Chapter 58: Female Urine Smell

At that moment.

On the road leading to the capital from the Starlight family estate.

A single carriage was speeding through the pitch-black night.

Clunk—

The wheel hit a rock, causing the carriage to shake.

The carriage showed no signs of slowing down, as if obstacles meant nothing to it.

Inside, a priestess with narrowed eyes bit her lip anxiously.

“The Grand Duke visiting the Starlight family? I knew there was some connection with Eileen Starlight, but I never expected him to come so suddenly… Could it be that he’s trying to recruit her?”

Hene, a high-ranking priestess of the Palais Church, crouched and muttered under her breath.

Just a few days ago, she had been sent to heal the true eldest son of the Starlight family under the Pope’s orders.

Normally, she stayed close to the highest-ranking priestess of the Milinarize, serving as a spy, but this time, she had no choice but to be dispatched to the Starlight family.

She had barely managed to make excuses to the highest-ranking priestess and visit the Starlight family.

And now, her path had crossed with the Grand Duke’s.

Hene trembled, pressing her large breasts with both arms.

“I need to hurry to the Pope and report this, and request protection. If I don’t hurry, I’ll be killed…”

Though he had softened somewhat recently, the Grand Duke remained ruthless to his enemies.

If he found out that she was a spy working for the Pope, who was aligned with the First Prince, his fury would be unimaginable.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Hene called out to the coachman.

“Hey! Are you there?”

“Yes, Lady Hene. Did you call?”

“The carriage is too slow. Go faster.”

“Well… it’s impossible to go any faster. The sun has completely set, so we need to find a campsite before it gets too late. Besides, there are rumors of Greenskins appearing near this border area at night…”

“Ten gold coins.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll give you ten gold coins for every day you shorten the journey to the Church’s headquarters. Can you do it?”

“Ah, yes! Leave it to me!”

The coachman’s attitude changed instantly at the mention of an amount that an ordinary citizen would never see in their lifetime.

As he whipped the horses, the carriage sped up.

Inside the shaking carriage, Hene closed her eyes and prayed to her god.

“Lord Palais, please grant me light to pierce through the darkness ahead.”

Whoosh—

A serene voice echoed as holy power spread.

A light attribute spell, Holy Light.

The miracle that dispelled darkness illuminated the path ahead of the carriage.

As the carriage raced forward with clear visibility, Hene’s gaze suddenly turned to the window.

“…?”

Did she just see someone outside the window?

Was it her imagination?

Well, it’s impossible for someone to be wandering the border forest at this hour.

‘I must be seeing things because I’m so afraid of the Grand Duke. This is bad.’

Hene tried to calm her trembling legs, clutching them tightly.

Protection alone wouldn’t be enough to escape the eyes of the Grand Duke and the highest-ranking priestess.

Once she reached the Church’s headquarters, she would explain everything to the Pope.

Crash!

“Ahhh!”

Rumble…

At that moment, a loud noise interrupted her thoughts.

The carriage tilted sharply and toppled over.

The speed at which it had been traveling caused a strong impact to overwhelm Hene’s body.

She barely managed to hold onto her consciousness, shaken by the shock.

“Ugh… what on earth…”

“Ahhh! P-please save me!”

“Stay quiet. If you try to run, I’ll cut off your limbs.”

“Gasp!”

“Hmm. Let’s see. A coachman hired by the Church? I’ll leave the handling to Millinarize.”

While Hene was bleeding from her head and panicking, someone outside the wrecked carriage spoke calmly.

A deep, resonant voice that seemed to look down on everything in the world.

Instinctively, the voice compelled obedience, and a man’s face came to mind.

‘No way.’

Has he already caught up?

That’s impossible.

It must have taken at least six hours by carriage from the Starlight family to here.

“Ugh… sob… Lord, please take away my pain and let new flesh grow.”

Sssss—

As she chanted through the pain, a dazzling light burst forth.

A healing spell, Heal, that only skilled priests could use.

Thanks to the high priestess’s abundant holy power, her broken bones and wounds healed instantly.

After finishing the treatment, Hene slowly stepped out of the carriage.

Next to the coachman, who was lying flat on the ground, a man with red eyes was looking up at the night sky.

“…..”

Hene fell silent upon seeing the man’s expression.

The silence of the night forest enveloped them.

After a moment, the man spoke, still looking up.

“You’ve come quite far. I almost lost you.”

“I’m sorry. Please spare my life.”

“You must have been seriously injured when the carriage overturned. Did you heal properly?”

“Yes… thanks to Your Grace waiting. I’m grateful for the time to use healing magic.”

“Well, I couldn’t let you die from excessive blood loss. You have a lot of information to tell me. It’s better not to think about dying recklessly.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Hene answered in a trembling voice, bowing her head.

