Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Leaking Heavenly Secrets
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“H-how do you know that word?”
I blankly mulled over the word that had just slipped from the Pope’s lips, then suddenly widened my eyes and jumped to my feet.
“You don’t seem to be lying…”
“I really do know it!”
But the Pope, who had been watching me intently, seemed to harbor a bit of suspicion toward me.
“It’s a game I played before I was reborn into this world!”
“Huh?”
Without thinking, I blurted out the secret I’d been hiding all this time, and the Pope’s eyes widened for a moment.
“Reborn…? Game?”
“Ah, well… you see…”
Growing anxious as she mulled over these unfamiliar words, I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and opened my mouth again.
“Can I trust you, Big Sister…?”
“…Ahem.”
But for some reason, upon hearing my serious tone, the Pope suddenly started clearing her throat.
“Um, I’m not exactly your ‘big sister.’”
“Huh?”
“I’m way past the age to be called that…”
Her face flushed red again as she shot me a glare.
“Really?”
“C-can’t you tell just by looking?”
I carefully looked her over once more, but just as she said, she didn’t look that old.
Even giving her the benefit of the doubt, she seemed no older than my mother or His Majesty the Emperor…
“If you just call me Pope or ma’am…”
“But you look like a big sister, so I’ll call you Big Sister!”
“…How many kids do you think I have?”
Still, when it comes to flattery, it’s better to stubbornly push forward than to take her words at face value.
“Pope Big Sister. Anyway, I have a secret I’ve never told anyone…”
And so, with a bright smile, I called the Pope before me “Big Sister.”
“I’m actually a transmigrator!”
Suppressing my tension once more, I revealed the most important secret I’d been keeping.
‘In a way, it’s a fatal secret that could get me abandoned by my family at any moment…’
Honestly, it was a secret I’d planned to take to my grave, so I never dreamed I’d spill it here.
“…A transmigrator?”
But the Pope, still gazing at me steadily, tilted her head with a skeptical expression.
“I mean… I remember my past life!”
“……”
“And I already knew about this world!”
Of course, terms like “transmigration” might be unfamiliar even in my past life if you didn’t know fanfiction. I needed to explain in more detail.
“This world was a work of fiction in my past life! So, roughly speaking…”
“The title of that work is Ruined Crown Princess, right?”
Just as I was explaining with enthusiasm, the Pope suddenly cut in.
“I know a little about that work myself.”
“…I don’t know much about it.”
“I mean… Huh?”
Stunned by the sudden information, I glanced at the Pope timidly and mumbled.
“Th-the only thing I know about that work is that the youngest Imperial Princess is the protagonist.”
At those words, the Pope gazed at me with a strange look and spoke in a low voice.
“Fortunately, you know the most crucial part.”
“R-really?”
“Kairen Nox Belverk. Recently, I received a prophecy from the Goddess.”
I had no choice but to look shocked as I listened intently to the Pope’s words.
“The prophecy stated that the fate of the world depends on your choices.”
So, I’m the child of prophecy pointed out by the Holy Church’s oracle?
No, sure, it’s a cliché that romance fantasy heroines often get, but…
But I’m a scion of the Demon Duke’s house—why would the Holy Church’s prophecy point to me?
“So, I dare to ask you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Kairen Nox Belverk.”
Lost in thought, I snapped to attention as the Pope’s solemn voice reached me from ahead.
“Who is the person you like the most right now?”
When I first heard her, I swallowed dryly and couldn’t believe my ears.
“Please tell me.”
“……”
“Only then can I glimpse the future.”
But judging by the Pope’s expression as she stared at me, she wasn’t joking.
“The possibilities of the future depend on your words.”
It seems the Pope can foresee future possibilities, and the condition is my words or conviction…
“W-well, you see…”
In that case, even if it’s a bit embarrassing, I have no choice but to speak my true feelings.
“I…!”
Though it scares me a little how it might sound.
“I like everyone who likes me!”
As I raised my voice with a flushed face, silence fell over the room.
“…I see.”
In that silence, the Pope, still watching me, nodded with brightened eyes.
“Hmph.”
And right after.
“What an impudent little brat.”
Her face flushed like mine, arms crossed as she glared and muttered.
“No, saying that to a clueless ten-year-old kid is a bit much…”
“Um, excuse me.”
Listening anxiously, I mustered courage to correct one thing.
“I’m an adult!”
“…?”
“In my past life, I was probably around twenty!”
Since I’d already spilled my biggest secret, it was best not to hide anything else.
“…Probably.”
Of course, lately I’d started doubting if I was really twenty in my past life…
“Ah, yes…”
“……”
“Right. Probably.”
Huh? For some reason, the Pope’s nod after my words felt oddly off.
“Anyway, the path you’ve chosen will be arduous and grueling.”
“……”
“But if you insist on walking it…”
But the Pope, now with a gentle expression, continued gazing at me.
“Someday, you’ll have to make a difficult choice.”
A difficult choice. Does that mean a branching point will come someday? Coming from someone who can foresee the future, it feels even scarier.
“If that’s too hard, just go with the youngest Imperial Princess and…”
“…Yes?”
“…No, never mind.”
In that moment, as the Pope seemed about to add something, she closed her mouth and fell silent.
“Th-then. Now it’s your turn to answer my questions.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I have two questions—is that okay?”
Glancing at her cautiously, I carefully posed my questions.
“No problem.”
“Ooh!”
