after all.

In any case, all her decisions had been made for convenience, and with Duke Astrea’s estate having only a butler, a chef, and two maids, it was the perfect place.

“If that’s what you want…”

Orgon seemed ready to stop nagging and took a moment to catch his breath.

Glancing at her, he brought up the most important matter.

“We’ve got the results of the investigation on Gusto Avidita.”

“Finally.”

It had taken a long time. Even more so since Gusto was already dead.

“Are you ready to hear it?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

Leaning back into the sofa, she prepared to listen to what Gusto had been doing after leaving the academy.

“They say no one was living in the Avidita Viscount Family’s territory. When they checked the viscount’s residence… skeletal remains were found scattered throughout the mansion.”

“…”

“They tracked down people who had lived in the territory, and the stories were all similar. They said the young master returned after leaving the academy and suddenly went mad, devouring everyone.”

“Devoured?”

“Upon investigation, there were no signs of cannibalism on the bodies. The claim that he devoured them must have been a terrified exaggeration. He likely used them as sacrifices for dark sorcery. What kind of dark sorcery, we couldn’t determine.”

They were back to square one. With the dark sorcery user dead, there was no way to ask.

“There’s nothing to gain here. What about your side?”

Orgon, looking tired, massaged his neck and gestured toward Eched. Eched silently shook his head.

“Not much different here. We caught one mage, four subordinate dark sorcerers, but none of them were connected to Gusto Avidita.”

“So, was Gusto Avidita’s appearance there just a coincidence?”

It was an odd coincidence. However, the unexplainable strangeness left the parlor in silence.

In that quiet, her eyes met Eched’s.

He stared without blinking, making her frown, unsure if he was deep in thought or challenging her to a staring contest.

“Orgon. I’d like you to find a human… corpse.”

Not a living person, but a corpse. Only Eched could make such an absurd request so naturally.

“Whose…?”

“The body of a dark sorcerer who died 300 years ago—no, 500 years ago.”

It was at that moment.

[For 500 years, it had been a persistent and malevolent connection. Once entangled with a human, the bond would resurface repeatedly in subsequent lives.]

‘I know your secret. I couldn’t bear it after learning the truth… That’s why I offered my body to host the soul of a mage who died 300 years ago.’

The sentence and Gusto’s voice intertwined chaotically in her mind.

In the original story, Eched’s past was not detailed. Naturally, most of the novel was focused on Anella’s perspective as she busied herself with her romance with Orgon.

‘That’s why I didn’t have much to work with.’

If it weren’t for that, she, whose dream in her past and present life was to become a wealthy freeloader, would already be living a carefree life.

…Setting aside the sad story.

‘A soul.’ Just as she had reincarnated as Shaterian, that dark sorcerer had also died 500 years ago and reincarnated 300 years ago. And now…

‘It’s more than just reincarnation.’

Gusto had said he offered his body as a condition to accept the soul. It was more akin to “possession,” a term used by shamans in past lives.

Here, they called it being possessed by a demon. Well, since it was indeed a corrupted soul referred to as a demon, it wasn’t much different.

When possessed by a demon, naturally…

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…”

“Shaterian… since when did you become a devout believer?”

“Just. I figured if I believed in someone, maybe they’d protect me.”

Orgon seemed to have a lot to say, but when she shamelessly raised her chin, he simply closed his mouth.

In any case, Eched continued.

“The last sighting of him was in the Saha Desert.”

The Saha Desert, east of the Astrea Empire, marked the edge of the Kentri Empire.

Even using the Mage Tower’s warp array, it would take at least twenty days on horseback to reach it.

“It’ll take quite a while to find him. Not to mention it’s a desert, and it happened 300 years ago… You shouldn’t expect much.”

“I won’t.”

The conditions were nearly impossible.

But Orgon’s information network was surprisingly reliable, and they had often unearthed difficult information, so it was worth waiting.

“Well, now let’s talk about the trial.”

As busy people, the topic quickly shifted to the upcoming trial.

Hearing about the illegal activities at the auction house, the Emperor had been enraged.

The Emperor had drawn his sword, ordering the capital to be thoroughly searched, all illegal markets eradicated, and any nobles remotely connected to them arrested.

‘Bring me everyone involved in Shaterian’s kidnapping!’

Although the direction of his anger was slightly off, since the ultimate goal was the same, it wasn’t a big problem.

With the Emperor’s involvement, the investigation proceeded swiftly, and criminals were brought in daily.

Several auction houses disappeared during that time.

And soon, a public trial was held.