I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 93

Fear crossed Evelyn’s face at the incomprehensible words.

 

“What do you mean, who would do such a thing, and for what purpose?”

 

“Well, we don’t know the minds of madmen, but we can only surmise that Babel has promised them something in return.”

 

What could Babel possibly have to offer them, she wondered, growing increasingly confused. Evelyn ruffled her hair and pressed on.

 

“What happens when the seal is broken?”

 

Ines gave her an unreadable look. She pursed her lips and was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

 

“The boundary between the Otherworld and this realm would be completely broken. Only the demons and their followers will survive.”

 

“…….”

 

“You will never see the Grand Duke again. He will be the vessel in which the demon’s soul will be trapped.”

 

Evelyn listened, unable to breathe.

 

Then she covered her mouth with her hands and took a deep breath to gather her thoughts.

 

In this life, she was focused on helping Kalian and breaking the curse.

 

Nothing else mattered, not that she could afford to.

 

But something greater than that might soon be upon them, and she shuddered to think of it.

 

The Primal Stone, the power of regeneration in the blood of the Lindbergh women.

 

Evelyn couldn’t help but think that perhaps she was intimately connected to the Seals of Babel.

 

And Evelyn suddenly realised that she needed to recalibrate her goals.

 

“Please tell me what I need to do. I don’t want to sit back and let this happen.”

 

Ines’s eyebrows shot up at Evelyn’s determined expression.

 

She pulled out her pipe and nodded as she loaded it with tobacco.

 

“Okay. First, you’ll need to understand your body. I’m calling you a healer for convenience, but you are more of a high priestess, a bishop, with healing and offensive magic.”

 

Her heart pounded. High Priestess, as if she had some kind of power beyond that of a mage.

 

Ines took a deep drag on her pipe and gestured toward something.

 

Suddenly, a chair flew out of nowhere and smashed into the inside of Evelyn’s knee, settling under her hip.

 

Thud!

 

Evelyn’s face fell as she was forced back into the chair, and Ines smirked as she began to teach her how to use the elements.

 

“Now, with your hands in your lap, clear your head, concentrate… and conjure up an image of light, turn your palms to face the sky, and lightly flick your thumbs and middle fingers together.”

 

Pushing…

 

With an unpleasant sound, a pale wisp of smoke rose from her fingertips. Evelyn grinned.

 

“Ines, did you see that? Wow, that’s amazing!”

 

Ines coughed sharply, the smoke catching in her throat.

 

“Kollok, hmm, yeah. I’m getting nowhere. Now let’s try to crystallise the image of the light in your head a bit more, shall we?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“I want you to conjure up an image of a holy bolt, a round sphere of light attacking your opponent.”

 

And so the training continued.

 

Push Shot…

 

Push-shoot…!

 

Push!

 

Her fingers were tingling from all the bouncing, and they were about to fall off, but her face was as bright as ever.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The Grand Duke’s office.

 

 

Benjamin approached with his back to Kalian, who was gazing out over the sunsetting snowy landscape.

 

“The Emperor has again requested your assistance in the investigation of the strange deaths in the Empire, how do you wish to proceed?”

 

“Refuse. I cannot afford to attend to such matters now.”

 

There’s too much to do: preparing for the wedding, reorganising the estates and knights. 

 

Frowning slightly, Kalian reached for his cigar, and Benjamin stepped forward to light it.

 

“There was a meeting at the palace yesterday,” he said, “but I understand that nothing of significance came of it.”

 

“That’s why they called an emergency meeting three times.”

 

Incompetent humans.

 

Leaning against the window sill, he lit a cigar and reviewed the recent events.

 

The first victim of the bizarre deaths had been the Countess of Lawrence.

 

Afterwards, the Earl of Lawrence, who admitted to killing his wife, took his own life.

 

“It was not a suicide, for he hanged himself with both hands cut off.”

 

And not long before, the captain of the Imperial Guard, who was investigating a mutant that Kalian had commissioned directly from the Emperor, was poisoned by Magi on tainted ground.

 

That was not all.

 

“Two days ago, the mansion of Viscount McHale, the man who smuggled the Horn of Iblis, was destroyed by fire, killing his entire family.”

 

Kalian ruminate quietly.

 

Then he tapped, tapped, tapped his index finger on the paper on his desk, a jumble of names, causes of death, and related words.

