Chapter 9 – The Trap Set by the Saintess (Part 1)

“May I come in for a moment?”

Fernan carefully opened Ellerdin’s door. Her hair was still damp, as if she had just taken a bath.

He sat on the edge of the bed. Unlike usual, a silence filled the room.

“……”

“……”

Ellerdin lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers in silence. Fernan also hesitated, unsure of what to say first.

After a long silence, they both opened their mouths to speak at the same time.

“Um…”

“Well…”

“You go first.”

Fernan yielded to Ellerdin.

“…The woman we saw earlier…”

Ellerdin hesitated before speaking.

“Oh, it must be the first time you’ve seen her. She’s the Saintess.”

“The Saintess?”

Ellerdin looked up in surprise. She had thought the woman was dazzling, but she never imagined she was the Saintess.

‘Is that why she was so radiant?’

Ellerdin recalled Yurishien with a somber gaze. However, it was only for a moment, as she soon continued with a sullen expression.

“Is that the kind of person you like, Fernan?”

Once she voiced her thoughts, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

While he seemed to be talking about something serious, she felt like she was talking about childish things.

Ellerdin bowed her head deeply to hide her reddened face.

Meanwhile, Fernan was flustered by the unexpected words.

“What do you mean, that kind of person…?”

Yurishien’s image flashed through his mind.

To him, Yurishien was just a human with holy power who showed interest in Ellerdin, nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, the first impression that came to mind was that she was bothersome… He didn’t like troublesome people at all.

He couldn’t understand why Ellerdin said such things.

When Fernan didn’t respond, Ellerdin mumbled, resting her head on her knees.

“She’s pretty… unlike me… Isn’t she someone you like? So much that you didn’t even notice when I went somewhere else…”

The more she spoke, the clearer the difference between Yurishien and herself became, and it saddened her.

“Ah…”

Only then did Fernan realize what he needed to say.

This situation wasn’t just about telling her that the damn woman was simply a Saintess.

Whether intended or not, he was in a situation where he had to apologize to Ellerdin for hurting her in front of that woman.

Fernan quickly knelt on one knee in front of Ellerdin.

“Ellerdin.”

He took her hand. Her slightly reddened eyes looked at him.

Perhaps because he was nervous, his usually warm hands felt a little cold. Fernan hurriedly continued.

“It was my fault. But I never intended to ignore or hurt you. I was never so captivated by that woman that I lost my senses.”

Fernan looked at Ellerdin’s eyes pleadingly, hoping she would understand his feelings.

“……”

Ellerdin looked away without answering. Seeing this, Fernan felt as if his heart was about to drop.

When he was about to speak again, Ellerdin spoke in a small voice.

“But… her hair was so shiny…”

One of Fernan’s eyebrows twitched.

‘Was her hair shining…? I know it was dazzling because of the holy power…’

“She was so confident too…”

‘Confident? I think rude would be a better description…’

“And… her eyes were beautiful…”

‘Beautiful eyes… Does Ellerdin like eyes that seem to glare? I also have a fierce look…’

“So you couldn’t help but be captivated at first sight.”

Her last words were a bit of a complaint that slipped out as her heart softened slightly to Fernan’s urgent explanation.

But Ellerdin immediately regretted saying it. Fernan suddenly stood up and approached her.

With eyes filled with certainty, Fernan spoke.

“Ellerdin, you are the strongest person I’ve ever seen. How could I look at anyone else when I’m looking at someone as strong as you? I’ve never thought of that woman the way I think of you. You said her hair shone, but only you shine in my eyes.”

Every word was sincere. Fernan knew how much courage it took to stand against past traumas. Ellerdin was someone who had achieved that. It was unfortunate that she hadn’t realized it.

“That’s not all. You are…”

“That’s enough.”

Ellerdin extended both arms to cover Fernan’s mouth. Feeling the soft touch on his lips, Fernan blinked.

“That’s enough now…”

Ellerdin turned her reddened face away as she spoke. Seeing her speak with a pout, as if asking how he could say such embarrassing things so casually, Fernan’s eyes curved with amusement. Seeing her like that made him want to tease her a little.

Fernan gently stroked Ellerdin’s hair as he spoke.

“It seems you like that Saintess more than me.”

