33.
Everything should have been settled by now.
And for good reason—because I had hypnotized Serena.
I had planted the suggestion that everything was fine, and I had heard her answer.
That it was nothing strange.
That the things I did were rather good deeds.
‘But what on earth is going on…….’
I had thought it ended there.
But Serena spoke to me with an infinitely serious expression.
“The suspicion of heresy regarding Lord Isaac has not yet been fully withdrawn.”
Startled, I asked back.
“Then the accusations still remain against me?”
Serena avoided my eyes.
Her gaze turned toward the floor.
After a moment, she raised her head and spoke quietly.
“If Lord Isaac wishes, I could remain and prove your innocence.”
An inquisitor of heresy proving the accused’s innocence?
I wasn’t sure if that was even allowed.
For now….
‘……It’s thanks to the hypnosis, right?’
At any rate, that conclusion seemed firmly rooted in her.
That my words not matching Chloe’s, the heresy accusations—all of it was no problem.
This was an unshakeable truth to her.
But Serena spoke as if something more remained.
“Another inquisitor may come; what would you do then?”
Uneasy at those words, I ended up asking.
“If you remain… does that mean another inquisitor won’t come?”
“Well. You could see it that way?”
‘What.’
You could see it that way.
Did that mean it might not be the case?
“The Order is a more complicated place than you might think.”
Then she looked out the window as if feigning indifference.
Yet she never stopped stealing glances at me.
‘……Why does it feel like she’s studying my reaction?’
Serena wore a faint smile as she spoke.
“Even if I submit a report stating your innocence, there may always be those who harbor doubts…….”
For some reason, a chill ran down my spine at that sight.
“I intend to help prove Lord Isaac’s innocence, however…….”
I shouldn’t think such things of a pious saintess, but.
She looked as if she were enjoying this situation.
‘It can’t be.’
The pious and benevolent demeanor she had shown all this time couldn’t possibly be a lie.
When Serena saw my gaze waver, she approached.
And taking my hands as if to reassure me,
“It wouldn’t be a bad choice to temporarily close the counseling office and come to the Order’s confessional, would it? Then your innocence would be proven, and—”
she whispered sweetly.
“—If I am there, Lord Isaac will be able to feel at ease, won’t you?”
Telling me to close the counseling office.
I had worked so hard all this time to save up money to move.
Besides, why would having you there put me at ease?
‘I have no idea. Not one bit.’
The warmth of her hand I felt through our tightly clasped hands.
Unlike my wavering gaze, she was looking at me clearly.
As if to say trust only her.
No.
As if to say trust no one in this world but her.
“…….”
“You needn’t overdo it, but it would be best if I checked on you regularly, at the very least.”
When I couldn’t continue speaking, she said as if taking a step back.
A complicated situation.
My head began to ache; I had no choice but to say this.
“……I will leave it to you.”
“Yes, that would be for the best. For now.”
“…….”
Then she rose from her seat.
She said as she headed for the door.
“I will tell you the details again tomorrow.”
Chime—
Serena left.
Staring at the closed door left me dizzy.
To think things would turn out like this even after creating a conclusion through hypnosis.
Be it Chloe or Veronica.
They had tended to veer off in strange directions.
But the situations themselves had been resolved somehow.
‘To think the issue isn’t resolved even after using hypnosis.’
What could I do now?
Falteringly, I took stock of what I could do.
Small talk under the guise of counseling.
Massaging her.
And the last one.
……Hypnosis.
‘Is this truly all I have….’
But given the circumstances, I had no other choice.
Her words seemed only to fuel my anxiety.
At this point, I even began to doubt whether she truly saw me as innocent.
If I did nothing, the worst-case scenario of a heresy trial awaited.
Then I had to do what I could.
I had never tried using all three hypnosis sessions on her.
If her conviction of my innocence was wavering and that was why she was acting this way.
I simply had to engrave an unshakeable truth.
Even if that truth was a false one.
***
I spent a sleepless night.
Heresy trial.
Those two words never left my head.
In the end, I greeted the morning without a wink of sleep.
Scratching my disheveled hair, I opened the window.
Looking down, I saw a woman in a nun’s habit.
Serena standing amid the alley fog.
When our eyes met, she smiled.
As if saying,
‘Didn’t I say we’d meet today?’
I answered inwardly.
‘You didn’t say it would be at dawn.’
…Anyway.
Today is the day.
Three times.
I’ll use them all.
Resolving myself so, I stepped back from the window.
***
When I opened the first-floor door, Serena entered.
Even though it was dawn, she was neatly groomed.
Neatly arranged silver hair with light makeup.
If this felt like a nun heading to a tryst, would that be blasphemous?
We sat facing each other across the table.
“Did you happen to have trouble sleeping last night?”
“…Do I look that way?”
“The area under your eyes looks rather dark.”
As she said that, her face twitched as if she were trying to hold back the corners of her mouth from turning up in a smirk.
Was I seeing things because I hadn’t slept?
Surely not.
Serena corrected her posture as if to continue yesterday’s conversation.
“As I told you yesterday, the Order has its circumstances. I do believe Lord Isaac is somewhat innocent, however…….”
So that was it.
I had believed my suspicions about her were resolved with a single hypnosis session.
Thinking back, it seemed it hadn’t worked properly.
She had deliberately emphasized “somewhat,” as if for me to hear it.
Well, it would be strange if headaches being cured by counseling wasn’t suspicious in itself.
