The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 86

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

Chapter 86
What on earth is that doing here?
Confronted with something I could never have anticipated, I rubbed my eyes and looked straight ahead again. But the scene before me hadn’t changed.
In the center of the Greenhouse, nestled among vibrant flowers and verdant leaves, stood an ornamental fountain. And embedded squarely in its pillar was an object.
That was none other than the Seal Stone I’d placed to track Raum’s location.
Finding a Holy Stone of that size was difficult enough as it was—and they were using it merely as a pillar for a greenhouse fountain? If that wasn’t sacrilege, I didn’t know what was.
Not content with carving a Holy Stone into decoration, they’d placed it at the very site of Raum’s seal—the very Seal Stone that had been embedded there. An urge to clutch the back of my neck rose up in me.
“Your Highness?”
The moment I’d entered the Greenhouse, I’d stood rooted in place, staring straight ahead, which must have looked odd—because the Duke called out to me.
Behind us, Arden, who’d been shadowing us as an escort, swiftly batted away the Duke’s hand as it reached toward me.
“Your Highness, are you unwell?”
At Arden’s concerned question, I barely gathered my wits and pointed at the fountain.
“That fountain—was it here originally, or did you have it made?”
“I haven’t laid a hand on the Greenhouse, truth be told. I’ve no interest in cultivating plants. As you can see, I haven’t even a wife to do it for me.”
The Duke raised his hands lightly and shrugged.
Right. If he’d had a Duchess, I wouldn’t have needed to make a betrothal proposal in the first place—I wouldn’t have bothered making the journey to this territory at all.
I finally took a proper look around the Greenhouse. It was filled with bright flowers and ornamental plants that didn’t grow easily in the North. Light filtered in warmly through the glass ceiling, and the air inside was far softer than outside the castle.
But I saw none of the ingredients that had gone into the soup. This wasn’t a greenhouse for growing edible vegetables or herbs. It was now clear that Croen Castle sourced its provisions externally.
“Is there something amiss with the fountain, perhaps?” the Duke asked.
I exhaled heavily and spoke.
“That’s a Seal Stone.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Well, that settles it—the Grand Demon Raum is indeed sleeping in your territory.”
I said it confidently, and the Duke’s face went rigid.
“No, that’s not the pressing issue right now—”
For the first time, he showed genuine alarm.
“Why in the world is a Seal Stone meant to contain a Grand Demon just sitting here in this Greenhouse? Is the seal intact? Or is it—”
“I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”
I cut him off and held up two fingers. The Duke fell silent for a moment, considering, then answered very slowly.
“I’ll take the bad news first.”
The Duke seemed to be the type who’d rather take the beating first.
“The bad news is, I can’t tell whether this Seal Stone was pulled out and relocated, or if it’s still in place beneath here. So you and I will need to pull up this fountain together—just the two of us.”
“That’s… not quite as dire as I’d feared.”
The fact that it wasn’t as dire as he’d feared suggested that the Duke had probably been thinking something like—
‘When will Raum wake?’
‘I’d say three…’
‘Three years? Three months?’
‘Three, two, one…’
Something along those lines.
“And the good news is—”
I pointed at the fountain with Wilson Junior.
“This Seal Stone is far too weak to prevent Raum from waking and laying waste to your territory.”
The Duke stared at me for a while, then spoke with great courtesy.
“Then shall you now tell me the good news?”
“Didn’t I just?”
“That’s the good news…?”
“Of course it is. It means the Seal Stone being removed hasn’t disturbed Raum’s sleep in the slightest.”
The Duke still looked bewildered. Or rather, his expression suggested he was trying to decide whether to accept that as good news or judge me to be out of my mind.
After a moment, he asked:
“But why must it be just the two of us pulling it up?”
At that question, I turned to look at him the way one would look at someone who’d asked what one plus one equals.
“Do you really want to pull this up in front of a crowd of servants, knights, and priests?”
