Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 410: Marriage Blue (1)

When I was still Lee Seong-eum.

I was raised in an orphanage founded on a religious facility. Thanks to that, religion and faith became a somewhat familiar part of my life.

Whether it was saying grace before meals or praying before going to bed in the evening.

They told us to pray to the Father in Heaven. But I’d never had a father before, so to be honest, I didn’t really understand what that was supposed to feel like.

Because of that, I couldn’t really call myself a good believer. I just remember things like worship services being boring and tedious.

The best °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° part was probably that I could run around and play freely with the other kids after the service was over.

Anyway.

Because of that kind of background, to someone like me, the concept of “God” always felt like some figure with a white beard. Like an old grandfather or a middle-aged father with a long white beard.

In that sense, the awe-inspiring presence I glimpsed beyond the gate as my mage rank rose didn’t match the image of God I’d held in my mind at all.

It appeared transcendent, but lacked any semblance of personality.

Rather than a father, it felt more like a judge. That’s why it took me some time to realize that the being beyond the gate and the “God” spoken of by the Church of Light and Salt were the same.

“Solomon, the Church, and even the heroes who once marched all the way to the north—perhaps they all knew about the being beyond that gate. Am I right?”

I shared everything I had felt with Saint Priga. Most of her face was hidden by two eyepatches arranged in an X, making it hard to read her expression, but—

“That is...”

My sensitive half-fairy senses picked up that she was visibly shaken.

Of course. What I’d just said amounted to revealing what could be called the secret of the world and the universe. No matter how much of a poker-faced expert she was, Saint Priga couldn’t help but be caught off guard.

“......”

“......”

A moment of silence passed between us. Only Mirna Draco spoke, asking, “God? Are you saying you saw God?”

At that moment, the saint opened her heavy lips.

“That answer... is not one I can give you. If you want that answer, it’d be faster to ask for yourself—or to see it with your own eyes.”

Her reply reminded me of someone. Was it because they were both religious people? Or because they had studied together as fellow students? Whatever the reason, Saint Priga and Theodoros had some similarities.

“So it’s the same answer Theodoros gave me.”

“You’ve met that man...!?”

She hadn’t expected his name to come from my lips, apparently. Despite remaining calm at the mention of the being beyond the gate, the moment I mentioned him, Saint Priga raised her voice.

“Where is that man? What’s he doing now? Did he say anything about me?”

“Ah...”

Judging by her reaction, Saint Priga probably didn’t know that Basago—that is, Theodoros—was currently staying in this Ark. I suppose it’s up to them to resolve this themselves.

So I answered like a cryptic clergyman.

“That’s not something I can really tell you. But if you look for him yourself, you might find the answer surprisingly close by.”

At that, the saint frowned beneath her eyepatch.

“You’re really quite mischievous.”

“I just repeated the exact answer I heard before.”

“Hmph.”

Saint Priga let out a sharp little cough. Then she said,

“Well, anyway, that’s about all I have to say. Professor Balan should be in the basement. You may take her. But there’s a condition.”

Of course she wouldn’t let us take Professor Balan so easily. She wasn’t going to be a pushover. Even the exacting Mirna didn’t go this far. I found myself getting slightly fed up.

“What condition?”

I asked. Saint Priga replied firmly.

“Say the words.”

“Words?”

I answered just as firmly. But Saint Priga made a face of pure disgust—so intense it could be felt even through her eyepatch.

“...Not those kinds of words. I mean, say you won’t investigate or dig any deeper into the gate and what lies beyond it. You should know better.”

“I don’t make promises lightly.”

I declined with vague phrasing. It was my way of telling her to propose a different condition. But surprisingly, the saint’s stance was as firm as a rock.

“It doesn’t need to be a promise. Just say the words. Even if it’s a lie, just say them aloud to me.”

So it didn’t have to be true—she just wanted to hear me say it. I didn’t know what she was playing at, but if I could throw around blank checks like this, it wasn’t a loss for me.

“I’ll try to avoid going beyond the barrier—or through the gate—unless absolutely necessary.”

“That’s enough.”

Srrrk—

Only then did the tense atmosphere surrounding Saint Priga begin to loosen.

“Oh, and congratulations on your marriage. Truly. Lord Teo, I sincerely hope you and your family continue to be as happy as you are now.”

“Thank you.”

***

The heresy interrogations of the Holy See were known for their severity.

It was said they skillfully and precisely preyed on the mental and physical weaknesses of the tortured until they extracted confessions.

Even someone like Professor Balan, who had surpassed the limits of humanity, wasn’t able to come away unscathed. Locked behind bars, she screamed out.

“L-Lord Teo, save me...! The saint’s minions, they—they tormented me terribly...!” freёweɓnovel.com

Tormented, she said—but Balan’s condition looked perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her, not even the slightest sign of coercion. She looked clean and unhurt. Still, she sobbed and sniffled like someone in great distress.

