Faith is like the wheel to the goddess Luthea, and those who believe could find her in the darkness even without a spark of light, and he who does not believe cannot grasp her hand even when she extends it. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAD5yTYj1NBa
This is Kurzina's favorite scripture verse. Ever since she was a little girl, Kurzina had dreamed of meeting the goddess Lutea. She thought that if she kept her faith, it would happen. But then....101Please respect copyright.PENANAePNo3mk53v
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"Huff... Huff...."101Please respect copyright.PENANAWwZ2UlP9Mk
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Kurzina ran away. She ran like she was being chased by a demon and ran into her bedroom. She shivered under the covers. Her heartbeat wouldn't calm down. Instead, it was beating faster and faster. Thump, thump, thump!101Please respect copyright.PENANApSjtKAIlRv
An earth-shattering sense of unease engulfed Kurzina. Her faith was shaken. The world as she knew it was shaken. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAeln2oihHzd
Lutea, Abramelin, and Tasser....... What the saints of history said and how they behaved, Kurzina remembered clearly. Every night she read the stories with excitement, which is why she had questions. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAeTOxFWfgt8
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"Is that child a saint?101Please respect copyright.PENANA0gA63TH2G7
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Edulis has the power of a saint. She speaks like a saint. How could a cursed child do that? 101Please respect copyright.PENANALfAF0rZZCU
101Please respect copyright.PENANAqRS4nnXwMe
'If she is a saint, then the witch Ygraine... Luthea is....'101Please respect copyright.PENANACC3PAiK6Nt
101Please respect copyright.PENANA9rqsvK560d
She couldn't stop her thoughts from running wild. Kurzina's thoughts swirled around a conclusion she shouldn't have reached. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAx4EkEpz1D3
101Please respect copyright.PENANA0otR4uHIEV
"No. That doesn't make sense.”101Please respect copyright.PENANAhjhuZ5YFYo
101Please respect copyright.PENANAyETFWPK3mt
Kurzina shook her head. If what she was thinking was true, then most of what the world knew was false. It's unreal. Instead, it was more realistic to think that Kurzina had been tricked by Edulis. As my father had said, Edulis had deceived her by pretending to be a saint!101Please respect copyright.PENANAGZXh4UphyX
101Please respect copyright.PENANAKr4acpIw4t
Even with this conclusion, Kurzina was not at ease. Edulis's expression, his words, and his actions kept replaying in his mind.101Please respect copyright.PENANAMl2LYXctFc
101Please respect copyright.PENANAb0x7hwzeQs
- A child swallowed up by lies is a child unaware of miracles.101Please respect copyright.PENANAN2IEuAzxa3
101Please respect copyright.PENANACIOhEXiLvE
The next day, finally able to sleep, Kurzina sought out the study hall. The study hall is a combination library and training room, where the children of the House of Saints gather almost every day.101Please respect copyright.PENANA4OyUtg8way
But Kurzina's early arrival means there's no sign of a crowd. Only one person in sight. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAbxohexpBww
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"You're early, aren't you?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAgVQIl9Hv19
101Please respect copyright.PENANAOL09sKiuNh
It was Raghad who greeted her. A direct descendant of the hero Bosha, Raghad is the oldest of the Saints. He's so tall and sharp-featured that he looks exactly like the statue of Bosha that some people say he's the reincarnation of the hero. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAA6rCqJK26O
101Please respect copyright.PENANAdhFbYrGSqZ
Though she didn't think of him as a reincarnation of a hero, Kurzina was inclined to believe in Raghad. Raghad was straightforward and steadfast compared to his peers. For her, Raghad was almost the only person she could talk to openly.101Please respect copyright.PENANA7Gp4mgmCZd
101Please respect copyright.PENANA7NaV1XpUxu
After introductions, Kurzina told Raghad her questions. She left out the part about Edulis' wound healing on its own, and Lagarde pursed his lips. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAzorxntv6yE
101Please respect copyright.PENANAgg3qx0ShoV
"Zina, you're usually so smart, but sometimes you can be so blind. Don't worry, it's because he's possessed you."
"How can my cousin be so sure?"