How did it come to this?

When she first received the order to act as a spy, she never imagined it would turn out like this.

She had only been following orders to gather information on the highest-ranking priestess of Milinarize, thinking it was a necessary step to rise in the Church’s political struggles.

But if she had known she would end up facing such a monstrous man, she would never have accepted the mission…

“Hey.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you want to live?”

At the Grand Duke’s voice, Hene looked up.

There, the Grand Duke was looking down at her with chillingly cold eyes.

And below him, a blood-red aura shimmered around a pitch-black blade.

Seeing the terrifyingly ominous color, Hene closed her eyes and answered.

“Yes. Please. I beg of you.”

“Then tell me everything you know. Who you’re working for, your goals and plans, and everything you know about the First Prince.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“By the way, this aura has the property of amplifying pain. I’ll help you with it whenever you find it hard to answer.”

Behirith spoke indifferently as he took a step forward.

The red-eyed reaper approached slowly, emitting a blood-red aura.

The sound of his footsteps mixed with the pounding of Hene’s heart, hammering in her head.

Sssss—

“Ah.”

At that moment, a warm liquid trickled down her thigh.

The stench of urine wafted up to her nose.

Yellow liquid dripped down her trembling thigh, soaking the ground.

Hene’s face was painted with fear darker than the night.

***

After some time had passed.

After a grueling Q&A session that left blood and flesh splattered.

I looked down at Hene, who was crouching on the weed-covered ground.

“You’ve done well. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a lot. But is there anything else you want to say?”

“Sob… this is all I know. Please believe me.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I swear I will never oppose Your Grace and the highest-ranking priestess again. Please allow me to make amends for my mistakes.”

Hene pleaded, her face drenched in tears.

As she lay prostrate on the ground, her ample chest squished to the side.

Her thighs, soaked in urine, trembled violently.

Hene, with her head pressed to the ground and her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture, was a picture of complete submission.

As I looked at this scene, I withdrew the aura of despair from my sword.

Ugh-

[She’s a woman with no backbone. She spilled everything so quickly.]

‘It’s because the aura of despair amplified the pain. An ordinary person would have fainted long ago.’

[Hmm. Terrifying. So, what are you going to do now?]

Cheonryeo asked in my mind.

Well.

Hene, the high priestess who usually kept her eyes half-closed.

Until now, I had trusted her as a close aide to Millinarize.

But it turned out she was a spy working under the Pope’s orders.

Realizing that, I couldn’t contain my anger.

After all, I had entrusted her with the treatment of Lucy and Justia, who were on opposing sides.

‘But she didn’t harm them in the end. It’s better to use her than to kill her outright.’

The people aligned with the First Prince are no ordinary foes.

Anything that can be used in the fight against them should be used.

Moreover, Hene didn’t seem to be absolutely loyal to either the Pope or Maximilian.

If handled well, she could still be useful.

‘What if I use her as a double agent to gather information on the Pope and Maximilian?’

With her position, she could be a valuable tool in preparing for the fight against Maximilian.

From now on, I’ll actively use the list of personnel to verify loyalty.

As I thought this, I took a step toward Hene.

Rustle—

“Eek! I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“…”

But at the sound of the brush against my feet, Hene flinched.

Hmm. I did cut off her nails whenever she hesitated to answer.

Was it too much?

No. She was a spy who had hidden her true allegiance.

Just because she had a pretty face and large breasts didn’t mean she deserved leniency.

Besides, I had allowed her to use healing magic, so I had shown some consideration.

As I organized my thoughts and was about to speak to Hene.

Sssss…

“!”

A strange sound reached my ears.

It wasn’t the cry of an animal, nor the presence of a person.

After glaring in the direction of the sound with aura-enhanced eyes.

I immediately drew my sword.

Swoosh—

“Get up. Greenskins.”

“Eh? G-Greenskins!?”

“Yes.”

Leaving the pale-faced Hene behind, I spread my mana around.

From what I could sense, there were at least fifty of them.

I had considered the possibility of their appearance in the western border of the Empire.

But I didn’t expect them to gather so quickly in such a short time.

‘Why?’

As I wondered about the Greenskins swarming around us, I realized the reason when I looked at Hene.

The scent of a young female’s urine.

The powerful Holy Light that could be seen from the edge of the forest.

And the loud noise from the carriage crash.

All of these must have attracted every Greenskin in the vicinity.

‘There’s no avoiding a fight.’

Then I’ll face them.

It’s a good opportunity to test Cheonryeo in a real battle.

In the forest, dimly lit by the moonlight.

As dozens of Greenskins approached, their eyes glowing.

With the scent of Hene’s urine carried by the wind, I tightened my grip on the sword.