Chapter 185
***
“Sister!”
As soon as Diana saw Lia enter the duke’s estate, she ran straight to her.
Up close, Lia looked like she’d lost half her weight overnight.
‘She must’ve exhausted herself fighting those monsters yesterday…’
Diana bit her lip, overwhelmed.
Until now, she’d shuddered at the sight of humans’ vile souls. But the monsters she saw yesterday were incomparably more grotesque and terrifying.
She had frozen, unable to believe such things were what she’d be up against but then, to her shock, Lia had stepped in and defeated the monsters herself.
Diana had been hit hard. She felt a sense of responsibility and guilt for failing to do what she should’ve. A part of her worried Lia might have been disappointed in her uselessness.
But…
“Diana, you must’ve been really scared yesterday, huh?”
As soon as the door closed, Lia was the one who spoke first, her voice filled with concern for Diana.
Diana lowered her head.
‘Why am I so weak…’
She had once dreamed of being a warrior who protected her sister. But in reality…
“Sister, I’m sorry.”
The words slipped out like a sigh, and Lia tilted her head, puzzled.
That look made Diana even more emotional, and she burst out,
“If only I’d awakened my powers! I could’ve defeated these monsters instead of you! Then you wouldn’t have had to suffer, and people wouldn’t be bothering you so much…”
As she spoke, guilt welled up, and she felt on the verge of tears.
When Diana pouted, trying not to cry, Lia hesitated, then finally spoke.
“Diana, I’m fine. It wasn’t that hard… And honestly, when else would I get to be called a saintess, right?”
“But still…”
“You’re being silly. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
Her gentle and warm reassurance brought tears to Diana’s eyes.
When Diana clammed up again, Lia’s expression darkened.
“Actually, Diana, I’m sorry to you too.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because… These monsters appeared because of me.”
“What? How is that your fault?!”
Diana jumped in protest, and Lia gave a bitter smile.
“The demon is targeting me. Yesterday, it was clearly trying to send me a warning.”
“Sister…”
“And…”
Lia lowered her head, pained.
“Diana, you’re still just a child… And yet I’ve been selfish, expecting you to awaken and fight demons for us.”
Her voice trembled.
Even on her way to the duke’s estate, Lia had secretly been hoping—that maybe the holy relic she brought could awaken Diana.
But seeing Diana feeling guilty for doing nothing made her heart ache.
Lia had memories of a previous life, but Diana did not.
“Maybe I really did lose my mind…”
Even if Raizel always said, ‘If only the saintess awakens…’—still, for Lia to push such a heavy burden on a child just because she was the reincarnation of a saintess…
“I never even thought about how you must feel.”
She had just seen Diana as the one hope to restore her damaged soul and defeat the demon.
Unable to raise her head, Lia covered her face with both hands.
“No! I do want to awaken!”
Seeing Lia so dejected, Diana shouted.
Not long ago, she had wanted to avoid it if she could. But now, she truly wished to awaken.
However, Lia shook her head.
“You don’t need to feel responsible because of me.”
“That’s not it! I want to awaken so I can protect you, and our family!”
If she could awaken the divine power within her and control it freely, maybe she wouldn’t feel so helpless or guilty anymore.
Looking into Diana’s determined eyes, Lia was briefly at a loss for words before carefully revealing the reason for her visit.
Diana asked in a confused voice, “An item that might help with my awakening?”
“Yes. It’s a holy relic, believed to be a weapon used by the saintess in ancient times.”
When Lia said she brought the item Raizel believed could serve as a catalyst, Diana’s eyes widened.
“Really? You found it?”
Lia nodded and carefully unwrapped the item.
Diana was surprised to see it wrapped in so many layers, and Lia gave an awkward smile.
She had personally wrapped it that thoroughly.
Raizel believed that long ago, demon worshippers raided the temple and stole the relic because it could serve as a deadly weapon against demons. He had warned multiple times that they might still be after it and that she must never let it fall into their hands.
‘Honestly, that’s why I was so on edge yesterday.’
She had trembled at the thought of running into those cultists.
“I want to try!”
Diana exclaimed with determination.
Seeing Diana hold the relic, an old, thin, rectangular object, Lia slowly nodded.
***
A while later.
Diana let out a tired breath.
Watching her, Lia slowly released the fists she had clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
“Diana…”
She finally called her name, suppressing her mixed emotions. Diana wiped the sweat from her forehead and took another deep breath.
“Diana, that’s enough.”
“No, I can do more!”
“You’ve done enough.”
She had tried several times, but the results were the same—failure.
