I Can Hear the Saint’s True Feelings

“Wow, congratulations! Astral! Victoria!”

The warrior, upon hearing our statements, flashed a warm smile and began setting up a drinking party. It was just a contract relationship, but was this really okay, especially in the heart of enemy territory?

“That said, we don’t need to drink and eat such fancy food.”

In front of me was a well-cooked leg of gemstag. Of course, my drink was water. Even though I wanted to have some alcohol, Victoria had taken my portion.

“What are you talking about, Astral? If we don’t celebrate a day like this, we’ll regret it later.”

Kyle was sitting next to me, his arm slung around my shoulder like a life mentor offering advice, which made me a little irritated.

“Couples misunderstand the smallest things, get disappointed, and their relationship starts to crumble. Don’t forget, I’m still sending letters to my childhood friend back home every day.”

Since the first day of our journey, Kyle had been sending letters to his childhood friend. Those letters, being sent from the Demon Realm to the continent, had to be carefully protected with multiple magical barriers to prevent eavesdropping or exposure. That had been my responsibility, so I couldn’t forget about it.

“I can’t do what you do. Where do you get all that thoughtfulness from…”

Honestly, I still didn’t understand Kyle. If those letters fell into the Demon King’s hands, his childhood friend could be taken hostage. Why take that kind of risk?

Does love make people this blind?

“You confessed first, didn’t you? You should know how it feels. When you like someone, you just want to do anything for them.”

I glanced at Victoria as Kyle spoke. When our eyes met, I realized something was wrong.

This woman, who seemed uninterested in food and alcohol, was only staring at me. I was starting to understand what it meant for love to be heavy.

We made eye contact. What should I say…? Oh, I got it!

“…That’s right. Astral has secretly had a crush on me. He always grumbles while looking after me, and I knew that deep down, he isn’t a bad person.”

Victoria replied nonchalantly to Kyle’s words. It seemed that in her mind, this wasn’t just a contract relationship—it was as if I had truly confessed.

“……”

I didn’t respond to Victoria’s words. I just narrowed my eyes, glaring at her. After all, this was all just a fake relationship.

“Why are you looking at me like that? After confessing to me so passionately, are you suddenly embarrassed?”

Even if you glare at me like that, I’m not scared!

Contrary to her thoughts, Victoria was smiling smugly, showing no fear. Honestly, I still didn’t believe that she liked me.

If she truly liked me, wouldn’t she treat me with more warmth? She was acting like a teenage boy hiding his true feelings, and I couldn’t figure out why.

“So, how did you confess? I bet you didn’t do it in some romantic place.”

Anima, the elemental mage, leaned in close to Victoria and kept her skeptical gaze fixed on me. It seemed like Victoria had been too flustered, and Anima wasn’t completely trusting her.

“That’s enough. Love isn’t something you flaunt to others.”

I tried to stop Victoria before she made a mistake. She had already drunk too much and was completely wasted. If she kept talking, the truth of our contract relationship might be exposed.

If that happened, they’d likely tease me for this—how I had grabbed her hand without her consent, or how I had made up that I confessed first.

If I let them get a hold of this weakness, it could be used against me for years. I was trying to end this contract relationship smoothly.

“…No, Anima. It was quite a romantic place. Under the moonlight by a lake, he kneeled down and asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him.”

If I say this, maybe Astral will really confess to me later…? I’m a genius!

Victoria had already crossed the point of no return, speaking as if her wishful thinking was the truth.

I had no idea when she had started liking me, but she was speaking with so much confidence about it now.

“Victoria, stop drinking. You’ve had too much.”

I bit my lower lip slightly and signaled her to stop. She was clearly drinking past her limit, visibly intoxicated.

“I don’t want to! On such a happy day, why should I stop drinking?”

Victoria raised her voice while hiccupping. Her face was flushed from the alcohol, and it was clear she was feeling its effects.

“Now that I know you’ve been secretly liking me and making my life miserable…”

“…I’ve made your life miserable?”

I couldn’t think of anything I had done. Most of the time, it was Victoria who started insulting me, and I had simply responded.

“Now that I think about it, our first impression was the worst. How could a mage show someone cursed by flowers a magic like Flower Rain?”

Victoria started scolding me, her gaze intense and almost aggressive.

“……”

I had no words to respond, so I just gulped down a glass of water.

As Victoria had said, I had once used the Flower Rain magic when we first met, causing flowers to fall on her.

“So, that’s why you don’t understand women’s hearts. How could you be so clueless?”

Astral is such a fool. He doesn’t even know my feelings.

Victoria muttered to herself as she sipped her drink, calling me a fool. She had apparently been holding onto the memory of that moment for an entire year.

Thinking back, our relationship had likely started to go wrong back then.

“It’s not that I don’t get it.”

I retorted, trying to defend myself. There was a reason I had acted the way I did back then.

‘In truth, it was a spell I used first, but thankfully she didn’t catch on.’

When I looked at Victoria, I could immediately tell the flowers blooming on her body were structured in a way that seemed like a curse.

It wasn’t something that should be called a miracle. It was something sinister, like a parasite slowly consuming her body and mind.

‘You had the eyes of someone who was about to die. I had no choice.’

With eyes that seemed completely empty, devoid of hope or meaning, Victoria looked like that when we first met.

So, I used every healing spell I knew on her, but nothing worked.

‘That said, I shouldn’t reveal the truth. Giving false hope is a terrible form of torture. At least I need to be sure of a way to remove the side effects from Victoria.’

