<CHAPTER 70>
Bring About War
“Hah. Marriage?”
Mikhail crumpled the report he had just received.
“Quite clever.”
A Saintess must be noble and pure.
That was an absolute law the Order had upheld for centuries.
The reason they tirelessly searched for young girls with white hair and blue eyes, who fit the Saintess’s appearance, and repeatedly checked whether divine power manifested within them, was precisely because of this.
To protect the Saintess in a pure, untainted body.
But the confirmed Saintess, Ehilie, had gotten married.
Since the marriage registration had already been completed and recorded in official documents, she had now become “an impure body unfit to be a Saintess.”
In this way, there was no official method left to take her away.
“So this is the approach you’ve chosen.”
His long fingers tapped the desk steadily: tap, tap, tap.
His drowsy eyes curved softly.
This is interesting.
He had no intention of giving up on Ehilie.
This, too, was a trial sent by God.
At the end of the trial, a sweet fruit would surely await him.
Purity didn’t matter at all.
“Even if the shell is defiled, the noble soul within does not change.”
And yet.
Crack, crack.
The strength in his fingertips increased, turning the light tapping into a disturbing scraping sound across the table.
“It’s not exactly pleasant.”
For some reason, he felt uneasy.
As if something that belonged to him had been taken away.
No matter when it might be, he could simply take it back and thoroughly tame it in the end. So why did his insides feel so twisted?
Mikhail thought.
Once he obtained the Saintess, he would utterly violate the man who had dared to covet what was his.
But first…
He needed to learn more about him.
Whether he truly was the Demon King. And if so, why he had approached the Saintess.
As soon as he finished thinking, another inconvenient matter arrived.
Knock, knock.
A priest entered hesitantly after the knock.
“Mikhail-nim, the Saintess is asking for a report on the task she gave you last time.”
There were bruises on the priest’s face, as if he had been struck.
It seemed Clarisse had thrown another tantrum and hurled something at him.
Mikhail’s brows tightened.
That annoying woman.
If it had been before, he would have at least pretended to comply.
But now that the real one had appeared, he saw no reason to cater to the fake.
“Tell her the work is not yet finished and to wait.”
“B-But the Saintess insisted that she must personally see you…”
“Brother.”
Mikhail’s voice turned icy.
“Are you reducing my words to a mere request?”
“Ah—no, that’s not it.”
“Then do you believe the Saintess’s command is above my authority?”
The priest trembled uncontrollably.
Mikhail then softened his expression, smiling gently as if nothing had happened.
“Calm yourself, brother. It would be troubling if someone thought I was scolding you.”
“As you can see, I am extremely busy. If I leave my duties for even this one message, the consequences will fall upon those who depend on my help. Can you take responsibility for their resentment?”
…I-I’m sorry.
“The reason I am so firm is for your sake. Life is always a series of choices. Choosing the right path is your responsibility. I sincerely hope you choose wisely.”
The priest nodded repeatedly, pale as a sheet.
“I’m glad my thoughts reached you. You may go.”
“Y-Yes, excuse me.”
The priest left the room.
And instantly, the false smile on Mikhail’s face vanished.
***
Clarisse’s quarters.
She had thrown another fit.
“How dare they ignore me, the Saintess?”
“N-No, it’s just that Mikhail-nim is busy with official duties…”
“What does that have to do with me? I told you to bring him! If I, the Saintess, command it, you should drag him here!”
The vase she threw struck a priest, drawing blood.
“What are you standing there for? Clean that filthy mess immediately!”
Cleaning up afterward was left to the lower-ranking priests.
Once the room was cleared, Clarisse rushed to the mirror.
“Goddess, w-what should I do! Even Mikhail seems strange now!”
The archpriest who had once obeyed so meekly no longer answered her summons.
Clarisse felt something was going wrong.
-Calm down, child.
“B-But… what if that fake woman really appears? What if she takes my place?”
-I would never allow that.
“Goddess…”
She clung desperately.
“Please help me. What should I do?”
Shaken by fear of losing her position, Clarisse trembled.
Then the goddess’s revelation descended.
-Start a war.
-Lead troops to the northern border, to the frontier where the Demon Realm and the human world meet. Cross it.
“W-Why? That land is barren and filled only with monsters!”
The northern lands currently held by the demons had no value.
Even Clarisse, ignorant as she was, knew that much.
Why sacrifice so many lives for such useless land?
-Foolish child.
The cold voice scolded her for even daring to question the goddess.
-Do you not know whose land it originally was?
“According to history books… it was Imperial territory.”
-Yes. It was once the Empire’s land. Long ago, when endless war exhausted both sides, the Demon King demanded proof of his power, and the Emperor surrendered half the northern lands to the demons. What a humiliating act that was.
Was it truly humiliation to end a war by giving up useless land?
Clarisse briefly questioned it, but quickly dismissed the thought.
The goddess had given her everything she had.
Therefore, the goddess must be right.
-The Demon Realm is now weakened due to the Demon King’s long absence.
“Absence? You mean the Demon King has disappeared?”
-Yes. Now is the perfect opportunity, child. Reclaim the lost imperial lands and become a great hero.
I… a hero?
Greed filled Clarisse’s eyes.
She imagined herself being worshipped as a great Saintess.
“B-But I don’t have the authority to move an army.”
-Do not worry. The ruler of the Empire will move the troops for you.
“The ruler… you mean His Majesty the Emperor?”
-Yes.
“H-How?”
-There are ways.
Dark energy seeped from the mirror and into Clarisse’s ears.
The goddess’s sweet whisper shook her mind.
Her previously anxious gaze slowly lost focus, replaced by a distorted, greedy light.
“Ah… I see. So that’s the secret…”
A twisted smile formed on her lips.
Only one thought remained in her mind, etched there by the goddess.
I will become a savior remembered in history.
As long as she followed the goddess, nothing would change even if the “real one” appeared.
She would become an undeniable great hero.
Saintess Clarisse requested a private audience with the Emperor.
Surprised by the sudden request, the Emperor agreed to meet her.
“What brings you before me?”
The Saintess, her eyes hidden beneath a white veil, spoke softly.
“I have come to resolve a long-standing concern of Your Majesty.”
“A concern? I have no such worries.”
“Is that truly so?”
She whispered meaningfully.
“Nothing in this world remains a secret forever. About the Princess being in a deep sleep… how long do you intend to keep it hidden?”
The Emperor’s face turned pale.
It was an imperial secret known only to a very small number of people.
His youngest daughter, Beatrice, the cherished late-born princess of the loving imperial couple.
The precious child who could not be loved enough had suddenly collapsed a year ago and had not awakened since.
The Empress, overwhelmed with worry, had also grown weak and ill.
“H-How do you know that…?”
“The Goddess told me. She instructed me to save the poor princess and relieve Your Majesty’s sorrow.”
The Emperor’s eyes trembled violently.
“Can you… truly heal her?”
Even after summoning the best physicians and mages of the Empire, there had been no change in the princess’s condition.
The Emperor had been desperate enough to grasp at any hope.
“Yes. Please believe me. The sacred light will bring salvation to Your Majesty.”
