Chapter 159

The man introduced himself only as a "humble clergyman."

It seemed like an excessively modest introduction for someone with such brilliant sun-like blonde hair and striking appearance,

But Amelia decided to let it pass, assuming the man had his own circumstances.

"So, to s-summarize, you stayed in V-Valentine for some business, and when you r-regained consciousness, you f-found yourself in the city lord's m-mansion?"

The man nodded seriously.

It was a story that didn't add up, but considering what he must have gone through, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

After all, Amelia herself had lost consciousness while chasing a goat.

"When you w-woke up in the mansion, w-was there anything s-suspicious? Anything like th-that?"

"I'm not sure about suspicious aspects, but, well."

"Well?"

"When I woke up, I was in a guest room in the city lord's mansion. At first, there was nothing wrong with my body, so I tried to leave quickly, but then. That is, people dressed similarly to those who were chasing you earlier."

"People?"

"......"

Why did he keep stopping mid-sentence?

As Amelia looked at him, not understanding what was going on, she suddenly noticed that his ears had turned bright red.

And then there were those hands that had been touching her body in a lewd and sticky manner.

Amelia immediately understood what he had been trying to say.

"And th-then?"

"Of course I refused. As one who serves the deity, I couldn't engage in such impure behavior. But afterward, my body became heavy, and I couldn't stay conscious."

When Amelia first regained consciousness on that bright red bed, she too had felt that her body wasn't light.

Surely they had burned some relaxant incense or played some trick.

She nodded as she forcibly moved her gradually heavying arms, trying to loosen her muscles.

"Wh-what I know is that those wh-who were chasing me call themselves the 'Daughters of Blood.' H-have you heard of them?"

"No. It's a name that makes one shudder just hearing it, so unholy."

"It s-seems they've t-taken over the city lord's mansion and are u-using it as they please."

"Then where on earth is the city lord? Did he escape first?"

"I th-think that possibility is l-low."

Of course, if it were an ordinary territory, the city lord could have issued a lockdown order for Valentine City and escaped alone.

Most nobles, when their city was threatened, would choose to seal the city, trapping the threat inside while escaping themselves, rather than saving mere residents.

But this was a royal direct territory.

The city lord couldn't decide whether to open or close the city on his own.

It must have been a decision made after discussion with the representative who had the qualification to act on behalf of the royal family.

Hadn't the representative conveyed by letter?

'Unable to leave Valentine, come directly.'

What if the reason the representative couldn't move was precisely these 'Daughters of Blood'?

What if the city lord and the representative had joined forces to resist the 'Daughters of Blood' to prevent Valentine from being occupied by the heretics known as the 'Daughters of Blood'?

If so, both the city lord and the representative would still be detained in Valentine.

Though not certain, that seemed the most likely possibility at present.

Amelia listened for sounds from outside.

The sounds that had faded were gradually getting louder again, suggesting that they were searching the mansion for her and this man.

What should they do?

There were too many of them for the two of them to attempt an escape alone.

A direct confrontation was out of the question, so it would be best if they could slip away secretly.

For that, they needed to know the detailed layout of this mansion, and the person who would know the structure of the city lord's mansion best was...

"Let's f-find the city lord."

"The city lord of Valentine?"

"If p-possible. For now, we have n-no way to r-resist them. So we need to f-find the city lord and s-see if there's a way to escape s-secretly."

The man looked surprised at the suggestion to find the city lord, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded as if convinced.

"I vaguely recall hearing that all castles and mansions have hidden passages for emergencies. That's a good idea, my lady."

"I w-was wondering, does the clergyman know wh-where the city lord might be...?"

"If I knew, I would have told you immediately, my lady. Unfortunately, I don't know anything either."

To be chased by heretics while simultaneously trying to find the city lord's location.

Amelia couldn't suppress a sigh as she grabbed two candlesticks that were decorating the room.

When she handed one to the man, he received the heavy candlestick with both hands.

In case of emergency, this candlestick could become the lifeline that saved them.

