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Chapter 33
I didn’t answer her question; I just sipped my tea.
“Honestly, Sir Leandros is too much. If he’s leaving on a mission, he should just say so. If he has errands, say he has errands. If he’s training, say he’s training. What’s so hard about giving a little notice?”
Mila might have thought she was voicing my complaints for me, but I already knew why he had left.
Because of the holy knights’ unofficial training.
It was a top-secret program, known only to the Pope, the cardinals, and a select few.
This is why being a saint isn’t enough.
There is only so much information one can access. If I were Mila, I might be on the verge of madness, imagining Leandros dying somewhere unknown, screaming in agony.
At least he must return unharmed.
According to my memories, he hadn’t suffered serious injuries at this time, so I didn’t oppose him leaving. But even so, the fact that he wasn’t nearby was unsettling.
Fourteen days until his return… definitely a long schedule.
Why must there be so many types of training—official, unofficial, secret, and public? It was enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
Sensing my growing irritation, Mila wisely fell silent. The office became quiet, yet the vexation pressing against my chest showed no sign of easing.
“Are you all right?”
As soon as I set down my empty teacup, Mila refilled it, watching me with a careful, curious expression. I postponed asking a question I’d been holding back. After all, the topic change was timely.
“Don’t you… resent me?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“You said I betrayed you. You cursed me for it. Can all of that just vanish because I helped the poor?”
It might have sounded like a quarrel, but I asked out of genuine curiosity.
Mila didn’t respond immediately. I waited as she fell into thought, while I reflected on the current situation.
As she said, the cardinals were deliberately excluding me. Why?
Because they fought long and hard for their positions, while I—just for capturing heretics—was handed mine on a silver platter. Naturally, it stings.
Even my first speech at the bishops’ meeting had probably annoyed them.
“Grant Sir Leandros freedom with his sword. How can you, men of faith, continue binding him just because you fear the Empire’s expanding power? He is not livestock to be penned in.”
That surely bruised their pride.
“And just look at the recent incident. If he hadn’t drawn his sword, could we have captured the apostle of the evil god? If you can’t trust him after that, it is not him but your faith in God that is lacking.”
Even the most obstinate priests lose their words when their devotion is questioned.
“Isn’t that right, Your Holiness?”
Pope Vesk remained silent, allowing the other cardinals to speak.
“Since ancient times, members of the imperial bloodline who enter the Church have followed these rules. Tradition cannot be removed so easily.”
“Tradition? No, it’s an outdated and decayed regulation.”
Of course, I did not let them off lightly. I cited the recent apostle incident, emphasizing that danger could appear anywhere at any time, ultimately securing permission for Leandros to wield his sword freely.
“Thank you, Grace.”
I delivered the news immediately to Leandros. He looked utterly stunned, yet sincerely grateful. That was the last time I saw him at the temple.
Where could his secret mission have taken him?
Even as a cardinal, the location remained hidden from me.
This must be another form of isolation.
They were clearly withholding information out of displeasure.
Just wait. I’ll outshine them all, and they’ll choke on their own pride.
As I made this vow, Mila finally spoke.
“At first, I couldn’t believe it. Going back in time… it didn’t feel real. I thought it was just a dream. I wondered how bitter I must be to dream something like that.”
Her voice was calm; I listened intently.
“Then I was told I was a candidate for sainthood. Again. I thought, Not even in dreams can I escape this? Then I tripped and fell—and it hurt. That’s when I realized it wasn’t a dream.”
Truly, this was Mila—discovering the truth in such a mundane way.
“If I didn’t become a saint, my family would lose the Church’s support, and we would collapse. I had no choice but to come to the temple. But having experienced it once, it wasn’t as difficult as before. I’d always been scolded for being inadequate, but this time… I met you. My heart skipped a beat.”
“Because you resented me?”
“Because I regretted it.”
“Regretted?”
She laughed lightly at my confusion.
“I truly considered you my closest friend, yet the last words I said were full of resentment. I ruined my happiest memories. That regret grew into hate. I hated you for ruining my past—but it was really me who spoiled it.”
Mila continued without pause.
“I told myself that this time, I wouldn’t be hurt. I would be strong. And the strongest person I knew… was you. I tried to emulate that strength.”
“And that’s why I caught you, when you slipped,” I interjected.
“If it hadn’t been you who came back, I wouldn’t have been discovered.”
“You’ve gotten better at imitating, though it still doesn’t suit you,” I said. She laughed again.
“I hated that you tried to take what was mine, showing greed and selfishness. But that was my prejudice. You saved the slums, corrected wrongs—roughly, perhaps, but sincerely. You are still brazen, annoying, and terrifying… but you’ve changed. I can’t explain precisely how, but you feel more human now.”
“Then… I wasn’t human before?”
“You were a witch.”
“Fair enough. To you, I suppose I was.”
“Anyway! The old you was infuriating. But seeing your change, I recall our happy memories, and I start to think this time might be different.”
She hesitated, then whispered:
“If you stray down the wrong path again… maybe I can stop you. That’s why I want to stay by your side.”
Her cheeks flushed crimson with the confession.
“So you’re curious where I’m headed?” I murmured.
“You don’t have to say it. I know you’re after the relic. You returned, joined the temple, even became a cardinal—all to find it and destroy it.”
“Plausible guess, but wrong.”
Her eyes widened, utterly shocked. Naïve little thing.
I wasn’t about to tell her… yet.
But her sincerity swayed me.
“I’ve already found the relic.”
“Really? Where?”
“Here.”
I tapped my chest over my heart, smiling.
“It’s here. The relic that brought us to this place.”
Mila blinked slowly, dumbfounded.
“Whaaaat?!”
She leaned forward, eyes wide, trembling.
“Is that true? Really? How did you know?!”
“That,” I said lightly, “is a secret.”
Not even Leandros knew. I wasn’t about to reveal it to her.
Mila, perhaps understanding this, stopped questioning.
“Then the divine energy I sensed back then… it really was the relic’s aura! No wonder! I sensed holy power where there shouldn’t have been any!”
And she happily shifted the conversation to something else.
