Chapter 114
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 114
Hailon fell silent for a moment.
He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again.
And he asked in return.
"...Me?"
It wasn't true, of course, but Chesa pretended it was for now.
"Yes."
It was something she'd blurted out in panic, yet it seemed to work surprisingly well.
Because Hailon didn't press further.
Instead of questioning her specifically, he shifted his gaze elsewhere for a moment.
Chesa blinked as she watched him press the back of his hand against his lips.
It was because a faint blush seemed to tint Hailon's face.
The subtle change vanished quickly.
He returned to his usual expression.
Yet despite his impassive face, the atmosphere had shifted considerably from before.
The coldness that had lingered had dissipated.
With something almost tender settling over him, Chesa felt oddly unsettled.
Hailon, softened by a single word, rebuked her bluntly.
"Why did you come all the way here so recklessly? You should have done what you usually do."
"Butterflies can't enter the Holy Empire."
Whenever I needed to contact him, I would often create butterflies and send them flying.
But even for me, it was impossible to smuggle butterflies into the Holy Empire.
A butterfly fluttering about in such a pristine white place would be far too conspicuous.
It would be captured before it ever reached Hailon.
Chesa stepped closer to Hailon.
Since things had come to this anyway, I decided to ask what I was curious about.
"I heard the Holy Empire conducts experiments on fairies. Do you know anything about it?"
"...."
But the moment the question left her lips, Hailon's demeanor turned cold again.
He muttered briefly.
"So that was your real purpose."
Chesa stared at Hailon with an incredulous expression.
She had no idea why he was suddenly acting this way.
Hailon narrowed his eyes to slits as he spoke.
"So you didn't sneak all the way here because you coveted the crown."
"Ah, well. The crown isn't really... I just came to take a look."
I answered offhandedly while glancing sideways at the crown.
The crown, which had been singing merrily, fell silent the moment Chesa touched it.
As if it had achieved its desired purpose.
Chesa toyed with the hem of her dress as it fluttered and draped, and she speculated.
Was the crown's purpose to transform me?
I recalled the pain I felt when I touched the crown and swallowed a sigh.
In any case, the situation was troublesome in many ways.
What if I can't return to being a baby?
Naturally, returning to an adult body was welcome.
I had worried I might live as a baby forever.
But the problem was that this happened in the middle of the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony.
Hata's potion might not work properly in this situation.
Since the potion to return to adulthood didn't work, there was a high possibility the potion to turn into a baby wouldn't work either.
Even if I tried drinking it, making the potion would take time, so it wasn't a method I could use immediately.
The biggest problem was the men of House Basilian.
They said they were in a meeting about a serious matter, but they wouldn't cling to it forever.
No matter how long it stretched, it would end before sunrise.
Kieran and one of the three brothers would definitely sneak into Chesa's bedroom.
But if they discovered I was gone...
Imagining the future for a moment, my vision grew distant.
"...Regarding that matter."
Then I came to my senses belatedly at Hailon's voice.
Hailon spoke while gazing intently at me.
"There was something I wanted to ask."
I had been ready to just run away if he brought up more nonsense about being a daughter or whatever.
But he brought up something normal for once.
"If there were fairies within the Holy Empire... could you possibly find them?"
My eyes widened.
Hailon continued slowly, studying my surprised face.
"You've heard the story that those who receive the Holy King's blessing gain holy power, haven't you?"
I was well aware of the story—how Holy Knights without innate holy power received the Holy King's blessing and gained strong holy power to handle sacred relics.
It was also an anecdote that had been heavily promoted in Hilderd to recruit Holy Knights.
"That's not a miracle achieved through blessing. It's simply theft from others."
"...!"
"They gathered those with holy power and stole their holy power to create superior Holy Knights. But it was limited to Holy Knights..."
Injecting another's holy power was done only on Holy Knights—and only on those strong enough to receive sacred relics.
Without a robust body to support it, one couldn't endure the process of holy power injection.
"Recently, cases have been confirmed where those with weak bodies received holy power injection."
I could tell immediately upon hearing it.
It was Prince Remil.
Until now, there had been no member of the Hebaton Royal Family with holy power, yet Remil was born with unexpectedly strong power.
The way he struggled to use holy power with a body that looked ready to collapse at any moment was certainly unnatural.
As if handling something that wasn't his own.
"During the process of injecting holy power, something else must have been mixed in to allow the body to withstand it."
"You're saying that seems to be the power of a Fairy?"
At the perceptive question, Hailon nodded in affirmation.
Chesa bit her lip.
"...What if, though."
She whispered while gazing at the pristine white Holy Knight uniform he wore.
"What if the Holy King orchestrated all of this? Then you would..."
Her voice trembled despite her efforts to contain it.
"What would you do...?"
Hailon was the Holy King's blade.
Since his master was Sianor, he might betray Chesa at the critical moment.
However, unlike Chesa, who suppressed her turbulent emotions before speaking, Hailon's response was composed.
"If he committed acts that defied the will of God, then he must face judgment. That is the duty of the Heretic Inquisitor."
"...."
"Lichesia."
He turned the question back to Chesa instead.
"Why do you think I would choose the Holy King?"
"...That's..."
"Just as you placed me first."
Speaking softly as though upholding an absolute law that could never be broken, Hailon continued.
"I have also placed you first."
***
In the very distant past.
The Black Forest came into being.
Strange and grotesque monsters infested that place, and their power was so formidable that humans found them nearly impossible to confront.
The Holy Empire Hilderd dispatched its finest knights and priests to purify the Black Forest, but they failed.
The endless tide of monsters threatened to engulf the entire continent at any moment.
It was then that House Basilian, whose domain encompassed the Black Forest, succeeded in subjugating some of the monsters.
They accomplished what the Holy Knights and priests could not.
For reasons unknown, the power wielded by those bearing Basilian blood inflicted far greater devastation upon the monsters than holy power itself.
Only those belonging to Basilian could completely vanquish the forest's monsters.
Thus, the Holy King of the Holy Empire summoned the head of House Basilian and issued a command.
To guard the Black Forest so that the monsters would not spread across the continent.
Basilian faithfully accepted the order, and in exchange, was guaranteed the safety of the Underworld.
The Holy Empire promised never to interfere with the Underworld, and tacitly acknowledged that Basilian was its master.
Yet centuries had passed.
"Now we're the ones at a loss."
House Basilian no longer wished to slumber beneath the surface.
They desired to expose the secrets they had hidden all this time and make their name resound across the continent.
"After dutifully serving the Holy Empire's commands for so long and enduring such hardship, the compensation was far too meager. So shouldn't we begin collecting our due, bit by bit, from this point forward?"
Count Basilian, Kieran, spoke with a subtle smile to his sons.
Belzeon narrowed his eyes and responded.
"So that's the Fairy Queen's crown."
"Precisely. Even the Holy King will find it difficult to ignore us...."
Kieran trailed off and turned his gaze toward the door.
Belzeon and the Twins followed suit, turning their heads to look in the direction of the entrance.
A moment later.
"Cardinal Milliod has come to call upon you."
The servant announced the unexpected midnight visitor in a tense voice.
Kieran swallowed a scoff.
He must have sensed something amiss in the exchange between the Holy King and Kieran and rushed over in haste.
I was curious what he intended to say.
Whatever nonsense he might spout, I had no intention of yielding victory....
"The adopted child you brought in."
Cardinal Milliod's opening remark proved quite intriguing.
"Do you know who his biological father is?"
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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