Amelia waited for the commotion outside to subside a bit before slipping out of the room.

The man followed behind, hesitantly, after the overly bold lady.

"L-let's go downstairs. There's a h-high possibility that they've imprisoned the c-city lord in the basement."

"How on earth do you know such things, my lady?"

"W-well, I had s-someone who taught me!"

"What? Who? Why?"

"There are th-things like that! Stop chattering and let's g-go quickly!"

* * *

The Valentine city lord's residence wasn't very large, but due to its intricate structure and complex design, they had to walk around much more than in mansions of similar size.

Moreover, they had to be careful not to encounter the 'Daughters of Blood' in between.

Though they were trying to avoid unnecessary fights as much as possible,

No matter how diligently they hid, it was impossible not to encounter the 'Daughters of Blood' stationed inside.

"There they are!"

"Chase them, don't let them escape! Call the sisters, prepare the bewitchment ritual!"

Most of the 'Daughters of Blood' were female, but occasionally there were rare male believers.

Like the two believers who were now closely pursuing the two of them.

The clergyman ran with gritted teeth, but he couldn't memorize all the paths of the complex corridors, and his legs were gradually becoming sluggish.

As the gap with their pursuers narrowed, and he thought they might be caught,

The woman who had promised to escape with him suddenly pushed his side.

"Ahh!"

The clergyman, who had collided with the wall, was about to ask her what she was doing,

But he kept his mouth shut when a huge tapestry covered over him against the wall.

She spoke through the thick fabric, gasping for breath.

"H-hide here for a m-moment."

"You can't do this! Leaving me here!"

Though the clergyman protested, the owner of the delicate voice was instead arranging the tapestry and pulling a statue in front to disguise him.

"Meet me d-downstairs in a l-little while."

Downstairs?

The urgent footsteps receded. They seemed to be heading for the basement they had planned to go to.

Only then did the clergyman realize that she had used herself as bait to save him.

Had she noticed that something was wrong with his body condition?

The clergyman's face turned red with shame once more.

Though he was a clergyman, he too had been taught that men should be considerate of and protect women.

That's why he felt even more shameful and embarrassed.

To dare to use a lady as bait for his own safety.

Even if it wasn't something he himself had wanted.

After trying to control his emotions for a while, the clergyman suddenly realized that the feeling in his legs had almost disappeared.

He massaged his nearly immobile legs behind the large tapestry and statue, trying somehow to move.

His mind was urgent, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

Facing such a situation for the first time in his life, the clergyman felt like he wanted to vent his frustration somewhere.

By the time he could finally somehow move his legs, quite some time had passed.

He immediately threw back the tapestry and dashed out, heading in the direction the woman had gone.

The chasers happened to be men, making her the bait.

What if she had been caught? He had to save her.

The clergyman staggered toward the lower floor.

After searching for the woman and the 'Daughters of Blood' pursuers for quite some time, when the clergyman was afraid that she might have been recaptured.

He smelled a familiar scent from somewhere.

This smell, surely.

The clergyman followed the smell, thinking of the worst possibility.

What he saw at the end was a red dress.

At the end of the corridor, where a large still-life painting hung, the woman was wearing a dress stained messily with red liquid.

The candlestick in her hand was also thickly painted with red, and beneath it, a pursuer who had not yet breathed his last was still squirming.

Was it the woman's blood? Fortunately, it wasn't.

The woman slumped down on the carpet, which had become damp after absorbing a lot of the spilled liquid.

The clergyman, surprised, ran to the woman and supported her.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

"A-as you can s-see."

The woman, leaning her head against the clergyman, pointed at the pursuers with a trembling arm that moved with difficulty.

Her complexion had turned white, and beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead.

Perhaps she had been terrified?

The clergyman immediately frowned.

If she had been chased alone and driven to a dead end, she might have impulsively struck the pursuers with the candlestick.

He would have stopped at knocking them unconscious, but it would have been difficult for a woman who had never held a sword to control her strength.

Knowing how impulsively a human in fear could make decisions, the clergyman made his own assumptions and understood.

