I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 84

Stunned by the overwhelming question, I couldn’t even think of stopping her and just stared blankly at the child. Peidos, also surprised, blinked with wide eyes.

Barely regaining my senses, I glanced at Peidos and lightly flicked Hemosi’s forehead.

“Hey, how can you ask such a thing!”

Despite her near-blasphemous question, Hemosi shamelessly glared at me with resentment. Rubbing her forehead with her lips pouting, she grumbled.

“The Pope will be protected by God anyway.”

After glaring at her once more to tell her to be quiet, the naive girl finally shut her mouth. I awkwardly smiled while holding Peidos’s sleeve.

“I’m sorry. She’s still young…”

“No, it’s fine. How should I put it. It was an… impressive question.”

Despite his words, it was clear he was quite taken aback, as he had to search for the word ‘impressive.’

Just as I was about to change the subject, Hemosi spoke up first. She grinned and suddenly grabbed my hand, shaking it excitedly.

“Sister, I have something to tell you! I’m entering the temple next year too!”

“What?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected news, and Hemosi’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“I manifested holy power last year.”

“Really? Oh my, that’s incredible!”

The appearance of a Stella is a significant event. Unless it’s a family like the Carmels, who produce at least one every year, it’s a matter that could turn a household upside down.

Thinking about it, Hemosi was already sixteen, almost seventeen. I had known her since she was very young, so I thought of her as a child, but she had grown up so much.

“I want to serve with you, sister!”

“Haha…”

I laughed along with her but glanced at Peidos. To serve until Hemosi entered the temple, I would need to remain in the order, which meant not leaving the clergy. Since I hadn’t yet decided about the challenge in becoming a Great Saint, it was a topic I found hard to address directly.

Fortunately, Peidos didn’t seem to be concerned about that. He simply wore a kind smile, seemingly happy to meet another future colleague.

“Oh?”

Suddenly, Hemosi waved her arms excitedly. Turning to where she was looking, I saw another familiar face I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Josh?”

“Duna, it’s been a while.”

Josh, who was approaching with a smile, soon noticed Peidos and his smile faded.

“Who is this…”

Feeling like the situation was repeating, I introduced him as my fiancé. This time, I managed to speak with a slightly less awkward tone than when I introduced him to Hemosi.

“Oh…”

Upon hearing the introduction, Josh barely managed a greeting, staring at Peidos with a dazed expression. He seemed overwhelmed by the dazzling man standing before him.

I know exactly how he feels. When I first saw him, I thought an archangel had descended.

So, it felt unbelievable and at the same time, I felt proud that he was beside me now. Oddly enough, that feeling grew stronger when I was introduced to the woman standing next to Josh.

“I got married recently too. I don’t know if you heard.”

“Oh, I heard from Mom. Congratulations. You two look great together.”

The woman with neatly braided curly brown hair blushed as she looked between me and Peidos. She scrunched her freckled nose and smiled shyly.

“Thank you. You two as well…”

She said, clinging to her husband’s arm, hiding. She seemed to be naturally shy.

They were an ordinary couple, the kind you’d find in any village. If I had cared less about appearances, I might have ended up like them.

Even while I repeated to myself that I only wanted to think good thoughts, my materialistic mind harbored mischievous doubts. Had they ever appeared in the books I had read?

If they appeared, what roles did they play?

“Duna, we’ll be going now. It was nice seeing you after so long.”

“Yes, take care!”

Watching Hemosi and Josh walk away briskly, I slowly lowered the hand I had been waving. When I looked at my posture, I realized that at some point, I had been quite close to Peidos.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Peidos, who had been looking at me somewhat awkwardly, responded with an awkward smile as I apologized and put some distance between us. We maintained that appropriate distance until our date was almost over.

The gap closed again when he visited a shop before returning and gave me a pretty bracelet with fine threads intricately woven together. He clumsily tied the bracelet with his large, calloused hands and smiled proudly.

“This should be acceptable to wear even in the temple.”

Unless it was jewelry of significant value or with a special meaning, priests would frown when someone wore it visibly. His words, befitting a model priest practicing frugality, made me chuckle softly.

