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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: A Crack in the Facade
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...Of course, it was only natural, considering that she, the most exceptional of all, had only just realized it.
Muria was a person of strong self-conviction.
She had always lived insisting she was right and that anyone with a different opinion was wrong.
And for the most part, she had been correct.
Because the power Muria possessed could turn even a wrong answer into a right one.
She would handle the wrong answer that was her sister just as she always had.
*‘I can’t let her go back like this.’*
Muria rushed forward.
Her sister was already about to leave the hall.
“Wait, Sister.”
A throbbing headache, a side effect of seeing the future, pulsed in her temples. Muria barked a harsh order at the servants who had followed her.
“I have something to discuss with my sister. All of you, get out.”
Once the servants left, Muria activated a barrier.
The annex was instantly cut off from the outside world.
“So the Saintess can do things like this. Quite impressive.”
Menelik complimented her, his voice devoid of any tension.
Muria had always been proud of her versatile abilities, especially compared to the other priests with their petty healing powers.
But now was no time to revel in such praise.
Muria recalled the vision of her sister’s future self.
*‘She was on the cusp of adulthood, or perhaps just past it.’*
In contrast, the sister standing before her now was… far too small.
So small she could have passed for nine, not eleven as of today.
“What are you doing, Sister?”
Her sister asked, her grape-like purple eyes wide.
Perhaps because of the ridiculous future she had witnessed, she looked rather cute.
…And disconcerting.
She still couldn't sense anything from her sister.
The reason had to be one of two things.
Either the prophecy was wrong, or her sister was stronger than her.
The strong could measure the weak, but the reverse was impossible.
Either way, it was a blow to her pride, and Muria bit her lip.
“Sister, don't go. Just stay by my side.”
“What?”
“I'm not asking you to stay forever. Five years… no, ten years will be enough.”
“No.”
The refusal was far too quick.
Muria furrowed her brow.
“Even if I promise to treat you well?”
Muria had expected her sister to accept without question.
After all, Muria Mayol was the Saintess yearned for by the entire empire.
She had the right to be arrogant, the power to see everything as trivial.
Even royalty readily came to her just for a chance to speak with her.
Therefore, her sister should have been no different.
The Saintess, who had never cared for anyone but herself, was graciously offering to treat her well.
She was offering to keep her by her side, to correct the ‘wrong answer’ that was the second snake into the ‘right answer’ of an ordinary person.
And yet, her sister reacted as if she had just heard the worst insult in the world.
“I'll say it again. No.”
“…”
“You might not have realized it at all, Sister, but living in the county with you and our parents was horrible for me. A conditional offer to treat me well now doesn't make me happy in the slightest.”
Muria’s shoulders trembled with indignation.
Her sister must still be too young to grasp the situation, Muria concluded.
“You were treated according to the abilities you possess, so why was it horrible? If you feel it's unfair, you should have been born a Saintess. Then our parents would have celebrated your birthday and doted on you like they did today.”
There was no malice in her words.
She was just speaking her mind without thinking, as usual.
“That's enough, Saintess. How much are you planning to regret this later?”
Menelik, who had seemed content to remain a bystander, finally spoke.
Seizing the opportunity, Muria tried to win Menelik over.
“I know where His Grace's right arm is being kept. Would you like to trade it for my sister? I can even help reattach it with my divine power.”
Menelik dismissed her offer as if she were talking about someone else's arm.
“Setting aside the fact that my title as the family trash is in danger of being passed to you, what's the reason for all this?”
“I saw the future. It's about my sister, and if you don't cooperate, I'll have no choice but to make it public.”
Menelik scoffed.
“Is that all?”
“Aren't you curious?”
“Not particularly. I already have a good idea.”
“…You already know?”
It had to be a lie, Muria thought.
Menelik's gold-green eyes glinted, even in the shadows.
“Did you really think that Winter and I would know less about Cheria than your family does?”
“B-But you don't have the ability to see the future, do you?”
Muria's first instinct was to deny it.
She, with her powers, had only just figured it out. There was no way Menelik could have known already.
This had to be a trick to manipulate her.
Menelik clicked his tongue at her.
