023 Handling (2)
“Let’s sit down and talk.”
I led the Duchess to the flower and vine steps Demi had made.
It’s not very clean because it’s where I walked down, but there wasn’t a good place to sit on the balcony right away.
Fortunately, the Duchess didn’t mind that.
He’s the prince, and I let him do it himself.
“Um, hmm. The last confession is… Two months ago.”
The Duchess cleared her throat and opened her mouth. I nodded my head quietly and unfolded the circle.
[Now, reveal your guilt.]
My voice echoed through the night air. I could feel a slight amount of ether draining out of my body.
The sanctuary drew a geometric pattern and surrounded three people and a divine beast in a circle.
The golden brilliance seemed to have lost the Duchess for a moment.
Demi sensed the ether and came down from her shoulder and sat on my lap.
I quietly waited for my wife to start confessing.
I was planning to go back to the Juliet Palace after gathering a lot of information.
“Simon, my husband… I loved my daughter terribly. So was I.”
Her eyes recalled a moment in the past.
There seemed to be a gentle smile on his lips that reminded him of Christel.
“The day I got married and became a member of the lord of Sarnez, I realized. That child… That he resembles me a lot more than I thought. Not a drop of blood was mixed, but me and Kristel had something in common. Quiet, very shy, and clumsy in self-expression.”
I shook my head.
I heard that the ‘real’ Kristel, who was not possessed, was such a person.
“It was lonely to live as a duchess in that vast lordship. Simon was a good husband, but apart from that, he was too busy. Even though I knew that and got married, it was very difficult… It was good to have him.”
The Duchess smiled brightly.
She quickly wiped each drop of tears with her handkerchief.
As she began to speak, her pale, tired face lit up a little.
“At the time, Kristel was eight and I was twenty-two.”
I could barely stand the reflex frowning.
I know that 16 is an adult here, but as a Korean, I thought I was too young.
At my age, I can’t even imagine the pressure she must have felt when she became Duchess at the age of twenty-three.
“Every time I spent with him was happy. He didn’t go out of Yeongjuseong, so he was pointed at him… The moments of going on a picnic together, holding a small concert, and cooking together… I liked it all, and it felt like I had just received a present. I got Kristel as a wedding gift, and I thought so.”
The Duchess wiped away her tears.
Canael said he had heard two rumors about her.
Among them, there was a public opinion that she was a ‘typical stepmother’.
However, that expression was something that could not be revealed unless it was someone who truly cares and loves someone.
From https://noblemtl.com
Or maybe your wife has academy-level acting skills.
“Didn’t you say you were going to confess?”
At that moment, a cold low-pitched sound pierced my ears.
The prince, with his long legs crossed, leaning against the railing, looked at me and the Duchess with cold eyes.
“I don’t enjoy the new wave drama.”
[Prince.]
“Prince, I am fine. Your words are justified.”
I was about to give a word to the prince who intervened in someone else’s confession, but the Duchess stopped me.
“I had a long introduction. that······. It happened after Kristel fell.”
She spoke intermittently.
“His Majesty the Emperor has sent a widow with the same grace as Ha Hae. My husband called in all the names of the Empire and looked after Kristel for three years. But there was no sign of the disease he was suffering from, so no one could open his eyes. One doctor said so. Maybe for the rest of my life… You might have to sleep…”
“So, did you bring the blessing of Changhae?”
Prince Sedric asked sharply.
At the same time, I thought that I had thrown away all the manners and that I knew that Sarnez’s sickness had disappeared.
“Because it couldn’t be cured even with the healing powers of medicine, magic, or priests… Not long ago, for the first time, I thought of making a wish to the ‘Temple of the Boundary’.”
[Are you saying that you stole the treasures of the border now?]
When I asked, surprised, she shook her head.
“I remembered the legend that if you make a wish for a ‘blood wish,’ the god will grant it to the god in the temple of the boundary. When I said let’s go there, my husband… I’ve been saving a lot of beast blood. He said that he would not stop subjugating the demon beast until he saved his daughter.”
If you were a parent, you wouldn’t have to.
The desperation to believe in an old verse that only appears in the Bible, with hope and hope.
The moment when people say that they are crazy, and the shallow sympathy of others has nothing to do with it.
“But just before my husband and I left for the temple, news of theft came. He said the sickness was gone, and that no one would be able to access it for a while. I······.”
The duchess’ coat of arms was wet with tears.
Demi whined a little, probably because she felt sorry for her. I gently rubbed the boy’s back.
“I was endlessly desperate. Frustrated before I even tried… The next day, my husband spoke up first. Stop it now, wouldn’t it be better to let it go…?”
Prince Sedric sighed softly.
If I was interpreting correctly, it meant that the Duke of Sarnez had offered to euthanize his daughter.
“I asked for just one day to think. Saying that, I stayed by the child’s side all day. Then I thought of Changhae’s blessing. If you can’t go to the Temple of the Boundary, even if you ask for a family god… With the feeling that it’s really the last time…”
my eyes got bigger The prince frowned.
“then,”
[Are you saying that you wished for Changhae’s blessing?]
“Your husband doesn’t know, Prince. It was my dogma.”
she added hastily.
