Chapter 149

by Sienna

At those words, I blinked. Ah, well. That is true.

If it’s the blood of those with divine power, I should at least gather some of it; if only my blood is effective, I would have to struggle alone for many days to collect it.

“……But that’s the only method we have.”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“No.”

Carlothian looked down at me with a serious expression. Shadows fell across his face.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Uh…”

That’s true. Of course, he wouldn’t want that. Thinking about it, if it were my blood that was the solution, I would probably dislike it too.

‘I’ve had to gather blood before, and honestly, it’s not something one would enjoy doing.’

Recalling the time I collected blood in jars to paint the walls at Carlothian’s mansion, it was indeed a cumbersome and painful task.

“Still, we can’t just leave it like that.”

“……Still, it’s not allowed.”

Sigh, it seems like our opinions aren’t going to converge. I grabbed Carlothian’s wrist and strode forward.

He followed my lead well, and we entered the room the high priest had informed us about, sitting down at the respective tables in silence.

“Alright, let’s try to persuade each other.”

My attitude must have seemed funny, as Carlothian wore a subtle expression. However, he seemed willing to engage and immediately spoke up.

“This cursed object is a small dagger, so it’s manageable with your blood, but other cursed objects are made of wood. Do you understand what it means to have to soak that wood with blood?”

Ugh, that’s quite a convincing statement from the start.

“But you’re not saying you’ll draw all that blood at once, right? If we take our time and do it slowly…”

“Am I supposed to watch you injure yourself and draw blood with my own two eyes during that time?”

Ah, if I were to suggest closing my eyes here, I would probably get hit. I smiled softly as I looked at him, and he frowned in disgust.

“Don’t do that.”

“Carlothian.”

“I said don’t do it.”

“Oh, come on.”

I dragged my chair over and sat next to him. Then I stuck to his arm and rested my cheek against it.

“Carlothian.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Still, it’s something I can do.”

“I don’t want you to suffer.”

“Of course, I don’t like to suffer either, but…”

Carlothian lowered his head and covered his eyes with one hand.

“I hate that you’re in pain and I can’t do anything about it…”

His voice was heavy, sinking into the floor. At that sound, I lifted my head and looked at him. Shadows fell beneath his hand that covered his eyes.

I was momentarily at a loss for words, staring at his face.

‘Ah, I see.’

I suddenly realized.

Just as the memory of that underground prison remained dark for me, it was the same for him.

It seems that having to remain tied up and unable to do anything while I screamed left him with trauma. I paused for a moment, crossing my ankles slightly.

“…Well, for now, I’ll stay quiet.”

I chose to reassure Carlothian. Carefully, I intertwined my fingers with his. He seemed hesitant but soon squeezed my hand tightly in return.

Why is he still afraid to touch me when he likes it if we touch? I quietly gazed at his face, and he met my eyes as if it were natural.

We spent a brief moment in silence, allowing time to pass without any words. In this room, we could temporarily forget the situation outside.

“Still, I may not know about other things, but this is certain.”

I slowly blinked.

“I won’t get hurt when you’re around.”

At those words, he fell silent for a moment before responding. It seemed like he preferred it that way.

“…Okay.”

After spending that brief moment together, we left the room, still holding hands tightly.

As we made our way to the high priest, we exchanged glances. Carlothian’s eyes clearly conveyed a message.

Don’t mention that you can purify with your blood.

That was the implication. Honestly, how could I hide that? No matter how much divine power had been poured in until now, what hadn’t been purified was now cleansed, and the dome had disappeared.

For now, I felt like I wasn’t deceiving the high priest but rather postponing the truth, so I sat on the sofa and began to speak calmly.

“First, it seems that if you have a holy relic, you can enter the dome without it disappearing when you touch it.”

“A holy relic?”

“Yes, it’s a long story, but…”

Come to think of it, the high priest doesn’t know that I swallowed the holy relic. I brushed it off with Luciano, but I informed the high priest in detail. It’s a matter of respect for an adult.

“So that’s how it happened.”

“I’m sorry for not mentioning it until now. Still, for now, that possibility is the greatest.”

At those words, the high priest wore a thoughtful expression. I scratched my chin.

