Chapter 201 - MERIT CEREMONY (4) (2/2)
“That bas-… how did you two win?”
He did not say the name of that person.
But Jude and Cordelia knew who Count Chase was talking about.
The Lord Protector and traitor, Duke Antarius, was one of the Ten Great Swordmasters.
Even though he was old and had weakened, he was still one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom.
Jude and Cordelia had defeated such a Lord Protector.
It wasn’t something they could simply believe because the fight had been two against one.
“I’m not doubting you. But I honestly couldn’t understand it well from what I heard from the crown princess.”
Count Bayer also spoke, and the two nodded at the same time.
He would obviously feel like that because it was a fight that was hard to explain in words on how they won.
Cordelia’s idea to use the power of the divine sword, and Jude’s ability to finish the enemy with the power that she had passed on to him.
It was a miracle that could only happen because the two were together.
Jude took a deep breath instead of answering right away again. He quietly held Cordelia’s hand and looked at her.
‘Cordelia.’
‘Yes, Jude.’
‘About this… let’s be honest.’
On how they won.
On why a miracle happened.
At Jude’s gaze, Cordelia nodded and squeezed Jude’s hand.
‘Let’s do that.’
They couldn’t hide it forever.
‘And… it’s not that big of a secret.’
Count Bayer and Count Chase already knew of the fact that Jude was a disciple of Landius and that he had been taught the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors by Landius.
But they had hid the fact that Cordelia had become an angel through Ancestral Regression.
‘I’ll tell them then.’
‘Okay.’
It was about Cordelia herself, but Jude was the one in charge of explaining.
After Cordelia relaxed herself and squeezed Jude’s hand, Jude began explaining to Count Bayer and Count Chase.
And around ten minutes later.
Once they were done listening to all his words, Count Bayer and Count Chase looked at each other with smiles full of surprise.
“Hoh… Ancestral Regression.”
Especially Count Chase who was really surprised.
Unlike Count Bayer who had only heard of the concept of Ancestral Regression today because he was a swordsman in the first place, Count Chase already knew to a certain extent about Ancestral Regression.
“I knew that the blood of an angel flowed in my family, but… I can’t believe that it’s Ancestral Regression.”
Count Bayer asked in curiosity towards Count Chase who appeared to have lost his composure, which was unlike him.
“Arthur, is it possible for you to become an angel with Ancestral Regression?”
If Cordelia had the blood of an angel, it would also flow on her father, Count Chase.
But Count Chase immediately shook his head as if he did not even need to think about it.
“Just because our ancestor is an angel does not mean that it’s possible to regress to our ancestor. You have to be born with a strong enough angelic trait in order for Ancestral Regression to be possible. It’s usually impossible unless it’s atavism.”
“Atavism?”
“It refers to a phenomenon in which the trait of an ancestor suddenly appear strongly in a later generation.”
Having said that, Count Chase looked back at Cordelia and nodded.
“Cordelia, your transcendent beauty may perhaps be the result of atavism.”
“Eh? Uh… yeah.”
At being called a transcendent beauty, Cordelia turned red and bowed her head, while Jude received Count Chase’s words with a very serious face.
“Cordelia is an angel not only in her face but also in her heart.”
“Hmm, indeed. She was born with it.”
“Yes, she was born with it. Holy Angel Lena-nim also praised her a lot.”
“Uh-huh.”
As Count Chase nodded with a happy face, warm smiles also appeared on Jude and Count Bayer’s faces.
And the last person.
There was one person who was struggling in her embarrassment rather than taking part in the current atmosphere.
‘What the heck are you talking about!’
What? My heart is like an angel’s too?
Would you like to die and be an angel now?
Cordelia felt like she wanted to strangle Jude right now, but it was impossible since they were in front of Count Bayer and Count Chase.
So she just bit her lips and fought back her embarrassment.
But it was then.
“So, if you’re usually a human, do you become an angel by transforming into one or something?”
“Yes, she can. Lena-nim said that in order to maintain Angel Mode at all times, her angel rank must be at a certain rank or higher.”
“I see.”
Count Chase nodded as if he was convinced, and he stared at Cordelia while Count Bayer also stared at her and then coughed.
Neither of them said anything, but it was obvious what they were hoping for.
‘Ah, seriously. Why am I the one who’s always being embarrassed? Why?’
Cordelia was a little annoyed, but she couldn’t do much about it, so she decided to just accept her fate.
After she got up from her seat, she revealed her angel wings of light.
“Oooh…”
Count Chase exclaimed in admiration as he saw the wings made of a bright white light. Count Bayer’s eyes also widened and admired the appearance of Cordelia who was emitting a divine aura.
And there was one person who was elated at the response of the two.
“She’s a real angel.”
For reference, she’s my fiancée.
I’m the only one in the world who has a real angel as a fiancée.
Count Bayer had a bitter smile at Jude’s proud words that were conveyed without him even speaking, while Count Chase just hmphed. And lastly, Cordelia covered her face with both hands.
And a few minutes or so later.
When the fuss had subsided, Count Bayer asked again.
“Jude, how is your body now? Are there any side effects from opening the sixth door?”
Count Bayer did not know much about the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors.
Jude smiled bitterly at the question full of worry and replied.
“To be honest… my condition now is quite bad. But I’ll be okay after a few days of rest.”
Cordelia was the one who was the most surprised by his answer.
[What? Are you still in pain?!]
[Yeah, it hurts. At least until the day after tomorrow, you can think that the weak Jude of the past is back.]
[R-really? Then will you collapse from just walking?]
[No, it wasn’t… that bad before.]
[Jude?]
[Don’t worry. It’s not that bad. There’s no problem in my daily activities.]
[Really?]
[Really. You checked it yesterday, right?]
[Huh?]
[I mean, what…we did. That incident.]
That was it. Cordelia lowered her head instead of asking him anymore. Her ears that can be seen in between her hair had now turned red.
In any case, Jude’s story was over, so Count Bayer sighed and said as he straightened his posture.
“All right. Then I won’t prolong this conversation for long. I’ll just tell you what we were going to say before you go back.”
Jude and Cordelia weren’t called this morning just to resolve their questions about the incident.
It was because they had to tell the two something too.
“A merit ceremony will be held in five days.”