RFLAS 18

Chapter 18

“Udiel, I told you not to say anything inappropriate.”

Julian frowned as he tried to stop Udiel. But Udiel, apparently brimming with curiosity, kept pressing me with questions.

“It’s true, right? It is true, isn’t it? The story spread around the temple back then too~! That Julian stepped in to protect Miss Serra.”

“…What?!”

So that was how the rumor went? Then did that mean the priests and clerics who had been staring at me so intently were doing so for that reason too?!

“……”

I stared at Udiel with my mouth hanging open.

At least it was a relief that I hadn’t been branded as a possessor, but this was still unbelievably embarrassing… and even more so with Julian—the very person involved—standing right beside me.

Then Udiel added another remark.

“You must have been very frightened.”

“……”

“What crime is there in praising Lady Charlotte, honestly? Suspecting our Miss Serra over such a ridiculous reason—how awful of them. Though, thanks to Julian, it all worked out in the end.”

As he spoke, he made a show of patting Julian on the shoulder. Julian merely shot him a sideways glance and didn’t react otherwise.

Encouraged, Udiel grew even bolder.

“Since this is fate and all, why not take this opportunity to see where things go between you two? They say even brushing sleeves makes it destiny~ I’d say you have more than enough justification.”

“W-What are you even saying?!”

It reminded me of what had happened earlier at Shashamo, and I immediately denied it.

Sergei wasn’t a main character, so that could be brushed off—but Julian was one of the male leads. Getting entangled with him was a completely different story. I had to avoid that at all costs.

Because the moment his affection reached 100%…

I might end up trapped forever in an endless reincarnation prison of perpetual game over.

A horrifying loop where escape was impossible—where I’d endlessly repeat the moments right before game over, choosing only between [Continue] and “Game Over.”

Just imagining it sent chills down my spine.

“That would be terribly disrespectful to Sir Julian. Haha… Besides, if we were to ‘see where things go,’ he’d have to renounce his vows first…”

Thankfully, Julian was a holy knight, so there was no immediate possibility of us being entangled.

But Udiel looked at Julian as if that were no obstacle at all.

“So then, Julian—if it came to that, would you renounce?”

“Haa…”

Julian’s expression grew even more troubled. Just before he could answer, Udiel cut in.

“If it were me, I might.”

A cardinal renouncing his vows…?

Both Julian and I fell silent at that shocking declaration. It seemed like the conversation was about to drift to a close.

“Oh, by the way, Miss Serra—could that rumor also be true?”

Udiel turned to me again, as if another thought had just occurred to him. Why was he so curious about everything?

“…What now?”

“That you’re close with Lady Schweiden, the young lady of the duke’s house.”

Ah…

My mouth went dry in an instant. Even Udiel found this suspicious, huh?

But it didn’t matter. I could deal with this the same way I had everything else—by sticking to the same strategy.

“Yes. I spend a lot of time with Lady Angela as well. It’s far more than I deserve. I’m constantly blessed by beauty.”

“In that case, that’s a relief. Having Miss Serra by her side will be of great help to the young lady.”

Huh? I tilted my head, unable to grasp the meaning behind his words.

“Udiel—”

Julian frowned, as if sensing another sensitive topic, but Udiel ignored him and continued.

“To tell you the truth, the young lady is a regular worshipper at our Grand Temple. Despite her busy schedule, she comes once a week to make confession. She told us she wants to overcome her timid nature and make friends.”

My mouth fell open at Udiel’s casual revelation.

So Angela had been worrying enough to visit the temple regularly for that… no—wait! Was he really allowed to go around sharing that?!

“You might be the first cardinal in history who can’t even protect a believer’s privacy. At this rate, you might as well renounce your vows right now.”

Julian scolded him with a displeased expression, clearly thinking the same as I was. Udiel, however, merely scratched his head without the slightest hint of remorse.

“Is that so~? But since Miss Serra is close to the young lady, it should be fine. It’s not like I told a total stranger.”

“……”

I decided internally that I’d have to tell Angela about this later.

Before Udiel could spill any more divine secrets, I decided it was time to send them on their way.

“Shouldn’t you head back before it gets any darker? Thank you for taking time out of your day to look after me.”

Once I finally escorted Julian and Udiel outside, things went smoothly from there. Udiel returned to his residence, while Julian said he’d head to the holy knights’ quarters within the Grand Temple.

“……”

“……”

With Udiel—the one who’d kept the atmosphere lively—gone, the silence felt awkward.

Unable to endure it, I blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Um… Udiel seems like the complete opposite of you, Sir Julian. It’s surprising that the two of you are close.”

“I hear that often. Udiel is more cheerful than most people. I actually appreciate that about him.”

That was unexpected. Earlier he’d said there was no need to be particularly close.

So they really are friends.

Lost in thought, I walked on, and before I knew it, we’d reached the temple entrance. I would head out through the main gate, while Julian needed to go toward the dormitory building.

So… this is where we part ways.

Earlier in the corridor, I’d been so uncomfortable around him that I nearly fainted, but thanks to how he’d looked after me—and Udiel’s presence—it now felt a little easier to be with Julian. It wasn’t good, exactly, but it wasn’t bad either.

Still, I need to be careful not to get too close. I can’t let his affection hit 100%…

That was when—

“Miss Serra.”

I looked up at Julian as he suddenly called my name.

He’d always been serious, but his gaze now was deeper, more solemn than usual.

His upright, noble face—like that of a messenger of God—turned toward me. Lips that looked capable of declaring, with pride, that they had never committed a sin in their lifetime parted to speak.

“Did you intentionally shield me?”

“…Pardon?”

I couldn’t immediately grasp what he meant. When I looked confused, he continued, eyes heavy.

“Within the temple, only the story that Miss Serra was nearly accused of being a possessor—and that I defended you—has spread. There is no mention at all that the suspicion originally began because of me.”

Ah.

Now that I understood, I blinked slowly.

He’d been holding it in—the careless words he’d spoken after falling into Oscar’s trap.

“I told you already. There’s no need to feel that guilty.”

I truly didn’t mind his mistake that much.

Being trapped in this game in the first place was the real problem, and I viewed the various crises along the way as little more than natural disasters.

Besides, wasn’t Julian just acting according to a fixed scenario, programming, and character stats?

If so, then the outcome was simply one of those unavoidable things. There was no need to respond emotionally—and doing so wouldn’t change anything anyway.

Of course, I didn’t always act rationally. There were moments, like earlier with the Shashamo group, when I reacted differently… but for now, that was how I saw it.

“So don’t worry about how the rumor spread. Neither you nor I lost anything. That means there’s no problem, right?”

I expressed my thoughts as calmly as I could.

“No. There is a problem.”

But Julian saw it differently.