Chapter 68
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His heart was pounding.
Unnecessarily fast.
The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears, making it hard to hear what the High Priest was saying.
A beam of light descended from a window in the ceiling.
It was a moment of blessing.
The Grand Cathedral was silent, as if holding its breath, and the High Priest's voice echoed softly.
"In the name of God, these two souls have become one. May they embrace love in suffering, and hope in despair."
The High Priest finished reading the last verse, raising his hand to bless the marriage of the two.
Ah.
Odelia inadvertently recalled her wedding in her previous life.
The High Priest had read the exact same verse then.
That was why.
Her fingertips unconsciously fumbled for the pendant around her neck.
More precisely, Ludville's ring, hidden discreetly beneath her dress.
She stood there blankly for a moment, lost in thought, when suddenly.
"Ha."
Ludville's hollow laughter came from right beside her.
Startled, she looked up.
The corner of his lips was twisted to one side.
It was a very disgruntled expression that she hadn't seen recently.
Odelia realized her mistake and lowered her hand.
'Did he notice?'
Even though she had changed the chain to a delicate one that matched the dress, and the ring was hidden so it couldn't be seen at all.
Ludville's gaze was fixed on the chest where Odelia had placed her hand.
An unknown anger smoldered and rose. Thoughts sparked like embers and consumed him.
Why did she bring that ring, wearing it around her neck even to this place?
The symbol of that man she clearly couldn't forget?
Why today of all days.
Why in front of him.
Why even at his wedding.
If she stood here with that memory of the past...
His heart pounded as if it were being strangled.
Jealousy, desire, possessiveness, and an inexplicable longing intertwined and tangled together.
"Finally, a demonstration of love to God..."
The next moment, Ludville moved.
His hand suddenly pulled Odelia's waist in tightly.
Odelia's eyes widened momentarily.
Without any warning, Ludville covered her lips.
It was a kiss that seemed to steal away even her breath.
The sound of bells announcing the blessing and the stifled gasps of the surprised guests mingled together.
Too sudden, too intense, perhaps even too rude.
But to a third party, it would appear to be a kiss between lovers burning with passion...
In reality, it was an engraving to reconfirm that she was his.
The kiss, which had begun like a predator devouring its prey, gradually slowed.
And deepened.
As if to confirm, as if to hold her captive to him.
Don't run away.
Don't forget.
You are marrying me now.
The movement, as if constantly craving her, seemed to say just that.
For a moment, Odelia's eyelids trembled slightly.
'But this is your ring...'
The absurd misunderstanding only deepened.
It was regrettable that she couldn't explain it to Ludville, that there was no way to explain it.
Just then, as if the sun had moved, a ray of light from the stained glass enveloped the two, as if blessing them.
After the wedding ceremony.
The guests, filled with the lingering emotions of the blessing, were waiting for the Warp portal to be prepared.
It was to move to the banquet hall prepared in the Grand Duke's Ducal Palace for the last time.
'Damn it, what the hell happened?'
Gawain quietly slipped away, taking advantage of the chaos in the Grand Cathedral.
Then, he approached a priest who was still in the precinct and spoke in a low voice.
"I felt a strange Magical Power reaction near the Magic Circle during the ceremony. I need to confirm the cause, so could you guide me for a moment?"
"Ma, Magical Power reaction? Is that true?"
"It's a very faint reaction. It's highly likely that I was just being sensitive, but just in case."
The authority of being the eldest son of a hero's family.
Moreover, his reputation as an Envoy of God and savior gave him an undeniable justification.
The priest hesitated, but soon bowed politely.
"Then, please check it out."
Most of the guests had already left.
Outside, a long line was forming in front of the Warp portal, and inside, priests were busily moving around, taking down the banners and organizing the props.
Gawain calmly followed the priest's guidance to the hallway behind the altar.
In the basement, there was a small ritual chamber for managing the Magic Circle.
It was the place where Cardel had hidden the 'holy object' to make Odelia appear to be an unstable being at this wedding.
Originally, that area was only accessible to high-ranking priests of the Grand Cathedral.
But for today only, all control had been temporarily delegated to Excepcion's side for the wedding preparations.
Moreover, Cardel was from the bride's family.
On a day like today, surveillance was bound to be somewhat lax, and the priest opened the way without checking, with the naive thought that Cardel would not dare to approach the altar without permission.
"I'll go in first."
Gawain continued calmly.
"There's a chance that the Magic Circle is actually unstable. It could cause a runaway, so I'll check to make sure it's safe. Could you wait outside? It will only take a moment."
The priest, who had been about to follow him in, hesitated for a moment.
But he nodded at Gawain's serious attitude and took a step back.
"...Please. I'll be waiting right in front."
Gawain left the priest behind and hurriedly descended the stone steps.
Then, he urgently examined the ritual Magic Circle to see what had happened...
'The holy object... is still there.'
The holy object secretly placed in the Magic Circle was still there.
Chaos Stone.
It was a disruptive device that distorted the flow of a Purification Ability User's 'Purification Power'.
The Cardel family had spent decades developing the Chaos Stone to control the Purifiers.
The purpose was twofold.
To prevent the Purifier from rebelling against the family.
And to suppress the Purification Power from running wild beyond a certain level, so as not to affect the Barrier.
'If Excepcion's side had noticed something, they would have retrieved this holy object immediately.'
The Chaos Stone was the only holy object that could control the Purifier.
Even if they truly loved the Purifier and married her, there was no way they would leave this Chaos Stone, which would be the Purifier's only weakness, alone.
Gawain knelt down and examined it closely.
It seemed to be normal in appearance. There were no signs of damage.
Then why didn't it work...
As he wondered and lowered his head to look more closely, a vein popped out on his forehead.
'...One Spellwork is missing.'
The intricately intertwined Spellwork circuit connecting the holy object and the Magic Circle seemed complete on the surface, but a crucial axis was missing.
Specifically, one connection point for reaction amplification.
Because that part was cleverly omitted, the entire circuit was neutralized.
A ridiculous single mistake.
'Beloa, you idiot... Couldn't you even do the most basic inspection?'
Gawain gnashed his teeth and raged.
Beloa was only the designer of the plan; she was not the one who directly installed it on this site.
But as always, Gawain's anger was directed at the easiest target.
In any case, it was clear that it was a mistake within Cardel.
He slowly rose from his seat, muttering as if spitting out the words.
'...There's still one more chance left.'
The wedding reception remained.
