TVSP 24🍂

Chspter 24

No, it’s too early to be suspicious.

It’s better to make sure and clear this up first.

“Who is the one in charge of the Inquisition?”

“W-why do you ask? Don’t tell me you’re planning to report my words as blasphemy?”

She doesn’t know I once died branded as a heretic.

“I’ve heard the barbarians have been raiding the borders recently. If you were to become the Saint, could you resolve that problem?”

“Are you trying to test my aptitude as a Saint? Do you think I couldn’t?”

She has no idea I once died at the hands of barbarians, either.

“Anyway! You should withdraw from being a candidate immediately!”

If Milla knew about the circumstances of my death, she would’ve sneered at me with relish.

But she didn’t.

So, I prodded her one last time.

“Milla, why do you want to be the Saint again? Wasn’t once enough for you?”

In lives where I didn’t interfere, she became the Saint several times. If she remembered, her answer would reflect that.

“If once isn’t enough, then what of it? This time, I will protect the holy relic — from you, Lady Grace, and from anyone else who covets it!”

And with that, I was certain: Milla only remembered her very first life.

So much for using her…

Keeping someone ignorant at my side — especially one hostile toward me — would be useless.

“So give up your dream of being the Saint.”

Having more troublesome elements around me was the last thing I wanted.

I lowered my voice in warning.

“Remember this, Milla. I’ve done things to you, so I’ll let it slide this time. But if something like today happens again, I can’t say what I’ll do.”

Her eyes shook with fear, completely unlike her earlier bravado, and then she shouted as if she couldn’t hold it back.

“You want me to quit? Then stay away from Sir Leandros! What has he done wrong to deserve being harassed by you?”

Nothing is more cruel than words of pure sincerity from someone who knows nothing.

I brushed aside the strands of hair that had fallen forward and met her eyes squarely.

“I’m protecting him in my own way.”

“What kind of nonsense is that…?”

“This is your last warning.”

I had no energy left to continue.

I pulled back and turned away. Whether Milla sighed in relief or not, I didn’t care. The only thought in my head was that I needed to see Leandros.

But what do I even say to him?

If it had been Lize pressing me, I could’ve lied without hesitation, twisted her words, and protected my image.

But when I stood before Leandros, the lies stuck in my throat.

Damnably enough, the very incident that had driven us into outright enmity was tied to Lize.

He must be disappointed in me.

I recalled that day at the Academy when Leandros had told me, with utmost sincerity, that I had disappointed him.

When Lize pleaded earnestly for help, I had answered coldly: “Why should I?”

He witnessed it. He marched right up to me and demanded I apologize.

“Even if you’ve done wrong, if you sincerely regret it, apologize, and resolve never to repeat it, then it can be set right. But if you won’t do even that, then it’s truly beyond repair.”

His words, spoken with a face full of pity and concern, had stung my pride more than anything. I had sneered back in defiance, erasing what little fondness I had left for him.

I can still remember his disappointed eyes — and how they made my chest burn with rage.

Who are you to look at me like that? Who gave you the right to expect and then feel disappointed? Why do you look at me as if I’m some pitiful, wretched thing?

Those unspoken thoughts festered inside me, poisoning our relationship until it grew truly vicious.

If I don’t resolve this, we’ll end up the same as before.

Our lives may be tied together now, but unless I mend this, we’ll never find peace. I’d never feel that strange comfort — that sense of shelter — that I had begun to feel around him.

How ridiculous. That I, of all people, could find comfort in Leandros.

Am I shaken just because he showed me a flicker of feeling?

I steeled my heart and rose to my feet. There was no time to waste.

Lize’s clothes looked poorer than most of the slums. That means she’s likely borrowed money from the loan sharks.

And since I’ve been stirring up trouble in the slums, those loan sharks had only two choices:

Hide quietly to avoid being caught, or make one big score and vanish.

Most likely the latter. That’s what they did before. Or worse, they might even use Lize as a figurehead to oppose my reforms, since she’s suffered under me. A Cardinal wouldn’t want to lose his seat, after all. He’ll use any method to protect it.

But I can’t let that happen. I’ve put too much into this plan.

I already knew everything: the Cardinal’s schemes, his profits, his hideouts, even his escape routes.

The only reason I hadn’t moved yet was because I needed irrefutable evidence, caught in the act.

I was just about ready to infiltrate his hideout, watch him, and expose him. But now…

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and had barely taken a few steps when someone appeared in front of me.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze. Leandros, who had disappeared earlier, was standing there.

Is he going to scold me for disappointing him?

I braced myself to endure it. But instead, he spoke words I did not expect.

“Are you going to see Lady Lize?”

He spoke as if he had already anticipated my actions. I nodded. He gave a faint smile, as though unsurprised.

“I’ll guide you.”

As if nothing unpleasant had happened earlier, he acted as usual.

Unable to hold back, I asked him,

“Are you not disappointed in me?”

“Is there any reason I should be?”

“There isn’t?”

I couldn’t understand it. Yet his answer left me speechless.

“Because I believe in you.”

It was an answer so earnest, it seemed almost foolish.

So… he thinks I’ll apologize?

Even without excuses, he had already chosen to interpret things his own way.

Fine. Better this way. A false apology would help neither of us.

“Then tell me what you want,” he continued. “Whatever it is, I’ll follow.”

Unlike my tangled, twisted heart, his straightforward sincerity was both frustratingly naïve and strangely admirable.

Leandros took the lead, insisting he would guide me.

I followed silently, though Milla, unable to contain her nosiness, broke the quiet.

“Sir Leandros, how do you know where Lady Lize lives?”

“I wanted to speak with her, so I followed her.”

“But… why?”

Completely baffled, she pressed. Leandros answered casually.

“I thought Grace would also want to speak with Lize. Grace must be shaken, so she needs time to collect herself. That means I should act in her stead.”

“But why you?”

Her persistent question only earned a steady reply.

“Grace’s matters are mine as well. Was I overstepping?”

He paused and turned back toward me, perhaps worried by my silence. His expression was faintly downcast.

Seeing it, I shook my head.

“There is someone here who’s overstepping — but it isn’t you.”

Only then did he look relieved and resume walking.

“Wait… do you mean me?”

“At least you know your place,” I said coldly. “I could’ve sworn I told you not to follow me.”

My sharp gaze made Milla flinch.

“How could I let you go alone when you might harm Lady Lize?”

She trembled, but her face betrayed a touch of pride at having stood her ground.

I didn’t bother to answer.

Feeling ignored, she glared daggers at me, but I continued to dismiss her.

As we passed through the slums, the buildings grew smaller, older, more pitiful. Finally, we arrived at a shack so fragile it looked ready to collapse with the next strong gust of wind.

And then we heard it.

“Get out! Get out right now!”

A shrill voice, followed by the crash of something shattering.

Exactly as I had expected.