“Is there any reason to be truthful to people who aren’t important in the first place?”

“…What?”

“It’s comfortable for me, and it’s what others want. If we just give up on the truth, it’s a picture where everyone’s happy, isn’t it?”

The world was busy enough just taking care of his own people. Feeding, washing, holding, playing, and putting to sleep — even 24 hours wasn’t enough.

He couldn’t understand what the problem was at all.

While he was excessively indifferent to others, he was excessively attentive when it came to Rarien Claude.

But from Rarien’s perspective, who had been equally kind to everyone, Nicholas Reinhart was a type of human she had never seen before in her life.

“So, I was hoping you could stay here with me today and help me out a bit, Rien.”

He asked for help. It was a strategy that worked best on pushovers, but Rarien still wore an awkward expression.

Asking to help by his side. Isn’t it a bit wrong to have someone other than the priest present during confession?

She shouldn’t be talking either, considering she slept with a priest… It felt like the little conscience she had left was stinging.

“…That seems a bit rude. The person confessing is speaking in trust. After all, it would be a secret they want to keep.”

“If it’s a secret they really want to keep, they should keep it to themselves. Once it leaves their mouth, it’s no longer a secret.”

“They probably came to confess because they’re going through a hard time and have nowhere else to turn.”

“Life is always a series of hardships.”

“Anyway, they’re confessing because they trust Your Excellency…”

“The world is too scary. You shouldn’t trust others carelessly in the first place.”

…Wow, how can a person be lacking in empathy?

It was amazing that a person like him chose to be a clergyman as a profession.

When words failed to get through, Rarien decided to be firm.

“Anyway, I’m uncomfortable with this. I can’t do it. I’m sorry, but I’ll wait outside.”

“So you worry about people you don’t know, but not about me?”

“What?”

“I asked because I keep feeling anxious about being alone… I’m hurt.”

…Why does he look genuinely hurt?

Nicholas lowered his eyelashes and put on a lonely expression.

From the day she was assigned as his assistant, they had hardly been apart for a moment. It’s not like she was going somewhere else, she would just be waiting quietly outside. Why was he acting like a puppy with separation anxiety?

Nicholas was six years older than Rarien. It was surprising to see a man she thought was an adult acting like a child.

Rarien was flustered, but on the other hand, her heart wavered thinking about how bad things must be for him to act like this.

In short, it stimulated Rarien Claude’s ‘pushover instinct’.

“Rarien Claude, do you think I’m good at everything?”

Nicholas spoke as if pleading.

“You just saw, didn’t you? Honestly, I’m a bit lacking in empathy.”

“…But you said I was Your Excellency’s only flaw.”

“That’s right.”

He didn’t deny it.

“I don’t particularly think lacking empathy is a flaw.”

“What?”

“For me, the only criterion for a flaw is whether it can shake me or not.”

Since he only cared about himself, he must live quite comfortably in this world.

Rarien could keenly feel how inefficient her way of thinking had been in maintaining mental health.

“Anyway, given my profession. I just pretend to respond appropriately. Honestly, it’s difficult every time.”

And he wore a somewhat troubled expression. Seeing this, Rarien hesitated, and Nicholas seized the opportunity.

“Isn’t empathy and consideration my dear assistant’s specialty? As you know, it’s the assistant’s job to fill in the gaps for their superior’s shortcomings.”

“……”

“Please, show me some empathy and consideration too.”

It was annoying. It seemed like sophistry. But he was only saying things that were strangely correct, making it impossible to refute.

“Anyway, Rien won’t disclose what you hear here. I have that much sense of responsibility and ethics. I’m asking for help because I trust you in that regard.”

He strangely emphasized his trust in Rarien, praising her as well.

“Let’s think from the confessor’s perspective. They came all this way because they had nowhere else to open up. If even I can’t receive their confession, how painful would that be for them?”

