Chapter 130
Olivia bit her lip hard, feeling as if tears would burst forth at any moment.
What made it even more unbearable was the fact that she could have prevented Chris’s pain and death.
Chris was not the spawn of a devil.
Olivia knew that fact very well.
But because she had no power, she couldn’t save him.
If only she had power.
No—if only she had tried to uncover the truth no matter what, wouldn’t Chris still be alive?
Such thoughts kept surfacing, and she endlessly blamed herself.
“I couldn’t even save the person dearest to me. How can someone like me be called a Saintess?”
With such feelings, she had cast aside her duties as a Saintess until now, but the time had come to stand up again.
For Chris.
“…I’ll uncover the truth about my brother, no matter what.”
She made a firm vow.
Because that was the only thing she could do now for the deceased Chris.
“Anyway, as we discussed, I’ll fully cooperate with resolving the Black Death. In return, you must keep your promise to clear my brother’s name.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I will absolutely uncover the truth.”
Chris replied without hesitation.
Either way, once they reached the end of this incident, all truths would be revealed.
“But will you be alright with this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I doubt the other members of the Theocracy will easily accept a princess cooperating with a demon.”
That was also Olivia’s concern.
There would be major opposition.
“…Even so, I have to try somehow.”
“Hm.”
Christian crossed his arms.
“If it becomes too difficult, I’ll help you.”
“…Help me? How could you, a demon, influence the internal decisions of the Theocracy?”
Olivia reacted as if it were nonsense, but Chris grinned faintly.
“In my own way. Though it may be a bit rough, I ask for your understanding.”
It was an incomprehensible remark.
* * *
Thus, the two formed a pact.
However, things did not proceed smoothly.
Because of opposition from the Theocracy’s retainers.
“This is outrageous!! Her Highness the Princess siding with a demon?!”
“Such a thing is impossible!!”
“We never should have allowed demons inside to begin with! Let’s drive them back to the Dark Lands at once!!”
Olivia wore a troubled expression.
She had expected this, but the opposition was fierce.
“This is for the people of Gold Cross. Though they are demons, they possess deep knowledge of curse magic. It will surely help in resolving this crisis.”
However, her argument was not accepted.
“It seems Her Highness the Princess is still too young to understand just how cunning those demons are.”
“It must be because Her Highness is so kind that she even looks upon demons with warmth. But demons are worse than beasts. They are not to be trusted.”
Though the words were directed at the demons, they subtly belittled her for being young and inexperienced.
In truth, it had always been this way.
‘I have no real power.’
She was revered as the Saintess who awakened the Sacred Blood, but she was still young.
Though she represented the Theocracy and stood at the forefront in times of crisis, it was all for show—she held no real authority.
“His Holiness the Pope is in seclusion, receiving revelations from the Holy Seats, and could not attend this meeting, but he would surely oppose this as well.”
“That’s right. Please consider how much pain His Holiness would feel if he learned that Your Highness sided with demons.”
Olivia bit her lip tightly.
“Even now, people are dying from the Black Death, and you suggest we do nothing just because you hate demons?”
“That is not the only reason.”
A man rose from his seat.
A tall and handsome figure.
It was Mieck, the representative Holy Knight of the Theocracy, who had previously clashed with Chris.
The Theocracy was not a nation that stood at the front lines of war—it was weak in military power and had few strong knights. Mieck was one of the rare assets, a beacon of strength.
As such, he held considerable real power within the Theocracy.
“We are doing this all out of concern for Your Highness.”
Mieck strode over to Olivia.
Then, kneeling on one knee, he kissed the back of her hand.
“As Your Highness’s Fair Knight, I too must oppose this.”
Fair Knight.
A title given to the knight paired with a lady.
Olivia coldly pulled her hand away.
“I’ve never granted you the position of Fair Knight, Sir Mieck. Don’t ever act so rudely again.”
At her cold rejection, Mieck’s face momentarily hardened.
‘This damn wench. How dare she.’
But he couldn’t show what he was thinking.
Mieck harbored ambitions of winning her heart and becoming the second most powerful figure in the Theocracy.
Even playing the role of a hypocritical Holy Knight, which didn’t suit his nature, was all for the sake of power.
‘Damn it, arrogant wench. I’ll just relieve my stress when I get back. I happened to get my hands on some fine “goods” through the slave merchant.’
He recalled the secret hideout he had prepared and smiled chillingly to himself.
On the surface, he spoke with feigned nobility.
“My heart for Your Highness is always sincere. Please reconsider consorting with those despicable demons.”
“Please reconsider!”
The retainers cried out in unison.
Olivia bit the inside of her mouth.
With her power alone, she could not refuse their coercion.
‘No. I have to act, no matter what.’
While she was consumed by despair, countless people were being sacrificed.
It was already far too late—a situation where she, as a Star-Blooded of the Theocracy, had abandoned her duty.
More than anything, she had to cooperate with that demon in order to clear Chris’s wrongful accusations.
‘Even if I have to escape the Theocracy in secret, I must go. But how?’
