The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 126

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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 126
In the wake of a storm, nothing remains.
The Claudian’s towering renown and the Emperor’s wariness of them stemmed from the same cause.
It was Kalid’s Authority that could topple even walls of iron—impenetrable fortifications brought to ruin.
Then what of a single marble temple? To him, its destruction was as effortless as the blink of an eye.
Those who had turned their backs to the Lion of the North Wind were left dead or worse than dead, while those who surrendered without resistance were bound and forced to their knees.
In mere moments, roughly a hundred Trina Faith devotees and priests were dead or captured.
One of them—a believer whose arm was nearly useless—cried out upon seeing Kalid.
“Y-you… this monster…!”
Kalid’s gaze swept toward him, and he approached.
When Kalid’s neat boot came to rest before the man’s knees, the man trembled so violently he could not bring himself to look up.
Kalid regarded him in silence for a moment, then spoke with a smile devoid of warmth.
“You call me a monster and cower in terror, yet…”
“…”
“You had the audacity to lay hands on my daughter.”
Under that crushing weight, the man gasped and trembled with fresh terror.
Kalid turned his attention from the mere devotee and looked upon the temple—now a sprawling ruin of devastation.
One section of the structure, not yet fully collapsed, stood precariously. All who could have fled from within had done so long ago.
The grounds outside were clear. Now it was time to search what lay beneath the temple’s roof.
He surveyed the bound prisoners for a moment longer, then turned toward the half-ruined temple’s interior.
The Lion of the North Wind followed, magnificent and majestic, with several Claudian knights at its heels.
Inside, the temple was far more lavish than one might have expected—incongruously opulent for barely a hundred priests and devotees.
Columns and floors were marble; every ornament was gilded. It surpassed the finery of most noble estates. This must have cost a fortune to build.
‘And that was just transporting it all to an island.’
Construction at sea would cost twice what it did on land. So where had all that wealth come from?
The Trina Faith, as far as his investigation showed, was a newly risen sect. In other words, it made no sense for them to possess such enormous wealth.
Even faiths that had endured for centuries struggled to accumulate riches of this magnitude—yet this upstart organization had amassed such a fortune?
That left two possibilities: either they had a backer, or the archbishop came from a noble house overflowing with wealth.
Claudian knights rooted out every priest hidden within the temple. Some of them bore marks of considerable rank.
“The W-Worldtree shall strike down divine punishment!”
“The judgment of the Worldtree!”
“Enough.”
At Kalid’s gesture, the Claudian knights swiftly silenced the Trina priests. Afterward, only the screams of the fleeing echoed through the ruins.
Not until the very last priest—the archbishop of the Trina Faith himself, lurking in the temple’s deepest recesses—had been dragged into the light did Kalid’s search finally end.
***
Come here. I won’t hurt you.
As Clover slowly channeled her Authority, the corrupted beast’s power flowed toward her.
The creature then stepped forward, drawn as if by invisible threads. Behind her, both Nenia and Pluto flinched in unison.
But Clover was unafraid.
The child understood instinctively: while she wielded her Authority, this beast would do her no harm.
Tendrils of smoke bloomed from the beast’s form and gathered in Clover’s small hands, and within her palms, a small seed should have…
“…Huh?”
There was no seed. Nothing had formed at all.
She had used her power, so why hadn’t a seed appeared? Clover looked at the young beast in confusion when—
“…”
Their eyes met.
Lick.
The young beast—no, the young wolf—licked Clover’s cheek in one long, wet stroke.
Lucky shrieked and stomped about furiously, but the young wolf paid no mind, continuing to lick Clover’s face.
Lick, lick.
“Wh-wh-wait-wait a—”
Lick, lick.
Clover, overwhelmed by the beast’s weight, tumbled backward. Startled, Ziteia rushed over to help her up.
“Clover, are you all right?”
“Y-yes, yes I’m f-fine, I’m okay, really…”
But the seed didn’t come.
Clover stared at her empty hands and then at the wolf that had just been a beast. The animal that had licked her face so thoroughly it was now dripping wet was no longer anything that resembled a corrupted being.
All corrupted beings possess an “Original Form.”
They were born as ordinary animals but became corrupted and twisted by unknown causes, warped and rotten—that is what earned them the name “beast.”
