Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

Shudmuel could not reach Yuriel. There was something that attacked Yuriel faster than him, who moved its body to protect Yuriel.

Some of the monsters sensed danger and ran towards Yuriel. Shudmuel let out a sharp noise, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of explosives.

After being pushed away by the craze caused by the explosion, Shudmuel got up in a hurry.

Seeing the place where Yuriel was, he stopped breathing. Yuriel was standing in her original position without being pushed back at all from the place she had been before the explosion.

The monsters protected Yuriel.

＊＊＊

Yuriel faced a horribly changed street.

The corpses of dead monsters were scattered around her in a huge explosion that caused the surrounding buildings to collapse. The stench of the beast wafted from the charred skin. The monster’s blood that dripped like sticky oil polluted Yuriel’s body.

It was a death that left no cores. The monsters that protected Yuriel did not resurrect. Her stomach throbbed.

Streets destroyed in the aftermath of the explosion, buildings with collapsed exterior walls, and people who were wounded by debris while running away were seen groaning.

Yuriel recognized the fact that she, who was closest to the center of the explosion, was not injured at all.

The hand that was holding her throbbing stomach tightened.

It was unbelievable that there were no wounds in such a close position.

When the explosion stopped, people ran away and others tried to take care of the wounded. Because the mercenaries protected them, there were no serious injuries, but the black blood shed by the monsters close to the cores was abundant.

The monster’s damage was enormous.

“Miss Yuriel!”

Someone called Yuriel and ran. It was the first knight Yuriel had never seen before. He was wearing Albraka’s uniform, but it was an unfamiliar face.

Yuriel, who was watching the slow extinguishing fire on the monster’s skin, gave strength to her shaking legs as she saw the knight approaching her.

After seeing Yuriel covered in the blood of a sticky monster, Shudmuel was seen behind him.

Is he a member of the medical unit? Or is that person part of the terrorist group like Shudmuel?

Yuriel thought with a blank mind. The knight who approached her reached out to check her condition.

“Where are you hurt? Miss Yuriel shouldn’t have been around here…. How surprised we were when we saw the monsters rushing at you before the explosion….”

The man said quickly. He looked at Yuriel with a face full of worry and guilt.

From his words, Yuriel could tell that the man was a terrorist disguised as a knight of Albraka. The tone was that he knew the explosion ahead of time.

Yuriel, who had been quietly leaving her body for the man to examine, saw the man’s face gradually getting paler the more he checked her condition, and pulled out the arm that he was holding.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I can walk, so I’ll go back and get treatment. Please look at other people first.”

It crossed her mind that she shouldn’t be found out that she had no wounds even in her dazed mind.

Rumors about Yuriel were not good. The knights of Albraka, who she lived with, did not believe such rumors and treated her kindly, but if the person disguised as a knight sees her being fine with no injuries in this situation….

She hurriedly leaned back, but the man had already confirmed that Yuriel was not injured at all. He said with a stiff face.

“Why are there no injuries at all? The monster ran like that…. Not a single scratch is visible.”

Worry vanished from his face, revealing a deep sense of fear. A man with a face that felt both disgust and contempt opened his mouth.

“It wasn’t that the monsters were attacking you…. Were they protecting you?”

Yuriel looked back at the man’s face showing his hatred towards her and backed away. The eyes of those who heard his voice turned to Yuriel.

It was a malevolent gaze that was no different from looking at a monster.

＊＊＊

Yuriel fell in thought in a room without a window.

She couldn’t go back to Raphlet’s room. After hearing about the terrorist attack and monsters actions, the priests decided to investigate Yuriel. When the high priest’s order was issued, the knights came to pick up Yuriel.

Even though they weren’t close with Yuriel, they treated Yuriel with respect, who had subjugated the monsters with her help.

“Miss Yuriel. You will be able to come out soon.”

“… When Commander Raphlet leaves the conference room, I will tell him where Miss Yuriel is.”

“Don’t worry too much.”

The knights with familiar faces said so. They had a pitiful look seeing her pale, weary face, covered in monster blood. Yuriel was only tinkering with the handkerchief they had given her, saying it would be good to wipe the blood even a little.

