IBWMD 86

~Chapter 86~

Zeon’s pupils trembled quietly while I patted the poor man’s shoulder.

“Thirty years…? What do you mean by that?”

The slum dweller looked up at us with a blank, lost expression. He no longer seemed to want to run.

Only then did I tell the truth.

“That was a lie. Please calm down.”

“What?!”

“For now, would you please come with us and talk slowly?”

I helped the still-dazed man sit up.

His eyes regained focus as he stared at me, trembling.

Hmm. Wait. Before we talked…

I tapped Zeon a few more times.

“What is it?”

“Take it off.”

“Uh?”

“No, not your pants. Your coat. Take off your coat.”

Zeon, embarrassed, obediently removed his outer coat.

I gently draped it over the shivering, half-naked slum dweller.

As he warmed up, the man finally seemed calmer.

“Now I’m not lying.”

I looked directly into his eyes and said,

“You were corrupted by something and lost your sanity. Then you were purified and woke up.”

“Purified? Are you saying I was possessed by an evil spirit?”

“Something like that. It’s related to monsters, though.”

Unexpectedly, Zeon was the one who reacted to my words.

“…Did you recently eat any monster meat?”

“What?”

“Now that I think about it, there was a street vendor who spread monster meat around here a while ago.”

“Are you saying I turned into a monster because of that?”

“It’s just… from what I can tell, that’s the only thing that seems suspicious…”

But honestly…

He’s still a temple guy. Of course he would think that way.

‘Even if he’s honest and upright, he must’ve been influenced by the other priests he lives with.’

Still, it was a little annoying.

Well, he doesn’t know I was the one who spread it.

In Zeon’s mind, the Elaine Pascal he knew and the young lady who told him to “find his faith again” were still two different people.

I was oddly impressed by his simple guess and answered,

“If that were true, then people in the north would have been turning into monsters constantly by now. Back then, during famine season, northerners even ate monster meat.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“This time it just became popular. People have always eaten it.”

“I-Is that so?”

And if that logic were correct, Jeremy and I should’ve been the first to turn into monsters.

Thanks to the skewer vendor’s recipe experiments, we had eaten more monster meat than anyone.

‘Well, I do have holy power, so I might be immune.’

But Jeremy? He was completely fine.

“Besides, the church doesn’t even forbid monster meat in its doctrine.”

“You’re right. That’s true.”

Finally, Zeon completely accepted it.

I felt a little exasperated.

“Your intelligence drops when it’s not about church doctrine, doesn’t it?”

“Hey, come on. I don’t even know the doctrine that well…”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

I barely held back a sigh.

“Wait, monster meat?! That’s impossible!”

The slum dweller’s face went pale as he heard our conversation.

“There’s no way I was cursed like that!”

“There isn’t even such a curse… Wait. How can you be so sure?”

“Because I never ate any monster meat!”

He straightened his shoulders proudly as he shouted,

“I only ate the relief food distributed by the temple!”

The walk back left me with a complicated feeling.

‘Everyone else was eating it, but I was too scared. I couldn’t bring myself to eat it.’

‘So you didn’t eat the monster meat?’

‘Right. I survived by carefully rationing the temple’s relief food.’

That explained it. No wonder he was so thin and frail.

My mouth felt bitter.

‘Would you be willing to testify about that later?’

‘Of course! I have nothing to hide!’

This testimony would help us save the skewer vendor.

And not just him.

If we find out who is behind all this, the slum dweller’s testimony would be incredibly valuable.

‘Then I’ll have to hide him away for now.’

I spoke quietly to Zeon standing next to me.

‘I’ll protect this man myself.’

‘Huh? But…’

‘It’s an important matter.’

Zeon still looked confused.

When I reminded him that this man only ate the food distributed by the temple, his face filled with confusion again.

‘Elaine… Are you suspecting the temple?’

‘Who knows.’

‘I can’t accept that. No matter what, the temple is still the temple…’

‘You mean the same temple that gave rotten food to the poor?’

Zeon’s face flushed red.

Finally, he seemed to come to his senses and rubbed his chin.

After more persuasion, he eventually gave in.

‘…Alright, Elaine. But at least give me a chance to correct it first…’

‘I’m not planning to expose them yet. Don’t worry.’

