Chapter 90
“I have something I didn’t tell you.”
As soon as Kaien entered the office, he said this.
“What is it?”
“Do you remember meeting Winston on the way back after parting at Count Pesain’s tea party?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Winston met Nadia Alice at Count Pesain’s and took her to the palace.”
Philome paused.
‘Did Nadia and Winston fall in love?’
However, if they had developed into a romantic relationship, Nadia wouldn’t have remained quiet until now. It was clear that she would have caused a stir in society, thinking Winston had more power than Kaien.
“They haven’t become lovers.”
Kaien seemed to read Philome’s thoughts and added,.
“I don’t know the exact reason, but Winston took Nadia Alice to the palace and made her his personal maid. I had forgotten about it since they hadn’t met properly for weeks. I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Even if I had heard it at the time, I wouldn’t have been very interested.”
“Right, that’s true. The problem is…”
Kaien narrowed his brows.
“…I didn’t expect Nadia Alice to appear as the Saint.”
“Indeed…”
It was unfortunate that such an event occurred while he was away from the capital, preventing him from knowing in advance. He learned through Sebastian that a saint had appeared, but it was too much to identify her.
“But, Duke,”
Philome brought up the question she had been pondering.
“Is Nadia really the Saint?”
“Now that I think about it, I didn’t explain the situation earlier.”
Kaien recalled what had happened just a few dozen minutes ago.
After Philome left, Kaien wrote a letter to the Crown Prince before trying to sleep. Just as he was finishing, he suddenly sensed the monster’s power. Immediately going to the walls, he heard the horn.
Kaien instinctively felt that the last remaining monster was approaching the castle, and he prepared to jump down from the wall with his sword enveloped in aura.
However, he spotted a group of people not far away. They weren’t even from the nearby village.
At that moment, the monster charging towards the castle seemed to sense their presence and suddenly changed direction, rushing towards them.
Kaien reflexively tried to move again to deal with the monster.
But a woman in white reached out her hand faster. A gray light burst forth from her hand and enveloped the monster.
The monster, which could have been killed instantly with a sword wrapped in aura, turned to ash with a scream.
Kaien had seen the power of light in the ‘Records of Monsters.’ It was a force strong enough to incapacitate a monster.
“It was the power of the Saint, or rather, divine power.”
“…Then it’s certain that Nadia is the Saint, right?”
“Surprisingly, yes. Nadia Alice is indeed the Saint.”
Philome couldn’t accept that Nadia was the Saint and was beginning to doubt that she might not be the real Saint after all.
However, Kaien had witnessed Nadia using divine power to defeat the monster firsthand. He couldn’t have been mistaken or deceived, so the most likely scenario had been confirmed.
“Still, even if the Saint is Nadia, it doesn’t change anything, right?”
“Philome.”
“The Saint will be a help in the North. Moreover, it’s rare for Nadia to face a monster alone, isn’t it?”
“…It’s similar to the power of the saint who put the monsters to sleep 200 years ago. It’s slightly different from the records, but…”
“Anyway, it’s a good thing. If Nadia has strong divine power, it means she can be of great help.”
Setting aside past grievances, the current priority was the suddenly awakened monsters.
“Philome, let me tell you in advance.”
Kaien grabbed Philome’s hand.
“I value you more than the saint. If that saint is Nadia Alice, then even more so.”
If both Philome and Nadia were in danger, Kaien would save Philome without a moment’s hesitation. What mattered to him was Philome, regardless of whether Nadia was the Saint or not.
“If I choose you and the North falls into danger, that’s something I need to resolve. You don’t need to worry about it. The most precious person to me is you, Philome.”
As Kaien finished speaking, he pulled Philome’s hand closer.
As their faces drew near, Philome closed her eyes.
At the moment their lips touched, Kaien wrapped his arm around Philome’s waist.
As Kaien’s firm thigh pressed between her legs, their bodies intertwined like tongues.
Philome no longer found it awkward that Kaien’s thigh occupied the space between her legs.
