Ch-125

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"Is it here again?"

Marietta sighed and tossed away the bug crawling up her neck. The rat that roamed outside her cell caught the fly bug and nibbled it to pieces with its sharp teeth before swallowing it in one gulp.

Sizzle-!

As if to thank her, it flicked its tail a few times and then skittered away. Marietta smiled and looked around her.

Stone wall and iron bar that make you feel entrapped just by looking at them.

A prison with no ventilation, damp and uncomfortable.

In addition, her wrists were clamped in shackles, so there was an additional weight tugging.

"It reminds me of the old days…"

Marietta, a candidate for the Sainthood affiliated to Hero Lorian's Party.

She was born as the fourth daughter of a poor peasant family. Her memories of her childhood were so messed up that she didn't want to recall those.

She worked all day to the bone and ate only a single potato. She'd, at times, struggled to eat more of that, but was severely scolded.

Home?

It was a narrow, decrepit wooden house with a thatched roof.

The space was too cramped for husband and wife and their four boys and four girls to live. Thanks to which, when they were to sleep, the brothers and sisters had to play rock-paper-scissors to see who would sleep in the bed.

If she were unlucky enough to sleep on the floor, such inconveniences were ubiquitous.

All sorts of bugs would stick to her body and bother incessantly.

Sometimes, on days when bugs get into her clothes and die…

Those were terrible days.

Marietta couldn't stand such a life anymore. If she had lived so, she would have one day either starved to death or failed to some disease. She escaped her house and put her mind and body to the servitude of the church.

And she deeply regretted it.

Why hadn't she ran out sooner!

The quality of life at home and at church was so different.

From basic daily necessities, a private bed, and three meals a day to many others.

For Marietta, who ate only one potato a day, the church was literally heaven.

Of course, the church also has its downsides.

First of all, because it was a closed organization, the hierarchy was strong.

They interdivided into factions and conducted politics among themselves, and above all, religious education was hard and difficult.

But it didn't matter much to Marietta.

Strong hierarchy?

More so than societal order, where landlords towered farmers cruelly?

Clique? Politics?

Funny, the thing you can get from politics is to be assigned an easy job.

The real problem was faith education…

Marietta had gritted her teeth and studied.

A nun who couldn't radiate her goddess's blessing, divine power, didn't deserve to remain in the church.

She didn't want to get kicked out of the church and live that necessitous life again.

Fortunately for her, she had talent, and it wasn't long before she invoked and radiated divine power higher than those of her predecessors.

After that, there was nothing special.

She followed orders faithfully and was treated accordingly.

The end result was the candidature for sainthood, a position that ordinary nuns could never have dreamed of.

'At that time, I really thought I could become the Saintess.'

Because the Empire did not promote candidates for saints, and her hero, Lorian, was superior to the other heroes, Gis and Cloud.

But in the end, here she was.

Imprisoned in a dirty, poorly maintained dungeon.

'I really hate this…'

Marietta has gotten used to her life in the church.

It meant that she was spoiled with comfort and leisure and opulence.

So she couldn't stomach it now that she was experiencing the same discomfort as when she was a child.

Eventually she looked across from her empty cell with an annoyed gaze.

This was the place where her Hero, Lorian, was imprisoned not too long ago.

'So, why did you do this for nothing…'

Why do something you can't take responsibility for.

As she was about to click her tongue in displeasure, a soldier approached and opened the bars of the prison where she was imprisoned.

"Lady Marietta, Archbishop Vedic summons you."

* * *

"How does tea taste?"

"It smells really good. Not to be rude, but where did you come across such exotic produce?"

"These are the tea leaves that were grown in the garden of the royal palace of Lupus. That was until something unpleasant happened."

"Ah…"

Marietta put down her teacup and bowed her head quickly.

"I am sorry for what our hero did this time. I should have stopped it, but the hero pushed so hard…"

"Oh, hold your head high. If the Saintess Candidate bows her head, I would feel uncomfortable. And I'm sorry I couldn't get you out right away. I beseeched Hero Cloud several times that such a place was not fitting for a Saintess candidate to put in, but the Hero's conviction was firm, so it took me a while to convince him."

