Chapter 92

A tremor was buried in Oscar’s breath as he finished his story.

“If it were you, Saintess, what do you think you would have done?”

“…….”

“Would you have feigned ignorance like me? Or would you have bravely stopped your father? Ah, you’re the Saintess, so of course you would have stopped him. I asked something obvious.”

Well, I don’t know about that.

Just based on that conversation, I doubt I would have imagined they’d actually commit kin-murder, and unless I was exceptionally close to Robert, I probably wouldn’t have been able to actively confront my own father either.

But since I couldn’t give such an irresponsible answer, I decided to gloss over it with something plausible.

Besides, it didn’t seem like Oscar truly regretted his actions…

“If you could go back to the past, would you make a different choice?”

“…….”

“If not that, do you have any intention of setting this situation right even now?”

“No, I don’t. I’m quite shameless, aren’t I?”

I figured as much. There was no way he’d speak out about a matter that could tear his entire family apart based on conscience alone.

The reason Oscar was going through with this confession…

It was likely to relieve his stifled heart, even just a little, while keeping a truth that could never be told.

He had mentioned earlier that he wanted to feel unburdened, so his psychology wasn’t hard to deduce.

“I understand.”

“You understand?”

“It’s too harsh a problem to judge based on fragmented information. From your perspective, it was a perfectly understandable path to take.”

“Haha… You certainly have a way of sugarcoating things.”

Oscar spoke gloomily, his voice low.

“I’m just a coward who is selfish and hypocritical—someone who knows something is wrong but has no will to fix it, yet is amazingly good at self-justification.”

…There’s no need to go that far. If he kept this up, he’d dig himself into a hole.
Besides, humans naturally have a double-sided nature.

And even if Oscar had tried to stop Carlo, would he have actually succeeded?

‘Absolutely not.’

Robert was destined to be murdered anyway. That was the starting point of this game.

“If you were truly a selfish and hypocritical person, I don’t think you would have helped the Young Lady of Peyers.”

This wasn’t a problem to blame Oscar for.

It was the fault of Carlo and Jeffrey, the ones who actually did it.

If anyone deserved punishment, it was those two.

If anyone’s conscience should be pricked, it should be theirs.

“Haha, I suppose I did do something unlike myself.”

Oscar seemed to deliberate for a moment, then fell silent.

‘Is that the end of it?’

There was no need to pry further.

I had already vaguely suspected that Jeffrey was the one behind the Robert incident.

This just served as confirmation.

‘It doesn’t affect the ending anyway.’

Of course, it could serve as a weakness for Jeffrey Rubel, but…

‘I already have a bigger weakness on him, so whatever.’

I flicked my eyes to open my inventory.

I confirmed that the ledgers were safely stored away.

In the case of the Robert incident, it would be difficult to prove even with Oscar’s testimony, but these ledgers were excellent physical evidence in their own right.

Since it wasn’t related to clearing the quest, I could just bury this matter in my heart as Oscar wished.

“Thank you for listening. My heart feels much lighter now.”

“I see.”

“Actually, the reason I saved Professor Edelina was to atone to Brother Hereis. It might be hypocrisy, but I realized there’s a big difference between doing nothing and taking action, even if that action is meaningless. And more than anything, I didn’t want to feel that kind of powerlessness again.”

A worthwhile lesson. I wondered if this was the right way to learn it, though.

With those final words, I heard the sound of the confessional door closing and Oscar’s footsteps fading away.

I leaned my head against the wall for a moment and removed the cumbersome veil.

Between the cramped space and the combined body heat of two people, my forehead had become quite sweaty.

When I stepped out, the sweat evaporated in the cool air, and I felt a chill immediately.
Just as I was folding the damp veil, thinking I could finally breathe…

“Ah, I forgot to say thank you properly—”

!!!

“Huh?”

‘Crap, I let my guard down.’

Oscar was standing there with his hand on the doorknob, looking at me with a stunned expression!

I hurriedly unfurled the veil in my hand and covered my face as best I could.

‘Did he see?’

Maybe… maybe he didn’t?

“Belita?”

I tried to run a “happiness circuit”, but it was already too late.

Oscar looked around the silent room where the confessional was located, then turned his gaze back to me.

Seeing that no one else was there, Oscar’s mouth slowly fell open.

“The Saintess… was Belita?”

Ah, I’m screwed… wait, no.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

It wasn’t like only one or two people knew my identity.

Arianne, the protagonist, Ilian—a fair number of people already knew the truth.

It could hardly be called a secret.

‘Right. It’s not like I was trying that hard to hide it from the start.’

It was just for convenience.

It started when Emily suggested it because I couldn’t control my facial expressions, and I’d just kept wearing it because the Pope liked the “mystique” and told me to maintain it.
So there was no need to panic.

Seriously.

“No, no… well…”

The only slightly concerning thing was that Oscar happened to like Belita.

Realizing he had just accidentally confessed his feelings, Oscar’s face flushed pink.

‘He looks like a carrot.’

