Chapter 5

First, Revelin hid both the grade-checking magical artifact she had used and the unused ones. If the fact that her rank had gone up became known, it would cause a massive uproar.

She needed to sort things out before that happened. Did things change after I purified Chedwin? That’s the only thing I did differently from usual.

Come to think of it, it didn’t make any sense. The very idea of Revelin—a Level 10 purifier—purifying someone contaminated with demonic energy was impossible in itself.

Yet she had done it! And after performing the purification, even her rank had changed! Did my rank change because I purified Chedwin? Maybe because he’s a Sword Master, he has some kind of special constitution.

If that were the case, the female protagonist from the original story—who was kidnapped and imprisoned by Chedwin and purified him—should have had her rank change, too, but it hadn’t.

That meant the condition of purifying Chedwin wasn’t the special factor. Am I… special?

That couldn’t be it either. If she were, her rank would have gone up when she purified a small flower back at the academy.

Yet nothing of the sort had ever happened until now. Still, what if—just what if—only my rank goes up, exactly as I think?

Revelin’s heart pounded like mad. If her purifier rank kept rising like this, she might actually be able to save her brother when he became contaminated with demonic energy.

Calm down. Nothing is certain yet.

She needed to verify whether her rank was truly going up. Furthermore, she had to figure out what the condition for the rank increase was. Still, but—

……Isn’t this amazing?

She couldn’t stop the smile blooming at the corners of her lips.

Knock, knock. At that moment, a knock was heard.

“Revelin, let’s eat.” Arent’s blunt voice came from beyond the door.

Revelin hastily managed her expression. Let’s not tell anyone.

A change in a purifier’s rank was an unprecedented event. If it got out, the academy wouldn’t just leave her alone. People might pop up wanting to conduct all sorts of experiments to raise ranks, and she might end up running around various contaminated zones instead of being right by her brother’s side if something happened to him.

Besides, the original female protagonist is going to appear as a Level 2 purifier soon and run around working hard and dating! There’s no need for even me to step up.

Having made a clean resolution, Revelin got up and opened the door. “Yes, Brother.”

Arent, who always personally looked after meals whenever Revelin was sick, had brought food today, too. The savory smell of soup pierced her nose.

“Eat, and have the doctor check your condition morning and evening for a while.” Arent said firmly, leaving no room for leniency when it came to matters concerning Revelin’s health.

“Got it, I got it.” Revelin replied offhandedly as she stirred the soup round and round. Arent sat down beside her, looking like he intended to watch until she finished every last bite.

If Brother would just leave quickly, I could start figuring out what the condition for raising my rank is!

To rush her brother out, Revelin hastily shoveled a spoonful of hot soup into her mouth. “Revelin, by any chance, have you ever seen anyone hanging around the balcony in the corner of the third-floor hallway?”

“Hk—!”

Startled by Arent’s question, she swallowed the hot soup in a rush. She felt a burning sensation searing down her throat. “Water. Water! Water.”

With his eyes widening in shock, Arent hurriedly handed her a glass of water. The balcony in the corner of the third-floor hallway.

That was precisely the spot where Revelin had purified Chedwin. Why on earth is Brother suddenly asking about that place?

Arent snatched the bowl of soup away. “Don’t touch this. I won’t be handing you a spoon myself anymore.”

That meant from now on, Arent intended to personally blow on hot soup to cool it down for her. After cooling her burning throat with cold water, Revelin lied.

“……Where is that? I don’t really know. Why?”

“The Grand Duke sent a letter to the attending nobles saying he lost a valuable item on the balcony on the day of the banquet. He’s asking if anyone frequented or saw anyone around the balcony in the corner of the third floor.”

Huh? Wait a minute.

He’s asking if anyone saw the person who was there with him that day? That means Chedwin doesn’t remember what happened that day, either!

He has no idea who was with him!

Thank goodness.

If Chedwin remembered that day, he might have grown suspicious of Revelin—who was only Level 10 yet had somehow purified him—and pushed to have her rank re-verified! Yet to think he didn’t remember!

Great. Let’s keep playing dumb like this. She had no intention of letting him know anyway!

Revelin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. You know best how bad my condition was that day, right?”

“That’s true. I was just asking in case you knew anything, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

Even so, she should keep avoiding Chedwin just to be safe! Besides, Chedwin is going to leave the capital soon anyway.

In the original story, Chedwin leaves the capital five days after the victory banquet ends and returns around the middle of the story. So if she just avoids him for a few days, she won’t have any reason to cross paths with him anyway.

Still, why is he claiming he lost a valuable item instead of saying he’s looking for a purifier?

She didn’t know the reason, but it was all the better for Revelin, so there was no need to think too deeply about it! Perhaps because her mind felt a whole lot lighter, the soup tasted savory and good.

“Have you still not figured out who was with me on the balcony that day?”

When the low, sunken voice weighed heavily in the air, the vice-commanders of the Velhark Knights standing upright flinched in their shoulders. Exchanging glances, one of the vice-commanders stepped forward.

“There are still no eyewitnesses, Your Grace the Grand Duke.” “Your Grace, are you truly certain… that someone was on the balcony back then?”

“Why.”

Giving a curt response, Chedwin cast a cold gaze over the vice-commanders. “Do you lot think I’ve gone mad?”

At the chilling glare, the vice-commanders froze all at once. Knowing that the master they served was not someone to fabricate things or play pranks, they all calmly shook their heads.

“No. Seeing how the contamination levels of demonic energy eating away at you plummeted drastically, it is certain something happened on that balcony.”

Resting his chin on his hand, Chedwin turned his gaze to the paperwork on his desk. However, the letters wouldn’t enter his eyes.

