Chapter 214
Ugh...
Leticia woke up in a dimly lit dungeon.
Her hands were linked by chains hanging from the ceiling, leaving her unable to move.
As her mind cleared from its fog, she realized she had been kidnapped, and deep despair engulfed her heart.
"So I was kidnapped..."
She wasn't despairing because she had been kidnapped. She was despairing because she had been kidnapped within the Empire.
She had intended not to cause any trouble. She had prepared for that very reason.
She had planned to build friendly relations with the Empire, then die within the Kingdom. But the outcome had become the worst possible one.
This meant the Empire and the Kingdom would go to war.
The country she loved and the boy who had said he loved her would fight.
A sharp pain shot through her heart.
Someone addressed Leticia.
"Are you awake?"
"Ugh..."
The dungeon lit up when the owner of the voice arrived.
Leticia looked away from the sudden light, but once her eyes adjusted, she looked at the owner of the voice. Her expression hardened when she saw her.
She was a bewitching woman. She wore revealing clothes and had a faint smile on her face.
Her dark skin and purplish-silver hair marked her as a dark elf.
"Why is a dark elf here...?"
"Don't look at me like you hate me. I was with you for several days, after all."
"For several days...? Could it be Catherine!?"
"I killed her. Then I erased her memories. It was a lot of work, but thanks to that, I was able to stay by your side without being noticed."
"Damn..."
"Don't blame yourself. While you're in the Empire, a member of the Imperial family assigned to entertain you is always at your side. Even as the captain of your guard, she either stands beside you or waits outside your room. You barely speak, so there was no way you could notice. Especially when you were dealing with my illusions."
Saying that, the dark elf snapped her fingers. Her appearance changed, and she became Leo.
The fake Leo wore a frivolous smile that the real Leo would never have shown.
"I can copy the appearance of anyone I touch with my illusions. I'm probably the only elf who can imitate someone this perfectly."
"Stop speaking with that face and voice...!"
"Oh, how frightening. Do you dislike seeing the form of the man who loves you?"
Saying that, the dark elf returned to her original appearance.
Leticia glared sharply at the dark elf, then noticed an emblem on the woman's shoulder.
It was an emblem of a book with wings.
Leticia knew what it was.
"The Demon Lord's Order!?"
"Correct. I'm Babette, an executive of the Demon Lord's Order—and the leader of the dark elves."
"What foolishness... To try to eliminate me by going so far as to use the Demon Lord's Order...!"
"As expected of the Saint, you're quick to figure things out. The Kingdom was behind it. I told you, didn't I? You haven't done anything wrong. The Kingdom is to blame."
"I will not permit fanatics who sacrifice as many people as necessary to research magic to insult my country!"
"Even in this situation, you're taking your homeland's side? We agreed to cooperate because they said we could use you as research material. In other words, your country sold you."
"Even so... It is still the country I love."
Babette snorted at Leticia's words.
But then dry applause came from behind Babette.
A short, wrinkled old man appeared. The robe he wore gave him an air of gloom that made anyone who saw him feel depressed.
"As expected of the Saint. Such a pure and incorruptible spirit. Like a blank white canvas."
"You're late, Auguste."
"It took me a little while to prepare."
"Now that the Saint is awake, get started already. There are surely sharp minds in the Empire, so we can't keep them at bay for long."
"I know."
Saying that, the old man called Auguste took out a bottle.
He muttered something, then pointed the bottle at Leticia.
Countless masses of black smoke began circling around Leticia.
"Are those... dead spirits!?"
"Freshly collected dead spirits. They're my pawns for staining the Saint black."
"What are you planning to do...?"
"I'm planning to summon a demon using you as its vessel. And not just any demon—a truly high-ranking one. Normally, a vessel can't withstand summoning such a powerful being, but you became a wielder of the Holy Staff. You should be able to endure it."
"Are you sane? If you think a demon can coexist with me, I recommend that you study the subject again."
"I know. A demon chooses either a fresh corpse or someone whose mind is close to a demon as its vessel. Otherwise, the vessel rejects the demon and drives it out. A mind close to a demon is, in other words, an evil one. And you are the exact opposite. But in that case, all we have to do is turn you into an evil person."
"What are you...?"
"My dead spirits will show you their gruesome deaths and the unjust lives they led. If you can't endure it and come to despair over this world, your body will become a perfect vessel for a demon. And you'll still be able to use the Holy Staff. It will be quite a unique experiment."
"...I won't lose."
"Do your best."
Saying that, Babette and Auguste left the dungeon.
Then one of the dead spirits that had been circling Leticia flew into her.
Before she knew it, Leticia was standing in the middle of a village.
In front of her stood Auguste and a woman holding a child.
Laughing, Auguste used magic to strangle the child in the woman's arms. Seeing that, the woman let out a desperate scream.
After savoring her scream, Auguste muttered,
"This is also part of the process of staining the Saint black. If you want someone to blame, blame the Saint."
"Wait!"
Leticia tried to stop him, but this was almost like an illusion. She was merely watching something that had already happened in the past. As a bystander, she could not stop it.
Auguste strangled the woman as well.
Then Auguste vanished from before Leticia, leaving only the corpses of the woman and child behind.
Leticia wore a pained expression, but then a voice spoke to her.
'It's your fault...'
"This is... the voice of a dead spirit...?"
'You're no Saint! If you're a Saint, bring my child back to life! Why did my child have to die!?'
"...I'm sorry..."
'I don't need your apology! Why were you captured!? This is your fault! Give it back! Give me back the quiet life my child and I had! It would have been enough if only my child had lived!'
Every word stabbed into Leticia's heart.
It would have been easy to argue back.
It would have been easy to say that she was a victim too, and it would even have been true. But Leticia did not choose to do so.
