Chapter 7
In the morning, a priest bringing the saint’s breakfast was shocked to find the temple knights collapsed in front of the saint’s room, and he quickly reported it.
“What on earth is going on here?”
Helga, the High Steward in charge of the temple where Rasel resided, hurriedly made her way to the empty saint’s room, leaning on her old legs as soon as she received the report.
The temple knights had been murdered; they were lifeless, and the room was silent. There was no sign of struggle or disturbance.
The priests had moved the bodies out of sight, so from a distance, it appeared that the room was only slightly dirty.
Helga sensed something was off.
“Two temple knights were murdered, weren’t they?”
“Yes, High Steward. Unfortunately…”
“Then why is there so little blood? Did someone clean it up?”
Helga pointed to a few drops of blood on the white wall. Nearby, there were blackened scorch marks.
The priest shook his head.
“No, no one touched anything.”
“I need to see the knights’ bodies myself.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
The priests led Helga to the nearby room where the two corpses were kept. As soon as she saw them, her brow furrowed.
The entire room reeked of burnt flesh. The bodies were charred black, as if they had been burned alive. The direct cause of death was unrecognizable, completely obscured by the intense burning.
“What is this… there’s no sign of a fire, is there? The walls are only slightly scorched.”
“Yes. Only the two corpses show any trace of burning.”
It was as if a fire that no ordinary human could wield had been used. Helga tried to push the thought aside, but it was already too late.
If I am thinking this, then anyone who saw the scene and the bodies probably thought the same.
“What about the saint’s whereabouts?”
“She is currently being searched for.”
“Hurry and find her. And until she is located, no one, regardless of rank, is to approach this room or the corpses.”
Helga added urgently:
“Also, no one is to speak about this incident. If anyone wishes to discuss it, they must come to me directly.”
“Yes, High Steward.”
“Hasten the search for the saint immediately.”
Even with these measures, rumors would inevitably spread. Helga bit her lip anxiously.
I hope nothing more dreadful happens…
Rasel awoke with a splitting headache.
“…Ugh…”
Groaning softly, she opened her eyes and saw a faint beam of light falling from high above into the dim surroundings.
“…Where… am I?”
Panicked, she looked around and quickly realized where she was. It was a room she knew—a conference room used by the pope and high stewards for discussing critical matters.
This building was far from the other temple structures. Being used for highly confidential meetings, no one wanted discussions here to leak. It was cleaned periodically but otherwise rarely visited—completely isolated.
…In other words, a place no one would notice.
But how? The keys here are managed directly by the high stewards…
As she racked her brain, a clattering sound came from the other side. Startled, Rasel shrank back and then realized her limbs were bound. Of course—after drugging and abducting her, there was no reason to leave her free.
She tried to summon fire with her divine power, but no flames gathered. Nothing happened.
Why? Why now?
Had her divine power disappeared? Had it only been a brief miracle for a few days? Rasel felt a chill of fear at the thought that her powers were gone.
At that moment, a figure bent down in front of her. A man in priestly robes she had never seen before stared at her expressionlessly.
Rasel tried to glare at him, but his blank face didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.
“Did you do this knowing who I am?” she demanded, trying to press her identity into him. It seemed unlikely to work, but at least ignoring her would have been fortunate.
Unexpectedly, the man answered:
“Yes, I know, Saint.”
Rasel flinched and asked again:
“Do you know that harming a saint is against the church’s laws and could be punishable by death in secular law? Kidnapping a child is a grave crime.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“My master ordered it.”
“…Master? Do you mean Iderion?”
“No. A human.”
How could someone in the temple call a mortal their master instead of a god? The method of her abduction and the ability to imprison her in this place suggested the mastermind was a very high-ranking priest.
I don’t have concrete proof yet… but probably…
Bella. And behind her, the steward Matron.
Rasel gritted her teeth. Matron was currently the most powerful priest in Iderion’s temple. He had also been opposed to the saint system.
Even in her previous life, it had been the same:
“If the saint chosen by Iderion has no ability, what’s the difference between them and the best human we could pick? The current saint should be demoted, and the people should choose an equal saint by vote!”
Matron’s claims, which seemed to champion human ability and equality, won the support of many laypeople, who believed that the high-ranking Matron was speaking for them.
In reality, it had nothing to do with the laypeople.
Matron only cared about his own power. The god-chosen saint obstructed him, so he demoted her and installed someone else to gain popularity.
Rasel had seen through his true nature even before reincarnation. But no one would listen to her—an apparently “incompetent” person who had risen too high by chance. Everyone believed she should be removed according to Matron’s words.
Even Bella, who pretended to support Rasel, flattered Matron and gained people’s approval as the “true saint candidate.” Rasel had seen through it at the time but ignored it, fearing gossip would ruin their friendship.
Now? Rasel, with her unprecedented divine power, ignored Bella entirely. Surely, they would do nothing to her, right?
“You’re the one who ordered my kidnapping, Matron, right?” she asked, confident.
The man’s answer was unexpected:
“No.”
“Don’t lie!”
“I am not lying. He is not my master.”
His emotionless words carried no trace of feeling, yet they didn’t seem false.
Rasel furrowed her brow, thought briefly, and cautiously asked:
“Then is it Bella?”
“Yes.”
“…Bella is your master, then?”
“Yes.”
Rasel was stunned. Bella—from another world—had orchestrated all of this? In her previous life, Bella had only shown power when stealing Rasel’s abilities. She had never seemed capable of such schemes, and Rasel had never imagined she would have henchmen.
Is this person following Bella willingly? Or…
The blank expression, mechanical answers, and doll-like stillness all seemed strange. Yet, inexplicably, he answered all of Rasel’s questions about the mastermind.
“Why is Bella your master?”
“Because she commands me.”
“What command?”
“To work for her.”
…It was probably not an ordinary command, but a magical control.
Bella used magic to manipulate him into kidnapping me. But why—
The man grabbed Rasel’s arm and rolled up her sleeve. Under the dim light, a mark appeared on her upper arm, slightly different from what she remembered.
Her heart sank.
Bella… etched this on me again… secretly…
“When this mark is fully absorbed, I will release you,” the man said mechanically.
Rasel realized immediately that “absorbed” meant it would become permanently fixed, impossible to remove.
“Is this why I cannot use my divine power?”
“Yes.”
“Bella did this to me?”
“Yes.”
“So, Bella wants me unable to use my divine power.”
Rasel’s voice trembled—not with fear, but with anger. Bella clung to her like a leech, taking everything—her power, her status, her life, her fate.
If Rasel, powerless, were released, what could she do? She could tell people about her kidnapping and the mastermind, but no one would believe her. Bella, seemingly ordinary, had no reason or ability to do this—no one knew she came from another world or could manipulate people with magic. Rasel, powerless, could prove none of it.
I don’t yet know what Bella wants next. Probably to steal my fate, but I don’t know how! One thing is clear: she has defeated me. She was strong enough to drug me, and I let my guard down!
Her anger brought tears to her eyes. Why did this always happen to her? Why did she always suffer this?
Is it because I’m the heroine? Does she need to steal everything about the heroine? Does it have to be this way?
Like a piece of meat ripe for plunder, Rasel felt utterly helpless.
The man watched her impassively, then withdrew his hand and stepped back. She was now trapped here, uncertain for how long, facing hunger, thirst, fear—perhaps until she starved.
At that moment, a clattering sound came from the doorway.
