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IBP 31
It was just as Theresia was looking down at Coco with an irritated expression.
Chloe stepped in front of Coco and spoke indifferently.
“If you came here to treat the Grand Prince, then just go on your way quietly without picking fights.”
“Now this is interesting.”
The way she was protecting that little child.
Theresia looked up at Chloe with an expression brimming with superiority.
“Why are you near the annex, Sister? Just to throw a ball to a child like this? Or perhaps...”
“.......”
Theresia smiled softly and whispered in her ear.
“Are you curious about how I treat Grand Prince Rivera?”
“You have quite an ego. I have absolutely no interest in you.”
“Or maybe, Sister, are you worried that I might manifest a magnificent supernatural ability that you don't possess?”
“You're impossible to talk to.”
With an indifferent expression, Chloe turned back to Coco.
“Coco, get up. We have to go now.”
“Hmph, I haven't finished throwing the ball yet...”
Seeing the expression that suggested she wasn't even worth responding to, Theresia grit her teeth.
‘But Chloe, what can you possibly do now?’
Once, people had feared and revered Chloe.
How many times had Theresia been pushed into the shadows of interest because of that?
But now, the situation had completely reversed.
Chloe was losing her supernatural ability.
On the other hand, once she healed Grand Prince Rivera, what Theresia would gain would be immense.
Marriage to the Grand Duke.
Hundreds of billions of gold.
The praise of everyone.
And the status of Saintess, which she would soon attain.
Everything in the world would be hers.
Theresia smiled thinly and stepped inside the annex.
Today was the day she would perfectly heal Grand Prince Rivera.
* * *
Caligo sat silently in the center of the annex sanctuary.
Since the treatment began, his physical condition had been steadily deteriorating.
He stared blankly into the void.
Last night, he had happened to overhear the chatter of numerous servants.
“I heard yesterday that Lady Theresia was injured while healing Lord Caligo.”
“And yet she continues to try and save Lord Caligo; Lady Theresia is truly something. I think she's a true Saintess.”
“...Right, how amazing must she be for the high priests of the temple to personally commend her?”
“I heard Lord Caligo caused a scene? Honestly, it's wrong to say this about a child, but really... it's like repaying kindness with enmity...”
Though he was the target of everyone's criticism, he felt it was only natural.
‘Because someone got hurt because of me again.’
He sat still, having lost all motivation.
Enduring the dizzy spells in his head, he waited for several hours until the door finally opened.
It was Theresia Ardos.
“This will be the last time we see each other.”
The divine ability user, Theresia Ardos, smiled softly despite his silence.
“Because you will certainly be healed today.”
As he remained still, Theresia wore a forced smile and placed her hand on him.
“Now, this is the final treatment. I will stop the ability rampage with my power.”
It was when Theresia's pale grey light flowed over the back of her hand.
His stomach churned violently.
“.......”
But if he gave up now...
‘Maybe it really is working. Maybe I'm just the one who can't get better.’
Because of a single sliver of hope, he barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit.
“You're holding up well.”
A pure white light from Theresia's hand touched his body.
Just as his body flinched violently as if it had taken a shock, Caligo realized that something was clearly wrong with his body.
He roughly brushed away Theresia's hand and whispered.
“...Get lost.”
“Oh my, does it hurt? It can hurt. Of course. It's a treatment, after all.”
No.
‘This isn't a treatment.’
He could tell.
This was a premonitory symptom of a seizure.
At that moment, the cluster of pure white light flowing from Theresia's hand struck his heart directly.
Caligo's heart began to beat frantically.
It was much faster than usual. The thumping sound seemed to echo in his ears.
“You're wrong.”
He felt something inside his body mixing chaotically. Suppressing the surging nausea, Caligo tried his best to gauge the situation.
The mana inside his body had collided with Theresia's divine power.
If that was the case, then this...
“...is right before a rampage.”
Theresia stared at the light scattering from her hand with a panicked expression.
The cream-colored light flowing from her hand grew so large that it became uncontrollable.
However, with a pop sound, the light was slowly pushed back.
Before she knew it, the black darkness covering Caligo's body slowly devoured her light.
“Wha- what...?”
The shadow beneath Caligo's feet was growing massive.
“Cough, hack...!”
Blood flowed from Caligo's mouth.
A panicked Theresia stumbled back and stood up.
Theresia knew this symptom very well.
“...The premonitory symptoms of a rampage.”
She bit her nails, her eyes darting around.
‘No. This can't happen.’
Why hadn't she seen this until now?
‘...Because I was blinded by the thought of proving my value.’
If only her mother had been by her side, she might have stopped her.
But her mother was away at the temple.
‘Damn it, my position as Saintess...!’
Theresia looked around in panic.
Thanks to Caligo's nanny dismissing everyone, there was no one around. Fortunately, the old men from the Council of Elders, who usually followed her, were also absent.
Right then, Caligo pushed himself up.
“Get... out of the way.”
“What?”
“If you stay by my side, you'll... be in danger too... so get lost.”
As if a loud ringing was echoing in his ears, he covered them.
He glared at Theresia with piercing eyes before turning his back.
‘He looks like he's on the verge of death!’
Theresia hesitated, about to flee, but then stopped.
She thought of her second plan.
Yes, if she couldn't succeed...
‘I planned to use Chloe as a shield.’
Chloe Ardos.
Wasn't she also suffering from an ability rampage, just like Caligo?
If things went well, she might be able to get rid of Chloe using this opportunity.
‘Come to think of it, that damn girl was nearby.’
She whispered toward Caligo, who was staggering toward the door.
“West.”
Caligo's bloodshot eyes stared at her.
“I'll clear the knights away, so go past the mansion wall and look to the west.”
“.......”
“There will be someone who can help you. Go to that person, without fail.”
Her voice sounded as if she were brainwashing him.
Theresia whispered cunningly, like a woman with a snake's tongue.
Caligo walked toward the outside with stumbling steps.
The moment he grabbed the door handle, Theresia felt relief and cheered inwardly.
Everything seemed to be going according to her plan.
But it was right then.
Bang!
The door flew open with a loud, dull noise.
Standing there was a small, round child, Coco.
Then, Coco rushed forward as if to headbutt him.
“Grand Prince! Come here!”
The distorted expression on Caligo's face cracked. He muttered, spitting blood through his teeth.
“You... why did you come in? Are you an idiot?”
“Huh? I'm not an idiot!”
“I told you to get lost, so why do you keep...?”
“Because I promised I'd come to save you!”
Caligo stared at Coco.
Purple eyes sparkled on her round face.
“...Why? Why are you looking at Coco like that?”
A little child.
Says she came to save him...
Having heard the words ‘came to save you’ until they were worn out, he knew.
That this was the first time he had heard a sincere voice.
This child had truly come to save him.
‘Even though I kept being prickly to her.’
He had no choice but to admit that his eyes had reddened unconsciously.
But what could he do now?
He whispered softly.
“You said you came to save me.”
“Yes!”
He didn't want to drag a cheerful girl who knew nothing into hell.
Caligo roughly pushed Coco out the door and muttered.
“...I don't need it.”
The moment those words ended.
He felt a dark shadow enveloping his entire body.
Boom! Crash!
The sound of insane fireworks echoed in everyone's ears.
Finally, the shadow that appeared at his feet spread out massively, as if to engulf the entire annex.
It was a powerful supernatural ability rampage.
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