She wasn’t in a position to move freely.
Wherever she went, escorts followed.
They were practically watchers, binding her freedom.
Above all, the Theocracy’s knights were under Mieck’s control, making it impossible to slip away easily.
“I only ever think of Your Highness. I sincerely hope you will understand my feelings.”
Then, at that moment—
A completely unexpected voice came from outside the chamber.
“You sure spout bullshit in an original way.”
“…What?”
Bang!
The chamber doors burst open roughly, and the retainers of the Theocracy widened their eyes at the sight of the person who appeared.
“D-Demon?!”
Jet-black hair, blood-red eyes.
An insufferably arrogant expression.
It was Christian.
“How dare you set your filthy foot here?!”
“Ah, forgive me for walking into a place where the noble ones of the Theocracy are gathered. I’ve come because there’s something I need to say.”
“What nonsense! Get that wretch out of here—!!!”
“Enough!! Everyone, be quiet!!”
A sharp voice rang out.
It was Olivia.
She glared fiercely at those around her, then turned to Chris.
“What business brings you here?”
Chris glanced around the chamber.
“I heard you were debating because you couldn’t trust us demons. So, to help you trust us, I’ve brought something useful for the Theocracy.”
“…Something useful?”
The Theocracy’s retainers murmured in confusion.
“What kind of help are you suddenly talking about?”
“It’s nothing much. I just happened to witness a terrible crime occurring within the Theocracy. I’ve come to reveal that crime.”
The members of the chamber looked at each other.
They seemed baffled by what Chris was saying.
An elder shouted out, as if to dismiss it as nonsense.
“What crime could possibly be happening in our country?! The great Pope and the Holy Seats themselves are watching over us!”
“If that’s the case, then I must have imagined the horrific scene I witnessed. Honestly, I never thought I’d see such a revolting sight in the Theocracy.”
Olivia asked,
“…Exactly what are you talking about?”
“An illegal child slave trade and abuse case.”
“…….”
For a moment, the chamber fell into complete silence.
Olivia blinked, unable to fully grasp what Christian had just said.
“W-what did you say?”
“I said it’s a case of illegal child slave trade and abuse.”
“!!”
The chamber erupted into shock.
Everyone raised their voices in disbelief.
“What nonsense is this?!”
“You bastard!! Are you mocking our Theocracy?! How dare you spit out such vile lies with that mouth?!”
Just then, an unexpected figure broke into the scene.
“E-everyone, please calm down! What he says is not a lie!”
It was Viscount Roy, heir to the Duchy of Burssen.
“You’re… from the Burssen Duchy? Weren’t you assigned to monitor those demons? And now you claim this isn’t a lie? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean exactly what I said. What that demon said is true. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“!!”
Viscount Roy hastily explained the full story.
Christian’s group had been tracing remnants in the Theocracy, hoping to find clues about the curse, when they sensed suspicious dark magic. Upon following the trail, they stumbled upon a horrifying scene.
“…T-that’s absurd…”
The Theocracy’s retainers looked incredulous.
But none of them could raise their voices like before.
Viscount Roy, the heir to Burssen, was not someone they could easily dismiss.
“Just who in our Theocracy could commit such monstrous acts?”
“Well, I suppose you’ll find out soon enough.”
Chris folded his arms.
Then, he turned his gaze toward a man whose face had been pale since earlier.
“Isn’t that right, Sir Mieck?”
“!!”
Mieck swallowed hard.
‘That damned bastard… How did he uncover my secret?’
It was true.
The horrific scene Chris had discovered was one of Mieck’s hidden secret chambers.
Chris had been able to expose it so easily thanks to knowledge of the future.
‘It was once the talk of the town… The sacred knight who represented the Theocracy was committing such devilish acts behind the scenes.’
Chris addressed the stiff and speechless Mieck with a provocative tone.
“Wearing the face of a human while doing something this grotesque… Even we demons wouldn’t stoop to such depravity. Tell me, Sir Mieck, do you have any idea who the suspect might be?”
“…I do not know.”
As Mieck gave an oddly evasive answer, the others began exchanging puzzled glances.
Chris curled his lips into a sneer.
“You don’t know? Then I suppose you won’t recognize this either.”
“!!”
It was an emblem—specifically, the insignia worn by the Holy Knights of the Theocracy.
And not just any emblem. It marked the highest-ranking knight class.
At this point in time, there was only one active knight in the Theocracy who bore that symbol.
None other than Mieck.
“I found this at the site where the victims were being held. Surely you can explain what this item was doing there?”
“…….”
A suffocating silence fell over the chamber.
The shocking, horrific truth left everyone speechless.
Bloodshot veins crept into Mieck’s eyes.
‘No! If this continues, I’m finished. I have to fix this somehow!’
There was only one option left.
“How dare you frame me with such baseless slander. You really are a vile demon.”
One small relief for Mieck was that the one exposing this was a demon.
In the Theocracy, demons were absolute evil.
If he could frame all of this as a conspiracy orchestrated by that cunning demon—then maybe he could escape.