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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: A Mouse at the Auction House
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I intentionally cleared my throat a few times.
My sister, seemingly deciding to focus on the present me rather than the future me she’d seen in her foresight, shrugged.
“I don’t know. Who cares? The one in trouble will be the old man, not me. I’ll make sure you get some healthy food when you come to the Temple.”
“I don’t like healthy food.”
My sister looked at me, dumbfounded.
“Is this really the time for you to be picky? Tell the Duchess to get you some tonics, too.”
“I’m already taking more than enough medicine.”
“And you’re still in this state. Unlike me, you were truly born with a hopeless body, little sister.”
I shot her a look that said, *If you’re just here to pick a fight, get lost,* and she added.
“Ah, anyway, I already told the Duchess about that magic circle, so you don’t have to explain it. Just rest.”
“…How much did you tell her?”
“Everything I told you.”
I stared at my sister with fresh eyes.
This was something the Muria Mayol I knew would never do.
Giving away information that was not only unprofitable but also detrimental to the Temple?
And to someone who had every reason to hold a grudge against the Temple, no less.
“Sister, what are you really thinking?”
“Don’t you know I always do as I please? Well, I’m off~”
My sister replied nonchalantly and walked out.
But my suspicions only grew.
*—Ah, did you know? God can take back the power they’ve given to the priests at any time.*
There was no mention of anything like that in **.
Was my sister worried that God might actually take back their divine power?
I’d have to keep a close eye on her and her surroundings when I went to the Temple.
“There’s more than one suspicious thing about this.”
I clutched the cat doll and rolled around on the bed.
That magic circle, the one nicknamed the Snake’s Eye, was another thing.
The magic circle in the marquisate had drained the life force of the land. And only exactly half of it.
I sank deep into thought.
They said the once-healthy Eugenie was suddenly diagnosed as terminally ill.
But there wasn’t even a name for her illness.
What if that magic circle could affect people, too?
And what if the Temple announced that Del, or Del’s followers, were responsible?
A surge of anger washed over me.
“As if I need to do something like that…!”
The strongest in the world is the strongest without having to resort to such tricks!
*Ugh, no, don’t get angry.*
But I was angry!
I buried my face in an innocent pillow.
A foreboding thought crossed my mind.
My sister had said she saw a future where I became incredibly powerful and killed everyone.
Perhaps that was a bad-ending version where I, having been framed according to the Temple’s plan, went on an angry rampage.
What grudge does the Temple have against Kivrin, and now me, to torment us like this?
Are they my mortal enemies from a past life or something?
I was stewing over it alone when Menelik came in.
He placed a hand on my forehead and asked.
“I couldn’t figure it out no matter how much I thought about it, so I came to ask you directly. As you know, Winter has lived just fine without divine power until now. Why are you trying to push yourself? If something happens at the Temple, it won’t end with just a nosebleed.”
I couldn’t explain that Winter had died in **, so I answered hesitantly.
“If you tell me not to go, I won’t.”
I was vulnerable to divine power.
It was only natural for my in-laws to worry.
I’d just have to ask Cheshire for all the artifacts with healing effects.
When I obediently relented, Menelik looked surprised.
“You’re giving up this quickly?”
I darted my eyes around.
“Don’t you want me to stay?”
“I did a moment ago, but not anymore. It’s no fun when you’re this obedient.”
No fun?!
I shot up into a sitting position.
“You said you were worried about me!”
Menelik raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong with being worried? For your information, Winter worries about me the most. She said I’m less reliable than you or Kivrin.”
“…”
*Why do you sound so proud of that!*
*That’s not something to brag about!*
Menelik chuckled.
“I was just curious about your reason, that’s all.”
I sank into thought.
If Kivrin grew up right, he might not attack his parents.
But in **, Kivrin was only the most likely suspect in his parents’ deaths; the scene itself was never described.
*Right, I definitely need some insurance, whether it’s artifacts or my sister’s help.*
It would be great if I could develop healing abilities through my own efforts, but Rose wouldn’t have called me the God of Destruction for nothing.
I swallowed my tears and said.
“I want Mother and Father to live for a very, very long time!”
“Are you saying they might not live long without the Saintess’s divine power?”
