Chapter 03
“That memory… sniff. It’s just… too painful for me. Ugh… Just thinking about it makes me dizzy…”
Ian silently narrowed his eyes and watched me.
Yeah, he clearly didn’t believe a word I was saying.
But I kept acting. I treated this like the most important audition of my life.
“Could you not ask about that? Instead, I can give you solid proof that I really was summoned as a Saintess—”
But before I could finish, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my head.
“Ugh…”
I clutched my forehead and groaned.
A strange scene flashed through my mind like a movie.
****
“This is your final mission. Complete it, and you’ll finally be free.”
A man cloaked in black grinned at me.
“It’s not even that hard. Just do as you’re told.”
My whole body trembled. I could feel myself shaking like a leaf.
“Sneak into that man’s bed. Make sure everyone believes you slept with him. Create the biggest scandal the Grand Temple has ever seen. Got it?”
The man stepped closer. The trembling only got worse.
He grabbed my chin and whispered coldly,
“Listen carefully, Number 76. You must succeed.”
****
“Hah!”
I gasped like I had just come up for air.
I blinked a few times, and the strange scene faded away. The man in the cloak was gone.
In front of me was Ian, staring at me in shock.
“Hah… hah…”
I struggled to breathe. That man’s presence had left behind a bone-deep fear.
I’d never felt anything like that before.
‘What was that…?’
A dream? A hallucination?
No—it felt too real.
‘Could that have been… this body’s original memories?’
- He had called me Number 76.
Was that the original name of this body?
‘Just a number as a name… That’s like…’
A real slave.
The pain in my head throbbed harder. I rubbed my temple and tried to come back to reality.
“I-I’m sorry. I suddenly got a really bad headache.”
Even my voice trembled without meaning to.
Ian asked, his voice softer now,
“Was it because I asked about that memory?”
Lucian leaned over to Ian and whispered,
“Captain… I don’t think she’s lying. She really does seem to be in pain.”
Ian rubbed his forehead like he had a headache too.
For the first time, a flicker of weariness appeared on his normally cold, composed face.
He looked… human.
For a moment, I found myself remembering everything I knew about Ian Esteban.
The knight commander praised all across the continent.
But behind that holy image… he was a man who had waited years, hiding his true self, all for revenge.
Everyone believed Ian’s father, the previous emperor, was killed by monsters on the battlefield.
But in truth—
‘He was murdered by his own brother. The current emperor.’
After learning that, Ian stayed quiet for years, waiting and planning. Eventually, he became a cardinal and took control of the holy knights.
And then, he killed his brother and took the throne.
I could only imagine how painful those years of pretending had been.
Serving the very man who murdered your father… The emotional scars must’ve been unbearable.
And maybe, just maybe… I’d just seen a glimpse of those scars.
****
“I’m sorry, Saintess.”
Ian brushed a hand over his face and looked at me with his piercing blue eyes.
“But I can’t trust someone with no background. I’m sure you understand. …Lucian.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long until we can begin the official Saintess verification ritual?”
“Bishop Kennen is currently away on an urgent mission to the Holy Land. It will take about a week.”
“A week…”
Ian stared at me with a slightly amused, but also sharp, gaze.
“We can’t just imprison the Saintess for a week. That would be… problematic.”
“…If the ritual proves I am the Saintess, yes.”
I bit my lip.
He still didn’t trust me.
Not surprising. I hadn’t expected to fool him completely in just a few minutes.
‘Still… I have to earn his trust. Somehow.’
I could tell from the look in his eyes—he wasn’t joking about locking me up.
And Ian was not the kind of man to sit still for a week. He was ruthless when it came to achieving his goals.
‘If this keeps up… I’ll be dragged off to that torture chamber they have.’
I shivered.
I hated pain. I’d do anything to avoid it.
So I had to take a gamble.
I took a deep breath, then looked Ian in the eyes.
****
“Sir Ian.”
Knowing the location of Ian’s sword wasn’t proof enough. It was possible for someone to have figured that out with deep research.
