Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 98

“The witches’ magic is obviously something the witches would know best. Especially with teleportation spell—there are traces left behind that witches can easily track. Find out and bring him back. If Rubel dies, I’ll have your head no matter what. As for the family, we can just hand it over to Silverton.”

Even so, mentioning that incompetent cousin’s name was too much.

Magnus might be a bit lacking compared to Rubel, but he was still better than that fool.

Blood streamed down, tinting his vision red. Magnus wiped the blood with the back of his hand and realized his father was serious.

Magnus suddenly thought that his father had planned to discard him from the start, and this was just a convenient way to push him out by blaming his mistakes. But he wasn’t foolish enough to say such a thing to his furious father, so he quietly limped out of the room.

Soon, a priest waiting outside used divine power to heal his wounds, and Magnus mounted a horse with the people assigned to monitor and assist him in finding the brother he had tried to kill.

The weather was disgustingly perfect for such a twisted day.

***

Eir quietly opened her eyes.

The nightmare of being eaten by a lion last night had been so vivid that she woke up feeling cautious.

She looked around, checking if the dream was really over and if this was indeed reality.

‘No. Reality is worse. That means I’ve fallen into a world where Rubel Shinote is watching me with wide, piercing eyes.’

Eir shuddered momentarily.

Compared to what had actually happened last night, the nightmare seemed almost cute in comparison.

‘I really want to stab you too.’

If Rubel’s whisper was less terrifying than being devoured by a lion, could her feelings be somewhat understood?

Looking back, it might have just been the desperate flailing of a man who couldn’t perform, but why had it been so terrifying?

Was it truly the dignity of the mad dog of the Divine Empire?

‘This is ultimately a battle of initiative, Eir.’

Eir suddenly slapped her own cheek and shook her head, snapping out of it. She kept being dragged around by a man, losing battles she had started herself. She needed to pull herself together, sleep with Rubel Shinote, and then run away.

But as soon as she thought that, the door clicked open, and Eir quickly pulled the blanket over herself, pretending to be asleep.

Rubel looked at the blanket, still deflating like a balloon, and let out a hollow laugh.

“Get up. We’re going to the mountains.”

Maybe he’s planning to bury me there.

Eir rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear. The sound of the cold air settling under the blanket was embarrassingly loud.

Rubel stood with his arms crossed, tilting his head.

“Not getting up? You said you wanted to go yesterday. To the mountains.”

Had she said that?

Too much had happened in a day, and she hadn’t had time to collect her thoughts.

Eir blinked and slowly sat up.

Rubel found it oddly endearing to see her pretending not to notice, and it didn’t irritate him.

“Me?”

“You said you wanted to gather herbs in the mountains. Come on, let’s go.”

He handed her something—a thick red notebook filled with scraps of information. Eir quickly reached out and took it, flipping through the pages.

Inside were detailed notes on the effects, uses, and appearances of various herbs that Grandpa Fromm had collected over the years. She had never been interested in such things before, but after living with her grandmother for three years, she had naturally developed an interest.

“Oh my! To just hand over something so precious—is that old man a saint?”

“Is that a compliment, even from a witch?”

He frowned, tilting his head in confusion.

Eir hummed, pretending not to hear, and eagerly studied the notes. Rubel, seeing her smile like a child over a few pieces of paper, unconsciously smiled himself.

Was it really that enjoyable?

Come to think of it, his study had a comprehensive encyclopedia of plants and animals. There were over 20 volumes, each as thick as a finger. She’d probably faint from excitement if she saw those.

Rubel’s mind was suddenly filled with the image of Eir sitting on the floor of his study, surrounded by books, her eyes sparkling as she flipped through them.

“Look carefully. We’re going to gather all the herbs that are good for men.”