Chapter 74

How long had it been since I held Arien?

One hand was intertwined with hers, while the other gently stroked her back, patting her softly.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Lady Caltri.”

At first, Arien stiffened awkwardly, but soon she leaned against my shoulder, exhaling shaky breaths.

How much had she endured?

A woman who had walked only the path of the sword, lacking social skills, had been scorned and mocked by countless nobles in social circles.

That seemingly tough exterior must have already been shattered.

Loneliness seeps into anyone, slowly like poison.

But Arien had nowhere to pour out her pain.

Of course, she couldn’t tell the kind Lillian, nor could she burden her family.

That’s why she’s so shaken by my words. I’m drawing out the pain she’s buried deep inside.

“It’s getting late. Let’s head back now, Lady.”

Arien, who had been nestled in my arms like a baby bird, gently pushed me away.

Her ears were tinged with red, and she avoided my gaze, looking around.

Was she embarrassed to have been held by someone smaller than her?

Yet, Arien didn’t let go of our intertwined hands.

As if holding onto the warmth between our fingers, our hands remained connected.

‘Cute.’

I smiled warmly and looked at Arien.

“Lady Caltri… may I ask your age?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“I’ve always wanted to get closer to you. And if you allow it, I’d like to call you by your name.”

“…I’m twenty this year.”

“Ah…! Then you’re my unnie. May I call you Arien?”

“…As you wish.”

“Hehe, then Arien, please speak comfortably with me. You’re higher in status than me.”

“U-uhm…”

I’m the daughter of a baron, but Arien is the daughter of a marquis.

Moreover, she’s older, so there’s no reason for her to be formal with me.

Yet, she treats me with such respect, likely due to her ingrained sense of propriety.

“Arien, may I stay here tonight?”

I linked my arm with hers and looked up at her. My sparkling eyes made Arien’s widen in surprise.

“Y-you want to stay?!”

“Was it too sudden…? I know it’s imposing, but… I want to spend more time with you. It’s fun being with you…”

“……”

“Arien unnie… do you dislike it…?”

As my gaze turned sorrowful, Arien’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“I-I need my mother’s permission for guests. Please wait a moment.”

Eventually, Arien surrendered to my earnest gaze, raising both hands in defeat.

“Then, may I accompany you to greet her?”

“…If you wish.”

“Thank you, Arien.”

I buried my face in her shoulder and slowly nuzzled my head.

After hesitating for a while, Arien awkwardly began to stroke my head.

Slowly, and gently.

※

Under the delicate moonlight softly enveloping the bedroom, I spread my arms and looked at Arien.

“Hehe, doesn’t Arien’s clothes seem a bit big?”

Arien silently looked at me, then averted her gaze and coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem.”

“It’s because Arien has such a good figure.”

Having not brought any sleepwear, I borrowed Arien’s nightgown.

The size difference was more than expected, and the loose fabric revealed glimpses of my skin.

Arien glanced at me a few times, her body stiffening subtly as she turned her head.

“Arien, could you spread your arms?”

“…Huh? Like this?”

Arien silently spread her arms on the bed. I quickly ran over and nestled into her embrace.

The plan was to lay her down on the bed, but Arien’s sturdy body didn’t budge. Instead, her embrace fully accepted me.

“Ti, Tina…”

“Hehe, I’m so happy to spend the night with you, Arien.”

“It feels too close…”

“Do you dislike it?”

“N-no… It’s not that…”

As you can see, we’ve grown much closer than before.

While chatting over dinner, Arien began to speak more casually with me.

It wasn’t difficult.

For two years, I’ve lived as the pet of many noble ladies.

Visiting their mansions, acting spoiled late at night, showing a submissive side.

Becoming close with Arien, who’s full of inner wounds, was no different.

“Arien, you always seem so stoic. I’d like to see you smile…”

“I’m not usually the type to smile.”

“Really? Can I test that?”

“Test? How?”

“Hmm… I wonder?”

I playfully smiled and lunged at her.

“Like this? Surprise tickle attack!”

“Hi, hiak! W-wait! Ah, ahahaha! That tickles!”

“Huh? You laughed! Oh my, Arien, your smile is so beautiful!”

Arien’s face turned increasingly red in embarrassment. Seeing this, I smiled brightly.

