“I’ve got something else interesting.”

Jainer pulled something out of his chest and set it down.

“The temple pulled something absolutely ridiculous.”

What he took out was a necklace.

“That...”

Camilla recognized it, too. The crimson-stone necklace Priest Daniel had given her before. But the one in Jainer’s hand now was a different color.

“Black stone?”

Was it different from the holy relic she knew? The shape was similar, though?

Jainer immediately cleared up Camilla’s doubt.

“It’s that stone that’s been trendy lately. The one the temple sells. I looked into it, and they say after a certain amount of time passes, the color changes like this.”

It was the first she’d heard of it.

“Looks like that bastard donated a ton to the temple, too. He was wearing this necklace.”

Jainer went on to briefly tell her about the indulgences the temple sold.

“Divine pardon?”

“Whose head do you think that idea came out of. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Ha.”

Camilla was so dumbfounded she couldn’t say anything for a while. Divine pardon. They were selling that kind of thing?

“At the temple, of all places?”

With just that indulgence, they’d even look the other way on murder? That meant money could buy anything?

“They’ll do anything.”

Getting scammed with necklaces was absurd enough, but indulgences were too far, weren’t they? How did that make any sense?

“Who the hell are they to pardon anyone’s sins?”

Frowning hard, Camilla picked up the necklace Jainer had set out.

“Should I just go smash the whole place up?”

“Smash it up?”

“I mean this.”

Maybe she should make and sell a miracle mat or something. Lay out a line of top-grade Mana Stones, carve a magic circle that “boosted your energy,” and sell it at an obscene price. It’d probably sell like crazy.

And then, what if she added that it was completely incompatible with anything that carried holy power, so you absolutely must never use a holy relic necklace with it? Wouldn’t that slash holy relic necklace sales?

“I should really do it...!”

PZZZT!

Camilla’s eyes snapped wide as she was thinking about how to make the temple choke on it.

The black stone in her hand had done the exact same thing as last time. The instant it touched her skin, sparks jumped—and it shattered.

“What? What happened? Why did it suddenly break?”

Jainer asked, looking puzzled, but Camilla couldn’t answer. Her face had frozen.

She was just as thrown off. Once was one thing, but could the exact same thing happen twice?

Her gaze wouldn’t leave her right hand, where the necklace fragments sat. Something had suddenly flashed through her mind, fast.

‘Since you are a scheduled soul, no one else can lay hands on you carelessly.’

She remembered what Reaper Habel had told her not long ago. The right hand that had been smeared with his blood. The necklace that shattered every time it touched that hand.

How am I supposed to interpret this?

Camilla clenched the necklace fragments tight. If you wore this necklace, it said you’d gain eternal rest, didn’t it?

“Rest, huh.”

...Look at this.

“Ha!”

A hollow laugh burst out of Camilla. This really did seem connected to that weird group again, didn’t it?

“Wow. Damn.”

Just how far did those bastards’ hands reach?

Now it was beyond surprising—it was to the point it made her skin crawl. The Imperial Family, and now the temple too?

“Hey. Can’t I know too?”

Jainer, who had been quietly watching Camilla, asked with eyes still full of curiosity.

“What’s in that holy relic necklace?”

It looked like she’d figured out something important.

“Is your hand okay?”

When she still didn’t answer, Jainer tried to check Camilla’s hand, the one crushing the shattered stone in her grip.

WHOOSH.

But he couldn’t follow through. Someone grabbed his arm hard.

“What are you doing?”

At the familiar voice, Camilla finally reacted.

“Arsian.”

Before she knew it, he was there—staring holes through Jainer with an openly displeased look.

“This feels familiar.”

Jainer let out a quiet, amused snort at Arsian’s arrival. At that sound, Arsian’s eyes narrowed in an instant.

“Hey.”

“...?”

“You’ve seen me before.”

Jainer’s eyes widened slightly, then he wore a faint smile. As if he had no idea what Arsian meant, he even shrugged.

“Who knows. Maybe I’ve seen you around.”

“Around?”

“My face is kind of familiar. That happens.”

“You...!”

He surged up—

But just as Arsian was about to say more, Camilla suddenly stood.

“Camilla?”

“I need to go.”

“All of a sudden? Where?”

“I think I need to check something myself.”

Leaving the two of them behind in confusion, Camilla hurried out.

*****

“How could this happen!”

“Please, calm yourself.”

“Does this look like a situation where I can calm myself down!”

Pope Brissel shouted, his face flushed red, making no attempt to hide it. There wasn’t even a trace of his usual benevolent air.

“You were the one who swore to me there would be absolutely no problems!”

Divine pardon. The one who had proposed it was the very author sitting in front of him now.

At the sight of the man—so calm it was infuriating—Brissel ground his teeth again and again.

At first, he’d thought it was absurd. How could you pardon someone who’d committed horrific sins with nothing but money?

