Chapter 119

I turned to 4f78a03690 Ismail with wide c0467c7873 eyes.f92f37ec057c7239

‘Come to think of it… he’s not pretending to be mute anymore, is he?’bb41b0a2e4c1e3cf

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Since we met earlier, 9df09338a9 he had been responding 0f60b97042 to me with his ef31959143 voice, but I hadn’t 01bfe13a1b noticed.1a4349c12923ee59

And yet, he 50c3e15e48 had been just 57fa7bbdc4 as wary of 41472be124 Magnus as I 66ee24bb10 was.9a4022317aa58fd6

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Why was he speaking 6c3e6e1a48 as if he was 4b2a5c7cc1 defending him?721e43d23c6f7d8a

‘Could it be… mind control magic?!’3581d9d9e169ae8b

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These were people who used 6ce6228e04 dark magic—I couldn’t rule out 9fd1881f2c the possibility that they had de7d3980c1 done something to him.846db4583ab3c4c1

As I watched him with 4109bc5f76 a worried expression, he continued 81ba9dcc7f speaking.06a8989b3b0a488a

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“The one who often hit and locked up Belze and me… was actually High Priest Dunkeski.”3a15dd72fa6c1f99

At those words, the Pope’s 7be80950b4 face darkened instantly.457a5cc4c3f71fac

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And so did mine.c015d9bc4efe1254

The fact that Ismail 6807069d78 was placing all the 3c84beb183 blame on Dunkeski, who beef8d033e had already fallen from 136f423561 power, only made me 568ab61420 more suspicious that he 62a2e0d8da had been brainwashed.c56bb30f6767e06e

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Just as my doubts deepened—519ea5b5676a4778

“But.”97322750c71ed6d3

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“……”299e93a85515a13d

“When I tried to explain why I pretended to be mute, the Headmaster got mad at me for lying.”4cad05f141b1a20b

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“……”243dd2d3367b3fa7

“Even when I told him that I had been bullied by the other kids all this time… he didn’t seem to care.”fb0f5d2e66bdddcc

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With clear, unblinking eyes, f8af104e87 Ismail stared straight at c42fbfda20 Magnus.54f54bc5978adcb0

“Ismail, that’s…!”5da3db1ebbb86014

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Magnus flinched, his shoulders trembling 7c9d780552 as he tried to come 021af628fe up with an excuse.d3252bb5adad25a5

But his lips only moved 48e1cdd54c soundlessly—he had nothing to say.00976cf4e481cff9

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Because everything Ismail had just 616d7aed96 said was true.b47a3736df722ad0

“I-It’s a misunderstanding, Headmaster! It’s true that I asked Belze to write a letter to the Duke of Kallios for help, but I never told her to bring him here!”9df4bac77f8c30de

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Back when his control ade58c2c7e ability had been discovered, a26ed3cd33 Ismail had prepared this 3edd186c2a excuse in advance, clinging 132c18b08e to it desperately as 6cc30d8d2a he pleaded.154cbcd3b1c4b473

Since those under his control b74349be30 wouldn’t remember the moment they 9e4bbaf2fd were influenced, he could get 8662778754 away with such a claim.bf98501ac13ff300

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Just as expected, Magnus didn’t 07a2cd7737 take that part too seriously.fe82f140d08e1bdd

But then—c4b4dbf671d82414

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“I see. Putting that aside… why did you pretend to be mute and hide your ability?”9b491fe890427962

“T-That’s… I was scared that High Priest Dunkeski would hit me again.”677a769126a87230

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“High Priest Dunkeski was dismissed quite some time ago, Ismail.”4aca9a9849979c94

“B-But before I could tell the truth… Tommy and the other kids started teasing me for being mute, and I never got a chance to speak up….”69099bcb599c970c

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“Your explanation doesn’t add up. If they started teasing you, wouldn’t that have been more reason for you to speak up and prove you weren’t mute?”90844f4579f10454

Ismail fell silent at 903936c9fd Magnus’s words.61ad20bbf2a5c7ee

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The High Priest, watching the e02bbbceaa hesitant boy with an expressionless 2d4df232af face, eventually dragged him back 18d22560f6 to the temple.b3a4a6daf904b3f0

Fortunately, unlike Dunkeski’s methods, 4f25738105 he wasn’t beaten or 34ef483d7f locked away in a 234c1508f1 dark room like the 666cb4a829 Chamber of Repentance.0c1608fa2d409fc3

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But that didn’t mean c08b2e4d13 he was set free 5e4ad9b2fb either.0f31bfff4d03c36d

