Even though it was previously stored underground, the book containing Orobas’ vision seemed unable to escape the passage of time.
Even though it was wrapped in several layers of soft cloth and stored in a box, it was the same.
Every time he turned the page, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the spine and the paper were separate, so Duke Orobas clicked his tongue.
“The rules of the family are rules.”
He instructed that he should write down only the necessary parts of the vision on paper and quickly return the vision to its original place.
In order to prevent it from being damaged by turning the pages multiple times, the family’s rule was to write down the necessary contents and burn the written contents after reading them.
Of course, the copied paper could not be taken out of this underground room.
Since that was a rule at the family level, Duke Orobas couldn’t just carelessly ignore it. If he did, it would give his blood relatives a good excuse to bite him.
“The dead body will come.”
Duke Orobas, who was reading the contents of the family’s vision, narrowed his eyes.
There were a few tricky ingredients needed to make holy water. For example, things like uncorrupted monster corpses.
It was tricky to prepare hundreds of corpses that would release poison after a week, but that was something he could somehow squeeze out of the lower ranks.
The ingredient that bothered Duke Orobas the most was this.
[Head of the Household’s Life Force]
“It is consumed in proportion to the amount of holy water you make...”
He raised his eyebrows.
It was funny that a God who was supposed to be for humans would take life force as a sacrifice, but he had never heard of priests draining life force just by praying.
However, he said that holy water would be made by praying. He didn’t know the principle, but there was a record that it was created after prayer.
How on earth?
Could it be that the God himself had left it?
It was hard to believe.
“But the heads of the households who had made holy water died young...”
The problem was the record. The heads of the families who made the holy water had died on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the other heads of the families.
He couldn’t help but feel uneasy about that. He didn’t know the process, but it was clear that the holy water was being made.
“Yes, once it’s made... I just need the holy water.”
He was someone who thought that he would rather live long and thin than live thick and short and empty.
“Yes...”
He finally stood up, determined to use his life force even though he didn’t know how to use it.
If he could somehow make the holy water this time, he wouldn’t have to complain about his relationship with the temple. He wouldn’t have to kneel to the temple’s influence this generation.
He could expand his business without worrying about the temple’s feelings and create an opportunity for his family to revive.
He laughed.
“We’ll start right away when the last carriage arrives during the banquet.”
As he said that, he looked up at the ceiling.
The ceiling and walls of the room, with countless cracks that looked like they would collapse at any moment, were so ugly that he didn’t want to look at them.
So he laid down a bright red carpet to cover the middle of the room.
He wanted to do some renovation work, but the first line of the vision said, “Do not touch the walls, ceiling, floor, or any part of this room,” so all he could do was cover it up.
“Is it because it’s underground?”
Since it was a large room in the basement of the mansion, he thought that if he touched it wrong, the mansion might collapse.
However, he still didn’t like this dusty interior.
“Get out.”
He felt like his lungs were filled with dust just by breathing, so he quickly left the room with his confidants.
“I wonder if I’ll get suffocated when I pray,”
He muttered. He knew that what was written in the vision was the procedure of a prayer ritual.
However, if the demons had seen it, they would have known right away. The magic circle that was densely drawn on the walls and ceiling, including the areas covered by the carpet, was what Duke Orobas wanted to do. Long ago, what he wanted to do was called magic.
***
Vine’s carriage, which had made all the preparations, finally set off for Orobas.
Thump!
Every time it shook violently, the gaze was drawn to the coachwoman Hanar.
Since he had the ability to transform into a horse, he could communicate with horses, so he naturally became a coachman.
Normally, he would have transformed into a horse and run, but this was where the priests were.
In case he made a mistake, he declared that he would not use his powers for the entire time he was in Orobas.
Thump!
And inside the carriage. Beryl was looking down with a worried face, placing a box on her leg.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
Inside it was none other than the magic drink.
The box was said to have the effect of blocking magic, but who knew?
What if sensitive priests like Cladda noticed the magic drink?
“They won’t be able to tell.”
But Belled said confidently.
“The magic coming from you is clearer and has a stronger scent.”
He had a reason to be confident. Since demons use magic as their energy source, they couldn’t help but be more sensitive to the flow of magic than priests.
It was only natural that the magic leaking from Beryl’s emotional energy came to him more strongly.
“Besides, didn’t you wrap it in a box once?”
Still, it was Belled who brought the magic blocking box for Beryl, who was still anxious.
“Are you talking about the gates of hell?”
“Just a little bit. It’s necessary.”
Of course, even though he had tried to hand over one item, he didn’t say that his head was throbbing because he had forcibly opened the gates of hell and drained his magic power.
But it seemed better than her having a worried expression the whole time.
That would be more bothersome.