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Archbishop, for your grace."

"No, no. You must have faced a gruelling time living in such a shabby environment."

"…I honestly can't say no."

A harsh environment that reminded her of her childhood.

She didn't want to experience that again.

"It's okay though. It was our fault in the first place."

That's why she wanted to get into the good graces of Archbishop Vedic. And even as a Saintess candidate was showing deference to the Archbishop.

Because if he thought she had gotten cocky, he might order her to be dragged back to the dungeon after this conversation.

Looking at her, Archbishop Vedic gave her a satisfied smile.

"Thank you for saying that. Then, I should soon tell why I invited you, Lady," said Archbishop Vedic after taking a sip of tea.

"Miss Marietta. Have you ever considered an option other than Hero Lorian?"

"…yes?"

The archbishop's proposal was unexpected even to Marietta; she was surprised. On the other hand, the Archbishop continued with a warm smile as if he had expected her reaction.

"You are very kind, Miss Marietta. Don't you have any intention of serving Hero Cloud?"

"Oh no, wait a minute. I can't follow the conversation. Isn't there already another Saintess candidate serving Hero Cloud?"

"That would be incorrect."

"Huh?"

What?

Wasn't Hero Cloud assigned with a Saintess candidate?

"That you see, there's a bit of trouble. Poor thing, Lady Ophelia."

"Excuse me?"

Poor thing?

Did Marietta just heard Vedic refer to a saint candidate as "poor thing"?

Marietta didn't expect to be caught off guard by a series of unexpected words, causing her to remain tight lipped.

"Do you remember when Lady Ophelia switched to the party of Hero Lorian in the past?"

"Yes? Oh, yes…I remember."

How could she forget? Lorian had even brought in Eri.

In fact, at that time and even now, Marietta didn't care what those women were doing. She thought she was better focusing in her own business no matter what they did.

However, judging by the expression on Archbishop Vedic's face, it seemed that the problem was more serious than that.

"At that time, the Church of the Kingdom of Prona was in a state of emergency. Even the priests and bishops, not to mention the previous archbishops, were running around in a frenzy. I think Lady Marietta would already know the reason."

"Yes…"

People were ultimately the same everywhere, wherever they lived.

Churches were no different.

They pursue more power and more honor.

That's why each kingdom attains a saint candidate.

The church in the kingdom that produces a Saintess Candidate will have a stronger voice.

"I understand what you're saying, Archbishop. However, as you may know better than I do, if I were to switch to Hero Cloud's party, I would be at odds with all the church branches in the Kingdom of Carta. I cannot ignore the fact that my reputation will be ruined externally."

"So you're refusing the offer."

"Thank you for the offer, but yes."

"No, no, if that's your choice, I can't compell you to do otherwise."

Archbishop Vedic turned his head and shouted outside.

"Send someone to escort Lady Marietta back to the prison."

Marietta opened her eyes wide, she alternated between looking at the door of the Archbishop's chamber and the Archbishop himself, not knowing what to do.

"Wait, Your Eminence?! I, I'm a saint candidate-"

"Just kidding."

"…What?"

Archbishop Vedic smiled slyly at the stiffened Marietta.

"No matter what, can we really put the Saintess candidate in such a humble place? It was just a joke I threw out hoping that you would think about my proposal again. Did you not find it winsome?"

"Well… yeah, it's… amusing. Haha…"

She found it 'very' funny.

'Just you wait until I become the Saintess. Hmph.'

Marietta hid her true feelings behind a forced smile.

Archbishop Vedic's tone became more astute.

"Most likely, what Lady Marietta worries about will not happen."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Lupus recently vanquished an evil Heavenly Demon King. Lorian, the Hero, is eager to capture when it's down on its knee. Lady Marietta may have entreated him to reconsider many times, but he eventually raised an army. What do you think about that?"

Isn't that a sufficient story for a Saintess Candidate to fall back on to switch sides?

