A Shadow Cast in Paradise - Chapter 24

When Eclas stared at him intently, Sched furrowed his brow.

“What’s the matter?”

His purple eyes reflected a subtle and cautious anticipation.

He seemed to be hoping it might be news that Riana Serpens had awakened.

Eclas opened his mouth, imagining if he might fall victim to that blade for not bringing good news.

“Personal training is a very good thing, but there’s something important I’d like to discuss.”

Eclas’s words meant, let’s stop now and go inside.

At that, Sched glared at Eclas fiercely before looking away.

He irritably sheathed his sword and gathered the clothes he had taken off.

“…When you’re ready, I’ll send someone. Come up to my room.”

Sched said that and left with heavy steps as if he would sink into the ground.

[This is the timeline separator]

A room that had somehow become neatly arranged.

On a desk temporarily placed by the bed, various records including maps and histories of Ideana were piled up in disarray.

Next to it was a three-person sofa that looked a bit small for Sched Lester to lie on, and on top of it was a folded blanket with no signs of use.

The biggest issue was that temporary bed placed next to the desk.

The bed where Riana Serpens lay, which had been drawing all of Sched Lester’s attention.

“Ahem.”

When Eclas cleared his throat, the purple gaze that had been fixed on the bed turned to him.

Only then did he seem to realize he had been discussing heretics with Eclas.

“Don’t worry. I intend to deal with the heretics by any means necessary.”

Sched Lester muttered through gritted teeth.

Surprisingly, his declaration was quite convincing. He was grinding his teeth with eyes that looked like he wanted to kill heretics right away.

All the scattered materials on the desk must be traces of him digging through everything all night to find out about heretics.

After Riana was injured, he began gathering and searching through all possible materials on black magic and heresy.

When he got frustrated looking at documents, he would swing his sword, and when he wanted to find answers while swinging his sword, he would go back to rifling through documents and records.

For three days, he did everything he could.

But.

“Count Lester. I admire your passion, but we know nothing about black magic.”

He pointed out Sched Lester’s irrational impulse.

As he said, Sched Lester was a reliable guardian.

There was also a belief that with Sched Lester, they could stop the heretics.

But that was only when Sched Lester possessed his usual cold rationality and excellent intuition.

‘The current Sched Lester is dangerous.’

Eclas looked at Lupus, who was precariously perched on the edge of the chair.

His eyelids were deeply shadowed as if sunken, and his lips were dry like someone anxious.

Third day. He hadn’t slept a wink.

Even during conversations, he would roll his bloodshot eyes to glance at the bed from time to time.

To tell the truth, Eclas doubted if he was properly focusing on this conversation.

Even that talk about heretics just now seemed like he was talking to himself.

The current Sched Lester looked somewhat precarious.

It seemed as if that massive Lupus might also plunge into a distant abyss if the faint breath coming from that bed were to suddenly stop.

“Weren’t you also affected by the heretic’s magic? We can’t move rashly until we accurately grasp their abilities.”

Eclas slowly brought Sched’s thoughts back to their original track.

At that, Sched lowered his eyelids and bit his lip.

“Right now we only have one priest. And even he is ignorant about heresy.”

“…Truly a talent bestowed upon Ideana by His Imperial Majesty.”

Sched muttered.

With his sarcastic tone, it was hard to tell if the “talent” he spoke of meant human resource or human disaster.

Eclas could sympathize with either interpretation.

It was true that the priest assigned by the imperial court was incompetent in this situation.

He was a novice who had only become an official priest 3 years ago.

They brought him because he specialized in purifying the land of Ideana, but he was not at all reliable in responding to black magic, setting up protective barriers, or healing.

‘Even when the heretic came, he just trembled.’

When deep darkness engulfed the group and Sched was facing the heretic, the priest was crouched trembling, clinging tightly to the carriage.

The priest who had left the monastery only a few years ago must have grown up pampered by people.

At best, he would have treated the wounded in the safest rear areas, deluding himself that he was in the thick of war.

Without ever experiencing the position of those whose lives hung in the balance.

That’s the flaw of talented individuals who graduated from prestigious monasteries but lack practical experience.

‘His Imperial Majesty must have been reluctant to give Lupus a capable priest.’

Eclas felt sorry for the duke who was fidgeting with his interlocked fingers anxiously.

