Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

Thinking carefully about it, Yuriel was storing the monster core before the fever went up. It didn't hurt when she kept it, and it became comfortable when she was in contact with Raphlet.

And today was the same. When Helio touched her with the core-implanted arm, the intense feeling of nausea subsided.

As she walked with Helio, her body became more comfortable, but Yuriel's complexion became pale.

When the monster core was near, the condition of her body improved... ? If that was the case, it seems that monsters and her have a relationship!

She was worried whether she really had any deep connections with monsters.

“Are you going to visit Commander Shudmuel?”

Yuriel, who was walking while looking at the ground, heard a voice from the side and raised her head. Helio was asking with soft eyes.

“If you had been tested by a medical officer, it would have been difficult to stop the rumors from circulating. Even though Commander Shudmuel is cold-hearted, there's no way he can't help in that way.... What was the result?”

It wasn't just curiosity, it was a tone of concern. When there was no one around, he asked in a low voice, and seeing Yuriel's pale face, he placed her hand on his arm.

When Yuriel could hardly open her mouth, he smiled softly and said.

“If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me. I was just asking if there was anything I could do to help. Because there was a time when Miss Yuriel helped me....”

“Did I ever help? Rather, I think I received a lot of help from Sir Helio!”

Yuriel answered with a surprised face.

When the train was stopped, the train stopped thanks to Helio, although the situation after that was far from favorable. It was thanks to him that she was able to stay alive on the day she arrived at the imperial capital, and that she was able to enter Albraka.

It was Helio who told her about the prophecies, worried about her going to the princess’ banquet, and took care of her in the vision she saw at the Krug Ruins.

Yuriel thought about these things one by one and told him.

“The princess sent her knights to Albraka to find me, and you hid me with Baraha!”

“The first time we met, I did some terrible things.”

“That is a thing of the past. I have received enough apologies, so you can forget about it.”

Yuriel spoke in a light tone. Helio looked at her face. It was as if she had really forgotten everything.

It looked as if he was getting an apology for just hitting her on the shoulder.

Helio smiled faintly and nodded his head. As long as it doesn't harm Raphlet, Yuriel shows great generosity.

She lightly forgave the person who tortured her, like Helio, and had no hesitation in facing him. It was the same with the princess. Even if there was a high level of status, she could hate her, but she was reluctant and didn't hate the princess.

It was rare for people to not hate Ithaca. She was the type with many enemies due to her character, who did not even look at anything without an ability. At the same time, there were many who followed, even at the cost of their lives.

Either they hate her enough to try to kill her, or they follow her enough to risk their life. She was a person who caused very extreme relationships.

Helio was very fond of Yuriel, who was swayed by the princess, but did not hate her.

He was a member of the imperial family before becoming a knight of Albraka.

No matter how hard the princess was, she was still closer to Helio than anyone else.

Even if he abandoned the castle and became a paladin, the fact that the princess, Ithaca Armand, was his sibling did not change.

Ithaca seems to think of him as a traitor who betrayed her and left the imperial family regardless of whether he was her sibling or not.... There were no complaints even if she hated him.

Ithaca was someone who could feed on anger.

If Helio Armand had not entered Albraka, Ithaca would have been assassinated at the hands of Helio's followers. He didn't want Ithaca to die.

Since Ithaca, the only heir to the imperial family, was spared from death, he did not regret becoming a knight of Albraka for that alone.

After Helio left the Imperial Palace, he lost most of what he had, but he, who had neither greed nor thoughts on the throne, preferred the current daily life.

There were people he met because of coming here. There were few who got on Helio's nerves like Raphlet, but for the most part, it was a good relationship.

Colleagues and Yuriel who have been training together for a long time.

Among the people around him, who was difficult to say was ordinary, Yuriel was remarkably unique.

She seemed to have been created not to hate people. If there was a saint, they would think and act like Yuriel.

So Helio was concerned about Yuriel's expression he had just seen.

