Chapter 36

Princess Iomenes awoke from her slumber.

Without even bothering to fix her disheveled hair, she approached the mirror and began washing her face like a cat. However, she froze upon noticing that the countless self-inflicted scars on her arms had disappeared.

Yesterday.

Yesterday, after that strange priestly-clad man had placed his hand on her head, her limbs began to twitch and they ended up in this state when she examined them.

No matter how many times she looked at it, it always came as a surprise.

How?

He just touched her head, right?

She had only ever seen people who were afraid of her.

But he didn’t seem afraid at all – coming in without a protective gown, even casually placing his bare hands on her body.

In her 19 years of life, meeting that man yesterday was by far the most shocking event.

Is he a good person?

Princess Iomenes pondered for a moment.

She still didn’t know.

There was still a possibility that he was dangerous.

Every seven days, a group of people came, tied her down, and caused her great pain.

Today was the day.

Today was the day she would endure that pain again.

Princess Iomenes growled softly in fear and anxiety.

Subconsciously reaching to scratch her skin, she paused as she realized her usual rough, scarred flesh was now smooth and unblemished.

What a strange man.

The feeling of smooth skin was incredibly pleasant.

How should she perceive him?

A thought crossed Princess Iomenes’ mind.

Today.

She was going to observe whether or not he would protect her from the strange people coming to hurt her.

If…

If he was one of those who cause her pain…

If he was someone who helped them…

She would bite.

She would do everything she could to tear into him.

With no protective gown, he would be much easier to harm.

She must never…

Never let her guard down completely.

If she did, it would hurt again.

Princess Iomenes resolved this as she growled quietly.

***

Princess Iomenes was hungrily devouring the snacks I had brought.

I watched her with amusement.

“Princess, please eat slowly. There is still much more.”

Whether she heard me or not, Princess Iomenes was solely focused on cramming the sweets and bread into her mouth.

I had heard that until now, she had only eaten a survival-oriented diet of supplements and sedatives, rarely experiencing snacks or sweets.

This seemed to be a first for her.

“Here, try this one. It’s quite tasty. It’s peach preserved in honey.”

As I opened the jar and extended the peach towards her, she cautiously approached to sniff it.

Using the fork I had brought, I took out a piece and offered it to her.

She cautiously smelled it once more, then took a bite.

Her eyes widened…

And she snatched the jar and fork from my hands, beginning to wolf down the peach.

All dignity and manners were forgotten.

It was the purest form of animal behavior.

But I didn’t mind.

It was wonderful to see her enjoy her meal so thoroughly.

“Eat as much as you like. I’ve brought many varieties.”

To befriend an animal, you must start with food.

I was watching the princess fondly when the sound of a clock chiming twice at a nearby palace pavilion reached my ears.

Princess Iomenes, who had been busily eating, suddenly froze as if struck by lightning.

She stared at something.

She was looking at the entrance gate of the pavilion.

Stopping her eating, she began to breathe heavily.

I watched her pitifully.

“Saint. Every Tuesday at 2 PM, divine magic treatment was always administered. And that day is today. With your arrival, we will no longer administer treatment. Nevertheless, please be aware that the princess will become very sensitive at 2 PM today.”

That was what the wizard said to me before I entered the palace pavilion this time.

As expected, she was staring at the pavilion gates, her face contorted with extreme fear.

“KYAAAA!!..”

Holding a fork, she let out a cry, ready to attack at any moment.

I observed her for a moment before slowly rising from my seat.

“They won’t come. The people who cause pain aren’t coming today.”

But even after I said that, the princess remained anxious.

Then, seemingly unable to hold back any longer, she raised the fork she was holding high above her head, as if ready to stab herself.

I quickly rushed forward and stopped her just as she was about to self-harm.

“KYYYYA!!”

The fork pierced into my forearm.

Shit, this hurts!!

What hell is this since yesterday?!

It hurts!!

Even though it hurts…

The princess in front of me is more pitiful.

“No! It’s okay! They’re not coming! You won’t be in pain today!”

“KYYYYAAAA!”

But the princess did not stop.

Seeing me interfere, she began to unleash her anger on me.

She started wildly stabbing me with the fork.

Blood splattered and I nearly screamed in agony, but I held it in.

Struggling to suppress my scream of pain, I approached the princess.

When she drove the fork into my shoulder, I instead firmly embraced her.

“Shh… It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Pain made tears stream down my face.

Really…

Damn, it hurts so much.

But I could endure it.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

I patted the princess’s back and repeatedly told her it would be okay.

After thrusting the fork into my shoulder and growling, trying to bite me, the princess gradually began to calm at my gesture.

Even though tears involuntarily streamed from my eyes due to the pain, my mouth continued to comfort her.

Right.

What if I get stabbed a bit?

It’s fine since I can recover from any injury.

The pain you’ve endured for the past sixteen years must have been much greater, right?

Isn’t that correct?

As cold sweat poured down, I finally began to think that it was worth it when the princess stopped growling and snuggled into my embrace.

