Chapter 73 – Asven (4)
[Trantor – Peptobismol]
<strong>Chapter 73 – Asven (4)</strong>
By the time I finally gathered my thoughts and opened my eyes, the sun was rising.
I stared nkly at the ceiling through half-closed eyes.
Gradually, I managed to sit up and lean against the wall.
How much time had passed?
When I turned my head slightly, the sunlight pouring through the ss window blinded me.
At that moment, Diana entered the room and handed me a ss of water as I sat there in a daze.
“Have some water.”
I slowly lifted my gaze.
Diana was looking directly at me.
Her silver hair was neatly arranged.
She smelled faintly of soap and wore casual clothes.
Her blue eyes, shining brightly in the sunlight, seemed serene.
Suddenly, memories fromst night shed through my mind.
— Please forgive me.
Her tender voice melted into my open mouth.
Warm breath, heated by passion, and a soft sensation enveloped my lips.
Yes, that happened.
Although it was just a kiss, the fact that she looked soposed now made her seem annoyingly indifferent.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, master.”
“You seem to have slept very well.”
“Is that so?”
While I was feeling dizzy from yesterday’s events, she seemed annoyingly fine.
I let out a shortugh and slowly raised the ss of water to my lips, drinking it all at once.
Yesterday, I was too disoriented after waking up to notice a few things.
I shook my head once and asked Diana whatever came to mind.
Diana exined calmly.
She told me how she found the house and the route she took.
It turned out she had bought a real estate document that was being auctioned off.
She also mentioned that she had met someone and paid them an appropriate amount to temporarily issue citizenship under apletely new name to avoid pursuit.
As a result,
“Birken and… Mte…?”
I became Birken, and Diana became Mte, at least in this ce.
“It was an unavoidable choice.”
Diana answered without changing her expression, emphasizing that there were no other options.
I looked at her slowly.
She blinked and tilted her head as if asking if there was a problem.
How could she act so innocent after being so forwardst night?
The drastic change in her demeanor made meugh out loud.
She had asked if she could touch me, insisting she was my possession anyway.
After saying such embarrassing things, she now looked so calm.
“Diana.”
“Yes, master?”
“I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
“…About what?”
I smiled yfully and started to speak.
“Aboutst night.”
“…”
Diana’s lips, which had parted to say something, closed again as if by magic.
And silence followed.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
When I pressed her for an answer, Diana’s ears turned red again.
“It was good.”
“How good?”
“It was so good that it almost drove me crazy.”
The straightforward response was so typical of Diana that I couldn’t help butugh.
I lifted my eyes to look at her face.
“I still can’t forget it.”
“…Really?”
Our eyes met.
Her steadfast gaze, always focused solely on me, pierced through me.
Diana was a knight.
Yet the wordsing out of her mouth now were not befitting of a knight’s duty but rather, sphemous.
Despite this, her face remained as calm as a summer sea.
There was no hint of regret for her choices.
“I desire you, master.”
Diana clenched her fist tightly.
Each breath she exhaled was hot.
“However, regardless of my feelings, I do not wish to be a burden to you.”
I must leave this world.
From the beginning, that was my sole purpose.
This ce was merely the world inside a game.
That’s why I considered the heroines, and even this world itself, as fake.
The settings, characters, and story seen through the phone screen.
Above all, everything led to a predetermined conclusion.
All of it was nothing more than tools to me.
That’s why I pondered.
What were my feelings toward Diana? How should I treat her from now on? And what promises, if any, should I make regarding our rtionship? I couldn’t be certain about anything.
How could I even exin this?
I had been agonizing over it until just moments ago.
But,
“You do not need to promise me anything.”
Diana didn’t expect anything.
Or rather, she wanted something but hid it.
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
She knew me too well and was more devoted than I had imagined.
I slowly stood up and approached Diana.
As I got closer, her throat moved up and down.
I ced my hands on her shoulders and slowly lowered my head.
When I gently kissed her forehead, a hot breath escaped from her lips.
“Thank you.”
Her tightly clenched fist trembled.
She lifted her head hurriedly, her face flushed, not knowing what to do.
For some reason, her blue eyes burned with fervor.
Contrary to her innocent face, there was a glimmer of desire.
It wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, I weed it.
At the same time, I thought.
At least Diana…
I wanted to share more stories in my own world, a ce not filled with malice like this one.
***
[Trantor – Peptobismol]
The Saintess’s absence continued.
Saintess Isabel Yustia.
Since her fall, she had remained unconscious, bedridden.
There was no sign of improvement.
Divine power had no effect, and the doctors who examined her all said it was a miracle she was still alive.
Then one day, a letter arrived from the Royal Family.
The letter, reprimanding the Saintess for ignoring the royal decree and kidnapping a member of the Royal Family, thus tarnishing the Empire’s honor, was practically a deration of open hostility toward the Papal See.
“…Is it really from the Royal Family?”
“Yes, it’s certain.”
The Pope held his aching forehead and sighed deeply.
There was no mistaking the Emperor’s handwriting or the imperial seal at the end of the letter.
There was nothing to see.
The rtionship with the Empire waspletely broken.
“This is maddening.”
To think the rtionship with the Royal Family would deteriorate this much.
He hadn’t expected an eternal alliance, but he never anticipated that things would fall apart so quickly.
It was inevitable.
With the unprecedented catastrophe of the ck Mist looming, the idea of the Royal Family antagonizing the Papal See while losing public support was unthinkable.
Even now, it’s the same.
“Is this an attempt to assert control?”
Crack—
The letter crumpled mercilessly in the Pope’s hand.
“This is ridiculous.”
The tant hostility toward the Papal See.
The Royal Family’s attitude of holding the Saintess, a servant of God, ountable.
Nothing was eptable.
It was almost as if the current situation itself was a trial sent by God.
Above all.
“What about the Saintess?”
“Her condition has improved, but she remains unconscious.”
Saintess Isabel Yustia.
She had been unconscious since suddenly jumping from the mansion.
“Is there no way?”
“We have exhausted all possible means. What remains is…”
An indefinite wait.
The priest who was looking at the Pope barely swallowed his words.
The Pope’s face grew darker by the moment.
From the moment he became a close believer in God, his world was divided into two.
Those who believe in God.
And those who do not.
Thus, the Pope paid no heed to the pressure from the Royal Family.
Whether it was the Emperor or a beggar on the street.
To him, as the Pope, they were all the same.
“How dare they…”
The Pope ground his teeth.
His eyes gleamed.
Yes, this was actually good.
He had been needing to put the arrogant Royal Family in their ce.
“You there.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
The priest approached and bowed his head.
The Pope smiled and added.
“Let us release control of the ck Mist.”
“…What do you mean?”
The corners of the Pope’s mouth raised upward.
“Withdraw all priests from the Empire.”
The priest blinked in surprise at the unexpected order.
“If we do that, the uncontrolled ck Mist will start to overflow suddenly.”
In the silence, the Pope sat down and looked up at the priest.
“Move our base of operations.”
“Move… our base…?”
“Yes. In fact, isn’t it perfect timing? Dakar has been wanting us to move there.”
The base of operations would move from the Empire to the Eastern Continent.
At that moment, the uncontrolled ck Mist would engulf the entire Empire.
Terrible chaos.
The public would be on the verge of explosion, and the Pope intended to me the Royal Family for everything.
A war with the Papal See?
Let them try if they can.
By then, the Papal See would have taken root across the entire Eastern Continent.
“I’ll convey your instructions.”
The priest bowed and left.
To calm his burning frustration, the Pope took a deep breath and exhaled.
Then.
“Your Holiness!”
A priestess was running toward the Pope.
She was so frantic that she was panting even in front of the Pope.
“Th-there is trouble!”
“Speak slowly.”
Grasping her chest, she slowly began to speak.
“The Saintess has regained consciousness.”
“Consciousness… you mean…?”
The Pope stammered, unable to believe the sudden news.
And he asked in a trembling voice.
“Is it true?”
“I swear to God.”
“Lead me there. Right now.”
The Pope ordered sharply, his eyes wide.
But the priestess seemed flustered and hesitated.
“There is a problem.”
“A problem?”
“Yes, well…”
The priestess swallowed hard.
After a moment, she spoke unbelievable words.
“The Saintess has lost her memory.”
[Trantor – Peptobismol]