NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 33
Late at night. Kaiquilia sat on a throne overlooking the Central Hall, having spent a whole day alone without letting anyone in.
The hall, spacious enough to comfortably hold hundreds, was eerily quiet, and the lights were all turned off, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Only the moonlight streaming through the massive glass windows served as a faint light source.
Kaiquilia crossed her legs, resting her back against the red cushion of the throne decorated in gold, her right elbow propped on the dragon-carved armrest as she gazed intently at something in the center of the hall.
It was the corpse of something that once was referred to as her brother, long since cold. The black blood that had flowed out had hardened a long time ago. It no longer moved or writhed.
Even though it had already lost its life at the moment the Holy Sword was plunged into it, Kaiquilia had another purpose in bringing this corpse here to watch over it for an entire day.
“Did you say you don’t know anything?”
A chilling murmur slipped from Kaiquilia’s lips.
When she had commanded Iris to divulge everything about the newbie, Iris had replied that she scarcely knew anything herself.
All she knew was where she had met the newbie, why she brought him to the Knights, and what happened after he joined the organization – that was all.
It was hardly useful information. Except for the fact that he had suffered a Witch’s Curse, causing him to lose most of his memories and for all his stats to degenerate to zero.
“All stats have degenerated?”
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, a clear display of mockery.
There was no lie in Iris’s words. At least Iris herself, the commander who had brought in the notably mysterious newcomer, firmly believed that what she had explained was the truth.
“Then it must mean you lied,” Kaiquilia said as she rose from her throne. Slowly, she began to descend the staircase, her black boots hitting the red carpet with deliberate steps.
Her footsteps halted in front of the half-human, half-horse corpse where the Holy Sword was embedded. The cold gaze that began from her golden eyes meticulously swept over its appearance.
Horns half-grown on its head. A face split from the mouth up to the ears. Wings covered in a bloody membrane sprouting from its back. Scales sprouting all over its body. Elbows and knees bending the wrong way. Long claws.
And the wounds that emitted a faint white light in response to the Holy Sword’s divine power.
“You foolish thing. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
As soon as Kaiquilia laid her eyes on the demon that was once her brother in the basement, she realized the entirety of his body was marked with scars from holy weapons.
Perhaps he intended those marks to be concealed using the recovery ability innate to demons, thinking that he would throw the lord a beating. However, that was nothing but a futile effort.
The scars inscribed by divine power on the body of something unclean could not be easily concealed.
Compared to the popes of the Raphael Holy Kingdom, who were akin to gods descending upon the earth, Kaiquilia was still capable of wielding the Holy Sword with her own strength.
Even if she scraped together all the sacred weapons on the continent, it was the Holy Sword that would be considered overwhelming, and it was impossible for someone who could wield the Holy Sword to be oblivious to the scars marked by divine power.
Kaiquilia gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword tightly. As she did, the faint white light flowing from the demon’s body grew stronger. The length was short, but the wounds extended deep inside.
It bore the marks of a dagger.
“Even with a blessed dagger imbued with divine power, you’ve lost your memory and don’t even know who you are? Did you truly think that was a sufficient excuse?”
Her cold mockery continued. A human who not only possessed a blessed weapon but could wield it as well — and yet they had lost their memory and their stats had dropped to nothing?
It was a lie. As long as the scars from a blessed weapon remained on the body of this half-human, half-horse creature, she could only conclude that the newbie knight had lied to her.
Aurora was a woman with no combat skills. Though she had matured in every aspect since childhood, it solely pertained to her appearance and temperament, not her combat abilities.
The four commanders of the Silver Dawn Knights were outstanding in combat but similarly could not wield divine power.
That was only natural. Even if you searched the entire Empire, there was no human capable of wielding divine power without the connection to the Raphael Holy Kingdom.
However, that person was not that. Kaiquilia pondered deeply.
Despite being a weak demon that had even failed to consume a single human, to inflict any significant damage on such a demon would require at least the strength of an apprentice nun from the Papal Palace.
The women known as apprentice nuns in the Papal Palace possessed enough divine power to lead a large church outside.
Repelling demons carried that meaning.
“Everything is contradictory, yet everything fits perfectly.”
The more she thought, the more she became curious about the true identity of that newbie knight.
He wielded enough divine power to inflict damage on a demon, yet claimed he was cursed and all his stats had degenerated.
He must have had the knowledge to obtain a blessed weapon from somewhere, yet he said he had lost all his memories that should support such knowledge.
Nothing about himself was revealed, yet he acted as if he knew everything.
So…
“It can’t be true that you know nothing, can it…?”
The corners of her mouth, which had turned up slightly, refused to go down. After a long time, she felt an unfamiliar joy in her contemplation.
If everything about the newbie knight were a lie, then the content of the letter sent by Aurora would also be a lie. Did such a skilled individual happen to discover a book inhabited by a demon? That was hardly likely.
“Summon the commander of the Golden Dusk Knights.”
Kaiquilia shouted into the empty air. As the echo crashed against the walls and pillars and faded away, a knight confidently strode in through the side door of the Central Hall.
The knight was dressed in armor adorned entirely in gold, even his cape, helmet, and sword sheath shone golden. Approaching Kaiquilia with precise steps, he knelt before her.
“You called for me, Your Majesty!”
“I have a command for you.”
“Yes, please tell me anything!”
“Take gold to the domain of Aurora. Tell the lord there it is a reward for handling the demon in a timely manner, and deliver the money, then find the Silver Dawn Knights.”
As soon as Kaiquilia uttered the words ‘Silver Dawn Knights,’ the knight in the helmet flinched slightly. Regardless, Kaiquilia continued.
“There should be a man who recently joined there. Observe his every move and action meticulously. I grant a deadline of two weeks.”
“What should I do after observing him?”
“Report everything back to me without fail. Even if something appears insignificant on the surface, do not omit any detail.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The knight in golden armor bowed his head respectfully and turned to leave the Central Hall with precise movements. Thud, the door closed, leaving once again only solitude in the hall.
“I have never taken such interest in my life, and to have an interest feels this enjoyable.”
Kaiquilia approached the demon’s corpse, her gaze lingering on the multiple scars radiating faint holy power. Then she gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword tightly, pouring her power into it.
Light burst forth from the Holy Sword, like that of the sun. Whoosh, the corpse of the demon was engulfed in white flames, igniting with the purifying fire that solely condemned heretics.
In no time, the demon’s body had turned to a handful of ashes and vanished. Once the task was complete, Kaiquilia let go of the hilt, and the Holy Sword transformed into a radiant sphere of light. Where the corpse had been lay nothing at all.
“I will, I will be watching you.”
Finishing her task, Kaiquilia muttered.
She would keep an eye on that newbie knight. She would surveil and surveil until she uncovered what secret he was hiding by any means necessary.
Had he lied to her in the letter he sent? That was something she could easily overlook. Had he concealed his true identity? That, too, could be disregarded without much thought. Such actions were trivial deviations.
However, if he truly turned out to be someone who could aid her ambitions, someone who could become a loyal sword at her side, she could let such trivial matters slide.
“But if not…”
A fierce killing intent filled her golden eyes. If not, and he were merely a piece of trash that would rise momentarily, like so many fools, and then plummet back down.
He would have to pay the price.
“So, prove your abilities.”
For this pleasant sensation to last long without crumbling into a cruel ending.