Chapter : 20
“Once Miss Rohanson finishes her prayers, escort her to the Knight Order reception room. Uriel will be with her.”
On the way, she also told a knight to guide Miss Evangeline to the Knight Order reception room.
Perhaps because the Paralos Knight Order was affiliated with the temple, a building had been constructed right near the Grand Temple. While it couldn’t compare to the grandeur of the Grand Temple itself, Helena thought it would still be magnificent—but surprisingly, the building was rather simple.
“Ah, there it is.”
As they approached the Knight Order office, Helena imagined the worst possible scenario that might unfold.
Gabriel might have been pleased to finally get a lead on the incident, but Helena, in contrast, grew increasingly uneasy. At that time, the only witnesses to Donau’s death were Helena and Kanna. And now there was another witness? Was it someone related to the painting—someone from the artist’s side? No… did it even need a witness?
And the person was from the monastery? Helena couldn’t understand what exactly Gabriel meant this witness had seen, and the uncertainty made her anxious.
‘Please don’t tell me she saw Miss witnessing Donau’s death. The door was wide open then… maybe she just heard the commotion…’
Then, as if a death sentence had been handed down, the office door opened.
Inside sat three knights, including Rafaella whom she had just seen, and a person in monastic robes who seemed to be the informant. Helena recognized the person so immediately that her lips unconsciously uttered the name.
“Daisy?”
Daisy, rumored to have gone blind and been sent to the monastery, looked at Helena with a suddenly gaunt face.
“Helena. Why are you here?”
“I should be asking you. I heard you went blind…”
There had been rumors that Daisy went blind and was sent to the monastery. When Helena first took Daisy’s former position, she had been terrified. Half of her suspected that Daisy might have already died, and that the rumors were just Miss Evangeline covering up the aftermath.
But now, it seemed Daisy was neither blind nor seriously injured.
So Daisy was the witness? Helena’s head ached as she struggled to process the situation. If it had been someone else, she could have dismissed it as a mistake. Daisy had only recently served as a close attendant to Miss Evangeline.
The staff at the Rohanson estate rarely spoke openly, given the money provided by the butler and the constant presence of Miss Evangeline. But now, if it was Daisy—someone who had already left—the fact that Miss Evangeline had returned to life would expose everything.
That couldn’t happen. If the temple, now knowing the full truth, attempted to punish her, what would happen to Miss? Helena wasn’t worried for Miss herself—Evangeline Rohanson’s role was currently restraining her—but if that role became ineffective, she feared what might come next.
What should I do? I need to stop Daisy from speaking.
“Have you left the estate?”
When Helena shook her head, Daisy’s face went pale.
“Leave as soon as possible… Wait, wait a moment. That on the neck… Helena, who is that?”
Daisy pointed at Kanna.
“She’s my younger sister.”
The neck? Daisy was staring at Kanna’s neck, where a red line had been drawn. It was from Donau in the past, and Kanna had refused the holy water treatment, leaving it as it was.
Seeing it, Daisy covered her mouth as if feeling nauseated.
“Your sister?”
Helena nodded at Daisy’s question.
“Your sister… works at the estate with you?”
“Yes.”
The more Helena answered, the paler Daisy became. Her trembling hand covered her mouth, and her eyes shook uncontrollably.
That line on her neck was definitely the mark of the demon Daisy had summoned. The demon had a grotesque hobby of cutting and reattaching human necks. Without the line, it would be impossible to tell if someone had died.
The demon had requested to be guided to the Rohanson estate, and Daisy had complied. The demon had safely entered the estate and apparently harmed its inhabitants.
Daisy had suspected as much, but seeing the victim herself, especially one related to a former colleague, was shocking.
“What have I… what have I done…”
Daisy staggered in shock. A nearby knight rushed to support her, but she sharply waved him off. She then stared at the knight she had pushed away as if terrified, taking a step back.
It felt like the knights might suddenly attack her. Daisy was not entirely innocent either, having summoned a demon and caused the death of Father Berga.
“I-I think I should leave now.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Daisy had come to the temple to verify the painting Father Berga had seen. She had identified the ominous magic circle and decided to testify in order to have it removed.
