Mess 146
by Cristae146.
Carola’s blue eyes quivered in the direction of the sound. As if she had seen a ghost, she could not believe what she was witnessing.
“Hurry and go.”
Seraphie gave her younger sister a gentle push on the back.
It was the faintest touch. Yet, it was enough. Carola’s legs, which had been frozen like stone, hesitated for a brief moment before springing forward in a strong dash.
“Mother!”
“Carola! My child, heavens!”
“Waaah! Mammaaa!”
“Sob, my darling daughter…”
It was a touching reunion between mother and child, yet those who watched could not share in the sentiment.
Especially the members of the temple.
“H-how…!”
How could that woman be here!
The high priest, about to shout against his will, hurriedly shut his mouth. He glared at Seraphie.
“It’s nothing of importance.”
Catching his gaze, Seraphie smiled sweetly.
“She’s the one who gave birth to my sister, so in a way, she’s my aunt. Surely it’s all the more meaningful to gather together on a day like today.”
“……”
“If Carola is a Validus, then my aunt is a Validus as well.”
Tearing her gaze away from the tearful reunion, Seraphie only moved her lips in silent acknowledgment.
High priest.
“This farce ends here.”
‘My child is not the illegitimate offspring of Validus!’
‘It’s the truth! My husband died in an accident several years ago. He was swept away by a river swollen with rain while on a business trip…’
‘Then I was suddenly fired from my job, and after surviving off my savings for as long as I could, I was left with no choice but to come to the temple…’
‘I don’t know what happened. Suddenly, the priests took my daughter, and I found myself in some mansion’s underground prison…’
The woman who Karl and Pura had found and brought back was Carola’s birth mother.
And, of course, she had no connection whatsoever to the Validus family.
Since her husband’s death, she had raised her child alone; the child was her only family, her sole hope.
‘Carola, my child…!’
Watching the woman collapse to the floor, sobbing her daughter’s name, Seraphie instinctively thought of someone.
‘…The temple.’
Feigning indifference to the sudden rush of emotion, Seraphie spoke in a calm, subdued voice, explaining the situation.
‘The temple was trying to make your daughter out to be the illegitimate child of Validus.’
‘What? Why would they…’
‘So, from now on, you will be my aunt.’
‘Wh-what?’
As the woman reeled in shock, Seraphie steadied her and spoke again.
‘Do you understand what that means?’
‘……’
‘It means you’ve been given the chance to get back at the temple.’
The opportunity, placed directly in your hands.
“Waaah!”
Carola wept endlessly in her mother’s embrace, as she had yearned to do for so long.
“Mother! Motherrr!”
“Yes, I’m here. Mama’s here now…”
“I was so scared! Waaah!”
Her mother only patted her and comforted her, holding her tight and assuring her everything was alright as the child sobbed so hard she nearly lost her breath.
“How could this be!”
Clutching Carola tightly, the woman’s voice rose in anger as she glared daggers at the priests.
‘This is all you must do.’
There was little the woman could accomplish. Yet Seraphie had requested just that one thing.
‘Pour out your grievance.’
All that you have endured.
The rest was Seraphie’s responsibility, just as she had promised when she reunited the daughter with her mother’s arms.
“You who claim to live for the gods! You tore a mother from her child, forced us apart at your whim! And you still dare call yourselves servants of the divine?”
It was easy to vent her indignation. After all, for a mother who had been separated from her child, all that remained was sorrow and anger.
“And locking me away in ‘Paradise’ on top of that!”
Her cry was more than angry—it bordered on murderous.
“P-Paradise, you say?”
“Surely not that Paradise?”
The hall was thrown into turmoil at both the unexpected arrival of Carola’s mother and the even more unexpected force of her response.
“Aunt, please calm yourself.”
Seraphie approached the sobbing mother and daughter.
“It’s all right now.”
“C-Countess…”
“Pura, please escort these ladies to the mansion.”
“Yes, my lady.”
With rare courtesy, Pura escorted the pair to the carriage waiting outside the temple.
No one bothered to close the open door. The priests simply weren’t in the state of mind, and besides, the crowd awaiting news outside had already slipped near the entrance.
“High Priest.”
Seraphie returned to the front, raising her voice for all to hear. The sight of the rattled high priest pleased her greatly.
“First, let me thank you for finding the family members even I knew nothing about.”
But her next words were cold and sharp, like a well-honed blade.
“And yet, how did my aunt come to be found in ‘Paradise’?”
The high priest, gnashing his teeth in helpless rage, looked even more haggard.
Paradise.
Originally, this meant the heaven described in the scriptures—a land without hunger, want, illness, or loneliness, where one dwelled with angels on the land of God.
But unfortunately, in the Empire of Orthus, the word had taken on an entirely different meaning.
