“We need to perform a ritual for the soul.”
“I will do it. When can this ritual be performed?”
“The ritual can be done right now, but Sir Erne is a special case…”
The medium trailed off, but both Henry and Judith understood what he meant. Judith tried to erase the awkward expression on her face and asked.
“How much should I offer as a token of gratitude?”
“I will only take two gold coins.”
Two gold coins! That was money one could only earn by making two hundred candles.
“I will pay!”
Sir Henry, you are wealthy, aren’t you? Judith looked at him with fresh eyes as he answered without hesitation.
“It would be best to perform the ritual tonight.”
However, the medium seemed uninterested in the large fee as he nodded while gazing at the sky.
“Both of you should cleanse your bodies and wait until midnight.”
The time for the ritual was set for midnight. The medium said he needed to make some preparations and left.
“After cleansing yourselves, please stay in your rooms. You must not see what I am preparing.”
Judith washed up and spent her time making candles, waiting for midnight.
‘Two gold coins better be worth it.’
Judith prayed that the medium wasn’t a fraud. Time passed, and midnight arrived without fail.
The medium knocked on the door, calling for Henry and Judith.
The windows and door of the room where Erne’s body was kept were wide open, and the cloth covering Erne’s body had vanished. Four large circles were drawn around the bed, each with a thick candle placed in the center.
“We are going to open the gate to the body and guide the soul today.”
At the medium’s gesture, Henry and Judith stood close to the bed.
“The soul is naturally drawn to life.”
He said that the living blood of Henry and Judith was necessary.
The thought of piercing live flesh to draw blood made their hair stand on end. But if just a drop of blood would solve it, so be it.
“Madam, please come closer as well.”
Her designated spot was near Erne’s lower body. The bright moonlight fell on Erne’s corpse, which was not yet clothed in burial garments.
She wanted to avert her gaze out of courtesy, but it was difficult. This was entirely Erne’s fault. His body was just so…
Even with her eyes squinted, she could see everything.
The medium first pricked Henry’s fingertip with a dagger, allowing a drop of blood to fall onto Erne’s forehead.
Erne’s eyelashes twitched slightly, making Judith tilt her head.
“The soul must leave; this is not its destination. If it does not depart, it will only suffer.”
The medium turned to Judith. She extended her hand. Soon, a hot pain flared up.
Judith slightly furrowed her brows and brought her bleeding finger close to her husband’s groin.
The moment her drop of blood fell onto his skin,
“….…?”
Erne’s muscular thigh, as thick as that of a stallion, twitched. It wasn’t her imagination this time. Her neck hairs stood on end.
Just as Judith flinched and began to step back, a hand flew in like the wind and grabbed her wrist.
Both the medium and Henry covered their mouths with their hands, so the owner of the hand was…
“…What the—?”
It was none other than Erne Rainland. His voice, which hadn’t been used in a long time, cracked with surprise.
“What have you done to me?”
Eyes as deep as a dense forest swept over his own naked body and then over Judith. Her husband’s brows furrowed slowly.
“Were we actually in the middle of ‘that’?”
Judith froze, her wrist still in his grip. Erne’s gaze shifted to Henry, who was sprawled on the floor, and his expression darkened.
“Surely not…”
I’m not into that kind of thing. Erne mumbled, staring intently at Judith. His green eyes, now focused, seemed to demand an explanation.
What should she say to him? How does it feel to be alive again? Or perhaps, could you put some clothes on? Or should she introduce herself: ‘Nice to meet you, I’m your wife.’
“…Ho-Honey?”
But, with that sudden, blunt question, Erne was even more bewildered.
***
They said this was a ritual to send the soul off, so why did the corpse come back to life?
The medium who could have answered had already fled while Judith and Henry were dumbstruck by the revived Erne.
“Damn it.”
Judith bit her lip. The worst-case scenario she had imagined was Erne’s body not decaying even after the ritual.
But him coming back to life? Coming back to life?!
“Why is he alive?”
Damn that useless shaman. If you’re a *half-baked shaman, you should just ruin things, not save people! And of all people, you saved Erne Rainland!
In the original story, Erne was mostly referred to as a madman, mad dog, or with some other vulgar words that were too crude to say aloud.
There were many reasons he earned such titles, but it was mostly because of his indifferent personality and the fact that he would lose himself whenever he held a sword.
He didn’t care whether they were friend or foe—if someone was in his way, they would be removed. The problem was that the way he removed them wasn’t exactly gentlemanly.
