Chapter 29
So Incredibly Beautiful
"B-But, I definitely took care of everything eight years ago...!"
"It seems someone managed to escape the Divine Judgment. We've only confirmed one, but there may be more."
Shed told Dietrich and the Clerics what had happened.
"T-That Heretic came all the way here and, what, what did they do?"
Dietrich's eyes sparkled with a different kind of intensity as he listened to the story of the Heretic.
The persistent gaze behind his glasses was almost unsettling.
"They destroyed the west side of the mansion's annex and broke into a room. It seems they were trying to approach the maid they attacked, but thankfully, there weren't any other problems."
"N-No other problems!"
Dietrich straightened up from his hunched posture at Shed's words.
"T-That can't be. A Heretic came all the way here; there's no way they didn't do anything."
Dietrich shook his head vehemently.
"U-Um, that, that maid! I need to see the maid."
Dietrich tapped the table repeatedly with his fingertips, urging Shed.
"But she hasn't fully recovered yet. The doctor said she needs rest, and it doesn't seem like the right time to bring it up again."
"J-Just for a moment. I-I just need to ask a few things."
Dietrich glanced at him meekly.
But though his gaze was meek, he didn't seem willing to back down easily.
'This is why I hoped it wouldn't be him.'
Dietrich was one of the High Priests who he hoped wouldn't come to Ideana.
With his eccentric side, he was knowledgeable about Black Magic and Heretics, and he was stubbornly persistent to an unsettling degree.
His competence and tenacity could be helpful at times, but his tendency to focus on one thing and ignore everything else often created barriers to collaboration.
Rational persuasion and threats of power were useless.
Shed paused to consider.
The only reason he didn't want to show Liana to Dietrich was that she was a traitor who should have been dealt with by Dietrich eight years ago.
'Of course, there's no way the High Priest would recognize Liana...'
As far as he knew, Dietrich Lester had no separate interactions with the Ideana County. Count Felix Ideana, who studied Black Magic, kept the Clerics at a distance and didn't allow them into his home.
So Dietrich wouldn't recognize Luise Ideana's face.
Above all, it was Dietrich Lester who approved and submitted the report of "Death of all members of the Ideana County family" eight years ago.
Dietrich was able to rise to the position of High Priest thanks to the recognition of that achievement.
So, from Dietrich's point of view, Luise Ideana was someone who couldn't possibly be alive.
"A-And the wound, I might be able to heal it with my Divine Power."
As Shed's hesitation grew longer, Dietrich leaned closer to the table and added.
"A w-wound caused by Black Magic. I might be able to heal it...!"
Dietrich adjusted his glasses again as he spoke.
Shed fell silent and lowered his eyes.
'...It'll be alright.'
He wouldn't be able to keep Dietrich Lester from encountering her forever anyway.
If he stubbornly refused here, it would only raise more suspicion.
Besides, there were things he wanted to hear from Liana as well.
"I understand. Come with me."
Shed pushed Dietrich away, who was leaning forward uncomfortably, and stood up.
Dietrich also jumped up to follow him.
"Let's go!"
There was a hint of excitement in Dietrich's voice as he spoke clearly, without stuttering.
Liana lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The beautifully painted pictures and patterns were peeling off in places, revealing the gray plaster underneath.
The part where a small chandelier had been hung was completely torn off, leaving a deep hole.
If it were just plain plaster with nothing painted on it, it might not be pretty, but it would at least be clean and worth looking at.
Beautiful things become ugly more easily than things that are not beautiful.
Faced with that ugliness, she recalled the beautiful memories of this room from the past.
Her childhood, when she knew nothing.
The warmth that stayed by her side on days when she was sick in bed like today, or on days when she was having nightmares and trembling with fear.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
The large, warm hands would gently brush back her sweat-soaked hair, pat her back, and hold her trembling hands.
She remembered the boy's rough but beautiful eyes.
But those memories were now all hideous scars.
'No.'
Liana buried her face in her hands.
Old memories washed over her, making her feel nauseous.
Her breath grew short and her heart pounded as if something were pounding wildly in her chest.
She had grown used to the pain in her body, but the scars of memory, like daggers stuck in her head, never seemed to dull.
She pushed away the memories that were consuming her, again and again.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking momentarily pulled her out of her pain.
