The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 34

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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 34.
The stubborn priests took a liking to Kirien Lupel before he’d even been properly introduced.
“Well, if you say so.”
“Heheheh, unlike the Holy Knight Order Commander, this one knows how to show respect.”
“I thought all the Holy Knights these days had copied their commander’s rudeness, but you’re different.”
“That smooth, handsome face of yours—it’s like looking at myself when I was young.”
Artiela Soltis’s eyebrows twisted into a scowl.
‘Another blemish on your soul, Reverend.’
“Thank you very much.”
Kirien Lupel’s lips trembled slightly.
This was the result of marshaling every ounce of his social grace.
‘He’s really desperate.’
This was one of the entrance trial requirements Artiela had laid out.
As a Holy Knight, one encountered all manner of people, whether one liked it or not. If he truly wished to become a Holy Knight, he had to endure situations like this.
“But I don’t believe we’ve heard your name and rank yet.”
The knight’s armor suited him remarkably well. Despite not yet possessing the physique of a true knight, none of them felt any sense of discord.
“Kirien Lupel, a newly admitted Holy Knight.”
“Ah, Lord Kirien, you must be from a quite distinguished family. Unlike some, you have proper manners.”
“Do you not know? The Lupel Family are the lords of the domain my temple belongs to.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. They’re the most storied family after the Imperial House itself.”
The priests continued their endless chatter as they descended from the carriage, their loquacity undiminished.
“Oh, but didn’t you say the people who bore that name all died?”
“Yes, all but one……”
The priests turned their heads toward Kirien in unison.
The white Aura that had been docile the day before now lingered vigilantly across Kirien’s skin, ready to act should these men show any sign of hostility toward him.
‘That Aura—his judgment of people is quite keen.’
Artiela was impressed by the change in his Aura’s expression.
“Ah, wait—surely you’re not the Duke of Lupel?”
“Yes, that is how I am called in the world.”
Kirien answered with a composed smile once more.
All of them stared at him with blank expressions. Their eyes regarded the white uniform and Blue Cloak he wore with disbelief.
A high noble serving as a Holy Knight? Why?
Setting aside the Holy Knight Order’s good reputation, the treatment differed greatly from that of imperial knights. They held the rank of clergy, came with many restrictions, and earned meager wages. They weren’t even treated as quasi-nobility.
But that hardly mattered if one was already a noble, did it?
In any case, a duke could look after his domain while serving as a Holy Knight, couldn’t he?
Well, he’s probably just borrowed the uniform for a spell due to some circumstance.
The priests conducted their silent conversation and each arrived at their own conclusions.
“What brings a person of such standing to this place?”
Notice how their tone just changed.
Artiela suppressed her rising irritation and dropped a remark.
“Allow me to present the Duke of Lupel, who ranks first on this spring’s Edelion donor list.”
Time to appeal in every way possible.
These people are far more generous to those who can do much for Edelion. Despite their appearance, their priorities always lie with Edelion first and foremost.
“Ah, as expected of the head of a distinguished family!”
“The future of the Empire is bright indeed.”
“Might it be that your Grace prompted us to convene the entire priesthood?”
“We stand ready to aid you in any matter. You need only speak.”
“Yes, once we arrive, I shall explain everything.”
Their kindness, now noticeably warmer, weighed on Kirien without their knowledge.
Before long, the ten priests arrived beneath the Sacred Tree, where the senior priests of Edelion and Yusiel were already waiting.
Once the elderly priests had found their places, Artiela signaled to the Holy Knight Order members already in position.
They formed a perimeter around the Sacred Tree at a fixed distance. Yusiel’s blue Holy Power spread through the tree’s branches, preventing sound from escaping outward.
“It has been some time, Reverends.”
“Yes, Saintess. Have you been well?”
“Yes, thanks to your diligent work in the outside world, I have been able to remain here in peace.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the formal meeting began in earnest.
“So, what is the reason you have summoned us today?”
At Yusiel’s signal, a priest from Edelion distributed papers. They listed the names of sacred relics to be released and their designated users.
『Goddess’ Tear – Duke Kirien Lupel
Goddess’ Bracelet – Artiela Soltis, Commander of the Holy Knight Order
Artiela swallowed hard.
