BJ Villainess Chapter 348

The place I hid with Ugo was the storeroom of Philia Bakery. Philia, the bakery’s owner, mistook us for children who had run away from the orphanage and, feeling sorry for us, turned a blind eye and let us stay in the storeroom. Before long, Ugo and I began helping out with the bakery work.

 

To think that was already a year ago. Time truly flew by.

 

“Theresa! Could you help me move this?”

 

I stopped arranging the bread at Philia’s call and stepped outside the shop. Outside, Philia and Ugo were moving groceries. Today was the day the traveling merchant delivered supplies that the shop was running low on.

 

“Oh, Theresa. You’re getting prettier every time I see you.” The merchant greeted me warmly as I responded with a faint smile, then held out a small honey jar. “Here, Theresa, this is for you.”

 

“Mister! How can you give something too heavy to Theresa?” Gray, the son from the neighboring spice shop, stormed over as if witnessing an injustice and snatched the honey jar from my hands. “I’ll do this, so you take a break.”

 

The merchant let out a hearty laugh. “You little rascal. Are you scolding this old man to impress Theresa?”

 

“W-What?! It’s not like that!” Gray yelled, his ears bright red, and then quickly ran back into the shop.

 

I sighed at the burdensome kindness and started moving the boxes that looked lighter. With Gray’s unexpected help, we finished tidying up in no time.

 

While we organized the supplies, Philia chatted quietly with the merchant as she paid him. “I heard clergy were sent out from the Great Temple yesterday. What’s going on?”

 

“I heard from a friend working at the lord’s castle that there’s supposedly a cultist of the Evil God hiding in our domain.”

 

At those words, I stopped for a moment. Surely they’re not looking for me, right? But for the past year, no one has come looking for me. So I thought that incident had passed without trouble. Pretending to sort things, I listened in on their conversation.

 

“If the clergy came from the Great Temple, they’ll catch her quickly, won’t they?”

 

Philia let out a deep sigh. “My Alice is supposed to get married soon, but with things like this, we can’t even have a ceremony.”

 

Alice was Philia’s daughter.

 

“Oh, so you’ve finally decided to marry her to Ugo?”

 

“Yes, it seems the two have already made up their minds. I like Ugo too. He’s kind and deep-hearted—he’ll make a good husband.”

 

Before I knew it, their conversation had turned to marriage.

 

“Once Ugo and Alice are married, that just leaves Theresa.”

 

They both looked at me at the same time. And just then, Gray came back into the shop. The merchant, perhaps wanting to tease Gray, grinned mischievously and spoke to me.

 

“With all these clergy here, why not choose one to marry? I hear the clergy are all beautiful, regardless of gender.”

 

At that, Gray made a sulky face and left the bakery in a huff.

 

“What a guy. Acting like a child even though he’s an adult now!” The merchant chuckled, then asked me, “Come to think of it, Theresa, will you become an adult on this coming Coming-of-Age Day?”

 

I replied, “Yes.”

 

Philia smiled at me gently. “I’ve already prepared a white dress for your coming-of-age ceremony. All that’s left is to find you a husband.”

 

“Oh ho. So, Theresa, do you have someone in mind? If you want to get married before you miss your chance, you should start looking now.”

 

“I…” My words trailed off awkwardly.

 

Here, unless you belonged to the temple, it was common to get married right after your coming-of-age ceremony. Everyone gets married in their early twenties. Even nobles were no exception. But as someone with a modern mindset, it was hard for me to accept. Besides, how could I, a cultist of the Evil God, expect to live a normal married life?

 

Without knowing my feelings, the merchant started matchmaking on his own. “How about Gray? He may not be handsome, but he’ll inherit the spice shop, so he’s a top-notch groom.”

 

“And he likes Theresa a lot, too.”

 

“Or what about the boy from the vegetable shop across the street? He follows you around all the time.”

 

Ugh, I hate topics like this.

 

Originally, I’d planned to stay here at least until my coming-of-age ceremony. But with talk of marriage coming up, I might have to leave sooner than expected. Moreover, Alice seems uncomfortable with me around.

