My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 19
In his past life, his body had no such scars.
‘And that demonic energy.’
No matter how inferior her skills as a purifier were, she could tell that the demonic energy creeping into her hands yesterday was no ordinary thing.
‘Exactly what kind of monster did Michael face?’
Furthermore, she wondered just how incredible the dungeon must have been for the royal family to express such profound gratitude.
After scanning the list of dungeons that had appeared outside the fortress for a long time, Irene tilted her head in confusion.
She took the list and approached a staff member.
“Excuse me, is this list the entirety of the dungeons that have appeared during this period?”
“Yes, it is. Is there a problem?”
“The record for the dungeon that appeared in the Kingdom of Tyrenia seems to be missing. It seemed to be at least a mid-rank dungeon….”
At Irene’s words, the staff member shook their head as if it were impossible.
“That can’t be. If it were a dungeon of that scale, there’s no way we wouldn’t have recorded it. Unless… the kingdom in question requested it be kept private.”
“Private? That’s possible?”
According to Continental Law, dungeon information was to be shared.
This was because information such as the types, forms, and attributes of the monsters appearing inside would be useful for future dungeon raids.
Naturally, everyone was curious about the rewards as well.
“Even if it was a mid-rank dungeon or higher?”
If it were low-rank, keeping it private might be possible, but everyone thirsted for information on mid-rank dungeons and above.
And they kept that private?
“Shh. Lower your voice, please.”
The staff member, looking troubled, tried to quiet Irene down.
“Laws always have loopholes, don’t they? It’s not entirely impossible if one spends a great deal of money. Still, they must have spent a fortune to leave no record at all. I wonder what the reason could be.”
“A reason…. For what reasons do they usually want things kept private?”
“Usually, it’s when they want to monopolize the information inside. If not that….”
The staff member whispered in a tiny voice that no one else could hear.
“It’s also the case when a truly powerful monster appears inside. In those instances, the name of the region where it appeared becomes the name of the monster.”
At the staff member’s words, Irene recalled the names of monsters she remembered.
Monsters recorded during the first appearance of a dungeon were basically named based on their appearance or abilities.
‘Things like Blade-tooth Rats or Alluring Mermaids.’
But as dungeons continued to appear and similar sub-species of monsters emerged, it seemed the naming process had become tedious.
‘That’s how names like Blade-tooth Rat: Zion-type were born.’
A dungeon that appeared in the city of Zion.
A sub-species of the Blade-tooth Rat had appeared there.
On the surface, it just looked like its two teeth were a bit larger. However, its jaw strength was exceptional, making it a much more difficult monster to deal with.
Because the dungeon wasn’t destroyed in time and was left alone, they poured out, and eventually, the city of Zion was devastated.
‘That only ended there because Michael took care of it all, though.’
Anyway, after that, people simply started calling that monster “Zion.”
‘The Kingdom of Tyrenia must want to prevent something like that.’
As if sensing Irene’s thoughts, the staff member continued the explanation.
“For a country with as much trade as Tyrenia, it’s not particularly strange. Well, just think of it as them paying money to pass the dishonor onto the next country that discovers it. But really, what could have come out of there for them to cover it all up?”
The staff member muttered to themselves before returning to their work.
Irene also returned to her seat.
‘Since I don’t know what it is, I can’t even help Michael any further.’
She thought that and then let out a small chuckle.
‘Get a grip. Now is not the time for me to be helping others.’
100,000 gold.
Her lodging had improved, her clothes were softer, and her food was plentiful, but the debt she owed the Count for her own life remained the same.
‘Since I missed the Ring of Invisibility, I have to make up that 100,000 gold with other things.’
It was a relief that Michael had changed the contract terms yesterday as a reward for the purification; otherwise, she would have been in real trouble.
‘It’ll be a problem if the things that are supposed to be in the next dungeon don’t appear either.’
She remembered the pebble that had been sitting there instead of the Ring of Invisibility.
Even if she collected a hundred of those, wouldn’t they just be trash?
‘Please, please…. Let at least the Stone of Silence appear exactly as before.’
Praying to a god she didn’t know, Irene organized her papers.
Since she had obtained all the records she wanted, it was better to go back to her room and organize them alone.
Just as she was about to stand up, a pair entered the Archive.
