Chapter 57: Hyde Exorcising a Ghost from a Woman’s Body! (3)

Lucy Emma.

Her body collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

But the chapel was already on fire, and we had to escape outside.

“Hehe! Fire! Fire! It’s Lord Lust’s flames! Burn brighter! Lord Lust, your top maid Galatea will burn this building dowwwwn! Heeeeek!”

“Galatea! You crazy bitch!”

“Someone stop her!”

For some reason, Knight Galatea, who I heard was being treated in solitary confinement, was released and was pouring oil on the fire.

Psyche ran towards Galatea and hugged her tightly to restrict her movements, but the flames were already out of control.

As a result, it took less than half a day for the convent on Stone Island and its facilities to be completely burned down.

“Fuck! The Grande Convent is on fire! Then I’m free now! No one can stop this Lady Milione Archibald now!”

When everyone was despondent, Milione raised her hands in joy. I was truly frustrated, as I had been happy thinking that Milione would be stuck in this convent for about a year, reflecting on her actions.

This is terrible.

“Our convent….”

“Sob, sob….”

The nuns, in a state of panic, collapsed on the floor or shed tears in despair. Only Galatea’s deranged laughter was loud in the situation.

At that moment, Abbess Midnar took out her pipe from her pocket and lit it with the embers that hadn’t completely died out yet.

After taking a deep puff, the Abbess exhaled a deep breath.

“Perhaps it was meant to burn. It’s a fitting story for the tragedies that have happened in this convent. You all, you burned Emma, didn’t you?”

Midnar asked the nuns.

The nuns flinched in surprise.

As they were flustered, Midnar continued,

“When I brought Emma to this convent, her mind was clearly not sound. But she wasn’t crazy enough to pour oil on herself and jump into the fire like you said.”

Abbess Midnar’s gaze deepened.

Her eyes seemed to blaze with fire.

I could roughly deduce the past that had unfolded in this convent from that fire.

I think I could also figure out the reason for Lucy Emma’s dissociative identity disorder.

“You were the ones who burned her, weren’t you? Because she was a witch? Because she was prettier than you? Or because she was annoying? I don’t know the reason, but─.”

To burn a living person to death.

I thought that shouldn’t be done for any reason.

As I’ve said repeatedly, no one has the right to kill another person. We are all precious beings created in God’s image.

But the nuns in this convent didn’t think so.

Lucy Emma.

She was probably still a baby, but I wondered if she had seen her mother burning. That must have been a huge shock to Lucy Emma’s mind.

Could it be that the defense mechanism created from that was the other ‘personality,’ Emma?

It seemed like it had been dormant deep inside her.

Did my hypnosis really work?

“But… you did exorcise the ghost, right?”

“Emma’s ghost! You definitely exorcised it! Priest Hyde from the mainland!”

The nuns seemed to not care about the past anymore.

They thought that Emma’s ghost, which had possessed Lucy’s body, had been driven away by me, and they seemed to believe it without a doubt.

Certainly, if someone who didn’t know saw it, it would have looked that way.

I said with a slightly bitter heart,

“I think it would be problematic for the convent on this Stone Island to handle this incident. I believe this matter should be resolved at the Veneto courthouse and chapel.”

The scale of the incident is too large.

And since the Pope’s illegitimate child is involved, it’s not something I can bury on my own.

There are many witnesses too.

It would be better to officially bring it to trial.

“I will trial Lucy Emma, who set the chapel on fire, and everyone who burned Emma in the past, at the Veneto chapel and court.”

---

“Hyde, the ship will arrive tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we’ll be able to leave this island and head to the mainland.”

“That’s great.”

Psyche placed her hand on my back.

Psyche’s hand was warm, and her heart was surely even warmer.

“Hyde, you don’t look well.”

“The Grande Convent burned down, didn’t it? Lady Milione should have been reflecting and repenting in that convent for about a year, but that place is gone now.”

“Haha! I’m free!”

Milione Archibald was running around the site of the completely burned-down building with genuine excitement.

