I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 39

As expected in a novel, even these trivial parts are needlessly dramatic. Despite the random placement decided by drawing lots, my turn happened to be right after Prim’s.

With a feeling of despair, I headed towards the altar. Prim, who had already stepped down from there, was staring intently at me.

As always, her cold gaze scanned my face as if to strip me to the bone. Instead of confronting her incomprehensible wariness, I avoided her eyes.

Since this was not the place used for actual ceremonial rites, the altar was very low. Nevertheless, it felt like an insurmountable threshold. As I stood there with my breath caught, Sister Elexi, who noticed my hesitation, spoke in a tone completely devoid of kindness.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and get on.”

“……Yes.”

I climbed onto the platform and knelt down. The feel of the marble against my knees was dreadful. It felt as if I had really become a living sacrifice.

In a way, I was a sacrifice. I was nothing more than a device to make the protagonist shine.

With a powerless heart, I closed my eyes and drew out my holy power. At this moment, all I wished for was that Prim wouldn’t see my pitiful light. Although I knew it was an impossible wish since I had seen her standing in the front row with her piercing eyes.

But perhaps because I was an exceptionally unlucky supporting villain, something strange happened to me too.

In a completely different direction from Prim.

“Huh? Why is this happening?”

The priest in charge of recording put down his notebook and approached the altar. It seemed like there was some problem.

“This is strange. Can you try using your holy power again?”

“Oh, yes.”

I hesitated but poured my holy power into the altar once more, but nothing changed.

“Ah.”

It was then that I realized what the problem was. The altar, which should have been glowing, remained completely still.

The priest placed his hand on the stone and scratched his forehead in confusion. He turned to Sister Elexi and said,

“It seems like the detection device is broken.”

Then, looking at me again, he spoke awkwardly.

“It seems we’ll have to do this again later. Fortunately, you’re the last one. We’ll contact you later, so return with your peers.”

“……Yes.”

Was it the aftereffect of Primis’s extraordinary holy power? In many ways, it was disheartening. I answered softly and stepped down from the altar, feeling powerless.

As I walked towards my classmates who were buzzing with conversation, I inadvertently met Primis’s eyes. She was biting her lip so hard that I worried it might bleed, as if something was deeply upsetting her.

Clenching her fists and trembling, she glared at me intensely for a while before turning away sharply. Watching her ponytail sway with the motion, I blinked slowly.

What on earth is her problem? Is she upset because she couldn’t indirectly confirm the amount of my holy power?

She has everything, so what could she possibly be dissatisfied with?

The more I thought about it, the more frustration surged within me. I gave a faint smile to Leila, who was waving me over, and hurried my steps, shaking off my distracting thoughts.

* * *

The mass began.

The grand yet calming hymn filled the chapel. As the choir’s harmonies resonated, the Pope, leading the procession, was followed by deacons in white dalmatics and young acolytes carrying censers.

The Pope ascended the steps slowly and kissed the altar as a sign of reverence. Then, he took the censer and carefully blessed the area around the altar.

I watched absentmindedly as the incense spread widely and rose slowly towards the ceiling. It ascended above the Pope’s head, over the tall candlestick on the altar, and up the spiral column symbolizing the journey to heaven.

When the entrance hymn ended, everyone in the chapel naturally made the sign of the cross, following the Pope. Touching the shoulders and head, and the two points in between, I listlessly marked the points that had become not just a habit but felt like a part of my body.

Five points forming the shape of light. Finally, one in the center of the chest, signifying acceptance. At the same time, I recited the prayer promising complete faith.

I stared blankly at the Pope, who was solemnly urging repentance. When I was in Liche, I never imagined a day would come when I would see him in person.

Would it have been better if I hadn’t become a Stella and never had a reason to come to the main temple, thus never seeing that face up close?

A mundane and peaceful daily life, far from grand ambitions. It might have been less fulfilling but still happy in its own way, and most importantly, a life where I wasn’t someone’s sidekick. Would I have been truly satisfied with such a life?

As the deacon read the scripture, I stared at my toes with unfocused eyes. In a life where there was nothing to look forward to or unexpected, I was withering away day by day.

Peidos Carmel, who had been the driving force of my life, had not been seen for the past three months due to an expedition. The healing magic I had recently started learning was interesting, but the more pronounced my gap with Primis became, the more despair I felt.

A normal life was truly dreadful. Even though someone surely longed for it.

“People walking in the wilderness, do you not know?
Everyone who sleeps is lonely.

Do not be entangled in the past,
Open your eyes.

My people, my chosen ones,
I have given you water to drink to your fill.”

As the low voice slowly recited the verses, my thoughts also wandered through the wilderness.

I suddenly wondered if this prolonged life, similar to my past life, continued because I had not fully accepted God.

Is that what it means to be unchosen?

Not being a beloved protagonist like Primis.

“……Huh?”

But as I absentmindedly lifted my head, I spotted a man sitting in the front row of the pews. I could only see his back, but something about his appearance felt strangely familiar, and I couldn’t look away.

At some point, the surrounding scenery blurred, and only the man’s black back remained in my sight. As the verses of the scripture faintly echoed, my heart began to race faster.

“To the one who intends to commit arson,
Put down your fire.

Pour out your grievances, and argue your ignorance.
Let me know you,
So that you can fully entrust your body to me.”

And then, as if by magic, something unbelievable happened. Despite it being impossible, he slowly turned his head towards me as if he felt my gaze.

“Those who do not seek me,
And do not devote themselves to me,
Will carry ashes in the barren wilderness.”

The moment I met his piercing gaze, my heart dropped with a thud. My dry eyes, beneath my unblinking eyelids, began to ache with a sharp pain. His unforgettable features invaded my retina harshly, as if it was piercing through it.

“…….”

The corners of his lips slowly curved into a faint smile. Looking back at me, he casually draped his arm over the back of the chair and continued to make eye contact with me until the hymn began after the reading.

It doesn’t make sense. Why is that man here……?

Though the chapel of the main temple, like other temples, was open to the citizens of the Holy Kingdom, I never imagined he would attend mass so boldly.

Once Keene fixed his body back towards the altar, he never looked back at me again. Even so, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

From the moment I noticed his presence, the reading and the sermon were nothing more than wind brushing past my ears. I just anxiously waited for the mass to end with a restless heart.

“The mass has ended, go in peace.”

Finally, the awaited moment arrived. Following the congregation, I offered thanks to God, nervously watching the Pope’s procession leave the altar.

Even as the recessional hymn filled the chapel, my eyes were fixed on the man with black hair. Mouthing the words of the song, I eagerly awaited the end of the service.

“Ah!”

However, there were many worshippers who had come to the main temple on this Sunday morning. Despite the time finally arriving when I could freely move, I was pushed away by the crowd rising like a flood.

“I can’t …….”

As I moved forward against the crowd, I realized that the person I was looking for was no longer in the spot I had been watching. With a nervous heart, I looked around the chapel, but the man with the striking features was nowhere to be seen.