The distracting thoughts receded a step, and a brief gap opened between breaths.
Liana pressed down on her chest, calmed herself, and mustered the courage to part her lips.
"Come in."
Shed stood beyond the slowly opening door.
"Your Excellency."
Liana straightened her posture, paid her respects to Shed, and lowered her head.
And when she raised her head again, she noticed the people who had followed Shed.
Cleric robes, as white as if they were shining brightly even indoors.
Liana's heart sank for a moment.
The silver-haired man following right behind Shed wore a cape with a Divine Star embroidered on it, which only High Priests could wear.
Her muscles tensed and shrank instantly.
'Why is the High Priest here...?'
Those who were called the pillars of the Temple.
She had somehow managed to hide her power in front of ordinary Clerics.
But the powerful Divine Power of a High Priest was incomparable to that of ordinary Clerics.
With that level of ability, they might be able to tell at once that she was a Heretic who knew how to use Black Magic.
As if reading her anxiety, the High Priest fixed his gaze on Liana as soon as he entered, blinking his blue eyes behind his glasses.
"I-Is that the woman?"
Unlike his timid, stuttering words, his gaze was completely fixed on Liana.
When Shed nodded, the silver-haired High Priest approached with quick steps.
Liana watched the approaching High Priest and pressed her tense body against the headboard of the bed.
Thump, thump, her heart, which she had barely calmed, began to beat loudly like a drum.
"Pay your respects. This is High Priest Dietrich Lester."
Another Cleric who was assisting Dietrich said in a solemn voice.
At those words, her heart sank once more.
Dietrich Lester. She knew his name well.
The High Priest who judged the treason of Ideana.
The person with the deepest knowledge of Black Magic in the world, and a Heretic inquisitor with no mercy for those who used forbidden spells.
He was the person she least wanted to meet among the High Priests.
And yet, he was now looking at her right in front of her.
"...May God be with you, High Priest."
Liana lowered her head to the High Priest with the best manners she could muster, her voice trembling.
But without even acknowledging her greeting, blue eyes stared at her piercingly.
Eyes so beautiful that they were admirable, yet they felt colder and more piercing than ice to her.
Her whole body seemed to freeze and stiffen.
Liana couldn't bear the clear, glass-like gaze and lowered her eyes.
The sound of her heart beating grew louder and louder, as if the High Priest could hear it too.
Liana bit her lip.
Yes. There was a time when she had hesitated for a long time in front of the Temple where the High Priest was.
If she could throw off her curse-ridden life and be judged by the High Priest's hand.
If someone could end this hellish guilt that never ended no matter how hard she struggled.
So maybe it was a good thing after all.
But...
Liana raised her fearful eyes and looked at the man standing far away.
A man with violet eyes coldly staring at her.
She clenched her trembling hands under the blanket.
Even if everyone in the world knew her sins, she hoped that Shed would not know her sins.
If her secrets were revealed in front of him...
The memories she had barely calmed down crawled out again like maggots and gnawed at her.
Her father, the Heretic, and the sins she had committed against him...
The memories of the past strangled her.
"T-There, are you alright?"
The flustered High Priest reached out to her, who was sweating profusely.
The moment the High Priest's fingertips touched her body, Liana trembled greatly and raised her head.
She saw the Clerics surrounding her.
No. Please, not in front of him...
"I'm fine."
Liana forced a smile, trying to appear calm.
The High Priest was still staring intently at her.
Her head was spinning from the intense gaze with no escape.
At that moment.
"High Priest Dietrich."
It was none other than Shed who cut off the High Priest's gaze.
Liana's heart was now beating so loudly that she could feel it throbbing behind her ears.
"Is something the matter?"
Shed's expression was grimly serious at Dietrich's persistent gaze.
Then, Dietrich retracted his head, which had been stretched out towards Liana, and stepped back as if embarrassed.
"A-Ah, no, it's not that right now..."
Dietrich stammered, unable to continue.
Then Shed's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Is there a problem?"
"W-Well... rather than that, the woman you mentioned is, more than I thought..."
"More than you thought?"
"...U-Um, she's so incredibly beautiful."
At the same time as the voice shrank as small as an ant crawling, Dietrich lowered his head deeply.
Dietrich's ears, with his head lowered, were dyed bright red.