 

 

Alice had always been oddly displeased with me, but it got worse after she started dating Ugo. No matter how many times I explained that Ugo and I were just friends, she never seemed to believe it.

 

Ding! As I was getting flustered by the marriage talk, the door to the shop opened. Thinking it must be a customer, I was relieved—until

 

“Wel…come.”

 

The moment I saw a clergy in a white robe and soldiers in armor, I stiffened. These were not ordinary bakery customers. My instincts told me so. And sure enough, the soldier spoke words that confirmed my worst fears.

 

“We are conscripting all girls who have not yet had their coming-of-age ceremony. Alice Arde, come forward.”

 

Philia, her face full of fear, asked, “Respected clergy, honored guard, may I ask why you are looking for my daughter?”

 

“We have received information that a clergy of the Evil God, hiding in this domain, is a girl who has not yet come of age.”

 

“You’re not going to torture her, are you?”

 

“How dare you question the actions of the Great Temple?”

 

“Never! Absolutely not.”

 

In this world, the power of the pope was as absolute as in the Holy Roman Empire. In fact, clergy wielded enough holy power to hold sway over life and death, so it was only natural. So when the clergy invoked the Great Temple’s authority, Philia went pale.

 

“…It’s all right, Mother.”

 

Philia looked at me in confusion as I called her mother. I calmly pretended to be Alice.

 

“I’m not a cultist of the Evil God, so nothing will happen.”

 

This happened because of me, and since Philia has taken care of Ugo and me all this time, this is the right thing to do.

 

The only way to identify the cultists of the Evil God was by a mark that appeared on the back of their hand. And since I had no intention of using that power again, my identity would not be discovered.

 

“I’m Alice.”

 

The clergy, standing quietly among the soldiers, glanced at me and nodded. “Take her to the castle.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The soldiers, ready for any situation, pointed their spears at me as they began to move.

 

Philia could only hang her head in silence, unable to object. She felt guilty, but she couldn’t risk her daughter’s life by telling the truth. The merchant, understanding her feelings, kept the secret as well.

 

This is a world that doesn’t value individual lives. Even if a few people died in the process of hunting down the cultists of the Evil God, it would be considered inevitable, so of course, they were afraid. That’s why I didn’t see their silence as unjust.

 

I would have done the same to protect someone precious to me.

 

* * *

“Get in.”

 

The soldiers threw me into the lord’s castle dungeon. It was already filled with girls who had been brought here.

 

They must be sure of something, so they’re gathering all the underage girls.

 

Did someone in the slums figure out my identity? But just because the slum overseer disappeared, there wasn’t enough evidence to point to me as the cultist of the Evil God. That alone wouldn’t have prompted the Great Temple to act directly.

 

Then why are they doing this?

 

As I calmly looked over the girls who’d been unjustly brought here, my gaze stopped. Amid the girls sobbing or shrinking back in fear, one with short hair leaned against the wall with a bored expression. She was someone I knew well.

 

Sella. She was a cultist of the Evil God.

 

So the cultist hiding in the territory isn’t me, but Sella. I quickly turned my head before Sella could make eye contact with me.

 

Among the many named villains in <God’s Play>, a few have backstories. Sella was one of them. Her setting was that when her identity was about to be discovered, she would sacrifice a whole village to the Evil God and awaken as a high-ranking cultist.

 

Looks like now is that time.

 

It meant the clergy in the territory wouldn’t be able to stop Sella. So I have to deal with this situation…?

 

Step, step. Just as I realized the unpleasant truth, a group of clergy appeared in the dungeon.

 

If I were Sella, what would I do?

 

What do you mean what? Of course to swallow everyone with shadows while the crowd is largest!

 

I decided to make the first move before Sella could cause havoc. “I’m a cultist of the Evil God!”

 

“…?!”

 

Everyone looked at me in shock at my sudden confession.

 

“If you don’t want to see all these girls die, let them all go outside!”

 

Damn it. At this point, it was all or nothing.