"That's Calitus, isn't it? That's Captain's sword."
Is the young man in front me also a member of the Special Task Squad?
"I just borrowed it temporarily."
"You borrowed it?"
The young man voiced his doubt and looked at me suspiciously. Well, no wonder he would be suspicious.
"Then, do you think I could steal it? From the leader of the Special Task Squad?"
"Hmm…that's also not possible."
After hearing my words, that brat nodded his head. Sigh… the leader of the Special Task Squad is not someone I could steal or even forcibly snatch something away from. So, without a doubt, I must have definitely borrowed it.
"But, why did Captain willingly lend Calitus to you, Miss?"
"I wanted to beat up a damn brat from the Special Task Squad."
"Huh? Which one?"
"A thinly-built brat with yellow hair."
"Oh, Clauen?"
Clauen…? Is he a circus performer? Seems like it's not his real name. I smiled brightly at the young man who was coming towards me.
"Do you know where he is?"
"If he really ran away, then he definitely won't be around here anymore. And also… who are you, Miss?"
"Ca– Silla Epheria. The eldest daughter of Count Epheria."
Just now I almost introduced myself as the Captain of the Holy Knights, Roel.
"Ohh, that one… I'm Lather. Usually people call me Lathy."
Rather than trying to remember his name, I'm much more interested in the words he said in the beginning. What did he mean by 'that one'?
"Lathy, it seems like you know something about me."
"Hm? Did the Captain not tell you anything Miss? Even though Miss has been brought here? Captain definitely has confirmed that Miss is not the one. Otherwise, Miss wouldn't be able to borrow Calitus."
'Not the one'? That damn circus brat also said something similar. I was about to ask Lathy for some information but I decided to look for Captain Jullius instead. He must have known in detail, right? Before that… I stared at the Special Task Squad's headquarters which couldn't be considered to be small…
"Lathy."
"Hm?"
"Do you know where Captain Jullius is right now?"
I was too focused on chasing that damn brat that I paid no attention to my surroundings and I didn't know which door I had come from. Lathy burst out laughing when he heard my dejected voice, then he beckoned me to follow him.
The place we were going to was an office on the second floor. He brought me right in front of the office's door, then he quickly turned around to run away, after saying, "The Demon King is inside that room!"
Demon King? It's impossible there could be a Demon King inside the Capital, let alone inside the Imperial Palace. That must be someone else, right? I raised my hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
The voice that came from inside was unfamiliar to me. If that's not Captain Jullius' voice, then who he might be? The Demon King? As I opened the door and walked inside, I saw two men there. One of them was Captain Jullius and the other one was a man with bright red eyes and red-hair who was wearing a neat uniform. I stared at both of them one after another and raised the sword in my hand.
"The sword…"
Huhu…I'm not willing to return it. But I couldn't steal it, could I?
"I come here to return this."
"Captain Jullius Rizar."
As soon as he recognized Calitus in my hands, the man who was wearing uniform, had a frighteningly gloomy face. He moved his gaze to Captain Jullius and spoke in a low voice.
"Calitus is a symbol of the Special Task Squad's Captain and also a sword that was bestowed directly by His Majesty. Not only you recklessly leave it in random places, but you even lend it to a stranger you only just met? It doesn't make any sense at all. As your assistant, I can't stand it when my superior become too lax."
"… it's not allowed?"
Captain Jullius pouted a bit while mumbling and I felt a bit guilty inside my heart. Captain Jullius kindly lent me his sword, even though I broke the holy sword into pieces. Although it could be restored, I still felt guilty about it.
"Of course it's not allowed. I hope there won't be a next time."
"Understood."
Arghhhh!! It felt like I was being scolded. Suddenly I felt like I could clearly hear all the usual scolding from the Church elders and Cardinals in my ears. Captain Jullius, I feel you. As a leader, the presence of an assistant is similar to a leash that bind your movements. A leash that can be painful when it was tightly pulled.
(T/N:basically it's similar to a dog's leash. The meaning is the assistant always corrects/warns/scolds/restricts,etc the leader from acting recklessly. Similar to the relationship between an owner and his pet xD)
I secretly watched the assistant's mood and moved closer to Captain Jullius. Now I have to return the sword, but…
Sigh… it's really hard to part ways with this sword.
"Ughh…bye bye love!"
With a disappointed face, I handed the sword to Captain Jullius. Although our time together was short, I will never forget you… duh, I feel a bit guilty towards Altaire. Don't worry Altaire, I still like you. No matter what, a partner that goes through thick and thin together is still the best. It's a pity that you broke at the last moment. Well, mainly it's my fault that you got broken into pieces.
"Thank you for lending your sword. Although I was still not able to beat up that annoying brat."
"He's an expert at running away."
Did he purposely lend me his sword because he knew I wouldn't be able to catch that brat? Well, I also wouldn't lend that powerful sword if I knew my subordinate wouldn't be able to get away. Well, whatever. The main thing is I had already returned his sword. Now back to the main problem. I stared at the two men before me.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Why did he suddenly appear as my witness and then bring me here only to launch an attack on me? Thinking about it, it's very suspicious to see Captain Jullius pacing back and forth near the solemn assistant. I had a hunch that Captain Jullius had been deliberately hiding somewhere to monitor me rather than accidentally witnessing me jumping out off the window on that day.
The assistant started to talk after hearing my question.
"Miss Silla Epheria."
