The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 46

Ladies screamed at the top of their lungs, and the men let out low groans.

The intended effect was certainly achieved: instilling fear of Bahamut. However, the woman had crossed a line. There was a world of difference between wielding a sword to exert pressure and decapitating a first-rate knight without lifting a finger.

A sense of ominous unease spread among the crowd. And even more terrifying was that, with her direct escort dead, the princess now had the justification to take possession of the woman.

“Leon, I…”

“Damn it, do you even understand what you’ve just done?”

Now all that wretched princess had to do was beg the emperor for the assimilated one, and it would be over. The woman had provided them with a reason to get a hold of her.

“Ah, and more importantly, look up at the sky. A falcon, the messenger of God, witnessed the duel. We all saw where God’s merciful gaze rested.”

As expected, the princess was quick to shape the mood in her favor. In truth, without her intervention, things might have taken a turn towards executing the ominous assimilated one. Leon reluctantly bowed in gratitude.

“I… I can’t breathe.”

The woman, who was being dragged away with her arm seized, muttered just as they were about to leave the courtyard. Leon took her chin in his hand, looking over her face as she struggled for breath, and began to remove her armor. It reminded him of the symptoms of panic seen in recruits on the battlefield.

“You don’t look well. I’ll arrange a room for you to rest in the palace.”

Just then, the princess approached them suddenly, clicking her tongue as if in pity.

“I’m planning a lovely luncheon; you’re welcome to join me. I have so many questions about what’s outside Kart.”

“I appreciate the offer, but if you need company at your luncheon, I’ll be happy to oblige. Please allow the assimilated one to leave.”

Before the woman could speak recklessly, Leon interrupted. He positioned himself as if shielding her, and the princess’s eyes narrowed mischievously. He knew he would have to endure quite a bit today. Still, it was preferable to leaving the unstable woman under the princess’s claws.

After a moment’s standoff, the princess, savoring her victory, eventually shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s a pity, but I understand. Go ahead and finish up quickly. I’ll be waiting, planning for the day our promise is fulfilled.”

She said curtly, snapping her fan shut and turning away. Her ladies-in-waiting followed her, and a few imperial soldiers stayed behind to escort the woman back to the inn.

“32-21 Rue Louven. Make sure she gets inside safely and return.”

Leon gave the soldiers the address of the inn and wiped the blood off the woman’s face. When he handed her a handkerchief, she took it silently, her eyes dull, and began to clean her face.

Although her breathing had steadied, she still looked terrible. Her entire body was soaked in the blood that had spurted from the knight’s neck.

Looking at her pale face, an inexplicable unease began to swell within him. He wanted to ask her to smile again, as she had in the morning. Again, just like that, as if the whole world had brightened.

“…What about the helmet I gave you?” she asked out of nowhere

Leon furrowed his brows. “Helmet?”

He soon understood what she meant. She was talking about the gift she had bought from the weapon shop.

“Ah, it’s in the princess’s room…”

Leon trailed off mid-sentence. In the haste of rushing out after hearing the change of audience venue, he had forgotten it. He would have to go back inside to retrieve it, but…

Staring into the air with a fatigued expression, Leon changed the subject.

“I must have left it behind somewhere. Aside from your breathing, is there anything else bothering you?”

The light faded from her crimson eyes. She bowed her head and answered after a moment of silence, “No. I just… I just want to lie down and rest. Can’t I go back now?”

“It’s dangerous, so go with the soldiers. And stay in your room until I come for you.”

“Whose safety are you worried about?”

“What?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

She turned away, as if to end the conversation. Though an uneasy feeling lingered, Leon didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. The princess was waiting.

He would speak with her once he returned. She would be there, as always.

***

The palace soldiers escorted Veronica back to the inn and quickly departed. Though she was supposed to feel like an important figure with a guard following her, it only made her feel like a criminal. As she walked down the street, it felt as if everyone was staring at her. Murderer. Assimilator. Monster. She killed someone. Three times.

The whispers, real or imagined, made her ears throb painfully. Even the merciful God forgave murderers only twice, based on the number of swords they carried. For the third, the blade of judgment would fall.

What judgment awaited her?

Veronica staggered to her bed and lay down. Her body felt cold, and the faces of those she had killed kept flashing through her mind. Benjamin. The blond man from Ruega. The giant knight.

“Come to think of it, they all died with their heads flying off.”