The expression on her face when she saw the alchemist who was standing next to her was unusual. She frowned and looked at him with eyes full of disgust.

To see Yuriel react like that, he thought he would have to slap Commander Raphlet's cheeks. There's no way an alchemist could slap Commander Raphlet on the cheek, so it shouldn't be.

Did the alchemist curse Raphlet in front of Yuriel?

Helio tilted his head in curiosity and looked down at Yuriel. She was still chattering, recounting the instances where he had helped her.

Yuriel's words slowed down a little, perhaps noticing his staring gaze, but then came to a complete halt.

As if Yuriel had decided on something, she bit her lip and opened her mouth.

“Thank you for telling me to go see Sir Shudmuel….”

Before long, they had arrived in front of the building where Shudmuel's office was located.

With Yuriel's reply, Helio knew that she was indeed pregnant with Raphlet's child.

Helio looked at Yuriel who didn't seem to have any intention of erasing the child, and said politely.

"I see. If there's anything you need help with, let me know. If it is Miss Yuriel, I will help you.”

"Thank you. Sir Helio.”

Yuriel smiled as if her face was slightly distorted, said goodbye and entered the building.

Helio, who looked at her back for a moment, also left.

＊＊＊

Shudmuel focused on the record sheet Yuriel brought. He asked her to record every time she experienced pain as much as she could remember, so she wrote more records than he expected.

While he was examining the records, Yuriel was shaking her body as she watched him seriously examining the record.

A non-stop fluttering movement outside of the central field of vision kept coming into Shudmuel's eyes.

Even though he was looking at the record, she was so nervous that he couldn't concentrate at all.

“If there is something you want to say, say it. Don’t just shake your body.”

Shudmuel said as he put down the record sheet.

Yuriel, who was the first to confide when something happened, rarely hesitated.

Shudmuel waited for Yuriel for a while, not making eye contact with him and pulling only her own hair. Long, loosely braided hair was pulled taut by Yuriel's hand and then dropped repeatedly.

She was an unusual woman.

Shudmuel recalled Yuriel's blood reaction and watched her act.

After seeing the reaction that melted the monster's skin, Shudmuel wondered if the pregnant woman's blood was causing the reaction, so he went out of Albraka to get the blood of another pregnant woman.

Other people's blood did not show the same reaction as Yuriel.

Shudmuel, who was thinking while watching Yuriel's face, habitually tapped on the desk.

Like Yuriel pulling her hair out when she was troubled, he would tap on his desk when he was deep in thought.

Tapping on the desk was simply his habit, but it was also an act that reinforced the hypnosis he had given Yuriel.

She was able to open up her heart openly in front of him and move according to his will.

Shudmuel paused his fingers for a moment as he looked at Yuriel looking at him with blank eyes.

He had no intention of intensifying her brainwashing yet.... Yuriel was a really easily-hypnotizable person.

Shudmuel leaned towards Yuriel and clasped his chin.

Since she was already caught, it would be better to make her tell him what she was worried about.

“What did you want to say? Tell me everything you're thinking about."

Yuriel was troubled when not speaking about what she was worried about, so he just threw out a brief command.

As soon as Shudmuel finished speaking, Yuriel began to shed tears as if saddened.

“I, I, I think, as published in poetry and newspapers, I have something to do with monsters…. Huhu…. !”

“… What are you saying now?"

Seeing Yuriel burst out crying, he was momentarily speechless and lost for words. It was to the point he didn't even know what she was talking about.

“Stop crying.”

Shudmuel was disgusted and scolded her. But Yuriel didn't seem to be able to hear him properly.

As if already immersed in intensified brainwashing, she was confiding in front of him everything she was thinking, as Shudmuel had previously ordered.

“As, as monster cores get closer, I become more comfortable ….”

“Is there a problem with telling me?”

Shudmuel grabbed his forehead with both hands and muttered.

Once he gives an order, he can't stop it in the middle, so he has to listen quietly until Yuriel finishes the story.