The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 140

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tesagh narrowed his brow.

From the moment they first met in front of Malcolm’s Pawnshop, he had thought something was strange.

It wasn’t simply because Crescens wasn’t frightened by his appearance like other people were.

‘Wariness.’

It was because he had caught a strangely sharp wariness beneath that cheerfully smiling face and light, pleasant manner of speaking.

Tesagh had noticed that sense of discord thanks to his animal-like instincts.

But now…

“Of course, I can’t agree with everything you say, brother.”

The razor-sharp wariness that had been glimpsed in Crescens was slowly melting away.

There was no longer any trace of laughter in Crescens’ tone as he swept back his silver hair.

As if to say this was his ‘real’ self.

“I’ll admit I was waiting. But I didn’t deliberately neglect the situation. I was keeping track of it.”

“Keeping track.”

“Yes. You know what I’m talking about, brother. ‘Eivor.'”

Crescens glanced at Tesagh’s murderous expression and waved his hand dismissively.

“Religion has no borders, brother. Of course I should know that Rougenote disappeared. Though no one else besides me knows that fact.”

This meant Crescens was the only one in the Imperial Church who knew about the Rougenote theft incident.

Had a report come in from the Duchy Church?

Crescens withdrew his gesturing hand and crossed his arms.

“Anyway, I was keeping track of the possibility that the mage was involved. If I had moved rashly…”

“Everyone who was there would have been in danger?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Crescens looked down with a businesslike and cold expression.

It was a face befitting a cardinal who led the Church, second only to the Pope.

However, Tesagh withheld his judgment.

It wasn’t simply habitual suspicion arising from his eye color being green.

It was because of an intuition that somehow even this seemed like another mask of his.

“That doesn’t seem to be an answer to my question.”

“Ah. Why did I just watch while our sister suffered when there could have been other means? Like how you were ‘frozen’ at that time, brother?”

It was precisely the words to touch Tesagh’s sore spot, but he didn’t waver.

Crescens, who had been watching Tesagh’s expression, let out a small sigh.

It was a sigh that clearly revealed he had deliberately tried to upset Tesagh because he wanted to avoid this topic.

Finally, Crescens, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

“…I believed without a doubt that our sister would handle it well.”

Those words that followed in a small, quiet voice were…

“Our sister is… well, she’s a rather special person.”

Like a confession in some ways.

“I won’t go into details since it’s our sister’s privacy, but anyway, I knew that sister could escape on her own.”

“Didn’t you consider the possibility that things could go wrong?”

“Of course I considered it. I had contingency plans too. If it really came to it, I was prepared to use holy power like this to subdue them.”

Crescens made a gesture of throwing the light he had conjured at his fingertips.

“And I also gave our sister hints. You probably didn’t see them, brother.”

“…”

“If our sister ends up hating me because of this later, it can’t be helped…”

A shadow briefly crossed Crescens’ face.

“No, honestly speaking, I hope she won’t hate me, but that’s a matter for later.”

The materials that Tesagh’s aide had given him included information about Crescens.

He had actually stationed duchy forces nearby.

Since it was strictly another country’s affair, he couldn’t actively intervene, but they would be needed if problems arose.

According to what they had determined, Crescens had provided relief measures with the help of duchy forces until the Knights arrived.

And.

‘They said those people obtained the ruby tablet that was the last publicly revealed offering.’

As Tesagh was thinking about the sacred relics the Empire possessed, Crescens’ voice reached his ears.

“Our sister waking up comes first. Isn’t that right, brother?”

Though he hadn’t accepted everything Crescens said, those words seemed sincere.

He could relate to them too.

For Elisha, who couldn’t wake up for unknown reasons, they had to try any method.

Regardless of his feelings about Crescens, the cardinal’s holy power would at least do no harm.

Tesagh slowly stepped back. Crescens smiled weakly.

“Alright. Then let me try…”

Crescens’ hand covered Elisha’s closed eyes as he recited an incomprehensible prayer.

A faint light seemed to seep out, then immediately poured forth explosively, bright enough to be blinding.

Tesagh watched it all.

After a long while.

“Whew.”

Crescens stepped back, breaking out in a cold sweat.

But Elisha still had her eyes closed.

Tesagh urgently asked Crescens, who was making a strange expression.

“Is there any improvement?”

“Ah… um.”

Anxiety bloomed in Tesagh’s heart as he looked at Crescens, who didn’t readily answer.

Crescens cleared his throat and continued slowly.

“Actually, I thought the reason sister couldn’t wake up was because of a curse. So I thought my holy power might work. But…”

“But?”

It was the moment he saw Crescens’ expression.

Tesagh realized that Crescens wasn’t deliberately trying to hide the truth.

“It’s strange. Something else is… blocking it, that kind of feeling…”

He looked confused somehow.

Crescens bit his lip after closing his mouth, as if the words had slipped out without him knowing.

“Anyway, the reason sister can’t wake up isn’t because of a curse. That much is certain.”

“…”

“Any minor external injuries would have been healed by my blessing… um, it seems we have no choice but to wait.”

As Crescens continued speaking, his complexion gradually returned.

He let out a complicated sigh and looked over Tesagh, who stood as if bound.

“You were hurt too, brother. As soon as you could move, you embraced our sister to protect her.”

Crescens was right.

As soon as the mysterious restraints were released, Tesagh had held Elisha in his arms and rolled his body.

Because of that, the chandelier fragments had poured down on him entirely.

“Do you need a blessing of healing?”

“No.”

But Tesagh thought such wounds were nothing at all.

At his answer that was firm to the point of being sharp as a blade, Crescens smiled vaguely.

“You don’t deserve to heal until our sister wakes up? I didn’t see you as that type. …Hmm, does that mean our sister is that important to you, brother…”

Crescens, who had been muttering, turned back briefly as he was about to leave.

“I think we’ll see each other again soon, brother.”

Tesagh’s expression as Crescens watched him was like winter frost.

His lips, which had been frozen stiff, slowly opened.

“…Thank you for your efforts.”

“Ah, I didn’t expect to hear such words.”

He wasn’t a Duke for nothing.

He was a suspicious fellow, but he had indeed worked hard for Elisha’s sake, so credit where credit is due, I suppose.

Crescens turned away with a strange sense of exhaustion and faint feeling of defeat.

“Don’t mention it.”

The door closed.

Left behind, Tesagh remained still for a while, then carefully reached out his hand.

A trembling hand covered with scars.

It was something he hadn’t been able to do until now, wondering if the hand that had failed to protect her dared to touch her.

However, Tesagh finally grasped Elisha’s cold hand.

“Please.”

Broken words fell over the hand he held awkwardly, unable to grip it tightly.

“You can hate me. You can resent me, you can say you’re sick of looking at my face and that’s fine. I don’t care. Please, so…”

Tesagh slowly knelt down.

“I’ll wait, Elisha.”

It was the first prayer he had ever attempted.

*

I was in the middle of blinking my eyes.

So, my last memory was definitely pushing Tesagh away from the chandelier that was about to hit him at Count Delphia’s manor…

‘Where is this place, exactly?’

What is this eerily dark space spread out before my eyes?

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