He thought while looking at Beryl. The magic power that had been drained would be restored by Beryl anyway.
With the deep-scented magic power that was approaching him so dizzyingly that his mind was becoming hazy.
“Belled, where does it hurt?”
Beryl, who was unnecessarily quick-witted, seemed to have noticed that his condition was strange.
...No, it wasn’t useless.
Belled naturally shook his head, thinking that he was glad of the attention he was receiving.
“Not at all.”
She would definitely worry and worry if she found out that he had opened the gates of hell and taken out the box.
That would be useless.
Thinking that, he looked at Beryl’s appearance again.
“Really?”
He could see her dark green hair flowing down her shoulders as she tilted her head slightly.
What was shining between them were long, gorgeous silver earrings.
Her hair was somewhat covered, but underneath, her pure white skin was revealed up to her collarbone. She wore a black dress with gold accents and even shoes.
Her legs revealed between them were pure white again. She was wearing a cloak to keep herself warm, but she was still a little stiff.
It didn’t seem to be cold. If so, there was only one.
Belled asked.
“Are you nervous?”
Beryl eventually nodded at that.
It was impossible for her not to be nervous, seeing not only the temple but also Orobas and Yubar.
What was shining between them were long, gorgeous silver earrings.
Her hair was somewhat covered, but underneath, her pure white skin was revealed up to her collarbone. She wore a black dress with gold accents and even shoes.
Her legs revealed between them were pure white again. She was wearing a cloak to keep herself warm, but she was still a little stiff.
It didn’t seem to be cold. If so, there was only one.
Belled asked.
“Are you nervous?”
Beryl eventually nodded at that.
It was impossible for her not to be nervous, seeing not only the temple but also Orobas and Yubar.
But more than that. She was, absurdly, more concerned about her ally in front of her. She thought that he would be her ally more than anyone else, but because of that, she was concerned about her appearance.
She wondered if he might dislike this appearance.
She worried that among the appearances he liked, there was actually a simple and pure white appearance of a Saintess.
But that didn’t seem to be the case. His eyes, with a faint smile, seemed to be filled with satisfaction.
"...”
Beryl thought that his dark green eyes were like jewels. Much more beautiful than the deep green jewels hanging from her ears.
Thump!
The carriage ran quickly. Many carriages had already entered the area near the Dukedom of Orobas, which had arrived after a long ride.
There were also many carriages coming from the same direction as Vine.
Because of this, it took time to cross the border of Orobas territory.
The knights of Orobas seemed to be more meticulous in checking the guests of the family, as there was a large banquet.
If Vine had mentioned her name, he could have moved up the order, but Belled decided not to move up the order after seeing her.
It seemed that she needed time to prepare herself for the nightmare from before.
“Please stop for a moment.”
And soon, it was Vine’s turn.
The knights of Orobas seemed a little more nervous than when they checked the invitations from other families.
“Is the person in the carriage His Highness the Duke of Vine himself?”
The coachman Hanar frowned at the knight’s question. Why do you think there will be only one person?
But there is no good in opening your mouth, a lesson Helbas had personally taught you during the Tailor Incident.
“...”
So while he was keeping his mouth shut, Ronove got down from a nearby horse and approached the knights.
Meanwhile, the knights were tilting their heads.
Inside the carriage with the blinds drawn, there was not only the Duke of Vine but also a beautiful woman who caught his eye.
“The lady next to you is...”
The knight of the Duke of Orobas’s house, who was about to ask a stupid question for a moment, opened his eyes wide.
Didn’t the Duke of Vine marry the Saintess Beryl?
If so, then the woman inside is...
“His Highness the Duke of Vine and the Duchess of Vine are riding.”
The knight of Orobas’s mouth almost fell open at those words.
His gaze searched the inside of the carriage again. Ronove blocked his gaze as he tried to examine it more closely.
After that, he hurriedly turned his head away at the Duke of Vine’s unpleasant gaze.
However, he clearly saw it. The dark green hair was the symbol of this great Saintess.
“... It was the Saintess, I apologize.”
The other knights who had been dazed for a moment gestured behind the knight who bowed his head.
“This is the carriage of the Duke of Vine’s house!”
“Pass!”
The knights of Orobas retreated in a huff. Vine’s carriage cut through them.
“Is she really the Saintess?”
“Was she always that beautiful?”
“She seemed elegant.”
The knights of Orobas whispered to each other as they caught sight of Beryl in the brief moment the carriage passed by. They were surprised by her splendid appearance, something they had never seen before in the temple.
“The Saintess came in a dress like that?”
“Oh...”
“Wait a minute, she is the Duchess of Vine now, isn’t she ?”
And because of that, rumors about Beryl began to spread quickly.
That the Saintess who had gone to capture the devil had returned splendidly.
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