“Due to Church policy, I had no choice but to hide it. I wasn’t trying to deceive you.”

“A-Ah, I know. I’m just a bit taken aback.”

I could tell without him saying it, seeing how his eyes were trembling uncontrollably.

“I thought you seemed familiar for some reason…”

Was it that obvious?

I thought I had deepened my voice quite solemnly and changed my mannerisms to be more elegant.

“I felt that your way of speaking and gestures were similar, but I naturally assumed it was a coincidence. I guess I was wrong.”

…Apparently, he had only suspected.

I pulled my discouraged heart together and gave Oscar a warning.

“I’m sorry, but please refrain from mentioning this to anyone.”

“O-Of course! I’m sure you decided not to go public for the sake of the Saintess’s safety, so there’s no way I would spoil that, ah.”

Oscar suddenly bent his waist so deeply that the crown of his head nearly touched the floor.

Then, he continued in a formal, respectful voice.

“This might be a belated apology, but…”

An apology?

“I am truly sorry for turning a blind eye back then, even though I knew who the real culprit was.”

Ah, that.

“It’s fine. It’s all in the past now.”

If I were the real Belita who had been framed and killed, it might be a different story, but for me, it was a closed chapter.

I waved my hand as if to say that was enough.

Watching my hand, Oscar’s eyes filled with a curious glint as if he’d realized something, and he asked me a question.

“By the way, Saintess… were you already the Saintess before that incident? Or was it afterward…”

“It was afterward, of course.”

“That’s fascinating. I’m sorry. That was a foolish question.”

“No. It’s a natural thing to be curious about.”

“And, um… I feel like I’m only asking impious questions, but…”

I nodded at his gaze, which seemed to ask if he could continue.

“M-May I ask what you think about my confession!”

Are you seriously not giving up even at this point? It seemed Oscar had decided to just go for it since he’d already been caught.

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak, yet Oscar was staring at me with eyes blazing with passion.

But then, whenever I looked back, he would sit there avoiding my gaze.

“……”

“……”

Ding!

Are you kidding me…?

I quietly selected option 3 and beat a hasty retreat.

I felt a bit bad, but avoidance was the only answer.

Leaving yesterday’s absurd events behind, the day to depart for the Imperial Capital finally arrived.

Accompanied by Emily, who had packed bundles of luggage, and three guards, I made my way toward the carriage.

“Oh my~ Saintess! I’m so honored that you’re taking me with you~.”

Emily cupped her face with both hands, blushing.

Since I had to go, an attending maid was a mandatory companion, so there wasn’t much reason to be so grateful.

“Still! It’s my first time in the Nilcaron Empire! I was born and raised in the Holy State my entire life…”

“Then we’ll have to go sightseeing or something.”

“Oh, please! How could I? There isn’t even enough time to serve the Saintess properly, so how could that be appropriate?”

Even as she said that, a hint of regret lingered on Emily’s face.

“It’s my first time at the Imperial Capital, too, so I want to look around. We can just go together.”

“Oh! Is that really okay?”

Beside the beaming Emily, a window popped up indicating her affection had risen.

“Actually, I’ve already looked into the famous spots through my friends from the Empire! They say Keluga Square is the heart of the capital and the most bustling street, so the night market is really lively. What do you think, Saintess!”

For someone who said there’d be no time, it seemed she had already planned everything out…

“Heavily crowded areas are difficult to guard and therefore prohibited.”

Before I could respond, a deep male voice cut in.

“Ah! Is that so? But all the tourist spots are crowded…”

“It is not permitted.”

“Excuse me… what did you say your name was again…?”

“It is Cyril Jace.”

“Sir Cyril. There is a time to speak the truth and a time to keep it to yourself. We’ve decided to call that ‘having a sense of the room’!”

“…? I am unsure what kind of ‘sense’ you are referring to.”

Cyril was a guard who had been newly assigned yesterday.

Originally, I had two guards, even if it was just for formality’s sake.

Since Emily alone was a handful and the residence was safe, they didn’t usually follow me around.

However, since this was a long journey, they had added one more knight, claiming two weren’t enough.

They said his skills were top-notch…

“Just don’t butt into the conversation between the Saintess and me. Stop rubbing people the wrong way! Are you acting like this just because you have a pretty face or what?!”

He must have traded his social awareness for those top-notch skills.

Emily hadn’t treated Sir Cyril like that from the start.

It was only because he had been incessantly grating on her nerves since this morning.
For example…

“We must pass through a forest inhabited by dangerous magic beasts, so if an unexpected situation occurs, make sure to stay close to my side.”

“Excuse me, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first when meeting the Saintess for the first time? Why are you diving straight into work talk?”

Stuff like that.

Seeing as his expression was strangely calm, it almost felt like he was doing it on purpose.

“Still, he’s somewhat right this time. Streets with too many civilians are far too dangerous.”

My original guard, Kalsen, spoke up.

He was right.

But that fact likely only served to make Emily even more furious.