"It's simple. A saint is someone who embodies the physical form of the goddess Luthea. But Luthea is currently in Saint Trisis, right? So how could there be another saint?"101Please respect copyright.PENANA58699bmnzC
101Please respect copyright.PENANAE24lPM8pKb
That's right. The goddess Luthea is now ruling Astania from Saint Trisis in human form. 101Please respect copyright.PENANATJYda0Nndm
According to records, Luthea descended upon the mortal realm about 50 years ago to set things right and begin ruling the continent alongside the King of Astania.
As such, it is the highest honor to be given to the first place in the Festival of Saints. It is the greatest honor of all, to be able to recognize the goddess Luthea and work for her. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAJn3vDhjpCE
101Please respect copyright.PENANAZejvnOQw44
"Let's stop thinking and start training. I'm thinking of this as a battle between you and me."
"...Yes,"101Please respect copyright.PENANAlg4X6duZCx
101Please respect copyright.PENANA3F8M1gDYwZ
Raghad replies. Kurzina nodded and picked up her staff. Just as they were about to begin, someone spoke up. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAF2Cf1ODcGk
101Please respect copyright.PENANAdukOGjJHYD
“There could be another possibility."
Kurzina and Raghad turned toward the sound of the voice. A boy with slicked-back hair poked his head through a bookcase. Raghad saw him and shouted.101Please respect copyright.PENANA0yd1bOFw5C
101Please respect copyright.PENANA1JLTapkSRn
"Ishkur, are you there?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAzCjZ4cs0OT
101Please respect copyright.PENANAghvu6CDGaS
Then the boy called Ishkur spoke.101Please respect copyright.PENANAzlKdeu3bhP
101Please respect copyright.PENANAujeVLIECBo
"If the Luthea in the castle is a fake, that explains it, doesn't it?"101Please respect copyright.PENANASEScpsfK5y
101Please respect copyright.PENANAH1zhamuxpR
As soon as he heard that, Raghad scowled. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAQDZbgoBBhY
101Please respect copyright.PENANAUeHVYNysBq
"You bastard! That's blasphemy! Watch your tongue! If the adults found out, you'd be in solitary confinement again!"101Please respect copyright.PENANA7dnuIGOogZ
"All we need is for you and Zina to keep your mouths shut. Zina, what do you think? Lutea in Trisis is a fake... Isn't that a funny idea?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAtTbM5SfVkR
101Please respect copyright.PENANAaQcffaiy2g
Ishkur's words made Kurzina shake her head. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAzlxT7bdvMG
In the end, Kurzina was unable to answer Ishkur's question. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAVwh3U8lAUP
101Please respect copyright.PENANAxm4m5LpAGk
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101Please respect copyright.PENANASHITWz9fys
Edulis was having trouble with the White Magick. Ygraine's Magick healed Edulis. A free Magick who is not bound by a magic stone. If only he could utilize it, he could escape from his bonds, but he couldn't. Ygraine's magick was completely independent of Edulis' will.101Please respect copyright.PENANAC1vNSachAV
101Please respect copyright.PENANAV61F7v71Dm
'Just like Ygraine, she wouldn't listen to me even if she were dead. When I tell her we're going to bait the village and ambush them from behind, she pretends she didn't hear me and charges in alone....'101Please respect copyright.PENANAONkmFwOxI6
101Please respect copyright.PENANAocByy0DY6z
Edulis had spent days and nights trying to get Ygraine's magick to move, because he felt it was the only answer. In the end, he succeeded in making it move. It was a thin, delicate magoi, about the size of a fingertip. It was so thin and short that it could barely be threaded through a button.
"Ha... okay, okay, I'll get some sleep.101Please respect copyright.PENANAB3fuIRnBwj
101Please respect copyright.PENANAXFodK0AJsQ
Edulis closed his eyes for the third time in three days. All of his wounds had healed, except for his hands and feet, which had been pierced with stakes, but the Feys didn't know that. They couldn't tell because of the loosely wrapped bandages and hardened crusts. It was hard to tell that the wounds had healed unless you looked closely.
