Chapter 4
“Who are you? Was there such a little kid in this house?”
The child was even younger than Nare, who already looked small for her age. Maybe six… seven years old?
Adrian was already an adult, and Jeanne was old enough to attend the Academy, so it was surprising to see a child this young here. At first, Nare thought he was a servant’s child—but his eyes were violet.
Silver hair and violet eyes—those were the distinct features of the direct line of the Demias dukedom.
When Nare didn’t let him go, the boy gave up trying to run and whimpered.
“Why are you crying?”
“Y-you… are you our father’s child?”
“What?”
Whose child did he just say I was? Nare blinked her big eyes.
“Is… is our father abandoning me? Because he brought you here? Uwaaaah!”
As fat tears rolled down his cheeks, Nare panicked and tried to calm him down. Clearly, he was misunderstanding something.
“Young master!”
“Finally, found you.”
At the sound of his crying, a woman who looked like a nanny came running. She made a troubled face when she saw Nare, then took the boy into her arms.
So this was indeed the youngest son of the Demias family. Since he was much younger than Adrian and Jeanne, Nare had barely seen him in her previous life.
Nare sternly approached the boy in the nanny’s arms.
“Stop crying. I’m not this family’s child.”
“Hic… really? You’re not?”
The boy glanced at Nare’s silver hair and Jeanne’s dress. It wasn’t hard to see how he got the wrong idea.
“Yeah. I’m a guest. Your father owes me a debt.”
“Debt? You mean money?”
“Something more expensive than that. So until he pays it back, I’ll be staying here.”
The boy blinked tear-filled eyes, looking completely lost. Nare had no intention of kindly explaining further.
“Got it? Anyway, you’re not being thrown away. So stop crying.”
“…Then what about you? Are you Rio’s big brother? Or sister?”
“Why would I be your brother or sister?”
“Huuu…”
The boy looked like he was about to burst into tears again. Nare mustered all her patience to try to understand him.
I clearly said I wasn’t part of this family, didn’t I? So why is he asking if I’m his brother or sister? What is going on?
Nare quickly gave up.
“Just call me Nare.”
“Nare?”
“That’s my name. You free right now?”
The boy rolled his eyes.
“I mean, are you bored?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Then want me, the great and mighty me, to show you something cool?”
The nanny opened her mouth as if to say something, but the boy was already enchanted by Nare and ran closer.
Nare brought him back to the mat and sat him down in front of her.
“Watch carefully.”
The boy widened his eyes to obey, which looked so cute that Nare chuckled.
She gathered power in her hand. Holy energy gradually shone, molding itself into shape at her will.
At first, it was only a ball of light. Then, it solidified into a small dagger. The glowing blade looked sacred, like a divine relic.
Several more appeared, spinning around in the air.
The nanny, who had followed out of concern, was left speechless at the sight of such a display of wasted greatness. The boy’s violet eyes sparkled with reflected holy light.
Nare felt proud at finally being able to stretch her body a bit. In her prime, she had thrown countless blades like this.
Because Nare was no ordinary saint—she was the saint blessed with the strongest divine protection in history.
Even in the days when she was infamous for her outrageous behavior, the reason she was acknowledged as a saint until her holy power was completely gone was precisely this: Nare could materialize enormous divine energy.
A feat no other priest would dare attempt.
“Wow…! So pretty! They’re spinning!”
“Amazing, right? The best, huh? Not just anyone can do this.”
The boy, who had been crying and sulking earlier, now looked at Nare with sparkling eyes. Ah, that expression reminded her of something.
Back when she lived in the slums, hadn’t there been a kid who always admired whatever she did? She shook her head. That was too long ago.
Even though she had woken in the slums just yesterday, it was actually decades ago in her memory. The scenes of streets overrun by monsters were far clearer than her life in the slums.
“Nare! Are you a magician? Can you go swoosh—boom, like in storybooks? Do you save princesses from monsters too?”
“No. I’m a saint. Though your brother doesn’t seem to believe me.”
“Brother? You know my brother?”
“Of course. Did you know your brother is a huge stick-in-the-mud?”
“What’s a stick-in-the-mud?”
“Well, let me tell you—”
Nare exaggerated and dramatized Adrian’s past behavior from her previous life. The boy protested “No way!” yet listened with fascination, just like a housewife engrossed in a trashy drama.
The nanny flailed behind them, horrified at what was being taught, but Nare didn’t care. The boy was a perfect audience.
By the time the butler came to fetch Nare again, she had the young lord lying across her lap, fast asleep, while she softly sang.
“…And on that night when the storm swept in, under the crimson sky above the mountain. Hush, little one, don’t wake, hush-a-bye.”
Soft light lingered only around Nare—it was divine power.
The young lord slept deeply, without even dreaming. The nanny, leaning against a tree, dozed off as well.
