The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 403



403 – The Two Who Serve the Saint.

Inside the vast, silent sanctuary.

On the round table, tableware for seven people was set. Steaks and vegetables were well-cooked and served, with red wine placed beside the tableware.

-Clatter.

“…”

-Clatter.

The sound of plates being scraped began to resonate plainly in the silence.

-Crunch… Crunch…

From those who enjoyed eating, the sound of rough knife work echoed harshly.

-Scrape… Hmm…

From those who maintained decorum, quiet sounds could be heard.

And then.

“Is the seat of restraint vacant again this time?”

No noise came from the unoccupied seat.

The man sitting in the northwest direction of the round table wiped his lips with a handkerchief and spoke.

“What happened to restraint?”

The man’s gaze, questioning the reason for the empty seat, was directed at two people.

“The Apostle of Compassion.”

The elf who filled the seat of the deceased Apostle of Compassion.

“And Onyu.”

His gaze was fixed on Elicia, the Apostle of Onyu.

The man’s emotionless eyes looked at the two women, waiting for an answer. His nickname was close to ‘waiting’.

“Are you not going to answer?”

Under the man’s interrogation, Elicia, with a hardened expression, gave the answer they wanted.

“I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know?”

“Since the mission failed, the whereabouts of Temperance have become unclear.”

“As far as I remember, Temperance was with the Apostle of Compassion and the Apostle of Gentleness.”

“That’s right.”

“Then… why are you saying you don’t know the whereabouts of Temperance?”

In response to the probing question, Elicia began to answer calmly. She was also an apostle in the same position as him.

“I said I would buy time.”

“You sacrificed yourself for Temperance?”

“Someone needed to buy time before the Knight Commander and other forces could join.”

“…There were three apostles. Not one, but three. Even if the Imperial Knight Commander was there, it would be impossible to stop three apostles.”

“A third party appeared. Someone comparable to the Archbishop… no, someone who could rival an individual apostle appeared.”

The man stroked his chin and asked in response to Elicia’s answer.

“Is it the person who killed the previous Apostle of Compassion?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“Then it makes sense.”

“…”

“The royal family kept it tightly hidden, so it couldn’t be found… I didn’t expect a variable to appear from an unexpected place.”

“…”

The man nodded and focused on his meal again.

“Thank you, Gentleness.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You look much better.”

“It must be because my faith has deepened.”

-Clatter…

-Clatter…

·

·

·

After Elicia left.

The man, staring at the empty seat, spoke coldly.

“It seems faith has turned away.”

*

The peaceful Hamel mansion, as always.

“I think they’ve noticed.”

I was nodding my head, listening to the sudden visit from Elisia.

“…They realized it later than I thought.”

“It’s my fault. If I had hidden it more meticulously, it would have been fine.”

“No, I expected this to some extent.”

“…Still.”

“It would be better if you don’t participate in the meetings from now on. No matter how capable you are, facing multiple apostles would be too much.”

-Knock. Knock.

“Tea is here.”

“Thank you.”

In the basement Hans built.

I took the tea Hans handed me and looked around.

“…”

The basement, which had expanded significantly while I wasn’t paying attention, had grown large enough to have a massive door.

Like creating a dungeon…

-You must not go beyond this door.

-…Why not?

-Because I want to show it to you when it’s finished…! Ah! Of course, it doesn’t affect the mansion’s security or barriers at all. In fact, it’s construction to strengthen the mansion’s barriers. If you really want to see it, I can show you right now…!

-It’s fine.

Seeing the basement, which had grown to the point where I didn’t know what was being made anymore, I drank my tea with an awkward smile.

“…”

Looking at it this way, it seems better than the mansion.

“Ahem…!”

Getting to the point, I started to continue the conversation, looking straight into Elisia’s eyes.

The story of the spy planted inside being discovered was not something that could be lightly discussed and passed over.

“May I ask the reason for your certainty?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Elisia began to answer my question.

“Because the Apostle of Diligence has spoken.”

*

“The Apostle of Diligence… has become a headache.”

“…”

“If Diligence is speaking up, it’s likely that the other apostles have also noticed.”

Elicia nodded at my words and began to affirm.

“Diligence is tight-lipped.”

The Apostle of Diligence.

One of the villains who caused many problems in the novel. If the Apostle of Temperance was the type to bind hands and feet and drag someone to ruin, the Apostle of Diligence had a troublesome power that gnawed at the opponent over a long period.

“…”

It’s tiring when Diligence moves.

I let out a light sigh and began to organize my complicated thoughts. Mikhail and the main characters still didn’t have the power to deal with the apostles.

“Elicia.”

“Yes.”

“How much do the heretics know about me right now?”

