“Episode 63”
“Ah, so you’re admitting that you recognized someone who suddenly emerged from a lake where the entrance to the demon world was dormant as a saint?”
Nemeia, the pontiff who had ignited the flame of purification in one hand, swiftly approached the sweating judge. As his hand was still ablaze, the judge’s face turned pale. Nemeia chuckled at the sight, then spoke sharply.
“The one who claims to understand the doctrine of God, how can you be so foolish?”
“P-Pontiff!”
“Yes, I am your pontiff. I am the noble and noble pontiff who has lived paying for the sins committed by our clergy in the northern mountains for generations. But what about you? You’re just fattening up the fat Duswell.”
“T-That’s too harsh!”
“If I’ve said this much, you should understand. If it were me, I’d immediately explain the situation to Duswell and report to the royal family–”
In the midst of Nemeia’s ranting, Yun interjected. She still avoided showing her face, stuttering with her lips.
“Isn’t there anything correct in Duke Emerson’s words? Without a witness to the duchess’s purity, the trial cannot conclude.”
“Oh, you said she’s a saint. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better for you to prepare and explain the situation to the duke? Even if this trial revealing your identity goes on, you’ll have nothing to say.”
Nemeia shrugged at the small woman. The duke was only the husband of the duchess standing on this purity trial stage; he was not obligated to testify to her purity. Of course, people assumed he would testify in favor of the duchess, but…
Nemeia remembered gnashing her teeth upon hearing the news that the duke and duchess had fought over a difference of opinion the night before the trial.
The duchess vehemently insisted that the duke must not reveal himself at the trial, expressing anger and finally pleading.
Without hearing the reason for her plea, the duke knelt at her plea. Currently, he was supposed to be within her bounds as per Yuliana O’Ban’s plea.
Nemeia looked at the powerful sorceress, the duchess, with a mix of suspicion and doubt. ‘Is it really as dangerous as the duchess says? Although she may have ensnared the emperor with her tongue, isn’t she also trapped in the drama of the temple and the royal family?’
Nemeia narrowed her eyes.
“Look here. Lift your head. Avoiding it like that only makes the crime worse.”
Then she clicked her tongue.
At the same time, the saint’s shoulders trembled. For a very brief moment, Nemeia thought she was crying. But she wasn’t. The saint was smiling. She desperately covered her mouth to hide the smile that appeared on her face and suppressed the giggles.
Nemeia frowned and waved her hand to extinguish the flame of purification in her hand.
“Look here. Who are you?”
“Pontiff, you must know. The duke will be the most crucial figure in the upcoming war. He will bring peace.”
“W-What do you mean?”
At that moment, Yuliana, who noticed Nemeia’s hesitation, approached swiftly. Then, as she shrugged her shoulders, the sweet smile returned to her face as she clapped her hands again.
Fwooosh!
The flame of purification suddenly went out. And as the flame disappeared, the red flames resembling Yun’s magic began to flicker and burn the lake. It was a powerful magic that made the people around sway as if in a storm.
“Ugh!”
“S-Saint!”
“R-Run!”
Yuliana, amidst the chaos, still stood confidently holding onto Yun’s collar. She knew that this flame was consuming Yun’s vitality.
[Yun! What are you doing!]
In the end, Yuliana couldn’t bear it and grabbed Yun’s collar. Yun, who had never dreamed that Yuliana would lay hands on her, flinched and fell silent. At that moment, the flames engulfed them both like a storm.
“Duchess!”
“Saint!”
As the screams of the people faded, Yuliana walked confidently into endless chaos, still holding onto Yun’s collar. Into the traces of her past life that remained…
Yuliana easily subdued Yun, pressing her face onto the asphalt as Yun writhed and shouted, “Who are you to interfere with me? For the first time, I’ve come to a world where things go my way, so why are you interfering?”
“That world is the one I was reincarnated into! You have no idea!”
“Ahh!”
Yun struggled in anger, but eventually seemed to grow weary. Clutching Yuliana’s hand that pressed her head, Yun started speaking through clenched lips.
