Chapter 20
Igran clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath.
“It must have been unbearable. Crowds swarming like ants, begging for blessings. Throwing her into monster-infested lands, demanding purification.”
“…….”
“Ordering her to bring the dying back to life. She truly suffered.”
Odette lifted her gaze to the portrait of her mother.
She looked much younger and healthier than Odette remembered, and her vision blurred with unshed tears.
When that portrait was painted, had her mother already known that she would meet such a tragic end?
She recalled the times her mother had spoken as if she could see the future.
If that was true, then she must have possessed the power of foresight to some extent.
And yet, she had not attempted to escape her fate.
Why?
Odette bit her lip hard.
“I should go. Give me the magic elixir.”
She hurried the transaction along.
Igran’s eyes gleamed, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“You do understand that buying and selling magic elixirs is illegal, don’t you?”
“There’s no risk of anyone finding out. You have nothing to worry about.”
After all, she would be long gone once she received her money from the Count.
She met Igran’s gaze with quiet assurance.
“You misunderstood me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m telling you that you’re committing a crime, my lady.”
“And you, Priest, are participating in that crime as well.”
Magic and divine power were fundamentally opposite forces.
The so-called “magic elixir” was actually created with divine power, but its purpose—changing one’s eye color—was to conceal a person’s identity.
She had always heard that criminals used magic elixirs for this purpose.
That meant the temple was actively aiding fugitives.
As that thought crossed her mind, her instincts screamed danger.
And she was right.
Igran’s voice turned chillingly cold.
“This is not a transaction. Hand over the money.”
Odette instinctively took a step back.
“Isn’t robbery a sin for a priest?”
“I can simply pray for forgiveness. Now, give me the money.”
What the hell?
The temple might have been struggling financially, but to resort to outright robbery?
Igran pulled out a dagger, its blade glinting ominously.
Swish!
A few strands of Odette’s hair fluttered to the ground.
“Odette!”
She saw Emma rushing toward her, trying to protect her.
“Emma! Run!”
Odette tried to move away, but her shoulder was grabbed.
“Let me go!”
And then—
All she had done was try to twist out of Igran’s grasp, and yet—
A blinding light erupted from Odette’s hand.
“Arghhh!”
Igran let out a strangled scream as his body was hurled through the air, slamming into the wall with a loud crash.
“W-What was that?”
Odette stared at her hands, where golden light still flickered.
The temple, momentarily illuminated, returned to its usual dimness as the light receded back into her palms.
“Odette! What just happened?”
“I-I don’t know…”
She lifted her trembling hands, then turned her gaze toward her mother’s portrait.
Mother… what is happening to me?
“What in the world!”
The needle of the Divine Power Detector—a sacred instrument stored in the Grand Temple—quivered ever so slightly.
The High Priest, who had been conversing with noblewomen, felt the faint vibration and immediately tensed.
What was that just now?
As he heightened his senses to gauge the strength of the power he had just felt, the Marchioness across from him set down her teacup and spoke.
“The geologists insist that there are deposits of tin and iron there, but to me, it just looks like barren wasteland.”
With that, she pushed a silk pouch across the table.
Loosening its tightly bound strings, she revealed a handful of soil.
Noblewomen often visited the Grand Temple, believing in the High Priest’s ability to predict the future and solve their problems.
But in truth, he was no prophet. He possessed no divine insight whatsoever.
No… that’s not entirely true. I can at least sense divine power.
And just moments ago—like an echo from a great distance—he had sensed something.
The realization sent a sharp tension through his entire body.
“I apologize, but an urgent matter has come up.”
“Then… this as well.”
The Marchioness signaled her maid, who handed over another silk pouch, noticeably heavier than the first.
Judging by its weight, it likely contained precious gemstones.
“I will be in touch,” the High Priest said, before swiftly leaving the chamber.
The High Priest left the drawing room, carrying the two silk pouches, and headed straight for the divine energy detector in the center of the Grand Temple.
As the needle moved, recording the amplitude of the energy waves onto paper, his eyes flickered with astonishment.
“It has appeared.”
“…Pardon?”
“The High Saintess has appeared.”
At last. At long last!
The priests, who had barely managed to survive on dwindling offerings and donations, fell to their knees in unison, clasping their hands in prayer.
“Send a petition for an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”
The moment Odette returned to the Anderson estate, she headed straight for the library.
Count Anderson had once been the Emperor’s tutor before becoming the Imperial Chancellor.
If there were records of the Empire’s history, the Emperor, or the High Saintess, this was the place to find them.
At first, the librarian blocked her entry, but after confirming her adoption into the family, he apologized profusely for his mistake.
Now I understand why he tried to keep me out.
One entire bookshelf was filled with priceless historical documents, the kind that should have been locked away in the Imperial archives.
“My mother’s records are here, too.”
Odette pulled out a book detailing the current Emperor and the High Saintess and took a seat by the window.
“The High Saintess purifies the land of monsters, heals the sick, and halts the spread of plague through her divine blessings and holy power.”
“The most powerful High Saintess in history, Herabrua Vallon, purified the monster-infested lands of the North, transforming them into fertile soil…”
Drip. Drip, drip.
Tears fell onto the pages.
Her mother had done far more than Igran had let on.
She had drained her very life force to channel divine power, cleansing the North—
And that was why, after her mother’s death, monsters had returned.
“The village chief will take you to the South. Odette, leave the North as soon as possible.”
Her mother had entrusted her to the village chief, intending to face death alone.
But Odette had escaped and returned to their cabin.
Even if I could go back in time, I would still do the same.
If it meant spending even a single minute longer with her mother, she would have done anything.
She wiped away her tears and flipped to the last page of her mother’s records—
But the information she had been searching for was nowhere to be found.
The same was true for the other High Saintesses.
“Nothing.”
Nowhere did it mention a power that could emit light and send people flying.
“Then what is this ability?”
By the time she lifted her head, the library was shrouded in darkness.
The sun had already set, and twilight had settled over the estate.
Soon, it would be too dark to see anything.
She was about to ask the librarian to light a candle when, through the glass window, she spotted Jovern walking outside.
“Hmm…”
Recalling how she had thrown Igran with a burst of light, Odette stretched out her hand and concentrated.
At that moment, a bright light flashed—
And Jovern was suddenly lifted into the air and flung backward like a puppet on strings.
“Ahh!”
His scream echoed all the way into the library.
“I can control this power?”
She flipped her palm in the opposite direction—
“Uwaaaah!”
Jovern tumbled like a leaf in the wind, rolling across the ground.
She turned her gaze to her glowing hands, then directed them toward the blackened wick of a candle.
Fwoosh!
A flame ignited instantly.
“This works, too?”
The fire, which had initially flared up fiercely, soon settled into a steady, radiant glow.
Odette stared at it in dazed fascination.
“What was that just now?”
In the western annex of the Anderson estate, Eric—the Count’s eldest son—abruptly lifted his head.
He had been researching dark magic, but this energy was something entirely different.
Noble, powerful, and absolute.
Could it be… divine power?
A chill ran down his spine.
Eric abandoned his research and rushed down to the basement.
“Andrea!”
There lay Andrea’s lifeless body, preserved through dark magic.
But now—
The waves of divine power had reached even here, damaging Andrea’s skin.
Strands of her once jet-black hair had fallen loose, scattered around the bed.
“A-Andrea…!”
