Chapter 125: Marie and Louis
Sue woke up in darkness. She sat up, wiping the sweat from her tangled hair.
The fever medicine seemed to have worked, her body felt light, and her mind was clear.
It wasn’t a cold.
She stretched and exhaled, feeling refreshed, when she heard a voice next to her.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I’m…”
She had assumed it was Noel and was about to answer casually, but her voice trailed off.
To her surprise, it wasn’t Raines Noel sitting next to her bed, it was Woo Acrea, his face emotionless.
“I’m glad you look better.”
“Master Acrea, what are you doing here…?”
Sue asked timidly, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
“I have something to ask you, Byron.”
“Ask me?”
Where was Noel? When had Acrea arrived? Had he been waiting for her to wake up? What did he want to ask her?
“The chapel. You’re not going back there, are you?”
An unexpected question came out of Acrea’s mouth.
Sue stared at him blankly, blinking slowly. His expression remained unchanged.
He came all the way here just to ask her that?
She had clearly told Acrea on the day of the minor pilgrimage that she wouldn’t investigate the chapel anymore. But perhaps he hadn’t been convinced by her answer back then, because it seemed like her answer was of utmost importance to him now.
‘Tell him you’re not going back.’
The warm air around Acrea was comforting, even refreshing, but Sue didn’t notice.
She stared at his indifferent platinum eyes for a long time, then smiled, like a broken clockwork.
Sue didn’t understand Woo Acrea’s sudden intentions, but she was a woman who could give him the answer he wanted a hundred times over.
So she simply said,
“Yes, of course.”
***
Of course, she had lied to him. Sue was currently standing at the entrance to the chapel, boldly writing “Marie” in the register.
She wasn’t going to be intimidated by Woo Acrea’s strange threat, no matter how powerful his brother was.
“Hmm, so this is the Holy Demon Religion chapel. Filthy place.”
Jean was with her, as planned.
He was standing three rows behind her, his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning the chapel.
His hair was tied back carelessly, he was wearing an old slouch hat pulled low over his face, and his chin was covered with a hideous fake beard. He looked like a beggar.
Sue, after finishing writing her name, handed the register to the next person. She waited for Jean a short distance away. But the female follower, who had always been in charge of the register, recognized Sue and greeted her cheerfully.
“Follower Marie, you’re back!”
She seemed more relaxed than before, perhaps because she had been fired from her register duty or promoted.
“Are you here alone today?”
She asked, looking around Sue. She seemed to be looking for “Louis,” Marie’s childhood friend, her memory quite good. Sue answered casually,
“Louis is sick today.”
“Oh my! Is it serious?”
She asked worriedly, her hand covering her mouth.
“No, of course not. It’s just a summer cold.”
“Oh my! That’s a relief!”
She believed Sue’s blatant lies without a doubt.
“The High Priest is waiting for follower Louis. Please tell him that, follower Marie!”
“Of course, I’ll be sure to tell Louis.”
Sue smiled brightly, pretending to be kind. She felt no burden whatsoever. She could make up whatever she wanted about Louis, who wouldn’t be coming back to the chapel. After all, his life was a fabrication.
“Liar.”
“Haha, it’s not a…”
Sue’s flippant voice abruptly stopped.
“Oh my…”
The female follower gasped softly, her gaze slowly rising.
Sue couldn’t ignore the chilling presence behind her. She hid the goosebumps on her arms under her clenched fist and turned around.
“Lou-is?”
It was a tearful reunion. A touching moment. Marie’s childhood friend, Louis, was still alive.
The clueless female follower nodded cheerfully.
“Oh my! You’re all better now, aren’t you, follower Louis!”
“Yes, I took my medicine.”
Louis’s face was devoid of anger. As if even anger was a luxury, he just smiled at Marie, who was frozen in place, his expression unchanged.
“Marie, why did you come alone? Without telling me.”
“….”
Sue remained silent, but Acrea waited for an answer. To make matters worse, Jean, having finished writing his name in the register, was walking towards them. Sue closed her eyes.
She grabbed Acrea’s arm and pulled him away. A strained smile, like a broken clockwork, appeared on her face.
“Louis, let’s talk over there.”
***
Acrea didn’t resist and followed her obediently. They stood face to face in the cobweb-infested corner of the stairwell.