* * *

After finishing our city date, Peidos returned to the temple, bidding farewell to my parents. My family tried to persuade him to stay for dinner, but he apologized and promised to visit again, since he seemed busy.

Well, he did return after hearing sudden bad news during the expedition, so it was understandable. Moreover, the culprit who poisoned Chelin Sniter had not yet been identified.

Despite being quite busy, he spent a lot of time with me because of his proposal, which made me feel grateful again. On the other hand, I felt sorry for not being able to give him the answer he wanted regarding the challenge for the Great Saint.

Of course, all of this was top secret, so Con and my parents knew nothing about it yet. Once I made my decision about the Great Saint, I planned to subtly mention it before leaving.

Previously, I thought they would unconditionally support it due to their devout nature, but after seeing their opposition to Peidos, I was unsure what their reaction would be. Of course, since it was an honorable and glorious position, they would ultimately accept it.

“So, as I was chasing the rabbit, Ratney, that guy…”

Keene, who had said he would come in the morning, hadn’t shown up by evening, so my family and I were enjoying a rare, quiet dinner. The peaceful evening was abruptly shattered by an unexpected guest.

“Duna! Duna!”

“…Josh? What’s going on?”

Josh, who usually valued manners, burst in uncharacteristically and caught his breath, panting. His sweaty appearance and slightly tearful face indicated something serious.

“Hemosi has been kidnapped.”

“What?”

“I reported it to the security forces, but they seem more focused on chasing armed robbers, so this case feels neglected. I remembered you’re a priest, and your fiancé is a holy knight… Could we get help from the temple…?”

Unfortunately, the person he was looking for had already left. My parents, shocked by the news, didn’t know what to do and paced anxiously.

“Oh my! Duna, should we go to the temple first?”

“Yes, let’s ask for help there first.”

Realistically, the chances of getting help were very low. The temple’s principle was not to intervene unless it was something ordinary people couldn’t handle, like a black lake or monsters.

However, since Hemosi was also a Stella, it seemed worth mentioning at least once.

“Let’s go, Josh.”

I hurriedly put on my coat and left the house immediately.

Since the temple was quite far from home, we headed to the communication station first. It wouldn’t make much difference whether I went to the temple or contacted them via a magic orb from the station, as I didn’t know any high-ranking priests in the Grand Temple.

However, the response from the priest who received my call was indifferent.

— At that age, she might have just gone out to play.

“Listen, priest. She was kidnapped while with others.”

— Searching for missing persons is the jurisdiction of the security forces. While I sympathize, it’s not enough to mobilize the holy knights.

“……”

As frustrating as it was, he wasn’t wrong. Even if Hemosi was a formal priest, unless she went missing during a mission, nothing would change.

Leaving the communication station with no results, we got back into the carriage. Refusing to give up, we planned to gather as many clues as possible and try again with the security forces or the temple.

Since it was an open carriage, the wind hit us directly. Pulling my coat tighter and pressing my hat down, I asked Josh.

“Are there any people who might have targeted Hemosi?”

“No, not really… But…”

Josh hesitated, seeming to recall something.

“I heard in Oshtin that Stellas have been disappearing.”

“Stellas?”

I widened my eyes at the unfamiliar news. I hadn’t heard such rumors even while at the temple.

Josh frowned and explained.

“I heard that Stellas who are not priests and are inexperienced in using holy power have mainly been disappearing. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or if there’s another reason…”

“……”

“Seeing that Hemosi has disappeared, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

…Was there such a plot in the original story?

I couldn’t remember. It might have been something I overlooked since it wasn’t related to Primis.

Feeling anxious, we got off at the alley where Hemosi had disappeared. Josh recalled that she had vanished after turning a corner while walking ahead with her characteristic lively steps. Although he hadn’t seen the kidnappers, he remembered hearing the sound of her belongings dropping and a muffled scream.

“A group targeting Stellas…”

It didn’t feel right. I put my hand in my coat pocket and fiddled with the necklace inside.

A locket necklace with a teardrop-shaped amethyst. It was Keene’s life stone, which I had brought along just in case.

Keene, what would you do in this situation?

I suddenly missed him. If it were Keene, he would surely have a solution. Perhaps I had brought the life stone, hoping he would come to find me.

However, the ones who found us were not Keene but a group of lowly thugs.