Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Non-Existent Sister Karen
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What?
Did I just hear something wrong?
Ares calmly asked his big sister once more.
"Big Sis, what do you mean? She's not there?"
"What I'm saying is, there's no nun named Karen in the Igugwoden Cathedral, at the very least."
"What are you talking about? That can't be. She was wearing a nun's habit, always carrying the Holy Scripture, and most importantly, she was dispatched by the Saintess herself. And—"
"Hold on, Ares. Calm down first."
Linea placed a hand on his shoulder as if to argue, then gently pushed him back to soothe him as she spoke.
"Explain from the beginning. Why on earth are you looking for the Sister? Do you have some business with her? Or did something happen?"
"......Ah."
Come to think of it, unlike him or Yuria who lived in the Imperial Palace, Linea was essentially an outsider who had left the family.
Ares explained in detail to her about everything that had happened.
"The Saintess dispatched nuns to teach us religious doctrine?"
"Yeah. Not just me—Big Sis Yuria had one too."
'The core of the doctrine is not to proselytize... but they sent nuns to members of the Imperial Family?'
It seemed a bit inconsistent, but Ares didn't look like he was lying.
"Got it. I'll look into it. Dispatched nuns might not necessarily be from the cathedral."
She almost said that she knew everything in great detail about what went on in the Igugwoden Cathedral—but
Ares chose not to bring it up.
He wanted to hold onto hope. Hope that if they searched, she would turn up.
"......Please, Big Sis."
As Ares turned his back to Linea and left the cathedral, Karen's voice kept echoing in his ears.
* * *
How many days passed like that?
"Princess Linea is looking for you, Your Highness."
'Finally!'
After lightly thanking the maid who delivered the message, Ares quickly donned his formal attire and boarded a carriage.
Soon after arriving at the Igugwoden Cathedral, he saw Linea, now looking quite accustomed to her Holy Knight uniform.
"You're here, Ares."
"Big Sis. Did you find out anything?"
Before he could even greet her, Ares cut straight to the chase, and Linea responded with a troubled expression.
"......Yeah."
"Thanks. So, which order is Sister Karen from?"
Linea hesitated again, fumbling for words as if unsure what to say—
"Well, listen, Ares."
With an expression she hadn't worn since their childhood—one of an older sister, a protector—she placed her hand on Ares's shoulder.
"There is no nun named Karen in our church."
"......What?"
"I checked the lists of all nuns dispatched across the continent. I cross-referenced multiple times... but there's no one like that. I'm really sorry, but are you sure you have the name right?"
The name wrong?
......So she lied to me?
But what benefit would she gain from hiding her name from me?
If there was some gain, he could accept it, but since there wasn't, it was hard to swallow—
'No. She must be using an alias.'
He didn't know the full circumstances, but there was no rule saying she couldn't hide her real name.
After all, no one named Karen actually existed, right?
The strongest proof was himself. The days spent laughing with her, chatting, playing board games together, or sharing meaningless small talk.
Each of those moments was etched into his current self as intensely vivid memories.
Ares tuned out Linea's mumbling and focused on his own thoughts.
'Even if she hid her name, that's fine. There must have been circumstances. I just want to apologize for snapping at her out of nowhere.'
'Is there no way to contact Big Sis Karen somehow?'
'Hold on.'
'Come to think of it, Mother definitely said the Saintess ordered it directly, right? Meaning the Saintess is the one who sent Big Sis Karen to me?
'So... maybe if I ask the Saintess, she'll help?'
"......Ares? Are you listening to me?"
"Ah, Big Sis. Sorry. I wasn't."
Linea let out a deep sigh at Ares's brazen admission.
"I figured."
"More importantly, Big Sis. I want to meet the Saintess."
"......What? Suddenly?"
"Yeah. Right now if possible. Is that okay?"
Linea shook her head vigorously, looking troubled.
"I told you. The Saintess is incredibly busy with public duties, so you need to schedule in advance to meet her."
"She's out right now too?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll wait here until the Saintess comes back!"
"......What?"
"Please, Big Sis! I'm royalty, after all! Can't you do something? You're the only one I can trust...!"
Linea stared at Ares, who bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, with a look of utter confusion.
His eyes gazing up at her were so earnest that it only made her more baffled.
'Why is he acting like this?'
Ares had always treated everything half-jokingly, never taking anything seriously.
Even when studying Imperial etiquette, or after their mother passed and their stepmother ascended as Empress.
He never put passion into his blue eyes. He just sneered down at the entire Imperial Family, as if declaring, 'In this system, it's not my place to step up.'
Yet here was that same Ares, wearing such a serious expression, emphasizing his royal status, begging his big sister with no regard for pride.
It was already utterly unlike him—but as a Holy Knight, she couldn't just stand by while a prince threw a tantrum demanding to see the Saintess, no matter his status.
An Emperor might be different, but a prince was another story.
In the current political landscape, the Saintess's position was far higher than a non-heir prince, in fact.
So, she thought she could soothe him, send him off, and discuss a schedule with the Saintess later.
"What is it?"
"Saintess...?"
From afar, Erin approached, accompanied by high priestesses—clutching the Holy Scripture to her chest.
"You're back early? I heard you wouldn't be until late today......"
"My schedule got canceled. I was hoping for some quiet prayer time, but......"
At that moment.
Ares and Erin's eyes met—and Erin nodded as if she understood the situation.
"Looks like you have a guest."
"Ah, Saintess. This is—"
"Please!"
Before Linea could say anything, Ares bowed toward Erin this time.
"Please spare me a moment! I have something to ask!"