“You never know. Better safe than sorry… and my sister changing is bothering me a tiny bit, too…”
My voice trailed off.
Menelik helped me along so I could squeeze out a plausible answer.
“You’re saying Muria Mayol isn’t as terrible as she used to be?”
I nodded.
“It seems she had a falling out with His Holiness the Pope after I went to the Grand Temple with you, Father. It was also strange how she was worried that God might take back their divine power. And how she told me and Mother everything the Temple was plotting.”
“That’s enough.”
Menelik was still smiling.
As he stroked my hair, turning it into a tangled mess, I asked.
“Can I go?”
“You have to, don’t you? Winter already gave me the reward.”
Menelik stood up.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay.”
“Then it’s time for you to play with me.”
“Huh?”
*Play with you?*
Menelik put on a hurt expression.
“Do you have any idea how sad I’ve been? Winter will scold us if she finds out, so let’s go out the window.”
*Excuse me?!*
“But it’s almost evening.”
“This is a tourist spot. There are plenty of places to go in the evening.”
*That’s not the point!*
With tens of thousands of question marks floating above my head, I barely managed to grab my coat.
Menelik carried me in his arms as we escaped the coral villa.
I was still dumbfounded, but I soon recognized the path I had taken with my sister.
*Aha, so he said we were going out to play, but he’s actually going to investigate the magic circle?*
*I really underestimated my father-in-law!*
…But as soon as I had that repentant thought, Menelik walked into a souvenir shop.
“…”
Thirty minutes later, I was wearing a crab-shaped headband and a necklace made of strung-together gummy bears.
I was also holding sweet and sour pineapple cookies in both hands.
“I don’t think this is what I should be doing right now…”
Menelik paid me no mind and put me on an amusement ride.
I rode a carousel that would have surely made Emil sick, and a mini train, too.
“I want to ride that next!”
I pestered Menelik to let me on an automated swing, then flinched.
*I’m having way too much fun!*
*I’m having more fun than my father-in-law!*
By the time I barely came to my senses, Menelik had taken me to an auction house.
A sign as big as a door announced that the auction was next month, but the owner gave us a very warm welcome.
“Please, come in! The Duke is always welcome here, of course!”
I looked at the brochure.
The last auction’s theme was art, and this time, it was antiques and jewels recovered from the sea.
*Hmm, my father-in-law did tell me to use that blank check within a month, so I guess I’ll take a look?*
Half-resigned, I nibbled on my gummy bear necklace.
In the basement, items to be auctioned were displayed at regular intervals.
Since they were in the middle of preparations, it seemed they were focusing on security rather than decoration.
“Please, take your time. This time, we have a jewel that the Duchess might particularly like…”
The auction house owner stuck close to Menelik, flattering him.
I walked a short distance away.
*There’s nothing that particularly catches my eye.*
And contrary to what the owner said, there didn’t seem to be any jewels Mother would like, either.
The necklaces Cheshire had draped around my neck when we first met looked far more valuable.
Quickly growing bored, I walked toward an open storage room.
Broken artifacts and overly scratched trinkets unsuitable for sale were piled up haphazardly.
I spotted a sword with seashells stuck to it.
A unique pattern was engraved on its scabbard.
In **, it said that a sword with this kind of marking on its scabbard was a decent one.
*Should I show it to my father-in-law?*
I picked up the sword with both hands. It was heavy enough to be a little difficult to hold.
As I was carefully trying to leave the storage room, I heard a squeaking sound at my feet.
“Ack, a mouse.”
It was a creature I saw often when I lived in the count’s attic.
The maids used to store their unused cleaning supplies in my attic, so it was the epitome of unsanitary.
But an auction house frequented by nobles shouldn’t be like this, right?
*They say they only handle expensive items here, so is it really okay to welcome a mouse as a guest?*
I tilted my head.
But the mouse’s behavior was strange.
It was jumping up and down in front of me, waving its front paws frantically.
“Are you hurt?”
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
“Are you dancing, then?”
“Squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Now the mouse was hopping to the right, then to the left.
*What is it? What does it mean?*
I wrinkled my nose.
“Sorry, but I don’t know what you’re saying. It’s not like I’m Kivrin…”
“Squeak!”
*Hmm?*
