The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 8

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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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# Episode 8.
“Is that truly the case?”
The people around Gorden, who had nearly fainted, were shaking him awake.
I bit my lip.
‘What if I’m wrong?’
Doubt took root in me at the sight of the grieving man’s behavior.
But when I heard the sinister killing intent radiating from the doll, and that terrible sound like a scream torn from a dying throat—
“I’m certain. Please, just trust me this once.”
“I do trust you. But I need evidence to convince the others. Do you have any?”
It was a question I’d anticipated.
Last night, I had come to the Knight Order in tears, claiming I’d discovered the body.
Though it was deep in the night, everyone was in an uproar. Liam urged me back to my room to finish sleeping, worried as he was,
‘…I had a fiancé.’
That was when I first heard the ghost’s story.
‘I disliked him from the beginning. He always wore that phony smile, but I knew he was a gambler and a philanderer.’
“Yes, I do. I have evidence.”
I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket that I’d been hiding all this while.
‘I sent him a letter about dissolving the engagement. The truth is, I’ve been harboring feelings for Sir Petric, and he knew it too. It was an engagement for money anyway, so I thought he’d accept it easily if I said I wouldn’t ask for the money he’d lent me. But…’
“It’s a torn piece of a letter. I picked it up while escaping the forest yesterday.”
I handed the dirt-smudged paper to the Pope. The creases from how hard I’d been gripping it were unmistakable.
“It was a letter where Camilla and Gorden arranged to meet. Even the date is written on it.”
“This is…”
The Pope glanced around, then took my hand and moved to a different location.
The moment he confirmed no one was nearby, he spoke in a weary voice.
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“I wanted to confirm it with my own eyes.”
‘When we finally met, he clung to me saying he couldn’t dissolve the engagement. He must have chosen to pursue the dowry or the Baron’s wealth rather than have some of his debts forgiven immediately. He owed money all over the place.’
‘He borrowed money?’
‘Once word spread and no one would lend to him anymore, he apparently borrowed even from loan sharks. He must have grown desperate as the repayment date approached. He demanded I swear not to dissolve the engagement, and when I refused, he became violent. I resisted with all my strength, but…’
“The brooch is probably still in the corpse’s fist. It was torn off during the struggle.”
The Pope stroked his chin thoughtfully with one hand.
“He’s been borrowing money for his gambling habit. There should be a promissory note in his drawer.”
“I’ve never heard of a Divine Oracle so detailed.”
I felt caught and hurried to change the subject.
There had been no Divine Oracle in the first place.
“It’s all an act.”
Gorden’s eyes were curiously dry as he wept in the Baroness’s embrace.
Watching him feign tears while gauging the room’s reaction sent chills down my spine.
“I understand. From now on, I’ll handle it, so go rest.”
He nodded and patted my head.
“…!”
“You’ve worked hard. Seen things you shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, no, that’s not it. There shouldn’t be any unjust deaths, so I felt I had to speak.”
The Pope smiled for the first time since all this began. Only then could I breathe easy.
[Quest Progress: 30%]
Inform the people before the funeral ends.
“What?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, never mind…”
“Diane. Go get some sleep with the doll. You probably haven’t been resting much because of the sleepwalking.”
“It’s all right. Really.”
I protested his concern.
‘Before the funeral ends?’
The time constraint was so tight. My hand gripping the doll grew clammy despite everything.
I wiped the area around the button roughly with my sleeve and checked my watch.
It would be starting soon.
* * *
The Pope watched Diane’s retreating figure as she hurried along on short legs, the rabbit doll clutched in her arms, and sighed.
Such a young child crushed under the weight of duty, receiving a Divine Oracle, yet saying nothing. He was a guardian who’d failed her.
Absorbed in his regret, he heard footsteps approaching and nodded at their arrival.
“Michael.”
“The Saint was right.”
He held out the blood-spattered Brooch, his voice low and grave.
“It belongs to the Black Family.”
“……!”
The Pope pressed his throbbing temples and gave his orders. “Contact the Imperial Knight Order.”
“Should we arrest them immediately?”
“It might be best to wait until the knights arrive. Rushing in without them could cause unnecessary confusion and make this whole affair spiral out of control.”
“I’ll instruct them to search the Mansion.”
“There’s said to be a Promissory Note in one of the drawers—make sure they find it.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Michael was already turning to leave when the Pope spoke again.
“Normally.”
“……?”
“Normally, children don’t have much occasion to see corpses.”
“True enough.”
“But she seemed far too composed. It troubles me.”
He was speaking of the Saint.
Even Michael had noticed something peculiar about her. She was detached, unmoved.
“Perhaps it simply means she’s had a difficult life,” Michael offered.
The Pope did not answer.
Michael noticed the Candy the Pope held in his hand—something he had meant to give but could not.
“You can still be kind to her from this point forward, Your Holiness.”
“……The child.”
The Pope spoke distantly, almost to himself.
“I’ve never raised a child before.”
“……I see.”
The Pope looked down at the Candy. A small comfort he could not bring himself to offer.
He quietly slipped it back into his pocket.
* * *
The Funeral Hall was solemn.
The grieving family could not contain themselves, their sobs breaking out again and again, and the ceremony was postponed.
But no one complained.
A coffin surrounded by flowers stood at the center of the hall. Inside lay a body.
My stomach lurched.
I glanced nervously around before spotting Liam standing near the wall.
Liam had no idea.
He didn’t know that this woman had harbored an unrequited love for him, died, and now clung to him as a ghost.
“Sigh……”
At last, a priest came forward and began the prayers.
The funeral had truly begun.
“Mommy’s sorry. Mommy’s sorry, okay?”
“…….”
The Baroness collapsed over the coffin, sobbing. The Baron stood silent beside her, placing a chrysanthemum down and wiping his tears.
Then Gorden stepped forward.
He dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief, then carefully produced something from his pocket.
“It is terribly sad, but I have news to share with all of you.”
I clutched the Doll tighter.
Dread bloomed in my chest without reason.
“Camilla signed a Marriage Covenant with me exactly one day before she went missing.”
“……!”
“I apologize for not informing you sooner. I was too occupied tracing Camilla’s movements to find the opportunity…….”
That couldn’t be right. Camilla would have demanded an Engagement Dissolution.
“Therefore, according to the terms of the Covenant, forty percent of her estate shall pass to me.”
Thud.
My heart sank.
“I shall handle the disposal of assets at a more leisurely pace in the future.”
“……Now see here, what is the meaning of——”
He drew the documents from his coat and thrust them toward the Baron.