But...

‘It’s no different from confession.’

‘Confession?’

‘As those who serve the divine, can we turn our backs on someone who confesses their sins and repents? Forgiveness is a virtue we must always possess, is it not?’

‘Mm... That is true.’ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The more he listened, the more it sounded right. If someone realized their own sins and, as the price of repentance, offered a donation—what was the problem?

Just because someone committed a sin didn’t mean throwing them in prison was always the answer.

All they had to do was write up a single certificate. Hadn’t even His Majesty the Emperor promised to cooperate in this matter?

So he’d thought, all the more, that nothing could possibly go wrong. True, they had to share part of the donation with the Imperial Family—but that much was nothing.

“So what are you going to do about this!”

And yet, this time, something had blown up. The Viscount of Orléans—who bought indulgences several times a month—had his sins exposed in full view of the public.

“I truly did not anticipate something like this would happen.”

“Not anticipating it is not an answer!”

A short sigh slipped from Priest Daniel’s lips. He had no idea who had turned the Viscount of Orléans into that.

There were no witnesses, either.

If you called anyone witnesses, it was the children—and that was all.

But one child had died during treatment, and the remaining two weren’t in any condition to be questioned, much less answer. They were barely clinging to life.

“Still, fortunately, talk about indulgences hasn’t surfaced yet.”

A long sigh flowed from the Pope’s lips, the crease between his brows deepening further.

This wasn’t a time to sit here raging. Somehow, they had to end this quietly.

“Those children—are they not a risk?”

The number of people the Viscount of Orléans had killed by turning them into statues exceeded fifty.

Out of those, only two children had survived. And the place caring for them now was the Papacy.

They had brought the children here under the pretense of treating them with holy power, but in truth, it was the Pope’s swift move to silence them.

Because you never knew.

“What if those children heard something...!”

If the Viscount of Orléans—idiot that he was—had proudly bragged about indulgences in front of the children, it would be a disaster.

“They are not in any state for proper conversation.”

“Even so...”

“They are under strict watch, so do not worry too much.”

In his characteristically calm voice, Priest Daniel reassured the Pope. As he continued, his voice dropped even lower.

“If those children disappear, it will end quietly.”

“Hm.”

“Only the bare minimum of holy power is being infused, so please do not trouble yourself, Your ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Holiness.”

It was impossible to restore children’s bodies when most of their organs had already hardened.

They were keeping them alive with holy power—barely—but that breath would be cut off soon enough. There was nothing to worry about.

“No matter what happens, people forget quickly. This incident, too, will be completely erased from memory once enough time passes.”

“If only that happens, it truly will be a relief.”

Only then did the Pope’s stiff expression loosen slightly.

“Make sure there are no problems.”

“Yes.”

“And if this is handled properly, then as I said before, your appointment as a high priest will be finalized at once.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing his head politely as if he understood perfectly, Daniel’s gaze naturally shifted to the Pope’s neck.

“It’s still red.”

The stone of the necklace resting at the Pope’s throat remained a vivid crimson.

“Come to think of it, didn’t the Viscount of Orléans have this necklace as well? Have you found it?”

“We are searching for it.”

“What do you mean, you are searching? Are you saying you still haven’t found it?”

The Pope’s voice rose again.

“Anything connected to us must be removed as quickly as possible! You must not give people even the slightest pretext.”

“Do not worry.”

KNOCK KNOCK.

Just then, with a presence at the door, it opened carefully. A priest stepped into the room and bowed deeply toward the Pope.

“What is it?”

“There is a guest seeking Priest Daniel.”

“Me?”

“The young lady of House Sorpel requests an audience.”

“Lady Camilla?”

At Camilla’s sudden visit, puzzlement rose on Daniel’s face. The Pope was the same.

“What business could she have, coming all the way here?”

“I’m not sure. There was no appointment.”

With timing like this, the Pope wasn’t pleased about an outsider visiting. Clicking his tongue, he gave an order.

“Send her away quietly.”

“Yes.”

With a light bow, Daniel rose immediately.

“Where is she now?”

*****

“Why are we here all of a sudden?”

“There’s something I need to check.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Arsian didn’t ask anything more. She’d said she’d tell him later, and that was enough for him—he didn’t press.

“Hm.”

Watching the two of them from the side, Jainer tilted his head.

His mouth wore that habitual smile, but his eyes were full of displeasure. The way the two of them stayed glued together especially rubbed him the wrong way.

CLICK.

At that moment, the reception room door opened, and someone stepped inside. Priest Daniel.

A soft smile filled his face.

“Welcome, Lady Camilla.”

“I’m truly sorry for coming without notice.”

“Not at all. If anything, I’m very glad to have such an unexpected visit.”

After the brief exchange of greetings, Daniel’s gaze naturally moved to the two people with Camilla.

A flicker of surprise touched his face for a moment.