And through the neighboring nun, he also knew there was someone among the holy knights who would blush at Rarien. 

 Damn it. He knew she was cute. 

 As expected, it was better to hide her away and keep her to himself rather than let her out. 

 Pretty, cute, so lovely he could die. 

 Since she wouldn’t believe no matter how much he told her the truth, saying it was embarrassing, it seemed he needed others to tell her too. 

 He deliberately leaked to the Holy Knight Order that His Excellency would hear confessions on that date, and sure enough, that rat-like bastard who admired Rarien Claude took the bait. 

 Just one came forward. There were probably quite a few gloomy ones who didn’t even make a confession. 

 He thought he should conduct an overnight fasting service before quitting as a high priest, like he had done at the Central Holy Knight Order. 

 Of course, he separately noted down the name of the holy knight who confessed, for personal revenge. 

 Sorry to Rarien, but he had secretly switched her contraceptive pills too. 

 And they had s*x at all hours. He didn’t care if it was called vile and insidious. 

 He was willing to do any dirty deed and take on the villain’s role to save Rarien. 

 Naturally, Rarien must never know until the end. 

 Rarien Claude. May you only see the beautiful lies I’ve created. 

 You can’t escape from my embrace anyway. 

 I hoped and prayed that you would remain forever peaceful, knowing nothing in the sweet illusion I created. 

 But that was Nicholas Reinhart’s very arrogant and vain wish. 

 ***

 He had known in advance that Isaac Claude, that good-for-nothing, might visit the temple. 

 He had thought naively that if he came to the temple, he would hear the rumors and demand money, and then poor Rarien who knew no one but him would have no choice but to ask him for help. 

 It was wrong to have such a complacent thought. 

 He had called her pet names and showered her with affection. Since everything from meals to baths to sleeping had gone through him, he had mistakenly thought she would ask for help even in difficult situations. 

 [To Your Excellency] 

 However, Rarien Claude left without hesitation, leaving only a letter. 

 [I have been deceiving Your Excellency all this time.] 

 He had known. He was rather grateful that she had deceived him. 

 [You said that no matter how it appears to Your Excellency, the truth is more precious than falsehood.]

[So even though it’s unsightly, I want to show you my true self now.] 

 The calm handwriting continued. 

 [I don’t have much time left, and even though I can’t stay by your side until the end, I kept approaching and running away from Your Excellency because of my greed.]

[I completely understand if you cannot forgive me for cowardly running away again today. I am truly sorry.] 

 The hand holding the letter trembled faintly. 

 [You see, I’ve always lived for others. I had to, and I wanted to.]

[I myself was used to it too.]

[I don’t think there’s anyone to blame. It was the life I chose for my own peace of mind. I suppose I lacked courage.]

[Then for the first time I thought I wanted to possess something, and so the first time I took courage was for Your Excellency.]

[My feelings of love were sincere. Please believe that.] 

 Actually, he had known.

The repeated doubts were not because you did wrong, but because I was too petty to accept you within myself.

[Thanks to Your Excellency’s care, I learned for the first time what it feels like to be loved by someone. Thank you.] 

 [You told me not to throw around apologies or thanks too easily, but this is sincere and I really wanted to tell you] 

 Don’t say you’re sorry. Don’t say thank you. 

 It’s only natural. 

 [Your Excellency is the most thoughtful and gentle person I’ve ever met.]

[I can’t deny that at first I fell for your radiant appearance…]

[The more time I spent with you, the more I learned about Your Excellency’s little details, the more I liked you.]

[It’s funny, but I think I came to like Your Excellency more when I realized you weren’t a perfect son of God.] 

 That’s right. You of all people should like me. Because you are my only flaw and weakness. 

 Though I can shamelessly insist that nothing else matters, only with you, Rarien Claude, I cannot. 

 Because you are the only being who shakes me, and it was none other than you who made me accept that I could never be perfect. 

 Rarien Claude, only before you could I uniquely remove one layer of my mask. 

 [Even though it wasn’t mine. Even though I couldn’t stay until the end, I liked you so much that I kept wanting more.]

[So I was scared.] 

 I wish she would consider that affection rightfully hers. But Rarien Claude apologized and thanked for everything as if it wasn’t hers. 

 Was my effort still lacking? Her behavior only felt resentful. 

 [Still, thanks to Your Excellency, I learned that I am a being worthy of love.]

[Now I’m going to try to spend my remaining time for myself.]

[Though the time I spent with Your Excellency was incomparably happy, this is something only I can do, so please cheer me on.] 

 Perhaps the confidence that one could control others was foolish arrogance from the start. 

