Chapter 137: The Goddess’s Holy Relic
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137: The Goddess’s Holy Relic
Just like that? Without any excuse?
But before I could even process the intent behind his words, a shadow fell over my face.
My lips parted instinctively.
Loik gently drew me toward him, capturing my lower lip in his.
Soon, a tingling sensation—unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable—consumed my entire body.
It’s hot.
The searing heat dampening my lips made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The warmth of his hand, tracing a path from my head down to my nape, made me feel as if my whole body was melting.
As if he intended to swallow me whole, Loik took my lips again and again, drawing me in.
Breathless, I finally pulled away, my hands pressing against him as if to push him back.
The sheer intensity in his gaze sent a shiver down my spine.
Exhaling raggedly, Loik clenched his jaw as if suppressing the words he wanted to say.
His prominent collarbones rose and fell sharply with his heavy breathing.
With a hesitant expression and a chest heaving with emotion, Loik finally spoke.
“…I love you.”
His voice emerged in a low, trembling vibration.
“I love you, Annette.”
The voice that made my heart ache echoed in my ears.
“I can’t hold it back anymore.”
His lips twitched into a faint, trembling smile before he finally lowered his head, taking my fingertips with the utmost care.
“I love you so much I can’t bear it.”
My heart plummeted.
*
Back in my room, I barely managed to calm my thumping heart.
I had no idea what had just happened.
Loik had given me something like a confession.
And I… I couldn’t say a word.
Seeing my bewildered expression, Loik’s eyes, which looked somewhat sorrowful, had curved into a soft line.
— “I didn’t say this to pressure you. Not at all.”
When the silence persisted nonetheless, Loik had gripped my hand with a hint of desperation.
— “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just… you’re the kind of person it’s hard for anyone not to love…”
Even though I shook my head to tell him I wasn’t uncomfortable at all, his fingertips were trembling.
— “I mean it. I was just a little… surprised…”
— “Of course. What I just said was purely my own selfish greed. I am by no means asking for an answer right now.”
So please, just don’t push me away, Loik had pleaded in a sorrowful voice.
He seemed somewhat relieved when I told him that wouldn't happen.
Was he very hurt because I didn’t answer?
It would be a lie to say I hadn’t noticed Loik’s feelings at all.
I wasn’t such a fool that I wouldn't notice those tender eyes that followed only me, whenever and wherever we were.
I’ve just been trying to turn a blind eye.
It might sound shameless, but from Loik’s perspective, it might actually be harder not to love me.
I was the only woman he could touch without dying, his legal partner bound by marriage, his conversationalist and only friend—and on top of that, the painkiller that made his agonizing suffering vanish.
Anyone would fall in love, or at least mistake their feelings for love, under those circumstances.
Perhaps Loik’s feelings stemmed not from me as a person, but from the very nature of my existence.
It wasn’t that I disliked Loik. Not at all.
But I had a mountain of problems to solve just to stay alive; I couldn't simply jump at the chance to return his feelings.
Moreover, accepting Loik’s confession was equivalent to vowing to live the rest of my life here as Annette.
It was a decision that required more resolve than one might think.
But I don’t want to hurt him, either.
Was it too selfish of me to want to enjoy his kindness without properly answering his heart?
— “I love you so much I can’t bear it.”
In my previous life, I’d seen plenty of people recoil in disgust at me, but this was the first time I’d ever received a confession saying someone loved me so much they couldn't stand it.
I guess if you live long enough, all sorts of things happen.
Struggling to quiet my fluttering yet troubled heart, I tried to force myself to sleep on the hard temple bed.
*
Is she asleep?
Listening closely, he could hear the faint, rhythmic sound of her breathing.
Only then did Loik feel a sense of relief, collapsing against the wall beside the bed.
He’d had a feeling he might cause trouble today.
Loik ran his hand roughly through his hair, feeling pathetic for finally crossing the line.
But in that moment…
I couldn't hold it back.
Standing in the middle of the cloister in her fluttering white attire, Annette had looked like nothing less than an incarnation of the Goddess.
The noble gaze she directed at him was enchanting.
Feeling like a servant of the Goddess, he had walked toward her.
If she had demanded he bring the Empire to its knees right then and there, he felt he would have knelt and offered a kiss of submission without hesitation.
He had been trying his best to maintain his composure and speak calmly.
— “I just wanted to see you.”
At that moment, Loik’s self-restraint crumbled beyond repair.
In this world, Annette was likely the only person who would seek out the Grand Duke of Blenheim simply because she "wanted to see him."
For the first time, he wanted to kiss her without a pathetic excuse.
He wanted to reveal his affection and desire exactly as they were.
He could no longer stop himself.
