Chapter 27
I told him that I would become his hope, and that he should become my person and help me.
It sounded quite arrogant, but just as I expected, Harold needed someone to be his hope.
He chose me. Though we were still wary of each other, our intentions aligned.
“Your Eminence. Is there anything the Temple of Melissa receives in exchange for the pilgrimage route?”
If anyone knew, it would be him.
“I can’t be certain right now, but I have seen it on a pilgrimage route I once accompanied.”
“A holy relic?”
He raised one eyebrow and looked at me.
“You’ve seen it?”
“I saw records stating that several holy relics were used on the pilgrimage routes of former saintesses.”
He looked fairly surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to have looked into it.
“And what else did you see?”
“There was information about me, and about the pilgrimage route.”
Before Harold could answer, the door to the prayer room opened.
He frowned slightly and turned his head. I followed his gaze to Alex, who had entered after him.
“Saintess. It would be best for you to attend the funeral mass now.”
It seemed the temple head’s sermon was nearly over.
“Thank you.”
I stood up and looked down at Harold.
“I have documents that I copied from the records. I’ll show them to you later.”
“So the captain also follows the Saintess’s will.”
I nodded briefly, and he spoke again.
“Understood. I will come to see you again next time.”
This time, he would be the one coming to me.
I walked the path stretched out between him and me. Alex watched me as I walked a path I hadn’t originally chosen.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes. I will escort you.”
Alex guided me to the central temple courtyard, where the funeral mass was underway.
“There are more people than I expected.”
There were countless figures dressed in black. Between the two vast waves of black, Pabivan was delivering the sermon as their representative.
“For decades, His Holiness bestowed wisdom upon us, and now, as he departs, he is being seen off by the daughter of God, Saintess Shallen…”
Perhaps he was using holy power—his voice reached Alex and me clearly, even from afar.
“Saintess.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Has Cardinal Harold decided to follow the Saintess’s will?”
“Yes. We need someone who knows Melissa well.”
“Does he know?”
Alex’s gaze was fixed on the temple head.
“Yes. He knows.”
Only after hearing my answer did the tension fade from Alex’s furrowed face.
As we drew closer to the plaza, people’s faces became clearer.
Amid the subdued atmosphere of mourning, I immediately spotted Cardin.
Among so many people, he alone seemed to shine. Even without trying to find him, my eyes were drawn to him.
Perhaps my expression changed, because Alex glanced at my face.
“It would be best if you don’t overexert yourself today. Just show your face and then return.”
“Yes. I will.”
As I turned my head slightly, I felt gazes clinging to my face.
It seemed people had noticed me; they couldn’t take their eyes off me. Among them were Cardin’s eyes as well.
When I faced forward again, I found myself looking at Cardin once more—without realizing it.
Then my steps stopped.
It was because of the man who was speaking to Cardin and turning toward my direction.
Red hair. Red eyes.
Why was that man here?
Why was he standing beside Cardin?
Perhaps it was right to say my thoughts wouldn’t move.
I stared silently at the person beside Cardin.
I had sworn that once I left the room, even if I saw Cardin, I wouldn’t waver, wouldn’t reveal any emotion.
But the moment I saw that man, I became a widow who had lost her husband in the past.
It felt like being dragged back to the day Cardin returned to me as a cold corpse.
Raymond de Nicolas.
The third prince of the Kingdom of Nicolas—and the man who had killed my Cardin on the battlefield.
It had been an unavoidable war, an excessive battle.
Yet to me, he was simply the man who killed my husband.
Even as I kept telling myself it wasn’t his fault, I still hated him.
I knew I would see him again while walking the pilgrimage route in this life, but with the altered future, I thought this too would change.
If not, perhaps this was simply something I hadn’t noticed during the funeral before.
Even if everything else was the same as the past, this was the first time I had ever seen Raymond and Cardin standing together with my own eyes.
My legs suddenly lost strength. Perhaps I truly wanted to collapse right then.
Thankfully, Alex caught me as I staggered.
“Saintess.”
At Alex’s voice, color returned to the world around me, and the faces of others came clearly into view.
“Ah… I think I’m very tired. This keeps happening.”
At least at this moment, not having eaten or slept for three days made for a rather convincing excuse.
“If you’re feeling unwell, please say so.”
“I’m fine for now. Let’s go.”
Alex slowed his pace, wary that I might stumble again.
When the temple head’s voice fell silent, I came to stand among the black waves.
All at once, people’s gazes converged on me.
Among those who had come to mourn, some even reddened their eyes upon seeing me.
And so, wearing the mask of the Saintess they desired, I slowly walked toward where the Pope was laid to rest.
She was the Saintess.
Her complexion was still pale. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t been eating properly.
Our eyes met.
But she avoided my gaze again. It seemed deliberate. Why?
It hadn’t been long since I last saw the Saintess, yet she felt unlike herself.
As doubt began to rise—
“Grand Duke, what are you staring at so intently?”
Raymond, standing beside me, spoke. He had already been pestering me about where I’d gone earlier, so I was about to turn away, annoyed.
“The Saintess?”
At Raymond’s voice, Cardin’s gaze returned to her.
“It looks like she’s looking this way. Am I mistaken?”
It wasn’t a mistake. The Saintess, who had avoided my eyes, was looking in this direction.
But that gaze wasn’t meant for me.
It was for Raymond.
“Cardin, does it look like my imagination to you too?”
“Yes. It does.”
I lied without realizing it. I didn’t know why.
The Saintess was looking at Raymond, yet it felt as though their eyes never met.
Even though Raymond was also looking at her.
A gaze was sent, but none was received. She did not accept Raymond’s gaze.
“I thought she was looking at me.”
Raymond said regretfully as he turned his head away first.
“There are many eyes watching.”
“Yes, yes. Understood, Grand Duke.”
I cautioned him—who usually spoke casually when it was just the two of us—and glanced at the Saintess.
She staggered again. My body twitched reflexively.
“You seem quite interested in the Saintess, my lord?”
“Nonsense.”
Cardin cleared his throat and straightened himself. He withdrew his gaze from her—only to look again soon after.
As the temple head’s once-loud voice finally ceased, the Saintess walked along the long red carpet.
Her face looked as though she were comforting those grieving the Pope’s passing.
It was an expression that suited a Saintess perfectly, yet there was something strangely discordant about it.
My black eyes followed her slow steps.
They were unhurried, composed steps—but I found myself anxiously watching, worried she might fall.
“I’ve never heard that the Grand Duke believes in the god of Gloria.”
“I don’t.”
“A man who doesn’t believe in god attending the Pope’s funeral?”
At the playful tone, Cardin frowned.
“I believe I’ve heard that Your Highness also does not believe.”
“As for me, I just came to see an expensive friend one last time.”
“……”
Raymond spoke while watching the Saintess, who had knelt before the Pope’s coffin in prayer.
“Looks like that friend came here with a purpose other than mourning.”