"Can you stand? Let me support you."

"Th-thank..."

Supporting the woman's body that seemed about to collapse, the two headed back to their destination.

Fortunately, there were no signs of pursuers near the entrance to the basement they had finally reached.

The basement, used either for confining criminals or storing goods, was cold and dark.

The two slowly entered and looked around.

As it was difficult to see with the darkness all around, the clergyman slightly opened his mouth.

"Is anyone here?"

Silence.

"We are not those who have occupied the mansion. Don't be afraid."

Silence.

The clergyman looked at the woman. She nodded and stepped forward.

Empty storerooms and spaces with iron bars could be seen on both sides.

When shadows began to squirm inside at some point, the clergyman immediately tried to cling to the iron bars to rescue the shadow.

However, the woman, who had been moving laboriously while gasping all along, pulled him back.

"What are you doing? Is there a problem?"

"I-inside."

What about inside?

The clergyman looked into the prison again.

Only then did he realize that the shadow inside was not singular.

Shadows, many of them, tightly coalesced into one.

From the collection of shadows came sounds like crying and small screams in various voices.

Gnawing sounds and water sounds mixed together.

The clergyman, confused, stepped back and looked for another prison.

Inside, there were things crawling, tangled, giving birth, being born, disappearing, and those that remained after all that, all rolling around and moving.

Appetite, lust, death, conception, all these things were individually blasphemous and degrading.

Such things shouldn't exist in this world.

He hadn't even considered the probability of their existence.

Were all the prisons extending to the inner side filled with such things?

The clergyman's instinct was screaming.

You must leave here, you must leave this unholy place.

But before he could act, the woman who had been standing precariously collapsed.

The clergyman lifted her and shook her, but she couldn't regain consciousness.

Her chemise was damp with someone else's blood and sweat.

"Wake up! You can't collapse here, we need to find the city lord...!"

The city lord?

Would he be among the things tangled and rolling around in the prison? Could he distinguish that?

Just as the clergyman bit his lip hard, the door leading to the basement opened wide,

And people poured down through it.

Numerous hands forcibly made the clergyman kneel and pushed his head to the ground.

Tap, tap, light footsteps stopped in front of him.

"You ran well. But the city lord you were looking for isn't here."

That woman, like a poisonous daffodil.

The female believer, clearly a member of the 'Daughters of Blood,' drew a chillingly attractive smile.

"Do you want to see him? Then I should introduce the city lord to you."

"Are you villains keeping the city lord?"

"Of course. We're hosting him very preciously. Take him and the woman 'there.'"

'There'?

Along with the unconscious woman, the clergyman was dragged away by the believers.

Shortly after, they arrived in front of an ornate door on the third floor.

As far as the clergyman knew, only the master of the mansion could have such a door.

"Could this be-"

Before the clergyman could properly ask his question, the door opened.

On the floor covered with a carpet engraved with dignified patterns, blood-colored patterns were drawn.

The largest of them was a semicircle surrounding a circle, prominently occupying the center of the room.

When the clergyman looked up, he saw a large bed.

A skeletal, emaciated figure was sitting on the bed.

Though it was an old man with only a few strands of graying hair left, his face was frozen with a distorted, strange smile.

While the clergyman stared blankly at it, the female believer crossed the pattern and approached the old man's corpse, caressing it.

"First, you should greet him. This is the city lord you so wanted to meet."

"That's the c-city lord?"

That can't be.

The clergyman desperately shouted.

"That can't be! To call a dead person the city lord, are you mocking the city lord of Valentine!"

"That can't be. He's definitely a person who had an audience with me as the city lord until he was alive. Until just before his death, he screamed that it felt good as his last words rather than appointing a successor, so he's still the city lord."

"Audience? Last words?"

The female believer bowed in front of the clergyman.

With exquisitely smooth skin and luscious lips, she had blazing eyes.

The female believer smiled.

"Anais, who was staying in Valentine as the representative of the royal territory. And also the name of the woman who will conceive Mother in you."