I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 67

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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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Cousin’s Flower Path 067
The Temple in Brodell Lordship.
“Welcome, Klaus. Please, come in.”
A trainee priest recognized Klaus Brodell as he dismounted and greeted him warmly, then quickly ushered in the Temple Master.
“Klaus, has something happened to the Count?”
The priest’s face filled with concern, wondering if some new trouble had befallen the Count just as his treatment had finished.
“No, that’s not it.”
Klaus Brodell shook his head quickly.
“I’ve come to see the Temple Master.”
“The Temple Master?”
The priest looked puzzled but led Klaus Brodell forward nonetheless.
“Are the people who came by last time doing well?”
He meant the missing persons who had recovered here at the Temple.
“Yes. They’ve all found work and are laboring diligently. They’ve made contact with their families too.”
Klaus had wondered how they’d found employment so quickly, but it seemed the Information Guild had quietly lent its aid.
“That’s a relief.”
The priest continued, his face genuinely eased.
“If anyone is still without work, you may send them to us at the Temple. We cannot offer generous wages, but we can provide some help.”
“Understood.”
The priest led Klaus Brodell deeper into the Temple—a section the young lord rarely visited.
“Temple Master, Klaus has arrived.”
“Please, come in.”
As the priest opened the door, an elderly man with white hair and a kindly face rose from his seat.
He was the Temple Master who oversaw all the temples in Brodell Territory.
“Welcome, Klaus.”
“Good day to you, Temple Master.”
“How is the Count faring?”
“Much improved, thank you.”
The Temple Master’s face grew sorrowful as he spoke.
“We should have discovered it sooner. I’m sorry our skills proved insufficient.”
“No, it was simply not the sort of poison one discovers easily.”
Domerik Brodell knew the priests of Brodell Territory well enough not to use a poison that would be detected so readily.
“Let us sit and talk.”
The Temple Master smiled gently and personally poured tea.
Klaus Brodell, seated across from him, took a sip and then revealed the reason for his visit.
“The one who poisoned the Count was Domerik.”
“…You mean your second brother?”
The Temple Master asked, visibly startled.
An image of Domerik Brodell, whom he’d glimpsed occasionally at Temple events, flickered through his memory.
He would never have imagined such a thing could happen within the Brodell Count Family, much less any other house.
“Yes. But that was not all he did. He received a book from a suspicious figure in the Royal Capital and appears to have learned forbidden magic.”
Klaus Brodell handed the Temple Master the cloth pouch that Alex had sealed.
“Dark Magic, they called it.”
“…Dark Magic….”
The Temple Master, hearing the term for the first time, furrowed his brow slightly and untied the cord, drawing the book from inside the pouch.
Save for its black cover, the book appeared ordinary enough.
The Temple Master turned the pages carefully.
Though not numerous, the pages contained ingredients that were decidedly unsettling.
Human bone, blood, flesh….
These were precisely the things a Temple must guard against.
“I understand. I shall report this to the Holy Kingdom at once.”
It was protocol to report any unusual occurrence to the Holy Kingdom immediately, and a suspicious book like this demanded urgent disclosure.
The Temple Master’s expression grew grave as he returned the book to the pouch.
Whether it was because the book had vanished from sight or because something had been done to the pouch itself, he felt a measure of relief settle over him.
“Before that, I believe I should examine the location myself.”
“Hmm….”
Klaus Brodell’s thoughts turned to the Underground Chamber.
Even though the blood had been cleaned away, he questioned whether this frail old man should venture into a place so full of bones.
“The condition of that place is far from pleasant.”
“It’s fine. I too once spent time on a battlefield, long ago.”
When the Temple Master smiled gently, Klaus Brodell nodded in acknowledgment.
A moment later.
The Temple Master boarded the carriage that had been prepared, and Klaus Brodell took the driver’s seat. It seemed better that few people knew of this.
“Hyah!”
