Shawn heard the queen's brief laugh.
"Hehehe…"
But the laughter cut off abruptly.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
The coughing started.
And this time it sounded much worse.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough…"
It was a deep, wrenching cough.
Painful.
As if something inside her chest was tearing apart.
Shawn swallowed hard.
'She's really sick,' he thought, nerves tightening.
But then an idea struck him.
'Wait!' he thought, eyes widening. 'If I do my job well here, the queen could become a devoted follower of God!'
That would mean a lot.
First, he'd have a powerful believer.
Second, he'd be safe.
And third…
'If she becomes a believer, she'll never bite me or suck my blood!' Shawn thought with sudden hope.
Fueled by that motivation, Shawn began to move forward.
His steps were slow and careful, guided by the sound of the queen's coughing.
"Cough, cough…"
Closer.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Even closer.
Shawn stretched his hand out in front of him.
He could feel he was almost there.
Very close.
His hand was about to touch her face.
And then…
Flash!
A blinding light flooded the entire hall.
Shawn instinctively shut his eyes.
The queen reacted immediately, dropping into a defensive stance.
'I let my guard down!' she thought in surprise, ready to strike.
"What the hell are you doing?!" the queen shouted furiously.
Shawn slowly opened his eyes.
The light began to fade.
And then he saw it floating in the air.
The Bible.
The sacred book hovered in front of him.
It glowed with a soft but steady light.
The queen stared at the book in confusion.
She had thought it was a sneak attack.
But this…
This made no sense.
'A floating book?' the queen thought, still holding her defensive posture.
The book's glow made her eyes sting a little.
But she didn't look away.
She remained alert.
Analyzing.
Waiting for any suspicious movement.
Shawn, meanwhile, let out a nervous little laugh.
"Hehe…" he laughed, staring at the book. "Hey, God. Why are you showing up on your own?"
The book opened.
The pages flipped on their own until they stopped on a blank one.
Golden letters began to appear.
[In your current state, you cannot heal the queen's illness.]
Shawn read the words and his heart skipped a beat.
'What?' he thought, panic surging.
'I can't heal her?!'
This was bad.
Very bad.
If he couldn't heal the queen even a little…
'This is going to get me in serious trouble!' Shawn thought desperately.
He remembered the commander's words.
"If your talent can really heal the queen even a little, you have nothing to worry about."
But if he couldn't heal her…
'You can't tell me this now! This puts me in a terrible position to gain followers!' Shawn thought, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Shawn clasped his hands in front of him as if praying.
"God," he said desperately. "Isn't there any way I can heal at least some of the beautiful queen's illness?"
The queen, who had been watching everything in silence, blinked.
'Beautiful?' she thought, a faint blush touching her cheeks.
But she was also confused.
'Right now I'm in my absolute worst state…' the queen thought in disbelief.
Because of this strange illness, not only was she suffering from all those pains and discomforts.
Her body had changed too.
She was much smaller than before, having lost all her former allure.
Compared to her peak condition, she now looked like a shadow of her former self.
'How can she call me beautiful in this condition?' the queen thought, baffled.
But then another thought crossed her mind.
'Wait,' she thought, narrowing her eyes. 'What if this is a distraction technique?'
The queen returned to her defensive stance.
Her red eyes scanned the surroundings.
Searching for any sign of another presence.
Any hint of a trap.
But she found nothing.
Just her, the girl, and that strange floating book.
Still, she didn't lower her guard.
She kept watching Shawn's every move.
The book displayed new text.
[If you wish to heal her, you must make the queen confess her sins and repent of them.]
Shawn read the words.
Then slowly turned toward the queen.
He couldn't see her clearly in the darkness, but her red eyes glowed intensely.
And Shawn felt something.
Killing intent.
Strong.
Palpable.
Directed straight at him.
'No way,' Shawn thought, swallowing hard. 'No way a bloodsucking monster like her is going to confess her sins just like that.'
It was impossible.
Completely impossible.
'And even less so if I don't prove I'm useful first,' Shawn thought, analyzing the situation.
He needed another option.
Shawn took a deep breath.
"God," he said, looking at the book. "Can I use the book to perform a miracle that heals at least half of the queen's illness?"
The book responded.
[You do not have enough Faith to perform a miracle of that magnitude.]
Shawn frowned.
"What if the queen only recovers a quarter of her strength?"
The book changed its text.
[Are you trying to prevent the queen from repenting of her sins?]
Shawn shook his head quickly.
But then he remembered something.
The words God had told him earlier.
"Do not promise miracles as a reward."
Shawn ran a hand over his face, feeling cold sweat trickle down his back.
"Do not promise miracles."
Fine.
"Do not force anyone to believe."
Perfect.
"Do not bargain with faith."
He had understood that.
But…
If God had sent him to this world because no one believed in Him, and had given him real powers…
Wasn't it a little absurd to pretend those powers didn't exist?
Shawn frowned.
Showing something wasn't the same as promising it.
Demonstrating wasn't the same as blackmailing.
And if someone started believing simply by seeing it with their own eyes…
Well, that wasn't his problem anymore.
Shawn looked at the book with determination.
"No," he said firmly, swallowing hard. "I'm not trying to prevent her from repenting."
Shawn paused.
"I just don't want to ask her right now," he continued. "If I force her to confess in the state she's in, it won't be true repentance."
The book remained silent.
Shawn kept going.
"I'm not going to bargain with her faith either," he said. "And I'm definitely not going to lie to her."
Shawn took another deep breath.
"So if there's a price to pay for helping her even a little," he said firmly, "I'll gladly pay it."
The book displayed new words.
[Do you understand what you are asking?]
Shawn nodded.
"Yes," he replied. "I understand."
Silence.
The book's letters changed.
[I can grant you the miracle of healing one quarter of the queen's illness.]
Shawn felt a momentary wave of relief.
But then more text appeared.
[In exchange, you will live in your own flesh the sins the queen has committed.]
Shawn froze for a moment.
'The queen's sins?' he thought, a chill running through him.
He didn't know what she had done.
He didn't know what kind of sins she had committed.
But…
"I accept," Shawn said without hesitation.
The book glowed brighter.
New words began to appear.
It was the text of the miracle.
Shawn started reading aloud.
"O God, who judges without error, look upon the queen whose body has been broken by poison."
His voice echoed through the dark hall.
"I do not ask that You heal her completely, nor that her guilt be erased."
The queen watched in silence.
Her red eyes fixed on the girl reciting those strange words.
"Grant only a fraction of healing, so that she does not die yet, and so that this servant may have the chance to choose what to do with her sins."