I sighed inwardly. If it was discovered that I had used magic on a saint without her consent, I could be branded a heretic by the Church, so I deliberately used other magic instead.

“…You’re the first person whose body my magic doesn’t work on. I was pretty confident in it, too.”

I muttered, feeling a bit unjust.

I had deliberately chosen to lie. Even mentioning the possibility of removing the flowers from Victoria’s body could hurt her.

“No woman would fall for such outdated magic. Did you think I was that easy?”

Victoria listened to my lie, then chuckled, placing her hand on the table in a casual manner.

Right now, I’m exactly that easy.

It was clear she was trying to seduce me. With my ability to hear her inner thoughts, I did my best to avoid looking in her direction, keeping my eyes fixed on her instead.

“But the next thing you said, I liked it.”

“What did I say?”

“You really are an idiot. How could a genius mage forget his own words?”

I still remember the warm words you said afterward…

Victoria puffed out her cheeks, giving me a pout that conveyed her frustration. The tipsy alcohol made her flush.

“You said that after closing your eyes and opening them again, you would live a fleeting life, but you wanted to meet me, the saint. Ugh, how cheesy. What kind of pick-up line is that?”

Anima, sitting next to me, nudged my side with her elbow and mentioned the situation from earlier. Her furrowed brows clearly indicated her confusion.

“That’s right. And you held my hand tightly.”

“I remember the rest. You called me a ‘hopeless trash’ while asking, ‘Do you really want to hold a woman’s hand in a war zone?’”

Victoria’s expression from that moment still remained vivid in my memory, as she had looked at me in complete shock.

“That’s because I misunderstood that you were having lustful thoughts about me. To be honest, I thought you were some kind of desperate animal.”

“So, does that mean you’re saying it’s not like that now?”

“Correct. After seeing me naked, you didn’t have any lustful thoughts and even showed concern for my injuries and wounds.”

That moment had come right after I used healing magic on Victoria, who had suffered severe injuries.

She had been grievously wounded, her body torn open, and I had been too focused on saving her to think about anything else.

“Isn’t that normal? How could anyone think of anything disgusting when someone’s life is on the line?”

I hid my trembling hands under the table and spoke with as much nonchalance as I could muster. No matter how many times I had experienced it, I never wanted to see someone die in front of me again.

“You weren’t any better. You almost attacked me when I didn’t give you any alcohol or cigarettes.”

“…I may not have been trash, but I certainly thought you were a castrated man. You’re the first guy I’ve ever met like that.”

I may be confident in my body, but is he really a eunuch? Or maybe impotent…?

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at Victoria’s inner thoughts. There was no way any fool would spend the night with a woman like her.

“Remember that one time you pretended to be blind and tried to touch my chest, crazy guy?”

Talion, looking visibly upset, poured his drink and spoke. It was rare for him, who usually had a calm demeanor, to be this serious.

“Didn’t Astral save you back then? I’m pretty sure it was a man who pretended to be blind and tried to make a move on you.”

As Kyle had mentioned, whenever such things happened, it was always my responsibility to protect her. With Victoria’s beauty, it was not uncommon for demons and men to swarm around her, which was always a hassle.

Magic, being more free and adaptable than other disciplines, was helpful in handling these sudden situations.

“That’s right. That’s why I accepted Astral’s confession. At least I knew he didn’t have the courage to harm me…”

“No matter what, I still think you’re too good for him.”

“Really? Actually, part of the reason I accepted was because I wanted to understand what love really is.”

Please realize it. Please like me…

Victoria answered nonchalantly, but her inner thoughts betrayed her unease and restlessness.

“Then, we’re sharing the inn room tonight, right?”

At that moment, Kyle, with a bright smile, suddenly asked as if he had thought of something.

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

At Kyle’s shocking remark, both Victoria and I couldn’t help but freeze, clearly flustered, as if we had rehearsed it.

“You said you’re dating, right? Are you really just pretending, like Anima said?”

Kyle asked, his voice dripping with disbelief. Anima and Talion were also watching us closely from the side.

It seemed we had forgotten that Anima and Talion, who were also a couple, had been sharing a room all along.

“B-but… today’s our first day, isn’t it? This is all still… a bit much.”

“Right, no matter what, this doesn’t feel right.”

Victoria’s face flushed, and she stammered, clearly uncomfortable. I, too, started desperately acting to cover up the fact that this was all just a contract relationship.

“You two have already seen each other naked while treating injuries, haven’t you? If we’re going to stay in the Demon Realm for as long as possible, we need to conserve resources, remember?”

But Kyle wasn’t backing down.

In the Demon Realm, where dreams, blood, and lifespans were used as currency, every little bit of savings mattered, so we had to make sacrifices.

“Then you shouldn’t have eaten something like that just now!”

“That’s different. You clueless romantic,” I shot back.

Kyle, seeing me get worked up, sighed deeply and placed his hand on my shoulder. He clicked his tongue and shook his head in disbelief.

“Here’s the room key. You two should take the chance to work through any lingering emotions between you. I’ll leave you two alone.”

Before we could even reply, Kyle tossed us the room key and made a quick exit, as if trying to avoid any further awkwardness.

“Tomorrow we leave for the village of liars, so you’d better not stay up too late,” he called out as he disappeared. What did he think we were doing to act like this?

Then, in my mind,

What do I do? Did I wear nice underwear today? I don’t think so…!

Hearing Victoria’s inner thoughts, imagining something strange, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of dizziness.