While the luggage was being loaded into the carriage, the horses pranced about, dying to run.

This was because I had hastily grabbed passing mages to cast haste magic on them.

“Have a good trip, my lady. Are you sure you’ll be alright without me attending to you?”

The sturdy maid asked while handing over travel snacks.

Feeling somehow touched, I patted her shoulder.

“Of course. Do you think I’m a child, Rona?”

“It’s Lina…”

While Lina was making a complex expression that seemed both moved and not, Lynen called out.

“Calliphe.”

He was standing in front of the carriage, extending his hand to me.

“Let’s depart now.”

Not only the annex servants but also the special unit had gathered to see us off.

So, while suppressing my discomfort (this aversion is gradually dulling. No!), I spoke like I was madly in love.

“Okay, darling.”

“…”

A crack appeared in Lynen’s composed expression. Seeing that satisfying reaction made me want to tease him more.

I pretended to slip while boarding the carriage and fell into Lynen’s arms with an exaggerated scream.

“Oh my!”

“…!”

Lynen’s eye twitched as he caught me with one arm.

Taking advantage of the moment when others couldn’t see my face, I gave him a big smirk.

“Thanks, darling. Your arms really are the best!”

“…I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

Suddenly, he spoke sweetly while lowering his head.

“I’ll take my reward with a kiss.”

Chu.

“Ahhh!”

“Kyaaah!”

The watching maids and I screamed simultaneously, though for very different reasons.

[‘Noah’s’ filial piety increased by 3.]

[Current filial piety: 23]

Amidst the commotion over the staged display of the loving couple, I remained frozen in the position of trying to push away his chest.

‘I-I thought he was really going to do it!’

Actually, his lips hadn’t touched me at all, only hovering near my ear.

Looking at my wide eyes, Lynen smiled victoriously.

I really want to hit him. Let’s do it.

Thwack!

“Ugh.”

Lynen frowned as I suddenly hit his arm.

“Don’t act up. It’s not even ticklish.”

“…”

“Lynen?”

Come to think of it, wasn’t that arm where the monster had bitten him? I became a bit worried.

“Wasn’t it completely healed with the potion… Eek!?”

Lynen lightly tossed me onto the carriage sofa.

Then he picked up Noah just as easily, put him in the carriage, and sat down.

“We have a long way to go, so let’s hurry. Start moving.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lynen, who ordered the coachman and closed the carriage door, seemed normal.

Was that just acting after all?

* * *

The place where the Saint was in seclusion was a remote village in the southwest of the district, where even carriage roads weren’t properly maintained.

Even with the haste magic on the carriage, we had to use several transport portals meant for wealthy long-distance travelers.

And even after that, we had to travel for quite a while on narrow mountain paths where even riding horses was difficult.

When we finally started seeing rural houses, I almost shed tears of joy.

Carrying a tired Noah on his back, Lynen surveyed the village streets.

“What a desolate atmosphere. And there’s an unpleasant air about.”

“Unpleasant air?”

“…”

Lynen seemed unsure himself and held his tongue. Anyway, what mattered wasn’t the village’s atmosphere but the Saint’s whereabouts.

‘But first, let’s feed the kid.’

We took a break at the village’s only restaurant.

After wetting his throat, Lynen asked.

“Calliphe. I’ve been wanting to ask this.”

“Yes?”

“How did you find the Saint first when even the High Cardinal couldn’t find them for so long?”

My hand holding the spoon twitched.

“W-well, obviously Dietrich told me?”

“Are you saying the Baron also told you about the Saint’s absence, when even the fact that they’re not at the Grand Temple hasn’t been made public yet?”

“Yes.”

Lynen tapped the old wooden table with his fingertips. He seemed somehow displeased.

“So that man told you about the young Marquis’s plot and suggested the solution as well?”

Why is he being so sharp again?

I frowned, pretending to be offended.

