Episode 4: Twilight (1)

 ⋉◆⌌ Astraea’s POV⌍▫◆⋊.

The church bells rang out in euphony, its chime could be heard till the far reaches of the empire. A procession was held in the principal cathedral, and on the platform under the marble statue depicting Goddess Privia therelain the Saintess—Lowe.

A girl who possessed an extraordinary ability to purge the supposedly irreversible blight—it didn’t take long for the news of a newfound saint to spread all across the empire. Her discovery represented hope, evidence that the Goddess had not abandoned her people, especially during this time when the Northern Blights continue to inch ever closer to the empire,

I remembered this scene well from both the in-game illustrations and memories of my past life. Lowe, the flower girl protagonist, becomes the Saint of Lutheran Church after her abilities have been discovered.

In the original, it happened after she cured the crown prince, Isodor Estelle from blight.

In this timeline, it was not Isodor whom she had saved, but rather a fodder character destined for death.

The irony was surreal. The person who killed Lowe was rescued by her. And he who I vowed to kill had rescued me.

The story was progressing as the original intended, but the path it took to reach the outcome was one I found hard to make sense of.

There were too many unusual incidents which couldn’t be attributed to the mere butterfly effect of my actions alone. Kairen Copper did not act this way in the original, and I was sure of it. It was because of him that I am able to sit here today to witness the Saint’s coronation.

I had shown him my animosity through various means of oppression, things that anyone would intuit as ‘evil’ and ‘unforgivable’. He had no reason to save me after going through all my abuse, and yet he did, at the expense of his life at that.

A misunderstanding? Some kind of fluke? I was puzzled by why things had turned out this way. I had made it clear that we were enemies.

Why was he so different from the asshole I knew? Why did he act the way he did?

On the surface things seem to be fine, but what if the story had already gone awry from the very start.

He was the man who killed Lowe and incited the apocalypse. The person who I had stewed hate over day in, day out and even in death.

Why… did he saved me?

I rubbed my arms, feeling a chill at the thought that this person—the root of my biggest trauma could be forgiven.

I turned my head slightly to look at him seated at the back corner of the hall.

Tan-brown skin with a mess of slick black hair. His appearance, that of a delinquent, looked particularly refined today in attendance of Lowe’s consecration. So he can dress up after all. What the hell.

“Astraea…” Isodor called out to me, a tinge of guilt in his voice.

“I’m fine.” I scoffed. What am I supposed to do with him?

Part of me felt that it was to let our relationship continue in its uncertainty. However, there remained this subtle irritation in the way he tried to make amends to a situation which was unsalvageable.

Of course, while his ignorance was something I had intended for, it still felt disturbing knowing that he had abandoned his fiance for another woman. Any girl with a least bit of common sense would know just how inappropriate this was.

Honestly, watching the hurt in Isodor’s eyes as he tried to appeal to me gave me a sense of twisted satisfaction. I almost wish he would continue acting like the idiotic prince he was. That was at least better than an Isodor who was actually pushing to straighten things out with me.

⌌✧ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ✧⌍

◃'◤⌌ Kairen’s POV⌍◢╨▹.

‘She looked this way.’

I wasn’t oblivious to what that meant. The fact that Her Grace paused at me made it clear that she had questions. It was a matter of time before we crossed paths again for a proper conversation.

Avoiding her gaze, my eyes naturally shifted to the prince sitting next to her.

‘Isodor you dick-head.’

The prince who had abandoned her fiance. After what had happened, I wonder if he felt anything for her.

“Saintess Lowe Amberheart. May your blessings reach the hearts of the world.”

‘Amberheart…’

Lowe’s commoner status has changed now that she has become a member of the church. If it isn’t obvious enough, she was of a commoner origin—and I would’ve wished for it to stay that way.

The bishop began his chanting, I raised my head to look towards the altar.

Beneath the translucent veil her cherry-pink hair was braided with strands of white jasmine. The silk luster fabric of the dress pulled a train across the floor. Sunlight streamed through the round windows above, casting her in a soft luminance that looked almost ethereal.

The symbol of purity and grace, the embodiment of hope and faith—Goddess Privia’s chosen one. Standing there in her saintly white dress, Lowe held her head low in the presence of the mass.

‘She doesn’t realize it.’

Her becoming the Saint was the last thing I ever wanted. But now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to make do with it moving forward.

I moved my hands to subtly touch my sternum, the place where she had placed her hand. I closed my eyes and recalled the sensation of it.

The trace amounts of blight I stored in my blood was all but gone. And until I found another source to take from, I couldn’t utilize any form of the magic.

… I better be careful.

⌌✧ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ✧⌍

When the Saint left the hall, I immediately got up and pushed myself through the crowd.

It wasn’t usual for nobles of various families to do the same in hopes to build friendly connections with her. So of course, the church had to enforce security measures to prevent the Saint from being held up by these wantony people.

“Rebel! Stop!”

I deftly slipped past the church knights who were acting like riot suppressors. Dashed towards the backdoor where the clergymen and priests were all leaving, they all became startled by my presence. I pushed through them, acutely aware that behind me were the knights snowballing in number as they tried to catch me.

As I finally got close to the saint, I saw the man whose personality was that of a dog.

