Episode 70
“…That might be true. In the end, she ran away muttering to herself. According to a knight who heard her, she said, ‘If I absorb all this, I might disappear.’”
…Absorb? Is that how she refers to purification?
More than anything, I didn’t expect her to run away in such a panic. Sure, it might have been shocking since it was her first time experiencing something like that—but to abandon someone on the brink of death? That was enough to shatter the faith people had in the holy knights.
“Today marks a week since then, and the Saint still hasn’t shown herself. Compared to that, Lady Luisa… I never imagined you’d be brave enough to help despite the harsh scrutiny…!”
Andy, face brimming with emotion, clasped his hands over his mouth. It seemed he was letting his imagination run wild. If left alone, he looked like he might even cry, so Luisa leaned her head back with a look of distaste.
She figured she should probably give Raphael a signal to send him off, and turned her head—only to find him nodding in agreement with Andy.
Luisa stared blankly at his handsome face, set in serious expression despite his absurd behavior, and let out a hollow laugh.
She decided to just watch and see how long he would keep this up, when suddenly, a voice called out to her from the distance.
“Luisa!”
She looked in the direction of the voice.
Wow, couldn’t even pretend to be subtle. She showed up the second I was mentioned…
Luisa gave a peculiar look toward Bella, who had burst out from the doorway connected to the inner corridor.
Despite all the gazes drawn her way, Bella seemed too preoccupied to notice. That became even clearer when she locked eyes with Luisa and marched straight toward her without hesitation.
“What trick did you pull?!”
What? Luisa blinked in surprise.
Bella’s face was flushed red, likely from running, but she didn’t stop to catch her breath before throwing out more words.
“What I heard isn’t true, right? There’s no way you purified them! I’m the only one who can do that—how did you…?!”
“Well, it just sort of happened, I guess.”
News sure travels fast. Did the priests hide the truth for a whole week?
Judging by Bella’s reaction, it made sense now. She was practically throwing a tantrum like a child whose toy had been taken. Luisa merely shrugged indifferently.
“Explain properly! Did you deceive everyone with some strange trick?!”
“Saint!!”
“How can you say such things?! That’s incredibly rude!”
Luisa didn’t respond to Bella’s outrageous accusations. Or rather, she didn’t have a chance to respond—because everyone around them exploded in outrage first.
Luisa silently stared at Raphael, who had stepped in front of her protectively, and then glanced around.
She saw holy knights radiating anger as if they themselves had been insulted, and priests rushing to stop Bella with pale faces.
It was unfamiliar—this atmosphere that felt like it was trying to protect her.
There was a time when she thought being ignored was normal, that she would always be alone. So even if this was a fleeting act or people being fickle, it wasn’t so bad.
“There’s nothing more infuriating than being criticized for doing something good.”
This was still better than being openly hostile like Bella.
“Apologize, Saint!”
“Thanks to Lady Luisa, we overcame a great crisis. If not for her, even the Saint might have been in danger. How can you speak like that?!”
“Apologize…? No, I didn’t do anything wrong! That—that power wasn’t meant to be used! Even I couldn’t handle it—how could someone with no abilities take care of it? Why is no one questioning this?!”
“I’ve heard enough.”
Just when everyone fell silent at Bella’s hysterics, Raphael—who had been quietly standing guard—opened his mouth.
Gone was any pretense of respect. His tone was dripping with arrogance.
“So the Saint was born with power, huh?”
His voice was low and threatening. The oppressive weight in his tone made Bella’s shoulders shrink.
“I—I…”
“And when you ran off mumbling about disappearing, were you talking about your brain?”
“Wh-what…?”
“Hard to believe someone can be this thoughtless.”
She really must have fallen far out of his favor. Even the former Luisa hadn’t been spoken to with such scorn and sarcasm. Bella had somehow managed to make that happen.
One could guess it wasn’t just about what she’d done to Luisa—abandoning people in crisis probably cost her more in others’ eyes.
“H-how could you say that…”
A priest stepped in front of Bella, flustered.
“Your Highness… I think the Saint just spoke out of shock and guilt. I’m sure she’s deeply reflecting on it…”
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve addressed Raphael as ‘Captain’, but the atmosphere made him switch to honorifics without thinking.
Bella, meanwhile, looked far from repentant. She began crying loudly, stomping her feet like a wronged child.
“Priest! What did I do wrong?! I was just… just saying what everyone was thinking!”
Luisa sighed at her pitiful display and took a step forward.
What a brat.
When Luisa stepped ahead, Raphael didn’t block her but moved alongside her instead. As the distance between them closed, Bella finally seemed to realize her mistake and took a few steps back.
“What exactly is your problem?” Luisa asked.
“W-what?”
“If people were in danger and now they’re safe, isn’t that a good thing? Why are you so upset over who helped them?”
“Because… if it’s a dangerous or improper power, it could cause problems later. I’m just trying to clarify that.”
“Oh, I see. So my ability is wrong, and only yours is right. Is that it?”
“T-that’s…”
“Yes?”
“…I was acknowledged by the temple!”
Bella, who had been hesitating, suddenly raised her head and glared. Luisa almost laughed.
Such bold words, but her tone was full of insecurity. Clearly, Bella knew deep down she was grasping at straws.
“If that’s the issue, no worries. I’m heading to the Grand Temple anyway. I’ll get verified there.”
Luisa actually felt a little sorry. She hadn’t wanted to be on such bad terms with Bella. From their first meeting, things had felt off—and now they’d escalated to this.
She had thought, as long as Bella didn’t go around framing the Saint with unfounded claims like in the original story, she wouldn’t be a threat. But recent events showed that hiding her abilities wasn’t going to help.
Maybe death threats were a bit of an exaggeration, but being passive only invited trouble. It was better to reveal at least part of her hand—whether that was her power or her temper.
“And I have no interest in your title. I’m a Blake. What more do I need? It’s just a hassle.”
“…!”
“Seems like you’re just whining because you’re afraid of losing your position. But you should stop before things get really ugly.”
Luisa gave a faint smile. Her lips curved gently, but her eyes were devoid of warmth—it was chilling.
Her calm, penetrating stare made Bella flinch like someone whose hidden thoughts had just been exposed. Face red, she lowered her head.
Luisa figured that was enough and prepared to leave. No point in lingering after watching such a pathetic display. She clicked her tongue inwardly and turned around—only to be stopped by a thunderous voice.
“What is going on here?!”
What now? Her brows furrowed instinctively.
“To think the Saint is being harassed like this—how could this possibly be happening in the temple?!”
A sharply dressed priest appeared, storming in. His dark, chin-length hair and murky black eyes made his already sharp features look even more severe.
“Deputy High Priest Bedaal, that’s too harsh! This is a misunderstanding!”
“I am merely stating what I see.”
True to his looks, Deputy High Priest Bedaal seemed stubborn.
“Especially you, Lady Blake. We thank you for helping the Holy Knights, but she is the only Saint. Show some respect.”
“Lady?”
That’s quite the informal tone.
Luisa tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. She stared him down, and he looked away, if only slightly.
“…Lady Blake. This is the temple.”
“Yes. I know. But it seems you missed the part where the Saint disrespected me first. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be saying this to me right now.”
“Ahem, I— I saw it all! The Saint only spoke out of emotional distress. Rather than showing understanding, how could you attack her at this moment? Are you heartle
