The day of the memorial service has dawned.
The second temple was teeming with people.
The nobles' carriages continued to arrive. The people also formed a long line around the temple to watch the ceremony.
This memorial service held once a year on an auspicious day, was not simply an event to console the souls of the dead.
According to the doctrine, this day was also a day of righteous judgment to reveal and wash away the sins of the living.
Those who had taken the lives of others in war and those who bore the guilt of their sins all went to the temple, where they offered incense of repentance and asked for the goddess's forgiveness.
The memorial service was held in the widest central corridor of the Second Temple. The high arched ceiling added to its grandeur.
The Second Temple had all of its corridor windows blown out, allowing even the common people outside the corridors to watch the ceremony.
Among the numerous attendees seated inside and outside the hallway, there was one person who immediately caught people's attention.
"What on earth did that man come here with? To pray for the souls of his dead father and his mother, who threw the cuckoo chick into the mix?"
"Oh my, what are you talking about? This isn't a memorial service to honor those bastards, is it?! This is going to be a disaster! Get out of here!"
It was none other than Samon Claudio.
The ugly secrets of the Claudio family were revealed amidst the sharp gaze that would not drop and the crude accusations that did not lower their voices.
A normal person would have left the place out of shame.
But, Samon stood his ground as if he hadn't heard anything.
The lip service of trivial things no longer had any influence on him.
Marieu was also next to him.
Today, she took on the long-awaited role of whistleblower and looked more spartan than ever.
She had neatly tied red hair and was wearing a white, patterned dress, and she didn't even have the usual earrings or other accessories.
With her makeup-free face and downcast eyes, Marieu looked like an ordinary, obedient woman.
'She has to look innocent because she has to report her master.'
The corners of Samon's mouth went up in satisfaction as he glanced at Marieu's appearance, which was filled with his breath.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Meanwhile, the majestic sound of drums announcing the start of the memorial service rang out.
Then the priests next to the altar struck a thin bronze metal plate.
Kwaiwooung-
A deep, heavy resonance echoed through the hallway.
At the same time, Paul and the Knights of the Temple entered, parting the crowd.
'Hmm, hmm! But before I leave, I can show off the power of this holy country.'
Today was their day, so Paul's shoulders were tense.
"Saintess, please come here."
Saintess Rachel, who will lead the memorial service today, appeared between the high priests and the knights of the temple.
She wore a gold sash over her cream-colored cassock to accentuate her slender waist, and a laurel wreath rested on her luscious blond hair.
It was an outfit that brought to mind a scene from the Old Testament myth, where God holds in his arms and comforts the souls of humans who have been sacrificed to the devil.
"Goddess, grant rest to the dead, and light the way of repentance for the living."
Exclamations erupted from the crowd at the sacredness that seemed to be witnessing a goddess.
"Grant us rest!"
"Wash away the sins of this land!"
Beginning with someone's chant, awe toward the goddess resounded.
Ta-da. Ta-da.
The hall soon became noisy with the regular sound of drums.
In that movement that borders on noise.
The Saintess's gaze, passing among the believers with a benevolent smile, brushed past Samon.
Samon nodded.
Without even realizing that Marieu had noticed the secret glances passing between them.
Samon muttered as he watched Rachel's back as she passed him and walked calmly toward the altar.
"Marieu. You didn't forget today, did you?"
He didn't even notice that Marieu flinched at the force with which he gripped her hand as if it were crushing it.
Samon caught Marieu once again.
"No matter what happens, don't panic. Just do your job and step back. Everything else will take care of itself."
When Marieu confesses that she killed the Fourth Princess' child on Medea's orders, the crowd will be shocked.
At that time, the Saintess will come forward and raise the pedestal of judgment, saying that she will verify the truth in the name of the goddess.
Of course, Samon did not hear the detailed plan from Rachel.
But he could tell what she was after...
'You intend to make Medea an apostle to be judged under the laws of the Catholic Church.'
In a continent where Catholicism still dominates, the temple's judgment would be enough to destroy the trust and legitimacy that the Princess had built up.
'What are you going to do about the judgment- No, what should I worry about? It's not like I planned it.'
He only made a deal with the Saintess.
He knew he was just being used as a chess piece, but Samon didn't care.
He would bring down Medea through the Saintess, and in return, he would be freed from this miserable, crippled condition.
'Soon. Medea.'
Even Medea is his enemy.
It would have been perfect if Rachel had chewed up her cousin, whom he wanted to kill, into pieces instead.
"Yes, I will, darling."
Only after hearing Marieu's confirmation did Samon let go of her hand.
"There's no need to be nervous."
His heart softened a little and he tried to reassure Marieu by patting her shoulder.
"We just have to open the floodgates. You know? It's all for the future of you and our children. We can't play in the hands of that snake-like bitch forever."
Mariue, unable to hide her nervousness, took out a water bottle from her bosom.
Samon turned his head and stared ahead.
'Peleus, can you protect your beloved sister even if she is persecuted by the whole world for her defiance of the gods?'
From where he was now, the royal VIP seat at the very front was obscured by the escorts and numerous nobles, leaving only Medea's silver hair slightly visible.
'I will survive again. No matter how much you try to stop me, you all failed!'
