Chapter 65: The False Saintess (3)
After a fierce battle, the second-dimensional rift finally closed. As we went deeper, just like the rumors said, the monsters became significantly stronger.
There weren’t any irregulars that tried to mess with our minds like last time, but overall, this wave was much tougher than the first.
Now I understood why Abel had told me to defeat him first if I wanted to participate in the subjugation. It wasn’t just to test me for fun—he had a point.
Without that month of training, I couldn’t even imagine how many of us might’ve died here.
It also made me realize just how complacent I’d been all this time.
“Hoo...”
I wiped the blood from my rapier and sheathed it. Blood droplets scattered like dust into the air. I stared at them absentmindedly—until a hand gently tapped my shoulder. I turned to see Yuruf smiling softly.
Her earlier question—“Do you like Abel?”—suddenly replayed in my head, and I awkwardly averted my eyes.
But Yuruf didn’t seem bothered. She stepped forward, stopping in front of me again.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Ah, well…”
[What are you hesitating for? Just say yes or no.]
That blunt remark came from Sylphi beside me.
Hr was always stingy about the smallest things, but weirdly cool when it came to stuff like this.
Alright, alright—I get it.
I gave a small nod, and Yuruf gently grabbed my hand.
Still bony, but now there was a warmth—an energy—that hadn’t been there before.
While I was momentarily distracted by that warmth, she pulled me along toward one of the tents.
Karl, who had been resting nearby, watched us with a pleased expression. When our eyes met, he gave us a small wave.
“I’ve got something to do, so I’ll be a bit late.”
With that, Karl turned and walked off.
Yuruf watched until he was completely out of sight before exhaling a relieved breath.
I couldn’t help but wonder why she seemed uncomfortable around him, but I didn’t press.
She pulled open the tent flap roughly and slipped inside.
I followed after her and was greeted by the unfamiliar interior.
Turning slightly, I saw Yuruf looking at me with sparkling eyes.
“You like the Duke, right? Abel?”
It was phrased like a question, but her gaze already held certainty.
I couldn’t bring myself to deny it, so I nodded.
Her eyes sparkled even more.
“I’ll have you know—I’m a bit of a love expert.”
“...Is that so.”
Honestly, it was a hard claim to believe just looking at her.
Maybe noticing my doubtful glance, Yuruf folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at me.
While I tensed up, thinking she’d caught on to my thoughts, she pointed out something else instead.
“Yde, speak casually with me. I’m only fourteen, you know.”
“Hmm... If you don’t mind, I’ll try.”
Was this her way of saying she wanted to be closer?
The prickly version of Yuruf from a few days ago was nowhere to be seen now.
“So, wanna hear my love advice?”
She proudly claimed she had matched more than ten couples in the Holy Kingdom.
Her smug expression struck me as oddly adorable, and I couldn’t help but smile.
My smile made her frown.
“You don’t believe me, do you? Then ask Karl later. He never lies.”
“Okay, I will.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
Yuruf asked again, her eyes practically glowing with goodwill.
I couldn’t bring myself to say no—not with her looking at me like that.
If I refused, she’d probably sulk and avoid talking to me for a while.
I didn’t know her that well, but something told me she was that type.
[Love advice to steal someone else’s fiancé? Now that’s rich.]
That “someone else” is me, you know?
[Exactly. That’s what makes it so funny.]
Sylphi chuckled beside me, his mouth half-covered as if enjoying the show.
Seeing him do that with Abel’s face made me want to flick her forehead.
Still, I held back—didn’t want Yuruf to think I was acting weird.
****
“Pfft… kuh—”
Laughter slipped out from between the fingers that tried to cover his mouth.
Abel, unable to hold it in any longer, burst into laughter.
Even as I watched him quietly with narrowed eyes, he made no attempt to stop.
“Khh… So let me get this straight. You got love advice… from a saintess candidate?”
“…Can you stop laughing already?”
“If the roles were reversed, wouldn’t you be laughing just as hard?”
It was absurd no matter how many times I thought about it.
Imagine—receiving romantic advice just to steal your own fiancé.
And of course, I hadn’t been able to say no to Yuruf—not when her eyes sparkled at the idea of helping.
Ironically, Abel and I were already close enough to call each other by name.
“I haven’t had anything to laugh about lately. Thanks to you, I feel a bit better now.”
“Ugh, shut up.”
I let out a long sigh and flopped onto the couch dramatically.
Puffing up my cheeks, I turned away from him, like I was staging a silent protest.
But the soft sounds of him still chuckling didn’t stop.
“…Hey, Abel.”
