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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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‘Fuck.’
Ophelia inwardly cursed, struggling to maintain a polite demeanor and a pleasant smile.
Etiquette. How did that even work?
A smile. What was that again?
The usual Ophelia would have thrown the glass of water she was holding and stormed off.
Diplomacy with the Empire was not her concern. That was the Pope’s job; why should a mere Saintess have to worry about it? But behind Evangeline’s shoulder stood a blond man with his arms crossed, watching her intently.
“….”
Knight Elliot. He was watching her like a hawk, waiting for her to make a mistake. If she messed this up, she’d probably be subjected to night training, no, dawn training for the next month.
While he hadn’t slapped her recently, Elliot had resorted to extending her training hours as punishment.
Just a few days ago, she had taken her anger out on a servant and was beaten with a wooden sword all night. She had cried herself to sleep that night, soaking her pillow with tears.
‘Anything but training…’
That was something she absolutely wanted to avoid. So, she forced a smile and sat down, as did the Imperial emissaries.
“Um, Saintess, it’s been a while. You seem to have… changed.”
Evangeline, the leader of the emissaries and an administrator, spoke, looking at her as if she had seen a ghost.
“Well… the Saintess I remember had a rather… fiery temper. Have you had a change of heart?”
“Well…”
She couldn’t just say, “You bastard.” Ophelia had experienced Elliot’s wrath firsthand over the past two weeks.
“…There are days like this… too.”
“I… see.”
Evangeline wiped the sweat from her brow. She, too, was taken aback by Ophelia’s demeanor.
The difference between the Ophelia in her memory and the Ophelia before her was as vast as the difference between a benevolent god and a wicked one. It even made her entertain the blasphemous thought that the Pope had brainwashed Ophelia.
Meanwhile, the girl beside Evangeline was staring at Ophelia with wide, expectant eyes.
Ophelia looked at the girl. Ash-gray hair, deep blue eyes, and a simple dress. She looked like a commoner. Normally, Ophelia would have scorned her, but she held back.
‘Who is this girl?’
The girl’s gaze made her uncomfortable. When their eyes met, the girl smiled brightly and tilted her head slightly.
‘Is she challenging me?’
There was no such thing as meaningless kindness. That was the rule Ophelia lived by. As she frowned, Elliot, standing behind the girl, narrowed his eyes.
“….”
A silent warning. Ophelia, meeting his gaze, lowered her head and trembled. Then, she looked up again, forcing a sweet smile.
The girl, delighted by Ophelia’s response, beamed and tugged on Evangeline’s sleeve.
“Um…”
Unable to bear the awkward silence and the girl’s persistent tugging, Evangeline stood up.
“We’ll go see the Pope after reporting to the Archbishop. Would you like to join us, Saintess?”
“N-no, I don’t want to.”
“….”
“…go.”
If there were two things Ophelia feared in the Holy City, it was the Pope and the knight behind her. And if she had to choose between the two, she would choose Elliot.
“I see. Then we’ll leave Emily here. Perhaps you could chat with her for a while.”
“….”
“Ah, Emily is her name. She’s one of the Empire’s Mark bearers.”
A Mark bearer. When it came to the Empire’s Mark bearers, the only ones that came to mind were that swordsman Alberich, that attack dog Owen from the Imperial Intelligence, and that mage’s apprentice.
Even that little information had been force-fed to her by Elliot and Belwin, despite her protests.
Emily, noticing Ophelia’s expression, smiled and said,
“Archmage Elderian is my master.”
“Oh… I see.”
Emily, without being asked, even showed Ophelia the Mark on her wrist.
“You’re a Mark bearer too, right?!”
“….”
Why was she being so friendly? Ophelia found her sudden intimacy overwhelming.
She wanted to ask, “Do I know you? Why are you acting so familiar?” But the words wouldn’t come out.
“The Mark of the Heavenly God! You’re famous! I begged my master to let me come here. I wanted to meet you. Hehe.”
Emily clasped her hands together in front of her chest, a shy smile on her face. Just then, Elliot walked over.
Did I do something wrong? Ophelia wondered.
“Since you’re both Mark bearers…”
Elliot cleared his throat. He winked at Ophelia.
“How about Ophelia escorts Emily?”
“What?”
“Emily isn’t familiar with the Holy City yet. Ophelia can show her around. Emily is a future Archmage. It’s important to build a good relationship. It will leave her with a positive impression of the Holy City and enhance the Church’s reputation.”
“But…”
Why should she, the Saintess, have to do the work of a mere servant? She looked at Elliot, but he was resolute. He placed his hands behind his back and gestured with his chin, as if daring her to defy him.