Ismail had been confined f904b19ea1 to Magnus’s quarters the 3df442d632 entire time and had fdcdc5d191 only just returned to fa1ebc1447 the orphanage.7c3e5f3b2ad60547

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“…What if revealing that I can talk doesn’t change anything?”16808ef6b76c59c9

After recounting his d0ca2f222a experiences with Magnus, ebe1ea9da8 Ismail finally voiced 497d38c846 the thoughts he 7275fc5ff4 hadn’t been able 70e4475f21 to say before.c643bb9d1a25332e

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“What if the bullying doesn’t stop?”3db317cd377048eb

“……”0a0d3d69fca0cab3

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“Then what am I supposed to do?”19e437953638554d

His voice was quiet, 755a3addb1 almost emotionless, but it 9fff9e9da5 struck me like a 53928a60c0 thunderclap.4a59055a1c0e03e9

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It was the first time 274e1287e2 I had heard him speak 0108e12905 like this.8dd78ddaa08befe6

I had assumed he d71ad4ea36 continued pretending to be 3df16a524f mute even after Dunkeski’s 9a62d82983 downfall because he was 3ca08b16cb wary of those trying 6ef6f705ad to exploit his ability.a9dc63fd0c8ce6db

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…Now that I think about it, he did keep pretending even after Dunkeski was gone, didn’t he?0f4451e8bfa1edf5

I had never given it a4ad478099 much thought.57936ac4479653ff

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Until I asked him 1bc4b6b46d to control Magnus, Ismail 5a8db09990 had been little more 1ef0ae61e8 than an afterthought to e01789b94e me.616a7ee2afdec673

I had helped him escape 90a046d3ac the orphanage out of a 4c21a29674 vague sense of camaraderie—nothing more.3385276c538ae409

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After all, in the original 0c6cadb0b3 story, he was just another 880408aa51 male lead candidate who would a9302c571a eventually fall for the heroine f27f30e763 and despise me.fe26494ae7ba34a8

But I had been d9658c7918 so fixated on the f98b4418a5 novel’s plot that I 6b43ae2a71 overlooked something important—bceca8e8094c9abc

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Ismail was still just f4396c42cb a child.32b08dd0bd6e9d48

Even though he eae9459b8b could speak, he b76395e576 feared the bullying 67fb3aca41 wouldn’t stop.4948c5c703b80119

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And strangely, I understood f7f48bd0d2 that fear all too 7e4bb559d3 well.942ceb51640d5fbb

When I first lost 5b19d23b0f my Healing Eye, what ae7a412907 I dreaded most was 2af2c90927 being seen as useless.44bbe14ed1a645a6

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It was almost laughable.6f832178e092ccf7

By then, my abilities 2fae376c9a and reputation had already 3e7705c51c hit rock bottom.29ecd80824ebe070

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Even so, I had clung fc7964dbe2 to that fear—db9678ce38751cce

Even though hardly cdd6355700 anyone truly understood 3a6ecfdf9f what my Healing 3d9227a077 Eye could do.9c117feaf981004a

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For someone like Ismail, 9a801f116e who was far more df6d518158 intelligent and had a 24c34532dd more obviously useful ability, d35f3bb4fc the fear must have 4c37bf8e01 been unbearable.59ca0863d348ab49

Even if he 7f1350f3e7 started speaking again, cad07ff276 he knew the 804bf6a085 way the other f49b18cd48 children and priests b968673160 saw him would f0a6110f71 never be the 7b96c58d2a same.07d3e66087601005

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Because even if he 7cfeebac19 stopped pretending to be bf725fcf75 mute—he couldn’t stop pretending 62976e1498 that he had lost 0ef69bccd5 his ability.1b80dc0e85a86436

To protect it from 1d4add269f being taken away.26fd9a4a0ef7efd5

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“…So High Priest Magnus didn’t harm you, but at the same time, he did nothing to stop the bullying you suffered.”5d7775579907e904

After a brief 63d3273c02 silence, the Pope 9ee9c2c017 finally spoke.8eeb2902b29596ad

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“Did I hear you correctly, Ismail?”9e4df57f4adf774a

“Your Holiness!”ffe95d57ce9b307d

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Magnus’s face twisted 524af5e133 in panic as e45ed0052f he hastily interrupted.836ce6bd85e56014

“E-Even so, what Ismail did was still wrong! He shouldn’t have used his ability on me—he should have spoken to me and asked for help instead…!”d9162b000206d884

