Chapter 94
Making Use of Her
“If you truly feel sorry, would you do me one favor?”
The sudden request puzzled Shaperia, but inwardly, she was delighted.
She had been given a chance to ease the burden on her conscience.
She answered resolutely,
“Please ask me anything. If it is within my power, I will do everything I can to help.”
Johan smiled in satisfaction.
“I appreciate your kindness. For now, let us continue this conversation elsewhere.”
There were too many people listening in the village hall.
They needed somewhere quieter.
Johan and Shaperia left the hall.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere suitable to receive her.
Under normal circumstances, he would have used the lord’s castle’s reception room, but that was currently impossible.
The castle had been completely wrecked.
He could hardly show Shaperia the half-destroyed building.
Where should we go?
After some consideration, Johan chose the village church.
The church was empty.
Even the position of priest was vacant.
There would be almost no one coming and going at this hour.
Johan and Shaperia sat beside each other on a pew in the prayer hall.
Looking toward the pentagram above the altar, Shaperia made the sign of the cross.
“Saint Margiel, may the Great Saint’s grace be with the baronial family.”
Johan also made the sign of the cross.
“Saint Margiel.”
Shaperia looked at him.
“By the way, Baron, has something happened at the castle?”
Access to the lord’s castle had been completely restricted.
Even the castle’s servants were living in the village.
They were having their conversation in the village church rather than the castle’s reception room.
Anyone would assume that something had happened there.
Johan’s expression rapidly darkened.
He began to act.
“...The truth is, we were attacked.”
Shaperia’s eyes widened.
“What? Wh-Who would dare commit such sacrilege?”
House Myatro might now be nothing more than a baronial family on the frontier, but it had once been the most prestigious house on the entire continent.
Five hundred years ago, the Myatro family had been entrusted with a sacred mission directly by the Moon.
As the Moon’s Eye, they were charged with watching over the Abyss.
Several privileges had been granted to them because of this sacred duty.
The foremost among them was the Treaty of Absolute Nonaggression.
Under that divine command, no group on the continent was ever permitted to attack House Myatro.
Originally, even political pressure against the family had been prohibited.
Although the treaty had become largely nominal, its basic framework still remained.
At the very least, no one had used physical force against House Myatro in five hundred years.
According to Johan, that treaty had now been broken.
Shaperia was understandably shocked.
“It was a demon that attacked the castle,” Johan said.
Shaperia shot to her feet.
“I will contact the Central Church immediately!”
An extermination force would be assembled at once.
That absolutely could not be allowed to happen.
Johan gently tugged on Shaperia’s arm.
“Sir Shaperia, please calm down and hear me out first.”
“But...”
“Please.”
The moment she saw Johan’s composed expression, Shaperia regained her calm.
She sat back down.
“Understood. Please continue.”
Johan nodded.
“The demon that attacked the castle is dead.”
Relief spread across Shaperia’s face.
“As expected of the clan charged with watching over the Abyss. You vanquished that wicked fiend.”
Johan spoke with a bitter expression.
“It was not resolved through my family’s power. Fortunately, the Third Prince happened to be staying at the castle when the attack occurred. He was the one who slew the demon.”
“By the Third Prince, do you mean His Highness Prince Gawain?”
“That is correct. Without him, House Myatro would likely have suffered a devastating blow.”
Shaperia exclaimed in admiration.
“The Great Saint truly aided you. The Moon must have guided His Highness Gawain to the baronial estate.”
She connected everything to her god.
It was precisely the sort of conclusion one would expect from a zealot.
Johan inwardly marveled at her response before continuing.
“I agree. But cruelly enough, the Moon also granted me a trial.”
“A trial?”
“Yes. A serious problem has arisen. Just before the demon died, it placed a terrible curse upon the Third Prince.”
Shaperia swallowed dryly.
“What sort of curse...?”
“His Highness is turning into a demon.”
Shaperia’s pupils expanded dramatically.
“Is that true?!”
Johan nodded calmly.
“It is the absolute truth. Even now, His Highness is fighting against the evil within him, but to be honest, his condition is poor. It is only a matter of time before the demonic nature consumes him.”
Shaperia could not conceal her distress.
She fidgeted anxiously before speaking.
“W-We must contact the Central Church immediately. They must have some way to treat him.”
Johan shook his head.
“We absolutely cannot do that. The moment word of his corruption gets out, His Highness will not be allowed to live.”
Shaperia looked unable to understand.
“Why would that be?”
“Because of politics. Count Staviana would use this opportunity to eliminate the Third Prince for good. As you know, the kingdom’s Central Church is in the Count’s grasp.”
The idea that the sacred Order was being manipulated by the Count was deeply blasphemous, but Shaperia could not bring herself to deny it.
Her expression darkened.
“Why would His Excellency the Count want to kill His Highness?”
Shaperia knew little about politics.
Johan answered calmly,
“The Count drove the Third Prince away so that his own maternal grandson, the Seventh Prince, could become crown prince. However, he failed to kill him. The Count will use this opportunity to finish what he started.”
Gawain was already branded an unfilial son who had killed his own mother.
Now, he was also a blasphemer transforming into a demon.
It was the perfect foundation upon which to pile every conceivable false accusation.