While it was fortunate that they had wiped out all the magic beasts in the contaminated zone without a single casualty, the prolonged exposure to demonic energy had begun contaminating Chedwin’s mind.

As deaths and damages caused by the increase in contaminated zones grew, the empire’s anxiety mounted day by day. Amidst that, the news of Chedwin’s victory brought hope to the empire and boosted the morale of the knights.

Therefore, the fact that his mind was contaminated could not be let out. Keeping it as a top-secret known only to his closest aides, Chedwin endured it with gritted teeth.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to summon and check the purifiers who attended the banquet that day?” “There might have been a purifier who sneaked in secretly.”

“I’m against that. If we summon only the purifiers separately to check, they might figure out that Your Grace the Grand Duke is contaminated by demonic energy.”

Before entering the capital, he had hidden his face and identity to secretly summon a Level 4 purifier and tried to undergo purification, but it hadn’t helped even a little bit.

However, since the triumphal procession could not be delayed, he had entered the capital after taking sedatives with strong pain-relieving effects.

He had intended to somehow push through this period and get far away from the capital again, but things hadn’t gone smoothly right from the banquet.

Feeling as though his head was about to burst and his heart was freezing over with agony, Chedwin had headed toward a place with fewer people on the night of the banquet.

And his memories after that were fragmented as if snipped apart.

• I’ll go call someone.

Even though she had been startled, the clear, pure tone with which she calmly reasoned with him so he wouldn’t panic lingered in his ears.

He seemed to have answered that she must absolutely not call anyone, but after that, it had felt as though he were standing right in the middle of a refreshing forest, allowing him to breathe freely again.

Chedwin looked down at the palm of his hand. It felt like he had gripped something tightly with this hand and clung to it pleadingly, too.

Chedwin covered his eyes with his palm. “……? Your Grace, what are you doing?”

At Chedwin’s sudden action, the vice-commanders who had been exchanging conversation asked. Someone had definitely covered his eyes like this back then.

The sweet yet refreshing scent he had inhaled at that time still seemed lingering somewhere. In the middle of my muddled consciousness, someone grabbed my hair tightly.

Frowning, Chedwin searched his memory.

• Remember today… crystal clear. Don’t… you dare let me die.

Right. She had told him to remember that day and not let her die. Probably talking about herself. But damn it all, that was the only thing he could remember.

“I was told to remember it crystal clear, yet I couldn’t.”

After that, he had been freed from the agony and felt comfortable, barely keeping his consciousness anchored by leaning against the cold stone pillar.

When he closed his eyes, the residual image of a slender silhouette floated vaguely in his mind. “I should have stabbed my own thigh just to force my eyes open.”

Pulling his hand away from his face, Chedwin clicked his tongue. If not that, he should have at least checked the color of her hair or the dress she was wearing.

“It means she’s a purifier ranked higher than Level 4, or at least Level 4, so why did she disappear without a word? If she let it be known that she purified the Grand Duke’s contamination, she’d receive an immense reward, too.”

Propping his chin on his hand, Chedwin tapped rhythmically on the armrest. “Among the purifiers who attended the banquet, who has the highest rank?”

“That would be Lady Mila Peil, a Level 3 purifier. Do you remember her? You saw her once before.” “Don’t know.”

Chedwin replied indifferently, as if he had no interest. “Perhaps it might be Lady Peil. She expressed favorable feelings toward Your Grace back then, but since Your Grace ignored her, she might have helped out and then fled without a word out of embarrassment.”

“Then shall we invite Lady Peil over once—” “No.”

Chedwin decisively cut off the vice-commanders. “There’s no need for that. It wasn’t Lady Peil.”

“Pardon? Didn’t you say you didn’t know who it was?” “Right. I don’t remember. I only remember that it was a woman with long hair.”

“Lady Peil is also a woman with long hair.” The vice-commanders looked at Chedwin as if looking at a stubborn, unreasonable customer.

“Even so, it wasn’t her. It was a voice I was hearing for the first time, and besides.”

The fading silhouette and the fragrance she emitted were different. That was all he remembered, but he didn’t feel like sharing those details with his adjutants.

“Anyway. Since it’s not Lady Peil, don’t waste time. ……What about the letter asking for cooperation from those who attended the banquet?”

“We checked the list of attendees and sent it to everyone. To prevent any leaks of secrets, we outwardly stated that Your Grace lost a valuable item on the balcony, so we are asking for cooperation.”

The vice-commander handed over the attendee list of the banquet. Hidden beneath long eyelashes, Chedwin’s quietly sinking blue eyes scanned the list.

She’s among them. “She might be someone who needs to hide the fact that she’s a purifier.”

“Pardon? But would there really be someone trying to hide it? If she’s a Level 4 purifier, she could elevate her family’s honor and receive fine treatment in the empire.”

“Everyone has different circumstances. To ensure it doesn’t get out that we’re looking for a purifier, keep spreading rumors that I was attacked or that I lost a valuable item.”

“Yes. Understood.” Scanning the list, Chedwin raised his head.

“Secret tryst.” “Pardon?”

“Spread a rumor that I had a secret tryst with someone on the balcony, too.” “Pardon?”

“Rumors that catch nobles’ interest spread faster that way. Everyone will be curious to find out who my partner was and try to dig into it, which will be helpful.”

“But Your Grace, if a rumor like that spreads—” “It doesn’t matter.”

Chedwin dropped the list down with a thud. “Finding the purifier takes priority.”

Though he couldn’t remember clearly, the sensation he had felt was unmistakably that of a Level 4… no, a purifier of Level 3 or higher.

“Until I give further orders, we will stay in the capital for the time being. Convey this to everyone and have them unpack their luggage.”

“Whoa. Is that really true?” “We’ll finally get to rest for a change.”

“Understood.” Chedwin turned his gaze back to the attendee list.