Hiding the Fact That We Are Dating From the Amnesiac Villain - Chapter 43

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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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Chapter 43
The Ancient Priests of the Sacred Stigma.
Freena knew little about them, but….
‘Weren’t they the high-ranking clergy who presided over sacred rites and performed purification ceremonies?’
They were beings that no longer existed.
Back then, anyone who possessed sacred power became a Priest, or so the stories went.
‘But why are the Caesar Knights all suddenly bringing up that title?’
Their minds were clearly tainted by Magi…but not just one—five of them?
There had to be a hidden reason behind this.
“P-please, everyone. Calm down for a moment. This person isn’t a criminal, he….”
Freena, about to explain, suddenly fell silent.
Wait, did I really need to go through all this tedious talking?
If I just purified them with sacred power and restored their sanity, they would naturally kneel before Decklin Caesar and beg for forgiveness.
The moment Freena resolved to draw upon her sacred power.
Decklin Caesar, bound and kneeling obediently, moved his lips toward her.
St-op, fr…?
‘…What on earth is he saying?’
Unfortunately, Freena had no talent for lip-reading.
Suddenly, a guessing game had begun in the midst of chaos.
‘It seems like he’s telling me to stop….’
Then came an even more difficult puzzle.
…don’t, rev-eal, iden…?
As she blinked helplessly without understanding, Decklin Caesar’s beautiful face grew shadowed with deep exhaustion.
Let me think this through!
Decklin Caesar seemed to be deliberately allowing them to do as they pleased….
‘Ah! Could it be that he doesn’t want me to reveal his identity?’
That must be it!
“So then, what shall we do with this wretch?”
The Knights’ gazes all fixed upon Freena at once.
Their voices were warm and affectionate. Yet their eyes gazing at her were murky and devoid of any light.
Completely hollow. Freena felt an involuntary chill run down her spine.
‘…And yet he wants me to hide this?’
Freena looked toward Decklin Caesar one last time to confirm.
He gave a short nod, as if resigned to his fate.
Fine. I’ll do as you ask!
“Yes! That’s right! This person is indeed a terrible criminal! So please bind him tightly and lock him away.”
In that instant.
Decklin Caesar’s brow furrowed sharply.
‘Hmm? That’s not what I meant…?’
Oh no….
“Listen up! He’s been declared a criminal! Bind him without a single gap!”
“Yes, restrain him! Tsk, keep your head down, you filthy criminal bastard!”
“Ugh.”
When the Knights pressed their rough hands down on Decklin Caesar’s head, a short groan escaped his lips.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Freena’s forehead. Belatedly, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over her.
‘Could it have meant to reveal his identity moderately, but not use sacred power to purify him?’
But the realization came far too late.
Decklin Caesar had already suffered greatly because of her.
“Huh? Wait a moment. What’s this glimmering gold lump in this criminal’s possession…?”
“What, what?!”
A gold lump?
Freena’s gaze dropped urgently as one of the Knights rummaged through Decklin Caesar’s garments and pulled out an object that glinted in the moonlight.
That wasn’t a gold lump at all—it was a locket pendant.
It was the very moment one of the Knights’ blunt fingers reached to snatch the pendant.
“Stop.”
A cold, heavy voice fell like a blade.
“Return it to me, if you would.”
“What, you brat? How dare you be insolent as a criminal! You deserve death!”
Crack!
One of the Knights threw a punch at Decklin Caesar’s cheek.
‘Gasp! They’re striking Decklin Caesar!’
For Freena, it was utterly unimaginable.
Decklin Caesar’s gaze turned razor-sharp.
Yet he remained still and silent.
“P-please, give me the pendant. I’ll hold onto it.”
“Yes! Hand it over to the Priest.”
Freena hastily claimed Decklin Caesar’s pendant. What was this that made him react so sensitively?
Decklin Caesar’s gaze toward Freena’s fingertips holding the pendant was as frigid as ice.
…It was terrifying.
Freena hurriedly shoved the pendant deep into the inner pocket of her purification stone pouch.
“Priest! We’ve bound that filthy wretch thoroughly, so please don’t worry!”
I’m so worried though…
* * *
Those controlled by Magi fall into two broad categories.
One is while living, the other is while dead.
In the latter case, they attack the living indiscriminately without a shred of self, mindlessly.
In the former case, however…
“Priest! I shall guide you this way!”
Even if their minds are invaded by Magi, they retain reason and act upon it.
Only in a most grotesque manner.
In the original story, there were Knights whose bodies were dominated by Caesar’s heirlooms, forcing them to carry out missions and speak words that contradicted their own will.
As that scene flashed through my mind as well, an eerie chill ran down my spine.
‘This place….’
I gazed upward at the ancient tower looming impossibly high, my eyes trembling.
That such a towering structure still stood in this barren, lifeless land was almost incomprehensible.
Though it looked as though it might crumble at any moment, it stood with an unsettling, almost grotesque solidity.
But the greatest problem was… its height.
…Quite considerable, at that.
‘In the future I witnessed, I clearly died from falling from a great height.’
I’d never suffered from acrophobia before, but suddenly heights terrified me.
I glanced sideways at Decklin Caesar.
Bound and dragged along by the Knights, he showed no particular reaction to the tower—his expression remained utterly unmoved.
…Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I couldn’t say.
“…Priest, might this place not be to your liking?”
Perhaps because my reaction hadn’t been particularly favorable, their faces fell.
“…No, not at all. Quite displeasing, actually.”
I had no desire to pretend otherwise.
I’d need to avoid high places for a while, just to be safe….
“Did you hear that! We must take the Priest somewhere else at once! The Priest finds this place extremely displeasing!”
“Oh no, if the Priest is this displeased, it’s a disaster!”
The Knights made a great fuss.
‘Sigh.’
They must have mistaken me for an ancient Temple Priest.
Meanwhile, they treated their actual lord worse than livestock, yet lavished the utmost devotion upon me.
In the end, we settled in a single-story ruin that had collapsed in an eyesore of decay.
Though finding any place that wasn’t a ruin in this Cursed Land would be harder anyway.
‘Single story. I love it. Absolutely.’
At least here, there was no risk of falling to my death.
The Knights assembled fragments of broken stone walls into a chair for me. It appeared to have once served as a small Temple.
“Well then, we must now… hurry and go do ‘that.'”
“Wait. We cannot leave this dangerous criminal unattended….”
That?
The Knights hesitated, glancing at me. The atmosphere had grown ominous.
‘I should separate these fanatics… it would be best.’
Only then could I discover what Decklin Caesar was thinking as he endured all this.
“He’s bound so securely—what concern could there be? Go ahead and attend to your business.”
The hesitant Knights nodded at my words and departed.
Once they vanished, I gazed down at Decklin Caesar coldly in the silence.
‘Honestly, I’m rather annoyed.’
Bound and bearing the mark of a slap across his face, yet I found myself thinking he deserved it.
If I could, I would have mocked him outright. Because.
‘I nearly died because of Decklin Caesar.’
How could anyone enter the Magi Storm when a person was screaming like that?
…Fortunately, Freena emerged unscathed, but I could not forget Decklin Caesar’s audacity.
“Your Excellency, what on earth happened to you?”

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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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