The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 97

Veronica grew increasingly anxious as she passed through the square.

Time had been delayed because of Johanna. She couldn’t afford to be late!

Oscar and Joachim must have already finished their preparations.

Clutching her cumbersome skirt, Veronica hastily climbed the stairs, glancing back at the bell tower. She spotted the bell ringer ascending the stairs to ring the bell at precisely the appointed time. He stepped up each level at the same pace as her.

“Excuse me, I’m not feeling well today. Could we change the order just for today—pray first, then proceed with the sermon?”

She hastily asked the priest following behind her. Mistaking her pale face as a sign of shock from the Johanna incident, the priest clicked his tongue and nodded, gesturing for her to proceed first.

“Thank you!”

Veronica sprinted up the towering staircase. The bell ringer had already reached the bell. At last, she arrived at the top and climbed onto the platform, gasping for breath.

Leaning on her knees, she looked down at the square, packed with countless faces. No two gazes were the same. Though their attention might make one feel significant, in truth, it meant nothing. Each person was different, and that very difference was what made them equal.

“Haa… haa…”

Ding. The first chime of the bell echoed. Veronica steadied her breath one final time, slowly opened her eyes, and straightened her back. The moment the crowd filled her vision, she unhesitatingly drew the sword at her waist. The tip of the blade reflected the sunlight sharply as she raised it high.

The priests widened their eyes in shock at the unexpected action.

“The appointed time is noon, when the church bell tolls.”

A thrilling surge ran through her body.

“We can get the blood from the livestock at the military camp. But the supply is limited, so the timing must be precise.”

Ding. At the sound of the bell, she lowered her sword horizontally, as if nocking an arrow, as if directing their gaze. Turning westward, Veronica pointed with her sword.

The murmuring crowd naturally followed her line of sight. A shiver ran down her spine. She could almost hear them whisper, “What? What are we looking at?” even though no voices reached her ears.

“I will recreate the first plague from the scriptures.”

The crowd began to stir.

“Turn water into blood.”

The river running through Kart turned crimson.

Ding. Watching the red tide spread, Veronica felt dizzy. The blinding sunlight, the deafening murmurs, the overwhelming sense of unreality.

The plan had succeeded.

Joachim and Oscar had collected animal blood and poured it into the winter river, Kart’s lifeline. Even though the livestock was used for meals at the military camp, the supply was limited, so the transformation wouldn’t last long. Timing was crucial. What happened afterward didn’t matter. Even when the water returned to its original clear blue, the important thing was that, for a moment, it had turned red. That people had witnessed it with their own eyes.

This was the first plague recorded in scripture. In the past, people had been unaware of the nine plagues that would follow, making them less fearful. But the citizens of Kart would immediately recall what came next.

Knowledge, at times, is poison.

It makes one see more than what truly exists.

“Relay my words to the crowd.”

As she waited for the confusion to spread, Veronica slid her sword toward the priest standing at the edge of the platform. The middle-aged man, his mouth agape, trembled as the sharp blade touched his chin.

“W-what is… what is this…?”

“We must go to the wilderness. Kart will soon collapse.”

Veronica declared firmly. Between her words, the final chime of the bell resounded through the square.

The trembling priest looked at her as if she were a ghost. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, yet Veronica remained still, unmoving like a statue. She had come too far to turn back now. Bringing scripture into this meant she would likely be branded a heretic, but—

“W-we must… go to the wilderness! Kart will soon… collapse!”

His legs trembled, but in the end, the priest clenched his eyes shut and shouted at the top of his lungs. The murmuring crowd quieted slightly as people began to listen.

Veronica tightened her grip on her sword hilt and whispered, “Again, louder.”

“We must go to the wilderness! Kart will soon collapse!”

“Again.”

“We must go to the wilderness! Kart will soon collapse!”

The afternoon sun blazed down. The people fell into an eerie silence.

The day’s sermon echoed across the vast square.

“We must go to the wilderness!!! Kart will soon collapse!!!”

Amidst a dreamlike scene, Veronica lowered her sword, thinking that her brief time as a saint had now come to an end.

“We must go to the wilderness!!! Kart will soon collapse!!!”

At the same moment, soldiers stormed in from behind and forcibly dragged her off the platform.

