Chapter 57

* * *

Divine power and demonic energy collided in the air.

As expected, Morcathus seemed to have recognized the inquisitors as intruders and stepped forward.

He must have been starving from not having proper prey for a long time, so he probably intended to pick himself a meal that wouldn’t cause trouble afterward.

The thought that Elicia, an ordinary civilian, might have gotten caught up in their fight made Edwin feel like his brain was burning up.

‘That way.’

As the sun dipped toward the west, Edwin racing along the rough mountain trail caught sight of something.

In the deep shadows of the cliff, the inquisitors and Morcathus, who looked seconds away from ripping the hide off a small animal, were facing off.

And a little way from them…

“Meow?”

“Nero, Nero. Are you there?”

Elicia was reaching desperately toward that sound.

Morcathus flinched in surprise at her voice while the inquisitors ignored everything and activated their weapons.

There was no room left to hesitate.

He couldn’t allow Elicia to be hurt from learning Nero’s true identity, or from being caught in the fight.

Edwin drew up his sword energy at once.

Even if she grew afraid of him, even if she saw the berserker side he never wanted to reveal in the past.

“Who dares interfere with the execution of this body?!”

“Seems you don’t know whose land you’re standing on.”

“This northern backwater…!”

Weapons clashed with sparks that burst like lightning.

The shockwave exploded outward. Rocks cracked and the ground heaved violently.

Yet Edwin didn’t step back even once. Behind him was her, was Elicia.

‘Now she’ll fear me for sure.’

The enemy spear’s tip sliced toward his throat.

Edwin twisted his body at the last moment and drew in a deep breath.

“I won’t let any of you walk out alive.”

Black energy rippled along his greatsword. With gathered strength he delivered a final strike.

* * *

It felt like sitting on a bed of needles.

“Ngh, Nero stop.”

“Meow mew mew meoow. Mewmew meow meooow!”

“Hey, stay still. Ngh, stop.”

It was so tense I could barely breathe.

The duke, Brother Vincent, and I were sitting across from each other in a reception room of a nearby work residence.

Even though a guest from the holy city had arrived, he couldn’t go straight to the castle because of the two inquisitors lying there like mashed pulp.

Divine power could heal some things, but broken bones were outside their reach so they needed to be checked by a physician without too much movement.

Since bone setting was my personal doctor Gilbert’s specialty, I had him sent here.

Which meant we had to sit here on this painful bed of needles until he arrived.

“Meow mew meww!”

“Ngh, behave. No, don’t. Even if you make your eyes sparkle cute like that it won’t work.”

From the moment Vincent sat across from us Nero kept twisting around as if to threaten him.

It hurt my heart to scold my only family, but I had to teach him properly. Some things were simply not allowed.

Nero wouldn’t want his mom to get dragged off to the Inquisition either.

“My lady, once your doctor arrives you should show him your hand first.”

“The inqu… I mean the priests are the ones bedridden like that. The guests come first.”

“You don’t need to mind them at all.”

The duke answered brightly but that only made me more irritated.

Sure, he wouldn’t care. He was strong enough to wipe out inquisitors in one go. But for me who was small and fragile there was no way I could feel the same.

If they discovered what I really was they’d kill me as a demon.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Your Grace?”

The duke’s gaze dropped to my left hand.

The bandage I had wrapped quickly before coming down the mountain was already soaked with blood and my wrist was swollen. I must have twisted it badly in all that chaos.

Even Nero who had been squirming nonstop froze and carefully licked the bandage on the back of my hand.

His amber eyes flicked up at me as if gauging my reaction.

I forced a bright tone.

“It’s not something Your Grace needs to apologize for. It’s my fault.”

“What do you mean…”

“I brought Nero here and I still failed to look after him properly.”

Back home in Caldrick Village there was hardly a single household that didn’t raise animals.

Everyone let them roam free. People cared for each other’s animals like family and by evening children and animals would wander back to their own homes.

But inside the inner wall of a big city the atmosphere was completely different.

In my chambers no one would dare harm Nero, since I was the duchess, but once outside I couldn’t guarantee his safety.

I couldn’t raise him as freely as before.

Even so, Berry and I tried hard to make Nero happy. Maybe it still wasn’t enough.

Enough that he’d break through firmly locked windows to run away.

“Ngh, but seriously how did he even get out?”

The question hit me but I pushed it aside and returned to my guilt.

But then I noticed something odd. Nero’s paw pads were strangely damp. He even avoided my gaze.

Did he get hurt in all that chaos?

I was about to check more closely when the duke spoke.

“Nero running away isn’t your fault.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve never seen a cat with fur this soft and smooth. It’s proof of how much love you’ve given him.”

“Meow… meooow…”

As if agreeing Nero curled pitifully into my arms. I stroked him gently.

At the same time confusion washed over me.

Brother Vincent on the opposite sofa was propping his chin and staring at us like we were some fascinating spectacle.

Openly so.

Sure, I was suspicious, and the duke apparently did suspicious things beyond the northern wall. But the most suspicious person in this room was definitely Brother Vincent.

Maybe he sensed my side-eye because he shifted posture and smiled.

“Shall I heal it?”

“Sorry?”

“Your hand. Divine power isn’t as amazing as rumors say but it can help the wound close faster.”

I had heard such rumors before.

They said the holy city Argenbach was blessed by the gods and sometimes children born there carried mysterious gifts.

Those were considered beloved by the divine and raised as priests in the Great Cathedral, cut off from worldly ties.

“Brother, can you use divine power too?”

“Even if I’m being modest I’m one of the strongest in Argenbach.”

Vincent looked extremely pleased with himself.

Well, he was the head of the Inquisition so of course he’d have more power than the mountain demolishing inquisitors that fought like monsters.

But I didn’t take long to answer.

“I’m fine.”

“Why. Isn’t the injury inconvenient?”

“I don’t want to make you use something so precious on just me. It’s better saved for someone who really needs it.”

“…”

“And I heard divine power uses the priest’s own life force. The price is too high to trade for one minor wound.”

Good. That sounded natural.

The real reason I refused was because I was terrified of what would happen if divine power touched me.

Maybe my soul would get kicked out of Elicia’s body or maybe as a morally unclean being I’d disintegrate the moment divine power hit me.

I couldn’t risk that just to heal a little cut.

‘I’m gonna live peacefully with Nero and my gold coins forever.’

I soothed Nero who had been wriggling nonstop and smiled to myself.

So I failed to notice what kind of expression Vincent ended up making.