"Yes?"
"What I'm going to say after this is confidential. Miss must keep it a secret."
"You must know that I don't have anyone to talk to anyway. In the mansion, there's only a single maid serving me."
I hadn't met the Count and or my step-sibilings, but other than Sofia, all the people in the mansion regarded me as someone who didn't exist. If by any chance we bumped into each other, never mind greeting me, they wouldn't even bother to look at me. The assistant shrugged his shoulders when he heard me.
"Well, anyway it will be your loss if you tell others about it."
"Oh? How curious."
The assistant kept silent for a moment before continued to speak.
"The Demon King who cursed the Crown Prince is affiliated with Count Epheria's household."
"… What?"
"In other words, it means that chances are very high that Count Epheria intended to harm His Highness the Crown Prince."
I widened my eyes instantly as I failed to conceal my surprised feeling. Huh… hmm… after some consideration, it is indeed possible! Damn! Why didn't I ever think this way? Surely, a Demon King rarely made a contract with only one person. The more they desired to possess human souls, the more they would bind them with a contract at every possible opportunity. In this case, perhaps Count Epheria really made a contract with the Demon King with the purpose of cursing His Highness the Crown Prince, but still…
It can't be classified as a normal contract in which a nobleman used his own blood-related daughter as the sacrifice…
If not for some special requests in return, it would be better to kidnap orphans or stray kids, and then coax them into a binding contract, and later discard them after it's all done. It's less risky and additionally there would be no complicated aftermath. However, using his own flesh and blood as the sacrifice, regardless of whether there is any affection or not, was a dangerous move. Using his own flesh and blood meant that he needed to confine her inside the mansion as a precaution and it would become a bigger problem if he got caught. Furthermore, it could raise the Church's suspicion if all of a sudden a noble died at a young age when the contract is completed.
However, someone could ask for a bigger demand if he used a young noble lady as a sacrifice. There are also some limitations on how much power could be absorbed by the Demon King. The more talented and young the sacrifice, the higher her value will be. That means the contract was made recently… did Silla agree to it? I have no idea.
Sigh…no matter what, I was now faced with dire matters.
"Then, the reason I was attacked…"
"To confirm something. Right now the most suspicious thing that could have been used as the contract payment from the Count is none other than Miss Silla Epheria. The sacrifice used to fulfill the contract usually receives a weak barrier from the Demon King, so we had no choice but to offend Miss to confirm it. And the result is that Miss is not the sacrifice because you used holy power."
… You're right though. To be precise, this body is the sacrifice, but not my soul. Even so, I can't bluntly admit this and give them compliments like, "You've guessed it right! Awesome!"
Since I didn't say anything, the assistant asked me, "That aside, I heard Miss used holy power well."
The methods of using holy power are only known by the clergy and can only be taught by the clergy. Although sometimes it could be taught in secret, this practice was strictly prohibited to prevent others from using the power bestowed by the Goddess for the wrong cause.
"Ah, actually my dream is to be a clergy."
That's not a lie.
"And in the past, I met Sir Roel by chance."
"The leader of the Holy Knights Squad?"
"Yes. As both of you know, my family's condition is kinda messed up. That's why Sir Roel taught me a bit about holy power to protect myself. The holy knights' method of using holy power isn't so significant so as to be a secret anyway."
The holy knights could use their holy power because it's resided inside their bodies and they could learn how to use it by themselves without much instruction. In short, this type of holy power is only useful for its owner's body, as opposed to those priests' holy powers which were used to give blessings and heal others.
"Sir Roel even said that he would arrange for me to join the Church after he returned from his mission, but…"
I looked down and covered my face with my hands as I faked some tears. I know this is silly but how could they know anyways? In any case, it was me all along. The present Silla and the dead Roel are both me. Well, let's just assume that I made a promise to myself then! It won't become a lie if I think that way.
"In conclusion, Miss Silla Epheria can use holy power so she has no affiliation to the Demon King."
"Yes. Of course."
To be honest, there is a connection and I'm the one who beat up the Demon King until he was black and blue. Sigh… and I only needed one last hit to end it all…
"Then, can we ask Miss to cooperate with us as a spy in the Epheria household? Although we already have someone, it would be better to have another spy who is the member of the household itself even though she's unfavored."
"You already have someone? May I ask who it is?"
"That's a secret."
Did he imply that I was not trustworthy enough to be informed of who the spy is? Hmm… acting as a spy inside the family…? It's not a bad offer. But…
The problem might become even more complicated than it already is if they discovered I was the sacrifice for the contract.
That's the biggest problem I might face in the future. Someone who made a contract with the Demons would received a death sentence or be exiled. It wouldn't be a problem if I could prove myself as Roel, who had gotten my soul switched with Silla's. But, they wouldn't believe me if I said this anyway. They would definitely think I made up some lies so I won't get exiled.
For now I can free myself from suspicion because I can use holy power but… if the contract was made before Silla was born, all my efforts will be futile.
Someone who had awakened his holy power couldn't be used as a sacrifice and bonded contract with demons, but it would be a different matter if the contract was made before you awakened your holy power. No matter what, the details of the contract with the Demon King must not be known before I can meet with the High Priest and prove my identity. Duh, what should I do? Should I just barged in to the church tomorrow…? Wait! I stared at Captain Jullius and the assistant with bright eyes.
"I will become your spy if you guys can fulfill my only request!"
"Request?"