A Cardinal's Pursuit
I understood her desperate plea for help, but I couldn’t promise assistance without knowing the full story. “If the person in question has already expressed their refusal, I can’t help you force the matter.”
“It’s not like I’m planning to do anything bad to him. All I’m asking is to see his face, even just once!”
No matter how trivial her request seemed, I couldn’t act without hearing the other party’s side. “It appears my master is deliberately avoiding you. I could at least ask him why.”
“Ha… alright. Even if that’s all you can do, knowing why he’s avoiding me would at least ease this frustration.”
The help I’d offered clearly hadn’t satisfied her. Her voice carried more resignation than relief. Just what was my master running from, and why was this woman chasing him so desperately? The questions left me wondering if I’d get any sleep tonight.
“Sorry for barging in so late. I lost my head thinking I finally had a lead. I apologize. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
After some time had passed and resignation set in, Cardinal Bella seemed to regain her composure. She sighed and offered a proper apology. Bursting into my home unannounced had been quite rude, after all. I was more surprised that someone so worked up had calmed down so quickly.
“It’s fine. You’ve been searching for a long time, so it’s a shame I couldn’t be of more help.”
“I’ll make sure to apologize properly for this later.”
After repeated apologies, she finally left.
“Are you alright?” Sister Melody asked. I nodded.
“Yes, I’m fine. Ah, you should head inside too. You’ll catch a cold.”
She glanced at her damp hair and obediently returned to her room. Left alone, I recalled my fleeing master and began sorting through what had just happened.
“He bolted right in the middle of our conversation. He must have noticed Cardinal Bella and tried to avoid her.”
How had the cardinal known he was here? That was another mystery. And it seemed she’d stayed in the city because of him. Had she been waiting all this time, knowing I was his disciple?
“One runs like his life depends on it, the other causes a scene just to meet… When did their game of hide-and-seek even begin?”
That level of obsession hadn’t formed overnight. Cardinal Bella must have been chasing my master for quite some time. Of course, watching him flee had been rather amusing.
“Was that why he kept disappearing from Palmore Church too?”
Even back then, he’d rarely stayed in one place for long. It hadn’t caused problems in a small church, but learning the reason now felt absurd.
“She missed him by mere moments. I doubt she’ll give up and leave so easily…”
This was getting complicated. Everyone welcomed her now, but how long would that last? People grew tense whenever the cardinal was around. A brief moment of tension was manageable, but prolonged strain would wear everyone down. I needed to send her away before that happened, and the key seemed to lie with my master. I’d have to speak with him.
* * *
Even though I wasn’t the one raising it, the way it kept slipping in and out of a house that wasn’t even its own reminded me of a cat. The question of how to find a runaway cat naturally came to mind.
“You ran off without so much as showing your tail, so why come back?”
Fortunately, the runaway cat had returned on its own.
“This is the only safe place left. She won’t be rude to you again, at least.”
My master’s face looked unusually haggard when I saw him again. He seemed thoroughly exhausted.
“Don’t tell me she kept chasing you?”
It appeared Cardinal Bella hadn’t stopped pursuing him even after leaving my room.
“Yeah. She followed me the whole way.”
“Why did things suddenly turn out like this? Why are you running? That’s not like you at all.”
He hadn’t been threatened. If he had, he’d have confronted it head-on rather than flee. And running from a beauty like Cardinal Bella who only wanted to meet once was simply ridiculous.
“That’s…! Haah, just pretend you don’t know anything.”
When he clamped his mouth shut, I pressed on. “She asked me for help. Said she just wanted to see you once. From what she told me, she wants to repay a debt.”
“A debt?? Repay a debt with that? She’s not in her right mind. She’s insane, I’m telling you.”
“Pardon?”
“Who repays a debt like that? She’s a total nutcase. I knew she wasn’t normal even when she was a kid. I should’ve noticed back then and stayed away.”
What on earth was going on?
“Is she some kind of criminal victim? A stalker?”