The pedantic priests’ eyes had grown sharp. They regarded Artiela with penetrating gazes.
“So the Source of Evil has appeared after all.”
The moment she saw the name of the holy artifact, she grasped the situation. They spoke words she didn’t enjoy hearing, but these were the ancients who had served the divine longer than anyone else here.
“That’s why I told you not to draw the Holy Sword, even if you became strong enough.”
“Yet this too was destiny, was it not?”
“Indeed. How many Black Mages have run rampant since Bertia went missing?”
“The accumulated wickedness and malevolent hearts that escaped the Holy Sword’s punishment continued to summon monster plagues. Sooner or later, they needed to be purged.”
“After sealing away the Source of Evil, the male Holy Knights couldn’t set foot in that place at all, so we had no choice.”
This was something Artiela hadn’t known.
“But why couldn’t that Bertia draw the sword?”
Contrary to what she’d believed, it seemed her mother’s closest friend had been given the chance to attempt drawing the Holy Sword.
“Forgive me, but is the Bertia you speak of perhaps the Countess’s closest friend?”
At that moment, Kirien whispered quietly beside her.
“Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?”
“Ah, it’s just that she shares the same name as my birth mother…….”
A coincidence? But perhaps…….
“So there are signs that the Source of Evil has appeared?”
“Yes. That’s why we requested the first holy artifact. The Source of Evil is targeting that Duke there—a soul who has committed no sin, utterly pure.”
The priests’ eyes all turned toward Kirien at once.
Even the Holy Knights who had trained alongside him without hearing the full account visibly stiffened.
Yusiel explained in detail the misfortunes Kirien had suffered, the calamities that had befallen those around him, and the process of discovering the dark shadow.
Sighs of sorrow poured from the priests’ lips, and they confirmed through the Sacred Tree the traces of the curse that remained in Kirien’s body.
But then.
“That’s strange. I was taught that the Source of Evil only begins to grow after the Holy Sword returns to the world.”
“Quite. How did it mark a sacrifice before Artiela even obtained the sword?”
Something was amiss.
And worse still.
“And the Goddess’ Tear is…….”
The pedantic priests exchanged uneasy glances.
“It disappeared long ago.”
“What? But we confirmed it was in the Holy Artifact Vault just today.”
“It’s an exquisite counterfeit imbued with Holy Power. Bertia took it to try purifying the monsters, and when she vanished along with it, we made a replacement…….”
Madness. Why hadn’t this been reported? And why keep it quiet?
Yusiel’s face was equally bewildered. Since there had been no need to use the holy artifacts, no one had ever verified whether the original was genuine.
“This is grave. If we cannot purify the curse the Source of Evil left as a mark upon its sacrifice…….”
Yusiel looked at Kirien with a pitying gaze.
He answered in a calm voice.
“Then I cannot leave Edelion, can I?”
The fact that he didn’t sound despairing at all—was that just her imagination?
* * *
On Artiela’s wrist hung a bracelet made of green emeralds and pale coral fragments.
Kirien fastened his Blue Cloak with a pearl boutonniere.
“If darkness taints you, this pink pearl will darken as a signal.”
It was a holy artifact they’d received as a contingency.
“The initiation gift is quite ornate.”
“The other Holy Knights didn’t receive one.”
Artiela smiled brightly as she led him to the Memorial Hall, where portraits of all the Holy Knights throughout history hung upon the walls.
“Let me see, where is it?”
“There, sir.”
“Yes?”
“Should the pearl show any sign of darkening, please do not hesitate to behead me.”
Artiela stood firm.
Then she turned back to face Kirien.
“Don’t speak like that.”
“But the priests said so today. That once the Source of Evil taints you, you can never return to being a normal human.”
It was impossible to drive out only the Source of Evil.
The moment Bardo’s heart is pierced, the Source of Evil is sealed within primordial chaos, and the human who surrendered their body to evil dies for that sin.
“We’ll find a way. And first, before we leave, let’s look for what I was curious about earlier—ah, it was right there the whole time, wasn’t it?”
Artiela turned to face a portrait hanging behind Kirien.
“My, so she truly was the Duke’s biological mother.”
A Holy Knight with silver-white hair and luminous beauty.
It was a portrait of Bertia.

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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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