The reason was the garlic spread all around the underground cell.

“Hiiik...! Garlic...!”

There was no complicated reason Balan was so disturbed by the garlic. For whatever reason, Ars Nova hated garlic with a passion.

━Krrrng...!

Bael, the conscience-spider living inside my heart, was no exception. So I had to ask Marmar or Lady Mirna to help me get Professor Balan out.

“Lady Mirna, could you open that door for me?”

“Hmph... Honestly, I kind of want to leave her in there.”

It seemed Mirna was quite pleased to see Professor Balan imprisoned in a garlic-filled cell. The grudge she held against Balan likely hadn’t disappeared yet.

Maybe it never would.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to blame her. If anything, it was probably my fault for making the two of them keep running into each other like this.

Clink.

“Give me the key.”

At that moment, Mirna took the key from my hand and unlocked the underground cell.

Clack—the door opened. Instantly, Professor Balan shot out like a stray cat hiding under a car hood and began gagging violently.

Mirna watched her with an expression that was difficult to describe.

“So she’s weak to garlic. If I’d known this earlier... Looking at her now, it’s kind of funny. That House Draco fell to something like this...”

Then she gently patted Balan’s back as the professor continued retching. In that moment, I felt a kind of compassion I hadn’t even sensed from Saint Priga.

Mirna really did have a broad heart. Well, that much should’ve been obvious—she wouldn’t have agreed to be one of my wives otherwise. I said,

“Lady Mirna, your generosity is impressive.”

“I’m just being realistic. Blaming Professor Balan now won’t accomplish anything. Besides, I learned something useful today—garlic.”

Slide.

Mirna picked up a whole garlic bulb from the cell. The moment she did, Professor Balan let out a shriek like a vampire being burned alive.

“Kyaaaak...!”

“If you cause any more trouble in the future, I really will exterminate you, Professor Balan. Don’t forget—I’m always watching.”

“......”

Balan trembled like a leaf. It felt a little too cruel to just leave the two of them alone, so I decided to interrupt.

“So, Professor Balan, why in the world did you do something so reckless? You must’ve known how dangerous it would be to confront the saint here in Gracia.”

“T-That wasn’t on purpose...!”

“Not on purpose?”

“I was used. When we emerged from the dimensional gate, the saint was already nearby, as if she’d been waiting for us. We exchanged a few words and then...”

Ugh. Balan grimaced.

“I-I don’t remember exactly what she said, but I heard something... And then I just couldn’t hold back. Like I was being controlled, I lunged at the saint...”

But she was captured by nearby guards, and as a result, ended up imprisoned in this garlic-filled room.

“I’m sure it was Agares, dwelling inside the saint... That must’ve been it. Though I don’t remember exactly what it was...”

Agares.

That was said to be the second-ranked Grand Spell. Saint Priga clearly still had many unknowns. So what exactly was Agares capable of?

Bael, do you know?

━Hioong...

I see.

Looks like even Bael doesn’t know. Why were these beings, born from the same source, so indifferent to each other? Maybe it was because they never expected to be scattered like this.

No.

There are plenty of people who don’t even understand themselves. Knowing others in depth would be even stranger.

Swish.

I opened my palm and looked at it. Each line on my hand felt unfamiliar. So this is what my palm looks like. For a moment, I found myself curious about what kind of person I even was.

So I asked Mirna,

“Lady Mirna, what do you think of my appearance?”

“...All of a sudden?”

“Yes. I just got curious.”

“Well, um...”

Mirna hesitated strangely. Then she quickly turned her gaze to the side, avoiding my eyes, and fumbled for words. Her face seemed oddly flushed.

“...I don’t know. Don’t ask that in a place like this!”

She pinched my side. Hard. I almost teared up.

***

Thankfully, I managed to return to the Angmar Royal Palace before midnight. The ladies who had been waiting for us gathered to hear my report.

Chatter, chatter—like sea anemones whispering.

“So that’s what happened.”

When I finished my explanation, Elga let out a deep sigh.

“So basically, nothing’s really resolved. Nothing’s been settled. Not that I expected everything to be wrapped up in just one day.”

As Elga said, the Church’s internal conflict was still ongoing, and because of that, we didn’t know what kind of storm we might get swept up in. But sitting here with everyone like this made me feel secure.

Like we could survive any wave, so long as we were each other’s rafts. So I asked them with a light heart,

“So, what’s on the schedule for tomorrow? We’ve got to seriously start preparing for the wedding now. I’m sure there are things I need to do too.”

At that, all the women seated at the table let out a long, knowing hum.

“Hmmm...”

Their reactions were oddly in sync, like they’d rehearsed it, and that made me feel a little nervous.

Then Elga spoke.

“There’s definitely something you’ll be doing tomorrow.”