“I’d love to! I’m so excited!”
Oblivious to Ophelia’s inner turmoil, the annoying little girl grabbed her hand and beamed.
There were eighteen Mark bearers in the game. And three of them resided in the Empire.
One was Alberich, the Sword Saint. Another was Owen, the attack dog of the Imperial Intelligence. And the last was Emily Vallière, the Archmage’s apprentice.
“Hmm…”
I was quite taken aback. I knew I would encounter Emily eventually, but her personality in this world was… different. Very different from the game.
‘She was supposed to have a terrible personality.’
In the game, she was a constant source of trouble, always questioning the hero’s words and orders.
She was incredibly proud, refused to follow instructions, constantly clashed with the female party members, and her unique trait, insomnia, hindered her HP and MP recovery, making prolonged battles difficult.
Despite her flaws, she was incredibly powerful. A glass cannon with overwhelming damage output. With Emily in the party, you could brute-force your way through bosses that were otherwise impossible to defeat.
A double-edged sword. Indispensable, yet detrimental to party morale. That was Emily Vallière in the game. But the Emily before me was not only kind but also seemed incredibly naive.
That’s why I had paired her with Ophelia. I suspected she might be hiding her true nature. Perhaps being alone with Ophelia would make her drop the act.
‘Or are the game characters simply… reversed?’
Both Ophelia and Emily had personalities that were the complete opposite of their game counterparts.
Perhaps this world I had been transported to was a mirrored version of the game. I shook my head. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There were still three years until the main story began.
Either way, it was a headache. I rubbed my temples. All I could do now was observe.
“You.”
A voice. Evangeline, the administrator, was looking at me with suspicion. She had said she was going to see the Pope, but she had remained in the reception room even after Ophelia and Emily left.
“What’s your name?”
“Are you asking me?”
“Who else would I be asking?”
Evangeline. She wasn’t a character in the game. With the limited development budget of an indie game, they probably didn’t have the resources to create every single extra character.
“Elliot.”
“And your position?”
“Knight.”
“Is that all?”
“Excuse me?”
“Is that all? Are you not a Holy Knight or an Inquisitor?”
Is that all? Was there more to explain? Evangeline scrutinized me. It was strange for a high-ranking administrator to take such an interest in a mere knight.
“Well… if you’re interested in my past, I was a mercenary before joining the Church. I’ve been a paladin for about two years. Other than that, I’m just an ordinary knight.”
“…Is that so? Truly?”
“Yes.”
Evangeline hummed, placing her hand on her chin. She continued to study me, then sighed softly.
“I apologize if I seemed rude. It’s an occupational hazard.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Evangeline, still seemingly suspicious, looked at my face and then at the seat Ophelia had been occupying. She sighed again.
“The Saintess I know… was a bit different. I wonder what happened.”
“Well, there could be many reasons.”
She looked at me expectantly, so I shrugged.
“Puberty, perhaps.”
“Puberty? Bullshit.”
Evangeline muttered as she walked through the Holy City’s plaza. That wasn’t the look of a woman going through puberty. It was the look of fear.
Evangeline, before becoming an administrator, had been a member of the Imperial Intelligence. She could tell what the Saintess’s gaze had been fixed on.
“There’s definitely something about that knight.”
The Saintess’s gaze had been directed at the knight behind her. But that villainess, that madwoman, wouldn’t be afraid of a mere knight.
It was more likely that she was afraid of the organization he belonged to, or the person backing him.
Knight Elliot, was it? He could be a Holy Knight from the Papal Office, or an Inquisitor disguised as a knight. Both were possibilities. Or…
“Could he be a Shadow of God?”
Perhaps he was a member of the Pope’s personal guard, the Shadows of God. Their existence was shrouded in secrecy, and there was much debate surrounding them.
In any case, with the Demon King’s resurrection, there was ample reason for them to be active.
Whatever the case, it was a potential complication for the formation of the Continental Alliance. Evangeline was a perfectionist; she didn’t want any unforeseen variables.
“Should I ask him for a favor…?”
She sighed softly. There was one person in the Imperial Intelligence, both during Evangeline’s time there and now, who specialized in handling the dirty work. Owen, the attack dog, one of the Empire’s three Mark bearers.
He was someone she usually avoided, but considering the matter involved the Saintess, she might have to swallow her pride.
“It seems I’ll be busy.”
Evangeline muttered, quickening her pace towards the Papal Office. She didn’t consider the possibility that her suspicions might be nothing more than a delusion.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m still new to translating as this is my second novel to pick up, so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
Thanks for the chapter!