“At dawn beneath the fading moon, hand in hand with mother’s touch. Sleep well, child, hush-a-bye.”
Nare stroked the boy’s hair. The butler was quietly surprised. For a moment, the young Nare had a face that seemed ageless.
The butler woke the nanny, who startled awake, grabbed the child, and hurried inside.
“That was a lullaby I’ve never heard before.”
“Was it?” Nare tilted her head. Where had she heard it?
The lyrics were ominous, as if foreshadowing a day of upheaval.
“The young lord didn’t trouble you, did he? It’s unusual for him to even come outside, given how shy he is.”
“Of all the Demias I’ve met, he’s the most tolerable. Probably because he’s young—there’s still hope for him.”
“…Excuse me?”
“There’s such a thing.”
She was referring to the stubborn streak of the Demias family. Manuel, too, was unlike a typical Demias—but Nare hadn’t known him long enough to say for sure.
“By the way, he asked me if I was the duke’s child.”
“The young lord said that?” The butler was startled. And that wasn’t the only thing that weighed on his mind.
“Well… never mind. I’m sleepy. There’s still time before dinner, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll go nap in my room.”
Maybe it was the drain from using power, or maybe she was just getting lazy, but drowsiness overtook her.
Rubbing her eyes, Nare returned to her room. After that, she completely forgot about the young lord.
She thought she’d have no further involvement with him. After all, his curiosity had been satisfied—Nare wasn’t Manuel’s daughter—so surely he wouldn’t bother her again.
But starting the very next day, the youngest son of the Demias family clung to Nare like glue. Wherever she went, he followed her around like a little fish trailing after a big one.
“Clio, why do you like me so much?”
As they shared soft cream puffs for a snack, Nare asked with an exasperated tone. Clio, happily munching with cream smeared on his lips, answered shyly:
“Because you’re like a magician from a fairy tale. Nare, can’t you show me again what you did last time?”
“Hey now. I told you, I’m a saint. Don’t be so rude.”
She flicked her fingers. Sparkles of light scattered over Clio’s face like fairy dust.
He burst into giggles. Ah, I really shouldn’t keep showing him this for free.
But Nare couldn’t help laughing with him.
“Clio, don’t you have lessons to attend?”
Clio flinched and glanced at the nanny. It seemed he did, but had skipped them.
“What kind of lessons?”
“…Writing practice.”
“What? That’s easy! If you only like playing around, later on—eh, never mind. Kids are allowed to like playing.”
The nanny flailed her hands in protest, but Nare ignored her and reluctantly offered:
“It’s not a big deal. Want me to teach you instead?”
“You can do that too, Nare?”
“What do you take me for? Go get your book.”
Clio excitedly brought out his study materials—a standard noble family primer. Just looking at the dull, lifeless text made Nare yawn.
“This is boring. Don’t you have fairy tales? Like ‘The Three Little Wolf Brothers’?”
“I do!”
He ran off again and brought back a book with cute illustrations. Nare recognized it immediately.
“The Three Little Wolf Brothers” was her favorite story. It was about three orphan wolf brothers with nothing, who struck it rich through real estate investments and became successful entrepreneurs.
When the greedy pig villain exploited and scammed them, the brothers banded together and defeated him.
It was deeply moving and full of life lessons.
Lying on the couch, Nare read the story aloud while teaching Clio how to write.
“Nare, it looks like worms crawling.”
“Quiet. Do you think yours looks any better?”
She even snuck in economic lessons, and the nanny’s gaze toward her changed. But Nare paid it no mind and instead gave a passionate lecture on real estate speculation and market manipulation.
Meanwhile, Manuel received a report from the butler—about the unusual guest who had come to the ducal house.
“…From my observation, her claim of being a saint seems highly plausible. She freely used holy power around the young lord, and according to the nanny, she even has the ability to materialize it.”
“Materialize…? I’ve never heard of a priest capable of such a thing.”
Manuel was astonished. While there was still no absolute proof she was a saint, all signs pointed to it.
If she could truly materialize divine power, she would undoubtedly be the most powerful saint in history.
“On top of that, despite supposedly coming from the slums, her education is exceptionally high. She teaches the young lord letters, and even lectures him on economics and history with ease.”
“…Does Rio follow her well?”
Uncharacteristically, Manuel’s voice carried hesitation. The butler, knowing the reason, answered carefully.
“Yes. He clings to her constantly, to the point where the nanny struggles.”
“I’ve been worried because Rio refuses to study… I’ll have to thank Nare. Perhaps we should even entrust her with his lessons.”
“That would depend on Nare’s willingness. From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t particularly enjoy studying.”
“…I see.”
Manuel tapped his desk thoughtfully.
“Then, what should I do about this?”
On his desk lay a letter, stamped with the seal of the temple.
