Chapter 45
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 45
However, the disaster I feared never came to pass.
"Holy Maiden! Blood, there's blood...!"
Ah, right. I just coughed up blood. Quite a lot of it, too.
"...."
Glancing down, the situation looked far worse than I'd anticipated.
Not content with covering my entire face, the blood had drenched my hands and the white nightgown I wore in a vivid crimson....
It was practically a crime scene. A situation that seemed to warrant an R-rated label for entirely different reasons than before.
"Are you alright!"
Fortunately, the virtuous Holy Knight Commander harbored no suspicion of me.
Had anyone other than Seth Noel witnessed this spectacle first, I would have been branded a murderer beyond any shadow of doubt.
I was genuinely relieved.
"I'm fine. I'm not injured."
Seth Noel's face had gone so deathly pale as he rushed toward me that I hastened to reassure him.
"I simply overextended my divine power."
Fortunately, as the collision ended, I ceased coughing up blood.
"Overextended...."
But Seth Noel's true fury was only beginning.
His gaze fixed upon Jeremy, who still lay collapsed on the floor, with a menacing intensity.
It was sharp and ominous—far more so than when we'd apprehended the embezzling kitchen master, incomparably so.
"Is this the one? Did this wretch attack the Holy Maiden?"
The sheer ferocity of his presence sent a chill down my spine, even as I received a mental fortitude buff.
The moment he began to slowly draw his blade, my body tensed.
【The AI System has detected fear levels exceeding the standard threshold in the user.】
【Mental fortitude is being elevated to ensure smooth activity.】
With the perfectly timed System Message, my breathing eased.
Ha, what an excellent mental fortitude buff update!
"Wait!"
I quickly seized Seth Noel's arm.
He'd been on the verge of striking Jeremy down, but startled by my grip, he swiftly shifted his blade to his other hand.
"Holy Maiden, it's dangerous!"
"It's fine. There's no danger. Look carefully. I've already disarmed him."
Seth Noel flinched, only now realizing the assassin's clothes had been completely stripped away.
I hadn't torn away the vital areas since I had no desire to see that, but regardless, it was a thoroughly humiliating state for escape.
"Since I had no rope, I tore his clothes instead and bound him with them."
"An excellent choice."
Seth Noel respected my decision. Yet he did not relent.
"Still, the danger hasn't been eliminated. Let's lock him in the Prison and interrogate him about who sent him."
He spoke those words while glaring at Jeremy with barely contained fury.
"...I wanted to hold you accountable immediately for endangering the Saintess and making her cough up blood."
He swallowed the words about wanting to kill and barely managed to speak further.
"We must follow proper procedure. I'll keep him alive until we uncover who's behind this."
His concern was expressed with chilling intensity.
Well, I'm not opposed to being worried about, but still.
"And going forward, I'll strengthen the Saintess's security detail. Having only Victoria Lawrence handle close protection seems insufficient, so I'll increase the numbers."
"...What?"
Wait. I hadn't considered that?!
"I've already reorganized the 2nd Holy Knight Division to handle the Saintess's protection, yet having only Victoria Lawrence solely manage it made no sense."
But I was fine with it the way it was....
I'm a fake saintess with barely a thread of divine power, and with so many secrets to hide, having too many people around is inconvenient.
"No, I'm satisfied with just Monica and Victoria Lawrence as it is now. I don't want anything more than that."
Fearing he'd push further if I was vague, I refused firmly.
But perhaps because of tonight's incident, Seth Noel didn't back down immediately.
"However, you're alone at night, are you not? Today's trouble arose precisely because of that."
...He's left me speechless.
"Ahem! Let's discuss that later. Right now, dealing with this one comes first."
I looked toward Jeremy.
The pain seemed to have finally subsided—his thrashing had stopped. Instead, he lay face-down, his body trembling intermittently.
"Is he like this because he was attacked by the Saintess's divine power?"
Seth Noel asked while carefully examining Jeremy's pupils, pulse, and other vital signs.