Seeing that really made me sigh.

Psyche spoke to me as if to comfort me,

“Is that really all?”

Is there anything else to be upset about?

As I was pondering, Psyche sat next to me and looked at the darkened horizon.

“Hyde, you’re going to become very famous. The priest who exorcised a ghost! It’s an achievement worthy of being recorded in the Church’s history books! Shouldn’t you be happier?”

“Psyche, as I said before, what I exorcised wasn’t a ghost. It was just a part of a mental illness. I don’t even know if it’s completely cured.”

“Is that so? I don’t know much about illnesses, but if you say so, it must be true. But it seems to be weighing on your mind, Hyde.”

“My mind?”

“Hyde, have you ever heard the voice of God? Have you ever met him personally? Have you ever had a conversation with him?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I never had.

Psyche, understanding my silence, added,

“Does God really exist─. It’s a question that anyone with faith has to ponder at least once. If God exists, why is the world so unhappy─, why do the innocent have to suffer and die unjustly─.”

The questions Psyche raised were quite vivid. In fact, many people doubted the existence of God when they saw the injustices of the world.

If a truly just and righteous God exists in the world, why is the world filled with sorrow due to injustice and corruption?

What kind of being is God?

Is God really righteous?

Theodicy.

It was a well-known topic in the 21st century, but in this medieval era where theology wasn’t developed, wouldn’t this kind of talk be a bit radical?

Soon, Psyche hesitated.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this, but…. I’ve thought that way too. When my younger brother was sick, our territory was struggling, and there were many men who only coveted my family’s reputation and my body. I wondered if God really existed, and I wanted to see clear evidence of it.”

“Psyche, you thought that way?”

It was surprising.

The Psyche I had seen was a noble woman with such strong faith that she wouldn’t even fear death.

Psyche seemed very embarrassed by her confession and fidgeted, blushing.

“But Hyde, seeing you, I’ve come to believe more firmly that He exists. I can’t express it well in words, but seeing you not losing your center even in the midst of hardships….”

Psyche’s words were somewhat clumsy, but I think I understood what she wanted to say.

I had also been convinced of God’s existence by seeing Psyche.

During the invasion of the royal capital, when everyone was corrupted and heading towards destruction.

Psyche, despite suffering all sorts of hardships and adversity from the heretics, didn’t lose her faith and shone even brighter and became even stronger.

I thought it was dazzling.

At that time, I was on the opposite side of Psyche as Lust, but from that time on, Psyche was already my pride.

Should I say, the only haven in my heart.

It seemed like Psyche also felt that way when she saw me, Hyde.

“Psyche, as expected, we are a couple destined by God, like Adam and Eve.”

“Is that so? Come to think of it, when I return to the Agarphe territory, I had something I wanted to tell you, Hyde─.”

Psyche hesitated.

At that moment, Milione Archibald intervened between me and Psyche.

“Hey! You two! It’s past 6 pm! According to the convent rules, men and women aren’t allowed to talk from now on! We have to follow the rules, right?”

What rules when the convent is gone?

But Psyche was a devout person and someone who respected rules.

Psyche closed her mouth according to the 6 pm rule, and our conversation ended there.

Milione, you wicked bitch.

Are you going to interrupt a conversation between a married couple like this?

When I glared at her, Milione slapped my back with her hand.

“Hyde, you were quite something this time, weren’t you? I thought you would piss your pants and run away when that crazy Lucy was possessed. Well, it wouldn’t make sense if you couldn’t exorcise a witch’s soul after driving out that powerful demon Lust from your body.”

It seemed like Milione’s evaluation of me had gone up.

It was a good thing to be recognized by others, but being recognized by Milione, as always, only gave me an ominous feeling.

“But that Lust guy is also amazing. He even controlled Galatea from this distance and made her set fire, didn’t he? That guy is truly the devil of devils! Burning down a convent after the Grand Cathedral!”

What are you burning, you crazy bitch!

