Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Stern - Chapter Forty Three

She arrived without any pomp.

Even though she held the highest rank now, no escorts or any of the usual fluff was present. Considering what the Elder asked me to do, it was for the better. She was no longer that old hag, quietly puppeteering the Inquisitorias from the shadows. She was the head of the entire Cranta Church now by royal decree. But the way she acted still creeped me out.

"Stern, did you bring all of them?" She asked, wasting no time at all. Lately, she wore more colorful clothes to signify her rank, but not today. Back to the old gray, unassuming robes again. It accentuated even more how beautiful of a woman she became.

"Aye, my Lady." I bowed, trying to act a little formal for now. "While I'm not keen on such brutal methods, I managed to gather all of them. At least the poison you provided ended them all quietly... But it took me some time to pile up the bodies alone."

"I don't trust your soldiers. Can't help but wonder, how many of them are still loyal to the blue-haired child..." She did not hold back on the accusations. Well, no wonder, I didn't trust them either. Or anybody else...

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you took her taunts too seriously, Lady Elder. I doubt any of the guards would harbor feelings towards her. Especially now that you started that rumor..." I claimed, leading her to my carriage. I covered my nose before pulling the cover to the side.

The thirty corpses I carried filled it up to the brim. They started to smell once I got here, and no amount of incense could help it. It revealed a lot about the guards. None of them noticed me carrying dead people out of the interrogation chamber one by one for a whole day.

"Good, line them up by the roadside. Try not to damage them too much..." She ordered, just like I was afraid she would. "Was it all of them? I expected more, to be honest... Not that I'd complain."

"Ugh, all that was foolish enough to claim they saw the Princess," I confirmed, trying to cover my nose. "For the gods' sake, why do I have to haul them all again? They didn't smell this bad when I put them in..."

"Men sure are useless." She rolled her piercing blue eyes and drew a circle in the air. I was fine with her insults as long as I didn't have to touch these corpses ever again. "So what did the others claim to see? The ones you let go... And what about the guards?"

"Something about the treacherous former Captain of the Guard trying to wrestle power from the newly appointed Head of the Church," I mumbled, mesmerized as she levitated out the thirty corpses as one disturbing fetid mass. And it was still not as horrifying as the woman herself. The way she glanced at me sent a chill down my spine.

"This is the rumor I told you to spread." She looked dissatisfied, putting the dead bodies down side by side. "What did they say, Stern?"

"Well, more or less the same thing, my Lady," I confirmed. "Maybe not with these exact words, but they didn't see the Princess."

"Good. You shouldn't make any more mistakes." She declared, nearly stabbing me with those eyes. "And the soldiers involved should never get anywhere near the King. Neither the gate guards nor the escort... And give them proper training, they were utterly useless facing a single enemy."

"Rest assured, Lady Elder, the guards are properly trained," I claimed confidently. "As trained as everyday human beings can be. They won't hold a candle against you or a paladin blessed by the gods, but as I said, you took Catherine's taunting too seriously..."

"Again, there can be no more mistakes." She glared at me. I knew better than to argue. She turned to investigate the corpses before continuing. "The King can't learn the truth about the Pope or his daughter. The way he made me the new Head of the Church, he can strip my ranks away and exile me..."