Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 87

Previous | Toc | Next

This woman clearly had some important role. And everyone seemed to know that, except me. I glanced disapprovingly at Alois, who had led me here without a single piece of information, but he turned his head away as if he didn’t see my gaze.

Then again, unlike the others, even her clothes were a different color, so it was easy to guess she was somewhat special.

“We shall descend.”

Behind the curtain stood a large door. She retrieved a golden key from within her robes and fit it into various keyholes.

While waiting for her to open the door, I realized that the heavy scent dominating the hall was barely present here. If I stuck my head outside the curtain, the overwhelming scent was enough to make me frown, yet inside, it smelled as fresh as dawn.

“What is it?”

“It’s just…it’s nothing.”

Just then, the door opened, and I brushed aside Alois’s question.

It wasn’t called the underground for nothing. The entire space ahead was pitch-black.

But as if the darkness was an illusion, candles began to glow, and beneath the shimmering candles, was a stairway that stretched endlessly below.

“…”

As the door opened, I couldn’t help but frown in discomfort once again. The cool, dewy air from before had vanished in an instant, replaced by an oppressive wave of heat.

The unsettling. unknown scent was no different.

“Shall we?”

Despite knowing my discomfort, Alois silently nudged me forward. I had no choice but to step into the underground passage.

The blonde woman led the way without once glancing back. The door to the underground had long since closed behind us, and as we walked without an end in sight, fear began to creep in. Just as I started to feel uneasy, Alois spoke.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

“You seem tense, like you’re afraid.”

I couldn’t tell if he knew or was just making fun of me so I just stared straight ahead, feeling annoyed. The key was to react as nonchalantly as possible.

“Afraid? Do I look like the kind of person who gets scared?”

As soon as I said that, Alois’s eyes widened briefly before he chuckled, as if he had just heard a funny joke.

At the very least, I had learned to distinguish between his genuine and feigned smiles. And this was a genuine one.

“Haha, of course not. You’re not someone who would be scared by something like this.”

In theory, he was right—unless this man had decided I was no longer useful and was ready to sell me out despite the divine punishment it would bring.

But regardless, we had been walking for over ten minutes now, yet we were still following the path lit by candles. It made me uneasy.

“If anything jumps out, I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”

Even though he could fight, with the way he looked, it felt like I should be the one protecting him instead.

I lowered my lashes lazily and exhaled.

“I have doubts. What if it’s a ghost?”

“Well, I can’t see those so I don’t think I can protect you from that.”

Alois answered my playful question with an equally lighthearted response.

Still, the more the talked, the more bearable the gloomy space felt.

The only thing I still couldn’t adjust to was the stifling heat and the ominous scent. A thick, unsettling smell clung to the air, stinging my nose.

I had noticed something but chose to feign ignorance, continuing our trivial chatter as we walked.

“Ah, Alois. I still don’t know what’s down there…”

“Hmm?”

“Can you tell me what we’re heading into?”

My entire body felt cold. The blood inside me was boiling, yet the warmth enveloping me was oddly chilling.

“Well… You’ll see for yourself soon enough, but if I were to give you a hint…”

“It’d be blood?”

His footsteps faltered and rhythmic clicking of his shoes momentarily broke.

I glanced at him and wrinkled my nose. My body wasn’t overheated because the temperature was low, but because the blood coursing through me had grown unbearably hot.

And now, I was certain—I knew exactly what that thick, nauseating scent was.

“This is the smell of blood.”

Yet, it didn’t smell foul, like filth.

It was more like a lingering trace of blood in the air.

“…I’m surprised.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“To be honest… I thought you wouldn’t realize until you saw it for yourself.”

With my entire body burning up, how could I not? It felt as if my blood was boiling inside me.

This is why they say Saints should stay away from sinister things.

Just as priests could feel the agony of demons when exorcising them, I experienced a similar feeling.

It wasn’t exactly pain, but it was very unpleasant and left an unsettling feeling behind.

