It Wasn't That Hard to Quit, Right? (4)
The Holy Kingdom had been robbed.
When Hanna heard the news, she was quite surprised.
'Why?'
The Holy Kingdom was the safest and most peaceful place in the original story.
That was why she had decided to play the role of a fake saintess.
She just wanted to lounge around and suck on honey.
But now thieves had broken into the Holy Kingdom, and the warehouse's goods were being looted.
'I guess the chaos outside last time was because of the thieves.'
The thought that came to mind upon hearing about the thieves was no more than that.
It was said that there had been a fire, but it hadn't spread to her residence, and the thieves hadn't threatened her residence either.
It was a bit unsettling, but she was just a little surprised. What were the guards or holy knights doing that they allowed thieves to enter?
More importantly, there was something else.
'Why did Jin's favorability drop to zero?'
It was the incident where Jin's favorability had fallen to zero.
Before leaving the Holy Kingdom, when Jin had been quietly protecting her as usual, his favorability had been a whopping 14.
The crown prince's current favorability as the legitimate wife was 11, and Jin had been 3 points higher than that.
She had thought that this one-sided and steadfast heart would last forever.
Where had it gone wrong...?
'Ah, I don't know. I don't know.'
Thinking hard made her crave something sweet and delicious.
Somehow, lately, her stomach had been empty often.
She called for a servant to request dessert, but the servant said it couldn't be done because there were no ingredients.
Previously, there had never been a time when ingredients were lacking.
Feeling a bit sorry for herself, she lay down to rest, and someone knocked on the door.
A holy knight came and reported:
“It is a request from the Council of Elders. We are to accompany the saintess on the pursuit team chasing the thief who stole the Holy Kingdom's gold and treasures.”
Why was she called the saintess?
It was because she could wield all kinds of mysterious and sacred white magic.
It seemed like a kind of white magic that required tracking traces.
“Yes, I'll prepare right away.”
It was bothersome, but Hanna nodded with a bright smile.
The holy knight who faced her smile suddenly looked dazed, then blushed and hurriedly left the place.
Hanna looked at the back of the knight with superiority.
She started preparing to leave.
'This is bothersome.'
How long had it been since she had personally gone out? She couldn't remember.
Whenever she received similar requests, she had always sent Jin instead.
'Since there's no one, it feels a bit regrettable.'
She joined the pursuit team that included Kassian and immediately began tracking the traces.
It was a very simple and easy task.
As long as Hanna willed it, a sacred white light would rise, automatically following the direction the traces had moved.
At the end of the traces, what she faced was a presence.
Someone had already been there.
A person stood alone in the middle, having punished those who had stolen the Holy Kingdom's gold and treasures.
It was a very long time since she had seen such a sight.
It was also a very familiar sight.
What rose in her heart was joy.
And relief.
Relief that this man would not leave her, as always.
Here, according to the Status Window's advice, some effort would be needed.
Hanna said with a smile that she couldn't help it, in a slightly trembling voice.
“You helped us...?”
It was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. It was also a face she hadn't seen in a long time.
But it wasn't surprising.
Even a mediocre guy, when seen after a long time, would feel some human-like joy, like 'he must be doing well, eating well.'
However, now that she was seeing Jin's face after a long time, she felt no emotion at all.
She just wanted to leave quickly because it was bothersome.
“Hey, Jin. You know.”
Hanna tried to approach me.
However, the holy knight who came with her stopped her.
“Saintess. Approaching carelessly is dangerous.”
Looking at the face, they were acquaintances.
They were the ones who had bitten me from behind.
Because they were the saintess's escort knights, they had bitten me by saying nothing and just sucking honey.
Everyone had heard it... but this body had pretended not to hear and kept its mouth shut.
'Ugh, you idiots...'
Yeah, what crime did he have? The bad ones were the ones who had cursed from behind.
Anyway, those holy knights glared at me with fierce eyes.
“This man is branded with excommunication.”
Especially the holy knight who had stopped Hanna, she remembered the name.
Kassian.
Commander of the Holy Kingdom's Holy Knights.
The guy who had always disliked Jin.
“It's fine.”
The saintess gently pushed his hand away as if soothing him.
“After all, it's Jin. There's nothing to worry about.”
