Chapter 85: Chapter 85

The radiant light spread in a soft glow, enveloping Cruello's body. His wounds vanished as if they had never been there.

Hmm. Satisfactory, at least for now.

"Darling, # Nоvеlight # do you always refuse to listen?"

"If you want to complain, become my superior first. Ah, no, never mind. Now that I think about it, I never listened to my parents either."

"They used to say, no matter what, never doubt the gods. But..."

"Isn't it wrong to create something so questionable that people have to doubt it?"

If someone could witness all this and still refuse to question, that wasn’t faith—it was brainwashing.

Just looking at the way Elin had died made it obvious how blind devotion could be a poison.

With Cruello’s injuries taken care of, I glanced around.

The imperial knights that had swarmed the area had now completely surrounded the chapel from the outside.

Elin was unmistakably dead, her lifeless body slumped in the wreckage of what was once a place of worship.

The building itself was reduced to an unrecognizable ruin.

To clean all this up would be...

"Ugh. I really don’t care."

Just thinking about it gave me a headache, so I shook my head.

Forget it. Not my problem. Not doing it.

I made no effort to hide my irritation as I stretched my arms up and let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. You handle the rest."

"I wanted to rest. Ever since days ago. Over and over."

With no intention of fighting exhaustion anymore, I let my eyes close.

A massive knot still remained tangled in my mind, but at least now I could afford some rest.

After all, I had someone to take care of things behind me.

Now, all that remained was the key...

"A death report, Grand Elder."

The old man did not respond immediately.

He sat in silence, staring at the chessboard in front of him, scanning the pieces until he confirmed there were no more moves left.

Only then did he look up.

"The Second Elder. She attacked nobles at the royal ball and was later found dead in the chapel."

"It has been confirmed they were the same person."

For a moment, the elder remained expressionless.

"What was the cause of death?"

"No one knows the full details, but traces of frost-element mana and divine power were found at the scene."

"And the suspected perpetrators?"

"At the time of the incident at the ball, the one facing off against the Second Elder disappeared along with her. The White Desert Duke and—"

The old man let out a breathless chuckle, shaking his head.

Even a fool could guess who had wielded divine power in that scenario.

A wave of exasperation and defeat settled in his chest.

Suppressing his frustration, he swallowed his irritation.

"...Sir, the imperial palace has requested your presence."

"Hah. Do they expect me to explain the Second Elder’s mess?"

"Ignore it. Hand over any evidence of her crimes and drive them away."

"As you command, Grand Elder."

So they were poking around, hoping to find weakness now that the temple lay in ruins?

The Elder Council was unshaken by such trivial matters.

They had no intention of being dragged into this nonsense.

"I will have to visit them myself at some point, regardless."

Once his subordinate left, the Grand Elder listened to the sound of the closing door and took a slow sip of tea.

Though he seethed at the imperial family's arrogance, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

That was precisely what it had become.

The sacred grounds nurtured and protected for generations by Heorim’s ancestors had been reduced to nothing but wreckage, beyond any hope of restoration.

Even his own mansion, connected to the temple, had partially collapsed, forcing him to relocate to another estate within the capital.

To think that the cause of such devastation was a single insignificant girl.

But she had been brought in by Nigellia.

"She should have died long ago. That ancient wretch held on for far too long."

Faith was the responsibility of those in power.

So why had Nigellia meddled, claiming she was purging the temple?

The Grand Elder could not suppress his anger, though he felt no grief for her death.

What troubled him was the one who had killed her.

Just thinking of that name made his head ache.

No matter how much they investigated, there was nothing to be found about her.

And yet, he had believed the evidence before his eyes.

The temple had always been the sworn enemy of the Black Serpent, yet he hadn’t doubted them.

Because they clung obsessively to righteous methods.

Because no matter what they did, they left traces.

Who would have thought that such novices had infiltrated his sight so thoroughly?

But perhaps... he had been wrong.

About priests being incapable of deceit.

About Siora Bonetti being a mere nobody.

And about Cruello as well.

"Once you acknowledge the truth, handling the aftermath becomes easy."

A tangled knot was best cut rather than unraveled.

Though before that, he had loose ends to deal with.

Rising slowly from his chair, the Grand Elder opened a drawer in his desk.

Inside were piles of documents.

At a glance, they appeared different.

But upon closer inspection, each contained the same revelation.

They exposed Nigellia’s true nature.

Given her personality, the idea of her leaving such evidence behind was laughable.

