Chapter 600: The Conditions for Apostle Appointment
Chapter 600: The Conditions for Apostle Appointment
And so, the talk of Sara's revenge fizzled out, and we were left to a rather silent lunch.
Normally, I would have stepped up and tried to change the mood with a joke, but even I didn't have the nerve to crack wise right after a conversation about Sara's revenge.
That was why, to escape this atmosphere, I had no choice but to do something out of the ordinary.
And that was to get out of here!
No, I'm not running away. I was going to take Sara with me to help clear the air a bit.
Besides, I had a reason to go out anyway.
“Alright, then. You probably heard me talking with Vanessa earlier, but I'm thinking of heading over to see Elder Sister Rachel. Sara, you're coming with me, right?”
“Who said you could go outside?”
I had hastily finished my meal and shot up from my seat with that cheerful suggestion, but my scheme was instantly crushed by Sara.
“W-What…?”
“Looks like you forgot while you were busy joking around with Vanessa, but I haven't approved you as being in any condition to go outside yet, you know?”
…….
R-Right. Come to think of it, I was forcibly dragged home for making a scene with Paulson.
“Hey, wait a minute. I'm not going to the dungeon. I can't even walk around outside? A person needs to get some fresh air to stay healthy. If I'm cooped up in the house like this every day… Ah, Vanessa. I'm not dissing you.”
“…I did not think that was your intention. However, now I am beginning to feel that it is.”
Just in case, I tried to reassure Vanessa, who was standing quietly behind Diana, but all I got in return was her cold stare.
Ah, did I just say something I shouldn't have?
“Hmph. So you're not denying that you were joking around with Vanessa.”
“No. Hey. Wait. That’s… I mean… you know, right?!”
“Know what?”
“Agh, seriously!”
“Pfft. Idiot. It was a joke.”
As I clutched my chest in frustration, Sara finally let out a small laugh and said that.
I didn't think this was the time for jokes, but now it feels like I was just messing with you for the hell of it.
No. Should I see this as Sara intentionally guiding the mood this way?
Is she trying to fix the heavy atmosphere that she herself created?
“Go on.”
“Huh? What about you?”
“I have something to discuss with the others here.”
Sara said, glancing around at the others.
Diana and Leia still looked lost in thought, and Matilda couldn't hide her apologetic expression toward Sara.
Only Silvia, who had been unconscious and missed the conversation, looked bewildered by the current atmosphere.
Still, seeing her quietly staying in a corner, as if she’d at least grasped the mood, made me think she was cute, despite the situation.
Well, it’s not like Silvia needed a special occasion like this to be quiet in a corner whenever she was in the same room as me.
But she has something to discuss. Don't tell me she's going to tell them everything about the revenge? Why? Is there really a need for that?
No. Even if there is, shouldn't I be there for it, too? I was the one who basically led the whole plan, wasn't I?
But I feel like I absolutely have to go see Elder Sister Rachel today… Ugh! Why does everything have to happen all at once these days!
Damn it! If this is how it’s going to be, I’ll wrap this up as quickly as possible and make sure I see Elder Sister Rachel before the day is over!
“If that’s the case, I’ll join you.”
“Just drop it. If you're here, you'll just make jokes, the conversation will get sidetracked, and things will get needlessly complicated.”
“Hey, even I… Anyway, this time, I'm not backing down, no matter what you say.”
Sara spoke as if I’d just be a hindrance, even though I was offering to help to the point of postponing my visit to Elder Sister Rachel.
I was a little ticked off by her attitude at first, but I soon realized she was deliberately provoking me to try and make me leave.
“You're always so needlessly… at times like this.”
“You must mean I'm only like this when it's actually useful, right?”
Realizing her plan had failed when she saw me change my words mid-sentence, Sara let out a light sigh and muttered complainingly. Of course, I just let her complaint slide right past me.
And so, for the first time in a while, I managed to overcome Sara's stubbornness and join the conversation.
“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
As soon as we had all finished eating and gathered together, Diana spoke up as if she had been waiting.
Contrary to her words, her tone suggested she already knew what we were about to say.
“It's about my grandfather's revenge. If we leave things as they are, I was afraid you might misunderstand and think Guwon and I are murderers or something.”
Sara. Just because you say it in a playful tone doesn't mean it brightens the mood. What you're saying isn't a joke at all.
It's heavy. So heavy. No, it’s gone beyond heavy and is even a little scary.
In any case, after that opening, Sara slowly began to confess the story of our revenge.
From how we planned to steal Pots's woman and inflict incurable psychological trauma to make him break down, to how an accident led to the bastard committing suicide.
Sara recounted almost every detail of the incident with precision.
However, there were quite a few parts where her perspective differed from mine, so I kept jumping in, and eventually, we ended up arguing.
“So, Guwon was forced into it because I insisted…”
“No. I used revenge as an excuse to fool around with another woman behind your backs. Of course, that was before we had confirmed our feelings for each other, but it was still a scummy thing to do.”
“What are you talking about?! I…!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re talking about! I…!”
“Enough! Be quiet! Do you think we gathered here just to watch you two have a lovers' quarrel?!”