Her beauty had made me too complacent. No matter how pretty someone was, a stalker was still a stalker—an unforgivable crime.
“No, what stalker? She’s just chasing me because she likes me—huh!”
He kept stopping mid-sentence, but this time the truth slipped out.
“Cardinal Bella has been chasing you because she likes you?”
“Haah…”
My master rubbed his face with both hands, then smacked his own head with his fist.
“?!”
“See? She’s driving me crazy. How big is the age gap?! How does it make sense for a young, beautiful girl like her to chase after an old man?”
“It makes sense. How many young, beautiful women have you dated so far?”
“That’s different, you idiot! Those were lovers—temporary flings! She’s talking about marriage!”
Marriage?!
“She’s quite bold.”
“Is that your only reaction? Do you actually think she and I suit each other?”
“If the feelings are mutual, what does suitability matter?”
Besides, Cardinal Bella wasn’t exactly young herself.
“I met her when she was this small. How could I marry a kid like that? It’s embarrassing.”
He gestured at a height well below his waist. To me, it looked less like genuine dislike and more like a man lacking the courage to face his own feelings.
“If you truly had no interest, you wouldn’t be running away. Ignoring her would be enough. The fact that you’re fleeing already proves you’ve acknowledged your own feelings, doesn’t it?”
“……”
Since he wasn’t a parishioner I needed to counsel gently, I hit him with the plain truth for the first time in a while. He seemed speechless, as if I’d struck a nerve. His expression looked like he’d been hit dead center.
“Your face says it all. I don’t know how much she’s made you suffer, but if she’s followed you this far, why not just give in? If you keep rejecting her like this, you might really lose her. Are you confident you won’t regret watching her end up with someone else?”
The way his face crumpled told me he wasn’t confident at all.
“This might be your last chance. She’s been chasing you for so long—she’s bound to tire eventually. And if you truly have no intention of accepting her, meet her and tell her clearly.”
I personally believed ghosting was the worst way to end any relationship. Of course, they weren’t actually dating, so my master hadn’t done anything terribly wrong. Still, continuing to avoid her was just dragging things out without solving anything.
“Meet her. Make up your mind and convince her properly. Stop running away like some coward.”
“…You think I’ve been avoiding her without saying anything? I’ve rejected her multiple times, you brat.”
“Then reject her again, face to face. If enough time has passed, her feelings might have changed too.”
I remembered how she’d sighed upon learning he’d fled. Given how exhausted she’d looked, she’d probably accept his final decision.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d be getting advice from you, but… listening to you doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“Good choice. I’ll arrange a quiet meeting between you two.”
I promised to find a place where they could talk without interruption and set a time. I wasn’t doing this just because Cardinal Bella had asked. From what I’d seen, my master clearly still had lingering feelings for her. He was just running because her childhood image kept surfacing in his mind, burdening him.
‘The fact that someone who’s dated so many women is acting like a complete novice around her proves she’s special to him…’
Since I was the one arranging the meeting, I hoped things would work out between them. But the complicated look on my master’s face made the outcome impossible to predict. He probably hadn’t made up his mind yet.
“If you want to grow old gracefully, having someone beside you isn’t a bad idea. Family is the only thing that can ease loneliness, after all.”
When I slipped in my own wish, he shot me a glare.
“Enough. If I leave this to you, you’ll just tease me. I’ll handle meeting her myself.”
“Where are you going?”
My master suddenly opened the window. I asked because it seemed far too soon for him to leave again.
“I’m going to meet her!”
I’d expected him to need time to think, but he seemed determined to settle everything at once. He declared he’d meet her right away and climbed out.
“No, at least think it through first!”
His voice drifted faintly from outside the window.
“I’ve already finished thinking!”
“How could you possibly finish thinking that fast? That doesn’t make any sense!”
I leaned out the window to look for him, but he’d already vanished without a trace.
“Why has someone like that been running away all this time?”
His uncharacteristic behavior made me wonder if that was exactly why Cardinal Bella couldn’t give up on him. I could only hope their story would end happily.