The Saint's Descent
The high priest's testimony struck the villagers like a bolt of lightning. The thunderous roar shattered every belief that had held the village together until now.
And then the cracks began to form.
“……Rye?”
“You’re saying it was because of the rye? That I went mad from eating spoiled rye?”
“Now that I think about it, the madness started right after I ate rye bread!”
It began as quiet murmurs spreading through the crowd.
“Then what about all the people who’ve died until now?”
“They were burned at the stake for the crime of eating rye?”
“For the crime of being poor?”
The voices grew hotter, rougher.
“The reason the saintess never showed any signs of madness was because she never ate rye?”
“Then she’s not a saintess at all, is she?”
At last, the truth behind the truth was laid bare.
At the same moment, sharp gazes crashed over her like a wave. They became arrows, piercing straight through Rachel.
“But what is this? You clearly said you could feel demonic energy!”
“You burned my little sister! You called her a Black Apostle!”
“Give me back my mother!”
Finally, a massive wave of resentment erupted.
The intense hostility, murderous intent, and sense of betrayal, combined with the scorching heat of the crowd, made Rachel’s legs tremble violently.
This can’t be happening.
It was all lies.
Rachel fumbled with lips that wouldn’t stop twitching.
“Th-that’s impossible! I—”
“Then shall we have you prove it?”
At Canna’s subtle signal, Claude brought forward a basket overflowing with bread. It was rye bread.
“The lord’s daughter should prove it for us right here.”
Then he smiled with utmost gentleness.
“Or do you lack the confidence?”
He was throwing Rachel’s own words from the previous night right back at her.
“If Lady Rachel is truly the saintess, and if the villagers truly suffered from madness caused by the Black Apostles, then eating this rye bread should cause her no harm whatsoever.”
The residents immediately shouted.
“That’s right! Prove it!”
“Eat the bread right now, where we can all see!”
“Prove it immediately!”
“Prove it! Prove it!”
The deafening roar battered her ears, draining the color from Rachel’s face. Canna watched the fragile sight with cold, emotionless eyes.
This was no different from a public execution.
Countless people had been burned at the stake because of the delusional ramblings of one woman. No matter that she was the lord’s daughter, she would not escape punishment.
I didn’t intend to go this far.
At first, she had thought the woman was foolishly kind.
She had simply been driven by shallow vanity, excessive self-consciousness, delusion, and ignorance-born false belief.
That in itself was undoubtedly a sin, but Canna had still wanted to give her a chance. A chance to reflect on herself.
But you kicked it away.
You even tried to brand me as a Black Apostle and have me killed.
If she had been an ordinary, powerless villager, she would have been hung upside down from a tree and burned alive.
Just like the countless innocents who had already died that way.
That was why she felt no mercy toward her.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and eat.”
Rachel’s arms shook like aspen leaves. Her eyes spun wildly.
What do I do? What am I supposed to do?
Sir Jerome, wake up. Come to your senses.
What should I do now?
Sir Jerome was the first person to ever call me a saintess.
Sir Jerome was the one who first taught me about my abilities.
Crunch!
Rachel bit down hard on the flesh inside her mouth. The dizzying pain snapped her mind back into focus.
“Purification Ceremony?”
Sir Jerome’s voice.
The firm voice that had awakened her powers, guided her through the start of the Purification Ceremony, and steadied her whenever she wavered. Recalling it calmed her heart.
Yes. I am the saintess.
I am the one who has purified this village all this time.
Canna Valentino is an evil demon, a Black Apostle. She is inciting these foolish villagers!
“Very well!”
Rachel thrust out her hand with dignity.
“I will prove it!”
She snatched up the rye bread roughly and shoved it into her mouth.
Ugh.
It tasted awful.
It was so terribly unpleasant that she had never once touched it in her entire life. It was the same garbage-like bread she had taken a single bite of as a child and immediately spat out.
Yet Rachel chewed and swallowed one piece after another—two, three, four—until her stomach felt like it would burst, all while making a show of it.
It was all for the sake of the villagers!
To save those poor souls who had been deceived by the Black Apostle!
“Huff… huff…”
She ate until her belly was so full she could barely breathe.