“Why would I need something like that? It's obvious just by watching. Just like I can tell you're going to end up just like me, seeing as how you, the meritocratic Saintess, keep calling Cheria your sister even while you think she's useless.”
“Th-That's because she really is my sister.”
“I had no idea the Saintess cared so much for her blood relatives.”
“Anyway! You've wasted your time. My prophecy is far more superior and perfect.”
Muria retorted, unyielding.
Around that time, the chain of Cheria's necklace snapped.
Neither of them noticed the locket as it slid through her purple hair and fell to the floor.
“…I have no interest in an arm that was thrown away. And in matters like this, the person involved should have the final say.”
It was unexpected for Menelik to side with her sister so strongly.
Muria bit her nails for a moment before blurting out an idea.
“Let's ask the Young Lord, then. He's the one who married my sister. Do you think he'd refuse an offer to get his father's arm back?”
“Hmm…”
Unaware that Menelik was only hesitating because he didn't want to be called trash again, Muria raised her voice with confidence.
“If the Young Lord also prioritizes my sister, I'll back down. How about it?”
“That's not the point, Saintess. You should apologize to Cheria.”
“What did I do wro—”
“If you don't know, just tell her you're sorry for being a relative worse than a beast. That's what I did.”
And with that, Menelik took out a communication stone.
Just then, a very strange sound reached Muria's ears.
She turned her head toward the sound instinctively.
Cracks were spiderwebbing across the life-sized statue of the god.
Worse, they were forming a persistent, straight line right around its neck.
A chill ran down her spine.
*‘It's imbued with divine power, so how…?’*
Muria stumbled back in horror.
The priests used to joke that even if the world were shattered by a great catastrophe, the divine statues would remain unscathed.
She herself had agreed. Who on earth could do such a thing?
Who.
Could it be.
Suddenly, Muria felt as if all the blood was draining from her body.
She didn't dare lift her head to look directly at her sister.
…In that black ocean… could her own corpse have been there too?
At that moment, the communication stone lit up, and a woman's urgent voice came through.
[The Young Lord has collapsed! He suddenly complained of a sharp pain in his back and then lost consciousness…!]
Only then did Muria frown and turn her head.
*‘There’s definitely a sealing spell on the Young Lord’s back...’*
Just then, her sister blinked.
The cracks on the statue stopped spreading, and her sister began tugging frantically at Menelik's clothes.
“W-We have to warp back right away. The Young Lord collapsed, didn't you hear?”
Her voice was as clear and delicate as always.
Just as Muria was about to let out a breath of relief, her sister spoke to her.
“U-Um, Sister, can't you just let me go? I'll come back anytime you call. I can take back what I said about the county being horrible. You were right about everything.”
“…”
Muria looked down at her much smaller sister.
Her pale face and hesitant gestures made it look, to any observer, as if Muria was cornering her.
But Muria was breaking out in a cold sweat.
She couldn't move her body. Not even an inch.
“Sister…”
Her sister, Cheria, fought back tears as she waited for an answer.
Finally, her lips began to move.
As if only to utter the words Cheria wanted to hear.
“All… right.”
This was absurd.
The moment she saw the future, Muria had had no intention of letting her sister go.
This world was rife with monsters and all sorts of bizarre beasts, but among them, the snakes born in human form were the apex predators.
If there were two such beings in the ducal house, the fate of the Temple was obvious.
No matter how long she held out.
“Thank you, Sister.”
The barrier shattered without a sound.
Cheria left.
The door closed, and the statue's head rolled to the floor.
“Haa…”
Cold sweat poured down her like rain.
Muria moved one step at a time on trembling legs.
Just as she managed to muster her divine power and seal the statue, Nocturne appeared.
“That was quite the boisterous farewell.”
“…How was… my sister?”
She could taste blood in her mouth.
Nocturne laughed carefree.
“Haha, she was an ordinary human, with nothing out of place. Nothing to worry about at all, it seems.”
“…”
Stunned, Muria collapsed right where she stood.
Her fingers, bracing against the floor, brushed against a necklace chain.
It was the locket Cheria had been wearing.
When she opened it, she found a small object, burned so black that it was impossible to tell what it had once been.
