Chapter 48

“Well, it’s only a guess. The rumors people are talking about are also based on reality to some extent.”

The first Head of Valentine was once loved by God.

And there was a time when Grand Duke Valentine was revered not as a symbol of evil, but as a hero.

“You probably didn’t know. What happened back then is no longer in the records.”

God trusted Valentine.

So God gave him an oracle.

“When the day of salvation comes, he will judge the human world himself.”

And God specifically ordered.

When the day of salvation came, he was ordered to go down to hell and annihilate the devil, the source of evil.

“But instead of annihilating the devil, he succumbs to the devil’s temptation.”

He betrayed God’s expectations and summoned the devil to this land before the day of salvation came.

Even sold his soul to the devil.

“Actually, it was because he was afraid of being saved by God. He didn’t want to leave the human world and go to God’s side, and he didn’t want to let go of worldly things.”

He had a lot of regrets in this world.

The land, power, and wealth he cultivated.

The praise for being a hero.

It was for absolutely human reasons.

“God was deeply disappointed, and God decided not to engage with humans any longer. And Valentine was forced to live their life accepting the curse for the sin of freeing the devil and opening the gates of hell.”

After sitting quietly and listening to all the stories, Aria came to one conclusion.

[God was wrong.]

“What?”

Vincent asked as if he didn’t expect Aria to react like that.

“Why do you think so?”

[Why entrust such an important task to humans? What you can do.]

“That’s… that’s true.”

Why was it?

Vincent reacted as if he hadn’t thought of it that way.

[If the first Head has laid the foundation, God will rule the land and suck the honey.]

It came out again, a sharp tone.

‘Suck honey*.’

He was about to burst out laughing.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Where else did you learn those words?”

Vincent began to be very curious about the next piece of Aria’s writing.

[And the reward was to leave all the precious connections in the human world and go to God’s side. Then what about family and friends? They will be judged by God too.]

Of course, he didn’t think of it that far.

Family.

Vincent deeply sympathized with that.

As he tried to get his birth mother out of the gutter.

“Come to think of it, that’s true. All his family could go to hell.”

Aria then held out her card seriously.

[And how do you know if God will make you do it again? If you follow the orders diligently, then get the honey sucked again? I think I’ll just go on strike after just getting to taste it.]

“Puhaha!”

Ah really.

He couldn’t help but burst out laughing out loud in the end.

“You’re really blaspheming.”

[Because I’m Valentine.]

“Yes. You’re absolutely Valentine.”

Anyway, Aria seemed to understand why this story didn’t go public.

Because it was a story that the people of Garcia would seriously believe.

‘It’s like someone made up a novel.’

An instructive story to be recorded in the temple.

Aria’s reaction was overly sarcastic because she thought so in her heart.

Vincent seemed to have guessed her thoughts.

“It’s better to filter the stories that are passed down because it’s bound to be adapted. If you look at the facts here, it’s like this.”

Vincent summed up the conclusion.

“Valentine’s ‘devil malice’ is passed down from generation to generation on the direct bloodline. Also known as the curse.”

Aria nodded her head.

“As a result, it has irrevocably corrupted Valentine.”

Even animals that are so huge that you think they are monsters.

Even the residents of the estate who are strong at a mutative level with being immune to any poison.

Parasites that survive even if they are roasted in a fire and kill people .

“It’s all a product of corruption.”

Aria tilted her head.

‘I understand what you mean, but wouldn’t it be good if the body was strong enough to be immune to poison?’

If money could buy such a body, the nobles would give their entire fortune.

[I don’t know if corruption is bad just hearing about it.]

“That’s because it’s all been purified.”

[Purified?]

“The divine power can periodically purify malice to keep it at this level.”

Vincent said as if he remembered it too late.

“Come to think of it, a priest apprentice from Garcia will come soon.”

Oh, that’s why.

Aria was belatedly able to understand the conversation the priests had that day.

