Chapter 98:

Chapter 98:

“I have received a mission to serve the Light.”

Isolde stood at the door, reciting a short prayer.

Hesabel looked at her strangely for standing still, but Isolde paid her no mind.

“As before, grant me wisdom and patience moving forward, and help me fill my life with light. Assist me in serving you without tiring.”

With a firm resolve, she opened the door.

Inside, Isaac sat on the bed, his complexion pale. Yet, despite this, he was as beautiful as the first time she saw him.

As if the sight from last night was a lie.

Wondering how to start the conversation, Isolde decided to ask something she couldn’t help but wonder.

“Why did you apply flour to your face?”

At that, Isaac glared at Hesabel. He roughly wiped his cheek, muttering,

“I told you it was useless. Did you really think the inquisitor would fall for such a trick?”

“It worked up until now...”

Wiping his cheek, the pallor seemed to return to a normal color. Isolde burst into laughter upon realizing Isaac had been pretending to be sick.

“You didn’t need to go through such trouble. Lord Isaac, you already look frail enough. It hardly makes a difference.”

Hesabel glared at Isolde, but Isolde paid her no mind.

Though their plan to garner sympathy failed, it seemed to lighten the mood. Seeing Isolde laugh, Isaac thought she wasn’t about to attack him yelling, “You tentacle monster!”

Isaac gestured towards Hesabel.

“Step out for a moment.”

“Lord Isaac...”

“If you’re here, it might deepen misunderstandings. After all, what could happen that I couldn’t handle, that you would be able to stop?”

Hesabel grumbled but, knowing he was right, quietly stepped out. Before leaving, she pointed from her eyes to Isolde with two fingers, warning her.

Of course, Isolde seemed unfazed.

With Hesabel gone, Isolde spoke up.

“It seems you really do have control over her, as expected.”

“Yes. I was worried if she might have caused any trouble while I was unconscious.”

Before losing consciousness, Hesabel and Isolde were on the brink of a fight. Despite Hesabel’s often clumsy demeanor, she is the heir of the Wallachia Duke, with a number and power of kills that Isolde couldn’t match. Had a fight broken out, Isolde might have disappeared without a trace.

“She was a bit aggressive but complied in the end, especially while taking care of you...”

Isolde began to speak naturally but paused, seemingly recalling that moment.

Isaac felt it was time to discuss matters seriously.

“I imagine you were quite shocked at the time... but first, I want to thank you for not reporting me.”

“Before that, could I ask what exactly happened back then?”

Isaac had endlessly pondered how to excuse himself, but seeing Isolde’s demeanor, he felt confident enough to be honest. It was unclear whether it was a matter of life or death, but Isolde seemed to have postponed judging Isaac.

There might be a chance to persuade her.

“It was as you saw.”

“So, it really was...”

Isaac nodded.

“Yes, I am...”

“... indeed suffering from a peculiar curse of the undead order, causing my body to transform!”

Isaac nearly blurted out that he was using the power of the nameless chaos but swallowed the words just in time.

Looking hurriedly into Isolde’s eyes, it didn’t seem she was joking.

Isaac recalled the moment he revealed his tentacles in front of Isolde, his hands and eyes sprouting tentacles at the threshold of the netherworld portal opened by Al Duard, creating a bizarre scene.

‘Could she have misunderstood?’

Instead of eagerly agreeing and lying, Isaac opted for silence and a pained expression, thereby fueling Isolde’s imagination. People are often more deceived by their own imaginations than by others’ lies.

Isaac could deceive Isolde if he wanted to.

Fortunately, Isolde didn’t take half a day to respond.

“Sometimes, the miracles of God come in astonishing forms.”

Isaac looked at her, wondering what she was getting at.

“A mercenary sending children saved from battlefields to orphanages, a merchant selling food at low prices in famine-stricken areas, a mother who jumps into a fire to save her child and returns alive... I consider all these also miracles.”

“Are you saying this tentacle is a miracle?”

“Miracles don’t come only to save us from hardships. Sometimes... the hardship itself is the miracle. Like when Luadin wandered the lowest places and then stood at the stake.”

Isolde gripped Isaac’s hand firmly, not caring whether it had tentacles or not.

“You have already shown a miracle. Even in situations where ‘it’ could be easily misunderstood and miracles are hard to expect, you have done good and defended the weak. Unlike the priests who, despite performing miracles daily, don’t even glance at what’s under their feet!”

This time, Isaac was startled by Isolde’s unexpectedly radical words.

Her eyes were on Isaac’s hand, but it was clear she was seeing some past only she knew.

What she had seen during her time as an inquisitor.

Contrary to what Isaac might have thought, Isolde’s mind wasn’t a bed of roses.

“You don’t need to loudly proclaim your faith in the Codex of Light. There are already too many of those types. You are already living by the values and rules that should be protected. That’s enough!”

Isaac was taken aback by her words. He had planned to rely on sentiment, not a real miracle, but he hadn’t expected such an overflow of emotion.

Her logic was not that of an inquisitor.

‘Wait, does this mean I should be distancing myself from this crazy inquisitor?’

Isaac’s aim was to become a knight within the Codex of Light, to live well and eat well. Making Isolde an ally in the process was sufficient.

But to discover Isolde was such a radical...

“Inquisitor, please calm down for a moment...”

However, Isolde grasped Isaac’s hand even more firmly and said,

“Lord Isaac, you are undoubtedly a messenger sent by the Codex of Light to reestablish order!”

***

‘This is madness.’

After Isolde left, Isaac reflected on her for a moment.

It was clear Isolde did not follow the typical path of an inquisitor. Her infamy as an inquisitor was such that even Gebel openly despised it.

Yet, Isolde was sincere and upright.

Not exactly traits befitting an inquisitor.

Isaac thought this was due to her being from a noble house that ‘didn’t get its hands dirty’ with inquisitorial tasks. However, his view of Isolde changed today.

‘A reformer. And a quite radical one at that.’

Nobles are divided into those aligned with the church and those with the emperor.

Among them, the Brant ducal family is known for its deep piety. Was this solely her own will?

Isaac considered that unlikely. If the church were to undergo radical reforms, who would benefit?

‘Is this mingled with the intentions of the imperial faction nobles?’

Or was it genuine disappointment with the church?

Isaac couldn’t tell how purely Isolde wished for the church’s reform.

Just as Isolde chose not to accuse Isaac and to trust him, he also wanted to trust her.

Whether for practical reasons or personal ones.

Isaac recalled the moment when the afterlife overflowed through Al Duard’s spell.

When the world was crumbling, and the boundaries were blurring.

When his body, too, was filled with chaos, and tentacles overflowed.

Only Isolde remained unshaken, capable of pulling him back into the realm of order.

Isaac felt this was an important clue for his future.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read up to advance 20 chapters or support me, you can do it at /Akaza156