Saintess, I'm Kidnapping You (2)
Rewinding time to right after Cluster had carried Silvia over the fence.
"Hm hm hummm~♪"
Silvia hummed a little tune that bubbled up naturally as she headed toward the building with the rooms. Lately, she'd been in high spirits all the time. And the surprising reason? The Demon King.
The first time she'd met him, she'd nearly fainted from terror. The Demon King in her books was a horrifying monster who chomped children alive. But as a saintess, she couldn't just pass out no matter how scared she was. Sure, she'd flailed around upside down, but still.
Even if an ogre snatched her, she'd survive as long as she kept her wits, or so she told herself, putting on the performance of her life. She'd tricked the Demon King by pretending not to know what he was, then used him like a regular adult to escape—mission accomplished.
She'd suffered the humiliation of fleeing, but next time, she'd give him a proper scolding. She'd face him head-on with the dignity of a saintess. That's what she'd sworn.
But then...
"Mister, does your head hurt? I can make it feel better!"
That was the turning point. From then on, being around that man—the Demon King—felt strangely fun. Their second meeting, and he was nothing like the stories. His eyes brimmed with affection when he looked at her, and his touch held no malice, only gentle warmth.
She couldn't imagine him slaughtering people for no reason or devouring kids alive. The way he treated her nearly brought tears to her eyes.
Her parents, drowning in gambling debts, had neglected her constantly, then sold her for one gold when the temple announced they needed a sacrifice. Thanks to Goddess Lai Teresa, she'd become a saintess and escaped that fate, but no one had ever treated her kindly.
The nuns demanded perfect posture at all times. The holy knights found her annoying. After she helped the social weaklings as a saintess, the Pope beat her.
It wasn't just the temple folk. Nobles with no real ailments bribed the Pope to make her use divine power on their beauty routines. They fawned over her to her face—"Saintess! Saintess!"—but behind her back, they sneered and envied her as the slum-spawned saintess from the poor district.
And lately, with the announcement of her poor health, the commoners' bad impressions had only worsened. How could a saintess who couldn't even care for herself heal others? But the truth was...
"Wandering the slums wrecked her health. Now the saintess can't even manage self-care and we'll have to pay priests for treatment."
Without her free divine power—which outclassed the priests' weaker holy power—they'd have to shell out cash to lesser clergy. The slum dwellers were kind, at least, but that was to Saintess Silvia, not plain old Silvia.
She appreciated their kindness, of course, but it couldn't fill the empty ache in her heart. She didn't even know what that emptiness was, so who could she blame?
"Hehe~"
She'd only really talked to the Demon King for two days, but she laughed like a proper kid around him. He didn't treat her like a saintess—he treated her like a little squirt. Other kids her age might've gotten annoyed, but Silvia loved it. It filled that hollow spot in her chest.
"Hm hm hummm~♪"
And now that man—no, Cluster—said he'd visit the temple tomorrow. No wonder she was humming. Tomorrow, I won't make Cluster wait. I'll turn down all the nobles' beauty requests! And I'll go straight to bed without messing around!
For the first time since being sold to the temple, Silvia looked forward to tomorrow...
"Where have you been, Saintess?"
"P-Pope..."
"It looks like you've been out of the temple."
"I-I just..."
Her vision flashed white. When it cleared, her left cheek burned. It was weaker than usual, and something she endured all the time, so she didn't cry.
"Giving your divine power to those slum trash again?"
"N-No! I didn't go there! I was just... too stuffy inside... I'm sorry..."
Silvia had almost never lied, so she was terrible at it—her face always gave her away. Knowing this, Pope Zelrain Gaia stared straight into her eyes. No lie there, at least.
And truthfully, she'd forgotten about the slums today. Meeting the Demon King had been so fun, chatting nonstop, and after weeks of daily visits, there weren't even any sick folks left anyway.
"I'll let it slide just this once. If it happens again, you won't even leave this room. Understood?"
"...Yes, thank you, Your Holiness."
She bowed her head and stayed still until he left. One of the survival tricks she'd picked up in her two years at the temple. Sad that a child had to learn such things, but for Silvia, it was life or death.
Creak, click.
