Chapter 23

#023 Handling (2)

"Let's sit down and talk."

I guided the Duchess to the flower and vine staircase that Demi had created. Although the place where I had walked down wasn't very clean, there was no immediate seating available on the balcony. Fortunately, the Duchess was the kind of person who didn't mind such things.

I left the prince to his own devices.

"Hmm, well. The last confession was... two months ago."

The Duchess cleared her throat and began to speak. I nodded silently and unfolded the circle.

[Now, please reveal your sins.]

My voice echoed through the night air. I could feel a slight amount of ether leaving my body.

The sanctuary drew geometric patterns, encircling the three people and a divine beast.

The Duchess seemed to lose herself for a moment in the golden glow.

Demi, sensing the ether, climbed down from my shoulder and sat on my lap.

I quietly waited for the Duchess to begin her confession.

I planned to gather as much information as possible and return to the Juliette Palace.

"Simon, my husband... loved our daughter dearly. I felt the same way."

Her eyes seemed to recall a moment from the past.

A gentle smile appeared on her lips as she thought of Cristel.

"On the day I became a part of the Sarnez family, I realized something. The child... was more like me than I had thought. Though we shared no blood, Cristel and I had similarities. We were both quiet, very shy, and struggled with self-expression..."

I nodded.

The 'real' Cristel, who had not been possessed, was said to be such a person.

"Living as a Duchess in the vast castle was lonely. Simon was a good husband, but he was very busy. Despite knowing this when I married him, it was still very difficult... but having the child made it bearable."

The Duchess smiled brightly.

She quickly wiped away a tear with a handkerchief.

As she began to talk about her daughter, some color returned to her pale face.

"At that time, Cristel was eight, and I was twenty-two."

I tried to suppress a frown.

I knew that in this world, sixteen was considered an adult, but as a Korean, I found it too young.

I couldn't even imagine the burden she must have felt becoming a Duchess at the age of twenty-three by our standards.

"Every moment I spent with the child was happy. We didn't go out much, and we were often criticized for it... but the picnics we had together, the small concerts we held, and the times we cooked together... all of it felt like a gift. I thought of Cristel as a wedding gift."

The Duchess wiped away her tears.

Ganael had heard two rumors about her.

One of them was that she was a 'typical stepmother.'

But that expression was one that only someone who truly cared and loved could show.

Or perhaps the Duchess had the acting skills of an academy graduate.

"Didn't you say you were confessing?"

At that moment, a cold, deep voice pierced my ear.

The prince, with his long legs crossed and leaning against the railing, was looking at me and the Duchess with a cold gaze.

"I don't enjoy melodramas."

[Your Highness.]

"Your Highness, I'm fine. Your words are just and true."

I was about to say something to the prince for interrupting, but the Duchess stopped me.

"I was just giving a long introduction. The... incident began after Cristel fell ill."

She continued, pausing occasionally.

"His Majesty the Emperor sent a physician with the grace of the sea... and my husband summoned all the famous doctors of the empire to treat Cristel for three years. But since there were no signs of her illness, no one could wake her. One doctor said that perhaps she would... sleep forever..."

"So you used the blessing of the sea?"

Prince Cedric asked sharply.

I thought he had abandoned his manners and that he already knew the Sarnez family's relic had disappeared.

"That's why... when it was said that no one could cure her with medicine, magic, or the healing powers of the priests, I thought I should pray at the 'Temple of the Border' for the first time."

[Are you saying you stole the national relic?]

Surprised, I asked, but she shook her head.

"I remembered the legend that if you pray with 'Blood Desire' at the Temple of the Border, the deity will grant your wish. When I suggested going there, my husband... brought a lot of monster blood. He said he wouldn't stop hunting monsters until he saved our daughter."

As a parent, he had no choice.

Desperation and a glimmer of hope made him believe in ancient scriptures.

At that moment, the shallow sympathy and harsh words of others didn't matter.

