She paid off her debt in her last life, and she'll pay off her debt in this life too. He guessed Judith was born to pay off her debt.
Erne stuck out his tongue and moved on to another topic.
“When did your soul change?”
“It’s our wedding day.”
“Yeah, I see.”
Erne sorted out his complicated thoughts.
There are other worlds here, souls change... It was confusing. But one most important fact remained unchanged.
The Judith he knows is the same person from the beginning until now.
“One mystery solved.”
“What were you wondering about?”
“Even though you were not in your right mind, I thought it was strange that you rushed into having sex with me the first time we met, but it turned out that it was all because of the resentment from your past life.”
Erne looked at Judith with compassionate eyes.
It's true that I still have some regrets, but why is my pride hurt? Judith's eyes widened fiercely in anger.
“So, Erne, did you have a girlfriend?”
“It wasn’t there.”
“Then you’re in the same situation as me.”
“Same thing. I have a line of women who like me, but I haven’t dated anyone, and Miss Harrington...”
I couldn't do it.
Erne deliberately trailed off. At first glance, it seemed like he was feeling sorry, but he was actually teasing Judith.
Oh, that's annoying.
Judith ground her teeth. I was worried about this man, tearing off my ten fingers! What was most infuriating was that she had no rebuttal.
Judith was not as popular with men in this life as she had been in her past life.
The only man she's involved with is someone who just wants to tease her whenever he gets the chance.
Oh my, my fate. Judith swallowed a sigh and held out her palm to Erne.
“If you want to feel sorry, give me money.”
“Are you sure it’s what you want in return for money? Not your body?”
***
“What about Erne Rhineland?”
“It seems like the fog has cleared.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
The boy clapped his hands and laughed as if he found it really fascinating.
The Followers who failed to follow the order to retrieve Erne, who had either been poisoned by paralysis or passed out in the fog, looked at each other in bewilderment at the priest's unexpected reaction.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“What should we do with Chief Omar?”
“Just leave him alone. They don’t know much about us anyway.”
Chief Omar knew the boy as nothing more than a capable medium. The most important information he knew was the location of the contact point.
But since the location of the contact point has already been revealed, is there really any need to try to silence Omar?
The imperial court may capture Omar and interrogate him, but there is unlikely to be much information to be heard from him.
The boy was not stupid enough to let his identity be revealed by a throwaway card. And above all, he did not consider himself a Followers.
'Whether he or she comes or not, is that my concern?'
He didn't believe in religion in his past life either. Of course, after experiencing the possession, he opened his heart a little to the existence of God.
If the Followers had believed in God, the boy might have followed suit.
'But these idiots are sitting here believing in their ancestors who died 150 years ago.'
Their distant ancestor, whom the Followers usually refer to as 'him', was usually referred to as 'Duharita' in writings.
He didn't know if Duhirita was the ancestor's name or what, but that's what they called her.
'No, if there was any achievement, then I don't know. She was just the daughter of a tribal chief, so why are they worshipping her?'
Sitting in a comfortable chair, the boy looked out the window. The whole house was in an uproar as preparations for moving were made.
Although the two-story house they used as their residence was close to the point where Erne invaded, that wasn't the reason they moved.
After the rebellion failed, the Followers moved periodically, from place to place, over and over again.
Still, he stayed here for quite a while. The experiments that the elders would cause a fuss about at the headquarters were mostly conducted at the contact point, and he would stay there for a few days if he felt like it.
'I wish Erne had come then.'
Of all things, Erne came right after the move was decided and everything was unpacked. Just in case, he released the paralyzing spider and left the blinding fog alone.
The paralyzing spider was a difficult creature to deal with because its body fluids also contained paralyzing venom. However, the spider's greatest advantage was its incredible reproductive capacity.
The moment the mother dies, the eggs in her stomach all come back to life. There are at least several dozen to a hundred chicks. The chicks grow quickly using the mother as a source of nutrition and begin to hunt instinctively.
