The curtains in the room were drawn, so even though it was only early afternoon, it was somewhat dim.
The Lady sat on the edge of her bed, arms crossed and legs crossed, her tone carrying a seriousness she had never shown before.
“Yumina… what exactly happened? I hope you can honestly tell me…”
This matter concerned the rise and fall of the household, so Ileya naturally had to take it seriously.
“I…”
Yumina clearly wanted to speak, but then seemed to think of something and slowly lowered her head.
“Hah~ What could be so hard to tell me?”
Ileya frowned slightly, watching the twin-tailed girl’s conflicted expression, growing even more puzzled.
The two had grown up together since childhood; you could say there were almost no secrets between them.
With a relationship like this, what couldn’t be said directly?
“I… I really want to tell you, Lady, but my mother doesn’t allow me to…” Yumina said, extremely conflicted.
‘Yumina’s mother, the head maid of the castle, Suxi?’ Ileya opened her mouth, then frowned slightly, and finally chuckled and shook her head.
“Hehe~ Yumina, you really are a bit slow~”
“Huh?” Yumina had no idea what the Lady was thinking, and just scratched her head instinctively.
“If Aunt Suxi truly didn’t want me to know, would she have deliberately brought this up with you?”
Ileya countered.
Of course, she didn’t know what the head maid meant or what she was thinking.
But she could gradually guide this innocent childhood friend in front of her, making her spill everything she knew.
“Is… that so?”
Yumina’s small mouth opened slightly as she kept thinking about it.
‘That’s right… Was Mother really just mentioning it casually?’
Not necessarily. Mother told me about this, and specifically reminded me not to tell you, Lady.
“Perhaps… Aunt has some reason she can’t tell me personally, so she’s using you to pass it on to me~”
Hearing Ileya’s casual explanation, Yumina’s eyes suddenly lit up!
‘I see! So that’s how Mother thought about it?!’
‘I had no idea; I thought she was just casually mentioning recent events…’
“Mmm! I understand…”
Yumina nodded, deeply convinced by the Lady’s explanation.
And seeing the other’s fervent gaze that said, ‘I completely trust you, Lady; you’re the smartest,’
Ileya instinctively averted her eyes.
Ahem! Special times call for special measures. I’m not… not guilty at all.
“Um, Lady, in the few days you were away…”
And so Yumina, under the guidance of her unscrupulous childhood friend, spilled everything she knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
But the more she listened, the tighter Ileya’s frown became.
To sum it all up…
Mother is sick, and not lightly either.
No wonder she seemed thinner when I returned; it’s because she hasn’t been eating well lately.
But… why? Why would Mother hide something like this from me?
On that point… Ileya could understand a bit.
After all, with an illness like this, even if Mother told me, a thirteen-year-old girl, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
I’d just worry alongside her.
Mother… was she afraid of affecting me?
No, not telling me is understandable.
But why… didn’t she tell that old Butler either?
The couple exchanged letters. Although Ileya had never read them, given her father’s personality…
If he learned of this, he would definitely spare no effort to find clues in the royal capital and rush back without stopping.
And since the Butler hasn’t returned yet, it means he, like her before, doesn’t know Mother’s current condition.
But why is Mother… bearing this pain alone without telling anyone?
Could it be… in the original fate, the reason Mother had Reliel acknowledge her lineage was because she herself realized she was dying?
To make up for regrets… and to return Reliel’s true identity to her before she died?
And in the “original fate”… when I was bullied and subjected to public execution… Mother might have already…
Thinking of this, the Lady’s eyes reddened uncontrollably, and the aura around her gradually turned cold and dark.
“L… Lady?”
The pressure originating from the soul made Yumina feel… that the moment she looked at her Lady, it was like staring into a bottomless abyss.
Of course, there was nothing terrifying in the abyss looking back at the little maid, because Ileya had only let out a bit of aura due to the huge emotional fluctuation—it wasn’t directed at Yumina.
“Hah… I… I’m fine.”
The moment she pulled herself together, seeing Yumina’s slightly pale face, Ileya let out a small sigh.
Her strength had indeed increased very quickly.
At least by this world’s standards, in the short half-year since her memories awakened, she had gone from a bully who only oppressed others to a Third Rank Transcendent.
Although she couldn’t see the so-called “Source Sea,” if she told people, they would certainly think it was a made-up story.
Of course… Ileya herself wasn’t particularly satisfied with this speed, but in a general sense, she had become too strong too quickly.
The side effect was that in many situations… the Lady couldn’t precisely control her power.
Especially this kind of pressure after the soul’s strengthening.
When facing an ordinary person like Yumina, it even created the oppressive feeling of a tiger staring at a rabbit.
“I know about this now. Later… I’ll ask Mother properly.”
