Volume 4, Chapter 11-2 – Colleague, I’m Sorry

Silence was an atmosphere of great power.

Just like a bottle filled with liquid, once shaken and then placed on a table, the sediment would gradually settle at the bottom.

Veronica’s heart was the same.

The experience of approaching death brought peace to her soul, tranquil and serene, like warm winter sunlight descending from the sky and leaving behind a lingering afterglow.

Veronica had never been so calm before.

The searing agony of the black flames had already receded into the distance, and sensation was gradually peeling away from her body.

She could feel herself becoming lighter, like a feather, like a wisp of smoke, drifting free from the body filled with madness.

Was death the crushing heaviness of overwhelming sleepiness, or the floating weightlessness of a soul finally set free?

Veronica wondered.

Perhaps it was not something that could be expressed with a few meager, solemn-sounding words.

But without a doubt, it was a kind of happiness. A profoundly deep happiness. It was setting foot on the journey home after endless painful hesitation and wandering. It was the correction of a terrible mistake. It was liberation from unbearable shackles and restraints.

Veronica remembered the sin she had been born with.

The mistakes she had committed countless times after succumbing to madness.

Friends she would never see again, toys torn to pieces, clansmen staring at her from pools of blood with terrified eyes, and the words “I’m sorry” that she would never be able to say.

Having lived until now, Veronica had no idea how many mistakes she had made.

It seemed like all she had ever done was regret things and make mistakes.

She had never once stopped.

Veronica thought about it.

‘Dying at the hands of Stella, who smelled like Mama, did not seem so bad.’

At least, the last thing she saw was long silver-red hair.

At least, before losing consciousness completely, what she smelled was that same familiar scent.

Mother’s scent.

Then Veronica felt something touch her forehead, leaving behind a soft, moist sensation.

It carried enough warmth to make something flow gently through her heart like a river, countless heart-lamps drifting downstream upon its waters, their trembling lights swaying.

Veronica had some memories that were not very concrete, more like a kind of scent.

She kept her eyes closed, completely at ease, believing that Mother was so very close, while she herself was surrounded by something impossible to describe.

She thought that it must be love.

No wonder everyone longed to be loved. That feeling truly was happiness. Her heart felt so full it seemed ready to swell.

Veronica’s heart finally grew quiet.

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She thought that she now belonged completely to Mother.

No matter what Mother did to her, she would not care, because a bad child like her needed to be watched over and punished.

But now…

She really wanted to hold Mother’s hand.

She really wanted to stroke Mother’s face.

She really wanted to nuzzle against Mother’s forehead, her hair, her back.

Ripples pulsed through her heart, writing the other person’s name in tears.

Mother.

Stella stood where she was and watched as the golden light gradually faded.

The charred wounds on Veronica’s body that had been deep enough to expose bone had completely healed. Her newly grown skin was fair and translucent, without even the slightest scar left behind.

Her faint breathing had also become steady and long.

She had won the gamble.

She really had forcibly dragged the Samael family’s precious only heir back from the gates of hell. Today’s mortal crisis could finally be considered resolved.

By all rights, Stella should have let out a long sigh of relief right now, or proudly planted her hands on her hips.

But instead, Stella was a little confused.

The Divine Blessing had worked, but the question was how exactly had it worked?

She raised her eyes and gazed at the eternal night sky of the Abyss.

In the Lord’s eyes, were demons and humans the same?

That couldn’t be right.

How could that be possible?

Stella only grew more confused.

From childhood until now, the Holy See’s scriptures had always stated it plainly in black and white.

Demons were humanity’s absolute mortal enemies, irreconcilable foes.

Over the course of thousands of years, the demons of the Abyss had launched massive invasions of the sacred surface world more than once.

Back when she was studying, Stella had read no small number of the Holy See’s historical records.

A few sparse lines of text, yet behind them lay rivers of blood.

Demon armies had broken through the defensive lines several times, breached the walls of the Holy City, and reduced the central city representing humanity’s faith to scorched earth. They had then enslaved humans and treated believers like livestock.

Meanwhile, generation after generation of humanity’s ancestors had thrown themselves into the struggle, bathed in the protection of Holy Light. Only after generations had piled up mountains of corpses and seas of blood did the iron hooves of the holy knight order finally trample across the ruins, driving the demons back into the Abyss with Holy Light. Humanity’s banner rose over the Holy City once more, the Pope was crowned, and the masses cheered.

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The war had never truly ended either. For centuries, demon armies had assaulted the Wall of Sighs again and again, while human knights repelled them time after time.

Not only that, every Pope throughout history had worn the triple crown and faced countless believers of the Holy See, proclaiming with absolute conviction.

Killing demons, killing pagans, and killing heretics absolutely did not count as committing evil.

It was not a sin. Rather, it was the highest glory of defending the faith, a great and virtuous deed that could send someone directly to heaven after death!

All along, demons had been synonymous with evil, filth that had to be purified.

