If You Devour Poison / Doku wo Kurawaba Sara Made

Chapter 7: The Dragon Priestess

At the venue, a shriek resounded once again, followed by an angry bellow. But well, seeing such a young lady dressed to the nines with a beautiful dress and hair collapse into her own vomit and start foaming at the mouth was a sight to behold.
Nasha rushed to her sister’s aid. The Crown Prince and his entourage all took their weapons in hand, ready to attack us.

“You bastard! What did you do to Melia!?”

I turned to face Malacia, still maintaining a look of composure on my face. The sword Sigurd swung down, was parried by the shield of the Temple Knight I had summoned.

“Hahahahahaha!!”

A loud laugh rang out, as if to ridicule the tense situation.
The expressions of everyone present stiffened… and attentively looked at me, the former Prime Minister Anderheim.

“At last! At last, you have been freed, Julieta! You and I, both have been freed from that hateful duty!”
“Father…!”

The former Prime Minister hugging his daughter, while overwhelmed by emotions and without a shred of concern for the new Dragon Priestess who lay unconscious, I must seem insane.
In the meanwhile, the court doctor and healers rushed to Melia’s side.
Propped up by Nasha, Melia recovered her consciousness under the magic cast by the healers. However, it seemed as though she was tormented by intense nausea and tremendous pain. Her soiled face was pallid.

“Head Priest Malacia, what is the meaning of this…!?”

Despite the Crown Prince’s relentless pursuit and the tip of the rapier being pointed at him, Malacia was undaunted. On the contrary, his lips curled upwards. Like that time when he spoke to the believers, he narrated to the Crown Prince frighteningly calmly.

“It is nothing of concern. It is only because Miss Melia became the Dragon Priestess.”
“Then why is Melia in such pain!? You must have poisoned her!”
“...Your Highness. With all due respect, that is impossible. As the Crown Prince aren’t you mistaken in thinking that the Dragon Priestess, who is guaranteed a high standing, has a role that is only in name?”
“What...?”

As expected, he thought it was a role only in name.
The Crown Prince’s face was filled with astonishment.

“The Dragon Priestess, just as the oath says, has the duty of supporting His Grace Kharis till the day the Sacrificial Priestess offers her flesh and blood to His Grace. It isn’t done by simply serving at the shrine. Acting as the bridge until the Sacrificial Priestess offers herself, the Dragon Priestess must pledge most of her Mana to His Grace Kharis. Miss Melia’s ill-health is due to an extreme deficiency of Mana.”
“...I never heard of this!”

Hearing Nasha, who supported Melia, shout, Malacia let out a sigh and lightly shook his head.

“Of course you haven’t. The fate of those who become Dragon Maidens has been passed down by word-of-mouth; a hidden sin. Just because you were selected to become the Sacrificial Priestess does not mean that you can uncover the secrets of the Dragon Priestess.”
“Isn’t that strange!? Then why was your daughter unaffected?”

Lutora’s finger pointed straight at me.
In addition to his rude behavior, he seemed to have forgotten to be careful with his choice of words. But he had raised a valid doubt.
I had been waiting for that sentence. With impeccable timing, I lifted the veil covering Julieta’s face with both hands.

“Huh...ah…?”

Facing Julieta head-on, Lutora was dumbfounded.
Incomprehensible gibberish escaped his lips.

“My…!”
“No way she is…”
“Lady Julieta…!?”
“Impossible…”
“Ah, how beautiful…”
“It is as if she is the darling of the spirits of moonlight.”
“As expected, she is the descendant of Sage Asbal after all…”