Taming the Evil Saintess

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A problem arose.

It wasn’t the first issue we faced; it was already overflowing, but one more was added to the list.

The word that describes Ophelia’s personality is “strong-weak-weak-strong.” And now that Ophelia had become Pope and wielded absolute power in the Cathedral…

“Is that what the holy relic is?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“If I pour some booze into it, it must taste awesome, right?”

“Uh, what?”

“Bring it over!”

“Ah, no! This is something that even the previous Pope cherished…”

“What? The previous Pope ‘cherished’ it?”

“Ah…”

“I instructed you to bring it, didn’t I?”

She was a tyrant.

*

In truth, I had noticed something was off.

Since the moment the Pope was killed, control of the Cathedral had effectively passed to Ophelia, and major national affairs were being handled meticulously by the cabinet, including Belwin, so Ophelia was in a position where she could just lounge around and nibble on crumbs.

When the body and mind are bored, one finds relief by tormenting someone else.

What was happening in the center of faith, the Cathedral, was a scene straight from the Korean military.

“Your Majesty, as ordered, I’ve called for them.”

“Let them in.”

Above all, the Cathedral was the place that filled Ophelia’s childhood with painful memories.

Having reclaimed it, she had come to the point where she would say, “Life is all about the practical, you lot.”

The first blade of vengeance she drew was aimed at the Knight Order of the Saint. Especially the operations of the Punishment Room and the knights who had unknowingly tormented her were her prime targets. According to her, those knights had mocked her during the Continental Conference.

“Y-you called for me?”

Seeming to have their own skeletons in the closet, the knights summoned to the audience chamber exchanged meaningful glances. Then they knelt and bowed their heads to the ground. They were quick to pick up on cues.

“Uh, we truly apologize! But we were only following the orders of the previous Pope!”

“Right. You merely followed orders. I understand. The Knights of the Saint exist to follow the Pope’s orders, right?”

“Y-yes! Yes, exactly! There was nothing we could do!”

Hearing Ophelia’s calm words, the knights lifted their heads with hopeful expressions, but all they found there was despair.

Ophelia, wearing an evil smile and tapping her shoulder with the Royal Scepter, said, “So, according to your words, that means you must obey my orders as the current Pope, without question?”

“Ah…”

They sensed their fate.

The treatment Ophelia handed out afterward was, frankly, quite harsh.

She ordered them to recover and guide all the corpses piled up in the underground catacombs that we had disturbed upon entering the Cathedral to the mausoleum. The knights were horrified at the command. They would have to endure the stench for almost months to come. It would likely take over a year for the smell of corpses to leave their bodies.

“Next.”

Without even listening to the knights’ protests, Ophelia moved on to the next.

Next in were the Nuns of the Saint.

As soon as they faced Ophelia, now the Pope, their legs trembled like aspen leaves.

Perhaps it was out of instinctive fear.

“Laura, Mirien, and the others whose names I can’t even remember.”

Reciting a few names, Ophelia rested her chin on her hand and raised her lips in a smile.

“It’s been a while, you bitches.”

Hearing that vulgar greeting, the nuns trembled.

“It’s been six years since we saw each other at the training academy, hasn’t it?”

“Y-your Holiness… we…”

“Nothing formal is needed. You said it yourself. In front of God, we are all equal.”

“Um…”

“But you also said that humans aren’t equal.”

Ophelia smirked.

“Call me an idiot like you did back then. Did you call me a bitch too? There are plenty of corpses in the catacombs; you can toss me back there if you want. And remember the time you cut my clothes with scissors? Do you know how hard it was to sneak back to my residence halfway naked without getting caught? I was bullied by the maids even after going back.”

“I-I have committed a grave sin!”

In the end, unable to withstand Ophelia’s probing, the nuns too buried their heads against the floor.

Only after receiving a deep bow did Ophelia relax her expression. She smiled warmly, waving her hand dismissively.

“Why so serious? We’re among friends.”

“….”

“Now, what punishment shall we impose? Elliot, what do you think?”

Suddenly, Ophelia threw the question at me.

The nuns turned their hopeful gazes toward me, similar to what the knights had done moments ago. If I were a hero, maybe I could grant them mercy, they seemed to think.

Of course, from the moment Ophelia told me, I had no intention of forgiving these women.

If anything, I was probably more aggressive than Ophelia.

“Well, it’s death row.”

“….”

As I responded without changing my expression, the nuns’ faces went pale in horror.

They prostrated themselves on the floor, begging for forgiveness, and Ophelia smirked as she declared their punishment.

