Chapter 85

“Well, there’s not much information yet. They say the Imperial Palace is still investigating, but the area in front is crowded with protesters.”

The Imperial Palace must have already identified the assailant, but the lack of an official announcement suggested there were underlying circumstances.

Curious about what those circumstances might be, it seemed the family had no intention of sharing them with her.

While pondering over the identity of the assailant, Pell glanced at his watch and spoke.

“Anyway, I should get going now.”

“Alright. Thanks for visiting me.”

“Of course. And most importantly…”

Vivace and Raccoon had already curled up together and fallen asleep.

Pell, gazing at the sight with a faint smile, murmured softly to her.

“I plan to leave Raccoon here since you might get lonely, Chief.”

“I’m not lonely.”

“To be honest, I’ve grown too attached, and I fear I won’t be able to part with him.”

Pell sighed deeply, explaining that he had only intended to keep Raccoon temporarily but had ended up keeping him due to Vivace’s insistence.

She nodded in understanding.

Pell carefully picked up the sleeping Vivace in his arms.

“Mm…”

The child muttered softly, frowning briefly, but soon relaxed into Pell’s embrace.

Although Raccoon would likely throw a tantrum upon waking up to find Vivace gone, there was no helping it.

Pell bowed his head to her and left the room.

Raccoon, who had briefly woken up at the sound of movement, watched Vivace being carried away.

“What’s this? Acting like you’re annoyed but feeling sad about parting?”

[What? Who said that!]

Raccoon shouted in denial.

But the more he protested, the more it became evident that he didn’t want to part from Vivace.

“Alright.”

She shrugged and dismissed the matter.

As Pell had said, Raccoon would soon have to return to the temple, so it wouldn’t do any good for them to grow too attached.

After Pell left, time passed, and evening arrived.

Eched, who hadn’t shown his face for a while, appeared in the dining hall.

It seemed he hadn’t come to eat but to check on her condition.

He dismissed Kirin’s offer to prepare a meal and focused on examining her.

Eched glanced at the bowl in front of her. Seeing only a bowl of scorched rice, he frowned slightly.

“Sit down and eat.”

He pulled out the chair next to him, signaling for her to stop observing and take a seat.

“I’m fine.”

“Sit. I have something to say.”

Eched’s puzzled expression softened slightly as he obediently took a seat without further questions.

She proudly lifted a spoonful of scorched rice toward him.

“Look, I can eat well now.”

“Sure, if you count that as eating—something that doesn’t even feel like chewing.”

He always had to ruin the moment. Chewing the gritty scorched rice, she placed the spoon down.

“I’m healthy enough not to lie down anymore.”

She stood up, intending to demonstrate her recovery.

But at that moment, her legs gave out, and she stumbled. Eched quickly caught her.

His expression hardened even more than before.

“If you fall, you’ll die.”

Of course, hitting her head on a table while falling could be dangerous, but…

She felt Eched’s exaggeration had gone too far since her collapse.

Still, since it was her fault for suddenly standing up and nearly falling, she awkwardly sat back down.

Clearing her throat, she spoke.

“What I wanted to say is… I’m fine now, so could you tell me the results of the investigation on the assailants?”

She needed to escape her overprotective family and uncover the truth they were trying to hide.

“Why are you curious about that?”

‘Just because’… seemed like a suspicious excuse.

“If you’re planning something dangerous, I won’t tell you.”

“What dangerous thing could I possibly do?”

Eched simply stared at her silently.

His gaze, as if asking if she truly didn’t know, pricked her conscience, and she averted her eyes.

“Just… I’m curious. Pell mentioned earlier that the Saintess’s reputation has worsened. If the Imperial Palace reveals information about the assailants, wouldn’t it calm the angry public?”

“Worried about the citizens again?”

Not really…

If that was the misunderstanding, it was actually convenient given the current situation.

Eventually, Eched sighed and spoke.

“It wasn’t a crime targeting only the Saintess. It was aimed at the Saintess and those who supported her.”

“What…?”

The question she had at the time resurfaced.

So that’s why they acted as if they were stalling…

“They claimed to be part of a new religion.”

“A new religion?”

“Yes. They worship demons.”

“…”

The appearance of such an unimaginable entity left her speechless.

“Really? Demon? Then isn’t it heresy?”

