Chapter 387: Ellyn Theresia
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 387: Ellyn Theresia
The Saint (聖子).
The son of God, blessed with holy grace, who performs countless miracles.
Since ancient times, he has been revered alongside the Saintess as the most noble of beings. In terms of religious authority, he was considered to hold an even higher position than the Pope, who is chosen by indirect election.
Furthermore, unlike the somewhat belligerent Saintess, the Saint pursued a life so ascetic and altruistic that he was called the epitome of an ideal clergyman.
This led to a joke once circulating online that "the Saint is more of a saintess than the actual Saintess.”
‘Why is someone like that here…?’
My surprise at the Saint's sudden appearance was brief. I quickly gathered my magic and created a screen to obscure our view.
Then, I took off my overcoat and threw it to her.
Fwump—
“Ah.”
Although her face was now doubly covered, the Saintess's final words came to mind, so I immediately used magic detection to scan the surroundings.
Fortunately, the only other person nearby was a knight who appeared to be the Saint's escort.
Only then could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Haa... I know it's nighttime, but what are you thinking, walking around like that?”
“Huh? Ah...”
Flustered by my words, the Saint stammered and looked at me.
By the way, just as you'd expect from the Saintess's older sister, she was unbelievably beautiful.
Thanks to that, even though we had only met once before, I felt a sense of gladness seeing her again.
After all, she had been dressed as a man at the ballroom.
“Um... were you... worried about me?”
A hint of excitement colored the Saint's voice.
She even seemed somewhat pleased.
“Thank you for your concern. But you're the only one who can see me right now, Hyun-woo, so you don't have to worry.”
“What?”
The Saint showed me a ring inlaid with a beautifully crafted lapis lazuli.
“It's an artifact called the 'Hermit's Ring.' It makes me invisible to everyone except the person I designate.”
“Ah.”
I didn't know such an artifact existed.
‘I thought this last time, too. She seems careless, but she's surprisingly meticulous.’
Well, if she wasn't, her disguise as a man would have been discovered long ago.
“My apologies. I've overstepped my bounds, Your Holiness.”
“P-Please, raise your head. I'm really fine.”
Seeing the Saint so flustered, I lifted my head.
I already knew she didn't have an authoritarian personality, but it strangely felt like she was gauging my reaction.
“Thank you. I never expected to see you in a place like this, Your Holiness. Are you perhaps lost?”
The royal castle is so vast and complex that even officials often get lost without a guide.
According to the Royal Butler, every time a ball is held at the castle, a few people inevitably get lost and go missing, only to be found days later.
Of course, since she had an escort, the Saint wouldn't actually disappear.
“Ah... w-well...”
The Saint fidgeted with her fingers, repeatedly glancing my way.
Her shy demeanor was cute, but as I stood there, the image of Delia waiting alone in the bedroom kept flashing in my mind.
“If you need a guide, I can call a maid. I'd love to escort you to your quarters myself, but I just stepped out for some air in the middle of my training, so it would be difficult for me to be away for long.”
“N-No, that's not it!”
The Saint quickly waved her hands in dismissal.
“I-I'm not lost... I heard that you were staying at the Emerald Palace, Hyun-woo...”
“...And?”
“I-I was hoping I might... run into you by chance...”
“...Me?”
When I pointed a finger at myself, the Saint shyly nodded.
Her face was beet red, as if it were about to explode.
“Why me...?”
Of course, we were acquaintances, and we shared a secret.
But we weren't close enough for her to seek me out on purpose.
And we certainly weren't close enough for her to risk meeting a strange man late at night with her disguise off, no less.
“...Was I being a nuisance?”
In that moment, the Saint's expression visibly darkened.
I quickly put on a friendly smile and took a step toward her.
“Of course not. I only said that because I was worried you might get caught up in something dangerous, Your Holiness. It's truly a pleasure to see you again after so long.”
“Ah...”
Fortunately, her mood seemed to lift, and a bright smile bloomed on her face.
“Still... with your escort by your side, perhaps my worries were unfounded.”
“Huh? My escort...?”
At my words, the Saint tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
“Weren't you with your escort?”