 [Because true happiness cannot be created by others.]

[As much as I’ve neglected myself until now, I want to treat the remaining time preciously.] 

 Because everyone has their own time. 

 Rarien Claude. 

 Just as I wished to fill all my time with you, I suppose I should understand your wish to fill your remaining time purely with yourself. 

 [If my brother comes looking for Your Excellency, please ignore him as it has nothing to do with me.]

[You don’t need to give in to his demands just because of me.]

[I don’t want to be a burden to Your Excellency until the end. I beg you.]

[Please tell Her Highness I’m grateful too.] 

 Nicholas Reinhart could not completely possess Rarien Claude. 

 Because unlike himself who knew only himself thoroughly, Rarien Claude was different. 

 [I hope you meet someone good who suits Your Excellency.]

[Sincerely, Rarien Claude] 

 After reading the letter over and over, Nicholas crumpled it in his hand. 

 The hand gripping the paper trembled violently. 

 When his perfect weakness disappeared, the perfect son of God collapsed in the most perfect way. 

 ***

 Soon after, Isaac Claude visited His Excellency’s office. 

 “She’ll come home soon anyway. Our mother has fallen ill.” 

 And he acted exactly as expected. Fidgeting as if worried. 

 “She’s a very filial child, and as a woman alone, where could she go?” 

 Nicholas stared blankly at that ridiculous sight. 

 “I will let you know when Rarien returns. The family is searching everywhere too, so Your Excellency need not worry too much.” 

 She probably ran away because of me. She’ll return? 

 He couldn’t stay silent any longer. 

 Nicholas, who had been staring expressionlessly at Isaac Claude, took out a check, wrote an amount, and signed it. 

 “Here, this is what the Baron wants.” 

 “Ah, I’m not doing this for money, I was just worried Your Excellency might be concerned……” 

 “Take it. Stop putting on airs.” 

 When he sharpened his tone, Isaac’s eyes wavered back and forth. 

 “Your Excellency, there seems to be some misunderstanding. As Rarien’s brother……” 

 “As Rarien’s brother, you came to sell your sister. If not to me, you would have sold her to old men at gambling houses. Am I wrong?” 

 It was a cold gaze like a well-sharpened blade. When their eyes met, Isaac’s face turned bright red and he began making excuses. 

 “…Se-sell Rarien? That’s absurd. It’s just that considering Your Excellency’s dignity, our family should also match the Grand Duke’s status somewhat. And I had a small business plan for the family……” 

 “No need for annoying excuses. You’ll never match our status no matter what you do. I know you’ll just hang around with con artists and gamble away any money I give you, claiming it’s for business.” 

 “……” 

 “So I’ll provide it. Seed money.” 

 At these words hitting the mark, Isaac was struck speechless. 

 “Of course, I will separately provide living expenses for your household. The same goes for your mother’s medical expenses. Take it while I’m offering. Before I change my mind.” 

 After hesitating briefly, Isaac accepted the check being held out to him with trembling hands. 

 Isaac’s eyes grew huge at the amount, which was larger than expected. 

 “I don’t have time to deal with you further, so go gamble. Come back when you run out of money.” 

 “B-but th-this……” 

 “No need to feel awkward. It’s nothing but pocket change compared to Rarien’s worth.” 

 To say such things. He must have fallen harder than expected. 

 The struggles were finally over. Even those who had looked down on them as penniless would obviously grovel when they found out who their in-law was. 

 Isaac’s heart swelled with excitement. 

 “Then I’ll contact you when Rarien returns.”

After bowing deeply and respectfully, Isaac headed straight to the gambling house. He squandered money freely at the gambling house and drank heavily. Feeling lustful after a long while, he also visited a brothel. 

 The next morning at dawn, Isaac’s body was found in the river. 

 The police concluded that he had slipped and fallen while stumbling home drunk. 

 ***

 After Rarien Claude left, Nicholas Reinhart took off his priest robes. 

He resigned slightly earlier than initially planned. 

 And he secretly followed Rarien. Even if he couldn’t confine and possess her. Because he could at least secretly stay by her side. This much should be forgivable. 

 Finding Rarien wasn’t particularly difficult. There wasn’t much in this world that money couldn’t do. 

 He deployed knights and secretly bought off all information guilds across the country. 

 It was no challenge to find one naive woman who knew nothing of the world after living only in the temple. 

 Though he wanted to appear before her right away and torment her, he held back since she said she wanted to spend time purely for herself. Instead, he decided to follow and watch from a distance. Since he was anxious about not being able to keep an eye on her. Wasn’t it only human nature to follow and watch?