Eched nodded in affirmation.

Unbelievable.

She stared at Eched in disbelief.

While she had heard of heretical groups worshiping demons, she never imagined they would orchestrate such a blatant act.

No wonder the Imperial Palace couldn’t reveal the assailants’ identities.

If this information became public, it would undoubtedly plunge the Empire into chaos.

It was clear the Imperial Palace was agonizing over how to disclose this information…

She could understand their hesitation, as she would have struggled to decide how to announce it herself.

“Did they catch all of them this time?”

“Well, that remains to be seen through further investigation.”

The assailants, who had revealed they were part of a new religion, refused to divulge any additional information.

She nodded at Eched, signifying her understanding.

***

Eched and she had been arguing since morning.

It was all about her returning to work.

“I can go back to work.”

“No, you can’t.”

“I’m telling you, I can.”

“No.”

Eched was firm.

Several days had passed since the incident at the square.

Her injuries had healed by the time she woke up, and thanks to the daily visits from Holy Power healers to the ducal residence, even her fatigue had disappeared.

Yet, Eched continued to use the excuse of her poor health to prevent her from returning to work.

“You didn’t like going to work in the first place, did you?”

When she insisted stubbornly, Eched pointed that out.

He was right. She hadn’t liked going to work…

Eched narrowed his eyes as if suspecting she had some ulterior motive.

To avoid his suspicions, she pretended to give up on returning to work.

Once Eched left for the ducal residence, she began searching for Raccoon, who roamed around the mansion as if it were his own.

The creature, who usually appeared out of nowhere to startle her, was nowhere to be found when she actually needed him.

Her reason for finding Raccoon was simple.

She planned to use him as an excuse to visit the Imperial Palace.

“Now, where could he be?”

As the saying goes, sometimes the most obvious place is the last one you’d think to check. Raccoon was closer than expected.

At the end of the second-floor hallway, a door to a room that was usually tightly shut was slightly ajar.

Peeking inside, she saw furniture and picture frames covered in white cloth, giving the room an air of long abandonment.

The ducal residence was vast, and with only two servants tasked with cleaning, unused rooms like this were often left untouched.

When she stepped inside, she noticed a large cloth moving slightly in one corner.

“What are you doing?”

Lifting the edge of the cloth, she spotted Raccoon’s plump backside sticking out from under a cabinet as he groped around beneath it.

‘He looks… bigger, somehow.’

Every time Raccoon wriggled, his chubby rear wobbled.

She crouched down in front of him, watching for a moment, then poked his plump bottom with her finger.

[Don’t interfere, human!]

How cheeky.

Raccoon flinched and turned to glare at her.

From just his rear, it wasn’t clear, but seeing his face confirmed it—Raccoon had definitely grown rounder overall.

She was dumbfounded.

After initially resisting so much, he had clearly grown comfortable with this lifestyle and gained weight.

“How much have you been eating…?”

As she reached out to touch his belly, which nearly dragged on the floor, Raccoon bared his teeth and swatted her hand away.

[Don’t interfere!]

“What are you doing?”

[Something precious is stuck in here!]

The cabinet was deep, and it seemed Raccoon’s short arms couldn’t quite reach whatever was inside.

“Want me to get it out?”

[Well… No.]

“Why did you almost ask, then?”

[I can’t owe a favor to a wicked human like you.]

Wicked…

She grabbed Raccoon’s cheek and tugged. But instead of crying out in pain, he simply glared at her in irritation and swatted her hand away again.

“Let’s go. We’re late. I’m going back to work today.”

[Back to the Imperial Palace?]

“Yes.”

[I like it here better!]

“What? Then are you planning to live here forever?”

[Not forever. But I’m not going to the Imperial Palace today.]

What kind of stubbornness was this?

D*mn it.

If Raccoon refused to go to the Imperial Palace, her plan would fall apart…

“Just come with me today. If you do, I’ll get that thing out for you.”

[As expected of a wicked human…! You can’t do anything without demanding something in return…!]

“Forget it. Handle your own problems yourself. Got it?”

With that, she turned and walked away.

A pitiful whine escaped from the Divine Beast, but it wasn’t her concern.

She’d just go to the Imperial Palace without him.

From the beginning, making excuses to justify her actions didn’t suit her style.