This BL Novel Is Ruined Now - Chapter 126
Chapter 126
Translator: Yonnee
RP: Haebaragi_syk
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* * *
After Ethan was given a thorough report of the situation, the members of the nine households present in the village gathered at the townhall for a meeting, together with their knights as well.
Naturally the center of this meeting, Reina sat at the head of the table.
Legally speaking, Ethan should have been given the lead since he held peerage, but they were within the bounds of the Chantra estate right now. As she had been delegated temporary authority over the situation here, Reina had become the head of this group.
“I am Redeus Ovan, Captain of the Third Order of House Jehart’s Black Mane. I greet you, Lady Chantra of House Chantra, ruler of the western sea and the rose of the nine great families.”
After greeting Reina with courtesy, the knight captain carefully voiced his opinion.
“Their food supply in the temple is limited, and it won’t last forever. For this reason, I believe that we don’t need to force our way through, considering the current situation.”
Listening to the knight’s words, Reina used one finger to tap against the long table’s surface.
“No. That’s not the problem.”
The priests had long since considered that the patients were lost causes. How much worse would they treat the patients now that they had been provoked?
“The patients inside are a different matter. Unlike the priests, they won’t last even a mere few days. That’s why I’ll have to try talking to them again.”
“Noona. They’ve already rejected your request five times. Let’s just march forward with brute force.”
This didn’t seem to be the answer she wanted to hear. Hearing Eli’s suggestion, Ethan laughed inwardly.
“Eli. If the temple falls to rubble during a battle, the patients inside wouldn’t be able to defend themselves, and they’d just be injured further. That’s not on the table.”
As expected, the only one who could fully understand and support her was Ethan.
Snorting at Eli’s failure, Ethan felt that it was his turn to speak up.
“Reina, I’ll try to talk to them.”
Ethan turned his upper body so that he was squarely facing Reina, who was sitting next to him. He consciously put on a serious expression.
“They uphold a straightforward logic when it comes to authority, so they won’t be able to look down on the power of Utta that I wield.”
“…I suppose so.”
But what’s this?
He was confident in his suggestion, but the response wasn’t stellar. She didn’t seem wholly receptive to his idea, and she only bit her innocent lips.
‘Is that not the answer?’
If not, then what did she want out of this situation? Ethan quickly recalled what he had witnessed during her internship at the Ministry of Health, including her actions at the Thurn Village.
‘She always… tends to take direct action.’
He wasn’t happy about bringing her right at the center of danger, but in the end, if that’s what she wants to do, he had no choice but to listen helplessly to her wishes.
Trying to gauge Reina’s inner thoughts, Ethan deliberately opened his lips to speak once more.
“With you, Reina …”
As those three words fell from his lips, the tension in Reina’s expression eased a little. Taking this as a signal, Ethan’s confidence was restored and he pushed forward to complete the sentence.
“I’ll go with you, Reina. Of course you should be there, too.”
Fortunately, what he said this time was the right answer.
“Thank you, Ethan.”
As the cause of her worries had yet to be resolved, a smile still evaded her lips. Still, he caught a wisp of a smile at the corners of her lips.
Ethan had kept his eyes on his love until now, but as Reina turned away to give her orders to the knights, Ethan smirked when he made eye contact with Eli.
Once again, Ethan was the only one who could be the partner of a woman who’s the sweetest chocolate in the world.
* * *
“There is no room for negotiation.”
Reina and Ethan approached the temple with the intention to suggest another talk with the religion’s officials. However, the paladins quickly blocked the entrance like a solid wall.
While they held a statue-like demeanor, their uniforms were rather splendid. They all wore platinum suits of armor, the very image of Utta’s holiness in the way that the sun’s light was being reflected off the surface.
Also in the center of the armor was the gold insignia of a sun, depicting the grace of god they worshiped.
The irony of it all was evident.
This was a display of extravagance without a single semblance of practicality.
“We have no intention of submitting to your authority. The knights of House Chantra and House Jehardt must leave at once.”
The second warning echoed prominently.
Reina lifted one hand to cover half of her eyes, warding off the glare of the platinum helms. Each had a T-shaped hole in them, which was enough to show the eyes, nose and lips of each paladin.
‘I really can’t understand.’
Eventually, Ethan stepped forward next to her.
“That is a matter that the High Priest should be telling me, not you, Captain.”
Upon recognizing who he was, the paladins bowed their heads in unison.
“I am Zatro, Captain of the Reformation Division, sworn fealty to the Almighty Utta. I greet you, the sublime Ethan Gerard Liam.”
The knight captain showed his respects to Ethan, albeit only as an individual and not a member of the nine households. It was the underlying connotation of their refusal to submit to imperial authority.
“However, I apologize. Even if Your Lordship Ethan comes forward, the stance of the Utta Temple shall remain unchanged. It is that woman, Reina Chantra, who brought this situation upon herself first.”
‘That woman, Reina Chantra,’ he said.
At the demeaning title and lack of respect, Ethan’s gaze became cold.
“Reina Chantra?”
It was just a name, but it was enough to shoot down the atmosphere.
“You must be under a very big misunderstanding, Knight Captain.”
Ethan had been talking to the knight captain with a neutral tone of politeness until now, but unknowingly, this pretense soon dropped.
Putting on the façade of a smile, he took a step closer to the paladins.
“Just now, did you think that my words were a mere suggestion?”
Reina couldn’t help but be reminded of how things transpired when Ethan found her in the middle of a confrontation with Lehman back then, at the academy. Panicked, Reina hurriedly grabbed Ethan’s arm.
“Ethan. It’s just a title.”
“But it is a matter of one’s position.”
Right. Of course, Reina knew that as well.
There was once a time when his nickname, Cerulean Freak, made sense in the context of his ‘unyielding rationality’. One could only wonder why he’s being so emotional these days. If it was his normal self from the past, he would have stopped at coldly pointing out what he disagreed with.
Reina still couldn’t fully understand this change of his, but first, the priority was to calm him down right now.
“Ethan, it’s really just a title.”
She looked around her, at the knights of House Chantra and House Jehardt, who were standing imposingly behind her, and the villagers of Launcer, who were nervously watching the confrontation.
‘We’re not here to fight.’
After reflecting on their purpose here again, Reina tried to calm Ethan again.
“So, it’s really alright that— Urgh!”
Like a bolt out of the blue, it felt as if her flesh was being torn apart, as if iron rods were being pushed out of her fingertips. At the same time, her vision turned upside down, and nothing but white light dominated her field of view.
“AAAACK!”
It was a familiar anguish.
In her panic, she couldn’t breathe properly.
“Reina!
“Lady Reina!”
“Noona!”
She heard many people calling out to her from all sides, but her vision had long since failed ever since the bright white light took over.
‘W-Why now…!’
The same moment she barely formed the question in her mind, the white expanse of her vision was blotted out by increasing spots of darkness. And, soon, she could see nothing but darkness.
Regardless of her will, an unexpected word came to mind.
Arashrata.
As though in response to that barely audible whisper, Reina’s consciousness sank below the surface.
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