“Not at all. Of course it’s my plan. Everyone who needs to know is aware that the Saint hasn’t shown themselves for months now? Dietrich just confirmed the facts and provided information.”

“Was that fellow so capable?”

Lynen narrowed his eyes after casually dropping that rude comment.

While trying to appear nonchalant as I sipped my stew, I asked.

“Why? Suspicious because it’s Dietrich’s information?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then?”

“I’m wondering when you became so reliant on someone you used to dislike.”

Lynen’s flat voice somehow sounded like a protest.

“Even contracts have an order.”

“…?”

As I blinked my round eyes, not understanding his meaning, Lynen stared back to ask what I was looking at.

“Are you angry right now?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I be?”

That’s when it happened.

“Thank you as always.”

A small mumbling voice was heard.

Since we were the only customers in the restaurant, that small voice was enough to catch my attention.

“Oh no, I should be thanking you. Thanks to the ointment you made, my cut finger healed so quickly.”

“It was nothing…”

A man wearing a worn cape was talking with the restaurant owner.

Though the man’s posture was depressed and withdrawn, it couldn’t hide his porcelain-like skin and features as beautiful as a crescent moon.

Especially his light brown hair, almost golden, looked soft even without touching it.

‘Found him.’

This was Saint Alensis.

“Please take this today!”

The restaurant owner tried to stop the Saint while holding out bread. Her movement was as quick as a hawk catching prey.

But.

“It’s fine…”

Shwish. Swoosh.

The Saint avoided the owner’s kindness as flexibly as swaying seaweed.

“Give it to the children instead of someone like me…”

“No, I want to give it to you, Allen!”

“May you have a peaceful day…”

The Saint left a dreamy farewell and slipped out of the store like a ghost.

I asked the restaurant owner who was fuming about failing to slip something into his sleeve again.

“That person, it’s not his first time slipping away, is it?”

“Don’t even mention it. That young man Allen comes down from the mountain occasionally and helps out in big and small ways, but he won’t accept anything in return!”

“Not even a piece of bread?”

“No! Now even I and others have gotten stubborn about it and try to forcefully grab him and put things in his hands, but he’s so good at slipping away!”

People going out of their way to take care of him. As expected of a Saint, his character seemed excellent.

‘Though he’s scheduled to become even more withdrawn from people than now soon.’

Currently, this is before <Marino> begins.

Right now, the Saint is the proud and holy existence that the Grand Temple desperately seeks.

But in <Marino>, after completing his revenge and returning to the Grand Temple, the Saint falls to become like a decorative flower.

‘Not just the Saint, but the Grand Temple’s prestige also fell and many people came to disregard them.’

How ironic that he would fall after achieving the revenge he so desired. Did he perhaps feel the futility of revenge?

‘But the Saint in <Marino> said he didn’t regret his revenge. That he would do the same if he went back in time.’

Then he should do it.

Even Keanu Reeves said it – since precious people don’t come back whether you take revenge or not, taking revenge is more refreshing. I strongly agree.

So I planned to help him without hesitation.

“Sigh. He looks more gaunt every time I see him, I wish I could feed him something.”

“Then shall we try taking it to him? We need a place to stay anyway, so we could ask while we’re at it.”

The owner shook her head.

“Would someone who avoids even the villagers listen to you? He seemed to leave more hurriedly than usual today because of you folks.”

“Is that so? Can’t be helped then.”

After the owner left to do her work, Lynen asked.

“It doesn’t look like it will be easy to make contact. If he’s a cautious person, he might even be suspicious of why we came all the way to this remote place.”

“Right. This isn’t exactly a tourist destination.”

Lynen stared at me intently.

“That expression, you’re plotting something again.”

Well, that’s because I know how the Saint took Noah into his home in the original story!

“Noah. Want to do a secret mission?”

Time to use the Saint’s suspicion to our advantage.

—

T/N: Keanu Reeves suddenly mentioned?! LMAO