Clara
Caught you.
Saintess Clara grinned, thinking something utterly unsuited to her station and office.
Vatican City was a thoroughly Christian nation. With more than a billion believers worldwide, the faith had always been an easy place to gather devotion even in chaotic times. For the Holy See, where belief itself was power, the number of the faithful was strength itself.
Unfortunately, Christianity forbade same-sex marriage.
Which meant that, by doctrine, she was not supposed to harbor thoughts this filthy.
Even if the world had changed. Even if doctrine had bent to match the changed world, even if fewer people clung to outdated teachings, even if attitudes toward religion itself had shifted—still, a Saintess carried the weight of what a Saintess was supposed to mean.
So what?
She knew perfectly well this was an impossible feeling. She knew better than anyone that it was a love that must never be fulfilled, and that Serena had no intention of accepting her heart.
She knew exactly how painful it would be to love something that could never be returned.
But it didn't matter. In relationships like this, the one who fell first always lost. From the very beginning, she had known it was impossible and chosen to love her anyway.
"It would be best if you didn't even think about running, Sword Saint."
That was why, every time she saw Serena, she never stopped showing affection.
Because Serena drove herself far too hard. Because even after saving so many people on the Siberian front, she still lived under the delusion that she was someone who deserved only hatred.
So at least one person had to tell her: I like you this much.
To me, you are my savior. From the moment you rescued a trembling little girl in that tiny Siberian cabin, you have been my idol.
There are so many people who, like me, get to watch a new day begin because of you. People who admire you, who love you, who cheer for you... far outnumber the ones who resent you.
So please.
Please... don't reject my kindness.
Don't keep blaming yourself.
Love yourself a little more.
You don't even have to look at me. Just... look at yourself once.
Carrying every unspoken feeling like that, Clara wrapped her arms tightly around the girl rolled up in the blanket and pressed their foreheads together.
If the people around me ever heard I had been kidnapped... I figured there would be roughly three kinds of reactions.
First: worry.
The people who knew me through streaming—viewers, Ara, and Lee Seon-woo—would probably be worried sick. To them I was just a fragile girl.
Second: suspicion.
People who knew my real identity—Maria, Mikhail, Father Veneto—wouldn't worry much at all.
They knew perfectly well that a surprise attack wouldn't work on me. They'd probably start investigating the kidnappers instead of fretting over me.
If the strongest close-combat fighter in the world had been "caught," it meant there was information worth sneaking in for.
And finally... the third type: Saintess Clara.
The girl who would somehow track down where I'd been taken, subdue the kidnappers, and then wrap me up and cart me straight off to the Vatican.
My fate, now that I'd fallen into that girl's hands, was already sealed.
"...Are you going to let go anytime soon?"
"Hmph. This is your punishment for not contacting me even once for a whole year. Considering that, I'm letting you off easy, so take it gracefully."
Rolled up in a blanket, laid out on the bed, and being hugged by Clara—human body pillow edition. Was there anyone else in the world who treated the Sword Saint like this?
Well... if I dug deep enough, I didn't exactly have room to complain. Looking back now, going completely silent and ghosting her for over a year had been pretty rough.
So I couldn't push the girl away. She was a good kid who only ever showed me kindness even while I kept rejecting her.
Besides, as long as these "eyes" didn't disappear, we were going to keep seeing each other. Like it or not, I would have to see her at least once a year until I died.
Only a Saintess could properly attune the power I'd received from an otherworldly being with my body. I was afraid that if I rejected her too hard, things between us would turn awkward.
I needed to either refuse her feelings cleanly or accept them. But I couldn't. I genuinely liked her like a cute little sister—I just couldn't like her that way.
"Mmm, just ten more minutes like this... stay with me a little longer..."
"Haah..."
In the end, all that grew today was the guilt in my heart. When the clingy Clara tried to press her forehead to mine again, I closed my eyes and played along.
Hoping that maybe this would ease the debt I felt even a little.
The more I looked at her, the stranger she seemed.
Was this what it felt like to have a little sister? Had my own sister looked at me with eyes like these? The way she latched onto me and clung so tightly reminded me of my younger self.