"Heeey~"
Silvia gently set her backpack—almost as big as she was—on the bed and flopped down beside it. Her cheek still stung, her body trembled, but her lips kept twitching upward.
What should she say first tomorrow when she saw the Demon King? What face would Cluster make if he learned she was the saintess? How could she greet him with saintly dignity?
She knew she needed sleep to make tomorrow come faster, but her mind raced with what-ifs, keeping her awake. In the end, she forgot every line she'd rehearsed.
Seeing Cluster in the saintess's audience chamber, staring at her without realizing who she was—it wiped her mind blank.
She hadn't delivered her lines, but having the Demon King at the temple thrilled her. His blank shock when she revealed her identity was hilarious. Showing off her symbolic white robes and watching him gape was pure joy.
Telling him he was special to her—why he was special—sent an inexplicable thrill through her that felt like happiness.
And finally, "You wouldn't come all the way to the temple just to joke around, right? Right, Mawang-nim?"
Recalling one of her rehearsed lines, she regretted the lisp from her missing front teeth, short tongue, and nerves—but seeing Cluster's wide-eyed shock at being caught made it all vanish.
At the same time, young as she was with limited knowledge, Silvia wasn't dumb. She wondered why a mighty Demon King would seek her out. Fairy tales said rude Demon Kings solved everything with violence, so there had to be a reason for this gentle visit.
"If you don't come with me, you'll die."
"W-Will I... die to Mawang-nim?"
The threat caught her off guard, but she trusted Cluster, so she didn't take it literally. She'd just summarized her question too bluntly.
Silvia waited for him to speak—
Bang bang!
Just as the real explanation was about to start, the audience chamber door pounded hard.
"Saintess. I know you're in there. Open the door."
The Pope never interrupted her audiences. Her main clients were nobles, big spenders. He didn't want to make them uncomfortable—nobles loved beauty treatments, but they wouldn't stick around if they felt his prying eyes, cutting off his precious cash flow.
Each one was a fortune heading straight to the temple... no, Pope Zelrain Gaia's pockets. No luxuries if that dried up. For such a greedy man to barge in meant big trouble.
"Saintess. Is it true you refused Marquis Extrang's audience request?"
"Marquis Extrang...?"
Marquis Extrang. One of the families the Pope made her memorize. Steady bribers. His wife came three times a week or more for divine beauty treatments. In short, a family she knew.
Silvia racked her brain, but no Extrang application today. She'd have prioritized him over making Cluster wait. No matter how she thought, his name wasn't there.
Seeing her tilt her head, he must've assumed she didn't know the family.
"House Extrang is..."
After explaining House Extrang, the Pope ordered, "Bring Marquis Extrang's eldest son here."
He let the marquis's son waltz right into her audience chamber. No regard for whoever she'd been talking to... or maybe he didn't care who was there from the start.
He'd been ready to smash the door down anyway.
"Heeey~ Pretty big sis."
Silvia's face hardened as Is Extrang—the one who usually looked down on her—called her "big sis."
"Fix this young man's mind right now."
"But intervening in someone else's mind is..."
Even for a saintess—or rather, for Silvia now—it was incredibly risky. Better to fetch a mage specialized in mental magic. Mess it up, and she could ruin herself and the patient worse.
"Marquis, could you step out and wait? I've just remembered something urgent to discuss with my saintess."
"Understood. Thank you, Your Holiness."
Seeing her hesitate as defiance, the Pope cleared everyone out. Then came the backhand.
Just one slap, but it sent the frail Silvia rolling across the floor—right under the table where Cluster hid.
She stretched out carefully, groping the floor until she grasped his hand. It trembled violently.
That tremor let her sense his feelings dimly.
Killing intent. The Cluster hiding here, her friend the Demon King, was filled with murderous rage toward the Pope who'd struck her.
"I'll send Marquis Extrang back in here."
Peeking under the tablecloth, she smiled at the Demon King as best she could. I'm fine. Please hold back. You'll get hurt.
She hoped he understood. She had to believe he did.
After the Pope left, the shaking hand calmed, then stilled. Convinced he'd heeded her, Silvia faced the Extrang heir as requested.
Messing with minds was new territory, but eager to finish and talk to Cluster, she reached out to the man calling her "sis."