Had he been a terrible knight with just a bad attitude, he would have been kicked out of the knight order immediately. However, Erne was one of the empire’s top knights, a hero who won an unwinnable war.
Erne, who carried both infamy and fame, was assigned to the Empress’s palace, the main antagonist of the original story.
There, he was tasked with guarding the female protagonist, who was the Empress’s niece. Although it was called ‘guarding,’ it was essentially surveillance.
Initially, the female protagonist infiltrated the palace under the Empress’s orders to curse the male protagonist, the Crown Prince. However, they soon fell in love.
The female protagonist wanted to help the Crown Prince, but the problem was Erne. As long as he was watching, there was nothing she could do.
In the end, the female protagonist even hinted that the Empress was planning to cause chaos in the empire, but Erne didn’t care.
The Crown Prince tried to bribe Erne, who constantly obstructed his plans. However, Erne had no desire for promotion or wealth.
At this point, the Crown Prince’s aide left a piercing remark.
“He’s just a madman.”
Usually, when someone is called madman, it’s because they’re obsessed with something, be it money, power, or love.
But Erne wasn’t mentally ill, nor was he particularly obsessed with anything. Around this time, the female protagonist was discovered to be pregnant and imprisoned by the Empress.
By then, the female protagonist had given up trying to persuade Erne.
She just needed someone to listen, so she confided everything to Erne, even though he gave no response.
She told him that once the baby was born, she would die, and the child would be used by the Empress.
Whatever change of heart he had, this was the first and last time Erne helped the female protagonist.
Of course, in his crazy way, he helped her escape by doing something bizarre, tearing her living flesh. The aide had another remark about this.
“A madman with convictions.”*
Erne only moved when there was a reason that he himself could accept, but…
“That’s the real problem.”
It was impossible to know what would get Erne to act.
“With that personality, he’s going to ask for a divorce right away.”
In truth, even a normal person would want a divorce in this situation. Who would want to maintain a marriage that was arranged without their input while they were on the brink of death?
It really was the worst-case scenario.
If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have thought about borrowing more money with the title as collateral. What would she do if Erne asked for a divorce?
The title of Count would belong to Erne without dispute. Since the marriage was short, she couldn’t even ask for a portion of the estate.
That would mean being thrown out with nothing, and the problem was that she had signed the new contract with Smith under the name ‘Judith Rainland.’
In other words, if she got divorced, she would lose the title, the estate, and still be left with 200 million gold in debt.
“Should I beg him to stay married, at least until the estate can be sold for a decent price?”
If she could sell the estate for 400 million, or even just 200 million gold, she could make it through this ordeal. It wouldn’t be a profit, but at least she wouldn’t be dragged away by loan sharks.
“Is he the type to be moved by a woman’s tears?”
In the original story, the only time Erne ever did anything for someone else was when the female protagonist tearfully begged him.
Maybe Erne had a soft spot after all. Even a man called the mad dog of the empire must have some sympathy.
“If that’s the case, I’ll have to go with the sympathy strategy.”
***
Erne was a man so twisted he could no longer see straight.
When had he become this twisted? When his mother, who gave birth to him as the illegitimate child of a Count, strangled herself?
Or was it when he learned that the mother who handed him over to the Count and received child support died before she could even spend the money?
Perhaps it was when he found out, after eight years, that his father had only sought him out to use him as a sacrificial pawn in a war?
Maybe it was when his men ignored his orders because he was an illegitimate child leading a knightly order, and they were all wiped out?
Ah, or perhaps it was when the Countess, the only person who had ever been kind to him, sent assassins after him because she feared he would try to claim the title after returning from the war?
Yes, that was probably the moment.
The assassins came so frequently that Erne couldn’t even sleep properly. People say you go mad if you can’t sleep. Maybe that’s when he lost his mind.
🍓 ;
*someone who pretends to have spiritual or shamanic abilities but lacks proper training or knowledge, often causing harm or confusion due to their lack of skill.
*”A madman with convictions” refers to a person who is considered irrational, extreme, or mentally unstable, but who holds strong, unwavering beliefs or principles. The phrase suggests a contrast between their madness (or erratic behavior) and their firm dedication to certain ideas or causes, often implying that their convictions drive their unusual or extreme actions. It can be used to describe someone who, despite appearing crazy or reckless, is deeply passionate or committed to their beliefs, sometimes to the point of obsession.
