Chapter 385: The Saintess
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 385: The Saintess
The head of the Holy See was, without a doubt, the Pope.
However, there were beings who held authority rivaling that of the Pope: the Saint and the Saintess, blessed with God's grace.
In Europe, where the Church's influence was immense, it was no exaggeration to say that the status of the Saint and Saintess surpassed that of most heads of state.
‘Why would someone like that...?’
I fell into thought for a moment, looking at the Saintess who had suddenly appeared.
Elysia Theresia.
Unlike previous Saintesses, she was famous for her belligerent nature. News channels had once broadcast footage of her wielding a giant morningstar, beating high-level magical beasts to death in areas where Gate Breaks had occurred.
A rumor once circulated online that her great-grandfather was a descendant of the notoriously ferocious Black Wolf Tribe (黑狼族), but like most tabloid gossip, it was quickly forgotten for lack of evidence.
“Hello? Um, you must be... Baronet Lauderdale?”
As the Saintess greeted me cheerfully, I bowed my head respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Holiness. The title of Baronet is still unfamiliar to me, so I would be grateful if you would just call me by my name.”
“Then I'll call you Hyun-woo. That's more comfortable for me, too.”
Is this what they call Western familiarity?
I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for a Saintess to so casually use a strange man's name upon their first meeting, but seeing as the guard knight standing behind her showed no reaction, it didn't seem to be a problem.
Speaking of which, the pure white armor, the helmet that completely concealed her face, and the subtle yet disciplined aura emanating from her...
‘...At least S-rank.’
Skills befitting a Saintess's guard knight.
“My, you're so tall, aren't you? And so well-built... I'd believe you if you said you were a knight, not a mage. And you seem to smell nice, too...”
While my attention was momentarily diverted to the guard knight, the Saintess had already closed the distance between us.
Not only did she stand beside me as if comparing our heights, but she even brought her nose close, as if trying to catch my scent.
For a moment, the faint scent of the Saintess brushing past my nose nearly caused a reaction below the belt, but my last shred of reason managed to suppress the instinct.
“...You seem a little close.”
I quickly took a step back.
If a scandal broke out between me and the Saintess, billions of believers might put a bounty on my head.
Watching me hastily create distance, the Saintess gave a meaningful smile. It seemed a little disappointed, yet also somewhat unsettling.
“If you don't mind, may I ask you a question?”
“Of course. Ah, if it's about my measurements...”
“I'm fine.”
At my firm reply, the corners of the Saintess's eyes curved beautifully. It was a bewitching eye-smile, hard to believe from a Saintess.
“Do you have some business with me?”
A scandal with a strange man would do the Saintess no good.
And yet, not only had she stared intently at me in the ballroom, but she had also left in the middle of the festivities just to meet me.
It was an action difficult to understand without a special reason.
If it had been the Saint, perhaps, but the Saintess and I had only just met today.
“Business...”
In that instant, the look in the Saintess's eyes did a complete 180.
A strange, oppressive aura, as if facing a ferocious beast, began to slowly envelop the area.
“Rea, cover your ears.”
“Yes.”
As soon as the Saintess's command was given, a thin film of magical power formed around the guard knight's helmet.
“I hate beating around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point.”
Snap—
The moment the Saintess snapped her fingers, a giant morningstar materialized in mid-air.
She snatched the blunt weapon, which looked to be at least twice her height, with one hand. Then, as if it were an extension of her own body, she swung it lightly and rested it on her shoulder.
It was a sight that didn't match her slender limbs.
“What is your relationship with my sister?”
Her deeply subdued voice was laced with a faint but clear hostility.
Only then did I realize why the Saintess had risked a scandal and approached me away from prying eyes.
“...I'm not sure what misunderstanding you have, but this is the first I've heard of you having a sister, Your Holiness.”
“Playing dumb won't work. You already know my sister goes around dressed as a man.”
I tried to gloss over it, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
I sighed inwardly.
“For the record, I didn't seek out this secret intentionally. The Saint was the one who unilaterally told me.”
“I know. My sister is naive enough to do something like that.”
“...What is it you want from me?”
“To keep you quiet.”
Thud—
The moment the Saintess set down her morningstar, the floor dented. It had to weigh well over 100 kilograms.
“As you know, Hyun-woo, the truth about my sister's gender is a secret that must not be revealed, even within the Holy See.”
“I understand.”