“You, too, know the ‘truth.’ You know that the world you live in was created for me, and that you’re just a supporting character in that world… Do you really want to live like this? Why? I don’t understand!”
“Because you haven’t lived twice.”
Yuliana muttered.
To subdue Yun, who started writhing again, Yuliana easily settled herself onto her waist.
“Ah! You fatty! Get off me!”
“What, fatty? If I’m fatty, then you’re not even human! Oh, seeing how you behave, humans probably wouldn’t claim you either. Right? You cruel thing!”
“Aaah!”
“Do you think I’ll listen if you cry out?! You need some education!”
Vulnerable to pain, Yun shed tears and wrapped her arms around Yuliana’s neck.
“You… you dog…”
“What? Now you’re swearing? Fine. Show me what a real dog is—”
Screetch—!
As Yuliana, who was squashing Yun, gasped for breath, the same incident that had already happened once before occurred again.
It was supposed to be like that.
It should have been like that, but…
Yuliana opened her tightly shut eyes. Amidst the sound of police sirens, in the midst of excruciating pain, the dying figure of herself from her previous life was seen and heard simultaneously.
Looking at Yun, who was experiencing the same thing, Yuliana froze for a moment. With a complex and ambiguous feeling, she whispered to Yun.
“It’s strange. This is the world I lived in, yet it’s so painful.”
“So, what? What do you want me to do?”
“…You need to experience some hardship.”
Still putting on airs?
Yuliana pressed harder on Yun’s waist to retaliate. “Ugh!” Yun, who had suppressed a scream, suddenly cried out.
“Seriously, what are you saying! This is your previous life!”
“Yeah! Isn’t my previous life, who died like this, pitiful enough?! Now I’m trying to live happily, but you’re squeezing it like a piece of paper! Why don’t you let go, huh? ‘You’re Yun’s chosen tormentor,’ you say, making nonsense!”
When Yuliana followed the sparrow’s words to the letter, especially when she muttered about being a “savior,” Yun screamed in embarrassment.
“W-Who said such a thing? I’ve never recognized you as my savior!”
“Your friend declared it to me! To save you! That little sparrow! That damned rabbit doll!”
“So what! You’re telling me to go back! I don’t want to go back! Who asked for that kind of reality!”
With her face buried in the asphalt, Yun screamed again. Yuliana, pressing her waist, grabbed her neck.
“Don’t whine! I won’t save you!”
“…I knew. I knew.”
In response to Yuliana’s scream, Yun sarcastically shed tears and sneered. Then, holding Yuliana O’Ban’s hand that grabbed her neck, she said.
“So, help me make an interesting story. You can die twice, right? Right?”
For me.
Yun pouted. And chillingly, Yuliana understood her words.
She released the hand grabbing her neck.
It was inevitable. When Yun laughed, as if expecting her to, everything surrounding them began to warp like a ruined watercolor painting.
Yuliana tried to hold Yun in her time frame again, but it was too late. Even as she did, Yun’s laughter echoed through the confusion.
Thus, they were swept back into Yun’s storm once again.
* * *
The night before the purity trial, after the confrontation with the sparrow who declared herself a god, Yuliana returned to her husband.
Silently returning to the bedroom, she intended to let Evan sleep a little longer.
“Tomorrow, Yun will appear at that trial.”
“That lunatic might use Evan’s mind for something.”
Yuliana could only think of that.
“I have to protect Evan.”
She gently touched her sleeping husband’s forehead, barely even breathing.
But at that moment, Evan, who had blinked, grabbed his wife’s wrist tightly. It was a strong grip, almost numbing.
Yuliana hesitated. Even in the darkness, Evan’s blue eyes, shining, coldly stared at her.
“Are you awake?”
“It was you who said not to touch someone else’s body without permission.”
“Ah. Did I say that?”
Yuliana muttered. Then, as if forcibly casting a sleeping spell, she calmly said.
“Could you please let go of my wrist?”
