“…About Valorem.”

Chelin put down the untouched tea and looked at Primis.

“She was recommended by Sister Elexi. Other Cardinals were also swayed by the merits she established in Liche before. I heard she even purified a black lake.”

“I told you several times that we should deal with her before she shows more remarkable achievements! I knew something was off when you were acting relaxed, saying you didn’t understand why we should be wary of her!”

“Sister Elexi was hiding her holy power! The gap between you two was so wide that I felt relieved. The records measured before her entry were mediocre. It was only after the candidate recommendation talk that they corrected the scores, claiming there was an error!”

The sudden loud voice made her throat hurt. After coughing dryly a few times, Chelin glared at Primis while catching her breath.

“And, did I not do what you said? I even included her in the ancient relic expedition. Who would have thought she would not only survive but also achieve merit there! Do you know how much Peidos glared at me for including a novice in the expedition?”

“……”

“And decisively, I even drank the poison myself because you kept urging me to proceed quickly while he wasn’t in the temple. Haven’t I done enough?”

With a resentful, huffing breath, a fierce gaze was exchanged between the two women.

It was Primis who first broke the prolonged standoff. She sighed lowly as if in agreement and spoke in a somewhat softened tone.

“Take good care of your health. I’ll need your help again soon.”

As Primis tried to rise from the bed, a thin hand suddenly grabbed her. Chelin slowly opened her lips, releasing her grip from Primis’s sleeve.

“Do you… want to become the Great Saint, or do you want to defeat her?”

“……”

Primis’s expression hardened as if it would crack at any moment. Looking into her ice-like eyes, which contained a light opposite to her usual color, Chelin recalled the time when Primis had just entered.

Back then, she merely thought of her as an overly ambitious friend. She felt a slight sense of kinship, having been in a similar position with herself and Ren before she met her at the temple. But after entering, she realized all of Primis’s nerves were focused solely on one person.

[Duna Valorem has already succeeded in barrier magic.]

[We have to stop her before it’s too late.]

[She’s just a novitiate, is there really no way to expel her?]

Primis was the first to point out the suspicious aspects, such as the natural healing of the wound inflicted by the wolven’s poison and the theft incident in the apothecary, and she constantly kept Duna Valorem in check.

Sometimes, it made one wonder where she got all that information from.

[Instead of worrying about that, find a way to deal with Duna Valorem.]

And equally amazing was how Duna Valorem managed to avoid all those crises. She returned the vault key without using it, dispelling Peidos’s suspicions, and later it was reported that she covered up the theft of vigra by claiming it was an errand for Peidos. Thanks to his leadership, the expedition returned without any casualties.

Suddenly realizing something, Chelin narrowed her eyes slightly. Come to think of it, isn’t it strange? All of it is related to Peidos Carmel.

“There isn’t just one choice.”

At that moment, Primis’s quiet voice echoed. Biting her trembling lips, she turned her back on Chelin.

“I have to become the Great Saint to defeat her.”

“……”

“If I defeat her, the world will be a slightly better place to live in.”

After finishing her words, Primis, who had been silent for a long time, slowly turned her head towards the bed. Upon making eye contact, she urgently turned her head back as if she had seen a ghost.

“I’ll go. Take care of yourself.”

“……”

With a click, the door closed, and a cold silence followed. Watching the neatly tied pink hair disappear through the door crack, Chelin turned her gaze to the mirror on the opposite dressing table.

“…Pathetic.”

She thought with a faint smile. The reflection of a woman who had lost her vitality and become emaciated must have been visible in that girl’s eyes too.

What was she thinking while looking at her in this state? Did she feel guilty seeing me like this after making me drink poison as she instructed? Or did she feel fear like she was seeing her future?

[If I defeat her, the world will be a slightly better place to live in.]

At first, Chelin hated Primis for threatening her. In her anxiety and fear, she even tried to eliminate her.

