Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts
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Victoria recalled her past as she looked at the depiction of her former self. It was the moment when she was being abused before being rescued by the previous Pope.
When she was young, her parents had been taken hostage and she herself had been imprisoned by a demon disguised as the village chief.
The demon, a chimera with rabbit ears and striking red eyes, named Keymara, had forcibly starved Victoria, deprived her of sleep, and shackled her feet to prevent escape.
"From now on, you will use your miracles on the effigies of Lady Selena and Lord Abysses. The result will be to enrich and fatten this village."
Furthermore, the demon had threatened to force Victoria to dedicate her divine power to the effigies of the evil gods revered in the demon realm.
That was the truth of Briar Hill, a village blessed by the Earth Mother Goddess and called the Village of Miracles.
"If you disobey, your parents' illness will not be cured. It's a rare disease that can only be treated with the medicine I use."
Victoria remembered her parents, who had developed swelling in various parts of their bodies from an unknown illness. They had visited numerous doctors and churches, but saw no real improvement.
That's because the demon, targeting the horn or scales of her mother, a Gold Dragon, had committed the mad act of using holy water to block the blood vessels flowing to the heart.
Naturally, Victoria had never imagined the use of holy water, which would melt any demon or monster on contact, so she had been unable to resist at all until her parents grew weaker and eventually died.
"So what if you've just now realized I'm a demon? In the end, you're just a pretty doll who can hear the words of the Heavenly God. You're nothing but a replica, hardly even human."
The demon imprisoning Victoria deliberately repeated a cycle of giving her food and water only just before complete exhaustion, making her experience extreme hunger and dehydration to the limit.
"Even if a hero comes to save you, no one will like a dirty Saint who hasn't been properly washed for years. So you'd better wake up from the dream that a fairy tale will come true just like that."
In this way, the demon never ceased hurling abuse and insults at her, enjoying tortures like plucking or burning the flowers that grew on her body.
"Ah, but rest assured. I'll take your purity when you come of age. They say heroes awaken most often around that time, right?"
While saying he would take the most important thing to a Saint—her purity—in the most horrific way later, he used the despair of imagination to erase hope from Victoria's mind.
"Who knows? A Saint fallen into despair might become a fallen woman who worships evil gods. I think it's worth testing!"
Fortunately or unfortunately, Victoria was rescued by the Papal Court, which had barely received an oracle from the Heavenly God, before she came of age, around 14 years old.
The Heavenly God said he had tried countless times to call for outside help and to protect Victoria, but the evil gods had blocked him.
"Even if I die, you'll never be able to forget me. Demons are beings like that. Slightly deviating from the normal category... insane humans."
The demon who had imprisoned Victoria finally poisoned her parents while laughing like a madman.
The sight of his head being severed by the Papal paladins, his mouth still stretched to his ears, was a sight she could never forget.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "So you are the Saint of this generation."
Cold eyes scrutinizing Victoria carefully. The face of the man sitting slouched on a high chair, looking at her askew, was full of concern.
A middle-aged man whose body, covered in scars and muscular, did not match the position of Pope.
"Those damn demons I could chew to death and still not feel satisfied... I can't believe what insane things they've done to such a young child..."
His name was Raphael Arcelius. He was the one who, upon hearing the Heavenly God's oracle, had mobilized the knight order to rescue Victoria, and was now the previous Pope who had been poisoned by a lich.
"I'm truly sorry for the delay in the rescue due to my negligence... I'm sorry. Saving children is originally the duty of adults."
Raphael showed Victoria a respectful attitude, and banged his head once hard on the floor. Seeing the blood trickling from his forehead, she guessed at the Pope's character.
"There will be no more pain or sadness from now on. As long as I'm here, you won't have to overuse miracles anymore either."
Raphael's face was scarred and rough-looking, but his voice revealed an effort not to frighten her too much.
"......"
Having lost her parents and unable to return to her hometown, Victoria chose to live in the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium from that day on.
"Thank you for trusting me, young Saint."
Although she could smell the strong scent of alcohol on him, she thought he probably wasn't a bad person, given that he had saved her from that hellish pit.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Several years passed after that. Victoria lived a peaceful life under the halo of the previous Pope.
Although she gritted her teeth against the pain when the flowers were gradually removed during treatments to prolong her life.
And although there were arguments among the Papal elders about whether they could venerate someone like Victoria, who was ill, as a Saint.
"What? You're worried because you can't refuse people who ask you, a Saint, to use miracles?"
As if she had confided even this worry to Raphael, Victoria was beginning to feel quite at ease.
"Hmmmm..."
For her, who had lost her parents, the only person who could play that role was Pope Raphael.
However,
"Then, how about deliberately hurling insults to create distance so they can't easily approach you?"
Raphael wasn't a very good educator. Teaching someone and learning have similar aptitudes but are completely different things.
"Look at me. They think I'm a drunken, foul-mouthed old man, so no one bothers me, right?"
As Raphael said, instead of the title of Pope, he was often called by derogatory names like the Holy Kingdom's madman, or a sly fox or venomous snake.
"If you live like that, eventually, people of worth will try to stay by your side, and those who want to use you will try to stay away."
