Chapter 80

‘I guess nothing ever comes easy.’

In hindsight, the Marquis had been acting strange. It’s partly my fault for not noticing.

‘But damn it, how on earth was I supposed to know the Marquis had a connection with Cardinal Samuel of all people?’

A groan escaped my lips involuntarily, but since I had given my word to the protagonist and the Marquis to wait and not worry, I had to do something.

At least the protagonist’s Mental Health rose by 50 when I said I’d go meet Edelina.
I have no idea what he did to blow through all the shop points we earned during the Marquisate event already, but I suppose I managed to save him for now.

‘Whew.’

Clutching the bottle of antidote the protagonist had handed me, I recalled our conversation from a moment ago.

“Saintess, please deliver this to Edelina. It is an antidote created with the advice of my Uncle Carlo, who is well-versed in herbology. I have confirmed its efficacy through my own experiments, so there will be no issues. It has been ground into powder and compressed into a solid form, making it easy to hide. She can swallow it or chew it along with the Demon Poison Grass. If she declares her intent to take the Oath, she won’t have to suffer through further interrogation, so please, quickly…. I beg of you, Saintess.”

That’s right. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the devastating truth in person—that the antidote could actually be replaced by Holy Water, and that there was a high possibility she wouldn’t even be allowed to take medicine during the Oath.

I couldn’t exactly let his Mental Health, which I’d worked so hard to raise, plummet again, could I?

Swallowing those words, I took the antidote for the time being.

“…Saintess.”

Ah, Ilian was here.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I saw Ilian looking at me with worried eyes.

“Are you alright?”

Clutching my stunned brain, I asked the question I was most curious about first.

“I’m fine. So, what’s the situation?”

“The fact that she was hiding in the Saintess’s residence, right here in the Great Cathedral of all places, has caused a massive shock. They are calling it an act of apostasy by the Saintess that must not be overlooked.”

“…”

“…That is the opinion currently prevailing within the Great Cathedral.”

S-So?

“His Holiness the Pope wants to execute Professor Edelina immediately to extinguish the sparks.”

…!

“…Though that was cancelled due to backlash from other priests. Since Professor Edelina is technically a noble, after all.”

“…”

“Saintess?”

“Sir Ilian. From now on, answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ first.”

“Ah, yes.”

If he didn’t, I was going to end up with a heart condition from anger or a stomach ulcer from stress.

“In any case, they are threatening that the truth of why the Saintess hid a suspected heretic must be clearly brought to light. Cardinal Samuel, in particular, argued for this quite strongly.”

The “other priests” who opposed the execution—were they the Orthodox Faction?
It seems they opposed it just so they could use Edelina as a tool to pressure me. Paradoxically, thanks to the Orthodox Faction, Edelina gained a chance to live.

“The others seemed curious as well, so there was no further opposition. Instead, it was decided to hold a trial.”

So, how much time did I buy by offering myself as a sacrifice?

“The trial date has been set urgently. Unfortunately, since the witnesses are nearby, it is said to be at noon the day after tomorrow.”

It’s not much time, but it’s better than nothing.

I should be thankful it’s not today.

Ilian hesitated for a moment, his lips twitching, before asking me.

“What do you intend to say?”

“…About what?”

“Regardless of what happens to Professor Edelina, you won’t be able to avoid suspicion, Saintess. You must create a justifiable reason for hiding the Professor.”

As if such a thing exists.

The only thing I can do is spout some nonsense.

For example… I was protecting Edelina because Ralphican gave me a revelation that she was innocent, or something like that.

‘…Though obviously, that won’t work.’

Would that even fly with public opinion right now?

I can already see the Pope clutching his forehead and the Orthodox priests jumping for joy.

Breaking through directly at the trial is the right move.

“I’ll give my explanation after the trial.”

“So, you intend to remain silent for now. If we fail to win the trial, things will get very complicated.”

“That won’t happen.”

In the first place, the moment Edelina is found guilty, I’ll be forced onto a Bad Ending route.

If I get a Game Over right there, I won’t even have a chance to explain.

‘The problem now is that I have to keep the promise I made to the protagonist.’

I could lie, but I can’t even imagine the aftermath if I’m caught.

And that’s not the only issue.

She looked like she’d already given up earlier; if she was suddenly dragged away, she’s probably in a state of total despair by now.

‘It’ll be a disaster if she confesses or says anything disadvantageous to herself.’

If she stays like that, when they submit the fake mana stone as evidence, she might assume it’s actually hers and admit to it.

‘I have to go and tell her properly.’

Organizing my thoughts, I asked Ilian immediately.

“You want to go meet Professor Edelina? That will be impossible. It requires permission from His Holiness, and there’s no way he would grant it.”

No visitations? Needing the Pope’s permission for every little thing is suffocating.
Dammit, then what if Ilian sneaks in instead?

“You have a message for Professor Edelina. So you want me to go and deliver a note?”

Ilian’s expression turned subtle, but he still gave a faithful answer.

“Even I cannot access the prison where Professor Edelina is held. Even if one were to go for an official visit, guards would be attached, making it impossible to secretly deliver anything.”

‘He says everything is impossible.’

Can’t he just go whoosh without being noticed? Aren’t experts like the protagonist or Ilian supposed to be able to do stuff like that?

