Chapter 43: CH 43

It was when I walked down the corridor with a heavy heart and arrived at the hallway leading to my room.

Suddenly, a sharp scream was heard from somewhere.

“Aaaack!”

It was a familiar voice.

Startled, I ran to where the scream was heard. A strange ominous feeling engulfed my head.

As I turned to the corner, I saw the priests and priestesses were gathered.

With a strange intuition, I went through them.

“S-Saintess!”

The voices of the maids trembling around could be heard.

“What’s going on?”

The presence of Dwayne, who appeared as perhaps he heard the commotion, was also felt from behind.

I pushed out one of the priestesses in front of me, and my face hardened in surprise at the scene unfolding in front of me.

My heart was beating like crazy.

A memo saying, “I paid off today’s debt,” was scattered on the floor. Then I saw Daisy who was dying from her severely wounded chest and stomach, dripping blood with every breath she took.

There was blood pooling on the floor, and the maids and priestesses were weeping. Two of the priests tried to pour out their divine power, but it was too small an amount.

Daisy opened her blood-drenched lips and clapped her mouth.

“P-Please be carefu…”

Without hesitation, I took off the pendant and placed my hand on Daisy’s chest. At this moment, any kind of thoughts couldn’t stop me.

‘It hurts.’

It was an unforgettable pain.

When I died in my last life, the moment when a sharp blade ripped through my body was an intense memory that made me shudder even while I was sleeping.

And Daisy was lying in a mess like me that day.

Tears like dew on the corners of her eyes made me lose my temper.

Something deep inside my chest swelled up. A warm light formed on my hand that covered her chest, as her blood gushed out, and it wrapped around Daisy’s body.

[Even so, I still want to be with the Saintess!]

Her words, which she said with her eyes shining, lingered in my ears.

Perhaps I really thought of this kid as my real sister. Seeing her messed up looks so painful that my heart was ripped apart.

‘Help me.’

I closed my eyes.

All my nerves were focused on my hands.

My palms were dripping with Daisy’s lukewarm blood, and at the same time, something warm and powerful reached her from my skin.

I felt like I was floating in space. Perhaps it was because of the ring I bought last time, the stigma didn’t hurt painfully, and I felt a dull feeling.

It was more comfortable to pour holy power at that moment than to heal the child of the Burglar’s Guild. Perhaps it’s because of my desperate heart that I feel that way relatively.

‘You have to live. Daisy.’

I felt no more blood flowing out of her body.

‘Just as you chose me, I also chose you.’

Daisy’s body, which had been cold, had regained some warmth, but it was still not enough.

I concentrated more divine power on my hands.

Only the thought of living alone filled my mind. And at some point, suddenly, something stronger came out of my hand like an explosion.

When it stopped, I quietly lifted my eyelids.

There was no noise in my ears. Because no one was making a sound.

“…”

Daisy was still lying in front of me, and her clothes were completely soaked in blood.

However… Those black eyes were looking at me. As if she was waking up from a deep sleep, with eyes full of vitality.

I took my hand from her chest and placed it on Daisy’s cheek.

Her white cheeks were messed with blood, but the warmth was felt in the palm of my hand.

“…”

Daisy licked her bloody lips.

“Sainteessss…”

A slightly hoarse voice crept into my ear.

Tears in the corners of her eyes fell to her ears as she lay down.

Something boiled deep inside my chest. It was a storm of emotions, a mixture of joy, conquest, and relief.

“Nine Gods.”

“The disciple of Elium witnessed a miracle.”

“The Saintess saved a priestess!”

And, startled by this scene, the priests and priestesses, who stood still as if they were dead rats, all shouted together. Among them, voices were heard muttering prayers in emotional voices.

Usually, the divine power of ordinary priests couldn’t save a person who was about to die like this. Even if the High Priest, Reihausd, ran right away, the outcome wouldn’t have been guaranteed.

They will surely gossip about witnessing the miracle of the Saintess from today.

So… All my efforts to cover up so far are in vain.

But even that wasn’t disappointing.

I grabbed Daisy’s hand and lifted her up.

Daisy gently grabbed my hand and got up from her seat, as if she was never dying.

The cheers of the priests and priestesses grew louder.

It was a festival-like atmosphere that suddenly changed, but I hardened my eyebrows and said to them.

“Tell me what just happened.”

Then the atmosphere became quiet as if cold water had been poured, and a maid answered with a trembling voice.

“A man in black broke in and attacked Daisy.”

“I think he was wearing a mask!”

At that, Dwayne hurriedly rushed out.

I could see the Paladins moving behind him.

Is it an outside invasion?

‘Somebody was breaking in from the outside, and towards Daisy.’

It was more likely that they had a grudge against me rather than Daisy.

But as soon as I thought that no one has a reason to live with a grudge against me, an ugly face came to my mind. His hands, which were clinging on his cheek, were also included.

“Ha….”

He must have thought that killing the priestess who followed me was just a warning.

That damn bastard who sees human life is worth a feather.

I was burning my will, saying, “It seems that he didn’t understand it with his cheeks, so he will be completely uprooted.” when suddenly, a voice that shouldn’t be heard came from behind.

“Ariel.”

It was only then that I realized that I had publicly saved Daisy and there was no way to escape.

Turning stiffly, Reihausd was standing there.

“…”

It was absurd to show that I saved Daisy in front of the public after deceiving the Holy Sphere at best.

When the High Priest appeared, the atmosphere of everyone became solemn.

Even Daisy, who was resurrected from the dead, politely put her hands together in an unusual energy.

“Well. That…”

I opened my lips, feeling burdened by his eyes pouring towards me. I couldn’t come up with any excuses to make.

At that moment, suddenly he got down on one knee and the other knee too.

I looked at him in surprise.

He lowered his head further and placed his hand on one of my sandals.

There was a subtle sensation as his cold touch touched the delicate skin of my feet.

He bowed his head.

I stood there, not knowing what to do.

Reihausd lowered his head deeply and kissed the top of my foot. A tickling sensation rose through my heart as his soft lips touched.

My cheeks were burning and my heart was pounding.

As he kissed the top of my foot, lifted his lips and slowly raised his back, his blonde hair moved softly.

The golden eyes looking up at me had a strange light.

It would be embarrassing to get down on his knees and kiss a woman’s feet while his subordinates were watching, but he didn’t seem to care about that.

There were light arcs on the corners of his red lips.

“This twist is also welcomed.”

His red lips twitched, and a soft, barely audible voice flowed out.

“I was surprised.”

I told him, hiding my restlessness and pretending to be calm.

“Please get up.”

He slowly got up.

A handsome face was located far above me as he stood.

I turned to Daisy without trying to look up at him.

“The thing that just happened…”

His low voice was heard from behind.

“We will investigate it thoroughly.”

It was difficult for me to tell whether the ‘thing’ he was talking about was that I deceived the Holy Sphere or that Daisy had suffered.

However, I didn’t ask and replied with the most comfortable answer.

“…Please take care of it.”

After that, after standing still for a while, I said to Daisy, who was standing stiffly.

“You should take a bath first. Let’s go.”

Then, leaving Reihausd and the priests intact, I turned and walked into the hallway.

I was tired enough to stagger my legs and was in bad shape, but I gave strength to my stride and walked. Daisy, once wrung out to keep blood from dripping from her clothes, often followed me.