Chapter 113 – God's Oracle

“Pope! A letter has arrived!”

Just as I woke from a nap and returned to the command center, a White Priest came sliding in, clutching the letter, utterly out of breath.

I took it and read it aloud for everyone to hear.

“What’s this? From Heart, eh. The bandits crossed the border… What! It might be tied to a nation!”

Everyone present doubted their ears at my shout.

Is the Henzeta Kingdom turning against the Church?

That country has no Saintess of its own—they request one from neighboring nations during disasters.

Have they lost their minds?

Repaying kindness with betrayal.

“Bishop Moras! Send a letter to the Church’s Henzeta Kingdom branch! Gather every scrap of information!”

The priests sprang into action as one.

I wrote a letter addressed to Heart, then hurried back to my private chambers. From the safe, I retrieved the Papal Seal—which responds only to my magic—and the “God’s Oracle”.

As I channeled magic into the Papal Seal and pressed its stamp down, the “God’s Oracle” gave off a faint glow.

I attached the “God’s Oracle” to the letter with a puff of cotton and sent it flying out the window, addressed to Heart.

With this “God’s Oracle”, Heart should wield authority equal to the gods themselves.

In the name of God, he can do anything—and go anywhere.

Send every Holy Knight Order in this kingdom except the First.

Corner the enemy, but do it cleverly. Don’t let any harm come to Marie.

In the infirmary, we dozed fitfully while waiting for Lily to wake.

“Ugh… My head hurts.”

“She’s awake!”

At Gramps’s shout, everyone rushed to Lily’s bedside.

I tamped down my impatience and took a deep breath.

The drug used on her was a common poison meant for magical beasts—available anywhere.

It wasn’t formulated for humans, so identifying it had taken precious time. A bitter regret.

“Lily. Where’s Marie?”

“Huh? Gain. Where’s Marie?”

Lily sounded genuinely shocked.

It was obvious now that she was awake—her expressions, her mannerisms. Nothing like Marie’s.

She was a completely different person.

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Eh? Even if you spring it on me like that, I dunno…”

Does this girl not even realize she was silenced?

Fernet bristled at Lily’s breezy attitude.

“Calm down. Sorry, but could you take Gramps outside?”

Fernet nodded, clapped Gramps on the shoulder, and jerked his thumb at the door.

He gets all funny around Lily—I don’t want him sticking around any longer.

Besides, I didn’t want Gramps seeing what came next.

Sid and I exchanged glances. He felt the same.

“Hey, where’s Heart? Where’s my bodyguard?”

“Lily, forget that. What about those clothes? What do you remember?”

I locked eyes with her, forcing down my urgency.

“Call Heart. Hehehe. Get Heart here, and I’ll tell you.”

Lily had never shown a hint of being sweet on Heart before. What was this?

Sid just shrugged, looking as baffled as I felt.

No helping it. Though I hated the idea…

As I reached for Lily, Sid clamped down on my hand with an iron grip.

“Stand back.”

Sid, eyes cold with killing intent, suddenly seized a fistful of Lily’s hair and slapped her face hard.

“Ow! What the hell is this guy?! Let go!”

“Where’s Marie? Who gave you those clothes?”

Sid’s voice was calm.

Lily struggled wildly at first, her hair in his grasp—but Sid’s sheer menace subdued her.

That’s right. You’ve got no choice but to talk.

We pulled an all-nighter pinpointing that poison and saving your sorry hide—for intel.

Sid slapped her cheek again and repeated the question.

“Where’s Marie? Who gave you those clothes?”

“I-I don’t know, I swear! I’ll talk, just stop hitting me! So, the neighboring country? I figured I’d become a princess, so I went to the castle with Mails and got this dress. Then cooking lessons and stuff. I even went to classes! But Mails told me to go home. Then these bodyguards who were supposed to be fired said if we both huffed the powder from this bag, they’d make us Saintesses.”

“Powder in a bag?”

“Yeah. It seemed fishy, so I asked, ‘What kind of bag?’ They said it was glittery powder. The same stuff they use in parades. If we both inhaled it, our wishes would come true!”

Sid let go of Lily’s hair as she started spilling everything.

“So Marie got dosed with the same poison?”

“Poison? What’s that? No clue. I wanted to be a Saintess with Marie. I wanted to patch things up. And I needed her help to be with Heart. Wait, Marie’s really gone?”

“Yeah. Kidnapped. Ring any bells?”

“Kidnapped? That’s gotta be Mails’s big brother, the First Prince. Dazil—that ex-bodyguard—told me on the way here when I kept prying. Said he was gonna marry Marie off to the First Prince. That she’d be happy. But nobody said anything about dragging her over there?”

Incoherent as it was, I pieced together the picture.

Marie had been snatched by the First Prince of the neighboring kingdom.

Less “leaked the plan” and more “caved to Lily until she blabbed.”

I could picture the hassle of dragging Lily along. So that’s why they silenced her…

Even the bad guys can’t get plans to stick with Lily around.

She’s got some seriously rotten luck. Almost feel bad for the enemy.

Sid fixed me with a grim look.

“Can’t confirm the girl’s safe.”

If the marriage talk was legit, she had to be alive.

But me, Sid, and all the priests around us—we couldn’t voice assumptions.

Uncertain info gets people killed.

“To the Pope…” “Lord Gain!”

As I started giving orders to one White Priest, another burst into the infirmary.

Fernet and Gramps trailed right behind him.

“Lord Heart just contacted the Pope! The bandits crossed the border! For this incident, a “God’s Oracle” has been issued to Lord Heart!”

“A God’s Oracle!?”

Everyone in the room looked up, breath catching.

A writ that forgives anything done in God’s name.

Even slaying a king would be deemed a divine act—no sin attached. Defy it, and you’re condemned for blaspheming God. That one…

I shook off the shock and barked orders at the priest.

“Contact the Pope: Marie’s in the neighboring kingdom’s royal castle! The mastermind’s the First Prince!”