The damp underground prayer room of the temple.
A prayer room that only those with the Pope’s permission could enter, hence considered sacred by many.
In other words, a confessional room.
“My first daughter.”
Lephonia was used to everything that happened here.
The image of the Pope, called the most sacred and noble in history, holding a whip and speaking solemnly, the figure of a priest enduring the pain with a groan, Lephonia was used to it all.
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
A musty, moldy smell stung her nose. Though it made her nauseous, those emotions fade away quickly as time goes by.
She was so used to seeing cruelty that she couldn’t differentiate whether she was a human or a doll.
Frattes, the Pope, feeling sensitive while handling the whip, gave an order.
“Stole the heirloom of the Duke of Craytan and bring it to me.”
Here, his command was absolute, and Lephonia had no choice.
“Regardless of means and methods, it’s fine.”
The Pope absentmindedly muttered to himself as he treated the wound on his hand caused by the whip. Didn’t seem to care at all about the priest whom the whip had struck.
“My daughter.”
Whenever he gave an order, he always mimicked a benevolent tone as if he were God.
“If you get caught, you must die on the spot.”
Even when he issued secret orders for her to speak deceitfully or do things that went against God’s will, he still possessed the divine power known as the power of God.
Well, God is indeed.
Apathetic.
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Lephonia slowly lowered her eyes.
The Pope, wiping the bloodied, dirty hands with holy water, glanced at the expressionless Lephonia and spoke.
“My daughter. Now that you’ve become an adult, it’s time for you to become independent.”
“Pardon?”
“Yes, complete this mission and I’ll grant you independence.”
Lephonia’s pupils trembled.
“You’re all grown up now, so you can live on your own, right? If you successfully complete this mission, I’ll provide whatever support you need so you can live however you wish.”
Hearing the words that she could live as she wished, her heart, which had been calm for many years, began to beat as if it had been shaken.
“Oh my. Your face says you don’t believe it.”
“Oh… I’m just surprised. Independence… I’ve never even thought about it.”
“Really? …Hmm, then what should I do for you to believe me? Fine. Would you believe me if I swear in God’s name?”
The highest form of trust that one who serves God can show.
A contract made in God’s name was a terrifying oath, breaking it meant the immediate loss of all divine power.
“Here.”
A bright light shone from the Pope’s hand. It was proof he was swearing in God’s name.
“But you must stake your life as well.”
The Pope smiled.
“If you fail the mission, you will die. That’s only fair, isn’t it?”
She could stop this. She doesn’t have to do what the Pope commands, she could stop.
Lephonia bowed her head deeply.
“I will stake my life.”
In this confession room where not even a ray of sunlight reached, God does not exist
* * *
Five years old.
Lephonia’s first memory was of the orphanage. It was the day the girl next to her cried because she was being sold off by the head of the orphanage.
Thinking she might be sold off the same way if she stayed still, Lephonia fled to a poorhouse established as an imperial relief facility.
But the situation wasn’t any better there. In the poorhouse, where children were supposed to be protected, habitual violence continued.
Though she was only five years old, the days were so horrific that Lephonia often thought dying might be better. But there was nowhere for her to run.
Then came the autumn of her fifth year, during the Harvest Festival.
That was when Lephonia first met Pope Frattes, who had recently ascended to the papacy. She clung to him, begging him to save her when he came to inspect the poorhouse.
‘Would you do anything for me? If you promise, I’ll let you live like a human being.’
She should have run away then.
Even if it meant going from one hell to another, she thought it wouldn’t make a difference, which was a naive mistake.
Pope Frattes took Lephonia and a few other children out of the poorhouse.
He arranged a small house on the outskirts for them.
They were given nice clothes, washed warmly, and fed so they wouldn’t go hungry.
At the age of six, under the guise of “education” Lephonia began learning many things from instructors hired by the Pope.
Noble etiquette, human weakness, how to use a knife, and so on, these are not ordinary lessons.
Of course, the process was not smooth. Children who couldn’t keep up with the pace of education were sent back to the poorhouse. To avoid returning to that hell, Lephonia trained with desperation.
If they cried or refused to learn, they were expelled and either killed or sent back to hell.
By that point, the children no longer saw each other as family or companions, but as rivals to surpass.
And then, the year when Lephonia turned fifteen. She was given her first mission.
‘My first daughter. I have helped you live like a human by keeping our promise. Now it is time for you to fulfill your part. Leave this letter at the residence of the Cardinal and come back.’
Five years ago.
That was the beginning.
A pawn of the Church. A dog raised by the Church.
