Chapter 8
“Paladin?”
Ellen needed someone to be her right hand.
Rohan was from the same slum as Ellen and had grown up alongside her in the temple.
He also had divine power, but there weren’t enough knights, so he had been drafted. After all, there were many children with moderate divine power.
“Yes, a paladin. Please, that one.”
Lissio rang the bell and instructed the maid to bring her aide, Alex.
Would it be taken care of immediately? Her green eyes sparkled with anticipation.
When Alex arrived, Lissio asked,
“Who is Paladin Rohan?”
“He is the captain of the second paladin unit of the Grand Temple. Skilled in swordsmanship, honest, and handsome, he is popular among the faithful. Would you like me to investigate further?”
“Uh… just step outside for a moment, Alex.”
Lissio’s voice carried a low tone. Perhaps sensing the ominous atmosphere, Alex lowered his head and quietly left.
“So, she went to the temple every day just to see him?”
It seemed as if Anais, the owner of this body, was asking why she had gone to the temple. But she had always come to see Ellen. Very persistently.
“No. I only met Saint Ellen. She has strong divine power and is extremely capable.”
“Really? Without calling that person?”
“She’s dead… Saint Ellen.”
It was crushing to speak of her own death aloud. Tears threatened to rise.
“She must have been close, then. I’ll think about Paladin Rohan.”
After that, Lissio remained silent. So when someone was said to be coming to the temple today, she had half given up hope. She fervently wished it wasn’t just an official visit.
When there was a knock at the door, curiosity made her stretch her neck to see who was entering.
“Paladin Rohan, greetings to Duchess Debesser.”
Even by voice alone, she smiled brightly.
“Rohan! Come here.”
Rohan paused, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Oh no!”
Ellen realized her mistake too late, cleared her throat, and tried to sound proper.
“No, Sir Rohan. Please, come here.”
“I heard you sought my healing. I initially refused, but you insisted I come speak in person. I am not a paladin cleric. I cannot heal you, Duchess.”
“Anyway, neither the temple clerics nor the saints can restore me, right?”
If it had been Ellen, she would have lied, claiming it could be done with constant prayers and healing. But Rohan was not that type.
“Yes. I apologize for being unable to help, Duchess Debesser.”
As he bowed to leave, she called out urgently,
“Ellen said you must receive her life debt! She entrusted it to me.”
“Do you know Ellen?”
Rohan lifted his head sharply.
It had been a playful remark in their childhood.
The boys in the slums disliked Rohan, who seemed out of place in the slums.
With his fair skin, glossy black hair, and sharp black eyes, he stood out as strikingly handsome even as a child.
The children often teased him out of jealousy, and Ellen would always chase them away.
Every time, Rohan would thank her repeatedly. Ellen felt embarrassed by it and could hardly bear it.
“Trying to smooth things over with words? I’ll make you repay it with your life someday. So stop it.”
Despite her words, Rohan never stopped expressing his gratitude.
She even made him promise his life repeatedly until he could shrug it off with a smile.
Over time, Rohan began to respond casually, “My life is yours.”
“Yes, we were close.”
“Do you… know that Ellen has gone to God’s embrace?”
Her heart ached, and a small part of her had held on to hope, now extinguished.
There was no returning now.
“That she got along with a man…?”
“Absolutely not! Ellen went to the slums to meet her mother. That man… I consider him a suspect and am tracking him.”
She had never believed the rumor that Ellen had grown close to a man. What puzzled her now was… why Anais would meet her mother. Ellen hadn’t seen her mother in years.
There were too many questions, and Ellen needed Rohan.
“I don’t believe that rumor either. If you find out who the man is, please let me know. I’ll help as much as I can. Even financially…”
“Your thoughtfulness is enough. And thank you for trusting Ellen, Duchess Debesser.”
That was what she wanted to say—thank you for believing in her.
Before her friend, tears she had held back began to flow.
“Ah…”
Rohan, flustered, took out a handkerchief and wiped her tear-stained cheeks.
“You hold my debt. Command me. What should I do?”
Perhaps because of her tears, Rohan accepted. Since he always kept his promises, she allowed herself a faint smile.
“Could you learn more about my family, the LaHone Count house?”
“Is there something troubling you?”
“Just consider it the first trial.”
“I will.”
Rohan hesitated briefly before speaking with difficulty.
“…Did Ellen leave any other instructions?”
He seemed to miss Ellen. After all, they had been friends for a long time.
Having shared the hardships of temple life together, Rohan had always comforted her and resolved problems as if they were his own.
Had she ever thanked him? Perhaps she had taken his constant presence for granted.
“She said too much, but she liked the daisies I always brought her. And…”
“I’ll hear the rest slowly.”
In Rohan’s faint smile, she could see the sadness.
Having even one person mourn her death meant her life hadn’t been a failure.
She wondered what kind of person she had been to him.
“Was Ellen special to you, Rohan?”
“I loved her.”
The immediate answer, without hesitation, left her wide-eyed in shock.
“Huh?”
Her heart raced and her face flushed at the unexpected confession from a friend.
“Of course, I never even spoke of it.”
Rohan loved her? The world… they were just friends, always laughing and crying together… Why? Her mind was full of questions.
“When did you… no, start liking her?”
“From the very first time we met, I think.”
Her face twisted as if to deny it. Their first meeting hadn’t been romantic.
Ellen had been a typical slum child, skinny, dirty, with a runny nose.
That day, she had been wandering the alleys with nothing to do and saw a pitiful little boy being surrounded and beaten by other children.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”
Ellen, born and raised in the slums, always carried a makeshift weapon—stones in her socks—and waved it threateningly at the children.
“Go away before I get angry!”
“What’s a little kid like you saying?”
A bigger boy, apparently the leader, raised his arm as if to hit, but a friend whispered to him while holding his arm,
“Hey, don’t. Just leave. He tried to bite my finger.”
Tried to bite? Ellen was unjustly accused. She had simply shoved the child’s hand along with the bread he was trying to steal into her mouth.
The children all focused on their friend’s finger, scarred and still visible. Slowly, they backed away and eventually ran off.
“Don’t ever come back, you villains!”
Ellen triumphantly shouted after them, then turned to the little boy huddled nearby.
“You okay?”
His clothes were torn, hair messy, and eyes bruised.
“They took something from you. Don’t carry money here. What’s your name?”
“Rohan…”
“Boy, don’t cry over this. Get up.”
Rohan stayed curled up despite her words.
“Where are you hurt? Let me see.”
“Go away…”
“Look at him! After all I did to help.”
Angry, Ellen stomped her foot and crossed her arms, glaring at Rohan, who began trembling and eventually burst into tears.
Unexpectedly, Ellen didn’t know what to do as he cried loudly.
“Were you scared? It’s not that…”
As she patted his shoulder to comfort him, her gaze inadvertently fell on his wet pants.
Only then did Ellen realize why Rohan couldn’t get up.