But this next thing?
No one could guess it.
I locked eyes with him and spoke clearly:
“I know… where your father is buried.”
“……”
“……”
The room went completely silent.
Ian, Lucian, and I all held our breath.
Ian’s eyes widened slowly, staring at me in disbelief.
Eventually, he spoke.
“You… How do you know that?”
Ian’s father—the previous emperor—wasn’t buried in the royal tombs where all emperors and sword masters were laid to rest.
No.
His body was buried beneath Ian’s own estate.
He had secretly preserved his father’s remains for over ten years, with no one else knowing.
Except…
“If you’re just guessing…”
Ian’s voice was low and trembling.
“I won’t hold back anymore.”
So up until now, he’d been holding back?
I forced myself to stay calm and nodded.
No one could guess that kind of secret.
Only two other people in the world knew—Lucian and Ian’s head butler.
“I also know you’ve kept his body close all these years. Beyond that, I don’t know. Elune didn’t reveal more than that to me.”
I had to act like this was all a divine revelation.
If I pretended to know too much, Ian might kill me on the spot.
He stared at me for a long time.
I began to sweat nervously—but finally, finally, he gave a slow nod.
“If you know that much… then yes. It’s clear you really are the Saintess. Unless Lucian here betrayed me.”
“Captain…!”
“Just kidding.”
Ian brushed back his silver hair with a smirk.
His usual calm returned to his icy blue eyes.
“So Elune shares that kind of info with His Saintess?”
“I was just as surprised when it popped into my head.”
“…”
“Maybe Elune wants you to trust me, Sir Ian.”
I looked him in the eye with all the honesty I could fake.
He stared back.
Then—finally—he smiled.
“A Saintess with this much power, huh.”
“…”
“Looks like I’ll be the one begging to stay by your side.”
Please don’t.
Just the thought made me want to cry.
****
“C-Captain! Captain!”
A voice shouted urgently from outside the door.
Ian raised an eyebrow in irritation.
“What is it?”
“You really need to see this! The newspaper—something’s in the paper!”
“The paper? What is it—come in.”
“Yes, sir!”
A man came rushing into the room, practically tripping over himself.
When he saw me, he gasped and stumbled to a stop.
“T-That woman…!”
“What is it? Just tell me already.”
“C-Captain! Just… take a look at this first!”
He handed Ian a stack of papers.
****
‘What’s going on?’
Curious, I peeked at the papers over Ian’s shoulder.
A newspaper.
My eyes sparkled in recognition.
‘The Empire Morning! I know this one! The main character always reads—wait, what?’
…Huh?
My eyes widened.
Why was my photo on the front page?
Worse, I was in bed, with a shirtless Ian right on top of me.
“Th-This photo—”
I pointed, stunned.
“That’s me and Sir Ian!!”
I snatched the paper and stared at it up close.
Yup. Even clearer now.
It showed me tangled up with Ian in bed—his bare chest over mine.
“Isn’t this… a violation of privacy?!”
I shouted.
The soldier blinked.
“Huh? What’s privacy?”
“…Give me that paper.”
Ian’s voice dropped dangerously low.
‘Oh no. He’s mad. He’s really mad.’
I could feel the rage rolling off of him like waves.
“Um… this paper. It’s already been published, right?”
I asked the obvious, not wanting to believe it.
The man nodded.
“Yes. It’s all over the capital already. It was an emergency issue—”
I clutched my forehead.
And there it was.
The bold headline at the top:
“The Empire’s Most Desired Bachelor Ian Esteban Caught in a Scandalous Bed Scene?!”
I wanted to faint.
And the subheading?
“This morning, the holy knight commander Ian Esteban was seen in bed with an unknown woman. Traces of passion clearly remained…”
“These damn gossip mongers!!”
“Gossip… what?”
I crumpled the corner of the newspaper in my hand.
I realized now—it must’ve been taken the moment I screamed and someone burst into the room.
Someone had snapped a picture at that exact moment.
Who even had time to take a photo then?!
