Taming the Evil Saintess

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“Ophelia Meredein.”

From the Holy See, Pope Yudor stepped out from the golden pillars.

Kneeling at the foot of the stairs according to etiquette, Ophelia raised her head to look at Yudor.

“It’s been two months.”

Yudor slowly took a seat, not concealing his discomfort. He continued to tap his ringed finger against the armrest, his tone sharp.

“You’ve been absent from the Cathedral for two entire months. In this chaotic time when the Demon King has resurrected, the Saintess of the Cathedral suddenly vanished. Along with the Inquisition Officer and Cathedral Knights, no less.”

This was unprecedented.

Immediately, he had ordered everyone to be dispatched for a search. The Cathedral held the Saintess in high regard.

Yet, despite those efforts, the Saintess returned on her own two feet.

“Do you have any idea how much time the clergy of the Cathedral dedicated to searching for you and how worried they were?”

“….”

“You have many things to explain. Including the fact that your knight escort, Sir Elliot, returned severely injured.”

A threat of sorts.

Though Yudor’s voice was calm, the anger intertwined within it made even the surrounding clergy hold their breath.

When Yudor’s piercing gaze landed on her, Ophelia flinched, but she did not show any emotion on her face.

“I’ll ask you only once. Ophelia Meredein, do you have anything to say about your unauthorized departure from the Cathedral?”

“No, I do not.”

A prompt reply.

Yudor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What did you say?”

“I have no valid reason. I simply wanted to go outside.”

“Outside, you wanted to go?”

“Yes. I wanted to see the world. Yurede and Sir Elliot only followed to try and stop me. Then, Sir Elliot got injured during the Demon King’s army’s attack.”

“Does that mean I can interpret it as you acknowledging that everything was your fault?”

“Yes.”

Pope Yudor thought that if Ophelia had at least made an excuse, he could have let her off with a warning to save face.

However, she accepted her fault as if it were nothing.

While integrity is a virtue, what is permitted for a Saintess is rather different.

To speak of wanting to see the world in front of so many clergy is directly tied to the Holy See’s reputation.

And Yudor was a priest who valued honor above all else.

“Ophelia.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what I told you recently?”

“I am the representative of God and a manifestation of His Holiness the Pope. My actions are a reflection of God’s will, and my mouth is His Holiness’s mouth.”

“That’s right. Knowing this, did you still go and do something like this?”

An interrogation.

Ophelia nodded, and Yudor sighed heavily.

He was uncomfortably put out.

“Then you’ve besmirched not just me, or the Holy See, but above all, the face of God. Do you acknowledge that as well?”

Yudor asked, and Ophelia responded with a smile.

It was less the benevolent smile of a saint and more akin to the mischievous grin of a troublemaker.

Yudor’s forehead twitched in irritation.

“Saint Ophelia Meredein, what you’ve done is certainly a major crime. I will impose the appropriate punishment.”

Yudor stood up and strode down the stairs.

As he raised his hand dramatically in front of Ophelia, she maintained a sly smile.

*

“Let’s not mention the Hero’s Divine Mark.”

That was the conclusion Ophelia and I reached upon returning to the Cathedral.

I pondered while fiddling with the back of my gloved hand.

There were two major reasons for this.

Firstly, the significance of the Hero’s Divine Mark is truly immense.

Every nation, even the Demon King’s army, is desperately searching for it; its appearance will undoubtedly bring about massive repercussions.

News of my battle against the Dark Mage in the Great Forest must have already traveled far and wide. If word spreads that I’ve been chosen as a Hero on top of that, the aftermath would be overwhelming.

Political situations across the continent would become more urgent than ever before.

Of course, this is the primary reason I needed to convince Ophelia to keep quiet.

The more pressing reason is…

“The Demon King’s army is using possessors.”

This revelation, spoken by the Dark Mage, must be true.

Victims from Earth are summoned by the Demon King, marked, and manipulated like puppets across the continent.

What would happen if the news reached the Cathedral that Knight Elliot became a Hero?

They even know about me.

“Mercenary Elliot, the mad dog of the Black Eagle Mercenary! The Slave Knight who has slain hundreds in the Demon King’s army! There are many demons who seek revenge on you!”

“That’s not quite right, though.”

Embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck.

Anyway, it seems the demons tremble at the very name of Slave Knight Elliot.

Now that Elliot has become a knight in the Cathedral and received the Hero’s Divine Mark?

Given the precedent set at Lauren Village, there was a high likelihood that the Demon King’s army would strike here. However, unlike Lauren Village, the Cathedral is large and possesses considerable military strength.

But the possessors are a breed that knows every detail of the game, just like I do.

Outside of the Demon King’s army, I doubt anyone knows of the existence of possessors.

I don’t want to fight them yet. Ophelia and I are not ready. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to.

Therefore, the heroes of the game, including myself, must grow strong enough to boldly announce that I am a Hero.

“What a twist of fate….”

I recalled one of the executives of the Demon King’s army, One-Eyed Knight Geldmier.

No matter how much I stretched my imagination, I couldn’t envision a future where I could defeat him.

There are at least ten such monsters in the Demon King’s Castle. Break through all of that to strike down the Demon King?

I have no confidence.

But regardless of my intentions, God chose a Hero, and the Mark settled within me.

Ultimately, no matter how impossible it seems, I am destined to defeat the Demon King.

There are still a year and a half until the main story begins. Time is plenty.

But I couldn’t shake off my anxiety as I paced the streets in front of the Holy See.

“So how do I explain this to His Holiness the Pope? Unauthorized departure is a serious crime.”

“You won’t be punished. Just say that I, the Saintess, acted on my own whim. We’ll say you rushed out to save me. Yurede will understand too.”

