Chapter 100
“The Saint…”
I was certain that Bain had said that beside me when I was unconscious.
After returning from the Fog Forest, Bellia would sometimes recall those memories — brief and hazy, like fragments of a dream.
Back then, she hadn’t been in the right state of mind to examine everything in detail.
The shock of discovering René’s existence had overwhelmed her senses.
But after coming back to the mansion, the remnants of that horrifying memory lingered vividly — down to every detail.
All the answers were hidden there.
She had to find out why Bain — someone who should have had no connection to her — was after her power of regeneration.
And the word she remembered was “Saint.”
Bain had definitely muttered that word under his breath, almost absentmindedly.
If she hadn’t regressed, she might not have thought much of it.
But now—
“The Saint is alive.”
Bellia retraced the memories from before her regression.
Before her return in time, the Saint had appeared in this world — and disappeared soon after.
For the first time in over a hundred years, a Saint had been born, and the entire continent was elated for a brief moment.
But the celebration did not last long.
Soon after the Holy Nation’s official proclamation, the Saint was announced dead.
At the time, rumors spread everywhere — that the Holy Nation, whose influence had been dwindling, had staged the entire thing.
But there were too many witnesses who had seen the Saint with their own eyes for it to be dismissed as a hoax.
The Saint had appeared in Revlon — the land of commoners, criminals, and the forsaken.
Her radiant light was so bright that witnesses appeared not only in Revlon but in neighboring kingdoms as well.
The Holy Nation had immediately stepped forward to take her under their care —
but the Saint died soon after, leaving only mysteries behind.
“Could it have been Bain’s doing…?”
Perhaps Bain had something to do with the Saint’s death.
Given what he’d done to her, it was entirely possible — yet there were too many inconsistencies.
The Saint was supposed to die before her sixteenth birthday.
Chronologically, the Saint appeared first and died — and then René was born.
But Bain had known of the Saint’s existence long before the year she would have turned sixteen.
That meant he had already been looking for her.
“Just like I was,” she murmured.
Bain had been searching for her.
The reason he wanted her was because of her regenerative power.
The power of regeneration was, at its core, very similar to holy power.
But such forces weren’t unique — there were many in this continent with similar roots:
the lost power of ancient spirits, the primal mana of old times, and noble houses like the Arphedi family, descendants of those ancient bloodlines.
“Then why me? Why was he after my power?”
Bellia stared quietly at the wall of the carriage.
If she could find the Saint, perhaps she could understand everything more clearly.
And if Bain really was involved in the Saint’s death, then one assumption made sense —
that he couldn’t find her before she descended into this world.
In other words, he could only locate her after she had awakened.
That meant Bellia had to find her first.
The Saint — born in the most humble, forgotten land of the continent.
Creak—
The sound of old hinges snapped Bellia out of her thoughts. She lifted her head.
“You’re here?”
“Have you waited long, my lady?”
Rud, catching his breath from running, looked apologetic.
“No, it’s fine. Did you manage to find a coachman?”
“Yes, though I had to pay extra… It took a while since no coachman wanted to go to Revlon. It’s dangerous out there. I’m sorry, my lady.”
“It’s fine. Come, sit.”
The carriage jolted as if about to move. A moment later, the coachman shouted,
“We’re setting off!”
Rud, worried that someone outside might see in, tightly fastened the window curtains.
Once they left the Empire behind and the outside grew quiet, Bellia drew the curtain back again.
Dense trees blurred past. She sighed softly.
“Are you tired, my lady?”
“A little. What about you, Rud?”
She took off her hat as she asked, and Rud quickly handed her a flask of water.
“Ah, thank you.”
“I’m all right, my lady.”
Rud sat stiffly, obviously nervous about sharing the same carriage with her.
Even as her personal escort, it wasn’t common for a knight to ride alongside his master.
And he still didn’t know why they were heading to Revlon in the first place.
They had left the mansion in a rush — teleported straight to the border without explanation — so he hadn’t had time to understand anything.
