<Chapter 48>

“Report.”

At Temenos’ slight nod, the wizard, Spica, stepped forward, receiving the documents from Kei.

“Let’s see… Huh? Poison in the wine? Cloffin poison? What kind of lunatic does that?”

“Master, what’s Cloffin poison?” Kei, unaware of the poison’s exact nature but knowing through interrogation that Bishop Roam had added it to the wine, asked Spica.

“Just a drop can kill instantly. It’s an extremely lethal poison, so antidotes are useless. Usually, people die immediately after consuming it.”

“What? But Bishop Roam said he took the antidote.”

“He must have taken it before consuming the poison. Plus, he’s a bishop with divine power, so he barely survived. Even then, the pain from detoxifying it must have been absolutely excruciating. No one in their right mind would go through that unless they were dead set on killing the Duchess.”

Clicking his tongue in disbelief at such ruthlessness, Spica glanced at Bishop Roam, who was holding back tears.

‘If I’d known it would hurt that much, I’d never have taken it!’

“Enough idle chatter. Continue with the report.”

“Ah, yes. So… their plan was to assassinate the Duchess and blame it on divine punishment.”

“Divine punishment?”

“Right now, rumors are spreading like wildfire across Winstein that the Duchess is not just a candidate for the Saintess but the Saintess herself. The idea was to expose it as a grand fraud and frame her for impersonating a Saintess, resulting in divine punishment… That was the scenario they crafted.”

“What fools! You’re being deceived by that con artist! That woman is the least—”

“Muzzle him.”

“Yes, sir.” Kei quickly gagged Bishop Roam, bringing silence to the room. Taking advantage of the quiet, Spica hastened to conclude her report.

“At any rate, it’s clear that His Majesty orchestrated this. As for whether His Holiness, the Pope, is involved… Well, that’s something I’ll need to uncover from here.”

Spica paused, awaiting orders. After a moment’s thought, Temenos spoke: “One thing bothers me. How did my wife survive drinking such a deadly poison?”

“Mmph!”

“That’s because the Duchess is the Saintess, isn’t it? No matter how lethal the poison, she must have purified it immediately after consumption.”

“Like when she survived that fall from the tower.”

“Then what about me?”

“…Pardon?”

“I drank the wine too. Let’s assume my wife survived because she’s the Saintess. Then why didn’t I die?”

An answer came to mind immediately.

However, Kei and Spica, at a loss for words, could only maintain a heavy silence. The thought they both shared in their minds was…

“…Because I’m a monster.”

Exactly what Temenos had just said aloud.

‘Damn it, how did I end up handling this interrogation…’  

‘I should’ve never studied magic…’

Unaware of his subordinates’ silent lamentations, Temenos ran his gloved fingers over the back of his left hand and muttered self-deprecatingly, ‘Nothing new.’

This wasn’t the first time his survival had been attributed to being a “monster.”

Whether falling from the fortress walls and being crushed by monsters or being poisoned by his own parents trying to kill him, Temenos always survived. Even in moments when he had wished for death.

“Mmph, mmph!”

The grating sounds pulled Temenos from his thoughts. His half-closed eyes opened fully as he turned to Bishop Roam.

The gaze he directed at the Bishop was now stripped of all emotion.

“So, what’s His Majesty’s plan from here? Does he still desire my wife’s death?”

“Mmph!”

Bishop Roam shook his head violently, trying to indicate he knew nothing.

“I heard voices in a supposedly empty room. You were speaking to someone, weren’t you? Through a communication device?”

“Mmph!”

“You didn’t catch the details?”

“No, I… I lack the skills to overhear everything clearly…” Kei lowered his head, embarrassed by his shortcomings. Watching his disciple, Spica clicked her tongue lightly and stepped forward confidently.

“Well, since he’s right here, why not ask him directly?”

Temenos nodded in approval.

Listening to their conversation, Bishop Roam trembled as Spica approached him slowly.

“Mmph, mmph!”

However, his pleas for mercy came out as muffled sounds.

Moments later, Bishop Roam’s pupils lost focus under Spica’s mind control spell.

As though in a dreamlike state, he maintained a hazy consciousness. Spica removed the gag from his mouth and asked, “Who were you communicating with?”

“…His Majesty…”

“What did you discuss? Tell me everything in detail.”

Without resistance, Bishop Roam recounted his conversation with the Emperor.

“Assassination… aborted… Spread rumors… instead…”

“What kind of rumors?”

“That the Monster Duke… has a mistress… and that Inosensia is being abused… by both of them…”

“W-what?”

“Unbelievable!”

It wasn’t uncommon for noblemen to have mistresses, especially in arranged marriages where such arrangements were sometimes pre-negotiated in contracts.

However, flaunting such affairs was unthinkable.

If an affair became public knowledge, it would tarnish the family’s reputation and make them a laughingstock.

And abuse? By both husband and mistress? Especially when the wife was a bride personally endorsed by the Emperor?

This wasn’t just a slight—it was an insult to the Emperor himself, giving him every reason to intervene.

“His Majesty… seeks to annul… Inosensia’s marriage…”

“Once she loses her title as duchess and becomes a commoner, Winstein would have no grounds to protect her. Then, they’ll drag her to the capital?”

Even if Temenos proclaimed his innocence, who would believe the word of the Monster Duke? It would only seem like a desperate denial of the truth.

“The Emperor… doesn’t care for Winstein’s honor at all! How could someone in his position do something so vile!”

“I’ll give him credit for one thing—his cunning.”

Once such rumors spread, containing them would be nearly impossible.

Had they not captured Roam, Temenos might have lost his wife right before his eyes.

‘…But why?’

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t find the answer. Finally, he decided to ask the bishop directly: “Why does the Emperor want to take Inosensia to the capital?”

By now, Temenos no longer used honorifics for the Emperor. Half out of his mind, Bishop Roam didn’t even question this as he shook his head.

“I… don’t know… He didn’t say…”

“Useless bastard.”

“Should we… force a direct communication with the Emperor? Hmm, but that might be too blatant.”

“Master… could it be because Madam is truly the Saintess?”

A plausible hint.

But Temenos shook his head.

“If that were the case, there’d be no need for such an elaborate scheme. His Holiness could simply declare her the Saintess, and that would be the end of it.”

“Yet the fact that he’s resorting to such inefficient tactics suggests that His Holiness refuses to acknowledge Madam as the Saintess.”

“And now, changing his stance would be awkward. …Could the Emperor think the same?”

If Inosensia was the Saintess, but the Pope refused to admit his mistake in denying it, the Emperor might be trying to secretly secure her for himself.

‘…It’s plausible.’

After some deliberation, Temenos spoke: “Spica. Can you fully control this man’s mind, forcing him to say or do specific things?”

“Of course! I could even make him strip naked and dance!”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Temenos grimaced at the thought and motioned toward Bishop Roam.

“Release him into the busiest part of Winstein’s town square. Make him shout this loudly.”

“What should he say?”

“Inosensia is not the Saintess.”

Temenos hesitated briefly before adding one more line: “The true saintess has already appeared in the capital.”  
 

<To be continued>

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