The purifier appeared to be around Irene’s age, with a face that still held the freshness of someone who had just reached adulthood.
And by her side was a knight as large as a bear, looking nearly twice her size.
“Watch the stairs.”
The knight naturally took his purifier’s hand as they climbed the steps.
The moment she saw them, it was clear to anyone that they were a devoted pair, the knight truly treasuring his purifier.
Irene whispered the name of the woman entering with a blush on her cheeks while holding her knight’s hand.
“Reina….”
She was a purifier Irene knew.
One of the ten rank 2 purifiers in the fortress.
‘And one of the few people who was kind to me.’
Irene recalled the Reina she had met in her past life.
At that time, Irene was drastically reducing her food intake to somehow pay back the 100,000 gold.
She could handle everything else, but every time she saw the fruit being brought to the high-ranking purifiers’ rooms, Irene would stare blankly and swallow hard.
At least the Count’s estate was located in a warm region, so there were quite a few fruit trees in the backyard. Thus, at night, she could avoid others’ eyes, pick the fruit, and eat it in secret.
But that was out of the question at the fortress.
When she was just swallowing her saliva while watching others take the fruit, the person who asked her if she’d like to eat some together was Reina.
“Um, I don’t know anyone here either….”
Saying that while handing over the fruit, Reina had lowered her head shyly.
She was being ridiculed by people for the opposite reason as Irene.
‘In Reina’s case, despite being a strong purifier, she chose a knight with no experience in dungeon subjugation.’
Having come to the fortress for the first time this year, she had paired up with a knight named Felix, who had been her friend since childhood.
Because of that, she had drawn people’s attention from the start.
A rank 2 purifier could easily pair up with an experienced and veteran knight.
In other words, it meant they could rake in money from dungeons.
But she gave up all those opportunities and chose her childhood friend.
Most people in the fortress ridiculed her choice to pair with her fresh first love.
“Good things only last a while. She’ll have to just stand by and watch while others go to high-rank dungeons.”
“The gap between her and the other rank 2 purifiers will only grow wider. I don’t know if she’ll be able to endure it.”
Contrary to people’s thoughts, however, the bond between the two grew even deeper.
Then one day, when Irene had gone deep into the fortress’s back garden looking for a place to be alone, she happened to see the two of them talking.
“Can’t we just not go to high-rank dungeons? No matter how much I can heal you, I hate seeing you get hurt.”
Reina was pleading with Felix as if clinging to him. Felix looked at Reina lovingly and gently stroked her hair.
“But if I push myself just a little more this year, I don’t have to come here anymore starting next year. And… I don’t want to hold you for the purpose of purification anymore, either.”
The two of them hoped to earn money at the fortress only for this year and then return to their hometown to lead a peaceful life.
Irene cheered for them in her heart.
People who wanted a relationship where they could care for each other even if they weren’t a pair.
Because the two of them looked so very happy.
But that wish did not come true.
“Felix! Felix!”
On the day they entered a high-rank dungeon, Felix’s head was taken clean off by the attack of a powerful monster.
Healing is only possible as long as there is breath left.
No matter how much she held onto the cold corpse that had lost its life, its breath would not return.
‘And Reina just collapsed after that.’
The shock of losing a lover she had been with since childhood, who had just become her pair, was enough to drive her mad.
As she wandered the fortress calling out for her knight, people clicked their tongues and said:
“I knew this would happen.”
Not long after, Reina’s family came to take her away.
Far from feeling sorry for their daughter, they berated her for doing something stupid and forced her into a carriage.
Seeing the carriage move away as she called out her pair’s name was the last memory Irene had of Reina.
Just then, a staff member entered the Archive and handed a piece of paper to the employees inside before leaving.
The staff members who received it began to buzz with excitement.
To the people who approached wondering what was going on, the staff member said:
“A high-rank dungeon has appeared. It’s the first high-rank dungeon of the year. It’s been assigned a number starting with 0.”
At those words, Felix said to Reina:
“I should apply to subjugate that dungeon.”
Then Reina replied:
“Can’t we just not go to high-rank dungeons? No matter how much I can heal you, I hate seeing you get hurt.”
The past, the place, and the time were different, but the exact same words flowed from her mouth.
In an instant, Irene approached them without even realizing it and spoke.
“That dungeon—don’t go.”