The comfort from the knights was not helpful because her mood had sunk. The knights who had added something in their own way stopped their crude consolation and went outside.

They seemed to have decided that meeting Raphlet was more important than comforting Yuriel.

The two watched the room where Yuriel was locked, and one hurriedly ran outside. Yuriel watched as they moved chaotically through the closing door.

Raphlet, who came out of the conference room, was worried about her, but the biggest problem was that Shudmuel was a terrorist.

Even more terrifying was that she couldn’t tell him anything about Shudmuel, and she was also concerned that she can’t believe anything Shudmuel had ever said.

Why did Shudmuel use her? Because she was being criticized by people? Maybe Sir Shudmuel was the one who started spreading the rumors that she was controlling monsters.

Yuriel covered her face with an anguished expression. It was a big shock to learn that he, who she had given her trust, had built a relationship with her solely to use her.

There was no end to the doubts that had begun, but she had to force herself to break free from the unacceptable facts. Yuriel thought about what had happened to her.

She lost the ability to detect monsters and was protected by the monsters. Rather than being protected by a specific monster, some of the surrounding monsters moved to protect Yuriel. It was a strange phenomenon even when she thought about it.

She was also pregnant with the child of the Commander, Raphlet. If alchemists were to experiment with her body, they would immediately discover her condition.

The saint who was indispensable to stop the monsters and a strange commoner woman who was protected by monsters.

Yuriel knew she couldn’t be a part of Albraka anymore. Even if Raphlet tried to get Yuriel out, it would be impossible.

If she could predict the monsters’ movements,she would have been able to prove her usefulness. But now, the only ability Yuriel had left was the monsters’ protection regardless of her will.

It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t cooperate.

Since they don’t need her cooperation, it would be better to hand her over to the Alchemy Tower and order experiments than to leave Yuriel as part of the knight order.

What should she do? How can she get out of this situation without getting found out that she was pregnant?

It was a question that never had an answer. Yuriel fell on the desk, clutching the handkerchief, which the knights had given her.

“What to do….”

When she came up to the imperial capital with only one bag, she never imagined that she would be in such a complicated situation. Yuriel was accustomed to kindness and was naive.

She was full of confidence that she could overcome anything on her own in the imperial capital. This was the first time she had encountered people who tried to abuse and exploit her. In this situation, naivety didn’t help.

Her youthful and cheerful eyes turned dark. Yuriel lamented the consequences she had brought.

“You must not go in. Commander Shudmuel.”

There was a commotion outside. The door was half-opened loudly. It could not be fully opened and stopped halfway as if blocked by someone. Yuriel looked at a tall man at a glance through the half-open door, and raised her droopy body.

“I have obtained permission from the minister. Back off.”

“The permission….”

“Check it and open the door.”

Her heart, which was full of tension and worry, calmed down when she saw Shudmuel’s face.

He came in after forcibly dismissing the knights guarding the door, but when he saw Yuriel’s eyes, he paused for a moment. He closed the door, avoiding Yuriel’s eyes.

Shudmuel closed the door and touched his glasses with one hand. He looked like he was contemplating whether to take it off or not. Yuriel stared at him without taking a single breath.

“… Is it hypnosis?”

When she first met him and went to his office, she remembered the books she had seen in his library. In addition to books related to hypnosis, it was a bookshelf full of medical books.

If it was the first time, she wouldn’t be able to relate her condition to a book on hypnosis, but now it was different. Yuriel had realized that her relationship with Shudmuel was wrong from the start.

The closeness she felt from the moment they met was forcibly created by Shudmuel.

He turned around and nodded his head.

“As promised, I will take responsibility for the safety of you and your child.”

Yuriel smiled sharply at the shameless promise.

“I think I would have been safe without Sir Shudmuel.”

Looking at him who couldn’t deny it, Yuriel pointed to the seat opposite her.

Because of the hypnosis, it was impossible to reveal Shudmuel’s identity, and if she waits patiently for a disposition, the fact that she was pregnant would be revealed.

“Sit down for now. I think you have a lot to tell me.”

The only person Yuriel can obtain information from now is Shudmuel.