Carefully,

I removed the fork from my shoulder and healed my body with body modifications. However, I did not stop patting the princess’s back.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You won’t have to experience that painful treatment once a week anymore. Calm down. It’s okay.”

As I continued comforting her like this, the princess raised her head.

She was crying.

With tear-filled eyes, she gazed at the entrance gate as her body violently trembled.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

I lifted her up and carefully walked towards her room.

Her bedroom, with its luxurious bed.

But it stood empty, void of any presence.

I lay down with her there.

“Come on. No one will hurt you today, alright? Let’s calm down and get some sleep.”

Gradually calming down, the previously rigid body of the princess relaxed.

And she began to move closer to me.

I embraced Princess Iomenes.

As I patted her back, I sang children’s songs, popular songs, anime theme songs – anything I knew, singing them amusingly though not very well, for several hours.

When it was nearing late evening, Princess Iomenes’ body had gone limp.

Looking down, I saw her sleeping deeply with regular breathing.

I wiped away the tear marks on her face.

Though I’m doing this with a selfish intention of escaping the curse,

this is truly heart-wrenchingly pitiful.

Was it really the right decision for the Emperor and Empress to choose to save Princess Iomenes?

Even in this short time, I’ve thought about it dozens of times.

Princess Iomenes is pitiful.

The Emperor and Empress are pitiful.

Princess Almenes is pitiful as well.

So today, the pain I’ve endured is just a small matter.

What’s the harm in getting injured?

As long as she’s like this now, it’s fine.

I carefully covered her with blankets, tidied up the snack remnants, then left the palace pavilion.

Though my pristine white cleric robes were stained red with blood from the fork wounds, it’s all worth it to avoid a guaranteed trip to hell.

Completely manageable.

“S-Saint!”

“What on earth…!? Why is there blood!? What happened?”

Given the condition of my robes pierced with holes from the fork and covered in blood, their reaction was understandable.

I waved my hand reassuringly toward the priests and wizards waiting outside the palace pavilion, ready for any possible situation.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s nothing serious. I’ll be back tomorrow. Make sure to be aware.”

Getting stabbed with a fork hurts, sure.

But being burned in hell would be much worse.

A bit of pain now could help me avoid hell.

A good bargain by any means.

“Saint…”

A few of the priests and wizards eyes began to tear up.

“Thank you, for freeing us from this duty.”

“Every Tuesday, I thought dying would be better.”

“I couldn’t have my rest disturbed by the cries of a child. Thank you… truly thank you.”

Some of them even wept with guilt.

I understand.

They wouldn’t have tortured the young princess willingly.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

That’s right.

You’ve all worked hard all this time.

And I too have worked hard.

Being forced into this role of a saint and getting a one-way ticket to hell isn’t easy.

Damn that bitchy goddess.

Let’s make a quick escape back to Korea.

It’s time…

to start living without fear.

***

In a dark room,

except for a faint candle on the table, the space was filled with complete darkness, void of any light.

Several shadowy figures were conversing.

“A variable has appeared. The Saint became involved in this matter.”

The murmuring voices spread.

“Saint of Healing, Amael.”

“The one acknowledged by the Temple of the Divine.”

“The one who discovered the brother infiltrating the Sun Church.”

“Exactly how did he manage it? It still doesn’t make sense.”

“The miracle was flawless. The miracle of concealment bestowed upon us by the Evil God was perfect.”

“No divine magic, no miracles, no human efforts could find us.”

“Yet the Saint found us.”

“Are you going to mess this up again?”

The torrent of words abruptly stopped.

After a long silence, one of the shadowy figures spoke anxiously.

“Is it not yet discovered that the Chosen One of the Evil God is at the princess’s side?”

At that, murmurs spread again.

“The disguises of the one with a thousand faces are flawless! He can deceive everyone but himself!”

“Absolutely, absolutely he will never be discovered. Even the Emperor and Empress who tried so hard could never find him.”

“He is the favored of the Evil God. He will never be revealed.”

However, there was unrest in their voices.

After all, the brother who infiltrated the Sun Church also had a flawless disguise.

One of the most skillful users of the miracle of concealment.

The Evil God is also known as the Deceiver, the Blood Drinker.

The miracles of the Evil God even allow one to hide from the eyes of the gods themselves.

He was very safely infiltrated within the church for over 10 years, but somehow the Saint discovered him through some unknown miracle.

The problem is, we still don’t know how he managed to find him.

Neither typical miracles, nor divine magic using divine power, nor even regular magic.

He just found out.

And that was precisely what made the gathered group extremely uneasy.

“There seems to be a need to further enhance the miracle of concealment on the Chosen One. The Saint is getting too close. Contact the Collector. Collect more human spirits and send them to the Chosen One.”

“I’ll relay that.”

With that, the meeting concluded.

One shadowy figure rose from their seat, then all followed suit.

“According to the will of the Blood Drinker.”

All voices spoke in unison, then

the candle was extinguished.

As the candle was blown out, the figures’ silhouettes disappeared together with the light.