“...Understood.”
Kassian, whose hand had touched, lowered his head and retreated.
His face, which had been slightly exposed, blushed.
The holy knights of the Holy Kingdom had lived chastely, forbidding contact with the opposite sex since childhood. That was tough.
“Jin.”
Hanna stepped forward in front of the retreating holy knights.
“How have you been?”
What is this? This clingy ex-girlfriend act. It's a bit creepy.
Well, he had been doing fine.
After leaving the Holy Kingdom, the world had been so livable.
“I haven't really... been doing well. There was a thief in the Holy Kingdom, and there were many other things.”
If she had her way, she would have cast Alpano and left the place.
There was no reason for her to listen to his personal affairs.
But to avoid leaving room for future complaints, she would listen for now.
“Jin, you would have been the same, right? The outside of the Holy Kingdom is a harsh place.”
No, it wasn't.
“So, you can come back now.”
“...?”
“I told you back then... that I would excommunicate you...”
She whispered softly as she got closer.
“It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing... I didn't mean it sincerely.”
“......”
“You don't have to try so hard. Just helping today is enough. If I tell the elders, they'll acknowledge it.”
Aha.
So this woman thought that right now, I helped catch the thief because I wanted to come back to the Holy Kingdom.
— It seemed so.
'That's really...'
It was frustrating, and it didn't even anger her.
'How nice it would be to live in this world.'
If she was this simple and self-centered, how easy the world would be.
'But I don't want to live like this.'
Hanna extended her hand to me.
Well-managed nails. A white and delicate touch was handed over as if wiping.
“Let's go back, Jin.”
I stared at her hand blankly, then slightly lifted my eyes and scanned the holy knights.
They were identifying the number of dead and their identities.
It seemed they were also checking the stolen gold and treasures.
And then she looked at Hanna's expression again.
Chasing the Wild Dog Alliance and doing this much. Then...
'...These guys don't know that the forbidden book was stolen.'
It made sense.
Our sweet Holy Kingdom's upper echelons cherished Hanna very much.
They hid information that she didn't need to know or that would burden her, protecting it.
Like handling flowers in a vase.
And the things she should have known and handled were all Jin's responsibility.
'Moreover, the forbidden book isn't specially treated even within the Holy Kingdom. It's not information worth telling to individual holy knights. If that fact spreads that a thief got it, it would damage the Holy Kingdom's honor and prestige.'
Therefore, no one knew that the Holy Kingdom's forbidden book was hidden in my bosom right now.
“...Jin?”
Hanna tilted her head.
I turned my body while turning away from her.
It seemed I had listened enough.
There was no need to waste time here.
“Where are you going?”
She asked as if interrogating.
I answered while turning my head halfway toward her.
“I have only done what I needed to do.”
I hadn't helped the Holy Kingdom, but I had done what I needed to do under the contract with Rosemond.
With this, I hoped I wouldn't have to see her again.
Just as I was about to leave the place, Kassian came to speak.
“Ingrate. The saintess is showing mercy, and you're trying to refuse? Have you forgotten the grace received from the Holy Kingdom?”
He really attached it well, in their own convenient direction.
“Grace... Is slapping someone on the cheek for not doing the dishes and not washing clothes considered grace?”
“......”
“If that's grace, you must have received a lot of it.”
With those words, I left the place.
The sound of the holy knights cleaning up the scene came from behind.
“The cut is too clean...”
“It was a one-sided battle.”
“How is this possible...? Jin was this much?”
However, Hanna was still staring at me, and I felt her gaze on my back.
A chuckle came out naturally.
'Instead of just staring, you should help the holy knights who are working.'
At the very least, try to pursue the remaining Wild Dog Alliance members.
'Well, no matter what, it's no longer my business.'
Again.
This was the second time.
Jin turning his back on her and leaving.
If it was the second time, shouldn't she have gotten used to it?
However, the corner of Hanna's chest was more violently fluttering than before.
It was the feeling of having witnessed something she shouldn't have twice.
'How...?'
Favorability 0.
She had told him to try hard, so he had tried.
But Jin had rejected her, and the favorability remained the same.
Hanna stood frozen in place, lost in thought.
She mulled over his words and actions carefully.