“I secretly exchanged the sapphires and sapphires I received as a wedding gift. I was just thinking of putting it next to the child and praying. It was very brief. I did…”
Her eyes fluttered relentlessly.
“A blue light emanated from the body and poured out on her daughter. At that time, I really thought that the Lord had granted my wish. It was a miracle. I embrace the awakened Kristel and rejoice… The blessings of Changhae were not visible. and······.”
I quickly cleared things up.
Changhae’s blessing, which was supposed to be used as a wedding gift for the prince and Kristel, who was probably McGuffin of ‘Toegye Gong’, disappeared at the beginning.
Because the Duchess made a wish to save her daughter.
It’s like an old Disney movie, but from the writer’s point of view, Kristel was the main character who had to wake up.
Even if the handle was bent a little, it would have had to be probable.
“My daughter did not recognize me.”
[Well.]
It was a natural result. She’s Kristel, but she’s not ‘Kristel’.
But for the Duchess, it would never have been natural.
“At first, I thought it was just because my body didn’t get better. My daughter, who has no memories or a lot of things she doesn’t know… My husband says the waking child has ‘grown up’, but I don’t think so.”
The woman’s lips trembled.
As it turned out, Christel, who had just been possessed, seemed to have had a hard time adjusting to it in the beginning.
After all, it was a novel for me, and for her, it was like falling into another world out of the blue.
“Maybe, because I made an excessive wish to the gods…. Could it not have been that Kristel was cursed for the sin of being greedy without understanding the will of the Lord?”
“Are you serious?”
It was Prince Sedric who opened his mouth before me.
“The curse of the Lord is never light. If you plan to use the word curse as a shield to lighten the load,”
[Prince, wait a minute.]
I discouraged him. The prince looked dissatisfied, but did not open his mouth again.
[Madam, why do you think so? As you said, the princess may be showing signs of confusion because she has been sick for a long time.]
“No, to my daughter…. You have terrifying powers. He poured water with his fingertips. In front of me, a large drop of water moved according to the child’s will.”
Eventually, this talk comes out. The eyes of the prince and I met.
I could see various emotions rising and falling rapidly over the orange eyes.
“I spoke first. I committed a great sin to save you, so I should have been punished, but that’s what happened to you… Then Kristel said that.”
She smiled a little embarrassed.
“Someone who was almost dead has come to life, so why is this a curse, stop crying. If it is a sin to have swallowed up something that should go to the imperial family, then he will pay the price himself to the imperial family.”
Like the main character Eunseo liked so much, it was a confident and exciting line.
But tears welled up in the Duchess’s eyes. She buried her face in the handkerchief.
“Please forgive me, Prince. Many people have been hurt by my excessive greed. Not only Kristel and her husband, but also His Majesty the Prince… Even though I was told that the gift was absolutely necessary, my Majesty, I…”
The prince’s face was expressionless.
He didn’t know if he thought it was a thing of the past, or if he was hiding his anger.
I repeated it a couple of times in my mind so as not to forget the words I had just heard.
Then he took a deep breath.
[Merciful Lord, please forgive the lie the Duchess told me.]
The balcony was quiet. The sanctuary showed no reaction.
I then laughed out loud.
[Everything you have said so far is true. thank you.]
The woman’s mouth widened. As if the prince was absurd, ‘Ha.’ made a sound
Detect lies with confession. It was learned from Cardinal Boutier.
If she had lied, the sanctuary would have etherealed and washed away the Duchess’ sins, but everything she said was true.
[Sorry, but I had to be prepared in case you lied.]
I smiled bitterly.
[and I······. I don’t think your wife has sinned. He had no intention of destroying the gods, just praying for his daughter. It may take a while for you to not be able to tell your husband, but that will be resolved by the two of you.]
The woman held the handkerchief tightly.
While the damp cloth was dancing, the prince silently handed her his handkerchief.
I was quite surprised, but I continued the sacrament without a fuss.
[I also disagree with the opinion that Princess Christel is cursed. The power of water is a divine power and a divine blessing. It is said that paladins are only born in the new country… There are cases where it is acquired, and it is possible that the Lord may be whimsical.]
Then, in the end, the Duchess gave a small wink. I could feel the prince staring intently at me.
[Tell me the story you told me, also to His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Cardinal. Also, be sure to talk to your husband or Princess Christel. This is my penance.]
The sanctuary slowly lost its light.
[Don’t worry about your daughter. It will be fine.]
My wife bowed her head deeply at my last oracle.
As she mumbles thanks over and over again, I think she will cry again at any moment, so I quickly changed the topic.
I just had a question.
“By the way, my wife, Princess Christel…. How did you say you would pay the imperial family?”
As I said that, I looked into the prince’s eyes.
If you look at the atmosphere alone, the marriage is about to break up, but I wondered if Kristel was still thinking of marrying that guy.
A romance that starts by handing over yourself instead of something new, or something like that?
“It is just as the prince said a little while ago.”
The corners of the woman’s lips rose with difficulty.
“Becoming the first paladin of the proud empire, he said he would pay off his debts to the imperial family. Wouldn’t that make the mother’s heart a little lighter too…”
Wait a minute, writer. This seems to have bent the handle too much…