Episode 95. Leana, the Vatican's Errand Girl
"Hello, brown wolf?"
The giant beast didn't move at all despite Leana's greeting.
But it didn't matter. She wasn't trying to say hello.
She took off her apron and laid it on the floor, keeping some distance from the brown wolf. She sat down comfortably on it. She stared at the brown wolf with pity and muttered,
"It must hurt a lot."
The fur of the giant beast was matted with dried blood. The nape of its neck and head were half gone, and it was already covered in white maggots. Fortunately, the decay was slow because it was in the cool underground.
Anyone who saw it could tell that it was just a dead, rotting beast.
Nevertheless, there were stakes driven around the beast, and the chains that wrapped around its entire body were connected to the stakes and fixed.
And the body of the brown wolf, bound with chains, had red ancient language written on it.
The priests seemed to be trying to revive the beast every night. The beast’s howls would echo throughout the tower.
However, reviving a dead creature was taboo.
Moreover, it was unbelievable that the Vatican was doing such a thing.
“Why would the Vatican try to revive you? What do they want to gain from it?”
Leana stared at the tattoo carved into the brown wolf’s chest.
The only thing intact on its rotting body was the letter ‘S.T.’ As if it were claiming that it was something with a name, not a beast.
“How about you? Do you want to live, S.T.?”
“....”
“Idiot. Being alive isn’t always good. How you live is important. Have you ever regretted, thinking, ‘If only I had just died back then...’?”
Leana hugged her knees with a sullen face.
“I do. My father died in my stead to save me.”
Leana wiped away the tears that had flowed down her face as she recalled old memories.
“It’s been a long time, and it’s still like this. Hehe. But I can’t die anymore. If I die, there’s no point in my father dying.”
She forced a smile as if shaking off the painful memory.
“Um... If I save you, will you run away with me?”
“...”
Even though there was no one there, Leana lowered her voice and whispered.
“Actually, this is a secret, but I know almost all the prayers His Holiness uses.”
At that moment, the girl’s blue eyes shone mysteriously.
“The Pope always takes me to the morning prayer. He thinks I can’t hear, so he recites the prayers in front of me. But I can actually hear everything. And my power is stronger than His Holiness's. It’s true.”
Leana closed her eyes and recited the spell quietly as if to prove it.
Then the ancient words engraved on the brown wolf’s body began to glow little by little.
It meant that this dying body was slowly coming back to life.
***
Thump thump!
As the black-haired young man walked down the hallway, the Vatican soldiers all bowed their heads.
But he just walked along hurriedly, his brow furrowed as if he had no interest in greeting.
Dozens of priests in white followed him in a line.
Maurice Etermati.
He was one of only ten priests of the highest rank in the Vatican.
He was the first person in his mid-twenties to become a priest of the highest rank since the Vatican was established. He looked so handsome and young that you could pass for a novice priest.
However, he was holding the ‘Pope’s Scepter’ in his hand. It meant that he was handling matters on behalf of the Pope. Those who were quick-witted were already trying to align him with the Pope.
“What happened!”
Maurice shouted so loudly that the hallway reverberated as the old priest came out of the underground prayer room.
The white-haired priest lowered his head and looked at a loss.
“I don’t know. It seems like he suddenly woke up.”
Maurice scolded him with a bewildered face.
“Are you calling that an excuse? Didn’t you tell the highest priest to guard you so that you could prepare for situations like this?”
“I’m sorry.”
The white-haired priest blushed as he was scolded in front of everyone.
But Maurice pushed him away with his shoulder and went into the gloomy prayer room.
“Krrrr! Krrrr!”
Inside the musty prayer room, a brown wolf was drooling and growling.
Maurice clicked his tongue in disgust.
“How dare you bark so much when you don’t even have a soul?”
As he had said, the brown wolf did not look like a living creature at all.
His eyes were open, but his pupils were unfocused, and his head and nape were still swarming with maggots.
He was just a moving corpse.
The Vatican called such corpses 'undead'.
He looked around at the priests and soldiers and asked again.
"Doesn't anyone have any idea who did this?"
The white-haired priest answered again as if making excuses.
"... My priests and I have been guarding the door the whole time. No one has come in or out."
"Tsk, incompetent..."
Maurice looked around the prayer room.
He had written the ancient language on the brown wolf's body and recited the spell to revive it every night.