"…"

"Think carefully. Hero Lorian is running rampant. For some reason, he is too obsessed with power. The same goes for this incident. If he continues to rush in headfirst like this, he will eventually meet his doom."

Marietta couldn't deny the harsh criticism toward Lorian. He had been moving recklessly lately, unlike the past where he moved calmly and coldly.

He may even do things worse than this incident, and the aftermath may spread not only to him but to those around him as well.

Like now, when she was trapped in the subterranean cell.

'…That's not possible.'

Marietta had worked hard to get better treatment. Why should she be treated unfairly because of someone else's mistake?

No, she was fortunate if it was just unfair treatment.

Considering what he'd been doing lately, it would not strange if he causes a heinous scandal someday.

After pondering for a while, she cautiously asked:

"Why are you proposing this to me? Is it all just political revenge against Lady Ophelia?"

""

Archbishop Vedic widened his eyes at her doubtful voice and then he chuckled lightly, wiping tears of laughter.

"You are misunderstanding something. I'm not doing this to get revenge against Lady Ophelia."

"Then…"

"I just judged that Lady Ophelia is no longer suitable for Hero Cloud."

* * *

Summoned by the Archbishop was not only Marietta, but Ophelia as well. She had also been summoned.

"A… Ahh…"

Eavesdropping on the conversation between the two outside the Archbishop's chambers, Ophelia fell into panic.

"I… I'm not fit to be with the hero…?"

Had all her efforts been in vain? Bit by bit, her body magnified in Ophelia's pupils, slowly blotting in mud and grime.

"I hate it…! Dirty. Dirty. Dirty. Dirty!"

She began to scratch at her arms as if trying to tear off the mud and grime. Her skin turned raw red and soon blood began to drip.

Many priests and nuns saw Ophelia walking down the corridor, but no one dared to approach her. Her appearance, with tears streaming down her face and a wounded body, was abnormal to anyone.

* * *

"Hero… The Archbishop urgently requests your presence. He waits for you to arrive."

"Tell him to wait a little longer. I have more pressing matters."

I gestured with my hand and indicated the priest to return. But instead of leaving, the priest raised his voice as if he was going to continue this way.

"Hero!"

"What!"

"…Why do you refuse the Archbishop's summons?"

"What do you mean? Do you see me as someone under the Archbishop's influence? Using the word 'summon'?"

"Well, yes… Ah, no. That's not what I meant…"

"Really? Then go back quietly and tell the Archbishop to wait. If he didn't even set an appointment and just calls me out like this, I should have the liberty to decide. Now, why don't you scurry away?"

Given a stern look, the hesitant priest scooted back.

As I watched his back, I turned around. I felt sorry for the guy who got caught in the middle, but what can I do?

I can't be late for my little brother whom I haven't seen in a long time because of these incidents.

"By the way, he really surprised me."

A guard came in the early morning to inform Mars was looking for me. He was an unidentified person to them, but he was detained because he was claiming so incessantly.

I knew I would meet him someday soon, but I didn't expect it to be like this.

"Come to think of it, I guess he found me faster than I found him."

I had wondered how Mars was doing.

It's been quite a while, so he must have grown a lot, right?

I'd heard there were four of them, including Mars, but I hoped his colleagues were decent people.

While walking and thinking, I arrived at the guard room where Mars was detained.

With a little anticipation, I flung opened the door of the guard room.

"No, really… Oh, brother!"

I could see Mars arguing with the guards.

The Mars I met after these few years was quite different from before.

He had grown taller and his body had gotten broader.

However, the appearance of the guy waving his hand and smiling was just like before.

Just as I was about to enter the guard room with open arms and a smile, saying, "Hey, is it really you?"

An unacceptable tone of voice hit my ear. I quickly turned my head. Three people with familiar features widened in my pupils.

Kim Tae-yang, who looked like a skinny fish.

A bald pig human with a hawkish nose.

A woman with pink hair who was not Isabella.

I slowly, but surely reached for my sword.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02