Ileya rubbed her temples.
Mother is a very smart person. The reason she hid her illness, not even wanting the closest people to know… definitely had her own considerations.
So going and asking directly like that wasn’t a wise choice.
Ileya planned to take the long view… starting today, she would carefully observe Mother’s condition.
For example… Possession would be a good option.
However, right now Mother was still discussing matters with the city lords, so the real observation might have to wait until after dinner…
And Black Iron, Grey Rock, and Hard Steel—these three cities were only relatively close to Crystal Capital…
In the next few days, more city lords would receive the news and come here, along with the upcoming Kingdom Army and the [Army-Breaking King].
Crystal Capital this time… is really going to be lively.
While thinking this, Ileya suddenly felt… something touch her soul.
It was as if someone had poked her shoulder with a finger.
“Hmm? This feeling is…”
Ileya was briefly stunned, then slowly closed her eyes and sunk her consciousness into the [Underworld].
Sure enough, in the Underworld, above the high heavens where Ileya’s consciousness resided… another invisible thread had appeared.
As the Lady reached out and touched it, she saw some blurry scenes.
That… seemed to be a funeral taking place in some church.
In this world, funerals had nothing to do with the Holy See originally.
But seeing this… it seemed that Bishop Kaorsi had indeed kept his word and started spreading the doctrine that “death belongs to the Supreme God” on her behalf~
Thinking this in her heart, Ileya focused her mind and paid attention to the blurry scene before her.
The deceased was an old woman with graying hair, her body lying in a coffin, her expression relatively peaceful.
But Ileya, who understood corpses very well, could tell.
That expression must have been arranged when the body was prepared.
Because… through Ileya’s red eyes, the corpse was surrounded by wisps of black aura.
It wasn’t exactly resentment, but it could be called an obsession.
This old woman seemed to have some unfulfilled wish she especially cared about before death.
And looking at the people around the coffin.
Two men and two women; they should be the old woman’s children.
Although they were praying with eyes closed, Ileya didn’t feel even a bit of Faith Power from them…
One man even yawned in the middle of his prayer.
Aside from these four, there was also a middle-aged man in black clothes with a holy emblem on his chest.
That was a priest from the Holy See. Being focused on proselytizing every day, he didn’t seem very skilled at this “new business” of funerals.
And the last one… the source of this Faith Thread…
Was a little girl standing next to the coffin, looking only seven or eight years old.
Her figure was well-proportioned; she didn’t look like a child from an ordinary commoner family.
That made sense; the reach was still too small. Ordinary commoners probably still used traditional funeral rites.
This old woman must have been a devout and fairly wealthy believer of the Supreme God before her death.
Thinking this, although Ileya had already made a decision in her heart, she still slowly reached out and gently tapped the coffin.
Hoo…
A single wisp of black obsession gradually formed a thin line.
Its target was that little girl standing alone, her eyes full of sadness, her expression seeming a bit dazed from her grandmother’s passing.
Sure enough, what the old woman couldn’t let go of was this child.
Then… as the only two believers of the “Supreme God’s Death Authority” at this moment.
If the “Supreme God” didn’t perform a miracle to expand their influence, that would be somewhat failing to seize the opportunity~
……
Inside the church of Scole Town on the outskirts of the Royal Capital.
“The departed soul will be guided to the Underworld, to rest under the gaze of the Supreme God, and gain new life in the land full of death.”
The priest recited the words from the booklet before him in a loud voice.
“All pain, suffering, torment, and poverty will be far away…”
Dula, standing beside her husband, yawned instinctively.
This so-called Holy See funeral… really did look the part, but the priest’s monotone chanting reminded Dula of her teacher droning on in the elementary school when she was little.
The emotionless words were too profound, making people drowsy.
Dula was the third daughter of the old woman in the coffin.
The old woman had two sons and a daughter. Dula had a second elder brother above her, and as for the eldest brother…
He had died together with his wife in an accident a few years ago, leaving only a seven-year-old daughter with the old woman.
Originally, the eldest brother’s family had always taken care of the old woman, but after the eldest brother and his wife died, the second brother and Dula both had their own families and lives.
It turned into the old woman living alone.
Dula herself had been married off for a long time and didn’t have particularly deep feelings for the old woman.
The main reason she could come this time… was because of the old woman’s only real estate—a storefront bakery.
Of course, they had seen the will, which stated that the bakery was to be left to the eldest brother’s orphan, a seven-year-old child named Di’an.
This point dissatisfied both Dula and the second brother.
They were the old woman’s son and daughter; their inheritance rights should definitely come before that little girl from the eldest brother’s family, right?
Why leave the house to her?
So… the two families arrived at the same time with tacit understanding, determined to fight for ownership of the shop…