“Don’t tell …all this recklessness was over a single slave?”
“Partly that, and partly to take care of an Evil God’s Apostle. Two birds, one stone.”
I shrugged, but all I got in return were stares that suggested I wasn’t in my right mind.
Even among lunatics, being looked at as though I were unhinged felt unfair.
I’m innocent…!
But no one took my side. Everyone was more curious about the part where it was “for Carla.”
Elisha brushed back her elaborate, drill-shaped hair and asked,
“You? For Carla? What do you an by that?”
“It’s nothing. Just that Carla beca a slave under circumstances similar to yours.”
“Mine? You an… through spirit summoning?”
“…No, that was Iris. You just got caught up in the sches of the Boiling Silence Church while tagging along.”
“Oh.”
At that, Iris, who had been standing behind, flinched at the ntion of her spirit-summoning attempt. Not a false accusation, so she had nothing to say in defense.
Anyway, the fact that Carla beca a slave due to a false charge also ant that her father, Theodore Lindelheit, was falsely accused of being a cultist.
The most shocked by this revelation was Havel, who had personally led Theodore to the execution platform.
“What… what do you an? Theodore was innocent?”
“Yes. All the so-called evidence of his cultist activity was fabricated by the Boiling Silence Church. The head butler of the Lindelheit family, Servis, was a spy.”
“I… I…”
Havel stood frozen in shock. Wasn’t this supposed to be a Swordmaster? Shouldn’t his ntal fortitude be stronger than this?
Then again, considering the recent turmoil, it was possible he was already ntally exhausted.
After all, Fiona’s scheming didn’t stop at the Lindelheit family—it extended to Havel himself.
“Sir Havel, you’re no exception. Every ti you tried to buy Carla to fulfill her father’s last wish, sothing just happened to go wrong at the palace. Don’t you think it’s an awfully convenient coincidence? And what about how a Swordmaster of your caliber ended up so impotently cooped up?”
“……”
Havel remained silent, his head hung low.
Ordinary poisons don’t affect a Swordmaster’s body. But poisons of the mind are a different story.
Repeated failures. The powerlessness of being unable to act. Endless terror. And yet, the unyielding loyalty he was bound to maintain.
What happens when soone who has risen to superhuman status through conviction starts doubting and regretting their path?
Even if they seem fine at first, over ti, the blade that is Havel would have dulled and rusted.
Because the most dangerous poison is the poison of the mind.
Perhaps that’s why he ultimately failed to land even a single aningful blow on an Apostle like Fiona in H&A and died.
Of course, this was only speculation.
As Havel mulled over my words, he raised his head again, his eyes a storm of anger and killing intent.
The mont Havel took a step forward, I imdiately blocked his path.
“I told you. Soone else will kill Fiona.”
“……”
Havel stared at without a word. But soon enough, the sharp intensity in his gaze subsided, and his grip on the sword loosened.
“…You’re right. That’s not my role, at least not now.”
Havel muttered in a low voice and stepped back.
Fiona, having watched this entire exchange, looked at incredulously.
“How… how do you know all this? There shouldn’t have been any evidence. And that form of yours…”
“Who knows?”
I smirked and gave Carla a gentle push forward.
“Do you think you need to know?”
You’re about to die, after all.
Fiona bit her lip, seemingly grasping the unspoken ssage.
Carla, now stepping forward, raised her staff.
“Fiona de Levantin. It’s ti to pay the price.”
“‘Pay the price.’ You say that as if you’re the one enacting vengeance. Did you know? You were originally supposed to be sold to the eunuch Count Kipros. At least, that’s the setup we prepared.”
“???”
“He was an impotent man but also a sadistic and perverse playboy. If you had fallen into his hands, would you even be capable of seeking revenge like this? Would you have learned the truth?”
“……”
Fiona sneered at Carla, who couldn’t muster a response.
“No! You’re just lucky! Lucky to have a master who couldn’t feel mana! Lucky that master uncovered the truth! Lucky to have strong allies who cornered ! You’ve done nothing! It’s all your master’s work! Even if you kill , this isn’t Carla Lindelheit’s revenge!”
Fiona’s smile was a blend of glee and mockery.
Even in her final monts, she was determined to poison the air with venomous words.
Thinking about it, every cultist I’ve encountered has been like this.
Cursing the world and their enemies with their dying breaths, wishing for everything to collapse.