“Yes, usually a Holy Knight from the church is with me. But tonight, I had quite a time sneaking out of my quarters, you know?”
“...”
In that instant, a strong sense of unease washed over me.
Normally, I would have dismissed it as my own paranoia, but after my encounter with the Saintess, I couldn't do that anymore.
“...Your Holiness, may I ask you one thing?”
“Of course.”
“Is the Holy Knight who usually escorts you on the slender side?”
“What? No. He's a bit bigger than you, Hyun-woo.”
“I see.”
Hearing her answer, I took a short, deep breath.
-!!!
Then I kicked off the ground and launched myself toward the bastard who had been watching us.
‘Found you.’
My eyes met with a man in a dark mask in a corner of the garden.
He twisted his body as if to flee, but it was too late.
CRACK!!
“Gak?!”
“Where do you think you're going?”
In one swift motion, I grabbed the scruff of his neck and slammed him into the ground.
[Silence]
Immediately after, I cast a spell to prevent anyone from being drawn by the commotion.
Of course, since the use of magic is strictly restricted within the royal castle, I used the minimum amount of mana necessary.
“I might be mistaken, so I'll ask one last time. Are you secretly escorting Her Holiness?”
“...I am.”
“Liar.”
SQUEEZE!!
“Keok?!”
My grip on his neck tightened.
“If you were a real escort, you would have identified yourself the moment I grabbed you.”
In the first place, the man wasn't even a Holy Knight.
I could feel divine power from him, but a Holy Knight, brimming with pride, being grabbed by the neck by a mage and trying to calmly assess the situation instead of getting angry?
‘A professionally trained informant?’
And judging by his unnaturally faint presence, he seemed to have some kind of stealth ability as well.
“Answer my questions obediently, and I won't torture you. Why were you watching Her Holiness?”
“...”
Seeing him remain silent, I let out a smirk.
Crrrack—
“Gyaaaaargh?!!!!”
“Ever heard of 'bone-breaking and muscle-twisting'? Maybe I'll use this chance to test just how much pain a professionally trained assassin can endure when his meridians are twisted.”
“Aaaaargh!!!”
Bone-breaking and muscle-twisting (分筋錯骨). It's a technique that uses internal energy to literally twist the opponent's qi, blood, muscles, and bones.
I've never experienced it myself, but according to the books, it's an excruciating pain where all the bones in your body are dislocated, your organs are squeezed, and your blood vessels get tangled.
As if to prove it, the man soon began foaming at the mouth, his body trembling violently.
Of course, he hadn't passed out yet.
If he died from shock, the torture would be meaningless, so I had taken the trouble to finely control my strength.
“Don't pass out on me.”
CRRRRACK!!!
“Guuuuuh!!!!”
“This is the last time. Why were you watching Her Holiness, and who ordered you to do it?”
A moment of silence followed, but once again, there was no answer.
Just as I resigned myself to cutting off his fingers one by one...
“Gack, gurgle...!!”
The man suddenly vomited black blood and then collapsed.
I quickly checked his pulse, but he was already dead.
‘What? I didn't see him bite down on a poison pill...’
And it didn't seem like a curse, either, as I couldn't feel any of the distinct, foreign magic associated with one.
Right now, an artifact related to a contract seemed most likely.
Those types of artifacts usually use the contractor's life as collateral.
“Tsk.”
I dusted myself off and stood up.
I don't know who was behind this, but they've certainly been thorough about silencing him.
For a moment, I considered searching the body, but it was unlikely that people who would commit the atrocity of spying on the Saint would leave any proper clues behind.
‘...Still, can't hurt to look.’
Just as I was about to check the man's belongings...
“H-Hyun-woo!”
The Saint was running toward me in a hurry.
Seeing her, I hesitated for a moment.
Should I hide the body now?
But I soon shook my head.
This was, in the end, her own affair.
I wasn't going to be by her side to protect her forever. Hiding the body now would not be doing her any favors.
“Why did you suddenly run off... Aah?!”
The Saint spotted the corpse on the ground and screamed, stumbling backward.
I approached the pale-faced woman and gently took her hand.
“Your Holiness.”
Her eyes, meeting mine, were trembling faintly.
“Please, calm down for a moment and listen to me.”