 

His gaze lingered for a moment on the word ‘Evelyn’.

 

Since he had referred the investigation of the Mutants to the Emperor, the Emperor had, as a matter of course, undertaken an investigation of the shrine.

 

The ostensible reason was to investigate the connection between the murder of the Countess and the mutant beasts that had occurred around the same time.

 

There was some resistance from some nobles that the temple was a sanctuary, but it was dismissed on the grounds that her murderer, Count William, was the head of the Paladins.

 

The problem was that they found no evidence that the Mutant had been summoned from the shrine.

 

The markings on the mutant beasts, and even the processing chamber, have evaporated.

 

Add to that the burning of Viscount McHale’s mansion, where the Horn of Iblis was smuggled, and it was back to square one.

 

The only saving grace is that, at Kalian’s request, the Horn of Iblis was incinerated, making it impossible to create a source for the elemental stone for the time being.

 

So he planted people on the continent of Nora and at the top of each one.

 

If only they could catch the smugglers in the act…

 

The frown deepens. He thought of Evelyn like he was searching for a headache cure, and suddenly remembered what she had told him about witnessing the processing room.

 

“They were all wearing name tags, and she was number 100, and my mum was number 87… so they said they were all called by number.”

 

100, the perfect number.

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that number meant.

 

It was obvious to anyone who looked at it that it marked the order of the sacrifices.

 

So Kalian came to one conclusion.

 

“The temple is collecting a hundred primal stones to break the seal of Babel.”

 

There, the pollution of the land that had begun in the Cabana Grove was moving eastward from Bellatra.

 

But they can’t pretend with the temple just yet. “Send a letter to the temple,” Kalian instructed, puffing on his half-smoked cigar.

 

“Send a letter to the temple. The tainted land needs a holy woman’s blessing.”

 

“Sire… With all due respect, do you think a holy woman can truly cleanse a polluted land?”

 

Benjamin, who rarely asked questions, swallowed hard.

 

Kalian’s golden eyes slowly shifted from the paper to Benjamin. After a moment’s silence, he spoke in a low, raspy voice.

 

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

 

A streak of emotion crossed Kalian’s previously impassive face.

 

A fierce determination to protect what he held dear, or a destructive possessiveness for what he had.

 

Benjamin sighed weakly as he watched this stranger with concern, his eyes filled with raw emotion.

 

“I just wanted to make sure, since the Saint hasn’t fully regained her powers yet.”

 

As if that wasn’t enough, Benjamin’s expression darkened further at the piercing glance, knowing that he was serious.

 

“I am concerned that the final terms of the seal recorded in the Book of Seals… may have shaken your convictions.”

 

“It is uncharacteristic of you to make me say the same thing so many times.”

 

Benjamin took a sharp intake of breath and took a half-step backwards as Kalian’s brow creased.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“That doesn’t answer my question. You’re entertaining the idea that the Saint might not be a Purifier.”

 

The atmosphere suddenly froze, and Benjamin bowed his head deeply, as if apologising for his flippancy.

 

“No. I only meant that we can’t assume anything yet.”

 

“And if you can’t be sure, who is your purifier?”

 

“…….”

 

“Do not test my patience with your foolish remarks”

 

“My loyalty to your majesty has overwhelmed me, and I have let my tongue slip into frivolity; please have mercy on me.”

 

Benjamin dropped to one knee and shook his head again.

 

“I’ll send a message to the temple right now and ask them to cleanse the polluted land with the blessing of the holy woman.”

 

Never one to procrastinate, Benjamin stormed out of the office.

 

Hearing the door click shut behind him, Kalian sank back into his chair and wiped the weariness from his face.

 

Sensitive.

 

“But it’s only proper for a man to make a sassy day of it when his wife is involved.”

 

Finishing his thoughts, he opened a drawer and pulled out the Book of Seals. He looked over its contents and pondered.

 

There were several requirements for sealing Babel.

 

One, the awakening of the Guardian.

 

Two, the strengthening of a magic sword.

 

Three, the awakening of the Purifier, who appeared at the same time as the Guardian.

 

And lastly, the sacrifice of a Purifier who had awakened as a transcendent…

 

The woman chosen to be the vessel for the soul had to seal Babel within her body and then sacrifice her life to the sword.