“Oh dear, you ate far too much. The effects will appear quickly thanks to that, but the side effects besides the hallucinations will be quite severe…”
As Canna muttered something incomprehensible beside her—
Boom! The sky split open.
“……Ah!”
Rachel looked up in shock. And then she witnessed a miracle.
A brilliant radiance of seven colors poured down. The dazzling light was so intense it seemed it would blind her!
“Aaaah!”
The next moment, a massive tree root descended from the heavens.
The instant it touched the ground, boom! The earth shook. The violent tremor knocked Rachel off balance and she fell. With a face drained of all color, she stared at the tree.
The enormous tree that had come down from the sky—it was the World Tree!
“Th-the World Tree……!”
The World Tree split open as if cleaved in two, and from within it, spirits of light burst forth. They fluttered around her, wrapping her entire body.
“Saintess, oh saintess.”
“Please merge with the World Tree, saintess.”
“Become the next Holy Spirit.”
“The World Tree is calling for you, saintess.”
“Please purify the western continent.”
The spirits whispered as they lifted Rachel up. Her body floated gently into the air. A dizzying sense of weightlessness escaped her as a cry of joy.
“Aah!”
She soared high into the sky and was finally embraced by the World Tree. Its sacred branches wrapped around her body.
Th-this is it!
This was the Purification Ceremony that the Holy Spirit was said to perform.
“Yes. I will save this world. I will purify the demons……!”
Rachel spread both arms wide, accepting the World Tree.
An unbearable ecstasy burst from within her chest. Tears streamed down her face. They were tears of joy.
Sir Jerome had been right.
I truly was the saintess.
I was destined to become the Holy Spirit……!
“I am the Holy Spirit! I am the Holy Spirit!”
And everyone watched the scene in stunned silence.
“……”
The sight of her rolling around on the platform, shedding tears as she searched for the spirits, then spreading her arms and gazing up at the sky.
“I am the Holy Spirit! Ahahaha, I am the Holy Spirit!”
She looked like a madwoman.
Just like the countless villagers who had suffered from madness.
“……F-fraud!”
At that moment, someone among the villagers shouted.
“She’s a fraud! A fraud!”
“She deceived us!”
“She pretended to be a saintess and killed my sister!”
The voices of anger that had fallen like raindrops gradually swelled into a roaring downpour.
“Witch! That woman is a witch!”
“Burn the witch at the stake!”
Then someone began throwing stones.
“Die, you murderer!”
“Die!”
“You’re a fraud!”
Dozens of stones flew toward the platform.
Rachel was struck in the arms, legs, and head, blood streaming down her face, yet she continued to smile. She felt no pain at all.
“Worship me! I am the Holy Spirit!”
She simply spread her arms wide and spat out those deranged cries.
Rachel had eaten far too much bread.
The rye bread had already been laced with a drug that intensified its toxicity, yet she had devoured every last piece that had been prepared.
Not only will she experience hallucinations, but other side effects are likely to appear as well.
Still, it had been an unavoidable choice.
To show the villagers, she needed to be poisoned immediately.
People with exceptionally strong immune systems did not succumb easily to rye bread contaminated with ergot fungus, or their symptoms remained mild.
The high priest had no choice but to become addicted after eating nothing but rye bread for days, but Rachel’s time was limited.
To end fifteen years of murderous madness and reveal the truth to the villagers, this was the only way.
The islanders, upon learning the truth, were furious.
Their rage did not subside even after Rachel was dragged off to prison by Kalen’s men.
Of course not. If this isn’t handled properly, they’ll grab their pickaxes and start a revolt.
It was only natural after fifteen long years of executing innocent villagers.
From what she had heard, the lord had declared that he would divide his wealth as an apology.
He would open the fishery he had monopolized as a public facility and fairly distribute fishing rights among the villagers. Something like that.
Did he really think such gestures could quell their fury? The dead could never return.
It doesn’t seem like they’ll let it go that easily.
Whether the villagers’ anger could truly be calmed remained to be seen.
But that is no longer any concern of mine.
She had completed everything she needed to do.
The emperor’s spiteful order to investigate whether the island village was afflicted by disease had been resolved.
Now all that remained was to return and proceed with the divorce.