Such creatures could never be restored through any means; once corrupted, one could assume the original form was lost forever. So the concept of an original form was thought to hold no importance.
Whether a human became a Beast, or a wolf, or a fish — once something became a Corrupted Being, from that moment on it was treated as nothing but a tainted existence.
Yet the young wolf that had licked Clover so thoroughly now didn’t look like a Corrupted Being at all. She felt no tainted power emanating from it.
Slurp.
[Oh my, not again!]
The young wolf bounded forward and licked Clover’s cheek once more. As her plump cheek pressed inward, Clover squeezed her eyes shut against the contact.
“Oof, wait, Guardian, the wolf keeps eating Clover’s face and Clover can’t see!”
Clover flailed about, appealing to Ziteia for help.
Ziteia quickly pulled out a handkerchief and scrubbed Clover’s face vigorously, wiping away the saliva.
“Mwah.”
Clover’s cheeks were pressed and flushed. Thoroughly licked and thoroughly wiped, she gazed at the wolf with an expression of mild exhaustion.
Thanks to Ziteia lifting her up a bit, the wolf could no longer reach Clover’s face. Instead, it sat obediently, wagging its tail in a gentle, side-to-side rhythm.
“Lucky.”
[That’s right, little one.]
“I don’t really know how, but… it worked, didn’t it?”
No seeds had appeared, and she didn’t feel as though she’d used any Authority at all.
Yet Clover could sense that the young Corrupted Being before her was no longer a ‘Corrupted Being’ — and furthermore, that it held an enormous fondness for her.
As Clover murmured to herself, Lucky nodded.
[Yes, the Beast returned to its original form. Thanks to your Authority.]
Lucky continued.
[I told you, didn’t I? Your Authority is far, far greater than you think it is — and infinitely greater than what that worthless aunt of yours imagines. I don’t deal in lies.]
Clover cautiously extended her hand, and the young wolf padded over softly, pressing its head against her palm.
Clover looked up at Nenia, Pluto, and Ziteia in turn.
“Guardian, Clover and wolf are friends now.”
“Yes, I can see that….”
“Can Clover take wolf friend with us?”
Clover’s eyes sparkled, and after a brief moment of consideration, Ziteia nodded.
***
‘My suspicion was correct.’
Ziteia gazed out through the carriage window, her thoughts churning.
Clover’s Authority could restore Corrupted Beings to their original form. There was no longer any way to deny it or hide it.
Even if the first time could be dismissed as chance, a second occurrence could not.
The child hadn’t inadvertently stumbled backward and reverted the Corrupted Being to its true shape — she had deliberately willed her Authority to act and restored it.
So it was undoubtedly Clover’s Authority. Ziteia observed the children huddled closely around the young wolf.
An Authority that could restore Corrupted Beings to their original form.
She had never heard of such a thing.
Corrupted Beings had appeared in the world alongside the Worldtree’s dissolution. Sometimes a normal animal became a Corrupted Being; sometimes they were simply born as Corrupted Beings from the start.
In either case, the reason why Corrupted Beings came into existence remained unknown. Thus, to the people of this world, they were naturally something to be killed.
But if Clover’s Authority could restore them to their original forms, the matter became entirely different. It would be faster and far more convenient than killing them — an effortless end to any situation without loss of life.
And yet, as always, there was one thing that troubled her….
‘The Emperor.’
There was no doubt about it.
The reason why those who bore Authority held such great power was not merely that they were individually strong — but also that they protected the Empire’s people from Corrupted Beings through their Authority.
Authority Bearers protected the people from Corrupted Beings, and in return for that protection, the people offered them their loyalty.
Moreover, because Corrupted Beasts ravaged the borders of Rosipheron with particular ferocity, the Emperor would occasionally exploit them to strengthen his own power.
If it became known that there existed a power capable of restoring Corrupted Beings to their original forms….
‘The Emperor would certainly not be pleased.’
Ziteia leaned against the window frame, her head tilted, watching Clover.
Clover was still only four years old.
And an Authority Bearer’s Authority continues to grow unceasingly until the day they turn twenty.
To think she was already wielding this level of power.
‘How much more will she become….’
Ziteia gazed at the small Clover with a smile on her face, her heart heavy with complicated thoughts.

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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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