“Even as a fellow woman, I might fall for you. Can you keep smiling for me?”

Unused to compliments, her face easily reddened, and her gaze shyly turned to the floor.

“Th-that’s an exaggeration…”

“Hehe, it’s true.”

Afterward, we spent a while tickling each other and playing on the bed, eventually lying side by side, catching our breath and looking at each other.

In this quiet moment of eye contact, the distance between us no longer felt far.

Now was the time to bring up the topic.

The playful atmosphere faded, replaced by a serious air in the room.

I smiled sadly and carefully looked at Arien.

“Arien… you’re having a hard time, aren’t you?”

“…Huh?”

“Lately, there’s been a lot of bad rumors about the Saintess. You’ve been caught up in it too.”

She silently looked at me. I grimaced and bowed my head.

“I really don’t know who’s spreading these rumors. You’re not the type to hear such things…”

Arien listened quietly, then tilted her head slightly and asked.

“Tina… you don’t know?”

“I don’t. If I did, I would’ve already scolded them. Seeing you suffer like this…”

“Haha…”

She smiled faintly despite her pained expression.

After fidgeting with her fingers for a while, Arien sighed and stared at me.

“Actually… I suspected you once.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. After getting to know you, I thought once. Tina, if you harbored malice, you’d be truly terrifying. So when rumors about the Saintess spread… funnily enough, you were the first to come to mind.”

I couldn’t say anything to that. A strange emotion welled up in my chest, but I just waited for her words.

“But not anymore.”

“…Is that so?”

“I misunderstood. Seeing your face today and talking like this, I’m sure. You’re not the type to harbor such malice.”

Arien smiled kindly and stroked my head. I naturally nestled into her embrace, leaning my head close.

Hmm… I feel a bit guilty.

I was the one spreading all the rumors, but I’m sorry, what can I do?

Of course, it was another noble lady who directly slandered the Saintess, but I laid the groundwork before that story came out.

By the way, Arien, you’re quite sharp.

“Tina… actually, you know…”

As the night deepens, people’s hearts become endlessly emotional and honest.

In such an atmosphere, most noble ladies tend to spill their hidden feelings when someone is by their side.

I’ve heard so many secrets from noble ladies that I could probably fill a book.

Arien is human too, so she must want to pour out her pain.

Like now.

“Father recently revoked the order to care for the Saintess.”

“Really?”

“Yes. With the bad rumors about the Saintess spreading, our Caltri Marquis Family’s reputation started to decline.”

“I didn’t know. You’ve been protecting the Saintess all along.”

Arien sighed lightly.

“No matter my father’s orders, how could I abandon her so suddenly? Lillian only has me now.”

“But still, you’re suffering, Arien.”

“Yes… honestly, it’s been really hard. At first, I thought I could brush it off, but being blamed by everyone is painful.”

“Have you talked to the Saintess?”

“Of course not. How could I tell Lillian, ‘You’re making me suffer’?”

“……”

“But I believe this is right. Lillian isn’t a bad person, and she’s the Saintess chosen by the Goddess.”

Arien wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

At a distance where our breaths touched, Arien blushed and looked at me.

“And now it’s not so hard. The fact that you cherish me, Tina, has been a great comfort.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes. With you by my side, I feel like I can endure any noble’s slander. Will you stay with me?”

The atmosphere felt almost like a proposal.

“Arien, may I ask one thing?”

“Yes, anything.”

“You’ve been a great comfort to the Saintess. Is it the same the other way around?”

“The other way?”

“Is the Saintess a comfort to you?”

“That is…”

Arien’s eyes flickered. Unable to answer easily, I spoke first.

“It might seem presumptuous, but… from what I see, your relationship with the Saintess seems too unfair.”

“Unfair?”

“Yes. The Saintess leans on you and finds comfort, but you only suffer and struggle because of it.”

“…..”

“A one-sided relationship where one only leans and the other only suffers… is never a right relationship.”

“That’s not true.”

“And the Saintess surely knows it. She’s a deep person. But she continues to lean on you without pushing you away.”

“Th-that’s just the situation…”

“If it were me, I would’ve distanced myself from you. I wouldn’t want to see you suffer because of me, even if it hurt, I’d want to protect you.”

“…..”

It’s natural to doubt.

No matter how pure Lillian is, she must vaguely know that Arien is being blamed because of her.