I acted like it was nothing and continued descending the stairs. Soon, we reached the bottom, where the blonde woman who had been leading us had stopped, waiting for us.

“You may pass through this door. I shall take my leave.”

She handed us a key. I took it and looked at the wooden door before us.

The blonde woman had already started climbing back up. Alois took the key from my hands and asked,

“You said it smells like blood?”

“…Yes. A metallic scent… Not dirty, but it doesn’t feel clean either.”

I showed off my senses as a Saintess and Alois, fitting the key into the lock, glanced at me. Then, almost to himself, he muttered,

“I’ll tell you in advance. This place is…”

The moment the door opened, I was hit with an overwhelming urge to cover my nose—just like when I first entered the hall above.

“A place for extracting blood.”

“…”

I felt heat rising all over my body. With a cold expression, I looked up at Alois and he awkwardly shifted and used his sleeve to cover my face.

“Why…”

Once I heard ‘extracting blood’, I immediately thought of two things. First, creatures like Dracula or vampires…

And second…

“It happens frequently. Countries collect blood in preparation for war.”

The space in front of us looked so pristine and well-maintained that I couldn’t believe it was so disgusting.

“Why?”

And there were several reclining chairs, occupied by nobles lying still with their eyes closed.

“Are you aware that when nobles are wounded in battle, the first thing they seek is blood of other nobles?”

My perspective was really so narrow. So incredibly narrow that without someone broadening it, I never even considered expanding it.

The temple’s pristine walls were spotless, and the stories that made their way inside were just as carefully curated.

I had no one to inform me of things like this. The temple, being nothing more than a puppet of the emperor, had always concealed the dirty underbelly of the world.

“They collect blood in case noble knights die in war. It’s to save those who might die from losing too much blood. However, whether it succeeds or not depends on the blood itself.”

The moment I saw this scene, I had already expected as much.
But there was one thing that didn’t quite make sense…

The nobles I knew—those people would throw a fit at the mere prick of a needle.

If they needed blood, they would rather kidnap commoners and drain them dry until they died.

Entertaining drugged nobles with games and amusement while drawing their blood? That didn’t seem like something they would do.

“Why would nobles give their own blood…?”

“Because commoner blood is filthy. When precious nobles get injured on a battlefield, they spend a fortune to buy noble blood. Even though it might fail, the price is higher than you can imagine.”

“…”

If the blood transfusion failed, that was likely because the blood types did not match.

“Here, with the country turning a blind eye, nobles are drugged into submission. They gamble, winning or losing fortunes, but if they donate their blood, they can make up for their losses. A wonderful deal, isn’t it?”

Alois had said exactly what I had predicted. I pushed his arm away and tried to calm the simmering unease in my stomach.

“Noble blood is sold at exorbitant prices. Both the state and noble houses buy from here to prepare for emergencies.”

“…But the failure rate must still be very high, no?”

“It’s still better than nothing.”

“…”

If I remember correctly, if their blood types are different, simply mixing two samples before transfusion should be enough to check compatibility.

Did Alois not know that?

Then again, most people didn’t because blood has long been considered part of the divine’s domain.

Just as they believed noble and commoner blood were fundamentally different, they saw successful transfusions as divine intervention and failures as a lack of divine grace.

“But Alois.”

“Yes?”

There were four nobles seated here, all seemingly unconscious.

From the sound of their breathing, they were in deep sleep.

If I stayed silent, the soft drip of blood hitting the floor became disturbingly clear.

“So, what exactly is the problem?”

“…”

“I’m not foolish enough to actually believe you brough me here to have fun.”

He gave an awkward laugh then stared at me for a moment before approaching the youngest-looking noble lying there.

With a casual motion, he plucked the needle from the man’s arm. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was okay to just rip it out like that.

With his back turned to me, Alois spoke.

“You’re right. I’m not foolish enough to bring you here without a reason.”