“You can’t kill me.”

The sword flew in again. But the sword only brushed my cheek slightly. Blood flowed from the scratch onto my cheek. It doesn’t hurt much.

“Eek, saint! Die!

“…….”

“Keut!”

Leo continued to swing his sword at me, but none of it reached me. Soon after, I reached before him and poured all my divine power into him. The white light began to devour the black energy that covered Leo.

“Ugh, kuheuk…….”

A cough erupted from my throat. I rubbed it with my hand because something was flowing down my chin, and it was blood. My body couldn’t hold out because it poured out too much sacred power in a short time. But I couldn’t stop. I had to drive out all the black magic. So that he can’t penetrate a single crack.

My head throbbed. However, no matter how much sacred power was poured out, the black mana continued to rise. The black mana wrapped around Leo’s right arm and moved his arm. The sword fell to the floor trying to cut near my scapula.

“Sir Leo, you promised to be my knight. Don’t allow your heart to be devoured by evil!”

But Leo’s blue eyes were still murky. I had already poured most of my divine power. At this rate, he would be swallowed up by black magic again. I shouted with all my strength left.

“Leo, you idiot!”

Bang! There was a loud noise as the two energies clashed. Both divine power and black mana were disrupted like air, and only a cold wind blew. It was a horrifying silence.

I rested my tired body on the floor and just breathed. With dizziness, the ground rose from the inside.

Did I succeed?

Leo’s sword fell to the floor. He kept his head down. Fear rose. There is not a bit of strength left. It was so hard to move a finger because I had to use my vitality. If I fail, Leo…….

Then Leo looked up. The eyes that adorned his face were bright blue. The power of Grand Duke Keith was nowhere to be felt. It’s a success, I’m glad……. That’s all I’m aware of.

“…… Julia!”

I lost consciousness.

***

When I awoke, it was night. I wanted to see where I was, but my body didn’t move as I wanted. My body was hot with fever, and yet cold.

I was struggling with the cold, and I felt movement next to me. I couldn’t see his face because my eyelids were heavy, but I knew who it was intuitively.

He hugged me. I dug into the warmth I felt next to me. The cold is gone. My body leaned against the firm arm that hugged me.

I wanted to answer his call, but my lips wouldn’t move. I just answered in my mind. I like it too. I’m glad you’re safe. Then I fell asleep.

***

It was all over when I came to my senses again.

This includes the mutual non-aggression treaty and specific agreements between the temple and the demon realm. It is said that the Pope and Heath quickly prepared documents and signed a treaty.

I’ve been unconscious for a week, and I’ve been transferred to a temple for treatment. There was no particular trauma, but I needed medical attention, and even if I recovered, my sacred power would not return completely. As the priest gave the news, it sounded tragic, but it wasn’t too bad. Rather, it was a cold feeling.

Grand Duke Keith completely disappeared and Leo’s body was intact. As a punishment, the pope ordered Leo to join the Western frontier. It is because it is a felony to deal with the demon people even though they were manipulated by Grand Duke Keith.

The pioneers in charge of land reclamation and purification were poor and the job was difficult. Demons often appear and their lives may be in danger. However, Leo is said to have accepted the order calmly.

With Leo’s punishment, the Pope was able to attack the main faction that embezzled tax money. As expected, the old man doesn’t do anything sloppily.

The day before he left for the frontier, Leo came to see me. I was in bed the whole time because of the priest’s instructions for absolute stability. It was a tedious and monotonous experience.

“Leo? What’s the matter…….”

He slightly knocked on the door as if he could hear it, and Leo knelt on the floor and bowed his head instead of entering the room.

“Please kill me, Lady Julia.”

Huh? What a joke, but he meant it. He even held out the handle of his sword for me. As if he wished to be decapitated at any moment.

“I was manipulated by the demon, but the fact that I caused harm to Lady Julia does not change. The Holy Father’s punishment is simply a punishment based on the discipline of the temple. I can’t repay what I’ve done to Lady Julia. It’s not worth it, but with this life…….”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Leo raised his head a bit in surprise. He noticed that my tone had changed.

“First of all, I am no longer a saint.”

“Although you say you lost your power, Lady Julia is the only saintess.”

“That’s not it.”

I didn’t really resent Leo. It wasn’t just because he was manipulated by Grand Duke Keith.

When I first became a maid to a saint, I didn’t want to be ignored by the people around me. So I tried to pretend to be a more perfect saint. Distanced from Leo, I only treated him as a knight of the saint. Leo changed because I changed. When I tried to be a perfect saint, he tried to be a perfect knight.

If I hadn’t, we might have become friends.

After talking about that, I told Leo for the last time.

“So next time, when Leo comes back from the frontier and we meet again, let’s be friends.”

Leo nodded silently and left for the frontier. Bitterly, I sent off someone who might have been my friend.

Not long after Leo left, the Pope came. The old man, who seemed to have aged significantly in a week, asked me if I was eating properly and if I was hurt. My condition would have been reported by the retainer, so I don’t know why he’s circling around asking about me.

“Are you planning to stay in the temple from now on?”

As expected, his real business was this.

“No, there is almost no sacred power left in me anyway. The priests at the temple say I can use a simple healing spell when I recover, but…… It is something that even the rank-and-file priests can do. Your Holiness won’t need me either, so if you take my title as saintess, I’ll leave.”

But the Pope looked strange. Was there anything strange about my answer? The Pope sighed deeply as I opened my eyes wide. It was the first time this old man looked so exhausted.

“That’s not what I’m saying. Isn’t the saint the child entrusted to me by the Minister of Winder? I wanted to be a grandfather in place of Winder, who passed away early, but I couldn’t.”

➽──────────────❥

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