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

Chapter 38. La Cruz de Santiago.

—I suspect he and Madame Dragonroot are going to go look for the saintess themselves.

—WHAT? —I said, jumping from my seat.

—Yeah, yeah, when the search groups were being formed, Maxwell dismissed the importance of one of the possible places where the saintess might be, but he has been showing signs of regretting it. It became more apparent when he received the notice that we haven't detected signs of holy magic in those areas.

—That doesn't mean she is not there, the results were very preliminary and superficial.

—I know, I know. But Maxwell is not one to leave things to chance. He also heard about the rumors that say that the Queen and the King had also fallen victims of the curse.

—They had? —this was the first time I had heard about that.

—I don't think it is confirmed, but since neither had appeared in public, the people are suspecting things. After he heard about that, he went straight to discuss it with Madame Dragonroot, and is probably going to take matters into his own hand.

—That's an insane assumption. Even if what you were saying was true, why wouldn't he ask for help like he did before —I told him, but I thought about it for an instant, and something clicked in my mind—. Unless... unless the witch is manipulating him to be the one who gets to the saintess!

—Eh, I don't think that's the case. I already met Madame Dragonroot and she seemed pretty nice —he said, but I didn't care.

—We need to inform the Pope! The future of our whole is in the balance.

—I already told them. Well, I told the cardinal, but you know, being part of the collective, everyone already heard about it. They told me that they'll try to free some and send them over there, but everyone is really busy dealing with the curse. It might take at least a week or two, and then they would have to travel from here to there. The priests that are in the other locations might get there sooner. So they told me to follow the doctor, and tell them if something happens. They'll use one of their miracles to send people over there in an instant, but only if it is absolutely necessary.

—Then what are you doing here?! You should be right behind him!

—I can't quite use the link to call them, can I? I need help from one of you. You, specifically.

—Me? Why me?

—Well, unlike everyone else, you aren't that busy —he dared to say to my face.

It was true that I couldn't help with the treatment of the curse, and I was still but a squire, so I had been assigned to be a guard. It still wounded me to hear that, and it made me want to punch him.

—But more than that —he continued—, I want to help you! We come from the same orphanage, we are family! If we find the saintess, the Pope may change their mind and put you in the job you wanted. And if this hunch turns out to be nothing, you can just blame it all on little old me.

—That sounds tempting, but I can't just leave my post like that.

—Don't worry, I already talked with your supervisor.

—Then why are you wasting our time if it was already an official assignment!

—Eh, that would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?

And that's how I got roped on that mission. We departed towards a mansion in the middle of the forest. Who would have thought the witch had prepared such a remote hideout. When we encountered her and the doctor, they were already getting ready to depart. Their plan to travel sounded insane, until I saw the creature that would be pulling our carriage. Meeting up with a crocodilian was very unusual, they tended to live for centuries, but were very isolationists, even from their own. I was left agasp for an instant, his physique would put to shame the statues of heroes of ancient eras. I shook my head, he was still a spawn of the beast of the abyss. That being said, he seemed quite civilized and well spoken, albeit a bit aggravated due to our unexpected arrival.