Of course, she didn’t intend to confess everything she had done. Her testimony included some lies to make it plausible.
“That’s all I have to say. Isn’t that sufficient as testimony?”
Gabriel glanced as if to confirm, and the knight nodded. Gabriel took the neatly organized paper of Daisy’s testimony and skimmed it.
It described how Father Berga had summoned a demon using the circle. It also listed several misdeeds committed by Berga while possessed, along with the information that evidence could be found if his room was searched.
Turning to the next page, there was content about Evangeline Rohanson. From the dialogue, it seemed like the events occurred when she had worked at the Rohanson estate.
Gabriel subtly glanced at Helena and Kanna and quietly closed the paper. Now it was clear why Daisy was so anxious—meeting someone from the Rohanson estate again naturally frightened her.
“This is very helpful. I will investigate the rest myself.”
With Gabriel’s approval to leave, Daisy felt relieved. Father Berga was already dead, so she felt no guilt in placing the blame. The evil deeds she recounted were all actually committed by Berga, and he was indeed the one who drew the summoning circle.
Daisy’s goal had been only to remove the ominous painting from the temple. With that accomplished, she had done her part.
“Rafaella, please escort her outside the temple.”
Daisy realized that refusing even that would seem suspicious, so she quietly nodded.
As Daisy brushed past Helena, she whispered very softly—quiet enough that even Kanna next to Helena could not hear.
“Helena. That’s not your sister.”
She could not explain the full circumstances, as knights were nearby and she feared Helena might blame her for her sister’s death. This was the best she could do.
Daisy glanced at Helena’s deceased sister and at the floating object nearby. She never expected to see it again outside the estate… At least, fortunately, it was not as frightening as before.
Perhaps because they were inside the Grand Temple, the object was not fully exerting its power. Thankfully, from Daisy’s experience, it could not hear sounds. It likely did not hear what she whispered to Helena.
Daisy hurriedly left the reception room, afraid their eyes might meet.
Watching Daisy leave under the knight’s escort, Helena quietly grasped her sister’s hand.
“Sister, what did that person just say?”
“Nothing.”
Whatever Daisy had said, Kanna was still Helena’s only sister. Even when she had rejoiced upon seeing Donau dead, or called that monstrous painting beautiful, no matter how broken Kanna had become or what she thought, she remained a beloved sister in Helena’s eyes. Right? She had to be.
“Did your prayers go well?”
Yes. I had an amazing nap. But I couldn’t tell a paladin that I had slept through prayer time, so I just awkwardly nodded.
The prayer room that Uriel had guided her to was a private room often used by nobles. Perhaps because its main patrons were wealthy, it was incredibly luxurious. Helena had expected something cell-like, but it was actually very cozy and nice.
Sunlight poured through the large windows, and from somewhere, the sound of an organ could be heard. Pretending to pray with her eyes closed, she eventually became drowsy and fell asleep.
Even in dreams, she did not see God. Communicating with God was not part of her “possession perks.” Language patches and the possessed perspective were delayed, so no such benefits existed. She must have gotten her hopes up too much.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, some devotees pray for hours, you know.”
Helena worried that she might have overslept, but apparently not too much time had passed. It would have been nice if there were clocks in the temple; even the prayer room had none. Without a cell phone, it was inconvenient. She thought she might carry a pocket watch.
“Ah, the commander is waiting at the Knight Order. Your companions are also with her. We’ll take you there.”
Helena and Kanna must have finished viewing the painting already. Did they stay to wait for me instead of returning to the estate first? Is this what friendship feels like? It warmed her heart. She lightly tapped Jelly to wake him up. After all, he had waited with her too, so why was he still so annoying?
Since she was at the temple, she also purchased some holy water with the gold coins she had brought. She stocked up a bit. Luckily, she had grabbed so many coins that she was able to buy ten bottles and still have money left.
“Magnificent, my lady. I could never afford this even with several years of my salary.”
Uriel, standing nearby, clapped politely as if he were a shop clerk. Was he trying to sell holy water rather than being a knight?
When Helena handed the holy water to Jelly, he recoiled in disgust.
“You want me to carry this…?”
