Chapter: 248
Isabel Arteia.
Born into the Arteia Count family, she didn’t care much for gods.
Riding the high horse of privilege, she viewed faith merely as a means for reputation and business.
She simply couldn’t grasp the concept of faith that asked for nothing in return.
The dungeon that planted faith in her life, which was far from belief in the past, changed everything.
When Isabel hadn’t yet inherited the family name, a dungeon appeared over the sea.
The dungeon was so massive that even most seasoned adventurers wouldn’t dare attack it.
At that time, her father, the lord of Arteia, summoned many famous adventurers and mercenaries to conquer it, but they all failed.
The knights of the family weren’t much different. After countless failures, the dungeon only grew more fearsome with time.
Caught in a crisis, Count Arteia sought help from other nobles, but they all declined.
Eventually, having exhausted all means, Count Arteia entered the dungeon himself, leaving only a promise to return.
However, a day passed, then two, and a week went by without a word from him.
People said Count Arteia had failed in conquering the dungeon.
Then something strange happened. The moment his death was half-confirmed, other nobles began to extend their “support.”
Those who had previously claimed they couldn’t help due to pressing matters suddenly reached out as soon as the top decision-maker disappeared. Their intentions were clear enough for even the naive Isabel to notice.
The surrounding nobles were hoping to grab what the Arteia family had.
While she desperately tried to protect her family alongside her mother, there was a limit to her strength.
The constant failures in conquering the dungeon had already begun to destabilize the Arteia family.
The nearby nobles exerted pressure on Count Arteia using every means possible, and it was apparent their goals would soon be achieved.
That day. The day when they told her the situation was serious enough that they wouldn’t be able to avoid consequences if results weren’t delivered.
For the first time, Isabel prayed earnestly in front of the idol.
Please let my father conquer the dungeon and come back safely. So that the family can regain its peace.
Did her desperate voice reach the heavens? The next day, a miracle occurred.
The dungeon vanished, and Count Arteia returned.
Despite having countless wounds, the moment she faced her father, who was smiling brightly, Isabel began to believe in the miracles of God.
It was then that she became obsessed with items related to the Lord. Holding something related to the Lord somehow made everything seem to go well.
It’s unclear whether Isabel’s faith truly worked or if the items she collected brought her luck, but she repeatedly succeeded in everything she did.
In the end, she transformed the Arteia family into something incomparable to its former state.
Now, having inherited the family, Isabel Arteia doesn’t stop her streak of success. She has become one of the major merchants of the continent and a significant patron of the church,
a figure that no noble family can afford to disregard, and one of the greatest nobles impossible to overlook.
Isabel had managed to obtain such power and authority, yet she showed no interest in revenge or anything of the sort.
The reason was quite simple. The Lord commanded her to embrace others with love rather than hatred, and she was just doing that.
However, there were times—very rarely—when someone appeared whom she could neither forgive nor let go.
To Isabel, that person was Lucy Allen.
No matter how young and foolish she was, to insult numerous parishioners and priests while visiting the church,
to spill water on high-ranking bishops while screeching whether it was holy water, that was Lucy Allen.
Had it not been for the glory of Benedict Allen, she would have been arrested for blasphemy long ago.
Even just hearing about her was enough to detest Lucy, but the reason Isabel looked down on Lucy even more was this.
When Isabel purchased a necklace imbued with divinity at an auction, Lucy Allen came and caused disturbances.
“Give that back. This necklace would prefer to be worn by a cute and pretty girl like me rather than a fanatic sitting in a corner, clutching a pen and a cross!”
Isabel rejected that ridiculous demand. There was no reason to comply.
But Lucy Allen kept causing a ruckus until the guards of the auction house arrived.
Had it ended there, it would have been a small incident, but Lucy Allen continued to pester Isabel in various ways.
She even showed up at the family home causing trouble until Benedict Allen came to resolve the situation.
With such experiences, Isabel could not look at Lucy in a good light.
So when she heard that Lucy Allen came to her mansion, she refused the meeting.
She thought there was no reason for someone with no ties to her to suddenly show up unless it was to cause trouble.
The rumors were not wrong. As expected of the Allen family, she had developed her abilities, but her personality remained the same.
Though the Saintess inexplicably got along with her, it was thanks to the Saintess’s grace.
Because of the nonsense Prete blurted out, she had foolishly begun to consider the possibility of being friendly.
How absurd. Just because someone worships the god of beauty and art, does that mean they should be treated well?
I mean, if that pretty face is all there is, then the rest doesn’t matter at all!
Isabel thought it was due to her business ties with the House of Burrow. She wished Lucy would have an accident and hit her head, because if she’s always been a crazy pervert, then some head trauma would be normal for her.
