“There will be no marriage between Sir Whitney and the Saint…”
After a long silence, the one who finally raised the white flag was the Holy Kingdom.
“That’s unexpected. I thought you might at least investigate the authenticity of my testimony.”
Of course, as Meredia suggested, the Holy Kingdom could have pursued the matter of whether the testimony was true.
However, confirming whether a man and woman have shared intimacy is an extremely limited and shameful process.
And the other party was none other than the daughter and leader of the only ducal house that even the Emperor could not suppress with power.
Therefore, even the Holy Kingdom had no choice but to consider the responsibility they would bear if the testimony turned out to be true.
“An investigation… doesn’t seem necessary.”
“…Well, then that’s that.”
“Ahaha….”
And when one saw the innocent atmosphere flowing between Meredia, who was now blushing and biting her lip, and Whitney, who looked visibly flustered for the first time—it seemed there was really no need to question the testimony’s authenticity.
In truth, it was only Meredia and Whitney who weren’t aware of it, as tabloids across the land were already reproducing countless speculations and rumors about their relationship.
And decisively, the moment Meredia—who had grown tired of rejecting countless marriage proposals—appeared wearing the ring Whitney had gifted her, their relationship was practically considered official.
“However, for the unity of the believers and to receive the goddess’s blessing, the Saint must now return to the Holy Kingdom.”
Failing to bind Whitney with the powerful shackle of marriage to the Saint, the Holy Kingdom quickly shifted to salvaging whatever it could.
“As for Sir Whitney… we would like to escort him to the Holy Kingdom as well, in accordance with tradition… but it seems circumstances won’t allow it.”
“Hmm, that’s an odd thing to say after you just tried to marry me to the Saint…”
“…Therefore, Sir Whitney should remain in the Empire and prepare for any unforeseen threats.”
Naturally, this was not how one should treat a hero who ought to be held in as high regard as the Saint.
However, Whitney, the first person to break free from the hands of a supposedly omnipotent goddess, was an unpredictable and unknown entity to the Holy Kingdom.
“Puhaha. For people who tried to force a marriage with the Saint, you’ve turned quite passive.”
“……”
“Well, with the power structure about to shift dramatically, they probably don’t want to bring in a variable they failed to control.”
As the Emperor, who had been watching the situation with a smirk, pointed out, the Holy Kingdom had no choice but to exclude Whitney in the current political climate.
“…Please be more careful with your words, Emperor.”
“I just wanted to say that Sir Whitney is a better man than he seems.”
But as if unwilling to admit that, the Pope spoke with a displeased expression, at which point the Emperor finally stopped laughing and turned his gaze toward Whitney with a satisfied smile.
“I understand completely. Both Sir Whitney and I suffer from how our damned good looks distort our true intentions.”
“Ahaha….”
“……”
“Just as I think only of the Empire without a single selfish desire, you’re also only thinking about the world. Am I right?”
Of course, while a commoner might be naive enough to believe that, none of the people present believed the Emperor was truly such a selfless ruler.
“…Of course not, Your Majesty.”
And naturally, few—at least from the Holy Kingdom—truly believed that Whitney was the savior of the nation.
“Just listening to what everyone here said today, there’s no room for doubt. Haha….”
But proving the Holy Kingdom’s claim—that Whitney had corrupted the Saint and tampered with the witnesses—was now impossible.
“This is… hopeless.”
“Oh, dear Goddess…”
“Why are you subjecting us to such trials…”
As the Holy Kingdom delegates began praying with sorrowful expressions while gazing at the Saint glowing with a greyish light beside Whitney, the atmosphere grew as solemn as a funeral.
And naturally, no one answered their prayers.
“Hmm, we’ve talked too long. It’s about time we end this boring meeting.”
Instead, only the Emperor’s amused voice echoed through the conference room.
“Pope, I will officially hand over the Saint’s custody to the Holy Kingdom from this moment on. In exchange, the Empire will protect and manage Sir Whitney.”
“…That seems best.”
“Haha. Cheer up, Pope, or people might think we just signed some unfair contract.”
As the Pope responded in a weary tone, the Emperor once again taunted him with a mocking voice.
“Emperor. I won’t tell you to stop your constant troublesome remarks, but I suggest you watch your actions.”
Then, while priests were preparing to sever the crystal connection, the Pope suddenly shot a piercing glare at the Emperor and spoke coldly.
“We’ve received multiple reports about the things you’ve been doing behind the scenes lately.”
“Hoohoo, is that so…?”
“Keep this in mind. No matter how chaotic the world becomes, if you’re ever linked to black magic, we won’t hesitate to declare a holy war.”
With those words, the atmosphere in the room, which had begun to settle, instantly turned cold again.
But the Emperor, the one directly addressed, simply curled her lips into a chilling smile.
“You speak as though you’ve already found proof. But know this—I, too, am just waiting for a chance to grab hold of your overreach.”
After her words ended, a cold silence fell over the room for a while.
“Remember this.”
And who knows how much time passed—
“…That you cannot deceive the goddess’s eyes forever.”
The Pope’s form began to flicker and fade as he spoke words that could have been meant for either the Emperor or Whitney.
“Well then, I should cut the signal as well. Thanks to our dear Hero stirring up quite the show, I’ve got a mountain of work to get through.”
The Emperor, watching that scene with her eyes narrowed even more, also began to fade away.
“What a shame. I was originally going to testify in the lady’s stead…”
“Your Majesty, you talk too much.”
Even then, the Emperor tried to leave some parting words, but Meredia, brushing away her flickering figure with an annoyed hand, stepped toward Whitney—preventing her from finishing her sentence.
