Chapter 72

“What do you mean by that…”

“I thought he would save my life since you said he would play a crucial role in it, but it turned out to be the exact opposite.”

At this point, the Saintess’s options were limited. If there was more to the book’s content, she would be blamed for not revealing it then. If there wasn’t, she would still lose control of the conversation. An oracle might just be an oracle, but her followers believed in it blindly, and now there was a precedent where following it could have cost someone their life. This could cause problems not only for the Holy Empire but also for other countries planning to make it their state religion.

“Unfortunately, no…”

As expected. Edelis, feeling a sense of victory for seizing control of the conversation, pretended to drink her tea to hide her rising smirk.

“You should be careful too, Saintess, to think there’s such a scary person among your followers.”

“That, that can’t be! There’s no one like that among our followers…!”

She wouldn’t dare say there weren’t. Because many people must have seen Berman Pasis going in and out of the temple.

“Just in case, I was thinking we should limit the worship for a while.”

“No! There’s no need for that!”

“What are you talking about, Saintess? There’s no guarantee that the culprit won’t target another person.”

“But Her Majesty the Empress is the Empress!”

“Are you saying I was targeted because I’m the Empress?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. No one would target ordinary people who come to our temple.”

“Don’t many nobles also come to the temple? They could be targeted too. In that case, maybe we should limit only the nobles from coming for their safety.”

The Saintess’s face grew darker. The numerous donations from nobles who came to the temple were what sustained it. If they didn’t come, the donations would obviously not be collected. Nobles enjoyed ruling over commoners. That’s why commoner followers were essential, and to gather them, the temple would provide meals or free medical care for a small number of them. If only commoners came and no nobles, it meant they would have to continue providing meals and free medical care without any donations. How long could the temple be sustained like that?

‘Moreover, if the Empire does that, neighboring countries will follow suit, reducing the total amount of donations going to the Holy Empire.’

Furthermore, many countries were already displeased that they had only provided medicine to the Cronad Empire. So, this would obviously be a bigger blow to the Holy Empire. There was still not enough evidence that the Saintess was the client, but this much pressure was possible. The Empress of the Cronad Empire, the largest country on the continent, had almost died. All because she followed the contents of an oracle.

“We will do that.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Do not worry too much, as it will be lifted once the true culprit is caught and proven to be safe,” Lehan said in a kind tone, as if he was trying to soothe the Saintess. Edelis knew that this was putting more pressure on the Saintess, but she was still annoyed for some reason. She tried to calm herself down.

‘Yes, if the Saintess is really the true culprit, it will only end when she’s caught. It’s not a good thing for the Saintess. But I hate it when Lehan is kind to the Saintess!’

“T-the true culprit? Wasn’t Sir Pasis caught?”

“Berman Pasis said that there’s a client. And since he has been stripped of his knighthood, you shouldn’t call him Sir Pasis either, Saintess.”

“…”

“Anyway, Berman Pasis is claiming there’s a client, so please bear with it until that person is caught.”

But if the Saintess was indeed the true culprit, as Edelis suspected, it would never be lifted.

“Oh, Saintess. By any chance…”

Edelis hesitated, speaking with reluctance. The Saintess was afraid of what Edelis was going to say next. But Edelis had no intention of stopping the pressure. Before, the Saintess had made the Emperor, who was already married to the Empress, her ally and had him personally plunge a knife into the Empress’s heart. So, she couldn’t let her guard down. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lehan, but the Saintess might reach out to someone or somewhere else besides Lehan.

“Berman Pasis was looking for you, wasn’t he?”

“Oh, yes, he was.”

The Saintess answered, avoiding Edelis’s eyes. It was probably embarrassing for her that a heinous criminal, who was sure to face the death penalty, was looking for her. And many were aware that he had visited the temple multiple times.

“Do you know why he was looking for you?”

“W-well, I don’t know.”

The Saintess denied it in a hurry, and she seemed more anxious than before. It was satisfying to see that the pressure was starting to work. When people get anxious, they tend to make mistakes they wouldn’t normally make. So, Edelis waited for the Saintess to make a mistake. She scattered bait in the form of pressure, hoping to catch the big fish that was the Saintess.

“He said it was to pray, but it’s hard to believe him.”

“Didn’t he say anything else?”

“Anything else?”

“Oh, no. I was just asking if he said anything else related to the case.”

He had said a lot of things related to the case. Berman Pasis hadn’t expected Edelis to escape, so he had said things that could serve as hints. That was what made her certain that the Saintess was involved in the case.

“Something related to the case? Do you have any idea?”