Through the cracks of his broken dam, words poured out uncontrollably.
— “I love you, Annette.”
It was only after seeing Annette’s bewildered face that he finally snapped back to his senses.
Loik pressed his forehead with a clenched fist.
What if Annette starts avoiding me?
The fear kept him from sleeping.
To think he had ruined a day that could have ended so happily.
Loik didn't close his eyes until the dawn broke.
*
Maybe it was because my mind was so restless.
Woken by the unusually loud chirping of mountain birds, I eventually gave up on sleep early.
I’m thirsty.
I remembered the cool spring water I’d had yesterday.
As soon as I stepped out into the cloister, I filled a gold cup to the brim with clear water and began to gulp it down.
“A… nnette?”
I heard Loik’s trembling voice.
I froze, unaware that a trickle of water was running down the corner of my mouth.
Now’s the time!
If I act awkward now, it’s all over.
Wiping my mouth, I greeted him as calmly as possible.
“Loik, did you sleep well?”
But despite my efforts, a look of deep bewilderment crossed Loik’s face.
“That cup in your hand… was it on the altar?”
“Oh? Yes.”
I awkwardly lowered the cup from my lips to my chest.
What is it? Is it some precious cup that only priests can use?
“Was I not supposed to use it?”
Loik narrowed his eyes and stepped closer.
“That cup… is a Holy Relic.”
Startled, I cupped the bottom of the vessel with both hands.
“The… the Goddess’s Holy Relic they said was found in the hot springs?”
“How did you pick it up?”
What did he mean, how?
“I just picked it up with my hands.”
“This relic… is supposed to be impossible to lift.”
“That’s impossible.”
I tried to excuse myself by saying it was a bit stuck because it was old, but I certainly hadn't forced it. Loik’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
“…I heard that the moment the relic is set down, it fixes itself to the altar, and that no one has been able to lift this cup until now.”
“I’ll put it back properly.”
Just as I turned to quickly return the cup, Priest Miel appeared from the other side of the cloister.
“Could it be… is that the Holy Relic in your hands?”
Of all the times.
Shock and admiration filled Miel’s eyes as he covered his mouth with both hands.
“As expected, Her Highness the Consort is the Saintess…!”
“No, I’m not!”
As I waved my hands in frantic denial, Loik, who had been standing behind me, stepped forward.
“Be quiet. If the Grand Duchess says she isn't, then she isn't.”
Miel made a tearful face at the firm command.
A while ago, Loik had asked me tentatively:
— “Are you still uncomfortable seeing the priest?”
He had suggested that it would be best to keep Miel nearby until my health was fully recovered.
— “It’s not that Miel makes me uncomfortable. It’s just… the word ‘Saintess’ is a burden.”
— “Do you dislike the idea of becoming a Saintess?”
It wasn't a matter of liking or disliking it…
Who would believe a rumor that I was a Saintess right now?
I already had a track record of deceiving the Empire once.
All sorts of crude criticism and mockery would be poured upon me.
There would be immense pressure from all sides to prove the truth.
I can see the picture clearly without even looking.
Furthermore, the original novel, The Saintess Becomes a Duchess, was a story about the Saintess, Constine, surviving the power struggles between the Imperial Family and the Temple to become a Duchess.
This meant that the two main antagonists of the original work—the Imperial Family and the Temple—were both intertwined with the Saintess.
If Constine herself turned out to be a villain too…
That would be a triple threat of antagonists.
No way!
My most important goal in life right now is to survive!
Seeing me clutching my head in frustration, Loik had said firmly:
— “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to be a Saintess or anything of the sort.”
His touch was gentle as he ran his fingers through my tangled hair to smooth it out.
— “If Annette becomes a Saintess, I’ll only have more rivals to deal with…”
Loik had given a mischievous smile, saying he couldn't afford to have his capable Grand Duchess taken away.
— “It’s not even certain that I am the Saintess anyway.”
— “Exactly. I brought him here, but that priest is probably a quack.”
Since then, perhaps because Loik had given him a separate warning, Miel hadn't mentioned the word "Saintess" in front of me again.
I carefully wiped the rim of the gold cup in my hand.
Fortunately, only Loik and Miel had seen me so far.
“There, this cup was here the whole time.”
Just as I was about to set the cup back down on the altar, about a dozen villagers entered the cloister carrying baskets of food.
“Priest, please, let us see Her Highness the Consort. This land must never be defiled like that…!”
The eyes of the pleading villagers simultaneously fixed on my hand holding the Holy Relic.
Someone dropped their food basket right then and there.
“M-My goodness!”
“Her Highness the Consort lifted the Goddess’s Cup!”
I squeezed my eyes shut.