Already alone, the thought made her shiver. Veronica tried desperately to think of something else to survive. Naturally, every attempt led her back to Leon, and an aching sorrow twisted her heart. Petty jealousy, she knew.

She remembered the first time she met Leon. The first time she saw him in the flames, standing tall amidst the blackened ash, he had seemed like an apostle burning the devil, proof that God hadn’t abandoned humanity.

It was before she knew he was a Holy Knight, but she remembered the faint prayer that seeped into her hazy consciousness. Leon had burned the corpses strewn across the streets of Bayern.

Later, she learned it was to prevent Bahamut from splitting and devouring others, but it had seemed like a priest’s role to guide souls to peace. Without a burial or cremation blessed by prayer, the dead couldn’t enter paradise. He was kind, she thought.

A kind man. Not because she was special, but because he could be kind to others as well.

She didn’t want to think about it, but she kept comparing everything. The radiant, attention-grabbing features of the princess, her lips elegant even when closed.

Even the smallest things seemed charming. Veronica had always loved herself and hated comparisons. Yet she felt she could stare at a portrait of the princess for hours.

What had Leon talked about with her for hours in her chambers? What had they done? He had even left his helmet behind, so it couldn’t have been a brief visit.

Ah, please. Stop these self-deprecating thoughts. Just sleep. Sleep and think about what comes next when you wake up. You didn’t get any sleep last night, being so tense.

Curling up like a fetus, Veronica desperately buried herself in the blanket. Was it because her mind was worn out? A forgotten memory from her childhood surfaced as her exhausted thoughts frayed and unraveled.

“Mom, can’t we leave the light on when I sleep? It’s too dark, and I can’t sleep.”

“Oh, really? Veni, then why don’t you use the method Mom taught you?”

“Oh no, you’re not going to say to pretend I’m a fish and dive deep into the dark ocean again, are you? I hate that. Humans are different from fish.”

“Oh my. Don’t you know that a long time ago, humans also lived in the sea?”

Her mom clicked her tongue, adding, “Even our neighbor Alyssa knew that.” Young Veronica pulled the blanket covering her head down a bit and timidly asked again.

“The sea? Really?”

“Yes. Actually, all living things in this world lived in the sea. We all looked the same, but since we kept comparing and fighting, God gave us different forms as a gift.”

“Then all children received gifts? Just like on God’s birthday!”

“Yes, yes. But only humans served God in gratitude. So God gave humans the gift of a soul. We are stronger than other creatures because we have God.”

Veronica suddenly opened her eyes. Words from the vision repeated in her head.

The head of God. The place where the vanished God hides.

The Pope had said that those who witnessed the headless statue twenty years ago became assimilated ones. The age of prophecy had ended twenty years ago. Some even said that God had died back then.

What if God had inhabited the statue? What if, foreseeing the coming of Bahamut, He hid within one of those present at the time?

Bahamut was desperately searching for ‘God.’

To capture Him, imitating humans.

A chill ran down her spine at the sudden realization, and she shuddered. She sat up abruptly, brushing her trembling shoulders.

“No, that can’t be true,” she muttered, but perhaps because she was linked to Bahamut, an inexplicable intuition whispered that it was correct.

They are searching for God. And they intend to replace humanity on this earth.

Just then, the bells marking the end of the day began to ring.

Because of the early winter sunset, the room had grown dark. There was no one around. Leon wouldn’t be back for a long while. It felt like eyes were staring at her from the pitch-black corners.

The moment the final bell stopped, Veronica found herself leaping from the bed, bolting from the room like a madwoman. She ran down the dim hallway, descended the stairs, and burst out of the inn. She sprinted wherever her feet took her.

Anywhere is fine, as long as there are people, as long as there is warmth and light!

“Miss Schwarzwald?”

Creak, the door opened, and Emmett appeared. Veronica, who had been hoping for Hannah’s warm welcome, wore a disappointed look.

“Ah, Mr. Emmett. Hello. I’m sorry for suddenly dropping by. I’m always like this, aren’t I? I don’t know anyone else in Kart, and I have no idea where Oscar lives. He said to come here if anything happened.”

Emmett, watching her rambling, scratched his head before turning back. Then he spoke, “Hold on a second. It’s alright, just calm down and come in. Oscar’s actually here. Have you eaten dinner?”

Veronica’s eyes widened in surprise. Oscar is here?