Stigma Effect

Yuriel forcibly swallowed the fragment.
Her expectation that it would be horrifying like the core-implanted knights had been erroneous.

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Tragically, it was just as the Grand Duchess said.

Nothing happened after swallowing the core fragment.
After swallowing the fragment, the Grand Duchess gently pressed Yuriel’s cheek, which had a rather beautiful complexion, and smiled with satisfaction.

“Looks like it’s Raphlet’s child.”

The strength in Yuriel’s body, which had been fiercely resisting, was lost.
With Yuriel sitting on the chair, the Grand Duchess held a notebook that looked like a research journal in her hand.

“Did Madam know about this earlier?”

“What question is that? Would someone who doesn’t know anything try to feed you a monster core?”

“The reason the monsters appeared in the mansion has nothing to do with the reason you just mentioned, right?”

Yuriel asked in a tone of disbelief.

“You know how many servants died because the monsters appeared in the mansion.”

Until now, Yuriel believed that monsters came down from the forest in search of people.

There were places where the security was insufficient, so monsters could break into the mansion.
It was not the fault of the knights or the Grand Ducal couple who neglected the security.
It was the fault of the monster that attacked people indiscriminately.

The Grand Duchess replied with a sigh.

“Should you know that?”

“… Madam.”

“Yuriel, you have Raphlet’s child, does that matter? It’s 8 months old and it’s difficult if it has only grown that much.
If it is difficult to grow in the womb, there is a way to induce childbirth immediately, but it is not a very good method.”

The Grand Duchess looked at Yuriel pitifully.

“Did the monsters escape from here?”

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“Yes, a few.”

“How many… ?”

“Come to think of it, the day you came with Raphlet, a monster escaped.
Even though I said there was no need to chase it because it was all dying, he went out and got only unnecessary wounds….”

Servants killed by monsters, crops destroyed by monster invasions, and commoners who died seemed to mean nothing to the Grand Duchess.

The Grand Duchess took out a new journal, and she wrote down Yuriel’s physical condition and answered in a low voice.

Yuriel understood her words.

The cause of Yuriel’s death began at the hands of this mansion and the Grand Ducal couple.

“Please explain in detail that Lord Raphlet is a monster.”

Looking at the Grand Duchess’ indifferent face, Yuriel said in a subdued tone.

Even though she knew that it would be a shock, the shock was not as great as she thought.

“I think I did well in Albraka….”

Yuriel muttered as she recalled what she had learned.
If she hadn’t been to the Imperial Capital, she thought that if she hadn’t seen and experienced anything there, she might have focused more on the fact that Raphlet was a monster.

Maybe she would feel betrayed by him.

The Grand Duchess raised her eyebrows, unable to properly hear Yuriel murmur in a small voice.

“What?”

“I asked you to tell me more about Lord Raphlet.
If you want to have a healthy baby, I need to have an explanation so I can cooperate.”

“… The child you will give birth to is a monster, isn’t it scary? I thought you would be a little more rebellious.”

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“It’s Lord Raphlet’s child.
It does not matter.”

“You’re really….”

The Grand Duchess shrugged her shoulders as if in disappointment and laughed.

“I was planning to imprison you if you resisted.
I don’t know if I should call you smart or stupidly blind.”

“If you lock me up in a place like this, will Lord Raphlet not stand still?”

“That’s true.”

Yuriel and the Grand Duchess had a normal conversation.
Occasionally, they talked and chatted about the past.

At first, the Grand Duchess, who had only talked about the rules Yuriel had to follow during her pregnancy, gave her a lot of information.

“This is a story that only a few high-ranking officials know.”

“What?”

“Raphlet was born safely and we handed over some information to the temple.”

“Are you saying that the High Priest knows that Lord Raphlet is close to a monster?”

Yuriel’s calm face turned pale.
The Grand Duchess shook her head.

“No, it can’t be.
The fact that Raphlet is a monster is the most valuable piece of information we have, and I would not hand it over.”

The Grand Duchess stopped the pen, which was writing Yuriel’s information, and turned her body.
As if she had written everything in her journal, she continued her words as she closed the journal.

