The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 66
“I don’t believe in the alternative possibility you showed me.”
Her voice was clear, directly denying the future that Vargan had shown her.
However, Vargan narrowed his eyes and observed closely.
He assessed how much time it took Diphelia to give that answer, the tone, pitch, and subtle reactions she displayed.
To his perception, there was at least a small opening.
The illusion in the music box had its effect.
Diphelia spoke.
“I am a follower of Yggdrasil. I could receive baptism as a saint not only because the title suited me but because I genuinely believe in and revere God.”
“I know that well.”
“You showed me a future different from the oracle. This means you understood the meaning of my letter clearly.”
Diphelia had seen the scene where Vargan died in the original work through an oracle and delivered this metaphorically to Vargan to gauge his reaction.
Vargan, being aware of both the overall story of the original work and the content of the novel he had read, easily grasped Diphelia’s intention.
“I sent the letter mainly to check if you were plotting something nefarious. It was to warn you that I was observing you through the oracle, so don’t act rashly… but you gave me a response that easily shattered my expectations.”
Diphelia continued with a voice that could not comprehend the situation, for it was impossible.
“The response you sent was hard to believe. It was nonsense. In this era, I am the only saint… so how could you…?”
Did he know the content of the oracle?
And why did he reveal it without hiding it?
“The power of a saint cannot be realized alone. It must go through the formal process of receiving the church’s baptism, and that name remains in the church. So, there’s nothing I wouldn’t know.”
Yet Vargan deciphered the entire content of the letter.
He even presented another possibility, attempting to entice her.
“I still wonder. How could you fully interpret the letter containing the oracle’s content? Can you see the future, or is there something else I don’t know about? Even if so, for what purpose did you reveal it to me…?”
Diphelia shook her head.
She could see nothing ahead, but she clung to one thing with determination.
“Even if I cannot know anything, I am a saint. A follower of Yggdrasil. The future you showed me is different from the oracle and looks like a devil’s temptation trying to deceive me.”
She conveyed her firm will.
Vargan carefully read even the slightest reaction she showed, savoring it properly.
And he smiled.
“A perfect being.”
At Vargan’s brief words, Diphelia’s shoulders slightly twitched. She tried her best to hide her reaction, but unless one was thoroughly trained, it was difficult to conceal unconscious actions.
“That unknown being that appeared after my death.”
You’re avoiding mentioning it.
Are you trying to evade it?
Vargan continued.
“You must have seen it clearly. What kind of creature it was.”
“That is…”
Vargan approached her face and gently caressed her cheek with one hand. A faint tremor traveled up his hand.
“Saint, your eyelids are trembling. Are you so afraid, trying to uphold your faith while facing a future consumed by fear?”
Even if the path you follow leads to hell.
Will you still try to take that frail step?
Vargan’s voice was as light as a whisper, but each word weighed heavily on Diphelia.
“You tried to pass over the existence of that being without mentioning it. How ironic. Isn’t the oracle something you cherish? Or is your faith so partial that you accept some parts and ignore others as you please?”
“No… it’s not like that.”
Her voice, which had been stable, started to become unstable. The facade she was maintaining began to crumble slowly.
“You have an idea of what that being is. That’s why you are afraid.”
That was.
The mortal enemy of the hero.
The absolute evil that harmed humanity.
“Why did such a being appear in the oracle? What was Yggdrasil trying to tell you? Yes, let’s assume your oracle is right. What do you think would happen after what you saw?”
“……”
“Can you face that perfect being, the <Pope> of the Goddess Church?”
The Pope, Zero Risk Class.
A disaster known to exist as one of four in the world, a being that even the cardinal bowed to.
A slight gesture could make a mountain disappear.
A light kick could crack the ground.
An absolute being said to exist in ancient times, and it was believed to have disappeared from this world.
Yet it was presumed to be still alive and named Zero Risk Class, at the top of all risk classes, commanding them.
When Vargan died and that perfect being appeared, people were thrown into chaos and fled in panic. Heroes and students alike died like insects. Only a few, including Alicia and Arterion, barely survived.
… surviving was a miracle.
“Tell me, saint.”
“……”
Maintaining silence, Diphelia bit her lip lightly and then opened her mouth. A faint voice emerged.
“… we can face it. We must.”
As she spoke, her voice grew stronger as if solidifying her resolve.
“We are heroes. We are the protectors of the world…! If not us, no one else can stop it, so we must fight and win.”
“Even if that choice costs many lives? Even if your beloved colleagues and acquaintances are trampled to pieces?”
“… if there are people who can be saved because of it, then that’s what I should do. That’s why I became a saint and why I want to be a hero!”
Hearing her resolve to bloom courage from fear, Vargan nodded as if he had completed his evaluation.
He clapped his hands, changing the atmosphere.
“Alright, then there is something we must address here.”
Diphelia could not understand his satisfied smile.
“What was contained in the music box I gave you?”
“Your falsehood disguised as the future.”
“No. Give a clear description instead of such vague answers. What did you see?”
Reluctantly, she opened her mouth.
“… the scene of you killing that being, defying the oracle.”
Vargan smiled broadly.
“Yes, it was the scene of me cutting off the neck of that being that instilled so much fear in you with just a brief mention in the oracle and throwing it to the monsters as their prey.”