The fourth male lead of the game—Soren Amberheart.

Watching Lowe giggle to the sweet nothings he was whispering to her made my blood boil.

“You… cease this instant!”

“He’s an offender! Catch him!”

“Stop him from reaching the Saintess!”

The commotion caused both Lowe and the dog to turn my way. Her austere eyes widened when she saw me.

She spun around and ran. Dogman tried to hold her back, but she pushed past him without hesitation. He had no other option than to follow.

“Kairen, what’s wrong?” She asked. It was clear she didn’t put much emphasis on her newly acquired title as Saint.

I cast a glance at Soren who stood by her side. Helmet off, his ochre fringe-styled hair looked dignified as it was suave. Clad in silver-white armor, his striking figure gleamed with a brilliance hard to ignore. Yet despite his impressive aura, there was something about his disposition which made him feel more noble than imposing.

The two of them looked like newlyweds. The merciful saint and her loyal knight, it was the perfect tableau to raise the church’s public image… but not on my watch.

I looked Lowe in the eye and knelt down on one knee.

Knowing as much that the next step in the Saint’s nomination was to select someone to protect her, what I would propose next was suicidal.

“Saint, let me take an oath and become your knight.” I would challenge the authority of the church.

“...!”

Since my reputation had already hit rock bottom, I didn’t see any reason not to try. I didn’t trust the church, and that dog-like son of a bitch abandoned the empire’s Saint. There was no way I’d let her go through this ordeal alone.

“W-What do you mean…?!” Lowe stuttered, confused.

“How dare you speak of such blasphemy!” A priest yelled aloud.

“Lowe. Take me as your knight.” Even if I have to be in the position of manipulating you this time. I can’t let the past repeat itself. “As a Saint, there must be someone by your side to protect you, always. The church will choose a knight by their discretion, but you won’t even know who they are or if they can be trusted. That person will be the difference between your life or death. But if I serve that role, then you won’t need to consider the risks. I’ll protect you, I swear on my name.”

“If… that’s what you want then maybe…” Lowe hesitated.

“My apologies, but there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding.” Dogman positioned himself between me and the saint. “I believe it is the church’s responsibility to decide who shall become the Saint’s guardian.”

How risible. You, Soren Amberheart became her knight not because you won the tournament, but because she vouched for you.

‘She trusted you—but you abandoned her. ‘

“The guardian must also be an affiliate of the church in order to guarantee the assurance of the people.” Soren went on to explain.

“Then let’s do it this way.” I stood up. “I’ll receive Goddess Privia’s blessing and become a holy knight, how does that sound?”

“What?” Soren looked at me as if I had gone mad.

If Lowe was insistent, they would have no choice but to take me in as a holy knight. After all, that was what she did to have Soren be appointed as her’s previously.

“S-Shut your mouth. Enough with your obscenities. What gives you the right to decide who shall become the Saint’s guardian!” The priest yelled.

“Knights, capture him.” The knight commander’s voice boomed.

The bewildered knights snapped back to attention the moment the order was given. I offered no resistance as they moved to arrest me. Two knights stepped in, each seizing an arm to ensure I wouldn’t escape.

“U-Uh…?!” Lowe panicked seeing me restrained.

“Lowe. Don’t just go along with everything they say. Speak your own mind. You’re not the church’s pawn—”

“Shut your mouth!” I received a punch to the gut.

I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to groan. Damn hell this body is weak.

“Stop it, d-don’t hurt him.” Lowe pleaded.

“Drag him out.” The holy knight commander spoke.

“Remember! your authority is on par with the Pope or higher!” I shouted.

“Shut it already!” They forced a cloth into my mouth to stop me from saying anymore. I was dragged away from the group.

She needed to realise just how much power she had over the church. If she doesn’t assert her own influence from the very beginning, she’d very easily become some upstanding, naive pawn on the political board game they were playing.

I had expectations that Lowe would’ve just gone ahead to take me as her knight, it would’ve been so much simpler.

But that damn dog just had to intervene, causing her to doubt.

Things didn’t go as planned, but regardless, I’m sure my words would've affected the progression between her and dogman from this point onwards. I just hope I don't get swindled by that man’s ‘holy charm’.

Being dragged across the ground, I thought my day would end once they had thrown me over the gates.

“Halt.”

But no. There were more things I needed to handle.

“I’ll take him from here.” Said the woman hiding behind her fan.

The knights crossed gazes with her for a couple seconds. Then they noticed the idiot prince who stood behind her.

“Understood. I ask that you prevent him from creating further discord. That is all.” Hearing the holy knight commander’s orders, I was released from their restraints.

The guards split off, and I was left half standing in the middle of the open colonnade, the ice princess and crown prince shining bright before me.

Astraea Winterfall gaze was cold, as if unimpressed by my earlier behaviour. I felt embarrassed just trying to meet her gaze.

‘Probably crossed the line with that one…’

What does it matter? My reputation was fucked anyways.

“You should’ve considered your timing.” She rolled her eyes.

“Huh?” Did I hear that right?

“Nevermind. We need to talk. Follow me.”

Wait. Huh? What?

‘Did she just speak informally with me?’