Chapter 19: The Saintess’s Disappearance (4)

It was raining. On one edge of the massive forest that had turned to ash, Karl and Sierra were still out searching.

No matter how much he scooped out the mud flowing with rain using a shovel, more mud just filled in. He couldn’t see the ground at all.

“Karl…”

He threw the shovel down and clutched his head. He couldn’t forgive himself. What was he thinking, taking Charlotte and Sierra into the Burning Forest? Did he have a death wish?

He had never felt guilt this intense before.

For three years, no matter how badly they got hurt, they always survived because Charlotte was with them. Had he just assumed she’d always be there?

He never realized that losing a comrade could hit him this hard. Death always seemed so far away because Charlotte had always saved them with her strange holy power.

Now that he thought about it, Charlotte had always treated their wounds before her own, and they had taken that for granted too.

He wanted to die. What the hell was he thinking, following Alex? Why had he prioritized Alex’s safety over the others’? He couldn’t understand himself.

“ let’s take a break…”

“A break? When is there ever time to rest? Sierra… it’s my fault. It’s all because of me…”

That he was only realizing this after losing her was just pathetic. If Charlotte came back and hit him with a mace, he couldn’t complain.

“Why couldn’t I think straight back then…”

“…I’m no different.”

“Charlotte would laugh at how we’re regretting things now… ‘Finally came to your senses?’ she’d say…”

“Karl…”

He picked up the mud-covered shovel from the ground and started digging again. He had to find at least part of a body. But the rain was too heavy, making the search even harder.

The search squad sent by His Majesty was waiting outside the forest for the rain to stop. Only Sierra and Karl were inside the pouring forest.

“Isn’t it funny, Sierra?”

“…Yeah. It really is.”

“It’s ridiculous. We’re only regretting now, shoveling like mad just to find a piece of her.”

“If Charlotte saw us, she’d probably cuss us out.”

“I never thought I’d miss Charlotte’s swearing.”

Sierra let out a laugh, but her face didn’t smile at all. Neither did Karl’s. He forced a smile to keep going for Charlotte’s sake—too numb to notice how it cut his own heart.

The rain eventually stopped, but the search ended in failure.

He just couldn’t understand it. Hundreds of people had been deployed. They dug up everything with shovels.

How could there not be a single body part… not even a strand of hair?

“This is strange… with this many people searching, how could we not find even her shadow?”

“Karl…”

“Could the demons have taken her?! Yeah! Maybe the beastkin bastards took Charlotte!!”

“Maybe Eris was right—maybe she’s still alive!! Otherwise, how—!”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. He had clearly seen Charlotte’s arm torn off by that giant wolf. That moment never left his mind. With a wound like that, how could she have survived?

“She’s still out there… we have to keep searching…”

Sierra slapped him across the face.

What the hell? Didn’t she also want Charlotte to be alive? Was he the only one thinking like this?

“Karl… do you even know what you look like right now…?”

Sierra pointed silently at the wagon’s window. Karl looked at his reflection in the glass.

There was no trace of the warrior Karl. His body was thin, his eyes sunken, his skin and hair dry and ragged—he looked like someone who had crawled out of the slums.

“It’s time to stop…”

“I can’t stop…”

“If you die, it’s pointless! If I lose you too, then I—!”

Tears flowed from Sierra’s eyes. Karl couldn’t remember ever seeing her cry before. Had she cried even once in the past three years?

“…Karl…”

“What am I supposed to do…”

This crushing guilt was too much to live with. If there were any way to lessen it, even a little…

Eventually, they returned to their home in the capital, defeated. What now? Should he hire a private search team? Move near the forest?

“It’s been a while, Karl, Sierra.”

Why was she here…?

When they opened the door, the one lounging in their chair like she owned the place was none other than Sersia, the self-proclaimed sister of Charlotte and a commanding officer in the Royal Guard.

“What, Royal Guard commanders can just break into people’s homes now?”

“We can, yes.”

“…The search for Charlotte is over. What do you want?”

He couldn’t even lift his head in front of Sersia anymore. He was nothing but the person who had taken Charlotte away from her.

“Why are you making those faces?”

“What?”

“What exactly are you upset about?”

Sersia looked genuinely confused. Was she telling them to stop pretending to be victims since they were the ones who got Charlotte killed?

“Then how should I look? Should I be smiling?”

“Well… I thought maybe you would.”

What was this woman doing here? Mocking him? Accusing him of being Charlotte’s murderer?

“Let’s get to the point. Why are you really here?”

“It’s not about Charlotte’s search.”

“No?”

Sersia calmly locked the door and sat back down.

“I came to question your possible betrayal.”

“…What?”

“There are suspicions that you made a deal with the Demon King.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Him? Or them? Making a deal with the Demon King?

“Is this some Royal Guard joke? Not funny.”

“Yeah. I wish it were a joke.”

Sersia’s hand brushed the hilt of her sword at her waist. She was dead serious. How did things end up like this?

“Go ahead. What are these so-called suspicions?”

He sat down and listened. The rumors were ridiculous.

Supposedly, Charlotte left early because they bullied her. The Demon King’s body disappeared overnight. Yes, they came back without proof, but once they heard Charlotte brought the horn, they felt relieved.

Then came the line that pierced his heart.

