37.
The person I had believed I knew all this time had vanished,
and some stranger stood before my eyes.
Wrapped in an atmosphere so gloomy and a stench of blood so thick it was suffocating.
Admittedly, I had only met him a few times and exchanged brief words with him.
I do not know him.
And I hadn’t wanted to find that out like this.
If the connection between the potion and heresy were revealed, and I ultimately failed to prove my innocence,
the first one to come cut my throat would have been Prien Izarnar?
Setting aside the chilling shudder running down my spine, I couldn’t figure out how to process this incredible coincidence.
He had administered the potion to an Inquisitor, of all people?
Only now could I admit that the psycho hadn’t selected targets for the potion one by one.
If he wanted to live, he wouldn’t have committed something this insane!
If he had been confident his identity would never be discovered, then I felt like giving that psycho a round of applause for his audacity, at least.
“…….”
“…….”
Honestly speaking, I wanted to hide a little longer in this chaos and turn away from reality.
But there was someone even more startled than I was—no, shocked out of his wits—so I couldn’t pretend not to know forever.
Of course, it was Prien Izarnar.
He had apparently noticed early on that someone had entered, but seemed to have realized only belatedly that it was none other than me.
The very moment he—who had been delivering the final blow to the heretic regardless of who stood before him—raised his head right in front of my nose,
our eyes met dead on.
I staggered momentarily from an inexplicable sense of pressure and gripped my cane tightly, when
suddenly, Prien’s eyes regained focus, and he hastily stepped back with an expression of extreme bewilderment.
As if he were the prey that had encountered a predator, his already pale face turned even bluer.
Even swaying on his feet, Prien hid his sword behind his back.
……As if that would hide it?
Then, looking at his own hands soaked in blood, he began rubbing them against his clothes in distress.
But his sleeves were equally filthy, splattered with blood, so his hands only grew redder.
Only after seeing that with his own eyes did Prien stop trying to wipe his hands.
In the end, he hid that hand behind his back as well, retreating until his back hit the wall.
Since then, we had been maintaining our confrontation in silence.
Honestly, when our eyes had met just now, it had sent chills down my spine.
Why, there’s such a thing as instinct, isn’t there.
The primal terror of facing something beyond words.
Prien knew that too.
Striving not to show my confusion and faint dread, I took a step toward him.
Then Prien spoke at once.
“Do not come.”
“…….”
“It is filthy. So…… do not come.”
His cracked voice was more emotional than ever before.
He probably hadn’t wanted to show me this side of himself.
At least, he wouldn’t have wanted to reveal his true nature like this.
I calmly surveyed the room.
From iron bars that seemed used to hold someone captive, to very old bloodstains and rusted torture tools.
It was difficult to imagine just how far the pursuit of heresy had been carried out in this place.
And well…….
Prien Izarnar must always be seeing scenes like this.
I remembered what the paladin had said to me earlier, as if warning me.
That to gaze into darkness, one must eventually enter the darkness.
Had he meant that even someone like Prien, who had looked infinitely noble in the eyes of someone like me, could not ultimately remain free from that darkness?
“Indeed, it is filthy.”
“…….”
“Come here.”
Prien did not move.
I carefully made my way toward him, trying not to step in the pools of blood.
It was not the least bit fast—a speed that could be seen as frustratingly slow—but Prien did not flee.
Neither did he approach. He simply stood rooted to the spot, exhaling ragged breaths like a man with a noose around his neck, utterly stiff.
Soon, stopping before him, I cleared my throat and asked.
“Are you finished with your work?”
“…….”
“Then will you help me? There’s something I need to ask of you.”
“…….”
“Let’s get out of here first.”
I jerked my chin toward the door.
I walked a few steps, but Prien didn’t follow.
“Are you planning to stay here?”
“…….”
“If you’re going to leave anyway, just come out with me now.”
I reached out and pulled the hand he was hiding behind his back.
Our clumsily clasped hands felt awkward, but I walked just like that.
Fortunately, Prien quietly let himself be led.
“Let go, please let go.”
Of course, he didn’t mean it.
“Just be quiet and follow me.”
“But my hands are filthy…….”
“We can wash them later. What’s the big deal?”
Prien fell silent again.
Though neither of us spoke, I could feel the atmosphere had eased considerably compared to before.
