The Saintess's Fury
The moment the words left her lips, a heavy silence fell over the room. Both Ernen and Sebastian froze, their faces going utterly blank. It was as if they had heard something completely unimaginable. Seeing those two make such expressions was a rare sight, but I had no time to savor the moment. After all, I was wearing nearly the same look on my face.
I couldn't help it. I never expected Lana to say something like that.
In my memories, Lana had always been a fragile, gentle child. Because she lacked assertiveness, she was constantly pushed around by Alice, who had more than enough of it for both of them. Yet I had never once seen her say anything harsh. As time passed, she eventually learned to run away or resist in other ways, but she had never firmly voiced her refusal in words. For someone like that to speak so decisively—how could I not be shocked?
And it seemed the same was true for the two who only knew the current Lana. That must have been why they wore those expressions.
“...Pardon?”
Ernen’s eyes widened as he asked, clearly unable to believe what he had just heard. He seemed to doubt his own ears. In response, Lana offered a soft smile.
“I said it was rude.”
She repeated the exact same words.
“......”
“......”
Once again, silence descended. Ernen’s eyes and face began to tremble. Even Sebastian, who had been quietly observing, showed the same reaction. Having confirmed they hadn’t misheard, clear agitation bloomed across both their faces.
However, true to his nature, Ernen quickly regained his composure. Then he opened his mouth once more.
“...You may not be aware, Saintess, but Kyle Berwen is—”
“Has a bad reputation?”
But Ernen couldn’t finish. Lana wouldn’t allow it.
“...Yes.”
That, too, was unexpected. For Lana to interrupt someone mid-sentence. Yet Ernen had no room to be surprised by that fact.
“I know.”
Lana spoke to him in a calm, even voice.
“...Pardon?”
Even Ernen let out a dumbfounded sound. But Lana paid no attention to his reaction whatsoever.
“I said I know.”
Her voice held not even the slightest tremor.
Just as I thought…
While I was startled by how different Lana seemed from usual, I nodded inwardly. In truth, it made no sense for her not to know the rumors about me.
“...Then I don’t understand. Why would you keep such a person close?”
Ernen must have noticed that Lana’s response was clearly not friendly, yet he didn’t stop speaking. Had his pride been provoked? Or did he have some other motive? I couldn’t tell. But the reason didn’t matter. Honestly, I was curious too—why Lana would still defend me even after knowing the rumors.
The answer came immediately.
“It’s simple. From what I’ve seen, Sir Kyle doesn’t seem as bad as the rumors claim.”
At Lana’s reply, a warm feeling spread through me.
When I lived with the children in the forest, I taught them not only how to protect themselves but also common sense and life lessons that would help them navigate the world. Still, there were limits to that approach. I wasn’t an education specialist, and two years was far too short a time to teach someone how to live in society. If I had stayed by their side, it might have been different, but I couldn’t help feeling anxious about how the children’s sense of self and values might have formed over eight years without any guardian.
Yet seeing her now, it seemed I didn’t need to worry much about Lana. She had already established a perspective rare for her age: that one should judge others not by rumors, but by meeting and experiencing them personally. That fact filled me with quiet satisfaction.
Of course, the pure joy of knowing she didn’t think badly of me played a part too.
But that joy seemed limited to me alone.
“......”
Clear bewilderment surfaced on Ernen’s face. I was growing curious about how he would respond. Would he back down here, or continue pushing his argument?
The answer came quickly.
“...Saintess, you are being deceived.”
It seemed Ernen had come here with far more resolve than I had anticipated.
“Naturally, judging someone solely on rumors or reputation is wrong. However, the rumors about Kyle Berwen have clear basis. Even after entering this Academy, he caused countless incidents and brought suffering to many.”
There was a kind of desperate sincerity in the way Ernen spoke so boldly.
“If you ask any student here, they will testify to it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone has witnessed Kyle Berwen’s misdeeds.”
His voice had grown firm. “I am simply concerned. I worry that you might be hurt by being deceived by Kyle Berwen.”
By now, his words had crossed into the realm of fervent appeal. His expression and tone were so composed that, from the outside, he truly looked like someone genuinely worried for Lana.
Well… he’s not exactly wrong.
From Ernen’s perspective, it wasn’t entirely false. To me, it felt incredibly unfair, but no one else knew that my soul had changed. To everyone else, I was still Kyle Berwen. Although my behavior had improved after becoming a second-year and I no longer caused trouble, Kyle’s past record was simply too spectacular for people to believe he had truly changed. How many people would think a criminal with dozens of offenses had completely reformed just because he behaved for a few months?
So Ernen’s words weren’t completely wrong. At least on the surface, regardless of the truth.
However.
“Is that so?”
It seemed those words hadn’t reached Lana’s heart.
“The way you speak sounds to me like this.”
The smile on Lana’s face deepened.
“You’re saying I have no eye for people.”
“......!!”
“......!!”
Both Ernen’s and Sebastian’s faces hardened noticeably. Even I flinched for a moment. The weight of what she had just said was immense.
The implication was, Are you saying my judgment is terrible? Depending on interpretation, it was a statement that could easily be taken as an insult. Some people might laugh it off, but words change in weight depending on who speaks them and the situation.
The problem was that Lana was a Saintess.
A Saintess held the most noble position in the Goddess Church. She was treated as the very representative of a goddess. In other words, Ernen’s words went beyond mere rudeness—if stretched, they could even border on blasphemy.
“T-that was not my intention…!!”
Ernen turned deathly pale and hurriedly denied it. It was perfectly understandable. No matter how much of an imperial prince he was, his counterpart was a Saintess. If Lana decided to make an issue of this statement, even Ernen could not escape rebuke.
Of course, the Empire possessed power that even the Goddess Church could not easily ignore. But in this case, the weight of their respective positions differed greatly. If Lana pressed the matter, would the Empire protect Ernen?
Well… I couldn’t say for certain, but the odds were high that they would not. The fault clearly lay with Ernen. They might try to resolve it amicably up to a point, but if the Goddess Church became truly serious, the Empire would likely hand him over without resistance. No matter how precious an imperial prince he was, he was still just a prince. The chance that the Empire would risk conflict with the Goddess Church to protect one prince—rather than the crown prince—was slim.
Knowing this, both Ernen and Sebastian reacted the way they did.
“If that wasn’t your intention, then what was? To me, it only sounded that way.”
Lana asked with a smile. Her face, her smile, was as beautiful as ever, yet for some reason it felt completely different from usual.
Ah.
I finally realized it.
She’s angry.
Lana was furious. Her expression and voice were exactly the same as always, yet the atmosphere they conveyed was as different as heaven and earth. The smile that should have felt warm now seemed cold and sharp.
“Th-that is……”
Even the great Ernen couldn’t form a proper reply. The corners of his eyes trembled. His lips quivered.
The one who broke the steadily rising tension was none other than the person who had created it.
“I would appreciate it if you left now.”
It was Lana. With that soft yet icy smile, she delivered her order to leave.
“...Understood.”
“......”
Ernen and Sebastian departed. Watching their retreating backs and then Lana’s face, which still wore that unchanging smile, I thought to myself:
…An angry Lana is a little scary.