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“Sir Hereis, I have something to apologize to you for.”
“…….”
I felt his complex gaze on me. I took a deep breath and continued.
“To be honest… in my dreams, I witnessed the moment Lord Robert was murdered.”
…!!
I slightly lifted my eyes, which had been cast toward the ground. The protagonist looked confused, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
-What???
-Huuh??
“In that dream, I was framed as the culprit who killed Lord Robert. And then…”
“After being brutally tortured, my life finally came to an end.”
-Whoa, that’s literally the prologue content.
-Goosebumps.
-No way, you don’t think the 1st and 2nd playthroughs were all just Belita’s dreams, do you?
-Nah, that’s going too far.
“Since then, I’ve had that dream every single day. The deaths of Lord Robert and myself repeated over and over.”
-It’s similar to the protagonist’s monologue from earlier.
-They both have nightmares every day. Damn.
“It was agonizing. There were many days I stayed awake on purpose just to avoid that dream. But whenever I happened to fall asleep, Lord Robert would unfailingly appear again. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.”
I turned my eyes away from the protagonist and muttered toward the empty air.
“Ah, what can I do in that situation to survive?”
Then I turned back and locked eyes with the protagonist.
“If I survive, wouldn’t I see what comes after this dream? If I keep trying like that, wouldn’t this dream eventually stop one day?”
-Holy crap, she must have been running simulations.
-The Saintess was a regressor too.
“As I kept at it, I eventually found a way to survive.”
“…….”
“To prove my innocence no matter what it took.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“It’s true. I can prove it.”
“Since no one would believe me no matter what I said, I performed the Oath of Innocence so they’d have no choice but to believe. Surprisingly, after succeeding in the Oath after several attempts, I stopped having that dream.”
-No wonder she was so confident.
-Even at the cliff, she just jumped without hesitation.
-Her speech was almost like a rap too, LOL. It was possible because it wasn’t her first or second time.
“As time passed, the memories of the dream faded, and I dismissed it as a mere delusion… but then, that day arrived.”
“…”
“On the day the dream became reality, I finally realized that the dream had been telling me the future.”
I bowed my head so deeply that my crown nearly touched the ground as I continued.
“I am sorry. I thought so carefully about it, but I couldn’t find a way to save Lord Robert. I was so preoccupied with saving myself that I turned a blind eye to him.”
“…”
“If only I had done better… if I had found another way… things might have been different…”
…!!
“…It is not your fault.”
“It wasn’t even my fault to begin with… Why didn’t I realize that until now?”
Holy… Finally registered in the Affection System! Even though we were in the middle of a serious conversation, the corners of my mouth twitched upward. It was a relief I was bowing my head. I immediately checked the Affection levels.
Is it exactly fifty? Neither more nor less… It seems the resolution of the emotions that had been tormenting him was significant. To take 3rd place in one go.
‘By the way, what kind of emotion is that?’
If it’s an emotion between a protagonist and a heroine, then naturally…
‘It should be love.’
However, the atmosphere between us couldn’t be called “flirting” even as a joke. I’ll have to try harder… And perhaps because of the change in Affection, the ranking had shifted a bit. It was predictable, but characters I’d been traveling with recently held the top spots. Meanwhile, Ivanke’s score rose occasionally for some reason. Did she like the trip? Maybe the evaluation of the person who recommended it went up?
“I will accept your resignation verbally.”
…?
Wondering what the context for that was, I straightened my back, only to see the protagonist scratching his cheek sheepishly.
“Since you’ve worked far more brilliantly than the compensation I provided. I think we can end the employment contract as of today.”
Ah, was that it?
I vaguely recalled blathering about how I’d work as much as I was paid.
“I can’t exactly keep a Saintess as a servant, after all,” the protagonist said with a light smile.
“…Then I suppose this is the end for us. Thank you truly for everything. Take care, Belita.”
“You know, people always meet again right after saying stuff like that.”
For once, Mo Je-won was right. We’d be seeing each other again soon. And in the very next chapter, at that.
We traveled by carriage for ten full days from the Garain County.
“Ah, we’ve finally arrived.”
“Welcome to the Holy State of Tebehill, Saintess!”
This was Tebehill, where we arrived accompanied by Ilian’s exclamation and Kalat’s excited voice. It was the headquarters of the Order of Ralphican and a small nation housing the Cathedral and the Papal Palace.
Having just crossed the border, we were stretching our stiff bodies after traveling all day by carriage. Kalat groaned, complaining about his aching bones, while Ilian, who had been driving the horses the whole time, massaged the back of his neck in fatigue.
‘To think I’d ever visit a place like this in my life.’
Turning my gaze away from the two, I looked around to see buildings like works of art that looked holy at a glance lining the streets. My heart fluttered a bit, feeling as if I had stepped into the middle of history.
“It’s smaller than you thought, right? Although it’s called a nation, it’s actually closer to a concentrated district of facilities for the clergy.”
“In fact, most of the population residing here are either clergy or students studying theology!”