If Erne had ignored the baby spider and continued to exist in the mansion, he would have become a pitiful prey caught in a spider's web.
But what if he escaped the spider and went outside?
If so, the 'blind fog' would be waiting for him.
Blinding fog.
It was a device used by Followers to avoid being followed.
Fog is always activated if you don't use the designated path. It's a very useful thing that protects the contact point and also serves as a warning.
'Maybe he was able to get away with all this because he was an author. This fog also came from his head anyway.'
Still, just in case, the boy sent someone to the contact point to check if Erne had collapsed before moving.
'I regret not being able to see what expression you made after reading my letter.'
He's twisted the original title a bit, but the author will surely know what he means.
'As it was in the past life, so it will be in this life.'
I look forward to meeting you.
This time again you...
“What is that smell?”
The boy, who had been leaning against the back of the chair with his eyes closed, imagining Erne's expression, got up, sniffing.
There was an unpleasant smell mixed in the air that was floating around.
Just before the boy kicked open the door and asked what was going on, the door opened without knocking and a follower came rushing in with a pale face.
“Priest, this is a serious matter.”
“Don’t you think I look like someone who knows something big is going on and is about to leave? Stop talking nonsense and just tell me what’s going on.”
***
“You have a lot of laundry to do today, Miss Mia. Let me help you out.”
“Oh, no, Sir Henry, I can do it alone.”
“Wouldn’t it be faster if we did it together?”
Erne returns and peace is restored to the Rhineland Manor.
Mia, who was in charge of the housekeeping and had no maids, was busy from early in the morning as she was both the head maid and the head chef.
Because she had to finish her chores early today to prepare for the party celebrating Erne's safe return that was to be held later that evening.
Mia woke up two hours earlier than usual, but she felt refreshed. Henry, who was doing laundry next to her, seemed to be in just as good a mood as Mia.
Although he didn't show it, Henry must have been worried about Erne. The fact that his smile seemed brighter after Erne' returned wasn't just because of Mia's mood.
While Erne was away, Henry came to the mansion and played the role of a 'husband-like friend' to her.
He consoled her anxious family, helped with the store, and comforted Miss Harrington. He also helped with housework from time to time.
'He would be a top-notch groom, except that he's kind to all the women.'
While Mia was feeling sorry for Henry, who was aligning the laundry, a prospective groom walked in, he was rude to everyone, including women, but was not a bad guy in that he was handsome.
“I was going to throw this away.”
Erne muttered as he looked at his jacket and shirt hanging on the clothesline.
It was in a condition that was unwearable, as it had been torn in places and the buttons were ripped off after falling and rolling while wandering through the foggy forest.
Mia chose the intact parts of his clothes and thought about making children's clothes out of them, so she left them for now. There were some intact parts, so wouldn't it be a waste to just throw them away?
“Uh, that is.”
The moment Mia was about to explain, Judith, who had followed Erne, opened her mouth.
“This jacket and shirt cost so much, just throw them away.”
“Then should I wear it?”
When Erne asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt that had a hole in it, Judith smiled delightedly.
“Would you like that?”
"No."
He answered firmly and with a serious expression, and Judith pouted her lips.
“Throw it away, now.”
“Why are you throwing it away? If you keep it, you can use it all.”
“Save this and you’ll be very rich, Miss Harrington.”
Judith didn't even blink at Erne's sarcastic voice, raising her eyebrows.
“Oh my, thank you for the kind words.”
Judith shrugged her shoulders, snorted, and hurried off to somewhere.
Erne followed Judith, shaking his head.
“Haha, those two really get along well, don’t they?”
And Henry, who was looking at their backs, asked with a pleased smile, and Mia smiled and nodded.
“It seems like things have gotten better since Sir Erne returned.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but Mr. Cliff was really good at matchmaking. Who knew those two would get along so well?”
While the peaceful Rhineland Manor was filled with conversations that would have made others tilt their heads in puzzlement dozens of times if they had heard them, a new law that would bring chaos was about to be passed in the Imperial Palace.
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