“They know that a child born with the power of a monster was in the Mogris Estate.
We reported that it died a few months after it was born, but these days they seem to care about that information again.”

“They didn’t find out that Lord Raphlet was a monster, did they?”

It was not good for the Grand Duchess that the fact that Raphlet was a monster was found out.
She pressed her forehead as if she had a headache.

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“They don’t know yet.
Until now, Raphlet benefited from the prophecy handed to the temple.
Perhaps the reason they started paying attention again now is because of you.
They seemed to think you might be that child.”

“Ah, the prophecy….
Madam knows.”

“I don’t know who the real saint is, but it would be very unfair.
Thanks to that prophecy, no one doubted that Raphlet was fine after receiving the core transplant.”

The Grand Duchess, who was pressing her forehead, twisted her lips and smiled.
Watching a person who was close to a monster being worshiped as the saint by the temples, the priests, and the knights of Albraka all made her laugh.

She giggled.

“Serving a monster as a saint! I don’t know where the real saint is or what they’re doing.”

Yuriel also swept her heart with sincerity this time.
She couldn’t help but nod her head following the Grand Duchess’ words.

“It’s dizzying to think about how Raphlet could have been fine if the real thing came out.
I had to go through so much trouble to give birth to him, and I almost gave all of that important information to the alchemists.”

Because the saint did not appear, Raphlet was able to act as the saint.

If the real thing had come out, Raphlet would not have been revered by the people as he was now.

Perhaps, like Yuriel herself, he would be pointed at and expelled from the Knights Order.
If he wasn’t lucky, he might have been the subject of the alchemists’ experiment, as the Grand Duchess said.

Yuriel could never allow such a thing to happen to Raphlet.

Yuriel, who was nodding her head at the words, put the thoughts that came to her mouth.

“What would happen if the real saint appeared?”

“The temple.
When the saint appears, they will try to protect the saint, but I will kill the saint when they appear.”

“They said that if you kill the saint, the monsters will become stronger.”

“It would be nice if the monsters became stronger.
The core power will also be stronger, so the test results will be better, won’t it?”

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The Grand Duchess said, revealing her selfish desire.
As Yuriel doesn’t seem to agree with her own words, she added, threatening Yuriel.

“When the real thing comes out, it’s only a matter of time before they find out that Raphlet isn’t a normal person.
How can a person be completely healthy with a core implant? Only a monster.”

Yuriel kept her mouth shut.
It was very offensive to refer to Raphlet as a monster, but she could not refute it.

“If Raphlet was found to be not the saint, do you think he would be able to escape? The alchemists are the ones who will use all of Raphlet’s very being for experiments without leaving a single piece of skin or a drop of blood.
I know that very well.
So Yuriel, you must never let them know that he is a monster.”

“… I have no intention of letting them know that Lord Raphlet is a monster.”

“I know, you’d rather commit suicide than harm Raphlet.”

The Grand Duchess, who was threatening Yuriel, smiled and lifted the atmosphere.

“When the knights got core implants and with Raphlet serving as the Commander in Albraka, I wonder if Albraka is turning into a den of monsters.
Do you think that would be pretty fun?”

The Grand Duchess said in a mockery of Albraka.
She exchanged contrived jokes and made a laugh at the unusual facts.

After she stopped joking around, the Grand Duchess redirected the conversation back to pregnancy.

“To make the child grow, you have to eat the monster’s core every day.
Even if you could accept the core because you’re pregnant, it’s going to be hard on your body more than three times.
One time was enough for me, but yours grew up very late.
You’ll have to eat it twice a day, okay?”

“Yes.
And I want to keep it a secret because Lord Raphlet will be concerned if he finds out that I eat cores.”

The Grand Duchess narrowed her eyes as if reading Yuriel who answered her calmly.
When she entered the laboratory, Yuriel, who seemed anxious just by entering it, now only seemed foreign and calm.

“Please.”

“It is not difficult because Raplet will return to Albraka soon….”

She looked carefully to see if Yuriel was up to something, but the Grand Duchess wasn’t the one who looked after Yuriel enough that she could understand Yuriel’s heart.

The only thing she could be sure of about Yuriel was the belief that she would never deceive him if it had anything to do with Raphlet.