What Vargan had placed in the music box.
It was not the story of the original work.
Nor the content of the novel he had read.
It was the new development he would lead in the future.
“Saint, you, who believe in the oracle, think the future given by God is the best. Hence, you turn away from the sweet future I showed you and consider me a villain.”
In the end, Diphelia, who followed the oracle, regarded the future shown by Vargan as merely his dream.
It was contradictory.
As a saint who wished to save people and preserve as many lives as possible, she disregarded the better future path shown by Vargan.
Because of the narrow-minded belief that the oracle showed the best plan for humanity.
“But think carefully about how absurd this is. The saint who should save people ignores the choice that would preserve more lives!”
Diphelia furrowed her brows with her eyes closed.
He said that it was nothing but a delusion and that what he was saying now was a sophistry to escape his own interrogation, having identified an unknown scheme.
“Then, I’ll ask you.”
Vargan returned her bird, which he had kept in the shadows. It took some time to adjust to the light.
He continued to speak.
“If you have saved more lives than what was seen in the oracle, or if you will do so in the future, would you be able to accept the future I showed you?”
“… it won’t happen, but if it truly does, should I follow your suggestion?”
Vargan handed something to the saint.
It seemed to be a small vial that could fit in one hand. She confirmed it with the now clearer vision of her familiar.
He said.
“It is a <divine insect>.”
“What? Why… no, more importantly, how…”
For her still not understanding, Vargan kindly added more explanation.
“Do you remember the last phrase I uttered in the oracle?”
“A eulogy… for someone.”
“… that’s right.”
Vargan’s eyes wavered for a moment.
A sorrowful aura lingered in his retinas.
Diphelia saw that vibration.
“The subject of that eulogy was my fiancée, <Erica>.”
Her eyes widened.
Although she couldn’t see directly, it was a natural reaction of surprise.
Goosebumps rose all over her body. It felt as if her whole body was being squeezed tightly.
“That, that… can’t be…”
Diphelia’s mind raced. Rather than confirming the facts, a recent issue came to mind first.
She reached a conclusion.
“Could it be… in the theater where you and Erica went last time…!”
“Yes.”
He told the cruel truth.
“In the middle of the path shown by the oracle, Erica went to the theater alone and was injected with a divine insect by the bishop-level Altife Caliculea.”
“…!”
Diphelia covered her mouth with both hands, swallowing her breath. Knowing what it meant to be injected with a divine insect, she felt nauseous.
“Erica had no choice but to follow Caliculea’s words, forcibly instilled with the Goddess’s ideology. However, Erica fiercely resisted. Even if she became an Altife, she said she couldn’t follow the Goddess.”
Vargan didn’t know the exact details beyond this.
But having obtained information up to this point, he could easily speculate.
“… however, due to a cruel fate, Caliculea, who had gained information about her from another follower who had been trailing her, began to control her body bit by bit, surely.”
He didn’t bother to mention that the gap was related to him, Vargan.
“In the end, Erica’s personality completely changed.”
Thus, Erica, who was a devout follower of Yggdrasil, became the <villainess> and a <bishop of the Goddess Church>, playing a significant role in the story, hindering the protagonists and causing a tragedy at Academia.
“And then, she died praising the Goddess until the day before her execution in prison.”
Vargan had visited her in her cell to witness her last moments. He saw her devastated appearance and hostility.
If this wasn’t a tragedy, what was?
“… hic…!”
Diphelia, blocking her mouth to prevent anything from coming out, began to hiccup. Yet she shook her head, trying to deny Vargan’s words.
“Hic…! There’s no way… there’s no way….”
There were still elements preventing her from accepting his words as they were. Evidence that the subject of the eulogy was Erica? Grounds that Caliculea injected Erica with a divine insect?
And… and….
Diphelia desperately raised questions to deny Vargan. Otherwise, it felt like her faith itself would be shaken.
“If you want, I can give you more information. For example, who the other follower trailing Erica was. Caliculea’s….”
“Wait, wait! Give me a moment to process… what’s happening right now?”
Vargan didn’t wait for her thought process to tilt to one side again.
“Diphelia, I have already saved one life.”
The story was far from over, and although there were variables about how he would handle Erica in the future.
“I will save more people.”
Ironically, in pursuing my happiness, I must completely eradicate Altifes, humanity’s enemy. At least, it would save more lives than the future shown in the oracle.
“On the other hand, what about you?”
He spoke to her.
Following the oracle was her will, her belief. She had no doubt it was the best way forward.
… but that.
“Isn’t it limiting an endless future and giving up all other hopes?”
“No… I… I…”
Diphelia listened to Vargan’s words, breathing heavily. All her previous thoughts were being denied, and her very structure itself was being destroyed.
Vargan, observing the saint who couldn’t even close her mouth, decided to withdraw for now.
This wasn’t a meeting to turn Diphelia around in one go. She had praised Yggdrasil her entire life. Breaking such solid faith required considerable shock and effort.
… as was the case with Erica.
As Vargan walked away, Diphelia did not hold him back. She continued trying to calm her rough breathing and organize the complicated current situation. In her hand was the vial of the divine insect given by Vargan.
He left with one last sentence.
“Don’t put too much blind faith in the church, saint.”