In the game, Lillian always kept Arien as her companion.

There was no particular reason.

She kept Arien by her side to repay her kindness.

Lillian, who received endless kindness from Arien, who always stood by her, harbored genuine gratitude towards her.

The determination to repay her benefactor no matter what.

And that determination becomes a significant factor in Lillian’s full awakening as the Saintess.

And eventually, the awakened Saintess Lillian repaid that kindness.

Until the latter part of the game, she bestowed her merits upon the Caltri Marquis Family, helping Arien’s reputation soar to the heavens.

“…Arien, this might be a reckless statement.”

Of course, the backstory is like that.

But Arien’s current feelings must be different.

“Perhaps the Saintess is using you as a useful person, not a cherished one.”

“…Tina.”

Arien’s expression hardened.

Her calm voice seemed to warn me not to cross the line, but I held Arien’s hand with an even more sorrowful face.

“I’ll say it. I don’t want to see you suffer anymore, Arien. You must have noticed it too.”

“…No, Lillian has no other choice, she truly needs my help desperately.”

“But you’re the only one suffering now. If the Saintess truly cherished you, she wouldn’t do this…! If I were the Saintess, I would never let you be blamed.”

It was a blatant lie, but my voice was utterly serious.

“Tina, you’re lovely, so many people will help you, but Lillian has no one now.”

“…Arien, you’re always on the Saintess’s side. My worries seem pointless.”

I let go of our intertwined hands and stepped back a bit. Bowing my head to hide my expression, Arien hastily grabbed my hand.

“Th-that’s not what I meant, Tina.”

“Do you like the Saintess that much…? Even though she’s making you suffer like this?”

“It’s an unavoidable situation, Tina. Lillian is suffering a lot too.”

“I hate the Saintess. She’s making you suffer so much, yet she won’t let you go.”

“Tina…!”

“…That’s enough.”

Finally, I got up from the bed with a short sigh.

I was about to head out the door, but Arien hurriedly ran over and pulled me back.

“Where are you going, Tina!”

“To the guest room. I don’t feel like sleeping with you, Arien.”

I looked at Arien with a blank expression. Seeing my face, Arien’s eyes began to tremble like aspen leaves.

“Ti, Tina, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Now I see, just as the Saintess does to you, you’re treating me as a mere tool for comfort.”

“What?! That’s not true…!”

“…I think I overstepped. I’ll return to the mansion at dawn, Lady Caltri.”

“Don’t, don’t go. And why are you suddenly calling me by my title?”

As I coldly turned my back, Arien tightly grabbed my hand.

“No, Tina. I need you.”

“You’re only devoted to the Saintess, ignoring my concerns for you.”

“No, Tina…!”

“…No, it seems the Saintess is the one you need.”

Even though we’ve only met for a day, she’s acting as if she’ll die without me.

What a laughable situation.

In the end, she too, like me, was deeply craving affection and attention, addicted to the poison of loneliness.

In such a situation, someone who only took her side appeared.

Just as my mother did for me, I must have been a saving grace for Arien.

The poison of loneliness makes people most vulnerable, and once addicted to the emotion of affection, one can never escape that drug-like swamp.

Like me.

“I need you, not Lillian, Tina…!”

At her desperate and earnest words, I turned back and looked at her.

How frightened she must have been, anxious tears welling up in the eyes of the always strong Arien.

“…Then choose.”

“Choose…?”

I took a step closer to Arien.

Intertwining our hands again, I pressed my forehead against hers.

“I will make you happy, Arien. I’ll persuade everyone to make the scandals surrounding you disappear as soon as possible.”

“……”

“But if you keep ignoring my concerns and stay by the Saintess’s side, I’ll have to give up.”

“Th-that’s…”

“So choose.”

I imagined my mother abandoning me.

Naturally, my emotions surged, and a tear formed in the corner of my eye.

Seeing my tear, Arien’s eyes trembled.

With a voice trembling as if suppressing surging emotions, I tearfully spoke to Arien.

“Is it me, or the Saintess?”

Someone who stays by your side out of a sense of justice and loyalty, yet continuously makes you suffer.

On the other hand, someone who stays by your side during your most painful times, offering warm words of comfort and endless support.

The choice is too obvious.

“I, I am….”

And after that.

Lillian no longer appeared in social circles.

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