“If Valentine’s curse corrupts more, it’s their loss after all. It’s an unavoidable symbiosis.”

It was Vincent’s conclusion that no one knew what the consequences would be if the ‘devil’s malice’ was further corrupted here.

“It may lead to the destruction of the world.”

Aria heard those words and thought.

‘In other words, Valentine is like a time bomb that is unknown when or where it will go.’

This was the reason why even the emperor couldn’t touch it carelessly.

She could only vaguely guess, but after hearing the clear explanation, it felt like she could grasp it more.

Finally Aria found out the secret of Valentine that she had wanted to know for so long.

And the solution too.

[Then it will be over when we completely purify the devil’s malice.]

“Of course, that’s true, isn’t it?”

Vincent’s response was, “Who can do what the Pope couldn’t do?”

“Who doesn’t know that? But it’s impossible. If it could be completely purified, why would Valentine have suffered for hundreds of years?”

Aria thought.

‘Because I wasn’t there back then.’

It was Aria who, with her healing song, did a complete treatment that even the Pope could not do.

Unless they die, she cures all ailments.

It was the reason her song was called a miracle, and also why she was feared, contained, and attacked in the Holy Empire.

‘And among those with such powers, there would have been no one who was as persistent as me to break the curse.’

So she could.

[I can.]

“How?”

[Somehow.]

“You don’t seem to have anything planned for it.”

But it was weird.

Since Aria says it’s possible, he really thinks it would be.

He thought it was possible that such a miraculous thing could happen.

‘Like that one day when she appeared like a warrior carrying the judgment of God.’

It was later he learned that the relic came from the shaman Carlin, but Vincent did not believe it.

To be honest, he doesn’t think anyone with Valentine’s surname would believe it.

‘There are only fools.’

Vincent let out a smirk.

If they had a personality like him, they would have dug up and investigated what secret Aria was hiding sooner….

“If sister-in-law says so, I guess.”

But he didn’t want to argue.

He just wanted to watch.

He simply trusted and supported Aria entirely.

***

“Good morning, Young Madam.”

Aria rubbed her eyes and stood up.

A girl who looked to be about sixteen woke her up.

She said good morning in a mutter with a spaced out expression.

‘Young Madam?’

It was the first name she ever heard.

So, is Sabina the Elder Madam?

‘Kind of cute.’

The employees must have put their heads together and thought hard about the titles of the two Madams.

‘Elder Madam, Young Madam.’

Aria smiled unknowingly.

Then the girl’s eyes, who had been staring at her as if possessed, became more hazy.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

Aria realized later.

‘Oh, I don’t wear a rabbit mask anymore.”

Aria groped her empty face.

Since she took off her mask, Gina and everyone she meets has a face like that.

‘At first, I thought it was shocking to see something so ugly… ‘

She was mistaken because of her past memories.

However, she soon found out that it wasn’t.

Because everyone gathered and praised her.

‘Did they say that it was like a mysterious appearance, reminiscent of fairy tales?’

At first she thought they were joking, but it turned out to be real.

Even Vincent, who doesn’t say empty words even if being beaten to death, looks at Aria’s face and says, ‘as expected, she’s a face genius**’.

‘I still can’t believe it.’

Aria waved her hand in front of the stone-hardened girl’s eyes.

“Gasp!”

She came to her senses belatedly.

[Who are you?]

Then the girl hurriedly grabbed the end of her skirt and bent her knee.

“My name is Marronnier. I am going to serve the Young Madam in the future.”

Then, Dana, who approached, added an explanation.

“She’s a kid who was framed and kicked out the other day. Fortunately, the criminal was turned in to the Knights Order, so she was able to get rid of the false accusation and come back.”

It was something she had heard of somewhere.

‘No way…..’

*) A slang for when you take benefit or advantage of something, self-explanatory actually :p

**) A term for someone who is very beautiful or gorgeous or handsome, [like your face is talented (gosh that makes no sense)]