“Ah, my apologies. I’ll stop now.”
I shot him a sideways glare. Abel gave a slight grin, then—true to his word—cut off the laughter.
Not that he looked particularly sorry, but I let it go.
I wasn’t expecting a genuine apology anyway.
“So, how is she doing?”
“Not too bad. I think she’s stopped fasting—at least, she’s eating porridge now.”
“Is that so. That’s a relief.”
“A relief, huh? You knew Yuruf before all this?”
Abel paused for a moment at my question. Then he gave a short chuckle, like he was rolling the thought around in his head.
“Not really. We’re not anything in particular.”
“Really?”
When I asked again, Abel nodded without hesitation.
He didn’t look like he was lying—though, to be fair, there’d be no reason for him to lie about this anyway.
“Why do you ask? Are you… jealous?”
“…Me?”
I pointed to myself with a finger, asking back in disbelief. Abel smiled faintly and replied,
“Who else but you would be jealous?”
“…I am not.”
Even as I narrowed my eyes and replied flatly, the smile on his face didn’t fade.
His expression, for some reason, made me irrationally annoyed.
He didn’t look like he believed me at all.
“Ugh. Think whatever you want.”
“Mmm. I think I will.”
At this point, it didn’t matter what I said. That look on his face wasn’t going anywhere.
Whenever Abel had that teasing expression, no amount of logic or arguing worked—he’d just keep smiling like that.
What really pissed me off was that he looked so damn good doing it.
Maybe looks do matter, after all.
Even though Adele—my current body—was considered quite pretty, it still paled in comparison to Abel.
Honestly, if Abel dressed up as a girl, he’d probably look even better than I do.
…Just thinking about it makes me even more irritated.
“Well, enough chit-chat.”
He finally wiped the smile from his face and picked up a piece of paper from the desk.
It was filled with lines of tightly packed imperial script—so dense and formal that I couldn’t read a word of it from where I sat.
“The Emperor has started to move.”
“…He has?”
“Yes.”
With a snap of Abel’s fingers, the paper rose gently into the air, drifting toward me until it floated right before my eyes.
I caught it and looked it over.
Written on the page were detailed accounts of the recent events between the Holy Kingdom and the Imperial Court.
“His next target is the Holy Kingdom, huh.”
“Yes. He’s always seen them as a thorn in his side.”
The alliance with the Holy Kingdom had always been nothing more than a facade.
Beneath the surface, countless assassination attempts had gone back and forth between Arie Empire and Holy Kingdom.
They were just never made public.
Without even realizing it, my hand moved to my neck.
The phantom sting from when I was nearly strangled still lingered faintly.
And with it, the fear—the first real fear of death I’d ever experienced—came rushing back.
I tried to hide the slight tremble in my fingertips. But Abel must have noticed. His eyes softened with concern as he looked at me.
“You’re still scared, aren’t you?”
“…Yeah. I almost died by his hand. And that was just a month ago.”
“It’s a fear you’ll have to overcome one day—if you want to grow stronger.”
“I know.”
His tone was firm, but his voice carried quiet worry.
It made me feel a bit self-conscious, and I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“If the Holy Kingdom is next, then I guess we’ll be heading there soon too?”
“That’s why this subjugation is so important.”
Now I understood why Abel had insisted on joining the monster hunt himself.
Through this campaign, he planned to establish goodwill with the Holy Kingdom—and use that alliance to stand against the Emperor from within their borders.
That was the strategy Abel had been laying out all along.
“So we’ll need merits, then.”
If I remembered right, Yuruf had mentioned something in passing:
The Holy Kingdom was strictly merit-based. Only those with clear contributions and proven devotion could rise to positions of influence.
And those merits were mostly earned through rooting out evil and leading good deeds.
“Exactly. There’s about a week left before the subjugation ends.”
“But what about the all-purpose remedy scroll I used? Isn’t that enough to earn me some merit?”
“That was your accomplishment as Yde. Not mine.”
“Fair enough.”
Now it made sense why Abel always placed himself on the frontlines, cutting through monsters like a force of nature.
It was all for the sake of gaining the Holy Kingdom’s trust—so they’d side with him against the Emperor.
I couldn’t help but wonder: was everything Abel had done so far part of a long-term plan to assassinate the Emperor?
Not just out of justice—but because of something personal.
Not because of the Emperor’s evil, but because of some deeper, private grudge Abel held.
I wanted to ask him.
But I didn’t. Not yet.
We weren’t quite close enough for that kind of question.
And something told me that asking would brush against a wound far deeper than I was ready to understand.
– – The End of The Chapter––
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