The world wavered beyond the abrupt silence.

***

It seemed that every night, she had gone to sleep with anxiety in her heart.

What if she was wrong? What if the wilderness was not truly the holy land, and it was all just a delusion?

And yet, she could not stop. Somehow, she had felt certain she knew the truth. She had merely been searching for evidence.

And now, Veronica stood before undeniable proof.

Dragged into the pope’s office, she stared wide-eyed at the map inserted into the first page of the book he handed her. Her fingertip trembled as it traced the words Sancta Civitas (Holy City) written over the wilderness. Turning the parchment, she found lines of curved script. Veronica read them with her eyes.

[Once upon a time, God loved a people and raised them to be the rulers of this land.

“Let the animals, plants, and all living things bow before the servants of God.”

And so, the world followed the word of God. The animals, the plants, and all living things lowered their heads before the chosen people.

Yet, humans were still anxious. They could not trust the invisible love of God.

“Father, Father. Show me proof. Grant me authority so that no other people on this land may dare to be arrogant before me.”

God was sorrowful over their lack of faith, but because He still loved them deeply, He deprived His paradise of its life force and gifted it to mankind.

“I shall grant you the holy power to give life and take it away. However, because you have doubted, neither you nor your descendants for generations to come shall dwell in paradise. The land, in sorrow for the life it has been forced to relinquish, shall not accept you. That place shall become a refuge only for those who were not chosen.”]

Having read that far, Veronica slowly closed the thick book.

The worn cover bore the title History of Kart—a famous banned book that even Veronica had heard of.

She now understood why it had been forbidden. This book claimed that the so-called chosen people could not enter paradise. It implied that the true paradise was the wilderness. Veronica thought of Leon, who had suffered greatly in the wilderness.

Countless books designated as heretical by the church flashed through her mind. How many truths had been lost in the parchments burned each year? How many people had died trying to correct the historical distortions imposed by the nobility and royalty?

“Is showing me this an act of mercy before my death? Or is it a plea for me to die quietly in exchange for giving me what I want?”

Veronica barely managed to speak.

Hennessis had been taken from her, and two burly executioners stood beside her, their heads shaved bare. The pope wore his usual benevolent expression.

“My child, you must resent me.”

His dark eyes resembled unknown seeds—an abyss from which no one knew what might sprout.

“There was once a time when I thought as you do. That all truths in the world must be laid bare. I was young, passionate, and reckless. Back then, I believed it was the right thing to do. But now, I am old enough to understand that truth does not always bring good outcomes. My child, if authority collapses, so does the order of society, and the people are thrown into chaos. They will feel deceived, they will rage against the church and the nobility, and some may even begin to question the entire class system.”

His voice was gentle, as if soothing a child. Veronica clenched her teeth before spitting out her response as if chewing on broken glass.

“Utter nonsense.”

The collapse of authority would throw people into chaos? What did that matter when they were already facing death?

It was all just an excuse. The pope was simply trembling in fear of being exposed. He did not want to end up stoned to death like the imperial princess, so he was concealing the truth and using the people as his shield.

“You’re just afraid, aren’t you? That you alone will be unable to enter that safe paradise. That only you will be left behind in Kart!”

For the first time, the old man’s gentle mask twisted.

“You do not understand. Even if the people migrate, what can a headless beast do?”

The pope’s shrill voice rang out.

Veronica let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

He was calling a society without nobles, clergy, or scholars a headless beast?

That… was no different from the Bahamut.

“Even if they survive, they will lead wretched lives. The light of civilization will fade, and ignorant humans will live on only for the sake of survival. Like beasts! Can that truly be called human life?”

“You continue to spew nonsense. Even if life is miserable, people still have the right to want to live. No human has the right to decide whether another should live or die. Not even God took that right from us!”

Veronica was nearly screaming. Courtesy had long been cast aside. From beginning to end, nothing made sense to her. Why hadn’t they killed her already, despite all her defiance? Why had they revealed such a horrifying truth, only to continue this absurd conversation?

Just as she was about to lash out in fury—

Boom!

The fortress cannons roared like a beast’s cry.

Veronica’s eyes widened as she instinctively turned toward the window. Smoke was rising from the direction where Leon was.