|| ᴀ ꜱᴀɪɴᴛ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴜᴋᴇ || ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱɪᴅᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ||

Chapters 136-140

Episode 136: Spread the Word (XIII)

"Wait a minute. This song... it can't be... the current saint is a fake... Did I understand correctly?"

Although the song's lyrics were deliberately twisted metaphorically, the insightful Hugo immediately understood what was hidden within them.

"Yes."

Hugo's eyes widened in amazement, knowing full well that Deheen was not the kind of person who jokes around.

"So it is."

As soon as he heard that the saint was a fake, the series of unfortunate events made sense.

"...It was strange that monsters had appeared in the borders, and also, the spread of a never-seen-before contagious disease."

"It's all because the fake pretended to be real."

Loud and clear, Dennis declared so.

Hugo looked at Dennis, finding his behavior cute, and sighed deeply.

"We can't leave the matter as it is, but... Does Your Grace, by any chance, know who the real saint is?"

"We'll talk about that later."

"All right."

Turning active, Hugo asked if it would be better if they officially revealed that the saint was a fake.

"That's not enough."

Simply bringing down Rabienne would not be revenge.

There was the intention to make the people of the empire hate her, who was the culprit of the current situation where the disease was rampant.

"And Duke Brions must be behind the fake."

The influence of the four great families was very great.

To break that and prove that Rabienne is a fake, Esther must be brought to the fore, but Deheen didn't want to do that.

"If so, it would be best to spread rumors first."

"Yes. Give the song to at least ten people, excluding your men."

All of Deheen's vassals were given the same orders.

"I will."

The lyrics were metaphorical, so it was not burdensome. Plus, it was surprisingly easy to hum, so it caught on quickly.

Hugo joked that the song would spread like a popular song as he was making his way to the door. But he stopped halfway and turned around.

"Your Grace, there will not be an all-out war with the temple, right?"

"Well. What do you think? Do you think we'll win if we fight?"

With a glint in his eyes, Deheen smiled at Hugo's question, not denying it.

Thinking of what they had done to Esther, he wanted to wipe them out right away.

"The answer is obvious. Defeat doesn't exist for our knights."

Hugo's strong fighting spirit contrasted with his wistful tone.

"I will increase the intensity of training. I will do whatever Your Grace wishes."

"Let the song spread well."

Showing strong loyalty, Hugo smiled meaningfully and left the meeting room.

"Father, we will go as well."

"Call us whenever you need us again."

Having successfully taught the song to Hugo, who was the last to come, they left the meeting room with a pouch full of money from Deheen.