The carriage carrying the Temple Master left the Lordship and headed toward the forest.
“This way.”
Descending from the carriage, the Temple Master followed Klaus Brodell’s guidance down the temporary passage that Alex had created.
Soon he could see bones scattered about and an open door. Though the blood had vanished, the lingering smell of it remained, and the Temple Master’s eyes grew darker.
“Yesterday….”
Klaus Brodell recounted what had happened the day before.
He briefly explained the mercenary who had come searching for the missing person and had ventured this far, as well as the Information Guild.
“I see.”
The Temple Master stepped inside the door. There, he could see bones arranged in a rough circle around the entrance.
Just as Klaus Brodell had said, it was clear a battle had taken place here.
‘But moving skeletons….’
Even the Temple Master, who had served long as a priest, had never heard of such a thing before.
The Temple Master first offered a prayer for those who had perished so pitifully and whose bodies had been desecrated. Then, with careful hands, he moved the bones aside and stepped deeper into the chamber.
A magic circle had been drawn on the floor.
‘A sorcerer….’
A sigh escaped him.
It came unbidden from his lips.
They were not people he particularly disliked, but when he witnessed such madness from time to time, negative feelings were inevitable.
The Temple Master discovered Domerik Brodell’s body.
Domerik Brodell, whom Klaus Brodell had laid down, appeared to be sleeping—save for the wounds upon him.
The Temple Master examined Domerik Brodell carefully. Yet he could discover nothing.
“For now, I will perform the Corpse Preservation Prayer for your younger brother. He will remain in this state until someone comes from the Holy Kingdom.”
“Thank you.”
The Underground Chamber was cool enough that decay would take time, but still, since no one knew when someone from the Holy Kingdom would arrive, it was better to preserve the body now.
‘I wondered why we even learned this….’
The Temple Master felt anew as he pressed his hands together in prayer.
When one became a Temple Master managing a temple, one learned many things, and among them were the Corpse Preservation Prayer and methods for maintaining a scene.
At the time of learning, he had wondered if there would ever be a use for it, but he had never imagined it would come to this.
‘The Holy Kingdom must have known already.’
That was it.
To preserve traces of Dark Magic or Demons that occurred in each region until the Holy Kingdom’s Investigation Team could arrive, Temple Masters were taught such things.
Of course, there were Temple Masters like the one in Brodell who had learned it but used it only after decades, or never encountered traces of Dark Magic and thus never used it in their entire lives.
≪I offer prayer to Solenius≫
≪Upon the flesh left here, let your light descend and protect it until it meets the time of rest.≫
Bright light arose from that prayer.
And that light, as if wrapping the body in Divine Power, settled around Domerik Brodell.
Afterward, the Temple Master moved about the Underground Chamber and, as he had learned, examined it while maintaining the scene.
When the Temple Master had finished everything, he returned to the temple with Klaus Brodell.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
Klaus Brodell departed.
The Temple Master went to his office and wrote a report to send to the Holy Kingdom.
Then he lifted his gaze and looked at the cloth pouch made of rough fabric. The book was somewhat awkward to handle, but keeping it in the pouch like that seemed to put his mind at ease.
“I can send it along with the pouch.”
The Temple Master summoned the Priest.
He instructed him to send the report and the pouch containing the book to the Royal Capital.
Though the Brodell Territory was physically closer to the Holy Kingdom than the Royal Capital was, there was a Holy Magic Circle in the temple at the Royal Capital through which objects could be sent to the Holy Kingdom and contact could be made, and he intended to use it.
Then the Holy Kingdom would soon send people to investigate.
“Dark Magic, then….”
The Temple Master’s thoughts suddenly turned to the Holy Library in the Holy Kingdom.
It was the greatest library in the Holy Kingdom, and within it lay a forbidden zone that only high-ranking priests could enter.
Speaking with fellow priests, he had wondered what books might reside there.
“…It seems there might be a connection.”
Somehow.
