Chapter 140. Enemy
2024.01.18.
Late at night, someone knocked on Gerard's door.
Gerard, who happened to be awake, immediately went and opened the door. Miela was standing outside.
Despite the rather late hour for a visit, Gerard welcomed her with a calm face, as if he had been expecting her to come.
"What brings you at this late hour, Priest Miela?"
"I came to tell you about the person related to the black magic circle I mentioned this morning."
Though she had mentioned someone connected to the black magic circle in the morning, she hadn't revealed that the person was specifically Blair.
On the surface, she had glossed over it with the excuse that "it might have been a misunderstanding, so I'll confirm it accurately," but she had other motives.
'If I frame that woman, the Duke will surely step forward.'
She didn't want to see Herdin bewitched and making a fool of himself over a woman like that. Nor did she want him to suffer harm because of her.
That was why she had sought out Blair during the day.
Before things escalated, she had hoped Blair would quietly leave his side first.
Because that would also be the better outcome for her, who was carrying a child.
But Blair had ignored her goodwill, and Herdin had, as expected, shielded her. He was undoubtedly spellbound by that woman.
If so, it was now time to deliver righteous judgment.
"The Duchess of Delmarque has a black magic circle inscribed on her body."
"Is that true?"
"Yes, I'm certain. I confirmed it today."
"Why would the Duchess dabble in such wicked magic..."
Gerard, the very person who had inscribed that black magic circle on Blair's body, feigned ignorance and put on a regretful expression.
Then he composed his face and encouraged Miela.
"Even if it's the right thing to do, reporting someone's wicked deeds couldn't have been easy. Thank you for mustering the courage."
A woman who packaged her own warped emotions in a plausible sense of righteousness, even deceiving herself.
People like her were easily intoxicated by their own sense of justice, blindly pursuing it and often crossing the line.
Gerard knew this type of person well. In short, they were easy to exploit.
As he expected, Miela felt a sense of relief as if her actions were justified by a single compliment, and smiled brightly.
"Not at all. I merely did what I ought to do as a priestess who follows the will of the gods."
"It seems we should think more carefully about how to handle this matter and approach it cautiously. For now, it's late, so you should return for today."
"Please summon me anytime if you need my help. I am both a servant of the gods and simultaneously your limbs, Your Holiness."
"Just hearing that is reassuring."
After sending Miela away, Gerard walked to the window. Through the darkness, he could see the villa where Herdin and Blair were staying, deep within the Nerha estate grounds.
Kaligo happened to be coming from the villa toward the garden. He appeared to be out for a walk.
'The Duke said he would be returning to Livren soon, didn't he.'
Earlier today, Nerha's knights had come to see him.
Believing Miela's words that Gerard was a priest who had come to subjugate the black mage, they had asked various questions regarding the circumstances of the incident and then left.
That was what he had overheard from their conversation.
'But it would be problematic if they return to Livren.'
Livren was unequivocally a territory belonging to the Delmarque domain, and Herdin's knight order was stationed there.
With knights present, it would be difficult to corner Herdin enough to drive him into a mana rampage.
Of course, if Blair were killed, there was a possibility he would be consumed by rage, lose control of his mana, and rampage—but what if he didn't?
Rather, with Blair—who disrupted his mana—dead, the possibility of Herdin's rampage might disappear entirely.
Without a second constraint, Herdin, who had been trained as the family's heir since childhood, would rarely experience a mana rampage.
Herdin wasn't someone who fell in love easily enough to take someone as his mate, so it had taken a long time just to inscribe the imprint.
Black magic merely enabled the second constraint; it couldn't manipulate emotions.
If he killed Blair and Herdin didn't rampage, he would have to wait again until another imprint partner who could disrupt his mana appeared.
'Therefore, now while we're in a foreign country far away, I must settle this here.'
Killing Blair was a method he would consider only as an absolute last resort.
'But there's no harm in preparing for the worst case either.'
Gerard, who had been watching Kaligo stretching and walking, threw on his robe and left the room, heading for the garden.
Upon reaching the garden, he spotted Kaligo walking alone not far away.
"Ugh, starting tomorrow it's going to be a forced march. When will we ever reach the Elir Plains..."
As Kaligo murmured to himself, repeating Herdin's orders, Gerard approached from behind and called out to him.
"Kaligo, my faithful child."
His eyes turned red, and a bizarre voice unlike his usual one flowed from his lips.
Then, a black magic circle vividly appeared on the back of Kaligo's neck. Simultaneously, the focus disappeared from his eyes.
"If everything goes wrong, kill that woman."
A chilling voice drilled into Kaligo's mind like brainwashing.
* * *
At that same hour, Herdin was in his office receiving Ruth's report.
It was the report regarding the villa collapse incident he had ordered him to investigate that morning.