Before she knew it, Kaien’s weight pressed down on her as she collapsed onto the sofa, but it didn’t feel suffocating. Instead, his solid and enveloping weight provided a sense of stability.
Every time Kaien’s firm thigh brushed against her inner thigh, her breath quickened. Noticing Philome’s breathlessness, Kaien immediately pulled away his lips.
Even as Philome gasped for air, Kaien continued to place light kisses on her lips like a bird pecking.
Philome finally managed to raise her hand to block his lips.
When the kisses stopped, Kaien frowned.
“Why?”
“We don’t have time for this. You came out while working without sleep, so get up quickly.”
“To think you’d remember that. It’s the first time I’ve felt regret over your excellent memory.”
After grumbling, Kaien lightly grazed Philome’s palm with his teeth.
Philome, who was trying to get up, jumped in surprise and shouted.
“Duke!”
“I know, I know.”
Kaien chuckled softly at Philome’s flushed face, placing several kisses on her palm before finally rising.
He then took Philome’s hand, helping her sit up and tidying her wrinkled dress and cloak.
As Philome watched Kaien, she cautiously asked, “By the way, Duke, should we tell Lord Theodore and Lady Natasha?”
“About who Nadia Alice is?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Kaien neatly tied the loose ribbon of her cloak again, adding with a satisfied expression, “I’m sure my mother and father already know.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“You may use this room, Saint.”
After entering the room, Natasha turned to look back.
“Have you brought a servant to attend to you?”
At that, Nadia quickly scanned the room and shook her head with a smile.
“The Pope instructed me to bring a priest, but I refused. I can’t waste valuable manpower just for serving.”
“Oh dear.”
Nadia looked at Natasha in surprise at her unexpected reaction. Natasha spoke as if in a difficult position.
“There are no servants to attend to you in the North.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“Everyone just does their assigned tasks; there are no attendants.”
“Then… who attends to you and Lord Theodore?”
“Why, it’s the closest aides. Don’t you have any close aides, Saint?”
That couldn’t be possible. Nadia kept her mouth shut.
In the group she brought, there were only paladins and high-ranking priests with vast holy power, but no attendants. Naturally, expecting to be served by Northern servants, Nadia was taken aback.
“I was just an ordinary person before I manifested as a saint, but with the change in my surroundings and having to follow the temple’s rules… I couldn’t bring a maid.”
Tears welled up in Nadia’s eyes.
“I heard that despite the North being barren and cold, the people are very warm-hearted. I thought they would assign someone to assist me, being a Saint… Was I mistaken?”
As Natasha looked at the redness around Nadia’s eyes, she smiled.
“Don’t worry. Until we can send an attendant from the temple, I’ll make sure to send a girl to assist you. But could you please hurry and contact the temple? As I mentioned, everyone has their assigned tasks.”
Her words were gentle and kind, yet they left no room for options. With that, Nadia nodded, having received the maid she wanted.
Soon, Natasha approached Nadia and took her hand.
The rough hand of a knight enveloped Nadia’s delicate hand.
“Thank you for coming, Saint.”
“I’m glad you understand. It was really difficult coming here.”
At Nadia’s words, Natasha smiled.
“If there’s anything uncomfortable, please let me know. Now, let’s take a break.”
With that, Natasha left the room.
Thud.
As the door closed behind her, Natasha’s smile vanished.
She immediately headed to Theodore’s office. Theodore was standing by the window, looking down at the knights inspecting the cargo brought from the temple.
“Theo.”
“Madam, how was the Saint?”
“She’s even more than we expected. What was written in the report was nothing.”
“After all, she eloped with the fiancé of Lady Philome on the day of the engagement.”
Natasha and Theodore had investigated Philome right after hearing the news of Kaien’s engagement. At that time, there was a brief mention of a certain individual, and that was Nadia.
It was inevitable that she would be mentioned, as she was the one who eloped with Philome’s former fiancé.
