Chapter 164………………………………….

“Misunderstood the effect? What do you mean?”

Lucy looked serious in response to my question.

“It seems you didn’t notice, Master, but earlier when you were speaking with that human named Arcia, you used the goddess’s blessing. Very subtly.”

“What? So you’re saying Arcia was affected by Riena’s blessing? That’s impossible.”

In the novel, Arcia didn’t love Riena—she hated her.

Moreover, Riena would likely have been displeased that Arcia had taken the Saintess position that rightfully belonged to her.

Goddess blessings only activate when Riena genuinely desires someone’s love. How could Arcia have been affected by it?

“Exactly why I say it’s a misunderstanding.”

The divine creature tapped the table lightly with its small paw.

“You affected a person who normally wouldn’t be affected by a blessing. From this, we can deduce that your blessing is probably not a ‘blessing erasure.’”

A deep crease formed on Lucy’s brow.

“I had my doubts from the start. Erasing another’s blessing? That effect should only work on someone already affected by a blessing.”

“Why is that?”

“Isn’t it unfair? Riena can freely use her blessing on anyone, as long as the person truly wants to be loved by her. But you can only use your blessing if the conditions are right.”

“Well, yeah, it does feel unfair…”

But Lucy’s opinion differed.

“The goddess would not make such a basic distinction.”

“Wait, isn’t that overthinking things? I was able to reverse the effects of Riena’s blessing using my own.”

“That could be a secondary effect. Your blessing simply counteracted Riena’s.”

The more I listened, the more plausible it sounded.

“Has the goddess ever directly explained to you what your blessing is?”

“……No, now that I think about it. I just made an educated guess.”

“Even when you met that strange magician, I had my suspicions.”

She must have been referring to the eccentric inventor, Kaise.

“It felt as if you were using your blessing, though I didn’t mention it since it might have been a misunderstanding.”

If that were true, it increased the probability that my blessing functioned differently.

Kaise, after all, had never been affected by Riena’s blessing, since he communicated with her only through a clone.

“So what is the real effect?”

I pondered deeply.

“A blessing is ultimately the manifestation of a wish. When you used your blessing, what mindset did you have?”

“I wanted people to return to their original state.”

“That’s not quite right.”

“I… wanted to persuade them.”

Yes. I wanted to persuade those altered by Riena to return to their original selves.

I wanted them to sever their ties with Riena by my reasoning.

I wanted to convince Arcia to continue as a Saintess without constantly punishing herself.

“Persuasion.”

Looking back, whenever I used my blessing, it inevitably required the act of persuasion.

Useless conversation or simply radiating divine power alone would not break Riena’s blessing.

Only by providing a valid reason and persuading them could they be freed from her influence.

“If my blessing truly has a unique effect, it’s persuasion, for sure.”

Lucy nodded in agreement.

“Far more reasonable than simply erasing another’s blessing.”

“Persuasion, huh… I wanted to persuade people.”

Just as Riena’s greatest wish was to be loved, my greatest desire was to persuade others.

‘Not bad at all.’

I felt a brief thrill at the potential uses for my blessing.

“Still… it feels unfair.”

A vague, lukewarm emotion welled up inside me.

“What’s unfair?”

“Persuasion is fine. It’s good, but compared to Riena, the results are so drastically different.”

I sighed deeply.

“People affected by Riena’s blessing would pour all their affection into her, as if giving up their liver and gallbladder. But my blessing has never had such extreme effects.”

No wonder, even after using my blessing on Arcia and Kaise, they hadn’t noticed.

“Also, Riena could make people like Roland and Isaac—who knew nothing of love—fall for her. But I have no confidence in persuading someone who has no reason to be persuaded by me.”

“…Then let me ask. Do you want to persuade such people too?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to persuade someone regardless of their will? Do you want to use persuasion to make them give up their liver and gallbladder?”

“No. I just meant it feels unfair. That’s not even in the realm of persuasion—it’s brainwashing.”

Brainwashing?

“Right. That’s brainwashing. As I said before, a blessing is the manifestation of a wish. The wielder cannot achieve what they do not want.”

“So that’s the difference between me and Riena.”

“Yes. Your blessing probably only adds a small amount of persuasiveness when you attempt to convince someone.”

However, the divine creature continued.

“Riena wants to be loved, even at the cost of defying others’ will. If you had her blessing, it would have only resulted in a minor increase in favor.”

I paused, then spoke.

“It’s… bittersweet. Basically, it means the more selfish someone is, the greater the benefits they receive, right?”

“Temporarily, yes.”

“Temporarily?”

“Anything excessive becomes poisonous. Even the goddess’s blessing isn’t an exception.”

“Sounds like it has side effects.”

“Look at Riena’s current situation. Despite her blessing, hasn’t she experienced misfortune?”

“That’s only because I altered the novel’s events. Without me, Riena would have lived happily to the end.”

“How do you know that?”

“As I said before, according to the novel…”

“Did the novel cover her life until her death?”

I was momentarily speechless.

“No. Even the side story of Walking Only the Flower Path After Reincarnation shows Riena in her late twenties.”

“Then we can’t know. She might have become unhappy after the novel ended.”

Logically valid, but I had never considered it.

Who imagines that a protagonist who had a happy ending in a story might become miserable later?

I quickly checked the original work for its final sentence.

Feeling that this happiness could last forever, I smiled brightly.

It said it felt eternal, not that it was eternal.

‘Why would Riena become unhappy…?’

I slowly recalled the ending scenes.

Riena resealed the evil deity and saved the world. Mihail successfully handled the chaos left by the monster wave.

The mastermind who troubled them for so long, Terence, fell to his death from a cliff, and the temple surrendered to Riena, chosen by the goddess.

Even the emperor and empress were won over by her efforts, treating her with utmost care. Eventually, Mihail ascended to the throne and married Riena.

Even ignoring the side story, there was no indication that Riena would face misfortune.

‘Could it be she caught an incurable disease later?’

Then a possibility flashed through my mind.

Terence’s body, after falling from the cliff, had never been found.

Given the extreme height and years passing without witnesses, he was assumed dead.

Could it be that Terence, thought to be dead, survived and returned to exact revenge on Riena?

“An interesting hypothesis.”

That was Terence’s observation.

Late at night, after a meeting with the emperor, Terence visited the royal villa.

“His Majesty has decided to watch over the Saintess verification. He judged that Arcia Saintess is more likely the real one than a mere criminal… hmm? Why the expression?”

I recounted the conversation I had with Lucy earlier in the day.

“This ending is better than dying pointlessly after losing to those two.”

Terence gripped my waist more firmly.

Even today, he shared his strength with me.

I felt a twinge of guilt recalling Idel’s memory, but I had no reason—or desire—to refuse him.

“Aren’t you taking all this too lightly?”

I tapped his nose, and he shrugged cheekily.

“Even if you say that, nothing has actually happened. Things turned out differently because you came here.”

“That’s true.”

“You don’t need to worry unnecessarily. You’ve thought about how to overcome the Saintess verification. Today is a good day, isn’t it?”

His face came close to mine.

“You also discovered what your true blessing is…”