"The incident occurred yesterday, but with the undead attack causing chaos, news of the accident only came in around yesterday evening. So the knight order was dispatched this morning."
"I assume there were no survivors. Even if there were, they would have fled."
"No, actually. Three bodies were found, and miraculously one survivor was rescued. They say it's a priest belonging to the Empire's Central Temple."
A priest of the Empire's Central Temple.
At those words, Herdin paused the hand holding his cigar and furrowed his brow. There was more than one suspicious point.
"Why would a priest of the Empire be here?"
"They say they were passing through on a pilgrimage, tracking a black mage when they fell victim to the incident."
"Did the Empire's priests receive some kind of divine oracle telling them all to go to Nerha?"
At Herdin's sarcasm, Ruth shrugged and continued his report.
"Anyway, the Nerha lord's side seems to be investigating this incident based on that person's testimony."
"Based on what from that person? Shouldn't someone found at a crime scene first be suspected as the perpetrator and investigated?"
"The priest who went with the knight order vouched for their identity. Their divine power was confirmed as well."
Herdin's eyes narrowed.
If it was the priest who went along, it was Miela. She was the only priest of the Empire currently in Nerha.
She was involved in everything related to him. Suspiciously so.
Out of all the vast lands on the continent, the place she came for pilgrimage happened to be Nerha, where he and Blair were.
The sole survivor rescued from the origin point of the black magic circle that seemed to target Blair was her colleague.
And now she even knew about the existence of the black magic circle inscribed on Blair.
'It's one thing that she found out about the black magic circle because I told her to treat Blair...'
Any priest would immediately recognize a black magic circle that clashed with divine power.
So setting that issue aside, there were simply too many problems entangled with her to dismiss it as mere coincidence.
'If I could meet the survivor from the collapse accident, I might be able to learn something more.'
Whether it was the identity of that suspicious 'priest,' Miela's true motives, or clues to uncover the black mage's identity.
However, with Raymond, the lord of Nerha, reluctant to have Herdin—an outsider—interfere, it was difficult to contact that priest without any justification.
Herdin, pondering a justification with a cigar in his mouth, suddenly glanced at the clock and spoke.
"Good work. You may leave now."
"Have a good night."
Just as Ruth was about to open the door to leave the office, he ran into a knight who was about to knock.
"Ah, Sir Ruth. Your Excellency."
Not only Herdin but even Ruth looked at him with questioning eyes. It was a rather late hour to come seeking his lord.
The knight, who had hurriedly entered the office, spoke with a pale face.
"I have an urgent report to make."
When Herdin nodded toward Ruth, Ruth closed the office door.
As he listened to the knight's report, Herdin's eyes grew cold.
* * *
The next day, Gerard arrived at a villa in the outskirts. It was a place he had urgently prepared after sending word to his subordinates the previous day.
Herdin and Blair were scheduled to depart for Livren tomorrow.
So today was the only chance.
The perfect opportunity to complete his revenge.
There was no one at the villa he arrived at. He had kept it empty, having learned from past incidents that having people around wasn't particularly helpful.
Gerard went down to the basement. In the basement, illuminated by a few torches, a massive black magic circle like the one beneath the collapsed villa was drawn.
He stood directly before the black magic circle.
By now, Miela would have gone to Raymond and reported that the undead attack from a few days ago was orchestrated by Blair.
If he summoned the undead again at that moment, Raymond, already panicked by the devastated state of his territory, would seek out Blair and interrogate her.
Or, unable to think rationally, he might try to kill her.
If that happened...
'A war would break out.'
Herdin would have no intention of handing Blair over to them, so he would have to fight those trying to seize her. Alone.
Facing the onslaught of the undead army and the irrational knights of Nerha, he would have no choice but to rampage.
That was the scenario Gerard had painted.
With a confident smile, he activated the black magic circle.
But for some reason, the magic circle didn't activate.
Finding this strange, Gerard examined the circle and saw that one side of it had been erased, as if someone had smudged it with their foot.
'Did those fools make a mistake?'
Just as Gerard clicked his tongue at his subordinates' mistake and approached the magic circle—
From the unilluminated darkness of the basement, a presence suddenly emerged along with a chilling voice.
"It seems things aren't going well for you, Your Holiness."
Gerard's steps halted. Then, the person who walked out from the darkness revealed himself.
Gerard's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Herdin.
"How... are you here...?"
"Your Holiness should explain first."
Herdin, holding a sword, approached Gerard with slow, long strides. Even in the darkness, the sharply honed blade gleamed vividly.
"Why you, the Pope, are using black magic. No, more than that..."
"..."
"Why... did you kill my parents."
His blue eyes, now fully revealed beyond the light, shimmered with killing intent.