“Um, Ophelia? Is that… really okay?”

“It should be… I mean, it’s not like they’ll kill me, the Saintess, right?”

“Ophelia, my body is shaking.”

“….”

Just recently, I had that conversation.

Ophelia claimed she would take all the blame, but I couldn’t ignore the tension in her expression as she entered the Holy See.

She would definitely face punishment for this.

I thought this as I rubbed the back of my hand.

“I’m here.”

Ophelia’s voice rang out.

“Oh, did everything go well?”

I turned my head with a smile.

“….”

Then, as soon as I saw the red handprint on Ophelia’s cheek, my smile vanished.

“Which bastard did this?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t not worry!”

Her swollen cheek was worse than when I had slapped her.

Unlike me, who surely held back, she must have slapped with all her might.

I hurriedly approached her to check her condition.

“First, let’s treat it. Holy Magic….”

“No.”

Ophelia shook her head.

“I can’t heal it.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s a sort of stigmata. I should be grateful to receive it.”

She can’t heal it, it’s a stigmata, and she should be grateful for it.

Hearing that, I understood the entire situation.

The only person with a higher position than Ophelia in the Cathedral is one.

“Did the Pope do this?”

If it’s a wound inflicted by the Pope, then it is a divine stigma bestowed upon her. It cannot be healed. Instead, she must view it as a blessing.

It’s a ridiculous logic, but in the Cathedral, that’s the reality.

I tried to stifle the trembling of my eyelids and asked. Ophelia gave me a wry smile and lightly hit my shoulder.

“Hey, don’t make that face since your big sister is embracing it all.”

“But….”

“You’re a Hero, right?”

“….”

“Ugh, that’s embarrassing. What on earth was God thinking, choosing someone like you as a Hero?”

In a small voice, she muttered this, then, feeling awkward, she smacked the fence.

“Anyway, I won’t be able to see you for about a month.”

“…What do you mean?”

I asked while trying to calm the anger rising inside me, and Ophelia gave a painful-looking expression unlike before.

“I’m going to the Punishment Room.”

“The Punishment Room?”

“You don’t need to know. At least I’ll come out in one piece.”

With those words, Ophelia departed from my side, ignoring my calls.

“….”

But from Ophelia’s final expression, I could tell that she was terrified of the place called the Punishment Room.

I clenched my fists. For some reason, I felt an overwhelming sense of displeasure.

*

“Hah….”

Archbishop Belwin sighed deeply in his room.

It had only been two months since Ophelia’s disappearance had rocked the Cathedral. Belwin was no less taken aback.

And when he learned that Elliot had vanished alongside her, he felt as though the ground had dropped from under him. Ophelia had finally caused a major incident.

When that same Ophelia returned to the Cathedral two months later, Belwin was left dumbfounded. For beside her was Elliot, gravely injured.

What exactly happened, he couldn’t know.

But he could tell it was no ordinary incident.

“Child, why did you do such a thing?”

Belwin mumbled towards the absent Ophelia.

It wasn’t about right or wrong.

He felt some pity simply for hearing that Ophelia had been called to the Holy See.

“Surely His Holiness will impose a stern punishment.”

That was the law of the Cathedral, and only the Pope could judge Ophelia.

She would likely be sent to the Punishment Room.

Thinking this, Belwin’s hands trembled.

The Punishment Room.

It was a place Ophelia was often sent to when she was being trained as a Saintess to curb her boredom.

The last time Ophelia was sent there was ten years ago.

Back then, young Ophelia had run away, clinging to Belwin’s pants and begging not to go.

Not wanting to.

To be saved.

Yet Belwin couldn’t bring himself to defend her. Back then and even now, the Pope was Yudor Meredein. A stepfather raising his daughter, and with the Pope seeking to educate the Saintess, an outsider like Belwin, a mere priest, had no chance to intervene.

Eventually, Ophelia was captured by the strong hands of knights and sent to the Punishment Room, and thereafter, she was completely warped.

Ophelia acquired two faces. Before the Pope, she acted like the ideal Saintess, but elsewhere, she revealed her true self.

Rumors of her being a villain began to circulate from that time.

However, Belwin, who had watched Ophelia since she was a child, knew better. Her true nature was not that of a villain. She’s not what one would call good, but she was surely not a bad child either. He still remembered the image of that frightened little girl asking to not be hurt.

Thus, Belwin simply thought that Ophelia was venting her frustration at the harsh realities surrounding her.

“I wish she hadn’t come back.”

Deep in his heart, Belwin hoped Ophelia would not return.

He wished she would grow tired of this life in the Cathedral and revel in a life of freedom.

Yet….

Bam!

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

The door burst open, and a knight stepped in without knocking. The golden-haired Cathedral Knight, Elliot, slightly bowed his head upon seeing Belwin.

His expression was more ferocious than Belwin had ever seen.

“Sir Elliot. What brings you here…?”

“What is the Punishment Room?”

Elliot’s sudden question made Belwin frown.

“The Punishment Room?”

“It’s where Ophelia has been sent. I thought you might know, Archbishop. What exactly happens there?”

“….”

Belwin pondered for a moment.

Yet, Elliot’s ruthless expression left him no choice but to divulge the truth.

Upon hearing the explanation, the intensity in Elliot’s eyes turned icy.

“Thank you for informing me.”

“Sir Elliot, where are you going now?”

“Just going for a walk.”

Elliot said tersely before leaving the room.

Bam!

The door slammed shut, and silence fell over Belwin’s chambers.

“Hah.”

And Belwin sat down in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Ophelia, there’s still a glimmer of light remaining for you.”