Chapter 16: Chapter 18

Passing through the teleport hall, my group, including myself, were able to move to the vicinity of Rohen in an instant.

Near Rohen, the soldiers of the Grand Duke who arrived ahead of us were camping.

“From here, it is difficult to move by carriage. We have to ride a horse. Will it be, okay?”

“…It’s okay not to ride a carriage, but I’m not used to horseback riding.”

Horseback riding? In my life, the word horse riding was a long way off.

In my words, Grand Duke smiled and opened his mouth.

“You can ride with me. If you’re okay with that?”

I nodded at the Grand Duke’s suggestion.

“Once again, I am giving you trouble.”

“What do you mean trouble? This is not much.”

The Grand Duke brought a black war horse with a cool smile.

Should I have just gone with Cardinal Eustaf?

Seeing the warhorse made me regret it a little. It was a bit intimidating compared to an ordinary horse.

In particular, the Grand Duke’s horse was enormous compared to the other soldiers.

“You don’t have to be afraid. Yvette is gentle with people he likes.”

“Will Yvette like me?”

“Of course. Excuse me for a moment.”

The Grand Duke grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up onto the Yvette without me answering.

I was taken aback for a moment, but the Grand Duke followed and quickly climbed onto the horse. Thanks to that, I quickly regained my composure.

“Let’s head Rohen”

At the Grand Duke’s, a significant number of troops began to move in unison.

Soon they quickly entered Rohen.

I looked around in dismay.

“What in the world is this?”

I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

“Didn’t you say that the temple’s troops headed first?”

“That’s right, but what’s going on here?”

Confusion quickly spread over Cardinal Eustaf’s face.

My heart started beating wildly.

At that time, the rough palms of the Grand Duke touched my shoulders.

“We can’t confirm anything right now. Let’s search for survivors first.”

Right. As the Grand Duke said, nothing can be said yet.

The Grand Duke divided his forces and began to search.

I also participated in the village search while riding Yvette with the Grand Duke.

However, the more I searched, the dizzier my head became.

The whole town was dyed red.

My lips are dry.

“First of all, … Let’s listen to the soldiers’ reports.”

I nodded stiffly.

“Report it.”

At the Grand Duke’s words, the soldiers began to talk about what they had seen.

“The whole village is in a state of destruction.”

“No survivors have been identified.”

“There’s no trace of the demons either. There are traces of battle all over the village, so it seems they had already been subdued.”

“Subdued?”

The Grand Duke’s eyebrows crumpled.

“Then the temple seems to have taken care of it.”

“During the search, we found a group of what appeared to be paladins around the mansion in the mountains.”

If it’s a mansion in the mountains, then it must be my house.

The paladin is there. Maybe people fled there.

Perhaps the Grand Duke was thinking the same thing as me, he said with a hard expression on his face.

“Let’s go there.”

As the soldier said, my house was being used as the headquarters of the subjugation team from the temple side.

What if there are no survivors?

The bad results disturbed my mind.

“Who is it?”

As the Grand Duke’s troops approached, the paladins guarding the mansion showed caution.

“Lower your sword.”

“… Cardinal Eustaf!”

“Why are you here….”

“I am where Vishna’s will be. These are the men under the Grand Duke, so please step aside.”

At Cardinal Eustaf’s order, the Paladins hesitated for a moment and then got out of the way.

Me and the Grand Duke got off Yvette and entered the mansion.

The inside of the mansion was a mess.

And I found her.

Emily, hiding under the table and shaking her body like an aspen tree.

“Emily!”

Oh my gosh. she is alive

I frowned and ran to Emily.

“Oh, lady?”

Emily turned her head when she heard my voice.

Emily’s eyes were empty when I saw her first. It was as if her soul had escaped.

However, her eyes came back to life when she made eye contact with me. Then the child began to sob uncontrollably.

“Ugh! I was so, so scared…!”

I wrapped my arms around her trembling body.

How scared this child must have been?

I quietly wiped Emily’s back, waiting for her to stop crying.

‘The survivors… Is it only Emily?’

When I looked around the mansion while soothing Emily, I couldn’t find a single villager.

Don’t tell me other people are….

I closed my mouth and hugged Emily tightly.

“Oh, my. Finally, the girl has come to her senses.

Someone’s gentle voice spoke to me and Emily.

I turned my head and looked at the owner of the voice.

“You are….”

“Hello! I am called Rondell, who holds the office of a bishop despite my humble ability.”

It was a voice that did not match his appearance and age.

I asked, looking at Bishop Rondell with a hardened face.

“What happened?”

A shadow cast over Bishop Rondell’s face when I asked.

“As you might have guessed… We are one step behind.”

“What do you mean you’re late? Bishop Rondell.”

Cardinal Eustaf questioned Bishop Rondell as if he were angry.

“Oh, my. Calm down. Cardinal. We couldn’t help it either.”

“Couldn’t help it?”

“The demons appeared sooner than expected. We also wanted to reduce the damage as much as possible, but when we arrived….”

