I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 91

“Cardinal Hameron is here, right? That guy is pretty strict.”

“You speak as if you know him well…”

I was about to tell him not to pretend to know everything but closed my mouth. Being Ren Lione’s younger sibling, he must have spent a lot of time at the temple. He might even know the high priests better than I do.

“When my sister was the Great Saint, black lakes didn’t appear as often as they do now. So, I think she only purified it once.”

I glanced at the cheerful man who had started talking. Could it be that he brought up his sister to help me?

“She said this back then. She managed to do it because she wanted to feel better.”

“What?”

“Seeing the black lake makes you feel uneasy, doesn’t it? It’s pitch black, and when you get close, it drains your holy power. So she said she managed to purify it because she wished to feel better.”

“…Wow, that’s really helpful.”

Isn’t that a typical genius’s line?

I let out a shallow groan at his advice, which sounded like nonsense. If it were that easy, this wouldn’t be my trial.

“Don’t overdo it. It’s small, so if you gather about ten capable priests, you can purify it.”

“But if I don’t purify it myself, I won’t gain Cardinal Hameron’s approval.”

“What’s so great about being the Great Saint that you’re trying so hard?”

“……”

“Do you want to become the Great Saint, or are you doing this because you’re afraid Peidos Carmel will cheat on you with another woman?”

I responded with a scoff. Cheat, my foot.

“I don’t know, even I don’t.”

But my recent words, spoken in a hollow tone, were sincere.

“What exactly am I trying to confirm?”

In the past, I might have wanted to become someone suitable for Peidos Carmel. At that time, I was deeply immersed in a long-awaited crush, and just watching from a step behind made me happy.

But now that the handsome man had come close, he was no longer an important motivation.

So why did I jump into this competition? Was it anger at the original story that branded me as a supporting character? Or was it simply resentment and competitiveness toward the nasty Primis?

“When I was young, I believed I was the best.”

As I started with a changed topic, I felt Keene’s gaze on me. Fixing my eyes on the pitch-black water that seemed to absorb all light, I continued speaking.

“I was quite decent, not particularly bad at anything.”

Although I said ‘when I was young,’ I didn’t limit it to this life. This also applied to the ‘Seo Jia’ of my previous life.

With a moderately pretty face, I stood out a bit among my peers. I never went hungry in a wealthy environment, and I wasn’t bad at studying either.

I slipped up on the college entrance exam and went to my second-choice university. It was regrettable, but it wasn’t an unrecognized place, so I continued to lead a normal life there.

I dated like everyone else, broke up, chose a suitable major, and pursued a double major, living a busy life.

But.

“At some point, I started feeling insignificant.”

“……”

“No matter how hard I tried, I didn’t shine.”

I felt trapped in a predetermined loop. Unlike me, who was barely getting through each ordinary and overwhelming day, the people I thought were leading similar lives to mine were soaring high like they had wings. Just like Primis Starring in this world.

[ I don’t think you’re bad, Sister. ]

As McBennan said, I was just that kind of person. So was Seo Jia, and so was Duna Valorem.

The ‘mediocrity’ that gave me a sense of stability had now become utterly tiresome.

“That’s an interesting statement.”

Keene responded with unexpected words.

“Du is the only one shining in my world.”

“…….”

The man’s face, looking at me after saying something that made me doubt my ears, was as composed as ever. His expression was so devoid of mischief that it left me even more dumbfounded.

“You are frighteningly consistent, you know that?”

The sarcastic comments he had been making since we first met hadn’t changed one bit. This man would probably keep that mouth alive even as a hunched old man.

“That’s right. I’m a better man than you think.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“Just take it as a compliment. I’m here to help you, Du.”

“……Help?”

I looked up at him in confusion, and Keene grinned.

“I don’t know why you want to become the Great Saint, which isn’t even that great, but you want it, so.”

“…….”

“I’ll help you. So that you don’t become insignificant, Du.”

The man who had helped me in moments of crisis spoke. Perhaps these were the words I had been secretly waiting for since the moment I saw him here.

But I had to remember. His methods were quite extreme.

* * *

“Wake up, Sister!”

Someone shook my tired body roughly to wake me up. I, unable to even open my eyes, could only repeat in a dying voice, “Why.” My eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds after exhausting myself in front of the black lake until dawn.

“Now’s not the time to be sleeping so peacefully. Monsters are popping out everywhere, causing chaos.”

“Ugh?”

The word ‘monsters’ made my eyes snap open. Soon, the sight of thick blonde hair filled my vision, making my already dry eyes widen even more.

Why is he here?

“Y-Young Duke! W-What are you doing in a lady’s room!”

“Sister, now’s not the time to be worrying about that, okay? It’s a war zone! My uncle told me to bring you immediately.”

“……Ah.”

Now that I think about it, he did say monsters were appearing. Realizing the situation, I hurriedly got up. After pushing McBennan out, I quickly changed my clothes and rushed out.

Riding a horse with McBennan, we hurried to the hunting ground we had visited yesterday. Clinging tightly to his waist to stave off dizziness, I finally opened my eyes once the horse stopped.

“What is this.”

A truly extraordinary scene unfolded before me.

Monsters were crawling out from an unknown hole. The large hole in the air spewed out monsters as if it were a portal connected to the demon realm from legends.

“Attack in unison!”

I saw the holy knights and mages who had arrived before me fighting the monsters with all their might. Watching the swift movements of those who had come to Yetvan with me, I quickly searched for the Cardinal.

“Hameron!”

He was staring intently at the hole from the back. Despite being a seasoned veteran, the shock on his face was evident.

“Could this be the destruction foretold in the prophecy…….”

Hearing his words made me think too, for a moment.

According to the novel, the place where the destruction begins is not Yetvan. The original protagonist came to Yetvan to purify the black lake and discovered clues to an ancient relic. This later became the start of another event that saved the Holy Kingdom from crisis.

But that relic had long been collected by Primis. Could the absence of the relic and my presence here instead of Primis have affected the plot?

“……That’s not it.”

No, it can’t be. I shook my head quietly, denying Hameron’s words. My intuition told me that something like this couldn’t be ‘destruction.’

“It can’t be this small in scale. Judging by its appearance, it seems to be a portal.”

“……What took you so long?”

Though he immediately scolded me as soon as he regained his senses, he seemed to have somewhat regained his composure. It appeared he had been momentarily overwhelmed by the situation, given that a black lake had also erupted in the area.

I shifted my gaze back to the sky. A faint light surrounded the hole from which the monsters continuously emerged.

It was clearly maintained by someone’s magic.

Could it be…….

For a moment, someone flashed through my mind. But that thought quickly dissipated with Hameron’s next order.

“There are civilians outside the forest! Not a single monster must get past us!”

Empowered by his loud command, large-scale magic spells began to explode one after another. The holy knights began to swing their swords even more fiercely.

I bit my lower lip and shook my head. As long as monsters kept emerging from that hole, we would soon reach our limit. Even now, with less than thirty people, we were barely holding our ground.

This won’t do.

“Cardinal Hameron.”

Having made up my mind, I called out to the Cardinal.

“I have an idea.”