Chapter 110 …………………………………………………
Ron felt extremely comfortable.
Being held in such a warm embrace felt unbelievably nice.
His heart tickled, and he even pawed the ground with his front feet.
He wished time would just stop like this.
How long had it been?
Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open and realized he was lying on a soft bed.
What he had pulled out from beneath the blankets was clearly his own hand.
‘…Again?!’
At some point, he had already returned from being a baby lion to being human.
When he was a baby lion, his mind felt hazy, as if he were wandering through a dream.
But whenever a certain scene suddenly surfaced, his face would flare red, and he’d want to hide under the covers.
‘Kuh-heheung.’
He was pretty sure he had yelled like that at Anne again and rolled around on top of the blanket.
“Ugh… I can’t believe I did that again.”
Ron grabbed the blanket tightly, his face scrunched up like he was about to cry.
Then, turning his head, he spotted a purple blanket on the floor beside the bed.
“I think I was rolling around up there.”
Recalling the soft texture of the blanket, Ron unconsciously held out his gently clenched fist.
The image of a baby lion’s tiny front paw came to mind.
He was honestly starting to get confused about whether he was Ron or a baby lion.
There were embarrassing memories—so embarrassing he wanted to kick the blanket away—but there were good parts too.
Whenever he transformed into a baby lion, Anne would find him unbearably cute and pull him into her arms.
The feeling of her touch was something he remembered vividly.
That ticklish yet pleasantly drowsy sensation.
Anyone who hadn’t felt it would never understand.
‘No one but me should ever feel Anne’s touch!’
“Kuh-heung.”
Unconsciously mimicking a baby lion’s cry, Ron sat up in bed.
That was when he realized his well-defined muscles were fully exposed.
“Ah—!”
As expected, he was completely naked again.
It always happened when he reverted from being a baby lion.
Scratching his ears, which had turned bright red with embarrassment, Ron once again felt deep gratitude toward the person who had tucked him under the blankets today.
It was another day with a lesson scheduled with Rose.
At last, we received word that the statue was finished.
Since the statue had been made in secret, the completed piece was delivered directly to Rose’s residence.
Then, pretending to attend our lesson, we secretly boarded a carriage and headed toward the temple.
Rose told me about the Pope.
“His Holiness the Pope is an incorruptibly upright man. I have never seen anyone as righteous as him.”
Usually, temples are portrayed as the root of evil in novels.
But it seemed the Triya Empire was different.
A Pope without greed.
That was wonderful for the empire’s citizens, but it posed a serious problem for me, who needed his divine power.
If he treated money and gold like stones, negotiations would be impossible.
But today, I had Lady Rose with me.
The Foboir family donated a substantial amount of food to the temple every year.
Priests also regularly trained at the family’s forest villa.
Because of that, Rose—the daughter of the Foboir family—was allowed to visit without going through separate approval procedures.
Before getting off the carriage, we carefully covered ourselves in robes so our faces wouldn’t be visible.
It wasn’t unusual for nobles to visit the temple to pray.
But since we were meeting His Holiness today—and had a specific purpose—we decided it would be better to conceal our identities as much as possible.
We followed the priest who guided us.
“His Holiness has just finished his prayers and will be here shortly.”
The priest led us to a room reserved for special visitors.
Once we were alone, Rose and I removed our robes.
“In front of His Holiness, you must never lie or put on airs to protect your pride.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Just as I was wondering what kind of person he might be, the door opened, and light poured in.
It was blinding—so bright I had to shield my eyes.
When the door shut with a firm thud, I couldn’t help but go blank for a moment as I looked at the figure before me.
“…!”
Snow-white hair and beard.
Deep-set eyes that looked as though they could pierce the abyss, and large ears.
He looked exactly like someone out of a fantasy novel.
‘Ah… right. This is a fantasy world.’
I hadn’t felt this way even when I met the Emperor, adorned in gleaming gold.
There was something about the Pope—something overwhelming, simply by his presence.
He spoke.
“It has been a while. May light rest upon the House of Foboir.”
“Thank you, Your Holiness.”
Seeing Rose and the Pope standing together made everything feel unreal.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I faced him.
“I was surprised to hear that the magical bloodline of the Delve family—thought to be extinguished—had resurfaced. But I hear it is darkness-aspected magic?”
“Ah… yes.”
I answered with an awkward smile.
Of all things—light, fire, earth—and it had to be darkness.
Meeting His Holiness like this was deeply embarrassing.
But cheer up, Marianne.
I’d brought an incredible gift today.
At Rose’s signal, I immediately placed the cloth-wrapped item on the table.
“This is…!”