But in this world, what couldn't be forged into existence?

Tapping his cane against the stack, he watched as a cerulean flame flickered to life.

The fire consumed the records in an instant.

The Grand Elder turned away, a slow, satisfied smile curling on his lips.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I knew it the moment the dream began.

I was standing in an enormous forest, and right in front of me was a bear made of pure light.

"Why did you consume me?"

The bear roared, pouring out its fury.

I had no words. My head drooped in silence.

Then, as if an eraser had been dragged across reality, my body began to disappear piece by piece.

An arm, a leg, my torso, my head—

The ceiling above me was familiar to me but utterly foreign to Siora’s eyes.

The White Desert Duke’s estate?

Strangely, I wasn’t even surprised.

The last thing I remembered was collapsing in front of Cruello.

I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but my body felt impossibly heavy, my vision blurry.

I lifted a hand to rub my eyes but paused, sensing a presence beside me.

"It feels like I’m being boiled alive. Turn off the fireplace."

The crackling sound of burning wood immediately faded.

The stifling heat, however, did not.

Or... was it the blankets?

I glanced down—and fell speechless.

How many layers was I buried under?

One more, and I would have died of suffocation instead of my wounds.

I grumbled and struggled against the weight of the blankets, only for Cruello to step in and resolve the mess he had created.

Finally, I could breathe.

"How long was I out?"

"That’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. What am I, a tragic heroine?"

I muttered in disbelief—then hesitated.

"You're not lying, right? If it really was three days, my throat should be raw, my body weak—"

I turned to scrutinize him mid-sentence.

For me, it had been nothing more than the brief flicker of closing and opening my eyes, but—

Time had passed for him.

I could see it in his face.

His jawline was sharper, his features slightly hollowed, shadows dark beneath his eyes.

Had he... worried about me?

The thought made my earlier complaints feel cheap.

Feeling strangely guilty, I adjusted my tone.

"Well... given how well I recovered, I suppose that means you were very diligent in taking care of me. So much so that it feels almost unbelievable."

"A priest visits daily. That alone ensures you wouldn’t be in poor condition."

"You brought a priest here every day? Wow. Were you really that worried? No wonder you were right beside me the moment I woke up."

"......It was a joke, you know. You could at least react. You’re being weirdly intense."

I cleared my throat awkwardly, but instead of answering, he handed me a glass of water.

I wasn’t that weak, but I was still parched, so I took it without complaint.

After draining the cup, he silently refilled it.

This happened three times before I finally felt alive again.

But despite the small routine, the atmosphere remained stiff.

He wasn’t acting just because he was worried.

Either something else had happened while I was unconscious...

I studied the reflection in the water.

I was thinner, but since I had always been too thin, the change wasn’t dramatic.

Still, something felt off.

I quietly voiced the thought.

"You don’t believe in me anymore, do you?"

Of all things, the god I served and the one his church worshipped turned out to be the same.

If I were in his shoes, I would have lost trust too.

But unexpectedly, Cruello said—

"I do believe in you."

"You don’t have to lie. I mean, it’s obvious—"

His calm voice cut off my protest.

Then, without warning, he reached over and took the empty glass from my hands, setting it aside.

I watched him, puzzled—until something warm and soft pressed against my forehead.

"I worried about you. A lot."

His arms wrapped around me, and with a heavy sigh, he pulled me into an embrace.

I sat there, frozen, my eyes darting back and forth in confusion.

What the hell was I supposed to say to this?

"I knew you’d wake up. But still, my heart wouldn’t listen to reason."

Even as I said it, I wasn’t sure if that was the right response.

Cruello finally released me and let out a small chuckle.

"I’ll bring you something to eat. Wait here."

He turned, walking toward the door.

The way it shut behind him—

I sat there, dazed, staring at the empty space where he had been.

Only belatedly did I snap back to reality.

Why was he suddenly acting ?

I pressed a hand to my chest and sighed.

Apparently, my heart had been startled by Cruello’s unusual behavior, beating faster than necessary.

"...Ugh! Don’t think about it!"

I smacked both of my cheeks, hard.

The sting snapped me out of it.

Well, whatever. If he still trusted me, that was good news.

There were still two keys left.

Shaking off the lingering thoughts, I started to settle down—

A soft tapping sound came from somewhere.

"Why knock now? Just come in."

I answered thoughtlessly—

The sound wasn’t coming from the door.

It came from the window.

And there, puffing out its chest with great dignity—