At this point, she could not bring herself to protect herself.
So Leticia continued to accept every resentful voice she was forced to hear for what felt like eternity.
'You should die and atone! I won't forgive you for being the only one still alive!'
"Yes... If you want my life, I will give it to you. But... could you wait for now?"
'So you do value your life after all! You hypocrite!'
"Yes. I am a hypocrite. People call me a Saint because I can use the Holy Staff, but I have never done anything worthy of a Saint. All I have done is kill soldiers from other countries for the sake of my homeland. I am no different from a murderer. Even so... I don't want any more people to become victims. If you want my life, I will give it to you. But if I lose myself now, many people's lives will surely be endangered. More mothers will lose their children."
'N-No! You can't do that! You can't!'
"Yes. That is why I must endure. Could you grant me some time for that purpose? So that no more people like you, who carry such regret, will ever be born... Please, lend me your strength."
Saying that, Leticia gently embraced the black smoke floating before her.
The black smoke began to shine white in an instant.
"May you rest in peace... Once I overcome this crisis... I will join you as well."
'...No... If you have been given another chance at life, then live... And have children. Carry life on in my place... That is your atonement.'
"That will be difficult..."
'...You really are a Saint. You are so warm.'
Saying that, the smoke dispersed. Leticia had purified it and sent it to the afterlife through dialogue.
Leticia did not fight the dead spirits. She did not even try to protect herself.
All she did was talk to them. But to do so, she had to accept resentment as hellish as this.
An ordinary person might have broken almost immediately. After all, it was happening inside the mind, where time was nearly meaningless.
Even so, Leticia refused to stop facing the dead spirits.
Her noble spirit could not accept allowing the dead spirits to continue wandering.
But that also meant wearing away at her own heart. Being able to endure did not mean she wasn't being hurt.
It was merely better than resisting and fighting, and Leticia's heart gradually grew exhausted.
Even so, no matter what nightmarish deaths she was shown or how many voices of resentment were directed at her, Leticia never gave up.
What supported her was not her love for her homeland.
Leticia loved her homeland. She still loved it. She had taken up the Holy Staff because she wanted to save every person living in that country.
But now, her homeland had nothing to do with it.
That was why what supported Leticia now was something else. It was not the love that had supported her for most of her life, but a single-minded wish to prevent the Empire from suffering any harm.
And at the very root of that feeling was the boy who had said that he loved her.
She could not bear becoming a demon and ravaging that boy's homeland without even answering his proposal.
If she became a demon's vessel here, she would become a curse that bound him for the rest of his life. She did not want to give him such a thing.
That was why Leticia continued to endure.
No matter how painful it was, she could endure as long as she pictured his face.
She felt that having him cry would be far more painful.
After finally laying the last dead spirit to rest, Leticia returned to the dungeon.
Cold sweat covered her body. Her throat was dry, and her head hurt.
With her consciousness fading, Leticia whispered a single word.
...Leo...
He had told her that he needed her, not the Saint. How long had it been since anyone had told her that?
When they had met five years ago, she had seen him only as a prince from another country.
But now, things were different.
His smile, his words, and the memories they had made over those several days strongly supported Leticia.
This could not be where it ended.
She had to protect this land—and Leo.
Renewing her resolve, Leticia raised her eyes.
Babette and Auguste had just returned.
"How are you feeling?"
"Hm? The dead spirits are gone...?"
"What does this mean?"
"Unbelievable... You actually laid dead spirits who had only just died and were nothing but masses of resentment to rest...?"
"I... won't lose..."
"Hahahaha!! Excellent. This is beyond my expectations. Auguste, put your back into it. We might really be able to summon a Demon Lord-class demon with this."
"I know. Honestly... I suppose it's time to release my treasured dead spirits."
Saying that, Auguste took out several bottles.
Their sinister nature was on an entirely different level from the ones before.
"Well, I'm going to join the detachment. I'll leave the rest to you."
"You're in quite a hurry. Don't you want to see the moment the Saint turns black?"
"I am interested. But I can't risk even the slightest chance of the Empire interfering. No matter how quickly they move, they won't arrive right away. Even so, we need to be prepared."
Saying that, Babette left the dungeon.
Auguste cheerfully sent the dead spirits toward Leticia one after another.
"Guh...! Nghhh!!"
The sight was so horrific that the one before it seemed gentle by comparison.
These dead spirits had been killed in ways designed to leave them with as much attachment to this world as possible and make them hate it as much as possible.
They truly were Auguste's treasured dead spirits. Their resentment was not something that could be dispelled merely through conversation.
Leticia could only endure. And who knew how much time had passed?
Her mind had grown so weak that she no longer even knew where she was, and she wanted to cover her ears to shut out the dead spirits' voices.
Even so, Leticia desperately held herself together.
She thought only of Leo and told herself that she was not alone. While Leticia clung to the last thread of her sanity, Auguste tried to send in even more dead spirits.
But at that moment,
A loud noise rang out above the dungeon.
"Hm? What is it?"
"A-An attack, sir!"
"An attack!? Don't be absurd! This is a hideout made by converting a village in the Empire! There's no way anyone could have found us!"
Auguste shouted at his subordinate.
If they used a conspicuous location as their hideout, the Empire would notice it.
That was why Auguste and the others had converted an entire village into a hideout. The dead spirits first sent at Leticia had been the villagers from that place.
It was camouflage that should never have been seen through.
Because he had been so confident in it, Auguste denied that the impossible had happened.
But in the next moment,
When he saw the person who came tumbling into the room, he had no choice but to admit it.
"Prince Leonart!?"
"I'm here to take Leticia back!"
Saying that, Leo cut down Auguste's subordinate without hesitation and charged toward Auguste.