That paladin bastard had abandoned me in front of a blood-drenched Inquisitor and run off alone.
If I ran into him next time, I really wouldn’t let him off easy.
“……What is it you need?”
Prien, who had been quiet for a long while after that, suddenly spoke.
“Ah, well, what happened is, you know about the drug that was being spread here? I accidentally inhaled some of it…….”
Prien’s steps quickened, and he moved ahead of me to block my path.
“Are you alright?”
He wanted to grab me and examine me this way and that, but his hands were filthy, his clothes even filthier, and he feared getting me dirty if he drew close. One of Prien’s hands trembled as it flailed in the empty air.
Even so, I could tell he had no intention of letting go of the hand clasped with mine, which I found a bit amusing.
And yet earlier, he’d said things he didn’t mean, begging me to let go?
I tightened my grip on his hand and pulled.
Prien went limp and was tugged along.
“How do I look?”
I lifted my chin and raised my head, and his flustered expression was right before my eyes.
Our garments fluttered from the sudden movement, overlapping slightly, and blood quietly seeped through.
I reached toward his hair.
Honestly, I’d wanted to touch it for a while now. Good.
I gently touched the tangled part and roughly smoothed it out, then let some of his hair fall over his shoulder.
“…….”
I could see Prien’s Adam’s apple moving up and down violently.
On the one hand, a rather calculating thought crossed my mind.
An Inquisitor was an existence above all authority, empowered under the protection of the Grand Temple to carry out summary judgment on anyone.
If that psycho was connected to heresy…….
That person would surely regret placing Prien Izarnar before me.
Prien answered, pausing several times as if his throat were closing up.
“You look…… you look fine…….”
His gaze was busy—meeting mine, then darting away, then meeting again.
As if he couldn’t bear me staring at him so intently.
“Strangely enough, I’m fine.”
“…….”
“Not me—someone else is hurting. Can you help?”
“……Yes.”
Prien finally fixed his gaze and met my eyes.
“I will do that……”
From the grip that quietly closed around my hand, I understood.
Even if I let go now, he would not.
* * *
Prien seemed to want to change his clothes, so I sent him off and was on my way back alone to where Jaka was.
I sensed a commotion from within.
When I hurried over, people had gathered around Jaka.
At the center of them was the commander I had run into a little while ago.
“Where did your master go?”
Since they seemed to be talking about me, I stepped forward.
“I am right here.”
“How am I supposed to take the fact that you left your post without permission?”
“With all due respect, you are not my master. Is there any need for me to explain myself?”
“……Ha!”
From the looks of it, he had come looking for us while Duke Gladineer’s attention was briefly turned elsewhere.
He seemed eager to find fault with something, but I had no intention of causing trouble after receiving the duke’s help.
“If there is something you wish to ask me, ask it here and now.”
“Have you obtained any information separately?”
“I have already handed over all the evidence that nearly went missing to the temple. You should have received a report on that.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
It seemed he was venting, in whatever way he could, the frustration of not being able to run rampant in the imperial capital as he did in other regions.
“Are you admitting now that you sought cooperation with us without even a minimum of trust?”
“That is correct.”
Just then, the duke’s voice came from right behind me.
He came to my side and naturally came to a stop.
“Not trusting the baron means not trusting me, and not trusting me is the same as not trusting the imperial family. Is that your intent?”
“……How could a mere hand and foot fully fathom the will of those above? I merely judged that a personal verification was necessary.”
At that moment, another voice came from the left.
“This is someone I vouch for. Is verification still necessary?”
It was Prien.
“……Someone you vouch for, Sir?”
The commander flinched, then glanced at me.
“Wasn’t she the duke’s person?”
“She is.”
Before I could even open my mouth, the duke answered.
“At the same time, she is also my person. I do not believe that should be a problem, Commander.”
And then Prien answered in turn.
Before I knew it, the explanation was over without me having said a single word.
Standing between the two of them, receiving everyone’s gazes, I had an ominous feeling.
‘Wait. This…….’
The duke’s gaze quietly came to rest on Prien.
Prien, too, looked at the duke.
But the exchange of glances was brief.
Because Jaka, who had staggered upright into a sitting position, opened his mouth toward me.
“Asha.”
He even reached a hand out to me as he coughed.
“I’m in pain.”
……You bastard, read the room.