“Still, how about staying in the Order for a while?”
She smiled with her eyes as if waiting for my answer.
Unfortunately, at times like this, I knew only one thing to do.
[Special Privilege: Hypnosis has been activated.]
Her pupils staring intently at me.
Eyelids covered over them.
Slowly, gently.
Her head tilted forward.
I carefully supported her so she wouldn’t hit the table like last time.
A soft breath followed.
She fell quietly asleep with both arms on the table.
There was no time to think.
I went around to her side and placed my hand on her shoulder.
Throwing away any guilt about laying hands on a saintess’s body.
From the back of her neck to the end of her shoulders, I massaged without stopping.
When nearly fifteen minutes had passed, I returned to my seat.
Serena opened her eyes.
Eyes that looked at me blankly for a moment, then soon regained focus.
Now was the time.
“So, Lady Serena. Your suspicions about me have been cleared, have they not?”
“Yes, they have.”
She answered as if in a daze, but she responded immediately, as if this alone were an unshakeable fact.
Good.
I had planned to use hypnosis three times, but if she accepted it clearly, that would be fine.
The moment I began to feel relieved.
“But…….”
Serena lowered her gaze.
“Various opinions may arise within the Order.”
‘Still…?’
“Even if I judge you innocent, it is difficult to guarantee that others will make the same judgment.”
A gentle voice.
But ungentle contents.
“I do believe you are innocent. However, well. It could change depending on the situation…….”
Going so far as to subtly overturn the statement of innocence.
‘What the hell.’
It was maddening.
“You must believe me. Lord Isaac. You must believe only in me.”
She spoke as if consoling me, but.
I was thinking only this:
If once was not enough.
I would simply try again.
“By the way, Lady Serena.”
When I, who had been silent, opened my mouth, she gazed steadily at me.
As if she truly anticipated my answer.
She looked at me as if admiring her own handiwork.
[Special Privilege: Hypnosis has been activated.]
I had no leisure to continue this or that conversation.
Perhaps because it was the second activation, her head soon dropped with a light nod.
I immediately went behind Serena.
This time, along her shoulders to the back of her neck.
I massaged more carefully than the first time.
Fifteen minutes later, I returned to my seat.
Serena opened her eyes again.
Her expression was distinctly relaxed.
Eyes softened gently, as if shrouded in mist.
I spoke to her.
“Lady Serena. There won’t be any other inquisitors coming, will there? And even if they do, if you stop them…….”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
I had spoken at length, but she answered immediately.
The effect clearly had deepened; she spoke as if everything were natural.
‘Maybe there’s some use to this cumulative hypnosis effect or whatever.’
But.
Serena, now alert, stared blankly at me.
“However.”
“…….”
“I must be by your side for it to be certain. Do you understand?”
‘…Again?’
“Because I worry when Lord Isaac is alone.”
Serena spoke, tilting her head slightly.
The stiff tone she had used when speaking of the Order’s internal matters had vanished.
Instead, she only spoke words that seemed to worry about me.
‘Maybe the direction is improving.’
But it hadn’t been fundamentally resolved.
“Ah, I see. If another inquisitor changes their mind, it could be dangerous, couldn’t it?”
She kept adding things after saying her suspicions were cleared.
‘Is this the last one?’
While Serena smiled.
I waited for the moment her voice grew languid.
“They could be dangerous.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Unlike me—”
[Special Privilege: Hypnosis has been activated.]
She fell asleep in an instant.
I had finally used all three.
I went behind Serena, who had settled into the sofa.
The third and final.
I had never encountered someone this resistant to hypnosis.
‘Lord Isaac’s embrace is truly warm.’
I remembered what she had said then.
She remembered that fact even while falling asleep.
Then I should try this as well.
‘Since this is the last time.’
Instead of massaging her.
Lightly, tightly.
I gazed at the sleeping Serena’s face during the fifteen minutes.
A person who even in sleep looked as if she were praying.
I wondered what kind of person I was to hypnotize someone this pious three times.
‘It’s better than being dragged to a heresy trial.’
I forced myself to think that.
When the time was nearly up, I returned to my seat.
Serena’s eyes opened.
Slowly.
While her focus returned, I saw the corners of her eyes grow moist.
Serena straightened her posture and looked at me.
A face more earnest than ever before.
I spoke to her as if making a confession.
Because I had to leave this with her one last time.
“Lady Serena, there is nothing strange going on, is there?”
I brought out the suggestion I had first planted. After all, if only these things were resolved, everything would be fine.
“From your testimony not matching Lady Chloe’s to the heresy accusation. You have proven before the Lord that none of it is a problem.”
Having even invoked the Lord’s name, I waited for her answer.
Serena slowly tilted her head.
Then, looking at me with gentle eyes, she spoke.
“Yes, Lord Isaac.”
In a clear voice.
“I will say this clearly. It is only natural that my testimony does not match Lady Chloe’s.”
Yet softly.
“The heresy accusation is the same.”
Serena continued without a moment’s hesitation.
“After all, the one who promised the future—wasn’t it me?”
……What?
I reflexively asked back.
“What did you just say…?”
“It’s only natural that my testimony doesn’t match Lady Chloe’s.”
Serena repeated the same words.
“Because I am the one who promised the future.”
A voice full of conviction.
As if she would never let it be taken from her.
She drove it home like a nail.
“Not Lady Levantia. Me.”