That was why I couldn't dislike her. The more I saw her, the more I felt this odd sense of kinship.
And unlike the me of those days who only ever begged for affection from my sister, this girl told me to look at myself. The way she worried about others more than herself was so painfully lovely.
"Unnie. When are you going back to Korea?"
"Probably in about a week. You have your own schedule too, Saintess, so I can't stay too long."
"Clara."
"Yes?"
"Please call me... Clara."
What cut me off was Clara's coaxing, sweet voice.
The girl had come close enough that our breaths mixed, staring at me with those bright, sparkling pink eyes as she made her request.
But even so...
"Saintess. You are the master of Vatican City. Even I can't just casually call someone like you by name."
"And if I say I don't mind?"
"Even then. If a complete stranger started calling you by name instead of 'Saintess,' what would people think?"
Faith in the Saintess. Admiration. Longing. Attention—all of it became her power. I couldn't be the one to chip away at her honor with my own hands.
The Saintess, however, seemed to think differently.
"If it's just the two of us, then it shouldn't matter, right?"
Squeeze.
The arms wrapped around me tightened another degree. The already close distance closed even further. If I hadn't hastily jerked my head back, our lips really would have touched.
Hiiik...!
I barely swallowed the sound that nearly slipped out. Something about the Saintess's condition felt off. If I showed any opening, I really might get eaten.
So I forced myself to keep a poker face.
My thoughts might show on my face normally, but if I locked down every facial muscle, this body could still pull off a blank expression. Don't underestimate a modified human.
"H-Heh. You think that'll startle me, Saintess?"
"Maybe start by hiding those pretty trembling eyelashes of yours? Sword. Saint?"
"...Ah?"
I blinked in pure shock. I had definitely been controlling every muscle in my body—when had the error crept in? While I was still thinking that, a voice thick with laughter reached me.
"Ahaha, caught you red-handed, didn't I?"
"...Ah."
"I'm not letting go until you give me permission."
Slowly, a hand began sliding up along my collarbone. It was a subtle motion that didn't match her cute face or slender fingers at all.
And of course my senses had to be ridiculously sharp, so the feeling wrapped inside that subtlety poured straight into me uninvited.
"Hgiik...?!"
Dangerous.
I knew Clara wasn't a bad kid, and she would never force anything in a situation like this... but I was the one in danger. This kind of merciless kindness just did not match my compatibility at all...!
"A-Alright! I'll call you Clara... okay?!"
"Casual speech."
"...Okay?"
"Heheh, good."
The fingers that had climbed all the way under my chin lightly traced my jawline and withdrew. The warmth that had come right up to my lips vanished, leaving only an oddly empty feeling behind.
An unconscious thought of what a shame surfaced, and I frantically shook my head side to side. Get a grip, Serena Eustania.
"Anyway, you're staying about a week, right?"
"Yes—no... yeah."
"Mmm... time's tighter than I thought. I already finished planning everything we'll do together, so I'll have to move the schedule up a bit."
"W-Wait a second."
I was pretty sure I'd just heard something in that muttering that I absolutely could not let slide. Plans to hang out together? No, I would much rather just stay comfortably in my room, thank you very much?
"Plans? What on earth are you talking about...?"
"I told you, unnie. When the call ended—I said I'd feed you only the best food, dress you in only the best clothes, show you only the best things, and say only the best words to you."
"No, wait..."
That was just something she said, right? A threat so I wouldn't hang up!
The words I couldn't quite spit out circled inside my mouth. My instincts were screaming that if I carelessly said that out loud, an unmanageable price would come due.
"Well, you just finished a twelve-hour flight. Dragging you straight out to play would be rough, wouldn't it?"
"R-Right?"
Thankfully, she wasn't so heartless that she'd haul someone who'd just gotten off a long flight straight outside. With a quiet sigh of relief, I lowered the walls around my heart.
That was my mistake.
"In that case, shall we talk about your stream for a bit today?"
"W-What...?"
"Maria unnie told me. You started streaming."
"...Ah."
Maria-ssi.
No—Maria.
When I get back to Korea, I am not letting this go.
Seriously.