Full of resolve, Diana had stood before the relic and tried to channel her divine power into it, just as Raizel had instructed.
But neither Diana nor the thin, rectangular relic showed any change.
“It’s okay, Diana.”
Lia bit her lip and gently held the girl’s hand, comforting her.
But she couldn’t deny her own disappointment.
She had told Diana there was no need to feel responsible, but when Diana had shown such determination, she had found herself hoping after all.
‘But Raizel was so sure this relic would help her awaken…’
She prayed it wasn’t true, but the thought crept in: Was my death the only way again?
Shaking her head, Lia said softly, “I think we’ll need Raizel to come.”
She had already sent word about the monsters’ appearance, but with all the intermediaries involved, there was no telling when he would receive the message.
Knowing that the true identity of Terencium, which had spread across the continent, might be a group of demon worshippers, Raizel moved with extreme secrecy to avoid their gaze. This was also why she exercised the utmost caution when visiting the Elard Ducal estate.
“Sister, is this really a holy relic?”
At that moment, Diana, who couldn’t hide her disappointment, asked as she examined the relic from various angles.
“I’m not sure…”
Unless the relic that Count Petier had was a fake from the start, I believed it was definitely real.
‘Could there really be another ancient artifact that looks so similar?’
While I was deep in thought with a serious expression, Diana let out a long sigh.
“If only those demon worshippers hadn’t stormed into the temple and stolen all the relics…”
I nodded in agreement with Diana’s words.
If that hadn’t happened, the items stored in the temple wouldn’t have been scattered, and Raizel wouldn’t have had to wander endlessly in search of relics.
Then, Diana, who had clicked her tongue wondering why people can’t keep their hands off others’ possessions, muttered,
“Come to think of it, this morning there was an uproar because a thief broke into the imperial treasury.”
“…What?”
“Hm?”
“Diana, what did you just say?”
Startled, I asked, and Diana replied with a puzzled look.
“Well, they said someone broke into the treasury, and people from the palace have been in a frenzy since morning. Apparently, someone presented a treasure to His Majesty, and someone stole it.”
“…!”
“Then shouldn’t they be calling the Imperial Knight Commander? Why are they looking for the Minister of Military Affairs instead?”
“Y-yeah, true.”
“Anyway, this world is full of bad people.”
“Ku, kuh!”
Her words hit a little too close to home, and I choked.
“Diana, I was going to return it to its original owner…”
I muttered excuses without meaning to, and Diana tilted her head.
Seeing her reaction, I clamped my mouth shut awkwardly and tried to hide my embarrassment as I thought,
I’d have to look into it further, but it seemed the Emperor was enraged because the artifact Count Petier had intended to offer was stolen.
‘But I definitely swapped it with a replica.’
Even aside from my past life, Kenneth Petier, who had pursued me spewing nonsense, still left a bad taste in my mouth.
Still, I hadn’t wanted to trouble Count Petier, who had offered up the artifact for his son’s sake.
So, using Raizel’s sketches and my own memories, I had created a replica so meticulous that no one could distinguish it from the original.
‘I was sure no one would realize it was fake, so I didn’t think there would be any issues…’
I never imagined someone would steal the replica I’d swapped in.
‘Just who could’ve done that…?’
In that moment, my eyes narrowed.
***
At that time, in the Imperial Palace.
“Your Majesty, please remain calm.”
“Calm? Not anywhere else, but in the courtyard of the palace where I reside, the Imperial Knights were attacked, and you expect me to remain calm? And the so-called Minister of Military Affairs has no sense of urgency?”
“…”
Duke Elard nearly made a bored face as he looked at the furious Emperor.
In truth, having listened to the Emperor repeat the same things in a rage from morning till now, he was struggling to keep his irritation in check.
He sighed inwardly, wondering how long this tiresome situation would drag on.
Then, a chamberlain’s loud voice rang out from outside the door.
“Your Majesty, Count Petier has arrived!”
“Let him in!”
As the door opened, Count Petier, bewildered by being summoned to the palace without knowing why, bowed and spoke in a confused voice.
“Your Majesty, only my son needed to be sent. Why have I been summoned…?”
“Count Petier. At dawn yesterday, the royal carriage that left your estate was attacked.”
The Emperor, seething with rage, sharply questioned the count.
“Have you told anyone about offering an ancient artifact to me?”
More chapters are coming tomorrow ~
اهه لقد انكشفت 🤣🤣لقد احسست انه سيكون هناك فصل ثالث شكرا لك على الفصل🥹✨🎀+ارجو الا يكون هناك مشكل في الفصل القادم