Is this because of the Evil God’s ntal corruption? Or do only those already predisposed to such darkness rise to the ranks of cult leaders?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that leaving Fiona’s rambling unchecked will lead to nothing good.
As I was about to intervene—
Grip.
Carla suddenly grasped my hand tightly, intertwining her fingers to ensure I couldn’t pull away.
It was an unmistakable gesture: “Leave this to .”
Carla, who usually followed my lead and laughed whenever asked what she wanted, saying, “Whatever you want to do,” had stepped forward for once.
I stared blankly at her side profile for a mont. Before long, a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
It was a smile that seed mocking, condescending, and yet strangely indulgent.
Annoyingly enough, it looked exactly like the expression others had told I occasionally wore.
“You really don’t know even the basics, do you?”
“Wh-what don’t I know?”
As if she had been waiting, Carla straightened her back and declared boldly in a loud voice.
“Everything about a slave belongs to their master! My body, my mind, my past vengeance, and my dreams for the future! All of it belongs to my master, not to ! So what does it matter if it’s not my revenge?”
“…What?”
Fiona said in a daze, as if she couldn’t comprehend what she just heard.
Honestly, I felt the sa.
What are you even saying, Carla…? That’s way too much responsibility… My head feels like it’s going to explode…
Words I wanted to say swirled in my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to voice any of them.
How could I, when Carla looked up at with her ruby-red eyes sparkling so brightly?
The words that had reached the tip of my throat were swallowed back down.
“Master! Master! I was thinking—how about we finish this together?”
“Uh…?”
“Since we started this as a joint effort, I thought it’d be nice to finish it together, too!”
“Hmm…”
“Besides, Master is part of ‘Lindelheit’ now, right?”
She placed a hand lightly on my chest and smiled slyly.
n are truly simple creatures. A light touch and a coy smile are enough to completely overturn their thoughts.
Just like now.
“Ah, yeah. If that’s what you want, Carla.”
“Yay!”
Carla raised her clasped hands and pointed them toward Fiona with a bright smile.
Fiona, unable to process the sudden change in circumstances, could only roll her eyes, while Carla aid her trademark mischievous grin at her.
“I’ll show you Lindelheit magic, feared even by Evil Gods.”
“What? Have you gone mad? Or could it be…?!”
Fiona looked at with an expression of disbelief.
I wish she wouldn’t look at like that, as if I had trained Carla in sothing unspeakable.
But once again, I wasn’t given a chance to explain myself. Before I could open my mouth, Carla’s mana began to flow.
If this continued, Carla would end up casting magic on her own. I sealed my lips and focused on drawing out my mana.
“—————.”
“—————.”
We began casting together, hands intertwined.
Perhaps because I had learned magic from Carla, our chants, which should have been unique to each of us, synchronized perfectly.
The sa words. Different voices. Yet the rhythm was harmoniously blended.
As if we had been one from the very beginning, our chants rged seamlessly.
And it wasn’t just the chants.
Our mana resonated as well.
My core, which should have been resonating with the ambient mana, instead synchronized with Carla’s core.
The overlapping wavelengths collided, cracked, and eventually fused into sothing far greater.
Whooong.
Perhaps because I hadn’t undone my dragonized form, the mont our cores connected, I could sense everything about Carla, just as she could sense everything about .
It felt as if I had beco Carla, and Carla had beco .
This unprecedented sense of unity exhilarated .
Following that exhilaration, our mana surged in unison.
Flash!
A small fla ford in front of our clasped hands, drawing in an imnse amount of mana.
The experience was both thrilling and new, but all things must co to an end.
Even what feels eternal is ultimately just a fleeting mont.
Before I realized it, our chanting had finished, leaving only a single trigger word.
Fiona, foreseeing her demise, shook her head frantically.
Carla and I exchanged a glance and nodded.
And then, the final word.
“Incinerate!”
The ultra-high heat fla that could burn even bone latched onto Fiona’s body.
Whoosh!
That was it.
Before she could even scream, Fiona’s body was reduced to a handful of ash.
The ash scattered in the wind, blowing through the broken windows. Carla, who had been watching it drift away, turned to and smiled brightly.
A radiant smile, like a flower in full bloom.
“Shall we go now, Master?”
Her smile reminded of the blue flower ornant said to symbolize the Lindelheit family.
And that shimr—surely, it was like dew reflecting the morning sunlight.
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