For the first time, the Pope’s steady eyes widened.
What I revealed was a statue made of high-purity gold.
And not just any statue—it was crafted in the likeness of the Emperor himself.
I quickly spoke before he could say anything.
“This is not a bribe. Nor is it an offering to the temple.”
“Then for what reason have you brought this all the way here?”
“I wish to use this to protect the temple’s holy relic.”
“…!”
I didn’t give the flustered Pope time to respond and pressed on.
“I happened to hear that the temple’s holy relic is not entirely secure. The sole relic of the Triya Empire is a blessing from the gods—a gift for all its people. It is not something one person should monopolize. Not even His Imperial Majesty.”
The Pope’s deep eyes narrowed slightly.
Inside, I cheered.
‘Yes! He’s listening.’
To be honest, I didn’t even know what the relic looked like.
I’d possessed this body before finishing the original novel.
All I remembered was my family being wiped out because of Ron Careys, and thousands of people drowning in blood.
If my mother hadn’t told me about the relic, I would never have known.
I continued firmly.
“As a citizen of the Empire, I wish to protect this sacred relic at all costs. So please—present this golden statue to His Majesty, and safeguard the relic with utmost care.”
In other words: give the statue to the Emperor, and protect the relic he covets.
That was why the statue was made entirely of pure gold—and in the Emperor’s likeness, no less.
It was a gift no Emperor could possibly dislike.
The Pope fell silent.
He would have to think carefully.
But if it was the temple—if it was the Pope—he would surely want to protect the relic.
There was only one choice.
“There is just one thing I ask in return. Use Your Holiness’s divine power to purify Ron—the seed of calamity.”
“I am already aware of this, having received word from His Majesty. However…”
“Yes?”
“What will you do if His Majesty refuses this statue?”
I answered lightly.
“He won’t refuse. This statue isn’t just gilded on the outside—it’s solid gold all the way through.”
“…!”
The Pope, once again shocked, stroked his long beard as he struggled to compose himself.
Meanwhile, I met Rose’s eyes and smiled sweetly.
The Pope, Sion Loudman, sank into deep contemplation.
He had lived as an ordinary cleric, and only long after reaching adulthood had his divine power manifested.
Grateful for the sacred power bestowed upon him by the gods, he rose to the position of Pope and devoted himself to the Empire’s people.
No one worked harder for the temple.
No one sought faith more sincerely.
And yet—
‘A golden statue…’
His deep eyes stared into the void.
A divine relic discovered for the first time in centuries.
It looked like a small golden vessel, but in truth, it was a mighty relic that protected innocent lives and eradicated evil.
And now, the Emperor coveted it.
‘How far will His Majesty’s greed go?’
He shifted his gaze to the statue placed before him.
A golden statue bearing the Emperor’s likeness.
The young lady had said it was filled entirely with pure gold.
‘She was a darkness-aspected mage.’
A powerful mage who could destroy and collapse everything with the power of darkness.
He had believed that the pure mage bloodline had long since vanished—but perhaps not.
One saving grace was that he sensed not malice, but a righteous and resolute spirit from the young lady.
The Pope slowly ran his hand over the statue.
Then, he made his decision.
‘The relic belongs in the temple.’
When I returned to the ducal estate, I happened to run into Ron just as he finished his training.
Even though we lived in the same house, I almost never ran into Shevert, so I was glad I saw Ron so often.
“Anne!”
“Ron!”
Ron smelled of sweat mixed with the scent of early spring grass.
He must have trained hard again today.
His slightly damp, deep-blue hair fluttered briefly in the breeze before settling.
“Anne, did you just come back from class?”
Since the temple visit was a secret, Ron thought I’d gone to my lesson.
“Yeah. Did you just finish training?”
“Just now. What did you learn today?”
Ron often asked about my lessons.
He and Cream probably learned etiquette from tutors too, so I wasn’t sure why he was so curious.
“I learned dancing. I’ve been practicing a lot lately.”
“Wow. That’s amazing, Anne.”
“Don’t you learn it too, Ron?”
“I do, but it’s kind of hard.”
Judging by how both his ears turned red, he was probably still a beginner.
I suddenly felt like bragging about how strict my own training had been.
“Dancing isn’t hard at all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I can do most things now.”
Ron looked at me with admiration.
I’d heard his swordsmanship and hunting skills were already near mastery.
But it made sense if he struggled with things like dancing.
No one can be perfect at everything.
“Then… could you teach me, Anne?”
“Teach you? Don’t you have a tutor?”
At my question, Ron thought for a moment, then answered with a bright, innocent smile.
“Still… I don’t really get it. Hehe.”
