After compensating and persuading the coachman about Eve's 'slip-up', they started their journey yet again.
Money was the thing they didn't lack at all.
They did tell him that they were going to approach an accursed.
At first, he started freaking out.
After all, it was an accursed.
Beings that radiated corruption from their mere existence.
Merely staying in their presence drove a person crazy.
It started with dizziness, then minor hallucinations, and it got progressively worse.
Finally, they lost control of their own body and willingly gave their body to the Accursed.
It ended with the person being converted into an accursed themselves.
In this world, it was the common enemy of every single God.
Including White Moon Goddess.
And the lore and tales about their terrifying existence were infamous in every single household here.
Mothers used their tales as horror stories for their kids.
So, it was only obvious that the coachman would not agree to this.
But just a bit of persuasion and a sweet amount of money did the trick.
10,000 marks to be exact.
A normal coachman like him from the boonies only earned around 600 marks in an entire year.
10,000 marks was something he would never see in his entire life, even if he tried.
He accepted immediately.
Ah!
Inside the carriage, Raven's pupils shrank as he felt something.
His mark pulsed once.
'Why the fuck is it pulsing right now?'
His breath hitched.
Eve was right in front of him, and if the mark revealed itself in front of her…
Just dying would be a mercy he would beg for.
His heartbeat quickened, and he broke into cold sweat.
He was trying his hardest to keep his expressions in check.
But there was no way someone like Eve would miss those.
"Don't worry too much." Thankfully, Eve misunderstood him, "As long as I am here, not a single scratch of an accursed would befell you."
But these words didn't calm him down at all.
Sure, an encounter with an accursed was pretty nerve-racking for him.
But his identity being revealed?
He would rather fight the accursed at that point.
"T-Thank you, but," He spoke, "It's still an accursed."
He went with the flow.
"I'll handle it," She said, her voice a tad softer than normal.
'Yeah, no doubt about that,' He jested, even in this situation.
Again.
The mark pulsed again, and this time it felt more robust.
"We are close," Eve whispered, as if she felt something.
Something that Raven clearly didn't.
Again.
'Yeah, we are close to something.' He mocked himself, dreading his situation.
He had no way out of this.
'When trapped beyond reason, one can only resort to being a jester.'
He made his own quote, and got shocked himself.
'...And a great philosopher.'
It ruined it.
As the carriage moved forward, the mark pulsed again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
'Why is the frequency increasing as we go on?' He screamed internally.
He felt like crying at this point.
Did his mark react because of the accursed?
But that couldn't be, since it was not something related to the Church of White Moon.
'Is it really an accursed?' He wondered, feeling a chill run down his spine.
If it was something indeed related to the Church of White Moon, either he would be exposed or miss the opportunity.
Either way, he would be fucked over.
He started praying that it was an accursed now.
The mark felt like an engine, and the pulse felt like the crank making revolutions.
He just wanted it to stop.
"Stop the carriage!" She shouted, making the carriage come to a screeching halt.
Grabbing Raven's shoulders tightly, she ordered, "Rae, do not come outside, no matter what."
Raven nodded hesitantly, keeping his act going.
Eve got out of the carriage and advised the coachman to go inside.
She couldn't have an innocent person die under her supervision.
That wasn't why she took the Oath as the Cardinal.
After advising them to stay inside, she seemingly vanished from the spot.
At least that's what appeared to the coachman.
As he got out of the driver's seat, he noticed Raven coming down as well.
"Young master, what happened?" He asked, making sure everything was alright.
"I need to go somewhere," He answered and turned around.
He didn't think he'd needed to explain himself.
But the coachman was adamant, "Her Grace told us not exit the carriage, though."
"It's nature's call," Raven pulled out another excuse instantly.
But that didn't seem to work, as he appeared immensely worried.
"But it's dangerous out there,"
Raven frowned, appearing in a hurry, "Can you not see I am going in the opposite way of her?"
"But-"
Ugh!
Raven groaned. "Alright, let's do this."
He pulled out his axes from his side and said, "If you are so eager to stop me on my tracks, why don't you try it yourself?"
The coachman immediately backed down.
He had heard the bandits who were handed out to the baron weren't actually apprehended by Cardinal Eve.
It was he who singlehandedly fought five of them.
"I wouldn't be liable for this, would I?" He asked, seemingly to his wits' end as well.
Raven put his axes down and answered him in a threatening politeness, "Fret not. You won't."
As he said that, he launched himself towards the shrubs, vanishing in mere seconds.
'Well,' The coachman boarded the carriage with measured steps and walked inside, 'It's not every day I get to walk inside such a high-class carriage.'
…
A few minutes ago, inside the carriage, Raven finally took a sigh of relief.
Eve finally left, and as long as this mark doesn't betray him hard, he would be safe.
But he wanted to check it out, just to be sure.
From the pulsing he was feeling at the moment, he could draw one conclusion at least.
It was guiding him somewhere.
And as he neared it, the pulse quickened.
So, he needed to check it out.
This might be the perfect time for that, as Eve's arrival would constrain him.
But as he exited the carriage, the coachman stopped him.
'I am not in the mood for this,' He hoped it would be quick.
But he was standing on his business.
So he had to resort to threats instead.
And it worked wonders.
Since he couldn't be seen going towards the village Eve went to, he decided to go the opposite way.
And to his utter surprise, the pulse quickened.