Chapter 233

Chapter 20 The Medium of the Gods

The serving dish with custard was placed in front of them on the tea table, looking soft and fragrant with its golden hue. It was unclear whether the servants from Victoria’s side had made it or if they had bought it specifically.

In any case, what I saw was mine, and I intended to finish it all!

I jumped over excitedly, reached into the dish, grabbed the largest piece, and plopped down between the two of them. I kicked off my little red leather shoes and curled my pale legs up on the sofa, holding the custard in both hands and taking a big, delightful bite. The rich milk aroma filled my mouth, and I felt elated.

This wonderful feeling… It’s so great!

“Gobbling glutton.”

Victoria’s indifferent voice reached my ears, and I immediately glared at her.

“Mmmph mmm—”

My mouth was too full to speak, and Victoria furrowed her brow at the sight.

“Wait a bit before eating.”

She took advantage of my distraction, snatched the custard that I had just bitten into, and put it back on the plate.

“There are two things I need to talk about. First is about Sister Teresa.”

Victoria began getting straight to the point as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I stared at her in disbelief for a long time before pouting. Suddenly, I felt like throwing a tantrum, but her serious demeanor told me that now wasn’t the time for nonsense. I had to keep it in mind for later.

“You were the one most closely involved with this incident in the royal city, Peylo. Tell us everything you know.”

I quickly chewed and swallowed the food in my mouth, pouting as I nodded obediently.

“Oh.”

I thought to myself that I could freeze the grass in her courtyard to even things out. With this thought, I started recounting from the moment I found the notebook, continuing until I met up with Victoria. Then, turning to them, I said, “Hold on a moment.”

I ran upstairs again, fetched Teresa’s burnt and incomplete notebook from the bedroom, and handed it to Victoria.

“This notebook,” I said, sitting back on the sofa, addressing the two women. “Many pages are burnt, but they can still be read. The records suggest that heretics, long ago, used human blood for experiments.”

My eyes instinctively glanced at the custard on the tea table, but my mind was preoccupied with the images of those children whose heads were chopped off and who couldn’t even leave their bodies intact in the raging fire.

They probably never got to taste such delicious food.

Suddenly, I felt a bit depressed, and my appetite diminished.

But I still wanted to eat because I was genuinely hungry, and my empty stomach was making me uncomfortable.

The two women beside me remained quiet. Victoria casually flipped through a few pages of the notebook and lost interest, passing it to Margaret on the other side. Margaret, however, examined each word and sentence carefully.

After waiting for a while, I became anxious.

“Um, vertebrae. What is that?”

Margaret didn’t look up as she replied, “That is the ‘Boswell’ of the royal city, a divine relic.”

Of course…

I had actually already considered this possibility, and now I had confirmation from Margaret, but new questions arose.

“What kind of animal’s vertebrae is that?”

Just one vertebra was already enormous. If such a creature were still alive, it would likely cause an incredible scene… Even a grown-up might seem like a three-year-old in comparison.

Margaret turned the page of the notebook in her hand and explained, “It is the remains of a dragon from the Age of the Divine Presence. Over these thousand years since the founding of the Holy Church, even though the gods have retreated from the world, they still bestow many blessings upon humanity. ‘Boswell’ is one of these relics. The dragon’s body contains immense power, and even after death, it can serve as a ‘medium,’ allowing the gods to infuse their power into the bones. In this way, even small beings like us can witness their greatness, which is how the gods show their love for humanity.”

“Hmm…” I pondered for a moment, tilting my head, “Hmm?”

I didn’t quite understand.

“To put it simply, the dragon’s bones are a medium for the gods’ power, enabling humans to perform more powerful miracles.”

For example, ‘Boswell’,” Victoria said.

“Indeed,” Margaret nodded lightly, closing her notebook and frowning prettily. “But now, the remains are just fragments, the ‘medium’ is gone.”

She let out a breath and continued looking at me. “Miss Sylvie, you probably don’t know. While you were unconscious, I went to Cataroma and saw the deep trench in the ground. Inside it, I found burnt bone fragments and confirmed that ‘Boswell’ was completely destroyed, and the ‘medium’… ah, the power originally bestowed by the deity has vanished. I believe Teresa used some method unknown even to the Church to take it over.”

I looked at Margaret with a serious face.

“Take it over?”

“Mm… roughly that’s what it means. I can’t find a better word to describe it; this is something that never happened before.” Margaret placed her notebook on the tea table, her expression heavy. “I have read the content of the notes and can make some deductions.”

She raised her hand and tapped the thick cover lightly.

“I think this is how she took over the ‘medium.’ Teresa chose to kill not for any experiment, but more like she was sacrificing something for a certain existence. The medium is the power of a great deity, and only a deity can change it.”

She paused slightly, her expression becoming complicated.

“Or perhaps… there might be some evil force we don’t understand, like the demons worshipped by the heretics.”

“The power that requires human blood to control is indeed something only a demon could do,” Victoria said.

“Demon…”

I remembered that Carlos mentioned this first. No one knew what the truth god worshipped by the heretics was. He was from the East Continent, and after spending many years there, he still didn’t know the true face of the demon. Even its existence was a hypothesis. But there was a person claiming to be a demon who was killed by the sword saint, his teacher.

But now, if Margaret’s words are correct, then the truth god… might be at the same level as the deity.

The power of blood and fire, the invincible heretic, the transformed Teresa… What exactly is this thing that can give humans such complex and terrifying abilities…

As I thought seriously about this, I instinctively reached for my plate.

“PIA”!

My hand was knocked down, hitting the tea table.

“Aah!”

I was startled and angry, rubbing my red palm and pouting at Victoria.

“What are you doing?!”

“Eat after finishing talking.”

She looked at me indifferently.

After a moment, seeing my pitiful look, Victoria’s stern face softened somewhat, and she explained unusually. “You speak very slowly, eating would make it even slower. The Holy Maiden’s time is tight, bear with it. All those are yours, no one will take them.”

“…Oh.”

But I am hungry… I couldn’t bring myself to say that.

“Hu—”

Margaret on the other side sighed lightly.

“Regardless of what the heretics want to do, they succeeded this time. We lost because our understanding of them was too shallow.” She stood up. “In any case, the disaster the royal city suffered is due to our negligence. I didn’t expect Teresa to…”

Margaret shook her head gently and gave us a solemn bow.

“Your Majesty, Miss Sylvie. On behalf of the Church, I thank you both. You are both holy people, and your contributions will always be remembered by the Church.”

Looking at her earnest manner, I felt ashamed and wanted to speak, but saw that Victoria had already stood up beside me.

“Your Highness, your words are too heavy. As the king of Eisenberg, this is my duty.”

“I am well aware of the situation in the royal city. Your Majesty, please rest assured.” Margaret shook her head slowly. “The Church will certainly do its best to help with the losses incurred in the royal city this time.”

Victoria nodded firmly without hesitation. “Good.”

It seemed as if she was afraid that Margaret might change her mind.