“You are no longer the official nuns of the Cathedral. You’re now maids. You will live your lives serving the new recruits of the training academy.”

Even though the punishment was no less harsh than that given to the knights, the nuns repeatedly expressed their gratitude, relieved that they had saved their lives.

After the storm passed, silence remained in the audience chamber. Ophelia let out a deep sigh, appearing exhausted, while the Cathedral Knights standing guard around her gulped nervously, their faces pale.

They had just witnessed a bloody purge, so it was perfectly sensible for them to act cautiously.

“Now the next…”

“Is there a next?”

In response to my inquiry, Ophelia flashed a cute smile as if to say, “What kind of question is that?”

“Of course there is.”

“Who?”

“First, the trainee priests.”

“Why them?”

“I just don’t like how dull their clothes look.”

“…And after that?”

“The library administrator.”

“Why summon them?”

“I’m going to erase that bastard Yudor from the records. A record deletion sentence, perhaps? I’m going for that.”

“Is there more after that?”

“Of course. I plan to call the choir.”

“And why the choir?”

“I intend to have them write a hymn for me and declare it as the state hymn of the Cathedral.”

“….”

My mind went blank.

Surely, a position like Pope did not suit Ophelia. It was like handing the button for a nuclear bomb to a psychopath.

Here, I needed to become the emergency brake.

“Ophelia.”

“What now?”

“How about we stop the tormenting and go for a little outing instead?”

“An outing?”

Fortunately, Ophelia showed interest in my words.

*

The outing itself was nothing grand.

The Cathedral wasn’t a large nation, and its size was even smaller than the capital of the Empire, so there weren’t many places we could visit.

Nevertheless, various spots to explore dotted the place, and where we were headed was among them.

“It’s the sky garden.”

“Yes.”

I remembered visiting this place a few times. While it wasn’t higher than the Holy See, the view from the sky garden took in the entire landscape of the Cathedral in one sweeping glance.

Ophelia leaned against the railing with a nostalgic smile. I had no worries about her losing her balance. Even if she fell, I could catch her, and she hardly seemed like the sort to get hurt from a fall.

“Remember this place?”

I casually asked, and Ophelia gave a sheepish smile.

It was a memory from before we embarked on our journey—before the Demon King resurrected and Saint Ophelia was to become the opponent.

To reform her, I had resorted to fairly extreme methods back then.

It would be too personal to call it a love tap, and I had certainly suffered plenty at her hands. Looking back, I now think I was a bit too excessive.

Maybe that was why Ophelia didn’t particularly blame me for those times.

“You were a bad bastard, both you and I.”

“And you say that like it’s not the case now?”

“Haha.”

Ophelia laughed dryly, swinging her legs.

“I was so surprised when you suddenly used Gears here.”

“…Well, I can’t deny there was a lack of calculated thought.”

I had meant to use Gears to bolster Ophelia’s motivation. I never imagined I would return to the Cathedral as a hero someday.

“Thanks to you.”

“For what?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve become free.”

It seemed like Ophelia spoke those words sincerely.

Her face, illuminated by the setting sun, glowed red.

“Are you trying to say you want to thank me?”

“No.”

Ophelia shook her head gently and carefully continued.

“I’m saying I love you.”

“….”

I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks at the word “love” coming from Ophelia. She appeared to find my awkward reaction amusing, laughing hysterically as she held her stomach.

A few moments later, she wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and suddenly jumped down from the railing. Dusting off her rear, Ophelia took my arm and hugged it tight.

“Let’s go back. I’m starving.”

“Guess it’s already dinner time.”

“First we eat, then take care of business.”

“Business?”

“The one I was about to discuss earlier. Where did we leave off? I was going to summon the trainee priests?”

“….”

At that moment, I felt a jolt of clarity.

It seemed Ophelia was seriously intending to go through with that.

She would berate the trainee priests for their drab clothing, find the library administrator to issue a record deletion order for the previous records, and summon the choir to declare her as the state anthem.

It was none other than Ophelia.

To stop Ophelia from being recorded as a tyrant in history books decades later, I had to take action.

“Ophelia.”

“What?”

“Let’s put that aside for now and spend tonight together.”

“….”

I initiated a defensive maneuver.

Without any sign of panic, Ophelia nodded her head.

“But there’s one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Tonight, I lead.”

It seemed that Ophelia wanted to be a tyrant not just in the Cathedral but also in bed…

“Are you confident you can lead? After all, you’re always being dragged along.”

“O-of course I’m confident today!”

I failed again today.