Chapter 15 Part 2
* * *
Flap flap—
A few days later, in the middle of my work, the sound of Raphla’s wings suddenly echoed in my ears.
The fact that she appeared without being called meant she had come to report on the task I had assigned.
“Raphla, you’re back.”
Raphla, who had lightly landed on my arm, blinked her red eyes a couple of times before quickly projecting an image into the air.
The Brissel Viscounty had already moved, leaving no trace of people behind.
The footage continued, showing Raphla flying around nearby villages searching extensively, but unfortunately, nothing notable was found.
Groaning sounds came from between Raphla’s bright yellow beak.
She seemed to deeply regret failing to complete her mission.
“It’s okay, it’s my fault for not placing a tracking spell.”
But Raphla’s crying didn’t stop. Something seemed to be wrong…?
“What’s wrong?”
As I was worriedly examining Raphla’s strange condition, she suddenly started coughing and hacking up something.
With a thud, a round object rolled onto the floor.
Upon closer inspection…
“…This is the communication stone I gave to Hertiana, isn’t it?”
Why had Raphla swallowed this?
With an inexplicable sense of unease, I hurriedly fast-forwarded through Raphla’s footage.
My gaze stopped on a scene that had briefly passed by.
The location in the footage appeared to be a mansion, presumably the new home the Brissel family had moved to, but for some reason, the interior was completely ransacked and in disarray.
While searching the house following Hertiana’s scent, Raphla had sensed my magic from a glowing communication stone under the bed and, while examining it, had accidentally swallowed it.
“Could she have been captured by the Cardinal?”
No… wait, she moved, but he still tracked her down?
Xenoph, your level of obsession seems much deeper than I thought…
I had just received word from Hyle this morning confirming additional missing clerics.
The almost certain disappearance of Hertiana, along with the increasing number of missing young clerics beyond what we had anticipated.
Not a single issue was anything less than serious.
Knock knock—
“My lady, it’s Lynn!”
“Ah, yes. Come in.”
Just as I was about to sink into thought, a knock brought me back to my senses.
As the door opened, Lynn carefully approached and handed me something.
“A letter has arrived from the Grand Temple.”
The letter I received from Lynn explained that they planned to officially announce the Holy Maiden during the National Foundation Festival.
The letter concluded with Xenoph saying he wanted to discuss this with me and asked me to visit the temple soon.
“Um, my lady. The Duke has been watching you lately. I don’t think he plans to screen your correspondence yet, but… it might be best to be careful for a while.”
Certainly, Mattio had been quiet lately.
But why would he be watching me after my engagement with Abel was broken off?
Mattio shouldn’t know about my meetings with Hyle, right? The only person who knows is Lynn…
“Sigh, Fergio again…”
“The Viscount has always been very interested in you, my lady.”
As I sighed and held my forehead after identifying the culprit, Lynn tried to console me with a forced smile.
That wasn’t interest but just part of his sister complex.
It was quite rare in normal sibling relationships for a brother to be so thoroughly involved in his sister’s daily life.
“But my lady, this time, the Duke isn’t watching you just because of the Viscount.”
It was a somewhat strange statement.
As I raised my head, Lynn’s brown eyes were sunken with complexity.
“Then why?”
“The Duke is quite curious about how one of your high-ranking demonic beasts was forcibly recalled to the demon realm.”
“…Ah, now that you mention it, that did happen.”
Hearing Lynn’s words, the dim memory of that event came back to me.
I had completely forgotten about it due to being overwhelmed by all the recent events.
Although the physical impact had been significant, it wasn’t life-threatening.
Summoning a recalled demonic beast through my power alone would be quite labor-intensive,
making personal recovery impossible, but it was a problem easily resolved if I spoke to Caligo.
So I hadn’t been thinking deeply about it, but apparently Mattio had already noticed.
“Ugh, my lady…! You shouldn’t speak so casually about such a critical matter…!”
Lynn’s reaction, stomping her feet in distress, was understandable considering Mattio’s typically cruel behavior.
But conversely, if he didn’t have much interest in me, it wasn’t particularly dangerous.
If Mattio became even slightly suspicious of my activities… then I would need an appropriate measure.
Especially since Mattio was the type to draw his sword first without thinking when it came to matters involving House Feros, so caution was advisable.
“It’ll be fine. It’s just one for now, and I can summon it back anytime.”
Of course, I couldn’t do it alone, but anyway.
