TNDOBM 08

Chapter 08

As Hiltein had predicted, his superior was not just difficult but a nightmare of a being.

Given Hiltein’s personality, even if a knife were held to his throat, he couldn’t speak falsely, so he only ever spoke bluntly. But whenever his superior would occasionally fix him with a cold stare, cold sweat would break out on his back and his hands would tremble.

*’At this rate, I won’t live out my natural lifespan.’*

One day, as he was seriously considering writing a letter of resignation, his superior suddenly changed without any warning.

As if he’d been shot in the head, he started buying up black robes, and completely changed his previously boredom-drenched tone and icy demeanor.

And then he had finally abandoned the Magic Tower and left—that was exactly one month ago.

*’Of all places, he had to settle right next to the Marquis of Verberdin’s estate.’*

And on top of that, he was approaching the Saintess in that repulsive manner.

Surely, he must have some horrifying purpose.

However, Hiltein had no desire to know or understand what terrifying plans were brewing inside that head of his.

He just wanted to escape as quickly as possible from the double workload caused by the Tower Master’s absence.

“So, when do you plan to return?”

“I don’t know.”

“……Then who exactly is going to answer that?”

“It’s not for me to decide.”

*’What kind of fresh nonsense is this now?’*

It was enough to make his head and his composure explode.

*’God, I want to quit.’*

Just as Hiltein was barely suppressing the urge to scream out loud in front of him.

“Did you have something to say?”

Rien pushed back his robe and roughly swept back his disheveled hair.

His face, belatedly revealed, bore not a single shred of emotion.

*’What is that man thinking, pretending to be some gentle lamb?’*

Whenever his superior’s true nature would unexpectedly peek through, it felt like the temperature dropped by ten degrees.

In this tension he could never seem to get used to, Hiltein clenched his hands tightly.

“I’ve assigned a watcher from ‘that place.'”

“I know.”

“……You’ve already dealt with it?”

“Yes.”

“How…….”

Hiltein’s voice trailed off. He had noticed where his superior’s gaze was fixed.

The discolored, blackened shovel in the corner of the room, and the daisy field outside the window.

……The watchers had likely already become good fertilizer.

Pretending not to notice the horrifying truth, he faithfully continued his report.

“I’ve placed eyes as you commanded, but it doesn’t seem easy to catch their tail. Ah, and is the reason you moved here directly also perhaps…….”

“Just, focus on your surveillance.”

Rien, having switched back to his acting tone, gave a cold reprimand.

*’Does he think just speaking clumsily makes him look kind?’*

It was infuriating, but not wanting to become the second batch of fertilizer, Hiltein silently bowed his head.

—

It is said that you only realize the value of something once it’s gone.

Inside the swaying carriage.

Cecilia was feeling, to the bone, the preciousness of the dazzlingly advanced 21st-century modern civilization that had achieved remarkable developments in transportation.

*’In a world with both magic and divine power, how is the main mode of transportation still a carriage?’*

It wasn’t her first time riding a carriage, so she had braced herself to some extent, but she hadn’t expected it to be this hard to get used to.

The maddeningly slow speed was one thing, but the terrible ride quality was enough to give her motion sickness, which she never usually had.

“Cici. You look like you’re about to collapse?”

Unlike her, dying by the second, Knox, who had been maintaining an elegant posture across from her the entire time, closed his book.

“Oh, that’s a big problem. We haven’t even reached halfway yet.”

He looked her over with worried eyes.

“If it seems like you absolutely can’t bear it, be sure to tell me. Walking to the Temple isn’t actually impossible, you know.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah, it would just take a full day’s walk. No, with your short legs, maybe two days?”

……There was no way that was actual concern.

She knew by now, without having to think twice, that the gentle smile at the corner of his mouth was one of mockery.

*’Don’t worry.’*

“Why don’t you just bite your tongue off?”

“Cici, I think your inner thoughts just slipped out.”

You did that on purpose, you little shit.

Turning her head away from her useless excuse of an older brother, Cecilia cast her gaze out the carriage window.

Beyond the cloudy window, lush greenery and a highly saturated sky flowed by leisurely.

*’With weather perfect for a walk, why am I suffering like this?’*

There was one reason she was going through this ordeal inside the carriage right now.

It was because of a proposal the Marquis had made when she’d encountered him in the garden a few days ago.

[The relief festival will be starting soon. Before that, shouldn’t we first pay our respects to His Holiness the Pope?]

[Ah…….]

[Especially since, during this relief festival, you, Cecilia, will have a big role to play.]

His tone suggested a recommendation, but it was essentially a command, and she couldn’t refuse.

Though she was still a ‘fake’ Saintess, the responsibilities of the Verberdin family remained.

[Alright.]

On the first day she accepted without much thought, she’d even felt a secret excitement.

It had been quite a while since she’d gone out, aside from the early days of her possession.

But upon hearing that not only would her registered sibling be accompanying her, but they’d also have to travel by carriage, her mood sank like a lie.