Inhaling the musty air of the basement stairs, she felt like everything had gone back to square one. But the situation was different now. Very different.
“…Master Acrea, didn’t you say you were dropping the Holy Demon Religion case?”
Sue asked, touching her neck, instead of answering “Louis’” question.
“Byron, I asked you first, didn’t I?”
Unlike before, Acrea didn’t let her off the hook. Sue, her gaze fixed on the raven pendant dangling from his wrist, mumbled,
“I’m… worried.”
“Worried about what? Lady Vava? Or your maid?”
“…Both.”
It was a halfhearted answer, but Acrea seemed to accept it, slowly closing his eyes.
“Okay, I believe you. It’s none of my business anyway.”
“….”
Sue’s body went limp.
She felt pathetic for being intimidated by Woo Acrea, even though she knew he would never get angry at her.
‘He’s the one who lied.’
She grumbled inwardly.
Acrea had clearly told her that he was dropping the investigation because he hadn’t found any trace of illegal magic in the Holy Demon Religion. But the fact that he was back here, dressed in rags, meant that he had lied.
She felt a little resentful that he was acting like she was the only one at fault, so she asked,
“Why are you back, Master Acrea?”
Despite her prickly, shameless tone, Acrea calmly stroked the raven pendant on his wrist.
“I heard the high priest’s words. So I’m thinking of continuing to attend the Holy Demon Religion.”
“What?”
Had she heard him correctly?
Acrea smiled faintly, confirming that she had.
“Byron, the Holy Demon Religion seems like a really good place.”
She couldn’t tell if he was lying or telling the truth.
“Coming here, I feel like I’ve finally found my role.”
The same words, the same tone as Melaine.
“Ah…”
Sue, sensing that the situation was more serious than she had anticipated, quickly lowered her gaze. Cold sweat trickled down her back. She asked urgently,
“Are you serious?”
Had he been brainwashed? No way?
That was all she could think of. But it was Acrea himself who had said that the high priest wasn’t using brainwashing magic.
Then he had simply been swayed by the Holy Demon Religion, without any manipulation? That Woo Acrea?
‘Or… maybe he was already brainwashed before he said that.’
The silver raven on Acrea’s white wrist seemed unusually tarnished today.
Acrea answered immediately, without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the question.
“Of course, Marie, I always tell the truth. You know that.”
***
Sue entered the main hall, her heart heavy, and headed for the Fifth class seats. Acrea was sitting in the Second section, waiting for the service to begin. She felt conflicted.
She quickly found Jean in the crowded Fifth class. He was the only one with bright mint hair in this sea of people.
“Su-… No, Marie.”
Jean greeted her cheerfully. He had saved a seat for her, knowing she would come.
“What happened?”
He asked, tilting his head, seeing Sue plop down on the seat without a word.
He had seen Sue hurriedly leave the chapel with a suspicious man after submitting the register. He had thought about following them, but he had given up, sensing that something was going on.
Sue covered her eyes with her hand and replied,
“Louis came.”
“Aha…”
He understood the situation from that single, exasperated word. Sue had told him everything that had happened before they came to the chapel.
Jean nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on “Louis” in the distance.
“Why is he here?”
“He said he likes the Holy Demon Religion.”
Sue retorted curtly, not wanting to think about it any further.
Everyone who came here seemed to be swayed by the Holy Demon Religion. At this point, it was a wonder that Sue hadn’t fallen for it.
Jean pondered her words, then said,
“Hmm, what’s gotten into him? Did he suddenly find religion?”
“…What do you think?”
“About what?”
Sue, frustrated by his cluelessness, whispered,
“About magic. Can you sense anything?”
“Well… It’s subtle…”
Subtle? What’s subtle?
“I’m a genius mage, so I wouldn’t be affected even if they used hypnosis magic… Hmm… It’s subtle…”
But no matter how much Sue pressed him, Jean just tilted his head, unable to give her a definitive answer.
The service began before she could interrogate him further.
This week’s service was simple. Since they had just completed the minor pilgrimage last week, the high priest only recited a short prayer today. They didn’t even hold the Saint ceremony, so Rampleld and Melaine didn’t appear.
But they still held the “soul level measurement.” Jean, who had been complaining about how boring the service was for a cult, finally stopped grumbling.