Perhaps because of the order to keep her alive until the Festival of Saints, no one took any interest in Edulis anymore, except for the girl who came to visit a few days ago.101Please respect copyright.PENANAno1ehIDjyL
101Please respect copyright.PENANAZmGfSckd1O
He didn't know how much time had passed when someone called out to her. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAJSAUAJ2qxY
101Please respect copyright.PENANA5YqIONSBym
"It's you, the one who broke the gates of the hated Fae family!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAjhBmW4Hvtb
101Please respect copyright.PENANAN5ltNIFtPw
Someone said. But he couldn't make out who it was. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAeS7yrZx1qd
101Please respect copyright.PENANA3Ktx6F5M8n
"I like it! I like it! I like it! We've got a bully in here after all these years! A witch's offspring deserves it!"
"...Who are you."
"I am Aruru, the field mouse, a descendant of the witch, come with me to take revenge on the children of Bosha!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAcec4qDJO5G
101Please respect copyright.PENANAtLwYBcthVK
Edulis lowered his head and looked down at his feet. A brown ball of fur had risen to its feet and was screaming. It was a rat, about the size of Edulis's palm. Its tail was shorter than her pinky finger. 101Please respect copyright.PENANADTeQoI4NZG
101Please respect copyright.PENANAzIP2lHQy0X
"Revenge? What revenge are you talking about?"
"They killed my mother. They accused her of gnawing on a spellbook and executed her!"
"The descendants of Bosha framed your mother? Why?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAVJlq113wAC
101Please respect copyright.PENANAswrU4IASXk
What kind of accusation would they make for killing a rat, Edulis thought, but Aruru's next words changed his mind. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAO2CuUsGX2X
101Please respect copyright.PENANAsoft6JuQ8H
"You'll be surprised to hear what I've discovered! In fact, the Loutou displayed at the Memorial of the Holy War is not the real Lautou. It's someone else! The real Loutou is the queen of the spiders, a servant of the witch Ygraine! My mother was executed because she befriended the spiders and worshipped Loutou! The kingdom is hunting down anyone who recognizes Loutou in her spider form, framing them and killing them!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAJYhsEy8rD1
101Please respect copyright.PENANAODNoN0udxY
Edulis was surprised. Aruru was telling the truth. For the first time in all of history, Edulis had met someone who knew the truth. No, not a human, but a field mouse.101Please respect copyright.PENANAiLsPxldnre
101Please respect copyright.PENANAI9A6xjHUD8
"Are you too stunned to speak, or do you think, like the others, that I'm delusional and talking nonsense?"
"No. Believe me, you are telling the truth. "101Please respect copyright.PENANA4aeLch42cM
101Please respect copyright.PENANAhrrQ19d2gR
And with that, Aruru leaped out of the mold with a clatter. He landed on Edulis's shoulder and whispered.101Please respect copyright.PENANA9UEMcRG0uq
101Please respect copyright.PENANAS5MpJe2uYN
"You're the one who sees the light! Good! I'll gnaw on the mold to get the magic stone off! I'll sneak into the storeroom and steal the sword, and you can run out into the square and kill as many people as you can! If you can break down the gates, you can kill a lot of people!"
“What?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAQLUSPN4mDQ
"It's a lowly life for you and me! Let's have a big fight before that fire is extinguished! I'll gnaw their ankles and make them stumble, and you'll drive your sword into their backs!"101Please respect copyright.PENANA0p1DaxtvXF
101Please respect copyright.PENANANFIXO6KWLp
Those eyes, that voice, they were all so familiar to Edulis. Edulis could almost feel Aruru's heart in his hands. 101Please respect copyright.PENANANkdlQt8ptb
101Please respect copyright.PENANAx53aoYYsbr
"Are you afraid, descendant of the witch? Can you forgive them for laughing and talking? Can you forgive them for sleeping easily? Those who pushed us into the pit deserve to burn in hell!"
The Bosha of the past was before his eyes. In the form of a field mouse.101Please respect copyright.PENANAAnACaJkD8T
Bosha hated the smiles on people's faces. He hated children walking with their parents. He hated the flesh-and-blood lovers. He wanted them all to be unhappy, and he had made them unhappy.