"Hey, you're really—"
At that instant, Erin lightly raised her hand toward Linea.
Linea easily understood it meant to leave this to her.
"Your Highness. I hope you've been well. It seems you have business with me... am I right?"
"Yes."
"Very well. As a Saintess, it's my duty to share Plain Facts even with non-believers... please follow me this way."
"Thank you!"
Ares thanked Erin repeatedly before following behind her.
* * *
Once they arrived in the reception room.
Erin lightly offered him tea—
"No thank you. More importantly, I have a question."
"I heard you like tea, so it must be quite urgent. Hehe... please speak freely."
Ares let out a deep internal sigh—
Then lifted his head, looking straight into Erin's eyes as he asked.
"I'll be direct. Recently, didn't you dispatch a nun to teach Holy Scripture studies to members of the Imperial Family?"
"Yes. That was the will of the Lord."
"But suddenly, contact cut off a few days ago. She went by the name Karen, and from the situation, it seems she was using an alias... Still, since you directly ordered her dispatch, I thought you might know something about her."
"So... if possible, I'd like to meet her......"
Thump, thump.
For some reason, just asking the question made his heart pound like it might burst.
It wasn't the sweet, tangy feeling of young romance.
The exact opposite—fear.
The sensation that he had voiced a question he shouldn't have.
Erin remained silent for a moment...
Then slowly moved her pink lips.
"Your Highness Ares. You know, don't you? That everything you've experienced is Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact."
"......Pardon?"
"You do know, right?"
Plain Fact...
And the time we spend like this, getting to know each other—it's also Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact!
He didn't know what it meant, but her voice echoing in his ears was unmistakably Karen's—
Ares slowly nodded.
"Yes. I know."
And Erin,
In a tone as if there was no helping it, calmly told him—
"Unfortunately, since all of the Lord's Plain Facts have been exhausted, it will be difficult to arrange a meeting."
"......Pardon?"
"Everything is the 'Plain Fact' Lord Igugwoden bestowed upon you, Your Highness. And it's all been used up."
—She conveyed the truth in religious parlance.
"Pardon? I... I'm sorry, what do you mean?"
"In other words, I'd like to let you meet again, but that requires Plain Facts, and we're short."
"???"
"If there were Plain Facts left, I could have made it happen... I'm sorry."
"??????"
Ares's mind began spinning in confusion again.
Can't meet because Plain Facts are insufficient? What kind of nonsense is that?
To him now, it didn't even feel like sentences. Just random words strung together without pattern.
"Wait... that is to say—"
—Calm down.
Faced with the ravings of a fanatic, Ares regained his composure.
And he began analyzing her words one by one at an astonishing speed.
'Including Saintess Erin, devout Igugwoden Church followers have a tendency to immerse themselves in their own rules based strictly on the Holy Scripture.'
After all, normal people didn't revere a woman's breasts as some "Divine Power Pouch" with such sanctity.
But setting aside the breast thing, it was just odd phrasing—the underlying meaning was structured simply enough for anyone to grasp.
For example, "Cast off the old and take up the new" might sound like nonsense at first glance—
But it was cleverly propagandistic phrasing that dismantled the old regime's contradictions without resistance.
Without Saintess Erin's "grand show disguised as a Dish of Holy Knights appointment ceremony," such religious reforms would have clashed with entrenched interests and been impossible.
The church's recent actions were mostly like this. They pulled Scripture verses, built plausible slogans around them, and pushed through the absurd with unstoppable momentum.
Appointing three Holy Knights without discord, dismantling the contradiction-riddled old order, and even forging cooperation with demons that most humans shunned.
The same went for negotiations with the demons: the concept of "Plain Fact."
Even with the unprecedented event of the Demon King turning into a little girl, one statement from the Saintess—whose authority stemmed from that miracle's realization—"It's thanks to the Lord's Plain Fact"—peacefully resolved it. No coincidence.
That was also why he had shelved his own plans to overthrow the Emperor and establish a new order.
The Saintess was already achieving everything without bloodshed—what need was there for him to step up now?
Unless she went rogue, there was no reason to.
Anyway.
If this was the church's way of speaking... he had a good idea what Erin had just said.
'If I want to meet Big Sis Karen...
She's demanding that I convert formally here and submit to the church?'
Plain Fact—meaning, to fill me with religious enlightenment, get me to join the Igugwoden Church—
Eliminate the risk from the church's perspective at the root?
Ares stared at Erin with dead fish eyes.
She returned his gaze with a faint smile.
'She's a scarier woman than I thought.'
For now, she used her cunning for the masses, but if she ever turned astray...?
Ares looked into Erin's eyes with a resolute expression.
"?"
And then—
"Saintess."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't go along with your wishes. Of course, as you conveyed through Sister Karen, I know my methods were radical. I admit I need to reflect. But... I can't shake the feeling that jumping straight into the Igugwoden Church here and now isn't right either."
"......Pardon?"
Looking at the tilting Erin...
Ares turned away, his eyes misty with emotion.
"If it's all right, please tell Sister Karen... Big Sis... that I was truly, truly grateful. Well, if it's hard to pass on, no need."
"Um, Your Highness. I think there's a misunderstanding. I didn't mean for you to convert, but literally—"
"I apologize for the rudeness. Goodbye."
Ares stood before Erin could finish, leaving the reception room without looking back.
Erin stared at the closed door—
"......???"
—Then just tilted her head in silence again.
* * *
And the next day.
Unlike Ares, who had casually said "don't bother if you don't want to" and somewhat accepted he couldn't meet her—
'......'
—A man's pure heart could not tolerate it.