At my positive words, Lynn’s anxiously trembling pupils finally stopped moving, as if relieved.
“Lynn, I’m going to the Grand Temple for a bit. Since it came up, there are also some things I need to check.”
“My lady, you seem to be visiting the temple too often lately… are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
After nodding quietly in response to Lynn’s question, I patted her shoulder reassuringly before immediately activating my teleportation magic.
Arriving quickly near the temple, I walked straight in.
I planned to directly ask Xenoph about Tia and the whereabouts of the clerics.
If he learned that I was pursuing the missing clerics, he would certainly try to hide them more thoroughly, and the gaps that would emerge could help Hyle and his knights find clues.
* * *
“Lady Rosiel, you’ve come?”
Despite my sudden visit without notice, Xenoph calmly welcomed me without showing any surprise.
His brown pupils were simply at ease, as if nothing was wrong.
“I came because I have something to ask.”
“I could have answered sufficiently through a letter, but I suppose you were in quite a hurry.”
Upon hearing my reason for visiting, Xenoph widened his eyes in apparent surprise.
If I asked through a letter, he could easily make excuses, so telling him that’s why I came in person… that wouldn’t work, would it?
I simply nodded in response.
“I can’t get in touch with Lady Brissel, the former Holy Maiden candidate. Do you know anything about it?”
After finishing my question, I immediately studied Xenoph’s expression, but he tilted his head as if he truly didn’t know.
“Hmm, well… Lady Hertiana has already finished her life in the capital and moved her residence and assigned temple to her hometown. I decided to respect her wishes, so I don’t know anything beyond that.”
I hadn’t expected to get the answer I wanted anyway.
All of this was just to probe him.
Additionally, it was to let him know that I was interested in Hertiana’s disappearance.
“I see. Then I’ll have to look into it myself. By the way… are you aware of the strange rumors circulating around the Grand Temple lately?”
Another seemingly innocent question with an extremely polite tone was directed toward Xenoph.
“Rumors always exist around us. Even a place with sacred influence like the Grand Temple is no exception.”
His words implied that he didn’t care about any rumors at all.
“I’ve heard that young clerics continue to go missing… do you really not know?”
“What…! No matter what rumors say, this isn’t something I can ignore. I’ll call the relevant priests to file missing person reports. Losing precious talents of the Grand Temple is truly a heartbreaking matter.”
Xenoph, who trembled his pupils as if shocked, hurriedly called a nearby cleric and instructed them to report on the disappearance of young clerics rumored around the Grand Temple.
It was a perfectly normal handling of the situation, but that’s precisely why it was more suspicious.
Anyone would be flustered, but Xenoph showed no such signs.
He moved like a perfectly controlled puppet, as if he had prepared for this in advance, following a scripted response.
“I will initiate a thorough investigation to quickly and safely locate the missing young clerics. I’ll inform you if any new issues arise regarding this matter.”
There was only circumstantial evidence, not concrete proof, that Xenoph had kidnapped the young clerics.
If we could find the missing ones and Hertiana, we could resolve this frustrating situation right away…
If we couldn’t find them, the solution would remain a mystery too.
“I hope there’s improvement. I’ll wait for your contact.”
The reason I deliberately came to the temple to drop these hints to Xenoph was in hopes that he would make a mistake out of anxiety.
Even if not, controlling so many missing persons at once would certainly involve risks.
Even the smallest and most trivial mistake or gap could be immediately caught by the Feros knights.
All I needed to do was subtly provoke the Cardinal like this, making him show his vulnerabilities under the pressure of potentially being discovered.
Hyle and the Feros knights would handle the rest.
“Lady Rosiel, I would appreciate if you could stand at the forefront with Lord Hyle, the new head of House Feros, during the upcoming National Foundation Festival. The two of you would surely be able to soothe the troubled hearts of the Empire’s people.”
Xenoph said the time had come to let everyone know that a Holy Maiden had finally appeared in Pendium.
It seemed that the reason they had been keeping my existence quiet all this time was for an official announcement on the day of the National Foundation Festival.
“The dark energy surrounding you has diminished significantly compared to before. But it’s not yet complete. You still possess the power of demons.”
Xenoph, who had pointed out my power with a smiling face and gentle manner, continued with an even more serious expression.
“You must consistently consume the holy crystals I provided. The purification speed will be drastically different.”
“Were the holy crystals made by you?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He promptly affirmed my question.
According to Hyle, none of the Cardinal’s own holy power could be felt from the holy crystals.