“I’m not some wish-granting fairy, so ask as many as you want.”
Having gotten the Pope’s permission, I eagerly began my questions, eyes sparkling.
“Do you happen to know the name Anastasia?”
“Of course I do.”
And sure enough, what came from her lips was the information I’d been most eagerly awaiting lately.
“It’s the name of the saintess who nearly succeeded in driving me out of the Holy Church.”
“…!”
“…Her true name is known only to me.”
So, the black’s identity is the Holy Church’s saintess. And the reformists led by her.
“So, I have no idea how you know that name.”
“N-next. Second question.”
Finally uncovering the identity of the black who had plunged me and countless others into suffering—it was a tremendous harvest.
Identified the Black (1/1)
But the question I was about to ask now was almost equally vital information.
“Earlier, you definitely said that.”
“……”
“That you can see System Big Sister and know her true nature.”
Feeling my heart pounding, I pointed at the perfectly timed system message window floating before me and began questioning the Pope.
“If it’s okay, could you tell me her true nature…”
“Impossible.”
But before I could finish, the Pope shook her head firmly.
“That information falls under divulging heavenly secrets.”
“Ah…”
“Especially to you, the person involved—I absolutely cannot reveal it.”
Her tone was resolute as she gazed not at the system window before me, but slightly higher up.
“However, I can tell you this.”
“……”
“You’ll come to know it naturally with time.”
Though I pouted a little, since I’d gained the info that time would reveal it, I decided to be satisfied.
“…And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“The entity attached to you is unequivocally your ally.”
As I rose from my seat with those thoughts, the Pope suddenly added one more line.
“…For as long as forever.”
Her gaze remained fixed slightly above me.
“Kairen.”
About a minute after Kairen’s one-on-one meeting with the Pope ended.
“What did you two talk about?”
“Ah, well…”
Astridje, returning to the room with the Emperor, asked Kairen—who was sitting with an innocent smile—a question laced with worry.
“…We talked about secrets!”
But to his mother, Kairen just flashed a pure grin and brushed it off.
“Secrets, huh. Looks like my son’s hit puberty already.”
“Shut up.”
“Haha, isn’t it cute? My son’s itching to kill me…”
Astridje shot a chilling glare at the Emperor grinning obnoxiously beside her, then muttered gravely.
“Even with Crimson Eyes activated, I couldn’t eavesdrop for the first time.”
“…Your ability is a natural counter to mine, it seems.”
“So it was you deliberately interfering.”
Astridje’s eyes turned red as she stepped toward the Pope, who readily admitted to blocking the eavesdropping.
“Remember this. If you do anything to my son…”
“M-Mother…”
But at Kairen’s urgent voice from behind, Astridje immediately halted and turned.
“C-can I go to the bathroom for a sec?”
“…Bathroom?”
“I’ve been holding it since earlier…”
Only then did she notice Kairen squirming, legs crossed. Kneeling down, she smiled softly.
“No wonder you’ve been fidgeting.”
“Th-that was for a different reason…”
“Anyway, with things as they are, no helping it.”
She turned to the Emperor and Pope, issuing a declaration.
“I’m taking Kairen to the bathroom, so you two rest as you like.”
“……”
“I have things to discuss with Kairen alone, so it’ll take about ten minutes.”
As the Emperor and Pope exchanged glances and silently nodded.
“Uwaaaah!”
Kairen, face paling, burst into tears and bolted out the door.
“Kairen, it’s dangerous to go alone…”
“Astridje. This is the heart of the imperial palace?”
Astridje ignored the Emperor’s dumbfounded expression and hurriedly chased after him.
“…Kairen?”
But someone had already spotted Kairen, who had dashed far ahead with even Crimson Eyes active.
“Hmph.”
It was none other than the youngest Imperial Princess, Lia, who had rushed to the guest reception room upon hearing the news.
“S-sorry, but right now I don’t have time to talk to you…”
Lia felt a bit relieved seeing Kairen rushing toward her, sweat beading on his forehead. Recalling her maid’s advice, she turned her head away primly, arms crossed.
“Sorry!”
“…!?”
“I have something urgent right now!”
But Kairen shot past the princess, shouting loudly.
- Whoooosh…
Lia blinked blankly, hit by the wind in his wake, and let out a dazed sound.
“…I actually had something to talk about.”
“…A transmigrator.”
Meanwhile, the Pope was left alone in the reception room, thanks to the Emperor yawning and heading off for a nap.
“As if that could be true.”
As she tilted her head and muttered to herself.
“Mother.”
“……”
“How did it go?”
The nuns, who had been waiting in the next room under the imperial knights’ watch, finally entered the reception room with faces full of worry.
“Is Kairen Nox Belverk the child we hoped for?”
“If not, we’re finished.”
“No, not just us—the whole world…”
Listening to their trembling voices, the Pope closed her eyes tightly and spoke.
“Kairen Nox Belverk is indeed the child of the prophecy.”
At her firm tone, the nuns’ faces brightened instantly.
“However…”
But their expressions froze in unison.
“He’s not the transmigrator he claimed to be.”
“…What?”
“If he were, I would see traces of his soul.”
The Pope’s own expression was somewhat frozen as she said this.
“Th-then…”
“To summarize.”
In that moment, the Pope began to clarify the situation.
“The child named Kairen…”
What emerged from her lips was a heavenly secret that must never be passed to anyone.
“…Was just an ordinary ten-year-old kid.”