Before he met Ygrainne, Bosha was unhappy. He didn't even realize he was unhappy. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAFQMldMNYD8
101Please respect copyright.PENANA8nUDNBTw9c
He wonders what the Bosha of the past would have done: would he have shared Aruru's hatred and wielded his sword, or would he have walked away the moment Aruru gnawed on the magic stone? But now, Edulis's mind is on Ygraine. Ygraine nags at her, endlessly.101Please respect copyright.PENANANEisyYeExG
101Please respect copyright.PENANAunBnon7eq9
- Captain Bosha is not a man driven by hatred. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAvVgnjxAUMP
101Please respect copyright.PENANA7eJZboxaBh
In Edulis's mind, he cannot ignore Bosha's voice. He must see the strength of his resolve. If he could, he wouldn't die.101Please respect copyright.PENANABaQjTh3fTM
101Please respect copyright.PENANAGiG8XDBSoz
"Hey, rat."
"What do you mean, rat? Call me Aruru!"
"I have a better idea, a better idea than going around killing random people."
"What's that?!"
"I'm going to beat the crap out of everyone at the Saint Festival, and then I'm going to find proof that your mother is innocent. Because no one can do anything to the one who took the first place in the Saints' Festival."101Please respect copyright.PENANA927YvkCy8s
101Please respect copyright.PENANAuVNmUMqlDM
Aruru shook his head. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAYWcZUYqSyx
101Please respect copyright.PENANAhkKo67GsoW
"You say you beat up those six people? That's impossible!"
"You don't believe me?" Edulis asked, his voice full of confidence.101Please respect copyright.PENANAkmPjJ0Pw3y
101Please respect copyright.PENANAJe9O0Jp1iy
"I have Ygraine's blood in my veins, and as proof, my magick is not bound by magic stones. Behold, I have healed all of my wounds by manipulating Ygraine’s magick without their knowledge."
"No...!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAKyWIXFLUrz
101Please respect copyright.PENANAqbEQXnrqJ9
Aruru climbed onto Edulis' body and examined his wounds.101Please respect copyright.PENANAfdSPdtBbq9
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"You did! Then why are you hanging on instead of escaping?"
"Waiting for the right time. I plan to continue my preparations quietly until the Faint of Saintl. I will crush them there."
"I see! You must be something special!"
"Yes. That's why you don't need to remove the magic stones, you just need to wait quietly until the Festival of Saints."
"Oh.... Ohhh...! I see, I see, I see!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAWypt2IZNmA
101Please respect copyright.PENANAuEo6sKpy4S
Aruru jumped up and down around his friend.. 101Please respect copyright.PENANA2Ose49jfdh
101Please respect copyright.PENANATUCJNOus06
"My mother's innocence! My mother's innocence! I'll do anything for it! What can I do?"
"What can you do?"
"Surely you must be hungry, and water-soaked bread will not suffice! I know a good trash can! Meat in good condition is often thrown in there!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAJYXkCMKezI
101Please respect copyright.PENANAb5vDSIGOYa
With that, Aruru stomped off. Edulis watched Aruru's back as she stomped off. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAARwiQ0IS6O
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“That was a lot of trouble, little rat.101Please respect copyright.PENANA11naPyI1cE
101Please respect copyright.PENANAjYWypCZMK4
Gnawing away at a mineral stone leaves teeth marks. When people see the bite marks, they'll quickly realize it was done by a rodent. Then the Fei family would have no choice but to exterminate the rats. Aruru seemed to live off the trash cans on the mansion grounds. If the Fei family tried to exterminate the rats on the grounds, it was unlikely that Aruru would be safe. That was why Edulis had bluffed.101Please respect copyright.PENANArVaEqpkqvB
101Please respect copyright.PENANAhzuWWly3dj
It was something the old Bosha would never have done, but she didn't feel bad about it. It reminded her of a conversation she'd had with Ygraine in the past.101Please respect copyright.PENANAE8b663q8nR
101Please respect copyright.PENANAr3TK6aFHGB
- Well done, that's what Captain Bosha really is.101Please respect copyright.PENANAk9TohYdZgR
- You're funny. I did what you told me to do because you nagged me, so how can that be me?101Please respect copyright.PENANAUAaT5a1b7n
- It's unmistakably Captain Bosha. After all, Captain Bosha decided to do as I said. 101Please respect copyright.PENANANB6MxjT3bw
101Please respect copyright.PENANA6HqcZFcPhW
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"Cousin Raghad, cousin Zina, let me show you something fun!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAu8KQldksqP
101Please respect copyright.PENANAta89eWinyK
It was Yug who said that. Yug was the youngest of the six participating in this saint festival. He was always up to something with his brothers and sisters. Most of the time, it was something childish and cruel, like taking a magnifying glass to burn ants or knocking down a beehive, so Kurzina didn't like to hang out with him. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAMudUVRndwC
101Please respect copyright.PENANAM3oc2vDQ5s
Nevertheless, Kurzina and Raghad would hang out with Yug often. This was because Yug had grown up very lonely. Yug was the weakest of the Bosha bloodline, and even his parents paid little attention to him.101Please respect copyright.PENANA4pTwCKA9U2
101Please respect copyright.PENANA0A9fzVCCwf
"Just a moment, then we'll go to the chamber of learning,"101Please respect copyright.PENANA37vcpeZ4eD
101Please respect copyright.PENANAJhX1Xlyspm
Raghad said and Kurzina followed. Yug was carrying a small pouch, and he was twirling it around by the string to see what was so exciting. Kurzina, staring at it absentmindedly, soon figured out where Yugh was heading.