But at some point, the emotion that rose above all those negative feelings was.

“Poor thing.”

Sympathy. Perhaps a sense of kinship.

Following the words of a much younger woman without a word was not just because of the threat.

While neatly combing her tangled hair in the mirror, Chelin forced a smile.

Whether she wanted that girl to succeed or to fail and fall into the same pit as herself, even she couldn’t clearly tell.

CHAPTER 10. In the Meantime

She stared blankly at the ring on her ring finger. Unlike the trendy round cut, it was an oval-shaped diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds. It pursued the exact opposite of modern designs that emphasized the gem with restrained decorations, giving it a somewhat old-fashioned feel but still an overwhelming splendor that wouldn’t lose anywhere.

“Of course. It’s the Duchess’s ring.”

Ha. A big sigh escaped. Wearing the ring that was passed down to each child in the Carmel family, she felt more complicated than happy.

“Why did that person…”

Incredibly, the person filling her mind right now wasn’t Peidos, who gave her this ring, nor the family she was currently on her way to see in a carriage.

[I…]

At the point where she couldn’t delay any longer and had to say something. The moment she opened her mouth, she saw Keene approaching and instinctively shouted.

[I-I like you!]

[…Really?]

[Yes! I like you!]

Oddly enough, at that moment, the only thought filling her mind was to stop the man in front of her somehow. If he came any closer, something really terrible would happen. She had to stop the man who had already intruded into her life and confused her enough from coming any closer.

Did my earnest prayer work? Keene actually stopped in his tracks. But his expression was completely unexpected.

I thought he would maintain that cold, indifferent look he had when he was just watching, or perhaps curl his lips in a mocking smile. If he was going to interfere again, I hoped at least he wouldn’t say anything nonsensical.

But the reaction he showed was…

[…….]

It wasn’t a big enough change to say he was surprised, nor did it seem sorrowful. It was too restrained for that. And it wasn’t angry either. It was more of a pained expression.

He looked at me as if he were wounded.

So I…

[Duna!]

Even when Peidos called out my name in a voice filled with joy and hugged me, my gaze was fixed on someone else. I couldn’t take my eyes off that person. I couldn’t believe his reaction.

[From now on, I will…]

Grateful words were surely being said, but I couldn’t hear them well. Keene, who was quietly making eye contact with me as I stared blankly at him, slowly turned around.

That was the end of it.

He didn’t come back.

“…Haa.”

From the next day, things moved frantically. Having suddenly acquired a fiancé, I no longer needed to attend parties and balls.

I gained the privilege of not being criticized by my family even if I didn’t attend. No, rather, I was given the right to receive high praise.

[You’re crazy! Of all people, if you’re in such a relationship with Sir Carmel Peidos, you should have told me!]

Lindsey constantly marveled and didn’t hold back her compliments for three days straight, praising how I managed to take care of everything while pretending not to.

Even Count Moulton, who had a slight liking for Keene, was not much different. Being from the Holy Kingdom, he couldn’t ignore the influence of Peidos Carmel, the shield of the Holy Kingdom. I barely managed to stop him from boasting about it everywhere by repeatedly emphasizing that it was still a sensitive issue that hadn’t been finalized.

Peidos said he wanted to greet my parents in Liche. I agreed in a daze, but even now, as we operated the magic circle together and rode in the carriage to my home, everything still felt like a dream.

I turned around and slightly lifted the curtain of the window toward the coachman’s seat. I saw the broad back of the man sitting with the coachman, telling me to rest comfortably since I must be tired.

Am I really getting engaged to that person?

To the male lead, Peidos Carmel?

Facing a development far beyond my expectations, or rather, one I didn’t expect at all when I first learned his identity, made my head hurt.

I should be happy, I should be jumping with joy that my unrequited love has come true and that the male lead chose me over Primis.

Is it because it feels too unreal?

I can’t fully enjoy it…

“Du.”

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed inside the carriage.