I held her slender hand and slowly infused it with Vajra Qi.
Fortunately, she seemed to calm down a little, and the trembling I felt through her fingertips gradually subsided.
But the Saint's expression remained dark.
“...I'm sorry.”
“What?”
As if giving a confession, her lips trembled, and she couldn't meet my eyes.
“I... I cannot cover up your sin, Hyun-woo.”
“...?”
“But please, don't worry too much...! I don't believe you would harm an innocent person without reason. So I will pray for you until you have served your sentence. And... I will wait for you. Even if it's in a distant, uncertain future.”
“...”
The Saint, now clutching my hand tightly, was looking at me with a forced smile.
I was at a loss for words.
I had no idea where to even begin clearing up this misunderstanding.
*
I'm not sure how much time passed after that.
After I explained about the masked man's body, the Saint thankfully believed me.
“I'm so sorry...!”
The Saint bowed deeply, apologizing over and over.
I gave her a friendly smile and shook my head.
“It's alright. If I were in your position, I would have misunderstood as well.”
“No...! My narrow-mindedness has tarnished your honor, Hyun-woo. I must take responsibility for that. So please... punish me.”
But the Saint kept insisting that I punish her, and my head was starting to throb.
Is she asking me to take a switch to the Saint?
As I grew more troubled by her stubbornness, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.
“Your Holiness, please raise your head. Actually... I also have something I must ask your forgiveness for.”
“...Huh?”
I took a rosary out of my pocket.
It was the 'Saint's Rosary' she had given me as both a gift and an apology.
But it had been damaged in the battle with Old Monster Mangong, and I could no longer feel the same divine power from it.
“That's...”
“It's the rosary you gave me, Your Holiness... but I was too rough with it, and it broke. I treated a precious gift from you so carelessly, so I, too, deserve to be punished.”
It was sophistry that anyone could see through, but as long as the Saint accepted it, that was enough.
She slowly caressed the rosary with her fingertips, a strange expression on her face.
“...Um, may I ask you one thing?”
Seeing the earnest look in her eyes, I nodded before I knew it.
“Did... did the rosary I gave you help you, Hyun-woo...?”
“Of course. Without the rosary you gave me, my life would have been in danger.”
I meant it.
If I hadn't had the rosary during the fight with Old Monster Mangong, I would have collapsed from the poison long ago.
“I'm so, so glad...”
In that moment, a radiant smile spread across the Saint's face.
At her reaction, I breathed an inward sigh of relief.
At least it seemed she wouldn't pester me about punishment anymore.
But that was short-lived.
“Then I'll get you a new one... Huh?”
The Saint's smiling face instantly hardened.
With a trembling finger, she pointed at my hand.
“H-Hyun-woo...? That ring...?”
“Hm? Ah, you mean this?”
I took off the ring I was wearing on my left index finger and showed it to her.
It was the ring I had received from the Saintess.
“I received it as a gift from the Saintess.”
“From Elysia...? Did you two meet separately...?”
In that moment, I realized the Saint's atmosphere had subtly changed.
I briefly considered lying, but my experience told me this wasn't a situation I could smooth over like that.
“We spoke for a moment during the ball yesterday. Is there a problem...?”
“...No. It's nothing.”
But she gave a gentle smile as if nothing was wrong.
“Hyun-woo, I'm sorry to say this, but... may I take my leave first? I think my escort will soon notice that I'm gone.”
“Ah, then I'll escort you to your quarters.”
“It's alright. It's just a short walk.”
I firmly shook my head at her polite refusal.
After what had just happened a few minutes ago, sending the Saint off alone was out of the question.
“I wouldn't feel at ease letting you go alone this late at night, Your Holiness.”
“...Then, if you would.”
Afterward, I walked with her through the garden to her quarters.
But for the entire walk, the Saint didn't say a single word.
An awkward and uncomfortable silence hung between us as time passed without a word. Even when we parted, she only gave me a gentle smile and a nod.
Although I felt a little uneasy, I returned to the Emerald Palace, held the soundly sleeping Delia in my arms, and closed my eyes.
For the first time in a while, I was able to let go of all my worries and sleep peacefully.