Even as he gritted his teeth, a contradictory, bitter smile appeared on Samon's lips.
'If I fail, my son will, and if he fails, my grandson will aim for Valdina for generations to come.'
"Darling, here you go."
Samon gulped down the water bottle that Marieu offered him. The ice-cold water seemed to soothe his burning insides.
Meanwhile, Rachel, who had finished preparing for the dedication ceremony, stood before the altar.
She began to pray, holding a wet olive branch dipped in holy water. Then she lit a fire at the tip of the branch and cried out:
"God, forgive us for being foolish and forgetting the teachings of the goddess."
She turned and faced the crowd, with the smoke billowing and the blazing flames in the background.
"Today, we have gathered here to console the souls of the departed. However, the Goddess also demands that justice be set right on this land and the grudges of the dead be avenged before the continent can..."
Samon could sense the Saintess's gaze turning towards him once again.
After the consecration ceremony, Marieu will expose Medea's crimes.
Now Rachel was laying the groundwork for that moment.
When Marieu denounces her former master Medea, her actions can be accepted as justice.
Their eyes crossed again.
The Saintess smiled faintly as if telling them to proceed as planned.
Samon returned a secretive yet soft smile.
'Once my legs are better, it wouldn't be a bad idea to stick to the Saintess's side.'
But then he suddenly thought.
The Saintess is a woman far from his taste, but when did he ever tempt his former wife, the 4th Princess, because she was his type?
'What's important is that woman's background. Even if she's an illegitimate child whose origins cannot be revealed, if she's of the Saintess's blood, her value changes.'
Just like the conqueror feared by the entire continent, the First Prince of Katzen.
Perhaps, like Perdiccas II, Samon too may benefit from having an outstanding son.
"Father! I did it, I even took revenge on my grandparents! I am now the Emperor of Valdina!"
His imaginary son shouted at him.
It was while Samon was envisioning a future in his head that Rachel would despise as a crazy bastard if she had known about it.
"Darling."
At that moment, Marieu called him from the side.
The tension had gone away, and her voice was as sweet as usual.
"You look happy."
"Huh?"
When Samon reacted absentmindedly, Marieu spoke softly again.
"I guess you've fallen for the Saintess this time."
"what?"
"This time, you want to become the Saintess's dog and serve her at night? Just like you did to the fourth Princess of the empire?"
Samon looked back at Marieu in surprise.
A faint madness flowed from her eyes, which were as bright as fire.
Marieuu didn't lower her voice at all, so much so that the people next to her looked at her in surprise.
"That's, what, you're-"
Samon was about to say, "Have you forgotten where this is?"
"Why? It's not like I said anything. Is there anyone here who doesn't know that you crawled into the Fourth Princess' bed and narrowly escaped execution?"
Her mouth was faster than Samon could grab Marieu's wrist.
"But what can I do, Samon? I can't even do the work of a sowing stallion anymore. I've already destroyed all your seed."
"What are you doing...?"
Samon came to his senses as if he had been hit with cold water.
At the shocking news that Marieu had thrown, he forgot for a moment that this was a temple and the plan he had hatched with Saintess Rachel.
"You heard me."
Marieu looked down at Samon's lower body as if mocking him.
"I've been feeding you plenty of the strongest fertility drugs. Darling, your seeds have all dried up and are useless now."
Ahahaha.
Marieu burst into a lovely laugh that contradicted the content.
"I was so touched by the way you ate the food I gave you without a second thought. You ate it so deliciously, without even realizing that your line was ending!"
Samon's mind flashed back to the meals he had eaten over the past few months.
Even Marieu's 'sincerity' in preparing every meal without fail.
Samon's anger surged to the tips of his hair.
Infertility? All the green branches of the future he had been dreaming of just a moment ago were snapped and fell to the ground.
"Father! I did it. I even took revenge on my grandparents! I am now the Emperor of Valdina!"
"Simon, forgive me. I was wrong. I'm begging you, please, please... Okay? We're blood cousins..."
"You have won in the end. Just bring Dea back alive. I will quietly hand over the throne to your son."
Now, it has become something that is beyond even imagination.
There will never be a son who will take revenge on those damned siblings in place of Samon Claudio.
"This crazy woman-!"
Marieu, because of that stupid, dull girl!
"You're crazy, you've completely lost your mind! Do you know what you've just done?!"
"Then you thought I would be okay after abandoning me on the day I got pregnant and killing the child?"
Marieu laughed heartily.
Her face, finally revealing her true self after she took off her old mask, was distorted with vengeance and madness.
"In the past, and in the future, your child will be the only one we have. Our poor baby, whom you killed with your own hands before he could see the light of day!"
"This stupid bitch...!"
Samon raised his hand to slap Marieu's cheek.
But my arms were stiff and wouldn't move as I wanted.
"You, you..."
"It's only now starting to take effect."
Marieu muttered proudly.
"Darling, here you go."
Just a moment ago, she remembered the water she had inadvertently taken and swallowed.
'There was poison in it.'
In his belated realization, Samon did not see the blade flashing in Marieu's hand.
No, actually, even if he had seen it, he wouldn't have been able to avoid it with his body full of poison.
Phew.
The eerie sound of flesh being cut echoed through the temple.
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