Elicia began to answer with a reassuring expression.

“Since you haven’t appeared in any official capacity yet, there is no known information. What we roughly know is that there is a suspiciously strong swordsman.”

“…If.”

“Yes.”

“If the story that I am a Sword Master spreads in the empire.”

“Hmm…”

Elicia shook her head and replied.

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“That won’t be a problem either.”

“Really? I think they could infer that the ‘suspiciously strong swordsman’ is ‘me’.”

“They will judge it as a separate person. If an unknown figure and a new Sword Master appear in the empire, the heretics’ activities might become more passive. If we release the information that you have just become a Sword Master and that you reached this level thanks to an ‘unknown master’ who is not revealed to the public.”

“…Indeed.”

“The person who dealt with Olaf is the ‘mysterious swordsman.’ The person who dealt with Temperance is you, the Saint. If we turn public opinion this way, I think good results will come.”

It was nice to have a smart person around because it made thinking easier. If things went wrong, I was planning to storm the heretics’ headquarters and cause a commotion.

Hans, who had been quietly listening, raised his hand and began to speak.

“Saint. May I say a word?”

Elicia, who hadn’t expected to see Hans, the archbishop, here, smiled slightly and said.

“Come to think of it, we have this friend.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Apostle.”

“It is an honor to meet you too, Saint.”

“To call me a Saint instead of an Archbishop….”

Why are my eyes welling up?

“Hoho… I was surprised to hear that you call Ricardo ‘Saint’.”

“Haha… He said he didn’t like being called ‘Master’.”

“Oh my… How can it be so similar.”

“It’s all thanks to the grace of the Saint.”

Something incomprehensible was forming between Elisha and Hans. It wasn’t a sweet romance between lovers… It was something that connected fanatics.

“…”

Before their conversation could deepen, I redirected it back to the original topic Hans wanted to discuss.

“So, Hans, what is it you want to talk about?”

“Ah…!”

Hans looked at Elisha and spoke.

“What do you think of the mansion’s barrier, Apostle?”

“Barrier…?”

Elisha shrugged her shoulders and made a puzzled expression.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“…”

“I can feel a very weak barrier, but the reason I came here is to strengthen the mansion’s defenses…”

Hans was smiling.

“So it’s weak enough not to be detected by the Apostle.”

Why does his eerie smile look so sinister? Hans, smiling like a mad scientist, began to speak with a faint smile.

“Saint.”

“Yes?”

“You can leave the mansion to me.”

“Yes…?”

Hans began to talk about the barrier.

“The barrier I created for the mansion is designed so that no one can enter unless they are designated.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not just a simple physical barrier… It’s merely a byproduct of the process of reconstructing the dimensional gap based on the Saint’s quasi-magic book, fixing reality in a quantum entangled state.”

“Uh…”

“At this time, if the mana waves are decomposed into immeasurable units and induced to orbit, the flow of mana at a specific point can be connected in a closed loop. By doing this, external interference naturally…”

“…”

“Of course, the Saint would know this.”

My head hurts.

None of Hans’ words, pouring out professional knowledge, entered my head.

Elicia, who was also shining her eyes listening to this, couldn’t understand either.

“That’s amazing… At this level, even an Apostle-class strong person wouldn’t be able to enter recklessly.”

“No, it’s still lacking.”

“I think I found a part to supplement, may I say it?”

“Of course, Apostle.”

“Elicia… No, please call me Auntie.”

“Can I call you Sister? You’re too beautiful.”

“Hoho…”

Hans, who had been chatting with Elicia for a long time, pointed his finger behind the door with a confident smile.

“Anyway… I can confidently say that nothing for the Saint to worry about will happen.”

“…Ah. Yes.”

“Because we have this.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a weapon made with the Saint’s grace.”

“Wow… Yes?”

“I’ve been making it little by little while praying.”

“I wish you’d stop praying to a living person.”

Elicia clapped her hands as if impressed, her eyes shining.

“Oh my…! Praying while working. Why didn’t I think of that? I was separating work and prayer without knowing.”

“It’s okay. The Saint is generous.”

I sighed and began to wrap up the conversation that was going off on a tangent.

“Then shall we finish here for today?”

“That sounds good. I just got an inspiration.”

Elicia cautiously raised her hand and spoke to me.

“Can I talk a little more?”

“Yes, it’s fine. The time is…”

“I wanted to talk to you, Saint.”

I shook my head and sighed at their mad expressions.

“Alright.”

Elicia stopped me as I was leaving.

“Oh, by the way, Saint.”

“Yes?”

“It’s about a student named Yuria.”

“…Why Yuria?”

“Can I meet her once?”

Elicia was smiling faintly.

“That’s not how you use divine power.”