To make things worse, the imperial palace had been swarming with people when they’d slipped away.
That had made him even more tense.
“Relax,” Bellia said lightly. “There’s no need to be so stiff. You’re my escort now.”
She gestured for him to take the empty cup.
“It’s fine, my lady. I’m perfectly comfortable,” he said, sitting straight with his knees together, posture flawless.
Bellia let out a helpless laugh. She understood his nerves, but the journey ahead would be long and exhausting — he’d need to conserve his strength.
To ease the atmosphere, she thought of making small talk.
Maybe she’d ask about his preferences?
But then again, after several regressions, she already knew them by heart — that would be boring.
“Hmm…”
After a brief pause, she smiled mischievously.
“So, how is it compared to before?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, being my knight now, instead of Baron Varun’s.”
“Ah—! It’s… great! Truly great, my lady!”
“Really?”
“Yes! I mean it!”
Bellia chuckled softly at Rud’s earnest, boyish smile.
“And even though the Empire’s in chaos, and I suddenly drag you to Revlon without any warning?”
“I believe my lady must have her reasons.”
“I told you not to be so serious.”
She shook her head, half exasperated, half amused.
No matter that she was his superior — leaving the Empire without explanation, while being linked to an imperial crime — and he didn’t ask a single question. Truly remarkable.
“Someone might think I’m a suspect in the Crown Prince’s assassination, you know?”
“I wouldn’t think so, my lady.”
“You wouldn’t?”
“No.”
Rud’s clear eyes shone with conviction.
Still the same, she thought fondly.
Bellia couldn’t help but recall one of the few good memories from her past lives.
Then, after a moment of hesitation, Rud blurted out,
“B-but even if, um, even if my lady were the culprit… I’d still stay by your side! I’d swear it! If my lady did it, there must have been a reason!”
His sudden, fierce declaration made Bellia’s eyes go wide.
“What?”
“I swear! I’ll protect my lady to the end!”
“What—?”
His voice echoed through the carriage, loud and earnest.
And only then did Bellia realize how her silence earlier must have sounded to him.
“Pfft—”
She couldn’t help laughing. Rud’s cheeks flushed red, and he laughed awkwardly in return.
Watching him, Bellia smiled warmly.
Her pure-hearted knight — so untainted and sincere — somehow washed away the unease that had been clinging to her about this journey.
After laughing for a while, Bellia straightened her posture and looked at him seriously.
“To tell you the truth — I’m not.”
“…Not what?”
“I mean, I wasn’t involved in the Crown Prince’s death. At all. We’re going to Revlon for another reason.”
“What reason—?”
“Hmm.”
She studied Rud’s clear, curious face.
“To find something important.”
“Something important?”
“Yes. A person. Someone very important.”
“I see!”
“I wasn’t planning to tell anyone,” she admitted. “But now that I think about it, I suppose I can tell you.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. So if there’s anything you want to ask, go ahead. For this moment, I’ll answer honestly — anything at all.”
“Anything?”
“You can ask why we’re going to Revlon, why I gave certain orders, even why I chose you as my escort.”
Determination shone in Bellia’s dark eyes.
Come to think of it, she’d never really done anything for Rud.
Not a proper explanation, nor fair treatment.
Through Julie, she’d given him orders and summoned him as her escort once more — but this was the first time they were truly alone together.
As in her previous regressions, Rud was again by her side — but his opinion had never once been considered in that decision.
That was why she was curious now — what did he really think?
What emotions did he hold beneath that loyal exterior?
Across four regressions, Rud had always looked at “Bellia” with untainted devotion —
as if she were something sacred and pure.
But in this life, he must have realized he wasn’t that kind of man anymore.
He had helped send Tove to his death — and been used in the process.
Without ever being told why.
She had done it to protect him — but from his perspective, it must have felt deeply unjust.
The silence stretched. And the longer it lasted, the more uneasy she felt.