It felt as though something great was about to unfold.

* * *
Klaus Brodell returned from the Temple and made his way to the Count’s chambers.
“Klaus. Come here.”
“Brother.”
The elderly Count, whose complexion had improved markedly, greeted Klaus alongside Maylin Brodell, who had been tending to him.
“It seems Domerik is absorbed in his research again. I haven’t seen him once today,” Maylin said, offering him tea.
Klaus’s face darkened at her words, and he hesitated.
“What troubles you, Klaus?” the Count asked.
Recognizing his distress, the Count listened as Klaus recounted in a trembling voice everything that had transpired the night before.
“I see.”
The Count’s face, which had brightened under the Priest’s care, visibly darkened once more.
“That… that cannot be.”
Maylin, who had been assisting with their grandfather’s care, wore the same expression of shock.
Her younger brother—the perpetrator of the poisoning.
Worse still, he had slain innocent people and wielded forbidden magic grave enough to summon the Holy Knight Order from the Holy Kingdom.
It was unbelievable, yet coming from the Count’s own lips, it could not be denied.
Maylin did not know whether to grieve her younger brother’s death or rage at his attempt to harm their family and others—so her eyes merely reddened as she struggled with both.
…
The Count’s heart bore a similar burden.
He had never known his second grandson harbored such thoughts. He had believed the boy was simply doing well.
As the first mage born to the family, the Count had indulged his every wish. Had that been a mistake? Or had it somehow not been enough?
Would things have been different if there had been another mage in the family?
‘Grandfather! Look! I made fire!’
The image of young Domerik flashed through the Count’s mind.
The memory of his son and daughter-in-law, who had died before him, weighed heavily upon his heart. He had promised to raise the boy well.
The Count closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
The sorrow and anguish that had flickered across his face solidified into resolve once more.
He still had his other grandchildren.
“What did the Temple Master say?”
“The Temple Master seemed unfamiliar with Dark Magic, but said he would report it to the Holy Kingdom.”
The Count wondered how a hired mercenary mage had known what even the Temple Master of Brodell Territory did not.
Klaus found that fact rather remarkable.
“Very well. When representatives from the Holy Kingdom arrive, tell them everything. If necessary… show them Domerik’s belongings as well.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Since it concerned the Holy Kingdom, obedience was the proper course.
“Have you discovered who gave Domerik that book?”
The Count’s eyes, those of a former knight, gleamed with sharp intensity.
Had the culprit stood before him in that moment, he would have drawn his sword without hesitation.
“We are currently investigating those whom Domerik met in the Royal Capital. And from what I can discern, the guards who appeared to be assassins were likely sent by the same faction.”
The three guards in the Underground Chamber where the people had been held captive and the five guards in Domerik’s chamber clearly differed in skill.
The former were mercenaries Domerik had hired with his own funds, while the latter were accomplished fighters provided by his puppet master.
“The Royal Capital, then…”
The Count recalled the situation in Mitera, where the royal faction and the noble faction were locked in bitter struggle.
The Brodell Count Family maintained neutrality, though they leaned somewhat toward the royal faction’s nobles.
‘Did we become entangled in that conflict…?’
Yet regardless, it was Domerik’s own fault for succumbing to such suspicious temptation.
The Count exhaled deeply.
Seeing her grandfather appear so weary, Maylin gently took his hand in comfort.
“We must express our gratitude to that mercenary mage called Alex and the Information Guild.”
“Yes, my lord. I wish to invite them to a banquet and repay our debt, but…”
Given the poisoning incident, there was no certainty they would attend.
The Count and Maylin understood the unspoken implication and wore rueful expressions.
“If they refuse, so be it. Still, send them an invitation.”
Having decided to invite Alex and the Information Guild to the banquet, the Count fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
“Klaus. Where was Domerik when he died?”
Though his grandson had committed grave wrongs, the Count still wished to see the place where the boy had met his end.

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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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