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Chapter 74




Her voice was so trembling that I wondered if I had heard her correctly.
“What did you say? What is Princess Dodolea doing?”
“I just thought that if I served her, good things would happen. If I had known I would die, I never would have set foot in such a place.”
“Her? Such a place?”
“I don’t want to be a sacrifice. Please, save me.”
A sacrifice? Did she just say sacrifice? I shuddered and carefully examined the pleading countess. It was clearly related to a cult, but this could also be a trap, so I needed to be cautious. I composed my expression and released her hand.
“Madam, it would be best if you calmed down first.”
“It’s today.”
But the countess clung to my hand as if it were a lifeline, refusing to let go.
“It’s the day I become a sacrifice. It’s today.”
Her eyes were filled with the fear of impending death and the will to live. Something was definitely going on. I could get the information more easily than I thought. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
“Madam, please tell me slowly and clearly. There’s still time today.”
“It’s today.”
“Your Highness, the Duchess.”
“Only if you tell me, will I be able to help or save you.”
As if in response to her plea for help, I deliberately gave the impression that I might be able to save her. Sure enough, the countess nodded, her eyes shining with a glimmer of hope. She trusted me, or rather, she was deluding herself that I would save her. She began to speak.
“There is a cult.”
“Is there?”
“It started as a small group of people who gathered to form a small cult. No... it was a gathering of people interested in a certain topic.”
Thinking about it, before I returned, the cult wasn’t so rampant. Back then, Princess Dodolea had died of illness.
“What topic?”
The countess, whose lips were dry, moistened them and whispered, avoiding my gaze.
“Immortality.”
My eyes narrowed. I had once heard a rumor that nobles who longed for eternal youth and immortality ate the blood and hearts of children. I had always dismissed it as a mere rumor.
“Can you understand how I can’t accept the idea of dying and losing all the wealth, honor, and beauty I have accumulated? This is all mine! I’ve worked so hard to gather all this...!”
The countess, feeling the contempt in my gaze, flared up.
“No, no. Anyway, it was a small gathering of people with such interests.”
But then she seemed to realize that this wasn’t the time to quibble over details and continued.
“But then, she came to our gathering.”
“She?”
“Princess Dodolea. Since she had been frail since birth, no one found it strange.”
The countess had a dazed look, as if recalling that day.
“And on that day, the princess said that she was an immortal being who would never die.”
“...!”
What is she talking about? An immortal being? Someone who never dies? Is that even possible? Seeing my shocked expression, the countess sneered as if she understood.
“We all reacted the same way at first. A frail princess who had never left the palace being an immortal being? Who would believe that?”
“...”
“Have you heard of the story of the ‘witches’ who were said to exist in the past?”
“...Witches?”
“Yes, the witches who cast curses. It’s a ridiculous story that no one believes. ...But the witches who cast curses live forever. That’s their curse.”
I remembered hearing this story before. When was it? I narrowed my eyes and tried to recall.
‘There’s an interesting part in the records. It says that witches who cast curses live forever. That’s the curse they bear.’
Yes, I definitely heard the same story when talking to Phineas. I had laughed it off as a false record then. I never thought I would hear the same story here.
“...Why bring up the witches now?”
“The princess said that they weren’t ‘witches’ but ‘gods’ who actually existed. And she claimed that she was chosen by this god and was essentially the god’s representative.”
“Ha, you mean everyone believed such a ridiculous story?”
“Of course not. But then she asked us to name someone we hated so much that we would wish for their death, to prove the power of the god. ...And the next day, that person was seriously injured by a carriage.”
It’s an unbelievable story. The power of a god? I shook my head with a thin smile. If gods truly existed, they wouldn’t have let the Lafiron family be destroyed. If the witches were gods, they wouldn’t have cursed the Lafiron family.
“After that, believers who heard the rumors started to gather naturally, forming the current cult. Even those who didn’t believe in immortality came to get the emperor’s attention by associating with the princess he cherished.”
So, once they stepped in, they couldn’t get out.
“I understand that Princess Dodolea is the founder and leader of the cult. But what exactly is a sacrifice, and what does it mean that the princess is going to kill you?”
“That’s...”
The countess paused and looked out the window. I followed her gaze. It was still early, but the countess was biting her lip anxiously.
“Your Highness, the Duchess! You said you would save me, right? Since I’ve been chosen as a sacrifice today, I have no choice but to go. Please, please come with me.”
“Come with you? Where is the temple?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. We don’t have time. If you promise to help me, I’ll tell you everything.”
I had planned to raid the temple, but I wasn’t prepared to go without any preparation. I firmly rejected the countess’s proposal.
“I’m not prepared today. We can go together next time, but today, you’ll have to go alone...”
“No!”
The countess, who had been calm until now, suddenly jumped up in fear.
“If I don’t attend today, not only me but also my husband and children might be falsely accused and killed because of me. There’s no place to run from the princess’s hand in this empire.”
It was hard to follow the story. People who wanted immortality, witches, a cult that worshipped an immortal witch as a god, and the countess chosen as a sacrifice. She was pleading for her life while insisting that she had to attend the meeting today. I signaled the driver to stop the carriage and asked the countess.
“So, what exactly happens when you’re chosen as a sacrifice?”
The carriage stopped, and the air became suffocatingly silent.
“...They offer their life force to empower the god. So, the chosen sacrifice dies.”
Dies? I thought being a sacrifice meant just praying or something, not dying. This is murder.
‘She’s crazy.’
The only word that came to mind was ‘crazy.’ I knew the princess was crazy, but I didn’t expect her to be this out of control. The more I heard, the more shocked I became. I regretted letting the countess into my carriage when I heard such a headache-inducing story.
‘Wait a minute.’
If she already knows that being chosen as a sacrifice means death, it means that others have been chosen and died before.
“Do the other members of the cult know about the sacrifices and what happens to them?”
“...Yes.”
“But they all just stand by, thinking it’s fine as long as it’s not them?”
“...Yes.”
“You must have stood by and watched the previous sacrifices, right?”
“That’s... Yes. I didn’t expect... things to turn out like this... And usually, it’s mostly commoners...”
It’s karma for desiring what one shouldn’t. If this comes to light, as I initially planned, Dodolea will be exiled to the border. She will probably never hear her name or see her face again in her lifetime. Not only that, the believers, my stepmother, and Reina will face severe punishment. If it’s revealed that commoners were brought in as sacrifices, the royal family’s dignity and trust will plummet.
‘...Not a bad idea, actually.’
Removing Dodolea, my stepmother, and Reina all at once, and even bringing down the royal family’s dignity. It was a satisfying outcome. But the problem was that I had to make this decision now, with no preparation. Countess Verdicht had to attend the meeting today. But if she attended, she would be sacrificed and die. If Countess Verdicht died, would I be able to find someone else to cooperate and tell me everything? Probably not. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I could remove Dodolea, my stepmother, and Reina all at once. Seeing my hesitation, the countess pushed her proposal, thinking it was her chance.
“When we go to the temple, we wear robes that cover our faces, so no one will know. Besides, on days like today when a sacrifice is chosen, there are many new believers, so it’s hard to check everyone! Your Highness’s identity won’t be revealed.”
“But why me? If you need help, there must be others you could ask.”
“...I heard that Your Highness and the princess have a very bad relationship. I also heard that you hit the princess at the last hunting competition. From what I’ve seen, Your Highness doesn’t seem to be on the princess’s side.”
Countess Verdicht looked around and whispered.
“There are so many