“……”

“They would probably spend sleepless nights in agony until the next confession schedule. Rarien Claude, think about our mission as those who walk the path of God.”

Despite having strayed far from the path God set.

He rather blatantly stimulated Rarien’s guilt and emphasized their sense of mission.

It was foolish to try to win with words against someone who makes a living with their mouth in the first place. Rarien felt drained by Nicholas’s dazzling sophistry, just wanting to throw up her hands and feet in surrender.

Ding–

In the midst of their argument, the silver bell rang. It was a signal that the first confessor had arrived.

“If you’re going to leave, you can leave now.”

Nicholas whispered playfully in her ear.

There would be confessors waiting outside. He was clearly doing this on purpose, knowing she couldn’t leave. Rarien had no choice but to give up on leaving.

“It’s okay. As long as Rarien doesn’t make a sound, no one will know.”

A wicked whisper was heard in her ear.

“It’s not difficult. Just sit on top of me like this.”

He pulled Rarien into his arms smoothly and sat her on his lap.

“Just tell me what to say if I get stuck.”

After whispering, he took off her glasses like he was doing her a favor, and her long eyelashes fluttered. He liked those anxious eyes that moved here and there, examining him. The moment he read the hidden passion in them, Nicholas immediately captured her parting lips.

Rarien swallowed a gasp and let out a muffled moan at the forceful kiss.

The suppressed sound sounded even more erotic. The sense of blasphemy from fooling around with a stranger just on the other side of the wall made her ears burn hot. She should dislike it. But her body was heating up. She was completely beyond salvation.

Sweet. This was the sweet forbidden fruit offered by the perfect son of God, no, Satan beloved by God.

Even if it was a test from the Goddess, even if she would fall straight to hell the moment she bit into it, she had no way to refuse. It was a fragrant and soft fruit that melted on her tongue as soon as it touched her mouth, as if the flesh would disappear.

The chair faced a full-length mirror on the wall, and to the right was the wall separating the confessor and the priest. The reason for installing a mirror in the confessional was simple. It was to see oneself clearly.

For the confessor, it meant to confess and repent everything without holding back so as not to be ashamed of oneself, while for the priest, it meant not to forget his duty as God’s representative while looking in the mirror.

After a long time of intertwining, their lips parted with a wet sound.

Rarien flinched and looked around, afraid that even that small sound might be heard. At that moment, she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

It was truly blasphemous enough to make her hair stand on end. She was sitting on Nicholas’s lap, cradled in his arms like a doll. Her lips, covered in saliva, were swollen from being bitten and sucked, and flushed as if about to burst.

Their eyes met through the mirror. Nicholas Reinhart’s golden eyes, always brilliant and holy, were already languidly relaxed. While she was off guard, his large hand slipped below her waist, making Rarien spread her legs wide.

Surprised, she tried to close them again, but couldn’t because he had wedged his knees in between. And naturally, he pulled up her skirt. Following her snow-white thighs, her panties were revealed. Whether excited from the kiss or not, they were already round and wet, clinging to her.

“Most honorable Lord, Goddess Arne. Here, your child confesses in detail before you to repent for the sins committed thus far.”

The voice of the confessor starting their confession was heard from the other side of the wall.

It was the voice of a young male believer.

As soon as the voice was heard, his fingertips touched her wet panties. He traced the wet marks in circles and then gently stroked up the slit of her p*ssy, making her toes curl from the ticklish sensation. Rarien had to bite her lower lip hard to suppress the moan that almost burst out without her realizing.

“In the name of the Lord, I command.”

Nicholas gently answered, removing Rarien’s lips from between her clenched teeth.

“Confess.”

Unlike the trembling Rarien, his voice was calm, showing no signs of being affected.

No sooner had the words ended than he overlapped their breaths once again with a soft touch, touch. Hot breath scattered around her mouth. Her cheeks flushed and her head became dizzy. With each kiss, she felt lightheaded from lack of breath.