That was the price Lephonia paid to live like a human.
Those fellow members who failed their missions three times, or escaped and got caught, were all found dead with dog tags.
In this empire, where the Pope held immense power rivaling that of the Emperor, there was no place to escape the Pope’s eyes.
Even the young Lephonia was given several missions. Lephonia clung to the Pope’s legs, crying that she couldn’t do it, and was always punished.
Fortunately, Lephonia never missed first place in her education and was an excellent model student, so she didn’t die despite failing three times.
Whether that could be called fortunate was uncertain.
But in order to survive, Lephonia had to kill all emotions and move solely according to the Pope’s will.
And now.
Lephonia let out a long sigh in a secluded, hidden tavern.
“Ha.”
Leaning back in the chair with her head tilted, a cold smile formed on Lephonia’s face.
It was a document containing information about the Duke of Craytan.
“Rather than stealing the House of Craytan’s heirloom, wouldn’t it be faster for me to reincarnate as the lady of the Duke of Craytan and walk out with it?”
The Duke of Craytan. One of the guardians of peace and safety of the empire.
The Duke and his two sons were aura wielders and currently held positions most befitting their house’s reputation.
Those who are Aura wielders live longer because they age more slowly than others. And naturally, their dignity becomes higher.
They were flawless in wealth, power, and strength.
However, if you dig deeper, there is information that the Duke’s youngest daughter disappeared less than a year after her birth.
Twenty years ago, the carriage carrying the Duchess was ambushed. The Duchess’s body was found, but her daughter disappeared without a trace.
Even after twenty years, there was still hope that she might be alive, and the search continued.
“Tsk. There have been too many scammers approaching him, claiming to be his daughter. It’s hard to impersonate the Duke’s Lady now.”
Anyone claiming to be his daughter would be suspected first, so this approach was best avoided.
“But I have to succeed no matter what.”
This wasn’t just any mission. If she failed to steal even one piece of heirloom, she would never be able to face the Pope again. She had to succeed, no matter what.
She had managed to survive to this point, she couldn’t just die when facing the end.
Lephonia slapped her cheeks twice. Her cheeks immediately became swollen and painful.
“Let’s check what the heirloom is first.”
Only then could she plan to sneak in and steal what was hidden in the house.
The Craytan’s mansion is so tightly guarded that no one without proper identification can enter.
Making a fake ID is easy, but the priority is not to disguise oneself, but to confirm the heirloom first.
“I have it ready.”
Lephonia opened a drawer and pulled out a small vial.
It was a shrinking potion that would shrink her to the size of a pinky finger when consumed.
She had used it on a mission involving a heist, and had bought an extra bottle just in case, then hidden it away.
‘Not for a mission, but I saved it in case I ever needed to escape.’
But if this mission succeeded, she wouldn’t need to escape, she’d be free from the Pope’s reach.
‘Let’s drink the potion, shrink down, sneak into the Craytan’s mansion, and check the heirloom first.’
Lephonia opened the lid, glanced at the document, and downed it in one gulp.
Gulp.
A tasteless liquid slid down her throat.
“…!!”
At the same time, a burning pain spread through her body as if it were being scorched.
“Gasp!”
Huh? What’s going on?
Something was wrong.
She had taken the potion during previous missions, too, but she’d never experienced this kind of pain.
t was as if her whole body had been thrown into a furnace, unbearably painful.
“Cough!”
Lephonia clutched her chest in agony. The sound of her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Thump, thump, thump—!
The world spun violently, and her vision flipped. Breathing was hard, and she couldn’t even stand on her own two feet.
Someone.
Someone help.
Lephonia weakly reached out her hand.
She tightly shut her eyes in agony and cried silently, but as always, no one was there for her.
And then, when Lephonia opened her eyes again.
“…Huh?”
Her perspective had changed. Her clothes were now too big for her. Not just her clothes, her hands and feet had also shrunk.And on the back of her hand was a scar identical to the one she got when she was five, while escaping from the orphanage.
Back then, she had tripped over a fence at the orphanage and the sharp edge had cut her, leaving a distinct scar.
The scar had completely disappeared before, but now it had reappeared on her hand in the exact same shape.
“What, what? Why are my hands so small? Hmhm, ah! Ahhh! My voice! What’s wrong? Ah! Ahhh!”
It’s not a shrinking potion.
“Huh? Huh? What’s with my height? Why am I this small?! My voice and pronunciation, what’s going on!! Mirror! Where’s the mirror!”
Lephonia had become a child.
Exactly the same as when she was five years old, running away from the orphanage.
Comments (0)