Still, a saving grace was that the ‘Holy Land,’ the former capital of the old empire and location of the Grand Temple, was close to the Verberdin territory.

Just as Cecilia, who had exhausted every ounce of patience she possessed, was about to succumb to her motion sickness, the carriage miraculously came to a stop.

“Lady Saintess, Young Master. We have arrived.”

Before the coachman had even finished speaking, Cecilia sprang to her feet.

There was no time to be elegantly assisted down.

*’I have to get off right now!’*

Consumed by that single thought, Cecilia flung open the carriage door with a *bang!* and stepped out.

However, she had overlooked two things. First, that numerous priests had come out to welcome the esteemed guests on their visit. And second, that her legs were wobbling more than usual from motion sickness.

In front of dozens of people, her unbalanced body tilted sharply.

*’I’m about to make a huge fool of myself.’*

With a sad premonition, she squeezed her eyes shut.

But as time passed, no sympathetic sighs erupted from the surroundings.

Instead of hitting the dirt, she collided with something as solid as a wall. Cecilia’s eyes snapped open.

“Are you alright?”

A knight with a familiar face, a head taller than her, was holding her firmly.

“Ah, thank you. So you are…….”

“Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights, Miguel.”

“Sir Miguel.”

“Yes, Lady Saintess.”

The silver hair of the man who answered lowly rustled in the breeze.

Beneath it, she dazedly looked up at his calm, lake-like blue eyes.

The lines that composed him were rough, yet possessed a softness like blooming petals.

……How to put it, he had a ‘holy’ appearance.

Cecilia suddenly recalled the first time she’d seen him.

It was when several high-ranking priests had visited the Marquis’s residence on the Pope’s business.

Among the gray-haired old men, one man in white armor was radiating an insane presence.

[Goodness, Melanie, do you see that man?]

[Huh?]

[Wow, maybe this really is a world inside a book.]

Even though it was the early days of her possession, when she’d been deep in the dumps, his presence was enough to make her forget all her gloom.

[Miss, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that man is out of the question.]

[No, I wasn’t saying I was going to do anything…….]

Did her crazed eyes show that clearly? Embarrassed, Cecilia cleared her throat.

[I was just curious about his name.]

[You don’t even need to know his name! He’s a Holy Knight!]

[Why, what’s wrong with a Holy Knight?]

[They are people who have devoted both body and soul to God.]

[Ah.]

In other words, they were forbidden fruit, untouchable.

*’My interest immediately waned.’*

It was surprising to meet him again like this, but that was all.

After giving him a glance as coolly as if she were appreciating a work of art, Cecilia stepped out of the stranger’s embrace.

“Miguel, shouldn’t you be looking after the young master too, not just the Saintess?”

Knox, who had alighted from the carriage behind her, called out to the knight with a rather familiar tone.

“Do you know Sir Miguel?”

“Of course. He’s my close friend.”

As if boasting of their friendship, Knox draped his arm over Miguel’s broad shoulder.

“Right?”

“Unfortunately…… that is correct.”

“He said he got lucky with his wording.”

*’That doesn’t seem to be the case at all.’*

Somehow, Miguel’s gaze towards Knox felt similar to her own.

A mixture of slight irritation and patheticness.

But for Knox, others’ contempt was clearly a reward. The one who had been grinning suddenly put on a sad expression.

“Our Cici, are you jealous? It’s okay. Even though you have no friends and can’t even get out of a carriage properly, your big brother will be both your family and your friend.”

*’……Just listening to him, you’d think he was a real romance fantasy brother.’*

The infuriating part was that his true intention was merely to mock her friendless situation.

“Move.”

Cecilia coldly dismissed him, and firmly stepped on the loitering Knox’s foot.

“Cici, big brother’s foot hurts.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Could you move your foot?”

“Not until you get out of my sight immediately.”

At her icy retort, Knox finally shut his mouth.

Miguel, who had been watching the siblings’ childish squabble from the front row, also turned his back on Knox.

“I heard you came to see His Holiness the Pope, but I’m afraid he is still meeting with the faithful.”

“That’s fine. We can wait.”

“I don’t want to wait.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Then, shall we first proceed to the prayer room?”

“Miguel? I said I don’t want to.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Then give me your hand.”

Perhaps because of her earlier disgrace, Miguel abruptly extended his hand.

He seemed to want to personally escort her, in case she fell again.

The consideration was appreciated, but her motion sickness had passed, so she didn’t really need help.

“It’s okay. I think I can walk on my own now…… or not. Yes. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

She quickly changed her tune as soon as she spotted the hint of disappointment that crossed his face.

She promptly placed her hand on his arm, which felt like a chunk of iron, and only then did Miguel offer a faint smile.

It was a reaction befitting a child of God, who found meaning in consideration and service.

The fact that she, not even a real Saintess, was being escorted by none other than the Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights was more overwhelming than thrilling……

But she wasn’t so rotten as to spit in a smiling face.

Fortunately, the prayer room wasn’t far.

Miguel stopped in front of a door intricately carved with irises and passionflowers, known as the flowers of God.