What a pitiful man. To be treated like that even after obtaining a duke’s title and saving the emperor’s life.

“I received a reply that the Grand Temple will send more priests. They said they’ll send a high priest too.”

“A high priest… who could it be…?”

“It didn’t say who, but it should be helpful. If there are no problems, they’ll arrive tomorrow or the day after.”

Sched Lester answered in a relatively calm voice, then pressed his throbbing temples with his fingertips.

Eclas saw thousands of thoughts rapidly spinning in his head.

He could almost hear the sound of his mind churning.

With a mind that hadn’t properly slept, he was endlessly pondering how to eliminate the heretics.

“When the high priest arrives, we might be able to track the heretics. No need to waste time struggling for days to complete a single protective barrier.”

“So, about that. It seems the arrival of the goods the merchant group agreed to send will be delayed by a few days. And just in case, in preparation for the possibility that holy power healing might not be possible, medical supplies and first aid items…”

Bang!

At that moment, a huge explosion interrupted Eclas’s words.

Startled, Eclas looked at the window, and Sched’s head reflexively turned towards the bed.

Realizing the explosion came from outside, the two stood up and rushed out.

“Kyaa!”

“Everyone, take cover!”

“Step back!”

The place where people’s screams were coming from.

In the distance, the annex of Ideana was collapsing.

[This is the timeline separator]

Riana opened her eyes with pain that felt like it was tearing through her body.

Her head throbbed and her vision was blurry.

Above all, the sharp pain stabbing her abdomen scattered her thoughts.

She tried to recall what had happened.

When they entered Paradel, everything went dark, and Sched…

Then, in her hazy vision, she saw purple eyes.

“Sched…?”

As she frowned to see more clearly, an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“Nice to meet you, Ideana.”

At that voice, Riana’s mind snapped to attention.

Forgetting even the pain, she sat up to see a robed man standing beside the bed.

“You…!”

Riana could tell he was a heretic without even seeing his face.

She could feel a clear aura of black magic from him.

Where was Sched? What happened to everyone?

“Sched…!”

“Shh. It would be troublesome if you called for people. Unless you want me to kill them again.”

He gently moved his fingers in the air as if playing a harp.

Then, from his fingertips, a black aura spread and quickly disappeared.

Riana closed her mouth at that.

The pain in her abdomen made her thoughts scattered.

‘He said it would be troublesome if I called for people… He came to find me secretly.’

The others are still safe.

And to keep others from getting involved, she needs to cooperate with the heretic.

“Looks like you’re in terrible shape? You couldn’t have ended up like this just from being stabbed by a sword… Did you foolishly receive treatment from a priest?”

The heretic spoke in a light tone as if humming and then laughed.

Even a stab wound from a sword would have been a minor injury that Riana could quickly regenerate.

It shouldn’t have been a serious enough injury to leave her bedridden for days.

However, the holy power of priests is fatal to those with heretical powers.

The holy power poured out by the priest for healing had instead become poison to her.

“Who exactly are you…?”

Riana asked while pressing down on her aching waist.

“You’re Ideana, right?”

Instead of answering, the heretic asked Riana.

At that, Riana’s eyes wavered.

“There’s no way I could forget your face. After all, it’s thanks to you that I ended up like this.”

“How… how can you be alive?”

“Why? Are you a bit flustered because you thought you killed everyone, but that’s not the case?”

As the heretic’s eyes gleaming under the robe curved mischievously, her pale face showed agitation.

A vivid red scene began to clarify in her hazy mind.

“No, I didn’t mean to kill…”

It wasn’t my intention. I just…

Her stomach churned. Riana just kept shaking her head like a fool.

“Liar. You deliberately killed all the other test subjects. Because you wanted that power all to yourself.”

“No! I, I was just afraid.”

Riana covered her ears at the heretic’s whisper.

At that, the heretic sneered at her.

“Afraid? Are you joking?”

He didn’t believe her excuse.

“What on earth could you possibly be afraid of?”

The heretic gently removed her hands covering her ears.

“With power like yours, it would be simple to bring down this empire, wouldn’t it?”

Purple eyes tinged with dark madness stared at her.

He knew.

The potential that Louise Ideana possessed.

The powerful force that brought down this place, Ideana.