CHAPTER 9. Proposal

“Are you applying for annual leave?”

“Yes. Since it’s the social season soon…….”

Sister Elexi looked at me steadily. Her gaze, usually extremely restrained and emotionless, oddly conveyed a faint sense of disappointment. Encountering an unexpected emotion, I was simply bewildered.

No way. It must be my imagination, right? What could she possibly be disappointed in me for?

“Alright. Go ahead.”

“……Yes.”

That was the end of it. The interview ended more anticlimactically than I had thought, and I shrugged my shoulders as I left the office.

As I moved towards the dormitory to pack, I glanced back at the temple.

Goodbye for a while.

The fifteen days of reward leave I received after the expedition passed in a flash. Just as I had anticipated, my mother was delighted to see her daughter after a long time but also pushed me into various dress shops to get fitted for dresses, insisting I must take annual leave unless I had already met a future priest partner at the temple.

Though I wasn’t keen on it, I agreed without much fuss. Since I was of a considerable age now, it was right to find a spouse during this opportunity, unless I planned to live as a single priest with the clergy, not as a Stella.

Of course, it’s not that I hadn’t thought about it. Since I found the holy relic and purified a black lake, albeit small in scale, I thought it might be good to build a career at the temple, postponing marriage for a while.

However, the news that hit me as soon as I returned to the temple after my leave quickly shattered that thought.

[Du, Primis Starring found a new relic at Yetvan!]

[……What?]

[Isn’t she amazing? She’s like a hero from an epic. How does a newbie achieve such jaw-dropping feats every day?]

I recalled the content of the original story I had forgotten. When the Holy Kingdom was in crisis after losing many holy relics, the Great Saint Primis accidentally discovered an ancient relic in the subjugation area and reinforced the barrier. Yetvan was an area that had not been pre-surveyed, making the discovery of the relic itself an incredible stroke of luck. Recovering that relic was a significant achievement.

Although Primis was not yet the Great Saint, I didn’t know why that event was happening already. But I roughly guessed that small differences like how I became a healing priest instead of a purification priest were causing a butterfly effect.

Feeling bewildered, the hopeful anticipation I had nurtured wilted away. Even though I achieved a significant feat for the first time, it was obvious where the spotlight would ultimately shine.

[Did you hear? Primis Starring…….]

[Wow, who would have thought there was an ancient relic in Yetvan…….]

[Didn’t she purify a high-risk area alone recently too?]

As expected, by the time I returned, the Yetvan incident had already overshadowed the Liche expedition. The discovery of a new relic that no one knew existed was much more sensational.

As expected, a supporting character can never surpass the main character, no matter what.

Resigned, I felt at ease. During the past fifteen days at home, I had sorted out my feelings while recalling the scene where Peidos drew a line with me.

Yes, whether it’s achievements or men, nothing was granted to me anyway. I knew that from the start, I had given up on my own, so why did I harbor needless hopes?

“……What’s the point of getting involved with extremely handsome men?”

They’re all useless anyway.

Though I felt a bit guilty about taking another leave so soon after returning from reward leave, annual leave for the social season had a fixed date that I couldn’t adjust. Burying my guilt, I took out the handbag that had been buried deep in the closet since it was of no use at the temple.

“I don’t need clothes.”

It didn’t take even ten minutes to pack. Since my destination was home, I didn’t need much luggage.

I gathered my simple belongings and stepped onto the teleportation array. Using the magic circle for the first time in a while made me incredibly grateful for the empty stomach.

Had my stomach not been empty, I would have probably made a real mess. Due to my lost resistance to dizziness, I stumbled without anything to hold onto and eventually sat down pathetically upon arriving at the Liche temple.

While rubbing my throbbing backside, a person came to mind. The man who always lent me his shoulder and comforted me at times like this.

“Bastard.”

Just try showing your shameless face again after what you did to me.

But even as I ground my teeth at the fresh memory, I found myself pausing again the very next moment.

[After losing Ron, and then Ren so suddenly, it’s no wonder he went astray.]

The feeling of betrayal quickly cooled down. The truth I learned during the expedition was too big and painful to just bury.

This is why a bad guy should just remain a bad guy. Now that I know he’s a bad guy with a story, I’m clumsily trying to understand his unpredictable behavior.

[I’ve never been loved by God.]
[God is already dead.]

His dry voice was still clear. Come to think of it, he was always like that. Was there ever a time when that man spoke with passion?

[There aren’t that many things in the world that exists for clear reasons. It’s the same with meaning.]

He was the one who coldly said that even his flirting with me didn’t mean much. That man…

[I thought of you every day, Du.]
[That’s why I’m greedy. Because you’re so beautiful.]

And then my thoughts reached the cliff at the ruins.

[I don’t usually let the sprouts grow.]

Was it because he didn’t place much meaning on anything that his emotions were the same? Why did he go through all that trouble, uncomfortably, for a heart that would disappear so absurdly?

And if that’s the case, why did he give me his life stone?

“…If you’re going to go crazy, at least do it gracefully.”

Don’t confuse people.

Yeah, he’s just a crazy guy with a story. In the end, a crazy guy is still a crazy guy. It’s just pathetic that I was swayed by such a guy, even for a moment.

With a sigh from the depths of my heart, I picked up the handbag I dropped earlier. And without delay, I caught a carriage and headed straight home.

Even though I hadn’t done much all day, I desperately wanted to just lie down, perhaps because it had been a while since I used a long-distance magic circle.

“Duna, long time no see!”

“……”

But that small wish was shattered the moment I walked into the house.

Seeing the face of a cousin I had forgotten about, I couldn’t manage my expression and froze.

“What’s with that reaction? Look at her! So cold.”

“Yeah. Why are you looking so wide-eyed? Come in and sit down.”

Following my mother’s nagging, I mechanically sat down on the tea table chair and looked at my cousin, Lindsay.

She had married Count Moulton last year and, according to my mother, was a clever and capable person. She had chosen the best match among her peers and, with her skilled social abilities, had even been invited to the Queen’s tea party. My mother had nagged me countless times to follow her example.

“…Sorry. I was just surprised. What brings you here, Lindsay?”

“I came to bring you good news.”

What she placed on the round table was none other than an invitation to a royal ball. My face turned pale at the sight of a location that also appeared in the original story. I averted my gaze from my pale reflection in the glass table and scrunched up my innocent skirt.

“If you want to catch a good fish, you need to swim in big waters. You don’t have as much time as other young ladies, so don’t waste it on small places and only go to worthwhile ones.”

“……”

In the novel, Duna Valorem attends the royal ball with the help of her cousin. And similarly, she meets Primis Starring, who is on leave, and ends up in a conflict, leading to a disgraceful exit.

In the ball chapter, none of the supporting characters, including Duna Valorem, played significant roles. They were all there to highlight the protagonist, with the climax being when Peidos rescues Primis from a difficult situation.

I didn’t want to attend such a place, where I would be used for a single moment of satisfaction. However,

“Thank you, Lindsay. I’ll attend.”

I couldn’t disagree that the royal ball was the biggest event I could attend. As a woman of marriageable age, it was too precious an opportunity to meet a decent nobleman to pass up, even if I was just a supporting character and not the protagonist of my own life.

Feeling suffocated, I poured myself a cup of tea from the teapot and drank it down. Lindsay asked worriedly, ‘Oh dear, isn’t it hot?’ but fortunately, it had cooled down a bit since it was brewed.

As long as I don’t touch Primis. Let’s not even go near him. I calmed my pounding heart with this determination.

Little did I know that the person I should be concerned about was not him.

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