“A pity, though―”
I clearly saw his lips tremble.
“―that’s how it’s come to pass.”
A wail echoed through my ears alone. Red tears streamed from the doll’s eyes.
“Bastard.”
I’d muttered it too loudly in the silence, and all eyes snapped toward me.
I shut my mouth, but Gorden’s facial muscles were already twisted.
“What’s a brat like you doing, sticking your nose in!”
Gorden rolled up his sleeves with a roar, but Liam stepped in front of him.
Behind Liam, the holy knights all raised their swords and spears at him in unison, their stances identical.
Like a frightened puppy, Gorden tucked his tail and lowered his gaze.
“This child is a Saint.”
“……?”
“Show respect.”
A blade pressed against his throat—the cold touch made Gorden stagger backward in alarm.
“W-a Saint?”
“A child that young?”
“She can’t be more than three years old!”
No. I’m five.
“I am indeed a Saint.”
I closed my eyes, then opened them slowly—as though I had just received a sacred revelation.
The wind that rose at that moment caught my silver hair, sending it billowing about me.
“Last night, I heard a Divine Oracle.”
I glared at Gorden as I ground out the words.
“That man murdered Camilla, the Baron’s daughter. I’m certain of it.”
“……!”
The Baroness trembled violently and cried out.
“Surely not…….”
“N-no, madam! I didn’t do it! E-evidence? Yes, evidence! Without any evidence, how can you push this on me like―”
“Well, well.”
The Pope stepped forward from where he’d been watching. He called to me kindly.
“Diane.”
He gestured for me to come to him.
I ran to him and wrapped myself in his embrace.
Like a Saint beloved by all.
Only then did the faces around us shift.
A child cradled in the Pope’s arms.
“So she truly is a Saint…….”
Beginning with someone’s whisper, murmurs rippled through the crowd.

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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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