"This, this kind of disaster..."
Paul, who had pulled off the bandage, was speechless. The state of the rotting wound was absolutely horrific.
"Can't you feel the magic?!"
"It's Richie's claw marks. It looks like the Saintess was injured during the Ghoul Wave."
The Knight Commander examined Rachel's wounds. Having fought the Demons many times, he was very familiar with such injuries.
"How can you let the Saintess's condition get this serious! Are those Valdinas out of their minds or not!"
Paul's wrinkled face twisted into a fierce rage.
"I won't leave them alone. I'll go find those guys right now."
"Your Eminence, it is not too late to vent your anger after you have rescued the Saintess. Time is of the essence. Hurry."
Paul was stopped by the Knight Commander as he tried to leave the cottage house.
In this situation, the power of Paul, who had the highest level of power in the Holy Nation party, was essential. Paul also knew that the words of the Knight Commander were right, so he barely suppressed his anger that was about to explode and returned to the Saintess's side.
'There should be a way out thanks to the power of the High Priest.'
The Knight Commander frowned, feeling that it would not end so easily.
Soon after, news spread throughout the palace of Valdina that the Saintess had collapsed and was unconscious.
However, the reason she collapsed was kept secret she was injured.
"If the Almighty is suffering from demonic evil, people's faith will diminish. Instead, let's do our best to help the Saintess recover."
"Yes, High Priest."
But contrary to their wishes, Rachel did not come to her senses easily. As she grew feverish and almost died, Paul felt as if he was going crazy.
"Why on earth am I not getting any more energy? Neither the medicine nor the holy water seem to be working."
Paul's eyes grew bloodshot as he was afraid that he would have to send the Saintess he had found with great difficulty back to the goddess. He had to prevent that at all costs.
"Perhaps it is a fever?"
The commander of the Temple Knights, who had been watching Rachel's condition, spoke cautiously.
"If she can't recover with medicine or divine power, she may have first come into contact with the evil energy nearby and is suffering from a fever. It seems that something unusual may happen here in Valdina soon."
Throughout the history of the Holy Land, there have been Saintesses who experienced the coming future firsthand and suffered.
"Don't talk nonsense. How could an entity sent down by a goddess be touched by evil spirits?"
At that moment, before Paul had finished speaking, Rachel opened her eyes.
"Oh, I'm scared. I feel it, God."
She muttered with a feverish look on her face.
Are you scared?
Paul poured holy water into Rachel's mouth. Only then did Rachel, whose face had slightly lost its redness, open her mouth with difficulty.
"I had a dream. It was a terrible dream, I was surrounded by six evil spirits. They were reaching out from the ground under the thick bushes and trying to devour me... Oh... I'm scared."
Paul thought it was strange.
This is because he felt uneasy about saying that the aftermath of the ghoul wave encountered on the plains was in the Saintess's ramblings.
"No way."
"Your Eminence-!"
At that moment, Paul suddenly remembered something and ran outside.
It's been on his mind since he came in.
'This building...'
The landscaping surrounding the cottage house caught his eye. Paul strode toward the tree that looked the most attractive among them.
The evil energy that did not match the beautiful interior was grabbing his nerves the whole time.
He dug the ground like a madman.
He didn't care that dirt was trapped under his wrinkled fingernails and that his cream-colored robes were dirty.
"Your Eminence, why are you doing this!"
The commander of the Knights Templar was perplexed by the strange behavior for which he could not understand the reason. He even had to watch the reactions of the court ladies who were surprised by the behavior of digging up the land of another King's palace.
"I apologize. The High Priest sometimes acts impulsively, so please be forgiving and understand-"
But the Knight Commander had no need to excuse the High Priest's antics.
"Look! This is why!"
Because the reason for Paul's journey was revealed in the dirt he dug up.
"Whoa, what is that?!"
The maids' screams rang out. Six dead rats wrapped in a bundle appeared before the high priest.
"W... what the heck is that..."
Rachel's face, which had been leaning against the Knight Commander of the Temple, also turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
"I knew this would happen."
Paul trembled.
Far from being surprised, he jumped up from his seat as if his suspicions had been confirmed.
A dagger was also placed on top of the dead rats.
The rat's right foreleg was cut off and resting beneath the dazzling golden dagger.
It was a bizarre and horrifying sight. Why would they represent the number of the devil as the corpse of a rat and bury it under the Saintess's room?
"This is clearly a curse aimed at the Saintess!"
Paul did as he was told.
The reason the Saintess was seething with fever was all because of this evil ritual.
"What kind of vile person would dare to slander the representative of the Goddess? He will be cast into hell and roam the fiery pits for eternity!"
Paul lifted the dagger from the corpse. The brilliant silver blade gleamed in the sunlight.
Although there were some drops of blood on it, it was not difficult to tell what material the dagger was made of.
"That's Mithril."
Someone spoke as if possessed.
Mithril is a natural resource, so it is rare and difficult to obtain.
Judging from the bloodstains on the dagger, it seemed like the foreleg of a dead rat had been cut off and buried with it.
What kind of monstrous being would use this precious weapon for such a lowly curse?
Coincidentally, the forepaw of the rat that had the cut was on the same side as Rachel's wound.
"Her Highness!"
At that moment, Rachel screamed in horror.
Her slender arms trembled as she reached out to Medea, who was entering the cottage house.
***
While High Priest Paul was digging the ground frantically, the people of Valdina, who had heard of the Sainteses's illness, were also entering the cottage house.
"Your Majesty, am I seeing things wrong? What on earth is the High Priest doing there?"
Sissair stopped and narrowed his eyes. Next to him were Peleus and Medea.
"We have already sent Sir Hertos. We have done everything we could, including the priests, the medicine, and the senators."
"Peleus. But you know we need to show our good faith first, right? After all, this is a holy country."
At Medea's suggestion, they headed to the cottage house. The King's guard, including D'Angel, followed them.
As they entered the cottage house, the growing noise caused Peleus to raise his hand and stop them.
As soon as he saw the dirty rat corpse lying on the floor, he instinctively sent Medea behind him as if protecting her.
"Do you see, Your Majesty? These evil things were buried here. It was so full of magical instruments that our Saintess suffered from a fever. How would you explain this situation in Valdina?"
Paul spoke as if he was being questioned. His trembling voice clearly showed his anger towards Valdina.
'Regardless of my previous contract or whatever, as soon as I return to the Holy Land, I will expel Valdina from the Catholic Church.'
How long had he been waiting for the arrival of his agent, and yet he almost lost her in vain!
"..."
Peleus' blue eyes scanned the interior as if assessing the situation.
That was when.
"Her Highness...!"
After confirming that everyone in the audience was seated. Rachel began to move.
She blinked with trembling hands as if she was finally understanding everything, and pointed to Medea.
"Her Highness the Princess knew of my injuries."
Everyone's attention turned to the Princess who was suddenly dragged into the center of the incident.
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