"Yug, if we go this way..."101Please respect copyright.PENANAcsdfPvnKDc
101Please respect copyright.PENANA13Q6GChhZZ
Yug was heading toward the frame where Edulis was hanging. The section of the square where Edulis was hanging was now off-limits. No one was allowed to enter except for the couriers who brought water and bread to Edulis.
Raghad said. "It's okay, there's no one watching."
"Yug. The witch's offspring must live until All Saints' Day. No more harm must come to him."
"I know, big brother. I'm not trying to."101Please respect copyright.PENANAaWTi3ccnUs
101Please respect copyright.PENANA5b8tTJLBpT
Yug chuckled and laughed, as if he had a funny idea. Raghad and Kurzina finally gave in to Yug's foolishness.
By now, Yug, Raghad, and Kurzina had arrived at the mold. Edulis's head was bowed low, her eyes closed, as if he were dead.
Yug shouted. "Descendant of the witch, look at this!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAFxIaiUfM8l
101Please respect copyright.PENANAzaaU3P5WKX
Yug unzipped his pouch and pulled out the contents. Upon seeing it, Kurzina cried out in horror. 101Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6pJ1SRCiL
101Please respect copyright.PENANAbWGmHg0QA2
"Yug! That's...!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAgCdLjKf71x
"Hahaha! Are you surprised, sis? He's rummaging through our trash, and he's running off with a piece of meat, and I'm sneaking up behind him to kill him if he's got any babies, but my God, don't you think he's going to put that piece of meat in his mouth?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAyI1CadLEOx
101Please respect copyright.PENANAv3pzaXFqa5
Raghad scolded Yug.101Please respect copyright.PENANAc4FjIWYLAW
101Please respect copyright.PENANANJmjUJeoPx
"Yug, this is not funny."
“Not funny? It’s hilarious, I'm friends with a rat, who must be the spawn of a witch!"101Please respect copyright.PENANAfyJN6u02Mu
101Please respect copyright.PENANAxGh33Lf3FI
Yug snorted and laughed. Unaware of the look Edulis was giving him.101Please respect copyright.PENANAS7f8LHvLGt
101Please respect copyright.PENANAKQlunQA1o1
"Look! Descendant of the Witch, look what your friend has become!"101Please respect copyright.PENANARmnkxF2G3W
101Please respect copyright.PENANARIj9BT6OS3
Yug yelled, holding a bloodied Aruru in his hand.101Please respect copyright.PENANA6YTE66lrSa
101Please respect copyright.PENANAjTLMDYivok
Thud.101Please respect copyright.PENANA0h1TeNDcHc
Clang.101Please respect copyright.PENANAEo5TMQldY7
101Please respect copyright.PENANAXE8aIbf56H
"Huh?"101Please respect copyright.PENANAK96MJESTgE
101Please respect copyright.PENANATIV2Thyovu
Yug looked down at his feet. His arm was wriggling on the ground, holding a small pouch. Only now did Yug realize the emptiness on his right shoulder. On the ground, a pool of crimson liquid was forming.
"What's... this..."
Yugh looked up at the frame. No one was hanging there.
Author's note:
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