“Master!”
Isabel frowned when her secretary burst in without asking for permission.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a commotion outside.”
“Is it the Young Lady of the Allen family?”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
Sigh. Seriously?
Does that brat, Lucy Allen, know how burdensome it is to bow her head, apologizing for being the hero of the nation while being able to single-handedly decimate an average army?
With Isabel’s sigh, did her secretary realize something? The secretary hurriedly added,
“It’s not the Young Lady causing the trouble!”
“What?”
“The guards of the mansion attacked the Young Lady Allen.”
“…What?!”
Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy?!
Isabel threw the pen she had been holding and rushed outside the mansion.
She didn’t care about the nobility or her dignity. If what the secretary said was true, this was indeed a grave situation.
If Lucy Allen were to get hurt, and Benedict Allen were to become enraged and point his sword at them… that would be a disaster that sent chills down her spine just by imagining it.
Please let nothing happen.
Please!
“What is this?”
After desperately racing to get there, Isabel finally reached the front of the mansion and froze at the sight of the guards lying scattered about.
It was true they were weaker compared to proper knights, but that was only in terms of individual weakness.
Having practiced consistently and learned how to fight as a team, they certainly formed a formidable group. Isabel would never entrust the mansion’s guards to any team lacking even minimal skill.
Yet these guys had been wrecked.
Not just wrecked. Given that there were no dead or severely injured among them despite facing so many opponents, it was clear they had even spared their strength.
“Hey, business fanatic auntie. Isn’t this taking too long?”
At the annoying, clear voice piercing her ears, Isabel lifted her head and froze for a different reason than before.
“Get some exercise on the regular! Sitting around makes your clothes scream to be saved!”
Standing there was Lucy Allen, but she was not the Lucy Allen Isabel knew.
The Lucy Allen she knew in the past was nothing but an arrogant, cocky brat. Beautiful, sure, but that was all. No further value whatsoever.
But what about now? Look at the divinity she was holding!
That precious and powerful divinity!
Isabel, who had bought numerous items related to the Lord and learned how to assess the value of that divinity, realized Lucy’s worth the moment she locked eyes with her.
She was beloved by God.
“Hey, fanatic auntie? You do know your face looks super creepy right now, right? It’s giving me the chills.”
Ah, so that’s why Prete said what he did.
Now I get it.
There was a reason he praised her all day!
“Hello?”
Frankly, she didn’t care what had happened over the past few years, but that was her problem, not mine.
The only important thing was one thing. Currently, Lucy Allen shined with a brilliance beyond any object.
“Can’t you hear me?”
Swallowing her spit, Isabel shook herself back into reality and put a mask over her face, merchant-style.
“My apologies, Young Lady Allen. The situation just a moment ago…”
And internally, she thought,
I want that shiny thing!
*
After Isabel arrived and the situation was managed, I found myself in the reception room of the mansion, unable to shake off an eerie feeling.
Usually, I should have been pleased that things turned out better than I expected, but after witnessing Isabel’s indescribable gaze, I felt a chill creeping over me and couldn’t celebrate.
That look in her eyes was strikingly similar to the gaze of a sloppy fox staring at me dressed as a bunny girl.
Is it strange? Wasn’t she supposed to be a reasonable, intelligent person apart from her obsession with divine items?
Wasn’t there supposed to be no backstory about her being a disgusting pervert?!
“Hey, Young Lady. You just mentioned obsession with items related to the gods, right?”
‘…And?’
“As the Apostle of God, aren’t you the most desirable object of her obsession?”
…Huh?
What?
“Haha, don’t be too surprised. There’s no way you’d refer to yourself as an Apostle of God. It must have been a misunderstanding.”
Though my grandpa chuckled, I couldn’t relax.
I had no way of knowing she could identify me as the Apostle of God.
But she’s holding an artifact that can assess the value of the divinity contained in people or items, you know?
That means she can feel the divine essence of the Lord residing within me, not just the past artifacts.
Not just anything that had degraded over time, but the divine essence granted by the sloppy Lord half a year ago.
…Surely it’s fine, right?
No matter how obsessed Isabel is with items related to the gods, she wouldn’t kidnap me, right?
Yeah, it had to be an unfounded worry.
Anyway, once I receive the stone tablet, I won’t see her again.
Bang!
“Eek?!”
Was it because of all the ominous thoughts? I was startled by the sound of the door opening and cautiously turned my head.
“My apologies, Young Lady. I should have knocked first.”
Standing beyond the door was Isabel, sporting a soft smile.
…It might just be me, but that smile was truly spine-chilling.
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