A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 219

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘So it’s that difficult to obtain?’
At Aislah’s words, Camilla cast a peculiar glance toward Habel as well. How on earth did he manage to get this?
“There are points that accumulate whenever I complete a task.”
“Points?”
“They accumulate when I properly fulfill my duties as a Reaper.”
Later, those points could be used for promotions or to request desired items from superiors.
The reason Reapers toil without rest, day after day, was precisely to accumulate as many points as possible.
“This flower was obtained using points that I and several other Reapers pooled together.”
Reapers who had received considerable help from Dorman in the past, or who felt gratitude for handling John Carter this time, each contributed a portion of their strength.
Some had accumulated points over ten years, others over a hundred—Habel needed no such excuse. He had surrendered every single point he’d gathered since beginning his work as a Reaper.
“Wait, why?”
Why go to such lengths to bring me this?
The more explanation I received, the less sense it made. He’d said humans couldn’t even consume it—it wasn’t something I desperately needed either.
“It’s the most precious thing I could obtain within my means.”
“So why give it to me—”
“Thank you.”
“…What?”
Wait! Did you just say thank you? Not to anyone else, but Habel—you?
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“What are you talking about?”
No, don’t glare at me like that. I’m genuinely concerned here.
‘Thank you?’
Since when did you know how to say such things?
“Good heavens….”
Did he just bow his head? Camilla was utterly bewildered. Was capturing John Carter really worth such gratitude?
….
Regardless of Camilla’s confusion, Habel’s gaze had already shifted back to Dorman.
As he watched Dorman attending to customers with a radiant smile, the faintest of smiles flickered across Habel’s lips.
Of course, it was only for an instant, so no one truly witnessed that smile.
“Well, in any case, I’ll gladly accept the gift.”
Camilla accepted the flowerpot with a somewhat reluctant feeling.
She disliked the name intensely, but if it was truly that precious, she might as well keep it for now.
‘I wonder if I’ll ever have use for this?’
It supposedly prevents dissolution?
“Hmm… so how do I care for this? Do I just leave it lying around?”
“Keep it close to your side.”
“Close to my side?”
“It will grow by consuming your energy and the strange energies that gather around you.”
…Is it really okay to accept this? A flower that feeds on energy? This is definitely ominous, absolutely ominous.
“Miss!”
At that moment, Dorman approached with a loud exclamation. Wondering what had happened, I quickly turned my head.
“We’ve sold out all the desserts from this morning!”
Dorman pointed at the empty display case with a radiant smile.
“That’s impressive, Dorman.”
“Right?”
“You’re like a god of commerce.”
…What is he saying?
“Haha, I’ve always been good at everything.”
“Absolutely.”
What’s this?
‘How perfectly they complement each other.’
Camilla watched Habel lavishing praise and Dorman puffing out his chest with exasperation.
But eventually, a faint smile spread across her face too. Well, there was nothing wrong with working hard at the business.
‘Maybe I should give him a raise….’
“This shop needs me more than you now, Camilla. Haha, won’t everyone think I’m the owner soon?”
“Of course they will.”
…I’ll postpone the raise for now.
* * *
“This necklace that was sold to people as a sacred relic.”
Cardinal Martio held a necklace embedded with a crimson stone—the very one the Eba Cult had sold through the Temple.
“You truly didn’t know it was the Eba Cult’s doing?”
“I really didn’t know!”
Pope Brisel shook his head urgently. The neat and pristine appearance he once maintained was nowhere to be found.
Pope Brisel made hasty excuses with a deathly pale face, as if his life depended on it.
“That man suggested selling the necklace! Daniel—that man orchestrated everything!”
When it was revealed that the crimson sacred relic was an object the Eba Cult had distributed to steal people’s souls, countless individuals were left aghast.
Naturally, distrust toward the Temple skyrocketed.
The only way to overcome this crisis was to actively purge the Eba Cult members who had infiltrated every corner of the Temple.
With the very survival of the Church at stake, the Temple’s leadership finally drew a sharper blade than ever before.
Fortunately, the Church’s Sword of Judgment proved invaluable in rooting out the Eba Cult members.
At the mere mention of using the Sword of Judgment, the Eba Cult members hiding within the Church either fled in terror or revealed themselves.
And once again, people were left in shock. Far more individuals belonged to the Eba Cult than anyone had imagined.
As the situation gradually stabilized, people sought accountability, and their gaze fell upon Pope Brisel.
After all, he was the one who named the crimson stone a sacred relic, suggested selling it through the Temple, and ultimately approved it.
Moreover, he was also the one who had strongly advocated for promoting High Priest Daniel, a key figure of the Eba Cult, to High Priest.
“Daniel! That man!”
Of course, Pope Brisel felt wronged. He truly had no knowledge that the crimson necklace belonged to the Eba Cult.
When told of a mysterious mineral that could reduce bodily pain, and when suggested that selling it as a sacred relic would increase the Temple’s revenue, he had simply approved it with good intentions.
It wasn’t as though it would harm anyone. Instead of merely filling the Temple’s storage with profits from selling the crimson stones, a portion of those profits could be used to spread the word of God more widely.
He had believed that God would overlook it, as it was meant to further His divine message.
But…!
‘How was I supposed to know that those who spoke of it were actually embedded within the Eba Cult?!’
In the same vein, I only discovered after this incident erupted that they had been whispering at High Priest Daniel’s behest.
For Pope Brisel, it was enough to drive him absolutely mad.
“I truly didn’t know!”
His voice rose higher as he met the suspicious gazes of those around him.
“I could swear it even holding the Sword of Judgment!”
If I had known, would I have willingly worn that horrific necklace around my own neck? That terrible necklace that devours souls!
“Indulgences.”
“…!”
But at the word that followed, Pope Brisel couldn’t help but flinch.
“Regarding the indulgences. That matter has nothing to do with you, does it?”
At Cardinal Martio’s calm question that followed, Brisel’s complexion turned rigid.
Before the Eba Cult incident erupted, there had been another scandal in the Temple. Posters listing the sins of the High Priest and senior clergy appeared almost daily.
From those who embezzled donations to evidence of abuse against young congregants.
At first, everyone denied their guilt, but before the Sword of Judgment, they had no choice but to bow their heads.
The image of Cardinal Stella, who had spoken falsehoods while holding the Sword of Judgment and died miserably, remained vividly etched in memory.
And the person mentioned in the final poster affixed after Cardinal Stella’s death was none other than Pope Brisel himself.
Indulgences that absolved even murder for a price. It was Pope Brisel who had sold them.
“You’re saying it wasn’t you who sold the indulgences to Count Orleans?”
“That is…!”
Count Orleans, who had recently kidnapped children and turned them to stone to commit murder. It was now revealed that he had been the primary user of the indulgences.
The people still trembling from that incident in which so many children had died were forced to gasp in horror once more.
In the Temple itself, and the Pope had personally sold indulgences to overlook murder!
“Can you truly swear before the Sword of Judgment that you didn’t know it was a sin, and that the indulgences were entirely Daniel’s doing?”
“….”
Pope Brisel could not easily answer that question.
It was certainly Daniel’s scheme. But he couldn’t claim there was no unease whatsoever.
Didn’t know it was a sin? Did he truly not know?
He was aware that absolving even murder for money was undoubtedly wrong.
‘Only….’
Before the allure of money, he had merely deceived himself, telling himself it was all for the Cult.
Of course, he could never claim ignorance before the Sword of Judgment.
In the end, Brisel, biting his lip, slowly lowered his head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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