I felt a dizzying sensation in many ways.

---

The ship departed with the sound of the foghorn.

Leaving the burnt island behind, I felt a bittersweet feeling.

“Mainland! I’m going to the mainland for the first time!”

Lucy, wearing wooden handcuffs.

She seemed happy even though she was a sinner who had set fire to the convent.

She must be happy to be leaving the island and heading to a city on the mainland, even as a defendant.

“Didn’t I tell you, Lucy? I said I would get you off this island. Although it’s not as positive a situation as I had imagined.”

“Yes! This is enough! I’ve never been this far away from the island before! Hyde! Thank you so much for keeping your promise!”

“So, can you use magic?”

Lucy.

She had set fire to the chapel using Mana.

Magic was a very strange technique, and it was truly like a gift or miracle bestowed by God. I wondered if Lucy could use it again, but Lucy shook her head.

“No, I can’t. I don’t know how to do it!”

I see.

Was it magic that had awakened along with the second personality that had been dormant in her subconscious?

Well, I heard that’s how magic is.

You have to diligently hone it after it manifests.

It’s difficult to control too.

That’s why they say all wizards are eccentric.

“Hyde, will I be imprisoned?”

At that moment, Lucy asked me in a small voice.

The freedom she had finally gained.

She seemed afraid of being imprisoned again.

Of course, I knew the answer to this.

“You won’t be. Lucy, your crime isn’t that serious. There are others who should be paying for their real sins.”

Lucy’s father.

Pope Arud Gregory.

If you think about it, all the problems stemmed from him imprisoning Lucy and her mother, Emma, in the convent.

And to have an illegitimate child as a priest who isn’t even married. If there was rape or assault in this situation, it absolutely shouldn’t be overlooked.

I’ll confront him about this matter.

As I was thinking that, Lucy stretched out her handcuffed hands.

“Fireball!”

It seemed like she was trying to use magic, but it wasn’t working well.

Magic…

Come to think of it, Lucy had an amazing talent that was like magic.

“Lucy, when you were in solitary confinement, didn’t you have a conversation with me when I was about to release you with the key? You were pretending to be asleep then, weren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“You acted like you were completely asleep at that time, how did you do it?”

I was an expert in acting.

After all, I could perfectly pull off playing two roles at once.

Even to me, Lucy at that time was amazing.

Honestly, when she was acting out tics, Tourette’s, or possession, it was obvious that she was acting.

But what happened in the solitary confinement cell at that time didn’t seem like acting at all.

It was when I was about to ask about this secret.

“Did that happen? I don’t know.”

You don’t know?

Is it a lie?

No, there’s no reason for her to lie now.

And Lucy really seemed like she didn’t know.

“But Hyde, I know you tried to release me! Thank you so much!”

Hug-!

Lucy hugged me.

It was a stronger force than I expected, and she smelled like peaches.

Lucy pulled away again.

“Then I’ll tell you something good in return! I don’t remember it well, but there are things I remember vaguely from when I set the fire! You asked me what your name was then, right?”

“You did.”

“If you’re really curious about the answer to that question, I know someone who can answer it! Try going to the center of the six horns!”

“The center of the six horns?”

“When I was very young. I don’t know if it was a dream or reality, but my mom told me. She said the person who lives in the center of the six horns knows everything. They’ll tell you anything!”

The person who lives in the center of the six horns─.

Is it just nonsense?

As I was thinking that, Lucy became embarrassed.

“It’s strange, right? I saw my mom when I was one year old, but I remember her telling me that. You don’t have to believe it…. Honestly, I can’t believe it either….”

“No, I believe it. The center of the six horns. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

It wouldn’t hurt to remember it.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a lie, but if this story is true─.

─I have to get rid of the person sitting in that center.

If they really know everything, they’ll know that my identity is both Hyde and Lust!

Lucy, who didn’t know what I was thinking, said,

“Hyde believes me! This is the first time someone has! I’m glad I’m alive! I’m really happy to have met Hyde!”