Bishop Rondell looked at Emily with a sad look.

“Fortunately, that girl went to pick herbs in a neighboring village when the tragedy broke out in the village. Thanks to that, she was able to live.”

“Crying…”

Emily dug deeper into my arms.

I patted Emily like that without saying a word.

Listening to the bishop, Emily seemed to be the only survivor.

‘Why is this happening….’

I bit my lips hard.

By the time a fishy scent lingered in my mouth, the voice of cardinal Eustaf woke me up.

“Adelia-nim. Our first priority is to check the condition of the girl.”

“… okay. Let’s go to my bedroom. Are you also using the bedrooms?”

I asked Bishop Rondell in a stiff voice.

“Oh no. I didn’t know this mansion belonged to Sister Adelia. First of all, I apologize for the unauthorized use. I’ll vacate your room right away.”

“I apologize. Please empty the room first.”

At my urging, Bishop Rondell ordered his men to vacate the bedroom.

I ran into Hestine coming out of the bedroom.

“Oh, Adelia? Why are you here….”

“Did you come all the way here to torment Hestine? That’s really awful.”

Berkian, the successor of Duke Valkyr following Hestine from the bedroom, spoke in a thorny voice.

I swallowed a laugh and replied coldly.

“This is my home. Rather, I think you are the uninvited guest.”

Embarrassment spread across Berkian’s face.

He immediately shouted angrily.

“Uninvited guest!? You should be thankful we came to save this worthless village…”

“And this is the result?”

Unbeknownst to me, there was anger in my voice.

This time, not only Berkian but also Hestine’s complexion turned dark.

“Ha!”

“B, brother…. stop…this is enough….”

The corners of Hestine’s eyes were wet. At this, Berkian praised Hestine with an exaggerated voice and shot a sharp gaze at me.

“Oh, Hestine…. As expected, you’re sweet. I should learn from you.”

I was annoyed by the skit that wasn’t even funny.

Hestine was not the one who could shed tears now.

“Get out of the way.”

“…Your Highness.”

The two siblings’ skit ended in front of the Grand Duke.

“Now that the owner of the mansion is back, you have to be polite.”

“… Now that I think of it, there is still work to be done. Hestine and I will leave now.”

At the sight of the overbearing Grand Duke, Berkian lowered his tail and fled as if running away.

Hestine hastily followed after Berkian.

“Let’s go in.”

“… thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

I quickly went into the bedroom with Emily in my arms and laid her on the bed.

“Oh, lady?”

Emily was anxious and called me in a low voice.

I smiled, trying to prevent my face from hardening with regret.

“Don’t worry. He’s just trying to check if you have injuries.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, little lady. It won’t hurt.”

Emily, who saw the gentle face of cardinal Eustaf, nodded with difficulty.

When Emily gave permission, cardinal Eustaf put his hand on Emily’s forehead.

Soon, a bright light spread out of his hand.

I waited patiently for the results.

“Fortunately, she didn’t get hurt anywhere. She is healthy except for a little dehydration.”

At the diagnosis of cardinal Eustaf, I was able to relax my shoulders.

“That’s a relief.”

“But we have to let her rest for a while.”

I nodded.

I was thinking of doing that anyway.

At that time, Emily, who was lying silent, asked a question in a low voice.

“Lady… Where’s my mom?’

“Emily….”

“What about the village chief? And where is Uncle Harman in the vineyard? I have to pay the grapes back to Uncle Harman….”

I couldn’t give any answer.

Because I was scared to tell the truth, ‘The villagers are all dead.’

“For now, let’s get some sleep.”

“But….”

“Don’t worry. When you wake up… It’s going to be okay.”

I sighed in a situation where I had no choice but to lie.

“Really? Then… Just a little bit… I’m going to sleep….”

Emily’s eyelids closed completely.

Soon after, a gentle breath came out of Emily.

I looked down at Emily, who had fallen asleep for a while.

“Are you okay? You look pretty tired too.”

“If you’re tired, I’ll bless you.”

Grand Duke Hamilton and Cardinal Eustaf said in a worried voice for me.

I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“No, now I’m just a little… I want to rest.”

The two men left without saying a word.

I gently stroked Emily’s forehead as she slept

How should I explain this?

I grew up as an orphan. So, I am well aware of the impact that parental absence can cause.

If I hadn’t possessed this body, this would not have happened.

Even though I knew it wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t stop blaming myself.

I take responsibility for Emily….

I don’t know if I can do it, but I couldn’t abandon Emily like this.

“I need to see if the mansion is okay.”

Even if it was built solidly, it was impossible to know when it would collapse if attacked by a monster.

I got up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom.

The inside of the mansion was quieter than before.

While wandering around the mansion and checking if it was okay, I reached the far end of the second floor.

Fortunately, there seems to be no problem inside.

As soon as I was about to turn around to look around the outside of the mansion, a familiar voice caught my ear.

“Are you really okay with this?”