“That building with the clock tower you see in the distance is the Papal Palace. Most administrative tasks regarding our Order of Ralphican are handled there.”
A dome-shaped building boasting grand majesty even from afar came into view. It looked like a palace; so that was the Papal Palace. I think I saw it in an illustration before.
“It’s quite large.”
“I heard they expanded it recently while increasing the number of affiliated organizations. You see that towering building next to it? That’s the Cathedral. Large-scale masses for the Order of Ralphican are mostly held there.”
The Cathedral. In the Saintess route, it was described as the place where Saintess Ivanke stayed. I’ll probably be staying there too.
“The Holy Relics are also enshrined in the underground vault of the Cathedral. We plan to return the Golden Crown of Ludvican, which we recovered from the Count’s estate, there as well.”
We had secretly brought out the Golden Crown of Ludvican—the Holy Relic that had created the barrier at the Count’s mansion—to ensure it wouldn’t be discovered by the special Inquiry Committee. It was a choice made to completely prevent any connection between the Countess’s situation and the Order of Ralphican.
“I’m turning a blind eye only because it’s you, Saintess.”
The protagonist and Arianne had said that with somewhat grim expressions. Well, thanks to that, we brought it back safely. Having finished his explanation, Ilian looked around and muttered.
“By the way… it seems no one is out to greet us.”
“According to protocol, they should have come all the way to the Garain County to escort you! Hmph, geez! What on earth are they all doing? I’m the one feeling embarrassed here!”
Kalat huffed, his face flushing red. True, if I were in his shoes, I’d probably be fuming thinking the person I brought back as a Saintess was being ignored. Come to think of it, since the game was mostly from the protagonist’s perspective, I only knew roughly how Saintess Ivanke lived here.
‘But I’m sure I saw a description of her being welcomed grandly.’
Did I misread it?
“Well, things must be chaotic inside the Order. They probably didn’t expect us to resolve it this quickly either.”
“Saintess, please don’t be too disappointed! I’ll go and give those folks a piece of my—!”
“And what exactly would you do?”
“Uwaaaah!”
A dark shadow loomed over us. Turning around, I saw a sturdy woman standing over 180 centimeters tall—easily taller than Ilian—looking down at me.
“…It has been a long time. Your Eminence, Cardinal Beatrice.”
The usually stiff Ilian bowed politely toward the woman.
‘If it’s Beatrice Paen…’
She was a character who also appeared in the Saintess route. A Cardinal of the Order of Ralphican, she was a supporter with a cool and easygoing personality.
She was a character whom Ivanke—who had grown up alone after being abandoned as a child and never felt family love—followed and liked for the first time, like an older sister.
“Is this the one? The one claimed to be the Saintess.”
Beatrice scanned me from head to toe without warning. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling.
“Hmm, this is going to be a bit problematic.”
“Pardon?”
“She’s going to need a bit of a makeover.”
…? Makeover?
“Ah, no. I should have apologized first, but it slipped my mind.”
Beatrice lightly bowed and straightened back up.
“Welcome to the Holy State. I came as soon as the internal meeting concluded, yet I am still late. My apologies.”
Ding!
It had been quiet for a while, but I guess the selection window was still alive.
Ah.
…Right, it was like this. Since it was a choice that required no deliberation, I pressed number 3 without hesitation. However, Beatrice frowned even at the perfectly normal answer that shouldn’t have been offensive.
“Even if it feels awkward, as the Saintess, you must get into the habit of addressing others informally. Just call me Beatrice comfortably.”
…So those arrogant choices were actually the correct ones.
“I shall try.”
The moment I shifted to informal speech, Beatrice’s lips curled up in satisfaction.
“Good.”
“Um, Cardinal Beatrice. What exactly did you mean by ‘makeover’?”
After letting out a grand scream, Kalat—who had been covering his face in embarrassment—asked through his fingers. I was curious about that as well, so I was truly grateful he asked on my behalf.
“Ah. Did I say that?”
How much time has even passed since you said it?
“Well. We’ll talk about that later. First, I have something to tell you.”
Beatrice, clapping her hands together as she realized she’d forgotten, turned her head toward me.
“Actually, the Order has been split into factions because of you, Saintess.”
Factions?
“It’s because of the Saintess’s background, isn’t it?”
Unlike me, who was standing there blankly without a clue, Ilian seemed to have already guessed as he answered immediately. At this, Beatrice smiled and nodded.
“Correct. Our Order is quite specialized in background checks, after all.”
Could she not find a better way to say they have good intelligence?
Before me, as I couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh, Beatrice began to recite dryly… Personal information about Belita that even I didn’t know.
“Name: Belita. Age: Twenty-two. Lost parents in a fire as a child and entered an orphanage. Luckily received a recommendation and was hired as a kitchen maid at the Rubel Duchy at a young age. Successfully promoted all the way to a high-ranking maid, but recently quit. It’s the record of an ordinary commoner with nothing special about it.”
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