“…Keep your head on straight, Whitney Lingard.”
Stopping right in front of him with a bold gesture, she began to speak in a low, chilling voice, her eyes glinting sharply.
“This time was truly dangerous. If that disgusting spider hadn’t been there, it would’ve been the end for you.”
“…You saw that? No, wait—what I mean is, I didn’t know about that either…”
“And from now on, things will only get more dangerous.”
Whitney, glancing around in case someone overheard, tried to come up with an excuse, but Meredia’s cold words came first.
“You chose someone like me, not some naive girl you could easily use. That’s all on your karma.”
Her tone was still sarcastic, but her voice wasn’t quite as cold as before.
“Rather than karma… isn’t it more of an achievement?”
“What?”
Noticing that shift, Whitney narrowed his eyes like the Emperor had earlier and finally regained some composure as he replied.
“Raising the affection level of an unapproachable heroine is something even veterans can’t do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, I don’t care about anything else if I can win the lady’s heart. Haha.”
Normally, that would’ve been the point where harsh words would fly out of Meredia’s mouth, but this time was a little different.
“…Hmph.”
Contrary to expectations, she clenched her fists tightly and bit her lips, then abruptly turned her head and walked straight out of the conference room.
“Saint, isn’t my fiancée seriously adorable?”
Whitney, noticing Meredia’s slightly reddened earlobes, asked Hestia beside him with a somewhat dazed voice.
“Um, Saint?”
At that moment, Whitney turned his head—and couldn’t help but flinch.
“If I knew it would come to this, I should’ve just let him get taken away.”
“?”
“…Forget it.”
The cold expression that used to belong solely to Meredia was now somehow transferred onto Hestia, who stood beside him.
“I’d like to get some fresh air. Please keep the others inside.”
“Uh, sure… but why the others…?”
“…Just, please.”
Whitney, utterly confused, nodded hesitantly in response to Hestia, who suddenly rose from her seat.
“Ah, before that, I want to ask you something…”
“Yes, go ahead.”
As Hestia started to walk away without looking at him, she suddenly paused and asked Whitney a quiet question.
“Did you really… with the lady, I mean…”
“….”
“…Did you do it?”
As soon as she finished her question, Hestia looked away with a regretful expression, while Whitney could only stay silent.
“Ahaha….”
Because by then, everyone left in the room had perked up their ears and focused their attention on them.
“For someone who’s done it, your soul seems a bit too clean…”
“Um, Saint…”
“…You’re not going to try to pass off what you’ve been doing to me every night as ‘relations,’ are you?”
Of course, the moment those words came out of the Saint’s mouth, gasps and people frantically turning their heads filled the air, and attention quickly scattered.
“Haha, Saint. Someone might get the wrong idea if they heard that.”
“If that’s what you mean, I could do a better job myself…”
“No, Saint, please…”
Instead, the number of people closing their eyes and silently praying to the goddess increased dramatically—but once again, no one responded to their prayers.
***
“Haa….”
Having stormed out of the conference room without meaning to, Meredia opened a hallway window and held her head in her hands after Whitney’s careless remark.
“That’s total nonsense, seriously….”
Her face had already turned bright red.
“How can he say stuff like that so easily…”
In a way, her reaction was only natural.
To a noble lady who had spent her life in a world full of political scheming and watchful eyes with a single goal in mind, these fluttering and innocent emotions were completely unfamiliar.
“…So annoying.”
Meredia tried to calm herself down by forcing herself to take in the cold wind, but this time, that habit wasn’t much help.
Normally, cooling her head helped when her emotions flared—but when it was her heart that burned, there was no real solution.
“…I’m jealous.”
Then, after she had been standing still by the window for a while with her head down, a voice mixed with a sigh sounded behind her.
“I didn’t know the person he wanted to save wasn’t me, but you.”
..?
Hestia had followed her out at some point and was now mumbling with a complicated expression.
“…What are you talking about?”
“You really didn’t know, judging by that reaction.”
Meredia glanced back cautiously, throwing her a wary look, but Hestia simply shook her head and kept mumbling.
“Saint. I know very well that you hid the black mana from that disgusting creature Whitney controls.”
Meredia furrowed her brow even more and raised her voice slightly, and Hestia, flinching and glancing around, eventually lowered her voice to respond.
“…Before the interrogation began, a spider slipped into my clothes and spoke to me. It said it needed to help its master and asked me to cover its dark mana.”
“A saint who talks to monsters… I’m starting to doubt whether you’re really awakened.”
“Awakened? I think I’m corrupted.”
“Of course you would sa—wait, what?”
Still sneering, Meredia cut herself off in shock at Hestia’s next calm words.
“That strange gray energy he uses completely took over me.”
“I think I’m no longer using the goddess’s power… but Sir Whitney’s.”
With that, Meredia’s eyes began to burn red.
“…What kind of bullshit is this.”
“Don’t misunderstand. Now that Sir Whitney has chosen you, I will follow that decision.”
A heavy sense of hostility instantly filled the corridor, but Hestia, surprisingly composed, simply raised her hand and spoke again.
“Just………….”
From her palm, the exact same wave of gray mana as Whitney’s began to emerge.
“……It’s just a bit unfortunate that you don’t know the secret about Sir Whitney that I do.”
Behind that wave, hidden in the aura, was a chilling smile on Hestia’s face—something Meredia never expected to see.
“…What do you know about him?”
“Who knows? Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Meredia wasn’t the only one who changed after encountering such intense emotions for the first time in a life full of suppression.
Cliche Novel 