“Pull your pouting lip back in. With so many eyes watching, how could I do that? And besides, the recipient needs to be an equal expert for that to work. They have to know how to receive it for me to give it.”

“No. I don’t necessarily need to put it directly in her hand.”

Putting it in a pocket, for instance.

Ilian shrugged and shook his head.

“Prisoner uniforms do not have pockets.”

…Just when I think this guy might be helpful, he’s utterly useless in the most crucial moments.

“Sneaking in is also a fool’s errand. The Great Cathedral’s dungeons are completely isolated from the outside. It is a prison with the highest security rating, reserved only for those who commit the most heinous religious crimes. It is the pride of our Order of Ralphican—not even a Sword Master could break through.”

Why on earth is a prison the pride of the Church?

“It is a place designed to sequester those who commit crimes like murdering clergy or sanctuary terrorism. Inmates can only be released after they have been fully reformed into fervent servants of Ralphican. Is it not a truly magnificent place?”

Magnificent, my foot.

Unless someone was framed, you couldn’t even dream of escaping such a place.

Then, what about bribing a guard?

“Bribing a guard is also difficult. That place is operated independently even within the Order…. Perhaps His Holiness the Pope could manage it, but it is beyond my power. And it’s not as if you have any connections there, Saintess.”

Sigh…

I hauled my despondent body up and grabbed the doorknob.

“Where are you going?”

“Sir Ilian, you stay her— Ack.”

As soon as I opened the door, I slammed into something hard.

‘What is it?’

Swallowing my anger at the stinging pain in my forehead, I looked up.

-The Saintess’s dark circles are crazy, lol.

-She looks exhausted.

The object I hit was a chest—specifically, the protagonist’s. He could have easily avoided me, but seeing how he just stood there and let the collision happen, it was clear the protagonist wasn’t in his right mind either. A cold sweat broke out on my skin.

‘Why did he come here?’

Surely he didn’t come to nag me about why I haven’t gone to see Edelina yet?

My guilty conscience made me fidget restlessly. To make matters worse, the protagonist just stood there in silence. Just as I was agonizing over what to do.

Ding!

Before anything else, a choice window popped up.

And it wasn’t even mine.

‘An event full of fluttering romance, so out of place in this dire situation.’

To think he has to seduce the heroine even when his childhood friend is on the verge of death—the mission of a dating sim protagonist is truly cruel.

I almost felt pity for him.

Meanwhile, Mo Je-won grumbled as he read the options.

“Affection will probably go up no matter what I pick, right? Hmm, but I don’t know which one she’d like more. I can’t see the Saintess’s affection rising, so I’m flying blind here.”

-That’s why she’s a hidden route.

-It’s only a hidden route if the conquest is hard.

-Lol, look at that teamwork.

-Bad breath, lmao.

-That’s too realistic, lololol.

-Why are you worrying about stuff like that in a game?

It’s worth worrying about. This is reality for me.

I knew this wasn’t the time for it, but I felt a little huffy.

“Why? He’s right, isn’t he? I’ll go with the touching~.”

I’m just grateful to Mo Je-won for responding to my random thoughts.

“I’m sorry…”

As soon as Mo Je-won made his choice, the protagonist’s hand touched my forehead.
And he rubbed it gently.

“Are you alrigh—”

Tak!

In the blink of an eye, the warm touch vanished, and someone’s back pushed between the protagonist and me.

-??

Since Ilian was the only other person in the room, the owner of that back was obviously him. A prim voice, entirely unsuited to such a sturdy back, reached my ears…

“Sir Hereis. Do not raise your hand so recklessly toward the Saintess’s person.”

The protagonist, his brow furrowed in displeasure…

Ding!

Presented these options.

-Woah, this nerve warfare is savage.

-The battle of men, lol.

[ ‘Gloomy Follower’ has donated 1,000 won. ]
[ Isn’t this Ilian guy aiming for our Saintess? ]
system_en

-Right?

-There was the Crown Prince too.

-Gasp, already two competitors.

Mo Je-won gave a snickering laugh at the anxious chat window.

“Competitors or whatever. We’re the protagonist of this game.”

-True, lol.

-Yep, if we go to the end, we win, fufufu.

-Anyway, the Saintess’s husband is Mo Je-won.

-Eo-Nam-Mo (The husband is Mo anyway) LOL.¹ anyway.“ It’s used by fans to declare that despite any rivals or love triangles, the “endgame” couple is already a foregone conclusion.]

“I can’t back down on this; it’s a matter of pride. Going with Number 1!”

-Go go go.

Roughly pulling his hand back from Ilian’s grasp, the protagonist spoke.

“I don’t believe this is any of your concern, Sir Ilian.”

“What?”

A vein popped on Ilian’s forehead, seemingly provoked by the light jab.

“I am the Saintess’s guardian. If I am not to concern myself, then who on earth is?”

Belita isn’t a minor; what do you mean, guardian?

The protagonist also snorted derisively and fired back.

“Those are my words exactly. I am the companion of the Saintess, ordained by Ralphican himself. I am not in a position to be restrained for something as trivial as touching a forehead. Ah, and would it stop at just the forehead? If the Saintess wishes, I can do much more than that.”

-Much more? How far? Scary.

-Get ‘em, get ‘em!

No, who exactly is giving permission here?