C144
Isaac twirled his golden, curly hair with his fingers.
"I am a bit concerned about the black magic that possesses people, but if I keep her in isolation and limit her contact with the guards to the extreme, things will work out."
Roland asked, looking at me.
"Isn't there any way to completely eliminate the witch's abilities? I thought Viscountess Lucibiu, who can dispel black magic, would know something."
"Well, all I can say is that I am also trying to find my own way."
In fact, I had previously asked Lucy how to remove the goddess's blessing, but even the divine beast seemed to know nothing about it. So, I commissioned the eccentric inventor to create a device that would seal the divine power. He said he couldn't guarantee it since it was a field he had never been interested in, but he would try. "For now, all I can do is trust and wait." Even if Kais failed, if Liena's disposition was determined according to Isaac's wishes, there would be little room for her to use the blessing. She would be in isolation for the rest of her life, unable even to have a proper conversation with the guards. Humans are social animals. How well can one survive in such a harsh environment with their sanity?
If Kais managed to invent it, it would be a real blessing for Liena.
"Anyway, if my plan goes as planned, Viscountess Lucibiu, your performance is crucial."
Isaac wagged his index finger.
"If things continue like this, even if we try to send Liena to prison, countless followers will rise, saying, 'Please forgive our lovely Miss Liena!'"
It was a clear image in my head.
"Even if my brother tries to admit her to the hospital as he wants, the result will be the same. If Liena were to suddenly disappear, would those fanatics stay quiet?"
Isaac let out a sad laugh.
"Moreover, just a hospital. My brother seems to believe that Liena can reform, but humans cannot change."
Roland nodded.
"Once trash, always trash."
I thought this might apply to him as well, but showing the old man's temper at this moment would be useless, so I remained silent.
Isaac looked at me.
"What does Viscountess Lucibiu think?"
"...I believe people can change."
I answered the question slowly, looking at the sleet falling outside the window.
"But not everyone changes easily."
Perhaps the last chance given to Liena was when Duke Cassius approached her to seek treatment.
After erasing the divine power from Liena that had accumulated in Isaac's body, I separated from them.
The person herself distrusted Liena a lot and harbored antipathy towards her, so the possibility of her being possessed again was minimal.
"Oh, are you here?"
Lucy, who had been rolling a black bead on my desk with her paws, pretended to greet me when she saw me return to the annex.
"Still, it's someone else's relic, so aren't you treating it too negligently?"
Lucy snorted happily at my words.
"Did you think I would be careful with something that emits an unpleasant demonic smell?"
"Yes, I suppose you're right."
Yesterday, I borrowed that black bead from the Cassius family.
"Master, a power is currently blocking that person's divine power."
This was because Lucy, who was in my bag, told me while Duke Cassius and Liena were discussing whether to go to the hospital or not.
With Duke Cassius in chaos after Isaac escaped with Liena, I explored with Lucy what kind of power that was.
At that moment, Liena was struggling to change the minds of the Cassius family.
According to the divine beast, a large amount of divine power flowed from Liena's body at that moment and headed towards the three of them, father and sons, but was blocked by some force.
Finally, I found the source of that power inside the duke's office.
The divine beast whispered as it looked at the palm-sized black orb.
"It smells like a demon."
"If it's a demon, do you mean the legend?"
"Do you know about that?"
"I don't know the details."
"These are people who followed evil spirits a long time ago. After Miella defeated and sealed the evil spirits, they gradually disappeared from this continent."
"Now that I think about it, you seem to know many strange things even though you've only been around for a few months."
"As a divine beast, that level of knowledge enters your head from the moment you're born."
While they were having this conversation, the door opened, and Duke Cassius walked in.
"Ethel, you were here. Why...?"
The duke's face lit up with a look of puzzlement when he saw the black bead in my hand.
I asked the duke what this was, and he briefly explained the hidden story of the Cassius family and the identity of the bead.
The first head of the Cassius family, who left a will saying that this bead would protect the family.
Indeed, Liena's blessing was interrupted by the power of the bead, so it was as if its will had come true.
If demons were people who served evil gods, could it be that the power of the beads also came from evil gods?
