Chapter 386: A Cursed Item and Church Support

From the size that was way bigger than a human's, I assumed it was from a monster. But I didn't know what kind of monster had this eyeball, as there were many out there with red pupils.

However, even with my vast knowledge, I had never seen this kind of eyeball. Was this a new kind of monster?

"What is this?" I asked Lara, who kneeled beside the table.

"We don't know." The older twin replied while lowering her head deeper. "But we know that we will get poisoned and paralyzed if we hold it directly."

"Poisoned?"

"Yes."

The one who answered me was unexpectedly Sana. She stood beside me and looked at the eyeball inside the box.

"I managed to cure the member with a <Cure>, so it's not a curse and certainly not a high-level poison." She continued.

"How curious." My lips curled into a grin. What kind of eye was this to be able to poison someone by just a touch?

I opened the box, much to everyone's surprise, and grabbed the eyeball.

"Sir Arthur! What are you doing?!" Sana shouted and extended her hands toward me. They glowed a soft light. She probably used <Cure> immediately after getting surprised by what I did.

"You can stop using your skill, Sana. I am immune to any ill status." I answered with a soft voice to reassure her.

"R-Really?" She asked, stopping her use of skill. Sighing, she continued, "It's a relief if that's the case, but... Please warn us next time you do something like this. I was surprised and worried something happened to you."

"My bad." I patted her head softly with my free hand. "I won't do it again."

"Yes." She smiled again, and I lowered my hand.

That one was my fault. I should be more careful not to worry her again in the future.

More importantly...

"This one is really a nasty item," I muttered, looking at the result of my <Appraisal> on this eyeball. "To think I would find a 'Cursed Item' in this kind of place."

After knowing what kind of item it was, I ordered the shadow squad members to keep this a secret and returned to the surface with Sana after hearing Lara's report. I also put the eyeball in my inventory for safety reasons and further investigation.

The shadow squad investigation about the one who cursed Ertha has not finished yet, but this cursed item was a good clue.

According to them, they found this in a jungle near Steelwill viscounty after investigating the information I provided a few days ago. They would focus their investigation on Viscount Steelwill and his two sons, which appeared suspicious from the information given by Assassin's Den.

To assist them, I ordered Sandra to stay. I didn't forget to give her 300 Golds if she craved bread or food. It would be bad if Sandra killed the horse they used to move from one city to another because she was hungry.

I also left 500 more for Lisa and Lara to use in their investigation.

Afterward, we moved back to her office, and I sat on the couch. The cute Archbishop sat beside me, leaning closer and using <Cure> on me again.

"You don't need to do that, Sana. I told you that I wasn't affected by the effect at all, right?"

"Yes, but I just want to do it. There is nothing wrong with being too careful, no?" She giggled softly after she said that.

I shrugged my shoulders, giving up on telling her. If allowing her to use her skill would make her stop getting worried, then I would just shut my mouth.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Sir Arthur."

The healing process was a few seconds. Unlike me, who got the bonus for maxing the skill's Lv, Sana's <Cure> was a normal one, and it took at least 5 seconds at the fastest to finish.

I was happy with her intention and smiled. After she finished, she smiled widely and nodded, satisfied with her work.

"You worked really hard lately. I was a bit worried that you did not have enough rest, Sir Arthur."

"Well, I can't deny that." I laughed dryly at her sudden remark. "But I got enough rest. In fact, I slept more in the last few days after the party compared to last month."

"Really? You're not lying?" She leaned closer, staring with full suspicion.

"I am not!" I raised my hands to stop her advance.

She really didn't believe what I had said.

"My schedule will turn to normal in a few days. Queen Eve has already made up her mind to take the throne and hold the coronation ceremony in 6 days."

"I have heard about it. That was real?"

"Yes."

The topic interested her. She backed away again and maintained a distance from me.

I began telling her about the Queen's coronation and yesterday's matter. Of course, I didn't explain everything, only the important ones. I also hid the matter with rings because I wasn't sure how to bring it up with Sana yet. She had a big goal, which made me hesitate to propose to her.

'I know she won't be able to reach her goal because Juriel didn't agree for her to be a Cardinal, but I want to support her. There will definitely be a time to bring that up. But I should focus for now.'

After hearing my story, Sana nodded in understanding.

"So the rumor is intentionally spread by the Royal Castle. The church in Capital City had sent a communication to the Holy City regarding this, but we haven't been able to confirm the rumor. Umm... Apparently, Beatrice is really trusted by the Queen."

"Yes, she is. I was also surprised." I answered her with a wry laugh.

That was also beyond my imagination. I initially thought the primordial Succubus could only influence Queen Eve without her knowledge, but who would have thought that the Queen would even spill her secret to her?

"I will contact Cameron and ask him to extend the support to the Queen. Let's say Goddess Teri gave us an oracle about this."

"That will be perfect. Goddess Teri had indeed appeared in my dream to directly tell me to support the Queen."

"Yes." Sana smiled as she gave me a weak nod. However, there seemed to be sadness in her smile.

'Ah... She's really loyal to the church and the Goddess. That's why she is sad that she can't meet the Goddess directly and can only offer her body.' I assumed from what I knew about the Archbishop.

But I couldn't do anything about that.

"Well then, Sana. I need to go right now. Let's talk about this again in the near future."

"Ah! Yes, Sir Arthur. See you again."

Sana stood up and guided me out. I gave her a soft kiss on the lips that made her mood better again and waved my hand before leaving.

Next stop, the training ground. This time was for real.

Eli and Tris hadn't left yet, but the academy and the knight training would start soon. I should hurry not to miss them and tell them about this good news.

'My heart is beating faster. Am I nervous?' I asked myself as I put my hand on my chest. 'I guess I can still be nervous, huh?' A grin crept into my face as I walked faster.