Chapter 118: The Flower of Calamity

This is it.

The oracle I recalled on the day I met Daniel was referring to this.

「Saintess Yuria saved a man who had collapsed on the road and later went on to save countless lives.」

In the original story, Rosetta, as the imperial saintess, used her holy power solely for the empire. However, after meeting Daniel, I created the holy power storage device.

This means it wasn’t just a coincidence.

Could Goddess Maha truly exist?

I thought it was simply part of the novel’s setting, never sincerely believing in her existence.

This is chilling.

Wait a moment. Then what happens to beastmen if they get infected by the plague?

And Xavier?

I clasped my hands together on my lap. The cold fingertips tingled.

“Saintess?”

“Yuria?”

Startled, I snapped out of my thoughts. The village chief and Xavier were closely observing me.

I clenched my fist tightly and asked the village chief.

“Please explain in more detail. Don’t hide anything.”

The delicious steak set before us had gone cold. Yet no one touched their food.

Xavier silently supported me by locking eyes with the chief, while Daniel seriously examined the flower called Gold-Silver.

“The villagers are being kept in the dark. We feared what those in power might do to the village if they found out.”

The chief glanced nervously at Xavier.

“Speak. The village will be safe.”

Reassured by Xavier’s firm response, the chief hesitantly began to speak.

“Thank you, Duke. So… this flower bloomed as the cold intensified. Or did it bloom after the cold worsened? Anyway, even someone like me, who has lived in cold regions all my life, felt like I would freeze to death.”

“I see.”

“Yes, Saintess. And not long after, three people died. They were wandering merchants from outside, but their fingertips turned completely black… As soon as I saw that, I led the villagers down the mountain.”

The chief’s eyes, as if recalling a vision, darkened as he stared into space.

“You said their bodies turned completely black?”

“Yes, Duke. Ethan and Wilhelm buried the bodies, but the fear of such an incident happening again was overwhelming. The flowers swaying in the wind around us seemed to mock us.”

Her trembling hands shook as if she were a quaking tree. Only when Ethan and Wilhelm held her hands did she finally calm down.

“Saintess, this is the Flower of Calamity. I’m terrified that many people will die because of it. Please, help us.”

The chief pleaded, making eye contact with me. The terror and fear etched in her black pupils were vividly conveyed.

The Gold-Silver flower placed on the table drew everyone’s gaze.

“Wilhelm, Ethan. Is it all true?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Though the cold was a factor, seeing the blackened corpses compelled us to leave the village as quickly as possible.”

Ethan and Wilhelm bowed their heads one after the other.

“Why are you only telling me this now? Were you afraid I wouldn’t listen?”

“N-no, Your Grace.”

“No, Your Grace.”

Xavier questioned again, watching the two shake their heads.

“If that’s not the case, why didn’t you report such a critical matter and instead come here? If you had informed me, I could have found a suitable residence for the villagers. Isn’t that right, Chief?”

Xavier’s icy gaze shifted to the chief.

“…I’m sorry, Duke.”

“Even if you feel offended, this isn’t a simple issue. Just within this ducal residence, there are over a hundred staff members. If they get infected, the situation will escalate further…”

Xavier rubbed his forehead.

The villagers who might have come into contact with the merchants whose bodies turned black for unknown reasons.

And the chief and two generals who brought along flowers that could potentially be the source of the plague.

“Your Grace, I apologize. My judgment was clouded because my family’s lives were at stake. However, no one died or fell ill during the journey here.”

“That’s true, Your Grace! No one had direct contact with the wandering merchants.”

Ethan knelt and pleaded, followed by Wilhelm.

“It’s all because of this old fool’s stubbornness. Please forgive me!”

When even the chief tried to kneel, Xavier slammed his fist on the table.

“Stop.”

The chief, caught mid-kneel, froze awkwardly, looking distressed.

“For now, the ducal residence is spacious, so we’ll relocate the villagers to the most isolated area.”

“Oh, Duke.”

“Ethan, Wilhelm, escort them.”

“Th-thank you, Your Grace.”

“…Understood.”

The chief, finally shedding tears, bowed deeply before being escorted out of the tent by Ethan and Wilhelm.

Xavier stroked his jaw with a cold expression.

“Xavier, don’t worry. I’m here.”

“Ah.”

I gestured toward the back of his clenched hand. Xavier, who had been staring at me as if entranced, looked at his hand and chuckled softly.

“Amazing.”

“Of course. Whose blood do you think it’s made of?”

Not that I created it for this kind of situation.

“Dr. Daniel, do you still have spare holy power storage devices at the lab?”

“Pardon? Y-yes.”

“We need to distribute patches to the villagers and the staff… Oh?”

My heart sank.

Daniel, who had been silently observing the Gold-Silver flower, had picked it up barehanded and was examining it.