He had been active as a knight in his youth and had been tormented by guilt over killing a child under a superior's orders. He spoke metaphorically about his past.
"I lived like a stray dog in the past until I was saved by a certain priest."
And so Raphael quit being a knight and became a priest of the Holy Kingdom.
He loved alcohol too much and had a rough mouth, so his peers often told him, 'If you rise to a high position, the world will be ruined.'
"The reason someone like me could become Pope and hold this position until now is probably because of this personality. Saint."
Raphael gave Victoria this advice, and it became the reason she later adopted the method of acting coldly toward people she liked.
"Can't you stop drinking? Well, that's a rather difficult request. Dealing with the old men of the Papal Court just gets on my nerves..."
Raphael, who always carried a liquor bottle like a lover, was poisoned by Porcus III, who coveted his position, precisely because of this characteristic of being a heavy drinker.
"The day dirt enters my eyes will probably be the day I stop drinking. I'm sorry."
The reason Victoria viewed Astal's drinking so negatively was also entirely due to the trauma of the poisoning incident.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the previous Pope Raphael died, Victoria wore a mask to live without revealing her emotions to others.
"Saint, please, I beg you! My father is about to stop breathing! Please, the medicine cost..."
She saw a foolish child digging up his already deceased father's corpse from the grave to get gold coins.
"Mom told me to make a wish like this. She said if I ask the Saint, she'll grant anything!"
She met parents who tried to profit by using their child for their own wealth and glory.
"Aren't you, Saint, someone who follows the will of the Heavenly God? Then why are you ignoring a pitiful person like me...?"
There were also unscrupulous humans who pretended to be sick on purpose or wanted to be infected with a disease to regain their youthful physical condition.
"Saint, nice to meet you...!"
The worst among them were the newly appointed Pope Porcus III and the Paladin Order.
The leering glances at her chest, the insane attempts to secretly steal her holy garments or cut them with scissors.
At that time, there was no one to protect Victoria. After the previous Pope died, her influence was gradually being erased.
"Saint! Here are new holy garments! The youngest of the knight order accidentally splashed filthy water last time, so..."
Amidst the ongoing excessive teasing and requests that crossed the line, an incident occurred that touched Victoria's nerves.
The holy garments she originally wore were supposed to minimize exposure, covering even her hair.
"How is it? They say it's the latest fashion in the capital! If you wear this, more people will apply to join our Paladin Order...!"
The Pope had prepared holy garments with various holes and made of thin material that revealed her body.
"...What did you just say? All I can hear is the squealing of a horny boar."
Seeing that, Victoria's patience reached its limit, and for the first time, she hurled insults and began maintaining the same attitude she has now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Seeing this reminds me of the day I first joined the hero's party."
Victoria looked at the jawline of Astal, who was pretending to be her fake lover beside her now.
How could a person be this handsome?
No matter how love-struck she was, his appearance was objectively top-tier.
"I distinctly remember what you said back then..."
"...Can't we forget about that now?"
"You said you wanted to meet me, who was rumored to be merciful, while living a life that would disappear if you closed and opened your eyes once. Yes, I still remember it clearly."
Thinking back on it now, the magic Astal had cast on her that day was definitely not a shower of flower petals.
Victoria had learned, while fighting many battles with him, that he could cast magic without incantations.
"I think it was quite clever of you to fabricate a lie to cast Dispel Magic."
Victoria imagined how much Astal must have racked his brain to come up with that excuse back then.
Since the flowers blooming on her body were an effect of the Law of Causality, not a curse.
It should have naturally had no effect.
"...No? What on earth are you talking about?"
"I'm sure from the magic you just used. I felt that same tingling sensation flowing through my hand back then too."
The corners of Victoria's mouth kept curling upward. The overwhelming emotion rising from deep within her chest was dyeing her cheeks red.
"If you were really going to use magic that made flower petals rain, wouldn't there have been no need to hold my hand?"
Thump, thump.
Her heart was beating fast, and she felt a suffocating sensation as if her breath would stop, but...
'You have such a cute side, keeping an important fact like that a secret...'
Victoria realized that even this heavy feeling in her chest was another name for the emotion called love.
"Right now, I would even forgive you if you put your fingers between my breasts. A good opportunity like this comes only once in a lifetime, so think carefully."
"...Do you think I'm crazy?!"
Victoria was expressing her emotions without measuring the distance, adding a slight variation to her usual behavior.
"Aww, the man is so timid. Does the generous noona repaying you with her body displease you?"
"I absolutely decline a noona like you. It's not my taste in the first place."
"...Since we're doing a fake relationship anyway, how about trying to change that twisted preference of yours this time?"
"What's wrong with my taste...?"
The reason she now had to act coldly toward someone she liked had disappeared.
Her terminal illness issue was resolved, and the stagnant romantic front was also taking a step forward.
'Well, this side of Lord Astal is good, though.'
Victoria once again strongly pulled Astal's arm against her chest, and they spent time looking around the perimeter of the forbidden archive together.
"What's this...?"
They came face-to-face with a mural depicting eleven gods fighting against something.