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“High Priest Magnus.”c70e0739983e2ed2

“……”96ef3200a9b91248

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“It seems I overestimated you. You begged for this position so earnestly that I expected you to take your duties seriously.”f30585021e3b4666

The Pope’s voice was 8117e86160 calm, yet carried a 9dc0124de0 chilling weight.230c503010a14f77

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Magnus quickly forced a smile, fc6b7614bb trying to salvage the situation.3307b04fecf2977b

“Your Holiness, I have only been in this role for two weeks! That’s hardly enough time to fully grasp the orphanage’s situation—”c8a4550ec93cfca8

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“If you truly intended to understand the situation, you should have listened to the children who were being neglected first.”2bdab5877a4d8bed

At the Pope’s sharp rebuke, 80476b55cb Magnus finally shut his mouth.ccd4d7b7782b9597

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Somehow, the discussion had 58c30196ba shifted from Ismail’s hidden 550fd581ce ability to Magnus’s incompetence.b1b4db1c2ec82e64

That hadn’t been my c794a87d36 original goal—I had intended f0a78810de to expose him as 2e52871c2a a heretic.2690ae3220afc935

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But either way, 4651a08d69 with the Pope’s f2a9282b96 involvement, things were 05776c8a3f progressing much more a915c39738 smoothly than I aa3b3049b6 had expected.a59c418bfbd66711

“What exactly have you done today? While a child from the temple orphanage was forced to seek outside help, what were you doing?”41d8f59feb418dda

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“Y-Your Holiness, that is….”07810c2b93bf2451

“You downplayed the situation to me, saying it was nothing serious, and now all you can say is that you lacked time?”ad9dc1e766665e9a

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The Pope had already been on edge since the noble guests had witnessed the previous orphanage priests’ misdeeds during the volunteer day.b7f47db001923346

And now, seeing that even c8c1716d32 the newly appointed priest had 429ce0dc19 failed to meet expectations, he 805a43ec71 couldn’t hide his disappointment.71c0a1e68c63754f

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“Since, as you say, it’s only been two weeks, you probably haven’t even had time to form attachments with the children. I’ll find a new replacement, so you may step down now.”75211be669c7088b

“Your Holiness!”763091a44b71dff0

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Magnus’s head snapped 3d6453138e up at the 8ec3617429 Pope’s unwavering decision, 8baafdabd3 which left no 3fdba5da1f room for negotiation.925023bf5a7e2902

“I-I was foolish! Please, just give me one more chance…!”26008ccf135f7fe0

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“I don’t wish to see you for a while. Go to the Saint Arkia Monastery and spend time reflecting in prayer. And while you’re there, study again why the temple operates an orphanage in the first place.”b8b1ce6ace0a7e4b

Even as Magnus hastily bowed b773d4b0f4 and pleaded for mercy, the df0c9b0567 Pope remained unmoved.5057868a98dde11b

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As he had said, 9f8b9dca5c it was fortunate that 5ba995fb17 Magnus had only been c6be44517c in his position for a433f63fd2 a short time.afce2c6dd49823f8

At least this way, 1b9cdd4905 there hadn’t been too 3d772933aa many more victims like 28fd703d15 Ismail and me.360ae8a314798141

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To be honest, I 2ee8c6c6e1 wanted to expose Magnus c4dd85e676 right then and there—a9d268b8cce8b530

To reveal that a9555f7dbf he had colluded f877f3b9f2 with Logan.9abf31c1b8bcabbb

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To declare him a 23c4baa83e dangerous heretic who deserved 7233743796 immediate punishment.034ec299d7b4835e

But…006ba823026d6b54

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Ismail had told me that dd617680f6 he justified controlling Magnus as 2106278d25 a way to ask for 6ffbf82c73 my help.3659f108b5b13d0a

I recalled his explanation and dca033c5f0 bit my lip.d7e2aee6fa73e973

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Unlike Logan, who 3b1a101f30 had been caught 3c339ffb5e using dark magic 8d5f86fb8a and reciting ancient 0e5dce1576 heretical texts, there 495209e0f0 was no solid 06dbd1b8cd proof against Magnus 900a56bdff yet.62294c65f3980bcf

If I acted recklessly 68e5ca8fb4 and made it obvious 80e9dda9b9 that Ismail knew something, d830540a6f we could end up 36737cfc7a in even greater danger.77ba2eeec307be5f

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…Either way, he’s been sent far from the temple. I can deal with him 96a6161deb later.715aa6bc274d8942