“Don’t touch that!”

“Doctor!”

Xavier and I shouted in alarm. However, Daniel merely blinked and didn’t let go of the flower. Instead, he held the stem, bit into the root, and began chewing.

“Th-this is d-delicious.”

He continued speaking while chewing, looking like a grazing sheep.

“The doctor has finally gone mad. We need to isolate him before symptoms appear.”

“Doctor, are you okay?”

I couldn’t bring myself to approach and asked from a distance. Daniel swallowed what was in his mouth and shrugged, holding the half-eaten Gold-Silver flower.

“I-I’m fine. This seems similar to that herb.”

“That herb?”

Xavier asked in surprise. Daniel, no longer stammering, began sharing his knowledge.

“There’s an herb called Lonicera, which alternates between golden and silver petals like this. It’s effective against skin necrosis and hemoptysis, and it boosts resistance to germs. When you chew its root, it tastes sweet. Since this Gold-Silver flower is sweet, it must be similar, or perhaps the same.”

“Lonicera? How do you know about that?”

“When I was studying herbs, I read about it in the mythological records as Goddess Maha’s flower.”

“Is it the flower embroidered on the goddess’s robe?”

“Yes.”

“To think it actually exists. Have you seen it in person?”

“The mythological records of Goddess Maha? Her robe?”

“Xavier, do you believe in myths? They’re just made-up stories. We don’t even know if Goddess Maha truly exists.”

I playfully patted Xavier’s back. Both Xavier and Daniel looked straight at me and responded firmly.

“Yuria, the goddess exists.”

“D-duchess, that’s correct. The mythological records are the temple’s historical accounts of real events.”

“What?”

Their serious expressions left me speechless.

“You are the very saintess sent by Goddess Maha.”

“Th-that’s right. The duchess herself is proof of the goddess’s existence.”

Upon reflection, their words were undeniably true.

Despite having received oracles multiple times, it never felt real.

I knew Goddess Maha delivered oracles, but I had unconsciously dismissed it as a fictional device in the novel.

“You’re so simple.”

Xavier chuckled before asking Daniel again.

“So, Doctor, have you actually seen Lonicera?”

“Yes. P-priest Melvin once secretly showed me some growing in Goddess Maha’s temple.”

“Melvin? I’ve never seen it.”

“B-because I love herbs.”

“That makes sense.”

“It should still be in the temple now.”

“Strange. That miraculous herb suddenly sprouting in the snowy village, and people turning black…”

“B-but as you can see, I’m fine.”

Daniel wiped his mouth with his coat.

“So, Doctor, you’re saying the wandering merchants didn’t die because of Lonicera? That’s why you tried it yourself?”

“Yes, yes. That’s correct. You’re so s-smart!”

Still, to experiment on himself with a potentially infectious flower… Is this why they call him an eccentric?

I looked at Daniel with a slightly exasperated expression.

“Looking at me like that makes me em-embarrassed, Duchess.”

“Doctor, put away those sparkling eyes while I’m being nice.”

Xavier covered Daniel’s face with his large hand.

‘This is driving me crazy. I forgot this world is a misery novel. I underestimated it.’

I haven’t even lifted Xavier’s curse yet!

If Goddess Maha exists, I’ll have to ask her directly. I’ll request Priest Melvin to guide me to Goddess Maha’s temple. The lack of recent oracles has been bothering me too.

I stood up abruptly.

“There’s no time for this.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the temple. If Goddess Maha truly exists, I need to pray to her. I want to ask directly if this Lonicera is the Flower of Calamity.”

And there’s more I need to ask.

If she’s a goddess, she must know why I became a saintess.

As I watched Ethan and Wilhelm lead the villagers to the designated location, I instructed Daniel.

“Doctor, please research the remaining herbs. You said this herb isn’t the Flower of Calamity.”

“…Ah, yes.”

After offering him an encouraging smile, I left the tent.

The moment I stepped out of the chilled tent cooled by the magic stone, the outside was oppressively hot. It felt as if the world would end today, with the heat raging furiously.

“Yuria, I’ll go to the temple with you.”

“Xavier, you need to look after the villagers and the ducal territory. A great event will soon occur in the empire.”

“That’s true. But I can’t let you go alone.”

As we passed through the arched side gate leading to the mansion’s back entrance, an unexpected cold wind swept in, replacing the scorching heat.

The supply water flowing through the rear garden froze with a cracking sound.

Hoo. Every breath felt like it froze my lungs.

“It’s cold.”

“The weather’s gone mad. Yuria, hold on tight.”

Xavier lifted me up from behind.

For the temperature to drop so suddenly was bizarre and eerie.

With every step Xavier took while holding me, Gold-Silver flowers began blooming as if by magic.