Diana cut us off with a shout.
She walked right up to us and gave both me and Sara a bonk on the head.
“What is the point of this story?!”
“The point is that Guwon is innocent…”
“What are you talking about?! I was the one who made the plan in the first place!”
“Th-That was also because I…! Damn it! This is why I didn't want you here for this! Why won't you just go along with what I say?! If I'm the only bad guy, then Guwon can get out of this without…!”
“Because what I'm saying is the truth! I'd rather keep it a secret entirely than lie to everyone at this point!”
“You idiot, you…!”
“I told you not to have a lovers' quarrel in front of me! And as for what you two did behind our backs, I knew about it long ago, even without you saying a word!”
“W-What?!”
“What did you say?!”
“Huh?!”
At Diana's follow-up shout, we were all struck dumb.
I mean, of course we were. What? She knew everything?
No, it’s not that I thought she wouldn't have suspected anything.
No matter how much we tried to hush it up, the news that Pots had died in an inn was bound to spread, and right after that incident, Sara and I got together.
There was plenty of reason to feel that something was suspicious.
So when Diana and Leia reacted earlier as if they’d realized something, I thought maybe the words "grandfather's revenge" had allowed them to connect the dots.
But Diana's tone wasn't that of someone who had a rough idea—it was the tone of someone who knew everything, wasn't it?
Of course, Leia didn't seem to know that Diana knew, as she looked just as startled as we were.
“Have! You! Forgotten! That you! Sent! Miss Kate! This way!”
Diana tapped my head repeatedly with one hand as she spoke in an angry tone.
“W-What?! Wait. Kate was here!? And she told you everything!?”
“Did you really think a mage would have relations with my man and keep it a secret forever?! I've known for ages!”
“Th-Then… what I did, Diana, you…”
“Let me be clear, it's not that I'm unbothered. I think the method was despicable, and I'm not pleased that you didn't consult me before doing it! However… it's not as if I can't understand how Miss Sara felt. And in the end, the man's death was not what you intended, was it? That is why I remained silent.”
The hand that had been tapping my head now began to stroke it as Diana murmured those words.
In the end, the most mature one among us, Diana, had been handling this incident with adult maturity behind our backs all along.
“Diana…”
I was moved by her, but I couldn't let out a sigh of relief just yet.
Unlike Diana, who had known from the beginning, the real trial was yet to come.
This time, I looked at the other three.
“I'm sorry for not telling you until now. To be honest, this is the kind of guy I am. I'm not just a nice person. I might be different from the person you imagine me to be. If I've disappointed you, I'm truly sorry. But I…”
This confession might have just shattered their image of me to pieces.
Silvia and Matilda might be okay.
They both get strange around me, but they probably know well enough that I'm not just some goody-two-shoes.
After all, before we got into this kind of relationship, Silvia was blunt, and Matilda treated me harshly.
But Leia is different. She has such an idealized image of me that I've always tried my best to be on my best behavior around her.
But now, that illusion was broken.
I couldn't lie, so I told the whole truth without letting Sara take the fall, but I couldn't help but be afraid of Leia's reaction.
“…Guwon-ssi. It's okay.”
But seeing my reaction, Leia took both of my hands in hers, folding them together and pulling them into a tight hug against her ample chest.
“I told you once before, didn't I? I'm not as purely good as you think I am, Guwon-ssi.”
Leia had certainly said that to me before.
Of course, I remember it as the only lie she's ever told me.
If my angel isn't an angel, then who in the world is? Leia is the angel.
“I'm not a child. I know that no one in this world is perfect. Not even you, Guwon-ssi.”
Leia gently caressed my hand as she spoke, then looked at me with a slightly stern expression.
That unfamiliar expression was honestly so cute it made me feel warm inside, but I met her gaze with a tense look of my own.
“Of course, what you and Sara-ssi did was very, very wrong. No matter if it was for revenge, there must have been a more righteous way. Besides, you didn't just involve the target of your revenge, but also an uninvolved woman, didn't you? To be honest, it would be a lie to say I'm not disappointed in you.”
I should just die. I disappointed my angel. I should die. Right now. A guy like me has no reason to live anymore. I'm vermin. Useless vermin that does this world no good.
“However, I don't believe you are the kind of person who would make the same mistake twice. I can tell just by seeing you step forward even when Sara-ssi was trying to take all the blame. It was so cool it almost made me a little jealous.”
This time, with an expression that looked a little pouty, Leia shot me a sidelong glance.
“So… can you promise me that something like this will never happen again?”
“Yes. I promise.”
At my angel's gracious words, I answered reflexively, as if drawn by them.
The moment I answered, Leia gave me a smile so bright it could have lit up the entire room and placed a light kiss on my lips.
“Then I won't say anything more about it. I believe in you, Guwon-ssi. Even if you occasionally walk down the wrong path, I know you will ultimately walk the right one. That's the kind of person you are.”
Kngh. My angel… My angeeel…!
I feel like the filthy parts of my heart are being purified. How can she be so consistently angelic?
“Hah. It seems Leia-ssi has stolen all the cool parts.”
Watching us, Matilda let out a deliberately loud sigh and muttered to herself.