Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 26. Birdhouse in your soul.

—What does that have to do with anything?

—Well, temples are considered sacred, and the priests and priestess had declared themselves to be neutral in the conflict. In fact, they offered to heal the injured, no matter who they were. Both armies had agreed to this, but after a particularly bloody encounter, a general of one of one of the armies saw how many of their enemies were being taken to the temple to be healed, and decided he wanted to finish them. He took the soldiers that would obey him without questioning and surrounded the temple, demanding to be handed the injured.

—I... don't like where this is going.

—The priests and priestess refused, and fought to protect the injured, but they were outnumbered, and the aggressors even set the temple on fire. It was a massacre, but there was one survivor. A young priestess named Calliope. In more poetic words she said "Whomever may hear my voice shall suffer my curse, those who acted like beasts shall become beast, such is the wrath of Lilith".

—And? What happened?

—That's basically it —the doctor said, scratching his neck—, whoever wrote that account just said that the curse came to be, and the infected had to be put down by the rest of the two armies. The war ended right after that, neither army wanting to continue their conflict after what they witnessed. But there was no description of how the curse works, the symptoms, or any possible cure other than "being put down".

—I might have a clue about the curse too, a small one though —I spoke—, I rem... I had a vision early this morning. It actually was about you.

—Oh, really? —Maxwell said, raising an eyebrow—, so what did our talented Seer see in the future?

I glared at him for a moment, but finally decided to not even comment on it.

—"Something like this happened in the past" is something you will say to the protagonist several years from now.

—The protagonist?

—N-never mind that, focus on what really matters —I hurriedly said, trying to hide my blunder—. There is going to be a second, smaller outbreak of the curse. This one happens by the time Violett is studying at the academy, but it is quickly controlled, and everyone is cured of it.

—How did they do it?

—I have no idea. My mem... My visions lack context.

—Mmmm, then I'm afraid we'll have to continue with plain old research. Hopefully we can get some useful information out of Iridia.

—Y-yeah.

I looked down, trying to count the marks on the floor's planks. I heard the doctor sigh softly, and then pushed my forehead upwards with his finger until our eyes met.

—I already sent a letter with my discoveries to the royal family, but I think it is for the best if we keep this last vision of yours as a secret. At least until we figure more about it, we don't want to give them false hope that can come to bite us later.

I nodded. I spent the rest of our trip trying to remember what was the context of that scene in particular, but I could only remember that scene where the prince and the protagonist formally met and formed an alliance against the villainess.

Before I noticed, we had arrived at the coastline. In front of us was the immense Nanshe Gulf, and to our left, on top of a rocky cliff, stood the Black Tower. It was a massive building designed to house those who had been labeled as criminals against the nation. I'm not sure what loopholes Erzi had used to get the would-be kidnappers there, but she insisted it was necessary. No other prison was good enough to retain them. Adrian left us at the dock and went to take a well deserved rest at a nearby covered area.

While we walked through the steps towards the entrance of the Black Tower, I looked further into the sea. A couple of kilometers in, there stood another building, or at least the ruins of one. That had once been known as the White Tower, which was used both as a lighthouse and a watchtower. It had been abandoned in the last 30 or so years as the sea levels were rising, engulfing the small island in which it stood and part of its first floor.

After a few but very tiring minutes, we reached the peak of the stairs, and finally stood in front of the door of the Black Tower. I didn't want to go inside, plain and simple. I didn't want to see Iridia. Just thinking about it made my stomach twist and turn. I felt a hand holding my own.

—It is ok, I'll be with you all the time —Maxwell quietly said, but I heard him clearly despite the intense rain.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and walked through the door.

—WELCOME! —a young woman yelled as soon as we entered, and rushed to where we were— Madame Dragonroot, we have been expecting you!

Instinctively, I had raised my hands to my shoulder's level for protection, still holding the doctor's hand. Realizing the girl was not a threat, I let go of him, feeling a bit embarrassed. She was wearing a grayish robe, with the symbol of a vertical eye on the side of her shoulder. Her face was also covered with a blank mask, completely devoid of any marks or features.

—G-good morning —I managed to say, still a bit surprised.

—Ah, excuse me, I just got a bit too excited —the woman said, giving a small bow—, the King is already waiting for you, and everything should be ready. Please follow me.

She guided us further into the tower, passing through several sturdy doors. As we did, we came across several people dressed just like her. A few of them wore more elaborated masks, but aside from that, they all looked like the same person. Those were the guards of this prison, and they were all members of the main church of Enki.