The Saint is the son of God, and the Saintess is the daughter of God. The moment that simple, absolute truth crumbled, it was obvious that a crack would form in the massive system of religion.
“So, are you planning to kill me to keep me quiet?”
“I never said that, did I?”
The Saintess feigned innocence with a childlike smile, but it was a flimsy act that not even a three-year-old would believe.
“Of course... depending on the situation, for the sake of humanity's peace, we might have to consider extreme measures.”
Rumble—
In that instant, the Saintess's immense divine power spread out in all directions, causing the very air to tremble.
The guard knight, who had been standing a step back, also unleashed a sharp aura, pressing down on me.
Faced with this blatant threat, I sighed inwardly.
Their impure intention to gain the upper hand before negotiations even began was plain to see.
In the past, I might have backed down appropriately, but not anymore.
“Your Holiness.”
Fwoosh—!!!
““?!””
The Vajra Ki and magical power that erupted from me instantly crushed their auras, as if putting them in their place.
Immediately, the composure vanished from the Saintess's face.
“If I may be so bold, that kind of threat only works when you're confident in your own strength.”
“...”
“So don't put too much faith in your guard's abilities. If I had any ill intentions, something would have already happened to you.”
It was an inappropriate thing to say in front of the Saintess, but I could handle the consequences.
“...Isn't that a rather arrogant statement?”
The Saintess, her pride seemingly wounded, glared at me with fierce eyes.
The same went for her guard knight. Beyond the visor of her helmet, blatant hostility flared like fire in her eyes.
“Is it?”
The Saintess and her guard knight were both clearly S-rank level combatants. But if you were to ask if they were more than I could handle, the answer was no.
A brief battle of wills took place in the silence. I was the first to withdraw my aura, raising both hands toward them.
“It seems the atmosphere has gotten a little heated.”
What I wanted was not a coercive threat, but a conversation between equals.
Besides, even if the Saintess had been the first to show aggression, I could never lay a hand on her.
The moment even a small scratch appeared on the Saintess's body, I would be hunted not only by billions of believers, but also by the Church's priests, holy knights, and even the heretic inquisitors.
“I will take this opportunity to swear in God's name that I will not reveal the Saint's secret, even with a knife to my throat.”
“...You're a believer?”
“Yes.”
A believer who's never once prayed, perhaps, but religion has always been something one is free to believe in or abandon.
“Of course, I understand it would be difficult for you to trust me even if I say this. I fully understand that. So, in exchange for my keeping the secret, how about you pay a fitting price, Your Holiness?”
“...A price?”
I held out the broken ‘Saint's Rosary’ to the Saintess.
“Could you repair this for me?”
“Th-this is...?!”
The moment she saw the rosary, the Saintess's eyes widened. Her expression seemed to ask, ‘Why do you have that?’
“...So you are dating my sister—”
“I am not.”
When I cut her off flatly, the Saintess shot me a glare.
She then snatched the rosary away and examined it closely for a while, turning it over and over.
Then, she looked at me with a strange expression.
This time, she looked as if she were thinking, ‘What in the world is wrong with this guy?’
“No, seriously, how on earth did you use a consecrated artifact from the Saint to the point that it's this broken?”
“...I fought a magical beast that uses a potent poison.”
I averted my gaze slightly. It wasn't a complete lie.
“Hah... This can't be fixed. All the divine power contained in the rosary has dissipated. Even if you repaired it, its performance would be worse than that of a mediocre magic tool.”
“Hmm...”
I couldn't help but sigh at her words.
Is this what it feels like to take a day off, go all the way to a phone repair shop, and be told it's unfixable?
Just as I was wondering if I should ask Duke Winchester to get me another artifact...
“...Here, take this.”
“?”
The Saintess offered me a ring. Instead of jewels or decorations, it was embedded with a cross.
Tiring—
[New item information is being collected.]
[Saintess's Ring]
Grade: Rare+
A ring containing the Saintess's divine power, strengthened through consecration.
Increases physical abilities.
Greatly increases natural recovery rate.
Grants immunity to poisons below a certain level.
“...It's not much of a replacement, but it's a ring I consecrated myself.”
I examined the ring for a moment before slipping it onto my finger.
“...The performance seems a little crappy.”
“W-what do you expect! The consecration period was short, and I'm not as skilled as my sister! If you don't like it, give it back right now!”
“I'll treasure it.”