"But just before we set out for the temple, we heard it had been stolen. The relic was gone, and no one could approach the place for a while. I... was devastated. I was discouraged before even trying... The next day, my husband suggested we should let her go. It would be better to let her go..."

Prince Cedric sighed softly.

If I interpreted it correctly, the Duke of Sarnez suggested euthanasia for his daughter.

"I asked for a day to think... and I stayed by the child's side all day. Then I thought of the blessing of the sea. If I couldn't go to the Temple of the Border, I would use the family relic... as a last resort..."

My eyes widened. The prince frowned.

"So,"

[Did you pray to the blessing of the sea?]

"My husband doesn't know, Your Highness. It was my decision."

She added hastily.

"I secretly swapped the sapphire and the relic I received as a wedding gift. I intended to place them by the child and pray. It was only for a moment. But..."

Her eyes shook uncontrollably.

"A blue light shot out from the relic and poured over my daughter. I truly believed the deity had granted my wish. It was a miracle. I hugged the awakened Cristel, overjoyed... but the blessing of the sea was gone. And then..."

I quickly pieced together the situation.

The blessing of the sea, which should have been used as a wedding gift for the prince and Cristel, disappeared early because the Duchess had prayed for her daughter's life.

It was a plot straight out of an old Disney movie, but from the author's perspective, Cristel had to wake up.

The author had to tweak the plot to make it plausible.

"The child didn't recognize me."

[Hmm.]

It was a natural result. She was Cristel, but not 'Cristel.'

But for the Duchess, it was far from natural.

"At first, I thought it was because her body wasn't fully healed. My daughter had lost her memory and knew less... My husband said the awakened child had 'grown up,' but I disagree."

The Duchess's lips trembled.

I heard that the newly possessed Cristel had struggled to adapt at first.

After all, it was a sudden drop into a different world for her.

"Perhaps, I prayed too much to the relic... and as a result, Cristel was cursed for my greed and failure to understand the deity's will."

"Is that a sincere question?"

Prince Cedric spoke before I could.

"The deity's curse is never light. If you're trying to use the word 'curse' as a shield to lessen your burden..."

[Your Highness, please wait.]

I stopped him. The prince looked displeased but didn't speak again.

[Duchess, why do you think that? Perhaps the princess is showing signs of delirium due to her long illness.]

"No, my daughter... has developed a terrifying ability. She can control water with her fingertips. I saw a large water droplet move according to her will right before my eyes."

So, this is where the story leads. My gaze met the prince's.

Several emotions quickly rose and fell in his orange eyes.

"I told her first. I said I had committed a great sin to save her, and that I should have been punished, but it was her instead... Then Cristel said this."

She laughed a little, sounding somewhat defeated.

"Why is this a curse when someone who was practically dead has come back to life? Stop crying. If the sin is that she swallowed the relic needed by the royal family, she will pay the price herself..."

It was a bold and spirited line, fitting for a protagonist that Eunseo had loved so much.

But tears streamed down the Duchess's face. She buried her face in her handkerchief.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. My greed has hurt many people. Cristel and my husband, and even Your Highness... I heard that the gift was essential for Your Highness, but I..."

The prince's expression was blank.

I couldn't tell if he thought it was a thing of the past or if he was hiding his anger.

I repeated the words I had heard several times to remember them.

Then I took a deep breath.

[May the merciful deity forgive the Duchess for any lies she has confessed to me.]

The balcony was silent. The sanctuary showed no reaction.

I finally smiled.

[Everything you've said is the truth. Thank you.]

The Duchess's mouth opened wide in surprise. The prince made a sound of disbelief.

Detecting lies through confession. It was something I had learned from Cardinal Boutier.

If she had lied, the sanctuary would have reacted with an ether response, cleansing the Duchess's sins, but everything she had said was true.

[I'm sorry, but I had to be prepared for any lies.]

I smiled wryly.

[And I don't think you have sinned. You had no intention of destroying the relic, and you only