Morbid thoughts of assassination 425ec7b3d8 and accidental death floated 958a9669e9 through my mind.d33c2d534170058b

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“…Understood.”74691fe9b88759ab

Magnus, who had been 8be8ed2c67 glancing back and forth c26f8caaa3 between the Pope, Ismail, 851d4ec421 and me with a 3dd153401b deeply resentful expression, finally 5cf9ecd16c lowered his head.5ba850e74e143bc7

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“I will prepare to leave immediately.”aa7481b122395a60

With that, he 65a85c86a0 rose and trudged 5c4e41856e out of the 79e43c3668 headmistress’s office.173b9d14058db7a6

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Saint Arkia Monastery was located 6f433a24f3 far in the southern regions, c32d5eac26 far from the capital.cc965b69fa3df393

Unless he was summoned da6c22736d by the Pope or 45f756b397 accomplished some extraordinary feat, cea924040b he was unlikely to e661dced9b return.a116b9c387feb195

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It was, for d05608189b all intents and 052feddf64 purposes, an exile.870c8404757088a2

For failing to listen d0aec0452b to a neglected child, 63170fd71e it was a rather 72be77afc1 severe punishment.c03dbec47b670d7b

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But it seemed the 1c852c6f5c Pope wanted to set b6048066da an example—not just for 317b7fd139 the orphanage, but for d05194a9d5 me as well.08eecf1cf2572a8e

Honestly, I didn’t mind.d86069ee8277ff96

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As I watched 03d70fe190 Magnus’s retreating figure 9540e2ecbc disappear beyond the edc637cfa7 door, I felt 9ee6c9fb19 an odd sense a5057b095f of satisfaction.d4bc198ee6d33ae5

First Dunkeski, and now Magnus—I’m a773c58d0f the one identifying these villains d6bd58f80b and casting them out.91c6c12afb9e2775

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If I hadn’t asked 3174896858 Ismail to control him, 573c34478b none of this would 05c2ce63bc have happened.67a84f3d81c4c52e

I’m changing the original 008a12aa34 story, bit by bit.232751262d46d3f7

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And finally, I admitted it.294051c29f26628b

That because of me, 635d0c6119 the events of the 07a10d1fc8 novel were shifting in 8e8b944ecb countless ways.85403048e55d5468

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Diana was still the protagonist, 4cb70a3709 so I might not be 58d1077b0f able to alter the main 95762bf58d plotline.bf539ca68d3eea50

But if I 9b769d549a kept making these 825707bb9a small changes, then e4b786b3a9 maybe…148ca521ff382d5e

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Maybe I could remove cff74f8d5e Edwin from the list 457fa3793d of male lead candidates e98e250de9 altogether.cb5f4a06294061f8

At the very bottom 562720a820 of my heart, a fd8f4df98a small, secret hope began 0ecdc154d9 to bloom.324b528f2fe24f9e

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Just then—d8de5ff4a70a87f3

“…It must have been quite a surprise to suddenly have a sponsor.”490d6652bc747f39

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The Pope’s voice echoed through 952df1d611 the now-empty headmistress’s office.e58aab17ab634717

At his words, Ismail cast e305720211 a wary glance in my 7833cd85d2 direction, looking rather unsettled.e116adcdee8737b1

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“…She’s my sponsor?”b61d449217fb0354

“Yep! I’m your sponsor!”72d14bf485d8ea54

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I declared proudly, 785835ac1f watching his dark 474d5d61df amber eyes flicker.55a9226d14901239

For some reason, he c87d941244 looked troubled.88cae0b98b286090

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This entire plan d4b1cab67e had been something 398f445829 he knew nothing 524f2fe403 about.9a7d3f459823c9a5

And honestly, I had only c78ea74d3e thought of it in passing 468a99acdb before—only deciding to act on 4557b7327b it just yesterday.5290620ea11b1b5b

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Maybe he’s just shocked?bb2df2ecf3c177c2

As I rationalized his reaction, a1c29ebb2e I suddenly remembered something.4faf30fdbe9da090

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Feeling the weight ce09d5303b still hanging at f61c170f08 my waist, I 6be6102585 gasped.f3755ee44c9d5048

“Ah!”45f09d192fcea733

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With a short 146171b702 exclamation, I quickly 1ef52e85b6 untied the heavy c0bf101817 pouch strapped tightly a7b824c578 to my belt 0a8532691a and handed it 7104022241 to the Pope.94d2895e15c21443

“Here, the remaining 48 gold!”9538af6f8d54e257

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