I took a step back, dodging the Saintess's hand as she tried to snatch the ring back.
It's only a Rare+ grade, which is a bit disappointing, but I guess it's better than nothing.
“Hmph. Just make sure you keep your promise.”
“You don't have to worry. I'm well aware of how precious my own life is.”
Besides, even if I were to reveal this fact, it wouldn't cause a huge stir.
It's true I've become somewhat famous, but I don't have enough credibility to tarnish the Saint's reputation.
If I spread some tabloid-like story on the news or the internet, my own reputation would be the one to suffer in the end.
Of course, I could probably plant a small seed of doubt. That must be what the Saintess is worried about.
“Haa... What on earth does my sister see in a man like that to be looking for him all the time...”
“Sorry? What did you just say?”
“It was nothing!”
The Saintess shouted irritably, then spun around and walked toward the other end of the hall.
But before she had gone more than a few steps, she turned her head again, looking at me with a very serious expression.
“If you want to live a long life, you'd better pray the Pope never finds out that you know.”
“...Huh?”
Leaving those words as a final warning, the Saintess disappeared down the hall.
I stared blankly at her retreating back for a long time.
*
“...Your Holiness.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Begging your pardon, but was it truly necessary to warn such a disrespectful man yourself?”
Rea, Elysia's guard knight, frowned as she recalled Kang Hyun-woo's attitude.
Elysia let out a short sigh.
“But I can't just let him die, can I? My one and only sister calls out for him every night, 'Hyun-woo, Hyun-woo~' so desperately.”
“...However, if His Holiness the Pope were to find out about this, you too could find yourself in a difficult position, Your Holiness.”
“I'll think about that when the time comes. Besides, it's not like this is the first or second time that man has gotten on my nerves.”
As the Saintess walked down the dark corridor, her canines glinted faintly in the moonlight streaming through a window.
Just as the rumors said, her great-grandfather was of the Black Wolf Tribe, one of the most notoriously ferocious beast-kin.
That was why Elysia was so much more belligerent than the Saintesses before her.
Of course, by her generation, the blood had thinned, leaving her with little more than a sensitive sense of smell and superior physical abilities.
For reference, her sister, Ellyn, had inherited none of it.
‘His scent...’
Walking down the hall without much thought, Elysia unconsciously thought of Kang Hyun-woo.
His physique, unbelievable for a mage; his sharp aura, enough to intimidate even a pure-blooded beast-kin; and that strange scent that seemed to stimulate her instincts.
No matter how hard she tried to forget, these things kept surfacing in her mind, lingering before her eyes.
‘...Could it be that my sister fell for him because of the Black Wolf blood?’
In that moment, Elysia's first impression of Kang Hyun-woo solidified: he was a dangerous man.
*
After parting with Elysia, Kang Hyun-woo returned to the ballroom.
He couldn't just leave his partner, Delia, by herself.
Fortunately, Ophelia was fending off the advances of other men.
“Ria.”
“Oh? Hyun-woo!”
“Hyun-woo!”
The faces of the two women lit up noticeably when they saw Kang Hyun-woo.
But that was short-lived. Ophelia's expression darkened considerably when she realized 'Ria' was a nickname for Delia.
“Seven years, just seven more years and...”
Kang Hyun-woo lightly patted the head of the muttering Ophelia, then took Delia's hand and confidently walked out of the ballroom.
No one tried to stop them, as it was common for couples to sneak away during a ball.
“H-Hyun-woo...?”
“Shh.”
Kang Hyun-woo crossed the garden, holding Delia by the wrist.
After passing through the maze-like garden, the two arrived at a building where not a soul could be sensed.
This was the Emerald Palace.
It was a palace historically used by princesses, but since the royal family currently had no princess, it had been vacant for a long time.
It was also the place Kang Hyun-woo had asked the Royal Butler to rent for the day instead of a hotel.
As if it were his own home, he opened the door to the Emerald Palace, went up to the second floor, and entered the largest room.
Thump—
“Kyaa?!”
Delia fell onto the bed.
Kang Hyun-woo climbed on top of her and looked down.
“Ria, do you remember?”
He gently caressed Delia's flushed face with his fingertips, which looked like it might burst at any moment, and whispered lowly in her ear.
“You said you'd grant me one favor.”
“...”
A strange silence hung in the air as Kang Hyun-woo lowered his head and kissed Delia.