With only a little effort from the Count, Gawain would be transported to the Empire without even receiving treatment.
As a member of the royal family, his life might be spared, but he would never be permitted to return to the outside world.
He would live a life worse than death.
Shaperia tried to deny reality.
“I-If we explain the situation properly, the Order will surely find a solution. No matter how influential the Count may be...”
Johan cut her off firmly.
“Blind faith will solve nothing. Face reality. The Order’s leadership is corrupt. You must have realized that yourself on more than one occasion.”
Johan’s words were true.
The Order was far from clean.
It had made deals with countless politicians.
Shaperia swallowed a groan.
“...I cannot deny that. But Baron, please understand that there are still devout people among them.”
Johan clicked his tongue.
“The problem is that the more virtuous they are, the less influence they tend to wield within the Order.”
Shaperia’s expression sank.
“You make it sound as though there is truly no way to treat His Highness.”
Johan replied calmly,
“No. I merely mean that I have no intention of relying on the Order. I asked for your help a moment ago, did I not?”
Shaperia gave him a puzzled look.
“You require my help to treat His Highness?”
“That is correct. If you lend me your strength, the curse afflicting His Highness can be dispelled.”
Shaperia lacked confidence.
She replied in a subdued voice,
“As you know, Baron, I have lost all my power. How could someone like me possibly help His Highness?”
Both her divine power and her Authority had been taken from her.
She was now effectively an ordinary person.
Johan shook his head.
“You are one of the Great Saint’s favored children. That fact alone is enough for you to help His Highness.”
Several people in this world had been born with the Great Saint’s favor.
Shaperia and Gawain were among them.
Near the end of The Chronicles of Man and Demon, there had been an episode in which the favored children shared their flesh and souls with one another.
If Johan made good use of that setting, he might be able to stop Gawain’s corruption.
Doubt appeared on Shaperia’s face.
“I cannot even begin to imagine what method you have in mind.”
“There is no time to explain the details right now. First, I need to confirm your resolve. Sir Shaperia, are you prepared to help His Highness? You may have to make a certain degree of personal sacrifice.”
Shaperia answered immediately, without even a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course. Simply tell me my role. I will do everything in my power to help.”
Johan had known she would agree.
He was extremely satisfied.
Suppressing a smile, he spoke calmly.
“To begin with, you will accompany me into the Abyss. There is a way to treat His Highness in the Second Region.”
Tension appeared on Shaperia’s face.
“The Abyss...?”
Johan smiled gently.
“Are you afraid?”
Shaperia immediately denied it.
“No. As long as the Moon remains, I have nothing to fear.”
Johan chuckled.
“Good. Let us go see His Highness first.”
He needed to show Shaperia Gawain’s condition.
That would make her believe Johan’s story completely.
Johan rose from his seat.
Shaperia stood as well.
“Where is His Highness now?”
“We are sheltering him in the castle. Try not to be too shocked when you see him.”
The two immediately headed toward the lord’s castle.
“Wh-What in the world happened here...?”
Shaperia could not close her mouth after seeing the castle’s interior.
It had been half-destroyed, as though a war had been fought within its walls.
“It should be better down here.”
Johan led Shaperia into the underground study.
The study itself was relatively intact, but it possessed a strangely chilling atmosphere.
“...I didn’t know the castle had a place like this.”
She had never gone underground during her stay two months ago.
For some strange reason, her steps had never brought her here.
Even now, she felt much the same.
The space itself inspired discomfort.
Perhaps because they were underground, clammy moisture clung to her skin, while the dense darkness filled her with ominous thoughts.
Was it her imagination?
She thought she could smell blood.
As she continued glancing around, Johan chuckled.
“The atmosphere will change once we descend another level. Please bear with it for a little longer.”
“There is another level beneath this one?”
Johan stopped before a round table.
“That is correct. You have probably heard of the Forbidden Archive of the Abyss.”
Shaperia’s eyes widened.
“It truly exists?”
—Somewhere in the Myatro territory, the kingdom’s treasure vault lies dormant.
By now, it was regarded as little more than a myth.
Johan snapped his fingers.
“The Forbidden Archive is our destination.”
At that moment, a man emerged from the darkness.
He was a gaunt, middle-aged man.
With a servile expression, he spoke to Johan.
“S-Son. I was already waiting for you.”
It was Grian.
He had once been the Watcher of the Abyss.
Now, he was nothing more than Johan’s puppet.
Johan smiled warmly.
“Yes, Father. I have business in the Forbidden Archive.”
“Then hurry and climb aboard.”
Johan sat at the round table and addressed Shaperia.
“Sir Shaperia, come over here.”
Shaperia was seized by an inexplicable sense of unease.
Why had Grian grown so thin, and what purpose did that ominous-looking round table serve?
Shaperia had no way of knowing.
She hesitantly approached Johan.
Johan abruptly pulled her onto the round table and seated her.
“W-Wait a moment!”
Grian placed his palm against the Golden Mirror Stone.
Now that Raguel had become a high elf, Grian was the only one capable of activating it.
The instant the stone recognized the Myatro bloodline, the round table began to descend.
Shaperia’s scream thundered throughout the chamber.