But the air here was different. It was as if someone had stirred the calm waters, and the air was creating strange waves.
Who on earth?
"Everyone, get out and close the door."
"Tsk, incompetent..."
Maurice looked around the prayer room.
He had written the ancient language on the brown wolf's body and recited the spell to revive it every night.
But the air here was different. It was as if someone had stirred the calm waters, and the air was creating strange waves.
Who on earth?
"Everyone, get out and close the door."
As soon as he gave the order, the people retreated.
Boom!
The heavy iron door closed, and Maurice and the brown wolf were left alone.
He lifted the Pope’s scepter he was holding, and began to recite a prayer spell. He planned to put the bastard to sleep using the ancient language written on his body.
Finding the culprit would come later.
Wooooowung...
A soft blue light enveloped Maurice and began to spread wider and wider.
Bang!
However, the moment the light collided with the ancient language on the wolf’s body, it bounced off.
At the same time, Maurice’s body also swayed.
‘...This is ridiculous!’
He was quite shocked.
The spell didn’t work.
What was more shocking was that he couldn’t control the ancient language he had written down!
That meant...
‘He cast a stronger spell than me?’
He was the priest with the strongest abilities within the Vatican.
That was why the Pope trusted and cared for him. The Pope’s divine power had long since declined.
However, the fact that his spell didn’t work meant that the one who saved the brown wolf was stronger.
“Who on earth...?”
It was impossible to guess.
The person who had hidden such great power until now.
Judging from the fact that even the guards at the door didn’t see him, he seemed to have the ability to move through space.
What purpose did such a person have in entering the Vatican?
“Above all, if this fact were to leak out...”
This brown wolf was a member of the wolf clan.
The Vatican’s iron rule was to completely exterminate the wolf clan.
Anyone who broke this rule was severely punished by the Vatican.
If it were discovered that he had tried to turn the wolf clan into undead, it would be quite troublesome.
“We have to find him somehow!”
He searched every corner of the prayer room with sharp eyes in search of even the smallest clue. Then he stopped.
Flash!
Something caught his eye.
Something that didn’t fit in this gloomy prayer room at all.
A quiet and desolate night.
The trainee priests walking down the hallway all stopped.
At the end of the dark hallway, a woman wearing a black linen one-piece dress and long silver hair was walking.
Somehow, the hairs on the back of her head stood on end in an eerie feeling.
However, they soon realized that she was a familiar face and were relieved.
“Wow, what a surprise!”
“Leana, what are you doing up to this hour?”
They spoke to her, but Leana smiled as usual and passed by.
The trainee priests began to snicker behind Leana.
“It must be hard, Leana. Do you work during the day or at night?”
Boom!
The heavy iron door closed, and Maurice and the brown wolf were left alone.
He lifted the Pope’s scepter he was holding, and began to recite a prayer spell. He planned to put the bastard to sleep using the ancient language written on his body.
Finding the culprit would come later.
Wooooowung...
A soft blue light enveloped Maurice and began to spread wider and wider.
Bang!
However, the moment the light collided with the ancient language on the wolf’s body, it bounced off.
At the same time, Maurice’s body also swayed.
‘...This is ridiculous!’
He was quite shocked.
The spell didn’t work.
What was more shocking was that he couldn’t control the ancient language he had written down!
That meant...
‘He cast a stronger spell than me?’
He was the priest with the strongest abilities within the Vatican.
That was why the Pope trusted and cared for him. The Pope’s divine power had long since declined.
However, the fact that his spell didn’t work meant that the one who saved the brown wolf was stronger.
“Who on earth...?”
It was impossible to guess.
The person who had hidden such great power until now.
Judging from the fact that even the guards at the door didn’t see him, he seemed to have the ability to move through space.
What purpose did such a person have in entering the Vatican?
“Above all, if this fact were to leak out...”
This brown wolf was a member of the wolf clan.
The Vatican’s iron rule was to completely exterminate the wolf clan.
Anyone who broke this rule was severely punished by the Vatican.
If it were discovered that he had tried to turn the wolf clan into undead, it would be quite troublesome.
“We have to find him somehow!”
He searched every corner of the prayer room with sharp eyes in search of even the smallest clue. Then he stopped.
Flash!
Something caught his eye.
Something that didn’t fit in this gloomy prayer room at all.
***
A quiet and desolate night.