Well, it’s not easy to verify this with anyone other than myself. If we tried and it didn’t work, it would be a disaster.

“The light coming from my body looked the same as the light from the holy relic. So, it’s probably correct.”

I blinked. There was something I was curious about.

A holy relic means the divine power that flows out appears randomly. And those we commonly refer to as saints or holy figures can be considered human holy relics.

‘Then wouldn’t Dorothea and the high priest be able to make contact?’

Well, I can’t experiment with people like that.

“For now, it’s dangerous, so I’ll be the only one confirmed to enter the dome…”

“I will take the holy relic and go into the dome.”

“Carlothian?”

I turned my head sharply to look at him. I widened my eyes and blinked. This cold man didn’t even look at me when he said something so important.

This guy!

I lightly tapped his shoulder. But he didn’t even glance my way. I felt like I might tear up. After saying he didn’t want me to get hurt, why was he so eager to put himself in danger?

“Of course, it’s almost certain, but you going first…”

Wow, I’m a selfish person after all. Just as I was thinking that, Carlothian finally turned his head toward me.

“Otherwise, you’re saying you have to go into the dome alone.”

“…”

“You’re going to enter the dome alone, not knowing what might be inside?”

Somehow, it seemed like his eyes had turned bright red.

“I can’t just stand by and watch that.”

“…”

Um, could you calm down a bit? It’s a little scary.

I stared at his face and then let out a deep sigh.

Well, it was almost certain that he was needed from the moment the two swords were mentioned.

‘Anyway, I felt that he would be needed eventually.’

I recalled the voice I had heard in front of the dome.

My fragment will be your blessing…

Of course, it got cut off while I was listening. But the meaning it intended to convey was clear. My fragment. It surely referred to the holy relic.

“…I understand. For now, high priest, could you give him one holy relic?”

“If I can give it, would that really be okay?”

“…Well, I have some degree of confidence about it.”

Carlothian accepted the holy relic that the priest cautiously extended. There are various forms of holy relics, but there were only a few small enough to fit in a pocket.

As far as I know, there were about two. Carlothian put one of them in his inner pocket and immediately got up from his seat. He was quite impatient.

“Are you going right away?”

“Yeah.”

I followed him as he stood up. Then I trailed behind him and said,

“Just don’t go in completely. The moment you enter, you won’t be able to come out, so I think it would be enough to just check if it’s okay once you touch it.”

“I understand.”

“You can’t go in alone. If you do, I’ll follow you in.”

“I got it.”

“Oh, you have to be trustworthy.”

He wasn’t the type to recklessly enter, claiming he would solve it, but I was still worried. Well, if he went in, I would jump in right after him so he wouldn’t be able to do as he pleased.

I headed toward the dome in the temple garden with him. The size of the dome, made from black wood, was larger than that created by the evil species of Yermondi.

Carlothian approached the dome. I unconsciously swallowed hard. At the same time, he glanced back at me.

I nodded in response.

He slowly brought his hand toward the dome. I tried to calm my anxious heart and clenched my fists.

And then, thud.

His hand touched the dome. And he didn’t break.

Ahh, I let out a huge sigh of relief without realizing it. He looked back at me, and I ran to him and hugged him tightly.

“I was so nervous.”

“I can imagine.”

He awkwardly raised his arms and carefully hugged me back. Seriously, how long is this guy going to keep this up? I needed to say something.

The high priest, who had been watching from behind, spoke up.

“Well, it’s been confirmed that having the holy relic means it’s okay to touch the dome.”

“Yes…!”

I nodded. However, the problem was that while entering was up to us, exiting was not guaranteed. We could enter to investigate and end up not being able to come out.

“First of all, high priest, the reason I came out is that I succeeded in purifying the cursed object inside.”

At that, the high priest nodded.

“I was just about to ask you about that.”

“…Um, I can’t explain it right now, but could you give me a little time?”

“Is it a difficult matter?”

“Yes, well, I guess you could say there’s been no agreement, something like that.”

As I scratched my head, the high priest nodded. Truly, he is a thoughtful person.

At least I kept my word about not revealing the purification method…

I stepped away from the high priest and approached Carlothian, pulling him along.

“Hey, Carlothian.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re the one who cleans up after me if I get into trouble, right?”