The Duke’s eyebrow twitched slightly. I pointed at the fountain pillar again.
“If you want your servants, knights, and priests to all witness and confirm that a Holy Stone believed to be a Grand Demon’s Seal Stone is being used as an ornamental fountain pillar in your Greenhouse, I won’t stop you.”
The Duke’s mouth shut.
“And this is both your territory’s problem and the Temple’s problem. When the Religious Order finds out, they’ll descend on you with relish, holding you—the current lord of these lands—fully responsible. They’ll call you unfaithful and bleed you dry with Excommunication threats while extorting coin from you.”
Clearly, the Duke hadn’t thought through that scenario. His face hardened. I, who was practically the original master of squeezing nobles—knew how many ways there were to do it. I shrugged.
“So keeping this between you and me serves us both better.”
The Duke looked back and forth between the fountain and me for a moment. He looked deeply unhappy about it. But eventually he let out a low sigh and nodded.
“You do intimidate quite well, Your Highness.”
“It’s not blackmail—it’s practical advice.”
I tossed the White Fox Fur Cloak onto a greenhouse chair and rolled up my dress sleeves.
“Now then, Duke. Time to dismantle your house’s decorative fountain.”
As I strode toward the fountain, Wilson Junior in hand, both the Duke and Arden moved to stop me.
“You mean to say Your Highness will extract it yourself……? Without sending a guard knight……?”
“Your Highness, allow me to do this. Please, rest yourself.”
But one swing of Wilson Junior would finish it in a heartbeat—why were they making such a fuss?
“No, I’m telling you I can do this.”
I was genuinely aggrieved. Honestly, I could beat the Duke at arm wrestling easily enough, never mind Arden. Just look at that slender frame—hardly befitting a Northern Duke.
Yet the Duke seemed to think his masculine pride wouldn’t tolerate putting me to labor, so he insisted I stand aside.
In the end, Arden and the Duke took the shovels.
They retrieved a maintenance shovel from one corner of the greenhouse, and the two men began excavating the soil and stones around the decorative fountain. I stood beside them, watching them work.
Before their stamina could falter, I restored their strength with Holy Power and waited.
Arden worked in steady silence, while the Duke began with an air of composure, but as time wore on, sweat began to bead on his forehead. Still, his pride held firm—he never once complained of the strain.
At last, when they had excavated all the way beneath the fountain, an unexpected passage revealed itself among the earth and stone. An underground water channel.
The Duke wiped his soil-stained hands and unfolded the castle’s blueprints, studying them briefly before shrugging.
“This connects to the Ducal Canal.”
He spoke with perfect composure.
“It doesn’t appear to be anywhere in this castle. Might you search elsewhere in the territory?”
I peered down into the channel, then turned slowly to face the Duke.
“Is that what you think?”
“According to the blueprints, yes.”
“You haven’t thought far enough, Duke—to ask why this channel was ever carved at all.”
The Duke’s brow twitched slightly. Rather than explain further, I hefted Wilson Junior and walked firmly toward the channel.
I caught Arden’s eye, and he understood at once. The next moment, he seized the Duke’s arm.
“What are you doing?”
The Duke’s teeth clenched.
“Arden.”
“Bear with me a moment, please.”
“In my own castle, before my own eyes, you dare lay hands on my arm and speak to me thus?”
The Duke rumbled low in warning, but I had already raised Wilson Junior high.
“Your Highness!”
The Duke’s voice cut sharp through the greenhouse, but I paid it no mind and brought Wilson Junior down squarely on the channel floor.
Crash!
A dull, thunderous impact shook the entire greenhouse.
In an instant, the channel floor fractured, and the pooled water above began to spiral downward in a vortex.
The roar of water filled the space. Like the hidden channel revealing its true nature beneath the fountain, the dark water drained away swiftly.
And as the water cleared completely, a circular Stone Gate rose into view below.
At the center of the Stone Gate, the emblem of Caritas was carved with unmistakable clarity.

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