Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 17
Lubena Pradeiri had a rotten personality.
Even taking into account that likes and dislikes were purely subjective judgments made by individuals, it was still true.
Anyone could see she wasn't a righteous personan utterly selfish and venomous woman.
Lubena herself was well aware of it.
Her only response was something along the lines of, "So what're you gonna do about it? I'm a saintess, bitch?"
Anyway, putting that aside, someone like Lubena knew a thing or two.
The world was vast, full of bitches everywhere, but among them, she ranked at the top.
And yet, there existed in this world a peerless bitch even she couldn't touch.
What was the point of saying it out loud?
V ersia de Astarionthe thick-skinned woman hailed by the public as the very model of a saintesswas that unrivaled bitch.
It had been that way from their very first encounter.
Ten years ago, when thirteen-year-old Lubena received her first oracle and entered the church, Versia was already a saintess.
Up until then, Lubena harbored no resentment toward her.
Far from itshe was thrilled at the thought of living a glamorous life as a saintess herself, and Versia was just another woman in the same boat, someone on her level.
That perception got twisted at their first meeting.
"Ah, hello! I'm Lu"
"Do I know you?"
"...Huh?"
"Oh, I just thought you might be someone I'd met before, since you stopped me."
She said it with that beaming smile plastered on her face.
As flustered Lubena's lips parted in shock, Versia brushed right past her, as if her interest had evaporated.
Lubena could tell right away that was just who she was.
The rumors she heard afterward only confirmed her suspicions.
She's known to the public as compassionate, but cold as ice within the church.
She never engages deeply with anyone and puts up walls with that signature chill of hers.
Her expressions barely change. Sometimes it feels like staring at a perfectly crafted doll.
It was obvious as day.
She saw everyone but herself as bugs.
The type who didn't even think her targets were worth interacting with.
...Well, fair enough, she had the goods to back it up.
Versia had been just eight years old at their first meeting.
Even then, her beauty was beyond jealousy, and now, at eighteen, she was a dazzling beauty that could blind you.
And her divine power? Unmatched in history, one of a kind, unprecedented and unparalleled.
All those phrases described her strength.
If the title "The Daughter Beloved by the Parent God" was bestowed in praise of that power, what more explanation was needed?
A woman born with everything.
Hence, an aloof and arrogant bitch.
That was Lubena's viewand the general consensus among the saintesses.
Once she realized all that, Lubena cut off any interest in her.
There was no way to get close to someone like that anyway.
They could each take what they wanted from their own positions.
But in the end, that plan failed.
Inevitably rubbing shoulders in the same confined space led to friction, and bad feelings piled up over time.
One incident after another brought them into conflict, each one adding to the animosity.
That was how the enmity was born.
Lubena always trashed Versia as a "double bitch."
V ersia would respond with that signature smile of hersbloodless and dismissiveignoring her completely.
Lubena thought it'd be like that forever.
She thought Versia would live her whole life that way.
But what the hell was this mess?
"Th-that... um..."
It was the first time.
The first time she'd seen anything resembling "emotion" on Versia de Astarion's face.
Emotions like bewilderment or embarrassment expressed on that face of hers.
It really didn't suit her at all, but she looked like a girlpure and innocent.
Her flushed cheeks evoked the image of ripe late-spring fruit, fresh and dewy, ready to burst at the slightest touch.
Her sparkling eyes brimmed with shy purity.
It sent chills down her spine.
The fact that those sky-blue locks and azure eyes could convey clarity instead of coldness was so utterly unbelievable it nearly made her puke.
And that impression wasn't just hers alone.
Lubena glanced at Judith.
She stood there with her mouth agape, a dumbstruck look on her face.
As far as Lubena could remember, Judith Haraway had never been this flustered.
If even a woman who usually sneered at others' intelligence with her haughtiness was making that idiotic face, it drove home just how serious this was.
V ersia's change was that alien, shocking, and downright terrifying to witness.
At first, Lubena thought it was just a new form of pretense.
She'd brought along some handsome, well-groomed guy, so maybe she was playing around for fun.
But seeing her now, that wasn't it either.
Hatred turns to fondness, they say.
Even bad blood can spark something.
Had the change started after this bodyguard knight showed up?
After a moment of piecing together the cause and effect, Lubena asked with genuine concern.
"...You okay?"
For the first time in her life, Lubena was worried about Versia.