Without question, this was the very foundation at the core of the Holy See’s rule and existence.

Stella had believed it without the slightest doubt at first.

But now?

Veronica’s Divine Blessing was like a resounding slap across her face.

Stella shuddered.

‘Stop, stop, stop!’

She suddenly realized that her current thoughts were no ordinary heresy anymore.

‘They were outright blasphemy that overturned Church doctrine!’

If the fanatical knights of the Judgment Tribunal learned about such treasonous speculation, she would absolutely be tied to a stake at the first possible opportunity and roasted with the purest holy flame for three whole days and nights until not even ashes remained!

She had to stop immediately.

Stella shook her head.

No matter what, as a Saintess, she was extremely devout. She could not entertain such blasphemous speculation.

‘Mm…’

At least Stella herself believed she was very devout.

She only occasionally stole a little of the Lord’s fine wine offerings, had only just eaten twenty-four colleagues clean down to nothing, and was merely living better and better in the Abyss to the point where she even thought demons tasted rather delicious.

Ultimately, once she completed the Inquisitor’s espionage mission, she was going to return triumphantly to the Holy City with a glorious record, get promoted and receive a raise, become a Cardinal, then enjoy the peak of power and a life of luxury.

A theological crisis?

What was the Lord thinking?

None of her business. If the sky fell, the Pope could hold it up.

She would just pretend what had happened earlier had never happened.

Stella took a deep breath and shoved all the chaotic thoughts in her mind back into a corner.

The most urgent matter now was to confirm Veronica’s condition and see whether the Lord had done anything to her.

The effects of a Divine Blessing varied from person to person.

Some believers received the power to heal, some received the protection of Holy Light, and some were simply…

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Looked at once by the Lord.

What had the Lord done to Veronica?

Stella crouched down and began examining her carefully.

Sure enough, a strange golden holy sigil had appeared directly in the center of Veronica’s neck.

It was a string of intricate ancient proverbs, joined end to end, circling perfectly around Veronica’s neck and converging above her collarbones into an exquisite floral knot.

“Words I can’t read.”

Stella poked the holy sigil.

There did not seem to be anything particularly unusual about it. It probably did not have much use either.

It was just…

Why did it look so much like the collar Lainia usually wore?

Although Lainia’s collar was a black iron ring, while Veronica’s was a pale-gold holy sigil.

The location was the same, and even the shape was fairly similar.

Twenty-four high-purity Chastisement spirits had sacrificed themselves in exchange for a holy sigil brand that looked like a dog collar?

The Lord’s taste really was rather unique.

Just as Stella was about to withdraw her hand, she suddenly felt the skin beneath her fingertip move slightly.

Stella listened to Veronica’s even breathing, like faint ripples spreading across the surface of a tranquil lake.

No way, right?

She woke up this quickly?

Stella instinctively took a few steps back, preparing to summon the Pale Sacred Remains to protect herself.

No matter how she looked at it, Veronica was still pretty dangerous. She had to stay on guard.

Soon, Stella saw Veronica’s butterfly-wing-like eyelashes tremble twice. Her pure golden eyes slowly opened beneath the night sky.

Her eyes were very bright.

Under the faint starlight, Stella could not even tell whether what she saw was the lingering gleam of their sharpness or a shimmering layer of tears.

Her gaze finally settled on the completely naked Stella standing before her.

Veronica blinked. She simply stared for a moment, then cautiously said.

“Mother.”

She said it very slowly, almost as if she were singing, her voice soft and gentle.

‘What is going on?’

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‘Why is the first thing she does after waking up to call me Mother?’

The two of them were both naked in the middle of nowhere, and the instant one of them opened her eyes, she called the other Mother. No matter how you looked at it, this scene was incredibly weird, okay!

‘Lord…’

‘Did Your Divine Blessing heal her body, or did You directly wash her brain clean?!’

‘Mm…’

‘Veronica’s brain did not seem normal to begin with?’

Just as Stella was complaining inwardly, the corner of her eye caught sight of something strange.

She lowered her eyes and looked at her hand.

At some point, a pure-gold translucent chain had extended from the exquisite floral knot of holy sigils above Veronica’s collarbones.

The chain hung suspended in midair.

Its other end was wrapped perfectly around Stella’s right hand.

It was thin and soft, yet no matter how Stella shook it, it refused to come off.

Stella froze.

She instinctively tugged backward.

The pure-gold chain went taut, and Veronica’s neck tilted forward with the pull as she obediently moved half a step closer.

“…”

Stella observed.

Stella fell silent.

For a moment, she could no longer tell dream from reality.

‘Could someone please tell me why the Lord’s Divine Blessing had bestowed a pet leash!?’

‘Lord…’

‘Just what in the world are You thinking?’

Translator Note

HAHAHAHA slave daughter obtained! xD

And yeah ngl the divine blessing thing seems to be the major plot of the novel?