'I have only done what I needed to do...'
It wasn't difficult to understand the meaning.
Although excommunicated, he was a former escort knight who had served the Holy Kingdom and devoted himself to the saintess.
Therefore, dealing with the thief who attacked the Holy Kingdom was still his duty.
He had said it with that intention.
In other words, interpreting it, Jin still had the desire to return to her side.
Because he was treating the Holy Kingdom's affairs as his own.
And the look he had shown at the end was...
'Resentment? Disappointment? Grudge?'
She couldn't tell the emotions in his eyes.
She asked the Status Window for advice, but no answer came back.
'Is he still sulking and not getting over it... It might take a while.'
But, if it wasn't for that reason?
...Hanna couldn't figure out the reason she couldn't stop Jin from leaving.
“What happened?”
When Jin returned to Rosemond, she was hiding behind a tree far away.
“Nothing happened.”
Jin had no particular words to say.
The matter with Hanna was in the past, and there was no need to mention it. In the first place, there really hadn't been anything.
She had only imagined and spoken on top of it.
“...I see?”
The girl, peeking her head out from behind the tree, looked up at him with worried eyes.
Then she cautiously asked.
“Did you not get caught stealing one?”
Behind her feet, there was one bag from the Wild Dog Alliance.
It was a bag full of gold and treasures.
“...When did you bring this heavy thing?”
“Just now, I carried it as much as possible without being caught and hid.”
“Hah...”
Jin let out a chuckle.
What? This Rosemond woman seemed to have some unyielding part.
It was a different kind from the chuckle she had made when facing Hanna.
“To think that you were thinking of hiding one in the middle of it all, impressive spirit and will.”
“Of course. If you sell land, do you get money? You have to scrape together at least one coin somehow. This is such a precious opportunity.”
It was a very criminal thought for a noble lady.
“Precious opportunity, right. You already lack foundation and property. Let's carry it together.”
At the time when she grabbed one side of the bag's mouth and tried to carry it together.
“...!”
Jin crouched, clutching his chest.
“Jin? Why? Did you get hurt somewhere?”
Rosemond hurriedly approached him and checked his condition.
While she was fidgeting and checking his complexion, Jin raised his hand.
“...It's nothing. There's no injury.”
“Really?”
“You trust the person you hired. I'm not the kind of person who would get hurt by those guys.”
“B-but...”
“If I get hurt later, I'll scream while crying.”
“What is that?”
The joke made Rosemond's expression soften. She smiled lightly.
“So, right now, there really isn't any injury.”
“...Okay.”
However, Jin's complexion was still bad.
He was clutching his chest as if his heart was in pain.
If it was Jin's skill that Rosemond knew, he couldn't get hurt.
Then what was this reaction?
The reason Rosemond thought of was one.
'Hanna.'
The saintess Jin had previously served.
And the woman Jin had passionately admired.
She had just met that woman.
She was still in his heart, and the reunion was painful.
'It seems he liked her terribly.'
He had said he would make her like him.
But seeing this appearance, it seemed not easy to take her away from Hanna.
'...Why did Hanna abandon such a devoted man? If I knew that, I could turn her heart to my side?'
Rosemond fell into deep thought and remained silent.
The moonlight shone on the path of the two people walking silently.
Rosemond looked up at the bright night sky.
A half-moon was floating green.
“The moon is pretty.”
Rosemond said something meaningless, and the two people's steps were heading to one place.
'...Damn, I'm cursed with a terminal illness.'
Her heart suddenly tightened as if she had some illness.
Perhaps it was the aftereffect of the battle earlier.
After moving violently with nerves on edge, it seemed the body had taken a toll.
'I should fix it quickly or take medicine... It's troublesome.'
Fortunately, the pain in her heart subsided quickly.
However, the body that had become sensitive to pain clearly caught the pain in her forearm.
It was the spot where the Brand of Excommunication had been branded.
A burning pain was eating into her body.
'Yeah, I have to erase this first.'
When I get back, I'll have Nox remove the brand. Now it was liberation from sleepless nights.
“The moon is pretty.”
Jin answered without feeling at the sudden words.
“Is that so?”
It was night, but the path ahead of the two was bright with starlight and moonlight.