Judith felt the same.
"You get hit with some curse? Or divine punishment? Has a bitch's curse gotten to you or something?"
"Huh? Eek?"
V ersia jumped in surprise, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Even seeing her fluster and spout nonsense, it still looked the part.
A total virgin who'd never even held a man's hand.
The picture of a girl who could only dream of beautiful romance with a prince from a fairy tale.
* * *
Asher's back was drenched in sweat.
Was that something he shouldn't have said?
His heart pounded at the thought that he'd screwed up.
God, why did nothing ever go smoothly?
He scrambled for an excuse, but nothing came to mind.
Of course not.
He'd already implied he was holding back on cookies to lose weightwhat excuse could he tack on now?
In truth, it was his expressions and behavior clashing that caused the weird vibe, but Asher had no way of knowing that.
He was under the delusion that he'd nailed Versia's impression pretty well.
Under the piercing glares, his head drooped lower and lower.
Maybe if he just stayed quiet from here on out, he could avoid a bigger disaster.
He was at the point of recalling that saintly saying: "Half the battle is just showing up."
'Parent God, please!'
Asher squeezed his eyes shut and prayed silently for salvation.
And perhaps the heavens heard him.
Thud!
"Uwahaha! Sorry I'm late!!!"
A childish voice boomed through the room.
Startled, Asher looked up, as did the other two.
Judith let out an irritated sigh.
Lubena scowled in annoyance.
Asher swallowed dryly.
He turned his head.
There stood a small figure dragging along a grotesque, bloody lump of flesh.
The last saintess had arrived.
"Where the hell were you screwing around this time?"
"Screwing around? It was hunting!!!"
"Ditch that nasty thing somewhere."
"I brought it for a reason!!!"
Her golden hair was tied in twin tails, her baby-fat cheeks framing a youthful face.
She looked about ten, but her vibe was rough as hell.
Those round eyes gleamed with raw bloodlust.
Her smirking lips twitched with violent energy.
Asher tensed up.
There was no way he couldn't recognize hershe was infamous, arguably even more so than Versia.
"Hope you brats have been well!"
"Who's a brat?"
"Uwahaha!!!"
Halia Claudio.
Despite her childlike appearance, she was the eldest here, having held the saintess position for over forty years, and one of the church's "Inquisition Judges."
The reason Asher knew her was simple.
He'd been deployed in a heretic extermination op she oversaw.
Thud! She tossed the red, grotesque lump onto the spot where it had fallen from the table.
Blood splattered. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air.
The fresh garden atmosphere soured instantly.
Asher knew exactly what it was.
'...Corrupted Entity.'
The crystallization of heretics' malicea profane creature born from corrupting human souls and bodies.
He'd faced them plenty of times, but they never got easier.
His face twisted faintly in visceral disgust, and Halia spoke up.
"Hmph! Versia, still got that 'the world's a shithole' look on your face!"
His shoulders twitched, but he held his tongue.
Realizing belatedly that he'd somehow pulled off Versia vibes, he figured, "Maybe I can keep this up."
Halia's timely arrival had shifted Judith and Lubena's attention elsewhere, defusing the crisis.
"Lubena! Your clothes are even sluttier now! Why not just go full topless?"
"Mind your business, auntie. What do you care how others dress?"
"Ahaha! Judith! Still skin and bones! And that shitting face of yours!"
"You bring that thing in here and expect smiles? Impressive."
Polite on the surface, but their attitudes dripped with malice.
Halia just guffawed like she was used to it.
At least he'd escaped the suspicionmaybe he should be grateful?
As Asher snuck a glance at her,
"Well, we've seen your face, so we're out. Got research waiting."
"Me too. Don't wanna linger where it reeks of rot."
Judith and Lubena rose from their seats.
Asher fidgeted, wondering if he should stand too.
Then Halia spoke.
"Where do you think you're going? We've got a meeting."
"Since when do you do that?"
"Huh? Isn't this tea party for that?"
Judith's brow furrowed.
"Sit down. Got an announcement."
"Is it urgent?"
"Urgent enough."
Her smile took on a menacing edge.
That bloodthirsty grinAsher knew what it meant.
"Looks like you girls need to do some work."
"Huh?"
Lubena snapped irritably.
But in the next instant, that mood vanished like mist.
"The heretics' saintess has shown up. You know, the witch."
"...!"
The air froze solid.