The “Paradise” spoken of in the temple today referred to a pure white residence located at 66-6 Parsar Street, north of the capital.
“Did I just hear that right?”
“Paradise? That Paradise?”
“Heavens! They locked her up there?”
“Um, what is Paradise? The one from scripture?”
“Oh, look at this fool!”
Someone shouted in exasperation.
“Paradise is where the priests hide their mistresses or lovers!”
Gasp!
Even those unfamiliar with the term, and those who understood all too well, caught their breath in shock.
Meanwhile, the priests—now exposed—turned pale, their faces drained of all color in horror and fear.
Some even fled out the open door entirely.
“Y-y-you…!”
Ironically, the high priest’s face was the reddest of all; the blood had rushed to his head.
“Count Validus!”
Spittle flying, he erupted in a shout.
“H-how dare you utter such nonsense! Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“What responsibility do you mean?”
“You’re making the temple your enemy—!”
“Age is no guarantee of wisdom, is it…”
Seraphie clicked her tongue twice, the sound sincere in its contempt.
“What right have you to speak to me in such a tone?”
The moment the icy glare swept toward him, the high priest felt a blade slice just beneath his own chin.
Gasping for breath as though his windpipe were being crushed, he clutched at his throat with trembling hands—but found only the expensive gold chain around his neck, and his own soft flesh.
‘Am I…’
Frightened?
The high priest could not believe it.
But Seraphie’s disgusted gaze pressed ever harder upon him. At last, feeling utterly humiliated, he lowered his head. Only then did Seraphie look away.
“Paradise, is it…”
Seraphie spoke with biting derision. The high priest, head bowed, bit his lips in frustration.
“I’d hoped it was nothing more than a baseless rumor…”
Click—the sound of her tongue was louder this time, for silence now ruled the temple’s hall.
People’s attention had shifted. No longer did their curiosity center on the Validus.
Now, all eyes were fixed on the high priest, who seemed on the verge of collapse.
“Let us examine matters one by one, shall we?”
Counting on her fingers, Seraphie enumerated her questions.
“Why didn’t you bring my aunt to the temple? Why was she confined in Paradise? Even more, you made public what should have been a private family matter, without first reporting it to the family head…”
Each charge was a grave matter on its own.
“You even drew my father’s blood for your purposes. No matter his guilt, he is still a nobleman. How dare you wound him without the family’s permission?”
The murmurs of the crowd swelled by the minute.
Seraphie continued exposing the truth, previously hidden by the temple’s petty theatrics.
“Why did you handle all these things as you pleased?”
“……”
“You dare turn my family affairs into some kind of spectacle?”
The affairs of the Validus had already been made a spectacle once, during the forced succession trial.
But in that case, Seraphie had chosen exposure to survive.
This time, however, it was a deliberate assault by the temple—an act of open malice.
“Now that you’ve had your fun turning it into a show, are you satisfied?”
“……”
“I, too, will remember this day for a long, long time.”
Seraphie slammed the door shut on any avenue of escape for the temple.
“C-countess…”
The high priest spoke at last, his voice trembling.
“……”
But he could go no further.
He longed to make some excuse, but now knew that any excuse might drag him down into a hell from which there was no return.
“……”
Seraphie did not press for answers.
‘It should be about time now…’
Rather, she was waiting for something else.
Her gaze turned toward the wide-open doors.
Beyond them, the crowd still pressed in, quietly observing the events within the temple. They, too, had fallen silent in the heightened tension.
Seraphie fixed her eyes on the gray sky above their heads.
‘It’s cold.’
I wish I had a bowl of warm cream stew.
The thought of the chef’s special stew made her mouth water.
“Countess.”
The throng crowding the door parted down the middle. Through the clearing, someone appeared.
It was Karl.
“There has just been word from the imperial household.”
He bowed respectfully to Seraphie.
“His Majesty, after reviewing the evidence you sent, has dispatched the Imperial Knights to the residence at 66-6 Paras Street.”
A silent smile appeared on Seraphie’s lips.
At last, the entire balance of this farce had shifted.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
As Seraphie turned, both Orkis and Loony, who had been quietly watching, rose from their seats to follow. Together they left the temple behind.
The temple had fallen.
“Hm.”
Seraphie hummed to herself as she flipped through the newspaper in her hand.
“Peaceful at last…”
It was not her imagination that the rustling of the paper sounded especially cheerful.
[The Temple’s Vile Misdeeds Exposed]
[Corrupt Priests! When Did It All Begin?]
[Imperial Knights Recover Many Missing Persons in ‘Paradise’]
[The Temple’s Vicious Usury—Murder of Commoners Revealed]
After reading, Seraphie folded the paper neatly and set it down on the table. She made no effort to hide the smile curling up at the corners of her lips.