“There’s a theory that you two went into the Burning Forest together and killed Charlotte.”

“Don’t talk crap!

Karl slammed the table, and in an instant, Sersia drew her sword and aimed it at his throat. Sierra tried to block with a dagger, but Sersia was faster than the archer.

“Quiet.”

“…Don’t… talk bullshit…”

Tears fell. Everything was falling apart. Charlotte was gone, and now they were being called traitors?

“Crying? Aren’t you a grown man?”

“Shut up…”

Sersia finally put her sword away, let out a small sigh, and sat back down. Her sharp green eyes pierced right into him.

She let out another sigh and seemed to think.

“Well, makes things easier to investigate.”

“…What?”

“His Majesty ordered me to investigate your activities from the past three years.”

Was she even allowed to say that? That kind of thing should be confidential, right?

“Oh, you’re wondering if I’m allowed to say that.”

He silently nodded.

She took out a necklace from around her neck. It had a gem like an emerald.

“It’s a magic tool. Imported from the magic tower in the Kingdom of Raspan.”

“Magic tool?”

“It detects lies. Kind of. The number of uses is limited though.”

She tucked it back and continued.

“Still better than torture, right?”

“You trust us?”

“Yes.”

He let out a small sigh of relief. If they were branded as traitors, he wasn’t sure he could stay sane. He had really gone on that mission with Alex for the Empire.

Sersia kept staring at him. Why? Was he still crying? Or did he just look that worn down?

“Karl, Sierra. Will you make a deal with me?”

“Yes, not as a Royal Guard officer, but personally.”

A personal deal from Sersia? What was she going to ask for?

“If you accept, I’ll personally clear your name.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

It was tempting. She might really be able to fix things. But—

“No. If it’s a request from you, Sersia, I’ll do it.”

“…Are you sure? I am still a high-ranking officer.”

“I’m sure. Charlotte’s dead. I don’t want to be thinking of my own safety right now.”

She called herself Charlotte’s sister. At the very least, he could do this much. Charlotte would curse him if he didn’t.

“I don’t think Charlotte is dead,” she said.

“…What?”

“She’s not the kind of girl to die so easily.”

Sersia gave a faint smile, and Karl found himself smiling too.

“I hope you’re right.”

“Oh? So you don’t believe it?”

He wanted to believe. But after all the mud they dug through with no results… it was hard.

“Well, believe it or not, that’s up to you.”

“I believe,” Sierra said, voice trembling.

Yeah. If they didn’t believe, who would?

“Thanks, Sierra.”

“It’s nothing…”

Karl tried to say he believed too—but the words wouldn’t come. All he could think of was the wet, heavy mud.

“My request is for you to infiltrate the Grand Cathedral.”

“The one where Charlotte lived?”

“Yes. I can’t go there myself.”

“What do you need us to do there?”

“Holy power.”

Holy power—Charlotte’s ability to instantly heal and block magic. She once said it was a special gift only the Aria Church had.

“Bring me the book that explains how holy power manifests.”

“…So there’s something going on.”

Sersia silently nodded. Unlike magic, which could appear through bloodlines, holy power was something only the Saint had ever used.

They had never heard Charlotte’s full story. She always said she had just grown up at the cathedral, and they never questioned it.

The Church… they were definitely hiding something.

“Sierra. Will you be okay?”

“I was going to go anyway.”

That’s my wife, Karl thought. They didn’t even need to speak to understand each other. He had thought there was nothing more they could do for Charlotte.

But this—this was something they could do.

“I’ll leave immediately.”

“…Charlotte had good friends.”

“No. We weren’t good friends.”

More like garbage. If Charlotte really was alive… they owed her a real apology.

“Oh, before you go, tell me about your past three years. I have a job to do too, you know.”

“Wow… way to kill the mood.”

And so, they told Sersia everything and then left for the Grand Cathedral.

Looking back on those years, a lot of things didn’t make sense. Even Karl found himself asking: Why did I act like that? None of it felt like something he would’ve done in his right mind…

Meanwhile, the Grand Cathedral had turned icy cold after hearing of Charlotte’s disappearance.

“Your Holiness, Charlotte’s death hasn’t been confirmed yet…”

“That’s true… but…”

The Pope and the senior priest were speaking in private about what needed to happen next.

“Once the body is found, it’ll be too late.”

“But…! What about the promise to Charlotte…!”

“There’s no promise after death.”

The Pope’s tone was cold. The senior priest could hardly believe this was the same man Charlotte once called family.

“She thought of you as her family…”

“I know. But this is my duty as the Pope.”

He turned his back, not wanting to show his face.

Please reconsider.”

“I don’t want to do this either. Will you be Pope instead?”

The priest flinched and avoided the Pope’s harsh stare.

“In the end, Charlotte broke the promise.”

“She said she’d never die before me… how could she…”

The Pope wiped away a tear and continued.

“I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps… I thought I’d be fine while she was still young…”

“Your Holiness…”

“There’s no such thing as dying in order.”

The Pope muttered to himself and looked up at the ceiling, clearly unwilling to do what he had to do.

“Let’s wait just a little longer.”

“Yes…”

“But if we hear nothing soon… we have no choice.”

On his desk sat a stack of files—records of orphan girls aged 10 to 15.

“A new Saint must be chosen.”