At his words, Ellerdin snapped her head up in disbelief.

“Just kidding.”

Fernan smiled. Enjoying her glaring gaze, he continued.

“In fact, when I first met that woman, the Saintess, the reason I was dazed was because I felt something strange. After that, I tried to follow you immediately, but I got trapped in a barrier and couldn’t follow. And during that time… that bastard…”

As he spoke, Fernan seemed to remember Baron Brian, and he clenched his fist tightly. Veins bulged on his tightly clenched fist.

Ellerdin gently placed her hand over his fist, signaling him to calm down. Like a raging beast being soothed, Fernan’s fist slowly relaxed.

“Ahem… I got a little worked up.”

Fernan cleared his throat in embarrassment. He turned his wrist to hold Ellerdin’s hand resting on the back of his hand.

“But that woman seemed interested in you. I don’t think it was with good intentions.”

“In me? I saw her for the first time today…”

Ellerdin said, puzzled.

“Could she have mistaken me for someone else?”

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no reason for the Saintess to be interested in her. Moreover, she had never gone outside due to her father’s restrictions, so there was no one who knew her.

‘It couldn’t be someone who knows me.’

Ellerdin pondered for a moment. But no matter how much she thought, there was no way she could know her.

‘…Maybe she was curious because she saw me for the first time.’

Otherwise, there was no reason for someone as great as the Saintess to pay attention to her.

“Maybe she was just curious because there was someone new next to you.”

Ellerdin dismissed it lightly, attributing it to simple curiosity. Fernan couldn’t take it as lightly as she did, but since he couldn’t figure out why Yurishien was interested in her, he nodded for now.

‘I need to investigate that woman.’

However, before he could summon Mollek to start the investigation, Mollek shouted from afar.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Mollek started running around the castle in a panic. Startled by the commotion, Ellerdin opened the door.

“Mollek, what’s going on?”

Seeing Ellerdin, Mollek hurriedly ran to her. He waved a white letter in his hand and shouted.

“Look at this! It’s holy power, holy power! I never thought I’d see holy power again in my life!”

Mollek hastily took off his gloves and touched the letter with a gesture filled with madness. His skin started to burn as soon as it touched the paper.

“Mollek!”

Ellerdin exclaimed in shock and took the letter from his hand. Mollek looked at her with drooping eyebrows and blew on his burned hand as if it was nothing.

Meanwhile, Ellerdin checked her unscathed hand holding the letter and suspiciously glared at the letter. She turned to Mollek and asked.

“Why am I okay?”

“Oh, that’s probably because you’re not a demon, Madam!”

Mollek laughed and put his gloves back on.

“But what about the Master? A letter from the Saintess, is there going to be a war? Can we eat again?”

Mollek chuckled. Realizing his intentions, Ellerdin shook her head as if she couldn’t handle it. She took off Mollek’s gloves and rubbed the injured area.

Having awakened the power of the mermaid, she discovered that she could heal minor wounds without blood.

It was like absorbing and releasing the power of water, absorbing others’ wounds and healing them through the mermaid’s blood, then releasing the healed skin.

As Ellerdin rubbed the wound, Mollek’s injury began to heal slowly.

“We’ll know what’s in the letter once we read it, but whatever it is, there won’t be a war.”

Ellerdin hid the letter from Mollek’s greedy eyes.

“And I’ll read this later.”

Mollek pouted as the letter disappeared in an instant.

‘He seems bigger than when I first saw him… Must be my imagination.’

As Ellerdin hid the letter behind her back, Celine came running from afar.

“You crazy bastard!”

Celine kicked Mollek in the side. With a thud, Mollek flew to the end of the hallway.

“Ugh!”

He held his side and rolled on the floor. Mollek looked at Celine with teary eyes. She glared at him, panting.

“Stop eating so much! Do you have any conscience?”

Celine shouted at Mollek. Then she turned and grabbed Ellerdin’s hand.

“Madam, don’t mind him. Look at how big he’s gotten from eating so well these days.”

Ellerdin let out an awkward laugh.

It wasn’t her imagination.

“I don’t know why the temple sent you a letter, but if there’s anything unpleasant written in it, let me know. I’ll take all the demons in the North and go.”

Seeing the determination in Celine’s eyes, Ellerdin smiled reassuringly.