It's unpleasant to think of it that way, but maybe it will help suppress Liena's blessing...
"If you're interested, I can lend it to you," the Duke suggested as I examined the beads closely for a short period.
"Yes? Would that be okay? It definitely looks like a family relic."
"Well. It's something I didn't even know existed until recently. Besides..."
The Duke Cassius's face darkened.
"Ethel, no matter how much I do for you, it's not enough. I truly apologize for all this time. There are no words that can justify what we did to you for Liena."
He apologized solemnly.
"I'm sorry."
"I realized too late."
Leandro and Leheim, who had entered the office looking for their father, also joined in the apologies.
I left the house and just told them I would return the beads later.
To be blunt, I had mixed feelings.
"I know very well that they acted excessively because of Liena's blessing..."
But that doesn't mean I'm good enough to forget all the bad relationships I've had.
Above all, my memory of living like an invisible person in Duke Cassius's residence during two years of my marriage still lingered within me.
Suddenly, I remembered what Terence had said to me while we were dining together last night.
"Do what your heart desires."
After hearing my story, Terence smiled kindly and said:
"Honestly, I really hate Duke Cassius and Leandro Cassius, the people who hurt you, but I think you should forgive them if that makes you feel better."
"Is that so?"
"Of course, this is only if you feel comfortable. If it makes you uncomfortable, don't forgive them."
"But it was also a consequence of Liena's blessing..."
"Ethel, the most important thing above all else is your heart. And they probably don't want to be forgiven if it makes you uncomfortable. If they truly feel sorry for you."
I still don't know which decision will make me feel more comfortable, but I do know that being with Terence will make me feel more at ease.
I decided to postpone my response to the Cassius family's apology for a while.
For now, the urgent priority was to save those who had fallen under Liena's blessing.
Let's think about the troublesome issues later.
I approached Lucy and asked her.
"So, speaking of those beads, can we use them to unlock Liena's blessing?"
"Well. I don't know much about evil spirits or demonic relics."
"Rather, a human mage might know better. Human magic was originally taught by demons."
"Alright. Then let's check with Kais."
He might be as excited as last time and beg for the opportunity to study.
I gently stroked the fur of the divine beast, who made a surprised expression when he heard Kais's name.
"What? When my mistress is like this, she usually asks me for a favor. Are you going to ask me to mimic a baby monster in front of the human mage again?"
Lucy's perception is astonishing, but his body was honest, so he groaned loudly and slumped into my hands.
"Look, there are so many followers of Liena."
"That's right."
"When will we save all those people from the blessing? It takes a long time, and my divine power has its limits."
"So, what do you mean?"
"Can't I release all my divine power at once, like Liena did before in the banquet hall?"
Even at that time, the divine beast was in my bag and told me about the flow of divine power.
I thought that the overwhelming presence of the main character I felt during the divorce trial was all thanks to divine power.
"It's impossible with my mistress's divine power. Pray a little more to increase the amount of divine power."
"How long will it take to increase that with prayer?"
"So, what else could we do?"
"Could you give me your power and increase it tremendously, just like you did in the mine when we first met?"
"Are you going to do that dangerous thing again?"
Lucy jumped up.
"No! Miella helped you at that time; that's why my mistress survived!"
"You only need to apply a little of your divine power. Enough to not be dangerous."
"... It's easy to say."
"Adorable Lucy! I'm begging you! I want to save people from brainwashing as soon as possible!"
"Isn't it just because you're too lazy to pray?"
"That's also true!"
"Aren't you trying to take the easy way out?"
"Please! Lucy!"
Lucy, hearing my sincere request, frowned and finally spoke.
"Whatever happens, my power is too dangerous for the human body."
"But..."
"You should listen to your divine beast's words to the end. What if it's not my power, but the power of another human?"
"Human? Do you mean a priest?"
The only people with divine power that came to my mind were the priests who spent their whole lives praying in temples.
"There's no need to look for a priest. There's someone next to my mistress, right? A member of a family where the power granted by the goddess has been passed down from generation to generation."
"From generation to generation..."
There was only one family in the empire, or even on the entire continent, that fit Lucy's description.
The Asteroth royal family.