The trainee priests walking down the hallway all stopped.
At the end of the dark hallway, a woman wearing a black linen one-piece dress and long silver hair was walking.
Somehow, the hairs on the back of her head stood on end in an eerie feeling.
However, they soon realized that she was a familiar face and were relieved.
“Wow, what a surprise!”
“Leana, what are you doing up to this hour?”
They spoke to her, but Leana smiled as usual and passed by.
The trainee priests began to snicker behind Leana.
“It must be hard, Leana. Do you work during the day or at night?”
“You get paid to work at night, right?”
“If we pay you, you’ll meet us too?”
Among the trainee priests, most of whom were nobles, there were quite a few who were not good. Some of them drank alcohol and met with prostitutes.
If they were caught, they would be expelled from the Vatican and paid a huge fine, but if they returned to being nobles, that was it.
If they weren’t caught, they could return to their hometown and work as priests for the rest of their lives, making money.
That’s why most of the second sons of high-ranking nobles received training as trainee priests.
“Leana, how much would it cost? Huh?”
Standing tall.
Leana's steps as she walked down the hallway stopped.
The priests who had been chattering away without permission were stung. However, there was no reason to be afraid of a girl who was just doing odd jobs.
“What? Did you understand that I’ll give you money?”
“Shut up.”
Everyone doubted their ears.
Could that low, threatening voice really be Leana’s?
“What did you just say...?”
“If we pay you, you’ll meet us too?”
Among the trainee priests, most of whom were nobles, there were quite a few who were not good. Some of them drank alcohol and met with prostitutes.
If they were caught, they would be expelled from the Vatican and paid a huge fine, but if they returned to being nobles, that was it.
If they weren’t caught, they could return to their hometown and work as priests for the rest of their lives, making money.
That’s why most of the second sons of high-ranking nobles received training as trainee priests.
“Leana, how much would it cost? Huh?”
Standing tall.
Leana's steps as she walked down the hallway stopped.
The priests who had been chattering away without permission were stung. However, there was no reason to be afraid of a girl who was just doing odd jobs.
“What? Did you understand that I’ll give you money?”
“Shut up.”
Everyone doubted their ears.
Could that low, threatening voice really be Leana’s?
“What did you just say...?”
“Shut up, are your ears blocked?”
Leana spoke flatly as she turned to them.
She was not the girl who always worked silently, but was always so cheerful that she seemed incompetent.
Her blue-gray eyes glaring at them were as cold as ice.
Gulp.
The trainee priests, who had been tense without realizing it, flared up as if they were getting angry.
“This is because I look at you nicely!”
When one of them rushed at her as if to hit her,
bang!
His body flew through the air in an instant and fell to the ground.
“You, what are you...!”
Everyone was just bewildered by what was happening. Leana didn’t move at all, but their comrade collapsed, covered in blood.
“I told you to shut up. You only know how to talk, and you don’t know how to listen to people.”
Not only did Leana leave people covered in blood, but she also subdued all of the apprentice priests with her harsh language.
“You... who are you?”
They asked in fear.
She certainly wasn’t the handyman Leana they knew. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have been this scared.
Instead of answering, Leana glared coldly.
“If you tell what you just saw, you’ll bleed from every orifice in your body. This is your final warning. Open your ears wide and listen. Got it?”
“Hiccup!”
The apprentice priests quickly nodded, hiccupping.
“Then get out.”
Before she could finish speaking, the apprentice priests dragged their bloody comrades away and ran.
As they disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, Leana frowned.
“Haa... what have I done?”
In fact, she had been extremely sensitive since earlier. It was because she had lost her precious pendant.
The pendant was the only keepsake her deceased father had left her. Not only that, but inside it was a portrait of her father.
Whenever she felt bad or anxious, Leana had a habit of touching it or looking at her father’s face. That was how she felt at ease.
However, the pendant was no longer hanging around her neck, and she had lost it at some point. She searched through her hem and apron pockets, but it was nowhere to be found. She had definitely lost it.
She searched for the pendant, going back on the path she had taken during the day. She searched for two hours, but it was no use.
Then she became extremely nervous.
It had been more than a day or two since they had teased her.
“If I find the pendant, I’ll get out of here quickly.”
She warned them to keep their mouths shut, but she couldn’t trust their words.
“Did I drop it there?”
That was the only place Leana could look for the last time.
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