BOOM!
A massive warhammer slammed into the floor.
The marble tiles shattered like a spiderweb beneath the impact.
The Demon of Greed that had detached itself from Laura's shoulder and was trying to scuttle away like a cockroach was flattened completely under my strike.
With a final shriek, it dissolved into black smoke and scattered into the air.
"Ugh... ngh..."
Laura lost consciousness from the shock of having her connection to the demon severed.
To everyone else, she probably looked like a pitiful saintess who had fainted after witnessing her deranged younger sister swing a warhammer at her.
But that wasn't the truth.
"Phew."
I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
The corset of my wedding dress was squeezing the life out of me.
Yeah. Full-power swings and formal gowns definitely didn't mix.
Next time, I'd wear pants.
With that thought, I rested the warhammer on the floor with a heavy thud.
"You lunatic...! Guards! What are you doing? Arrest that girl immediately!"
A middle-aged man was screaming from below the platform, his face flushed crimson.
My father.
Count Everhart.
Above his head sat a grotesquely bloated golden toad, drooling sticky slime everywhere.
The exact manifestation of Greed that had ruined my previous life.
"Father."
I looked down at him coldly.
"Could you keep it down? Your toad might fall."
"W-What? Toad? You've completely lost your mind!"
"And there's no need to call the guards. I'm not running."
I dusted off my skirt and turned toward Damian Lyart.
The rigid captain of the Holy Knights was still glaring at me with eyes full of suspicion.
But I knew something he didn't.
His sword hand was trembling ever so slightly.
And his gaze kept following the remnants of black smoke left behind by the demon I'd destroyed.
"Sir Lyart."
"..."
"Please arrest me."
"...What did you just say?"
"Arrest me. I'm a criminal caught in the act, aren't I? I smashed my fiancé's face, threatened my sister, and destroyed property. That's practically a free pass to the Inquisition's dungeon."
Damian's expression twisted strangely.
Normally, noble ladies would throw tantrums and hide behind their family names when they got into trouble.
Yet here I was, volunteering to be taken to the infamous Inquisition.
But I was serious.
If I went home, my father would lock me up, or Laura's followers would make my life miserable.
The Inquisition was safer.
At least there weren't any demons there.
And if I stayed near this walking air purifier, the evil spirits wouldn't dare approach me either.
"Lady Violetta. Do you even understand what you're saying?"
"Perfectly."
I held out both wrists obediently.
"So hurry up and put the handcuffs on me. Oh, and don't forget the warhammer. It's evidence."
Damian stared at me for a moment before signaling his subordinates.
"...Take her into custody. No restraints."
His voice was cold.
Then he stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"Everything you've seen. Everything you've done."
His eyes narrowed.
"You'll explain every detail in the interrogation room."
Bingo.
He took the bait.
I grinned.
"Looking forward to it. My story is a little..."
I leaned closer.
"...from a different genre."
The prison carriage was suffocatingly quiet.
Meanwhile, I was more comfortable than I'd been in years.
Ahh. I can finally breathe.
The air inside was unbelievably pleasant.
Damian, sitting across from me, was practically a walking sanctuary.
The cool, pure energy radiating from him drove away all the scraps of malicious spirits that usually hovered around me.
It felt like stepping into an ice-cold bank lobby after wandering through a scorching summer heatwave.
"Lady Violetta."
"Yes, Commander?"
"Are you enjoying this situation?"
"Hmm."
I leaned back comfortably and crossed my legs.
"If I'm being honest?"
"..."
"Yeah. I'm having a great time."
"You assaulted your fiancé and your own sister, and yet you call this enjoyable?"
"It wasn't assault. It was exorcism."
I pointed at him.
"And you saw it too, didn't you?"
Damian fell silent.
He didn't deny it.
After all, he'd seen the black smoke dispersing from Laura's shoulder.
Just then, the carriage jolted to a stop.
The Inquisition headquarters.
"We've arrived."
Damian gestured toward the door.
Typical.
Not a shred of gentlemanly behavior.
Grumbling, I climbed down from the carriage.
Then immediately—
"AAAH!"
I grabbed my nose.
The entrance to the Inquisition was another kind of hell entirely.
The walls.
The pillars.
The archways.
They were covered with hideous spirits clinging to every surface.
The restless souls of criminals tortured and executed here.
The moment they saw me, their eyes lit up like hyenas spotting fresh prey.
"Good grief. This place is a five-star ghost buffet."
I staggered backward in horror.
One spirit stretched an impossibly long arm toward my ankle.
THUD!
Instinctively, I grabbed Damian's arm.
Then I glued myself to his side.
"...!"
His entire body froze.
"L-Lady Violetta! What do you think you're doing?! Let go immediately!"
"Just a minute! No—thirty seconds!"
I clung desperately to his arm.
The result was immediate.
The spirit reaching for me screamed and flew backward.
The concentrated holy power emanating from Damian's body was basically sulfuric acid to ghosts.
Holy crap.
He's amazing.
This man wasn't just an air purifier.
He was a walking anti-evil barrier.
I sniffed.
Then sniffed again.
Soap.
Crisp winter air.
A faint hint of herbs.
In a world saturated with the stench of rotting corpses and malevolent spirits, he smelled like the only clean place left on earth.
"Ahhh..."
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
"You smell so nice..."
Damian's face instantly turned bright red.
"M-My smell?!"
"Oh, don't misunderstand."
I waved dismissively.
"I'm talking about your holy power."
"LET GO OF ME!"
He tried to pry me off.
I refused.
Like a barnacle.
The mighty Captain Damian Lyart—the famed Ice Statue of the Holy Knights—being dragged around by a woman in a wedding dress.
To everyone watching, it must have looked ridiculous.
But I was fighting for my life.
"Sir, please. Just walk me to the entrance."
"Why are you doing this?! Are you mocking me?"
"It's called survival instinct."
I pointed toward one of the pillars.
"That headless guy keeps trying to throw his head at me. Can't you see him?"
"...What?"
Damian stared at the pillar.
Naturally, he saw nothing.
"There's nothing there."
"There is! Ah! He just threw it!"
I yanked Damian by the waist and pulled him toward me.
Of course, no actual head came flying.
The ghost had thrown a curse.
The moment it touched Damian's cloak, it burned away in a burst of white light.
But from an outsider's perspective?
It looked like I had suddenly pulled him into a dance.
"..."
Silence.
My face was pressed against his solid chest.
I could hear his heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Faster than expected.
Oh?
So Mr. Ice Statue gets nervous too.
I tilted my head up.
He looked even more handsome from this close.
More importantly, his crystal-clear eyes were free of maggots, demons, and all the other horrors I usually saw.
"Sir."
"...Step away. That's the third time I've told you."
"You have really pretty eyes."
"...What?"
"They're clean."
I smiled.
"I like them."
Damian stared at me blankly.
I tapped his chest twice before finally taking a step back.
The spirits around the entrance had scattered in fear of his holy aura.
For the first time since arriving, I could breathe normally.
"Much better."
I flashed him a grin.
"Now then."
I gestured toward the building.
"Lead the way to the interrogation room."