‘…’

‘I just need insurance.’

‘Insurance?’

Insurance for when the temple tries to arrest the skewer vendor.

‘If it comes to that, I’ll spread rumors using this man’s testimony.’

A rumor that the temple’s rotten relief food carried “God’s wrath” would be enough.

‘Actually… is that even a rumor?’

Honestly, I was suspicious.

If this condition was caused by something he ate, the temple was the most likely suspect.

It might not be a rumor at all.

It might be a fact.

Not God’s wrath—just a poison that turns people into monsters.

‘…Something about all this feels off.’

‘You be careful too, Zeon.’

I warned him gently.

Zeon nodded but replied with a hint of regret,

‘We solved this case… but we still didn’t solve the missing holy knights.’

‘I’ll look into that too.’

‘Really?’

‘In exchange for handing over this witness. Even if I’m someone outside the temple…’

‘I’d welcome your help.’

We ended our little deal there and parted ways.

I handed the slum dweller over to Eliza’s pickpockets we met on the way.

‘I’ll just tell Eliza to hide him with the other adult pickpockets.’

By the time I finished organizing my thoughts, dawn was breaking.

I ran toward the Grand Duke’s estate, feeling a bit anxious about making it back on time.

Even then, I felt regret.

‘I want to dig deeper into this.’

The temple was suspicious, but we hadn’t found a decisive piece of evidence.

The man had already eaten all the relief food, so no proof remained.

‘Still, I learned something.’

Even in severe cases of this condition, purification could completely cure it.

That meant the same would apply to someone who had been completely drenched in it.

‘The problem is, there’s no one to purify Karl right now.’

My holy power was always limited, and I still hadn’t fully recovered.

‘…Maybe I should ask Zeon if he can come to the Grand Duke’s estate later.’

If I coaxed him enough, I was sure he’d purify Karl.

It’s not even a bad thing—I’d just be asking him to save one person.

The real problem was whether the Grand Duke’s estate would allow it…

“Young Lady!”

I opened the window of the Grand Duchess’s room upon returning with a complicated heart.

Beth’s face lit up when she saw me.

Her voice sounded like she’d been waiting for me, which made me tense.

Had something happened while I was gone…?

“Do you want to join us, Young Lady?”

“…What?”

“It’s been a while, and it’s actually kind of fun.”

“You set up a gambling game in the Grand Duchess’s room?!”

Nope. They just got along… a little too well.

Cards were scattered across the table like a New Year’s family gambling scene.

Beth pouted at my remark.

“We’re not betting money, so it’s hardly gambling.”

“What’s all that, then?”

I pointed at the pile of snacks in front of the table.

They were clearly being used as stakes.

My maids must’ve been having a grand time.

Beth smiled slyly and changed the subject.

“The back alleys here aren’t much different from the capital’s back alleys.”

“Hurry up and play your card!”

Eliza was urging Beth to go.

Well… it was good that Elizabeth was becoming friends with them.

As I changed clothes, my eyes landed on the butter cookies in the pile of snacks.

“…But not those cookies.”

“Oh my. What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Huh?”

“You usually don’t care about snacks. Did you find a cookie you like?”

“Well…”

How was I supposed to explain it to Beth?

It wasn’t that I liked the cookies.

I liked the person who gave them to me.

The same person Beth had warned me not to get “enchanted” by… and yet I’d already fallen for him.

And now, I didn’t even know what had happened to him.

“Young Lady?”

“Huh?”

“Did something bad happen?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Is it about the cookies? Don’t worry, I didn’t lose any. I actually won them all!”

“She’s right… The Grand Duchess’s maid totally cleaned me out…”

Beth looked uneasy when she saw my expression.

It wasn’t her fault at all.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t even told Beth.’

About what Karl and I had become.

I was even keeping secrets from my only friend…

‘Why does it feel like everything is falling apart?’

…Why do I feel like such a terrible person?

“Young Lady, are you really okay?”

Knock knock knock.

I was sinking into this unfamiliar sadness while Beth looked at me nervously.

Eliza, noticing the atmosphere, quietly slipped out the window.

“Grand Duchess.”

An unexpected voice came from outside.

“…I have something you need to hear.”

It was Jeremy’s voice, heavy with doubt.