"It's somewhat similar. In that sense, I have things I need to extract from him as well, so I'll participate in the interrogation. Don't kill him before I'm done."
"We could instead...."
"I'll do it myself."
I wasn't accepting refusal.
"...Understood."
Fortunately, my firmness worked this time.
With a sigh, Seth Noel nodded and effortlessly hoisted the nearly limp Jeremy onto his shoulder.
Wow.... Even though Jeremy is still young, he has a considerable build befitting a male lead candidate, yet he's lifting him like picking up a cat.
And it doesn't even seem like he used divine power. I envy that strength.
"You must have been quite startled at this late hour. Please get some rest now. I'll inform the High Priest about the situation."
"Ah, thank you."
"...It's not something I deserve thanks for. Rather, I should be apologizing to the Saintess."
Seth Noel bit his lip tightly.
Seeing his guilt-stricken expression, it seems he's blaming himself for the Temple of the Sun God's security being breached again.
But this time, it's not his fault.
Jeremy is one wrapped in a god's curse.
Ironically, it torments him while simultaneously making him stronger than anyone else. Literally transcending human limits.
Because of this, even Seth Noel himself couldn't stop Jeremy, let alone ordinary Holy Knights.
"Still, I'm grateful you came at just the right moment. You truly are the Holy Knight Commander. I always trust you."
However, since I couldn't reveal this truth, I comforted him with all the sincerity I could muster.
"Let's thoroughly investigate how this assassin breached the Temple of the Sun God's security tomorrow. So for today, get some proper rest for what's ahead."
I patted his sturdy back and smiled warmly.
Seth nodded with a bitter smile.
"Have a peaceful night, Holy Maiden. No one will disturb you again tonight, so rest without worry."
Seth bid me goodnight and left the room with Jeremy.
Only then did I let out a sigh.
"Ah, finally it's all settled."
What on earth was this commotion in the middle of the night?
The day had already been exhausting, and between the nighttime assault and coughing up blood, a headache was beginning to creep in.
Just as I was about to climb into bed to sleep quickly, I stopped.
"Ah, I can't sleep like this!"
Blood smeared all over my hands, face, and clothes!
A cry escaped me at the tedious cleanup ahead.
In the end, only after spending hours washing away all the blood from my body and clothes could I finally lie down in bed.
It had been an incredibly long day.
* * *
News of the assassin's infiltration spread throughout the Temple of the Sun God in an instant.
Since so few people resided within the temple and there was nothing to keep quiet about, the news spread quickly.
However, rather than fear, most people were bewildered.
"...What could possibly be here worth infiltrating for?"
Why would anyone target this impoverished place where anything of value had already been sold off?
But the surprises didn't end there.
"The target of the attack was the Holy Maiden?!"
That ill-tempered person? Did they have a death wish?!
Though she had changed somewhat recently, her true nature should still be the same, right?!
They wouldn't have been surprised if the assassin had been dismantled piece by piece by the Holy Maiden.
But there was one thing. One thing that nagged at them.
"...So, the Holy Maiden wasn't hurt, right? She's okay?"
People pretended otherwise while subtly revealing their concern for Ordel Kiris.
And it wasn't just one or two—quite a few people felt this way.
Ordel Kiris remained unaware of this small beginning of change.
* * *
"...It seems I truly never sleep in, no matter what."
8 AM.
Exactly six hours after falling asleep, my eyes opened, and I let out a lament.
I had hoped that after everything that happened last night, I might at least sleep in today, but clearly not.
"I don't understand why my mind insists on staying alert about only these things."
Feeling sleep wouldn't return, I sighed and got up.
It didn't seem like I was in condition to exercise, so I decided to just do some light stretching today and call it done.
But then.
"...Why are you here, Holy Knight Commander?"
After a quick wash and change of clothes, I stepped out of my room and froze in surprise.
Standing before the door was not Victoria Lawrence, but Seth Noel.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org