TSKSML 30

TSKSML

Posted by Hoor, Released on August 5, 2025

Chapter 30

“What do you mean?”

“All the corpses were dried up like jerky… and none of them had any trace of divine power. If they really were heretics, they wouldn’t have needed divine power in the first place.”

The bodies of the priests, completely devoid of divine power, looked more shriveled than corpses a hundred years old.

Moreover, there were no visible wounds.

The mortician who examined the bodies suggested that the victims had likely died because their divine power was absorbed.

So the people at the temple concluded it was a murder case targeting divine power.

“…Because stealing divine power would mean acknowledging the existence of the Sun God.”

“Exactly. That’s why I told you it couldn’t have been heretics.”

Besides, the religious war had ended completely decades ago, and since then, there had been hardly any heretics left capable of threatening the Sun Cult.

So, naturally, suspicion could only fall in one direction.

“It must be those wicked underworld bastards. They say divine power can’t be absorbed like mana, but I bet they created something to steal it! They’re probably planning to sell it for profit.”

In this world, not only magic but also “divine power” existed.

Like magic, only a few were able to use it—and even among priests and clergy, many couldn’t wield it.

Divine power was the force that healed life. According to the holy scriptures, powerful divine power could even bring someone back from the brink of death.

Angelina from The Perfect Plan was exactly that kind of saintess—one gifted with divine power.

But someone had stolen divine power?

It was an unheard-of concept, but considering magic stones, it wasn’t impossible.

Magic stones that absorbed mana allowed ordinary people to use magic.

Though against the doctrines of the Sun Cult and thus never practiced, someone clearly had found a way to steal divine power.

They didn’t know the exact culprit, but it was clear the priests had been killed for their divine power.

Helene decided she needed to start by looking into the student who had been the most recent victim.

“What kind of person was the student who died three days ago?”

“He was… a truly special student. Alphonse could use divine power from the moment he was born. Everyone said that if he lived, he would’ve become a high priest in the capital. That night, while praying alone, he was found dead by morning.”

Gilbert recalled Alphonse’s final moments.

“Alphonse always overflowed with vitality thanks to his abundant divine power, but his body had completely dried out. Bastards! Those monsters deserve to be torn limb from limb! The Sun God will never forgive them!”

Gilbert’s voice trembled with rage.

“If someone had to die, it should’ve been an ordinary priest like me, not a genius like Alphonse…”

Now his rage turned into sobs.

Helene handed him a handkerchief and gently patted his shoulder.

“Was there a close friend of Alphonse? Someone who might be mourning his loss deeply? I’d like to offer some comfort.”

Moved by Helene’s compassion, Gilbert slowly calmed down and replied in a hoarse voice.

“Beth was his closest friend. She may not have worked as hard, but she also has divine power and just as much potential as Alphonse!”

“What does Beth look like?”

“She’s a girl with brown hair in two braids.”

While they were talking, they arrived at the orphanage.

Helene felt she had gotten all the information she needed.

She exchanged a look with Shakia.

It was time to find Beth—Alphonse’s closest friend—and talk to her.

Gilbert, whose emotions had been bouncing all over the place, now seemed to return to himself.

“By the way, today is truly a blessed day! So many important guests visiting all at once! The children are going to be so thrilled!”

Helene felt a sudden chill at his mention of other important guests having already arrived.

Her bad feeling, as always, proved correct.

“Countess Emeldia…? What a surprise to meet you in a place like this!”

Standing in front of them at the door was none other than the Grand Duchess of Lebladia.

And beside her—was Blaine.

“…”

Blaine, the godfather to the three sisters, stared at Helene as though he’d seen a ghost.

Of course, Helene’s expression wasn’t much different.

How does this kind of thing always happen to me?!

But thinking carefully, it wasn’t entirely unexpected that Blaine and the Grand Duchess were here.

After all, it was Blaine and the Grand Duchess who had funded the construction of the Benya village temple.

The Fly family and the Imperial Family had been building temples all across the empire so even commoners could worship the Sun God.

Benya village’s temple was one of those projects.

“Grand Duchess, Lord Blaine! What a pleasure to see you in a place like this!”

Helene quickly masked her surprise and acted naturally.

Thanks to her daily role-playing as a reformed stepmother, lying smoothly had become second nature.

But inside, her mind was in chaos.

Despite her greeting, the Grand Duchess and Blaine weren’t looking at her—they were focused on the man standing beside her.

How was she supposed to explain Shakia?

With his tight leather pants, chains, and thuggish vibe, he looked like some shady underworld minion or cheap escort.

And she had already been labeled as “untrustworthy” by the Grand Duchess!

Just recently, Blaine had finally come around to trusting Helene and helping the three sisters.

Both the Grand Duchess and Blaine were sharp. A sloppy lie would only make things worse.

There was only one way to introduce Shakia naturally.

“T-This is… someone I used to date. He’s recently repented and asked the Sun God for forgiveness. He wanted to do some volunteer work today, so I brought him along.”

It’s fine. That sounded natural.

After finishing her explanation, Helene gave Shakia a subtle signal.

Quick on the uptake, Shakia followed her lead.

“May the blessings of the Sun God be upon you! It is truly an honor to meet the Grand Duchess. And you must be Lord Blaine of House Fly? What a privilege to meet such noble figures!”

Shakia kissed the Grand Duchess’s hand and then attempted an overly familiar hug with Blaine.

The Grand Duchess was too stunned to react, but Blaine looked as though his soul had left his body the moment Helene introduced Shakia as her “ex-boyfriend.”

*

Since the dinner with Helene and the three sisters, something strange had been happening to Blaine.

He kept seeing visions of Helene.

When he drove, she appeared in the passenger seat with a bored expression. When he ate, he’d see her cutting her steak with perfect precision.

The symptoms worsened, and one morning, when he opened his eyes, she was lying in his bed.

Helene, peacefully asleep, looked like someone who didn’t have a care in the world. No one would have guessed that those eyelids were hiding fierce, flame-like crimson eyes.

When asleep, the devilish woman looked like an angel.

Blaine had unconsciously reached out to brush her eyelashes—before snapping out of it and leaping out of bed.

Since then, afraid he’d see her in his dreams, he hadn’t dared to sleep and buried himself in work.

If his mind wasn’t occupied, she kept appearing.

Eventually, he cleared out even the mountainous paperwork on his desk—and had to make up new tasks just to stay busy.

The book donation event in Benya village was the kind of thing he’d normally send his staff to handle.

But this time, Blaine insisted on going himself.

He wanted to put distance between himself and Helene—any kind of distance.

So when she walked through the door, Blaine was ready to call his doctor… or maybe an exorcist to drive the spirit out of him.

But it wasn’t a hallucination.

It was the real Helene.

And worse than any vision… the real thing was even more terrifying.