“No! It’s just such a big case that I was curious!”

“Oh, I thought you weren’t very interested since you refused to meet Pasis.”

“I… I was just so shocked that someone I knew would commit such a terrible act…”

Edelis was sure that the Saintess wasn’t as shocked as she was. She felt like she couldn’t trust anyone anymore. Was Lehan the only one she could trust?

“Right. But Pasis asked me a lot of things.”

“Pasis was very interested in Her Majesty the Empress.”

With just one sentence, the Saintess tried to speak favorably of Pasis. She did this because she didn’t know what conversation Berman Pasis and Edelis had. But Edelis knew that he was only pretending to be interested in her and that he was only interested in how to kill her.

“Interested? That’s not it at all.”

“It’s not? He told me several times that he had feelings for Her Majesty the Empress…”

“Pasis asked about you, Saintess.”

Edelis, who had been listening to what the Saintess had to say, couldn’t bear it and cut her off. She knew it was rude, but the Saintess was the one who was rude first.

‘She’s talking about another man being interested in me in front of my husband?!’

Thankfully, she had told Lehan about the conversation with Pasis last night, so there was no misunderstanding. She unconsciously glanced at Lehan, but he didn’t seem to be bothered.

‘Did the Saintess bring it up on purpose? To change the subject?’

But it wouldn’t work. It seemed like she was trying to change the topic to draw a line and show that she wasn’t involved, but Edelis had no intention of letting her off that easily.

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say about me?”

“I’m sorry, it’s information obtained during an interrogation, so it’s difficult to tell you.”

“…”

Edelis quietly drank her tea, waiting for the Saintess to speak. The simple statement, “Berman Pasis talked about you,” was enough to make her anxious. Even if Berman Pasis didn’t say everything about her, as long as he had revealed a part of it, the Saintess would be worried that he would soon tell the rest. Edelis deliberately sighed loudly. Then, Lehan asked, as Edelis had intended.

“What’s wrong, Edelis?”

“It’s just, talking about Pasis makes me feel sad again.”

“…Should I kill him?”

“No! There are still more things to hear from him.”

Edelis didn’t forget to speak in a way that the Saintess would hear. She wanted to pressure the Saintess more using Pasis, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she decided to back down for now. There were other ways to pressure the Saintess.

“Besides, I lost the book… I need to know where the book is.”

“The Knights Commander went back to the place you were at, but he said it wasn’t there.”

“Yes, and you were so interested in the book, Saintess, and I can’t even show it to you now.”

She had no intention of showing it to her at all! But she was curious. Whether the Saintess could see the book or not. It was highly likely she couldn’t.

“Don’t mind me, Your Majesty. After all the trouble you’ve gone through…”

“But you said you wanted to see it the afternoon before, Saintess.”

“That’s true, but it’s okay now.”

It’s okay now? Why would it be okay now? Maybe the Saintess had already gotten her hands on the book? If so, there would be a lot to talk about with the Saintess. But before that, she needed to find out if the Saintess could see the book and reveal that she had kidnapped her. So, for now, she had to reveal the truth.

“It just so happened that I was carrying the book with me when that happened.”

“But Edelis, if you were the target, wouldn’t they have just taken you and left the book?”

“Maybe the client was very interested in my book.”

“…”

Of course, this was also what Berman Pasis had told her. That the client had told him to bring the book. But for most people, there was no reason to take a book with nothing written on it from a woman who was unconscious and wearing a heavy, frilly dress and jewelry. So, Lehan’s question was very logical.

‘Is that why Pasis also asked me what this book was?’

Edelis knew that the book wasn’t just a blank book. She knew it was a book so valuable that it could change her future. But for someone to be told to bring the book, at least Berman Pasis or the client must also know the value of the book, just like her. And since Berman Pasis didn’t know last time, the conclusion was that the client must know.

“But Saintess, why did you ask to see the book?”

“W-well…”

The Saintess hesitated, rolling her eyes.

“You’ve never strongly requested something like that, so I was a little curious.”

“A-are you suspecting me right now?!”

Edelis let out a small laugh, seeing the Saintess raise her voice in return. It seemed like she knew she was in a position of suspicion.

“No, I’m just curious why the client would be so interested in the book that they would take it.”

“…”

“Berman Pasis didn’t have the book when he was caught. But the book wasn’t left behind at the place where he stayed either. That means someone chose to take the book rather than save him when he was caught. Why would they do that?”

“W-well, I don’t know.”

“Right? I don’t know either. That’s why I’m asking you, Saintess, what kind of book is it that it would attract such interest?”

Go on, try to answer. You’d better answer very well.