NMRJKM Chapter 93

 

Ariadeline jumped up from her seat. Carlothian was equally shocked.

Dorothea, the saint with the strongest divine power in the empire, had collapsed from a curse?

“So…?”

The butler spoke urgently. Ariadeline and Carlothian approached him.

“What is it? What orders have been given?”

Maybe this time I’ll really be held accountable? But I really didn’t do anything…

“The Crown Prince has requested help.”

“Help?”

“Yes…”

The butler looked at Ariadeline.

“He has secretly requested your assistance.”

“Isn’t it too late for ‘secretly’?”

Ariadeline stared at the butler with a skeptical look. The butler cleared his throat and continued.

“A long time ago, Duke Denaves mentioned that matters related to Her Highness Dorothea should be reported urgently…”

At those words, Carlothian looked at Ariadeline, and she looked back at him.

Carlothian had a slightly flustered expression, which was unusual for him. Ariadeline seemed to have no particular thoughts.

Carlothian spoke up.

“There’s no need for that anymore.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no need for that.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Ariadeline watched the awkward expressions of the two and then asked the most important question.

“What does it mean that he requested my help?”

“It’s just as it sounds. I couldn’t figure out exactly what he wants me to do.”

At that, Carlothian and Ariadeline looked at each other again and nodded.

“Please prepare the carriage quickly.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll get ready to go out.”

With that, the two went up to their rooms. With the help of the servants, they quickly changed their clothes and made their way to the carriage.

When the door closed and the carriage set off, Ariadeline asked,

“Does the Crown Prince know that I have the sacred relic?”

“Probably.”

“It seems like Her Highness Dorothea mentioned it, but I wonder how many people know…”

Carlothian nodded at Ariadeline’s concern. The fact that Ariadeline had merged with the sacred relic was still not widely known.

However, anyone who knew that would be a candidate for those who attacked Ariadeline.

“The Crown Prince…”

“Did His Highness the Crown Prince attack me?”

Ariadeline asked him, as if she had the same thought. He shook his head.

“It’s not likely. There’s no reason for him to do that.”

“He might have hated that someone who cursed Her Highness Dorothea survived so boldly.”

“If that’s the case, then your life itself would be the target, not the holy relic.”

A moment of silence fell between the two as they were lost in thought. In the meantime, the carriage hurriedly made its way to the Crown Princess’s palace.

Clunk.

The door opened, and Carlothian got out first, followed by Ariadeline, who received his escort as she stepped down. As soon as she got out, she was startled.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

The Crown Prince was there in person. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled. Wearing only a shirt, he pulled Ariadeline’s wrist with his reddened eyes.

“Hurry, this way.”

His urgency made Ariadeline quickly follow his lead.

Carlothian frowned, but understanding his feelings to some extent, quietly followed behind.

The inside of Dorothea’s palace was quieter than ever. It seemed that the palace staff had been deliberately sent away.

“How is Her Highness Dorothea?”

“…Damn it, just see for yourself.”

Ariadeline nodded. Thus, the three of them arrived at Dorothea’s room.

Four knights were guarding the door, but once they entered the room, there wasn’t a single maid left inside.

“What happened here?”

“Right now, Dorothea’s collapse is being kept a secret.”

“Why is that?”

“To prevent the fact that there is black magic that even the saint cannot overcome from spreading to the public.”

“…So, what does that have to do with why you asked for my help?”

Ariadeline said, looking directly into the Crown Prince’s eyes. The Crown Prince, Luciano, washed his face and spoke slowly.

“I heard it from Dorothea.”

“That I now wield divine power?”

“…Yeah.”

Ariadeline narrowed her eyes. Carlothian, who was beside her, asked,

“Do you know how many people in this palace are aware of that fact?”

“Only Dorothea and I. Dorothea spoke to me about it cautiously, so I haven’t told anyone else.”

“I see…”

Ariadeline nodded. She then slowly approached the bed where Dorothea lay.

Luciano, with a worried expression, went to Dorothea’s side and took her hand. Her condition did not look good at all.

Her breath was ragged, and she had not regained consciousness. Ariadeline carefully pulled back the sheet covering her.

“…”

She was momentarily lost for words. There were deep, long claw marks on her shoulder extending down toward her chest, resembling bruises.

The wounds appeared to be spreading like a purplish bruise, which was evidence of black magic at work.

“…I’ve never seen such strong black magic before.”

Ariadeline said as she looked down at Dorothea. When she placed her hand over the wound, the black magic felt so strong that it made her fingertips tingle.

“Such black magic…”

Ariadeline recalled the books she had seen in the basement of Carlothian’s mansion.

“It’s definitely… a sign of a pact with a demon.”

“A pact with a demon?”

Luciano said, his voice raised in agitation. Ariadeline nodded.

“I’ve only seen it in books. People think that black magic is always a power derived from a pact with a demon, but that’s not the case.”

“If that’s so?”

“Most people just borrow the magical power emitted by demons to use black magic, while only a very few actually make direct pacts with them. The reason why Her Highness Dorothea is in this situation is probably because of that.”

Ariadeline took a moment to catch her breath.

“I’m not sure what I can do, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Please…”

Ariadeline slowly cleared her throat and began to sing a hymn—one she had sung with Dorothea long ago.

Her voice started softly, gradually rising and becoming more intense. Was this the sound that would be heard before angels descended from the heavens?

Her singing improved more and more. However, despite that, there was no significant change in Dorothea’s wounds.

Still, even though there was no major change, it was noticeable that the spreading bruise was slightly fading.

“…There’s a reaction!”

Luciano’s face lit up. However, even after the song ended, the purple light did not completely extinguish.

Still, Luciano seemed to hold onto hope at the sight of the dimmed light, soon gripping Ariadeline’s hand tightly.

“C-can you promise to come and visit regularly from now on?”

“I can certainly do that, but I can’t guarantee it will be effective…”

“It doesn’t matter. Please, I beg you…”

Luciano’s face was more earnest than ever. The despair of being unable to do anything while his beloved lay unconscious was clearly etched on his face.

Ariadeline could only nod in response to Luciano.

“For now, I will conduct a bit more research.”

“Thank you…”

“Yes. For now, it would be best to keep this situation a secret for a while, including about me.”

“I won’t say a word.”

“Understood.”

Ariadeline covered Dorothea’s body with the sheet again and stepped back. Only Luciano remained by her side, holding Dorothea’s hand tightly.

His face was contorted as if he might burst into tears at any moment. This was the first time Carlothian had seen such an expression on him.

“I—I trusted too much. I thought my wife was strong enough…”

His voice was filled with regret. Carlothian listened to his words and then bid farewell to him, leaving the palace with Ariadeline.

“Carlothian, I need to look into the curse a bit more.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll go down to the basement for a bit.”

“I’ll go down with you.”

“No, you must be busy with your own things. I’ll look for it alone.”

“It’ll be hard for you alone.”

“No, it’s fine. I can manage.”

With those words, Ariadeline went down to the basement by herself. Carlothian, who hadn’t expected her to refuse his offer, was left standing alone above ground.