Taming the Evil Saintess

Chapter 198




One week later, we rode a luxurious carriage sent by the royal family towards the imperial capital, White Crown.

The eastern coast, which had been tense and embroiled in chaos on our way here, was now utterly peaceful on our return trip. The scenery along the coast, albeit somewhat bleak, was breathtaking enough to make the journey enjoyable. Moreover, the quality of the carriage provided by the royal family was excellent, so despite experiencing some motion sickness, Ophelia wasn’t suffering too badly.

“By the way, why do you think the royal family called for us?”

At Ophelia’s question, I fell deep into thought.

This had been my ongoing worry for the past week. Why would Princess, no, now Emperor Adelheit, invite us?

To invite us for a banquet immediately after being crowned, no less. Especially with the demon forces gathering at the Demon King’s Castle.

Wasn’t the timing just a bit too suspicious?

“Could it be that there’s something else going on?”

“I suppose we have to consider that.”

Sighing in response to Ophelia’s question, I shifted my gaze to Emily, who was riding in the carriage behind us. Peering out of the window like a puppy, panting with excitement, Emily truly looked the part of a girl.

“Emily’s going to be a problem.”

“Hmm….”

Adelheit had plans for conquering the continent.

I hadn’t mentioned this to my companions, as I didn’t want to unnecessarily instill fear.

More importantly, if I revealed that Adelheit had transplanted the Hero’s Divine Mark, my friends would inevitably question its origins. They would have to talk about Emily Barried and her background. I still vividly remembered Eldarian’s request to hide the truth from his daughter.

“For now, let’s think about it when we get there.”

“Yeah, that sounds better.”

Ophelia nodded but then rubbed her shoulder as if feeling uncomfortable.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“No, I just feel a bit empty.”

“Empty?”

“I usually feel secure with a shield at this point, but it feels so weird not having one.”

As Ophelia said, she wasn’t holding her shield. Thanks to her commitment to our agreement.

“Just bear with it. We’re not going into battle, right?”

For now, Ophelia was pregnant. I couldn’t bear to see her facing the demon forces with a sword drawn. Thus, the shield she had usually wielded was now strapped to my waist. It was small enough not to be inconvenient.

“By the way, do you even know how to use a shield?”

“I don’t. I never needed to.”

To the Black Eagle Mercenaries, a shield was merely a sturdy piece of wood with a handle attached, and even that was often disregarded.

The claws of monsters could tear through armor; how effective would a shield even be? It was far better to minimize one’s profile and evade attacks. Similarly, neither Laila, Georg, nor Barton used shields.

They dodged or parried instead. This unique fighting style of the Black Eagle Mercenaries had, it seemed, become famous across the continent. Gersen once said…

“Black Eagle Mercenaries fight like they’re dancing.”

Well, he wasn’t too far off.

After all, when you’re desperately trying to dodge attacks, you naturally end up moving like a dancer.

“Hey, how about I teach you shield techniques?”

“You?”

Ophelia nodded with a mischievous grin.

“Believe it or not, I can wield a shield. You saw me when I fought that elf in the Great Forest.”

“I know that, but why should I learn from you? Azar is an expert in that area, after all.”

“….”

It must have struck a nerve, as Ophelia fell silent.

However, she glared at me, furrowing one eyebrow.

A pregnant woman’s hysteria tends to be quite fierce compared to before. Back when we were in Eastern Port, I had teased her once, and the next day, I found poisonous berries in my soup that caused stomach trouble.

With that precedent, I put on the sweetest smile I could muster as I said,

“Oh, no… Of course, it would be wonderful to learn from someone I care about, but… Ophelia, you’re pregnant. So… I just don’t want you to overexert yourself, that’s all.”

“…Hmmm.”

That seemed to be a somewhat correct answer.

Seeing Ophelia’s previously bristled hair calm down reassured me.

“Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s just put off the shield training until after we defeat the Demon King.”

“Will fighting techniques even be useful by then?”

“That’s a good point.”

In any case, if we do defeat the Demon King, I’ll be free again.

Instead of returning to the original world, I’ll be building a family with Ophelia in this world.

Possessor Luna might cling to the idea of returning, but I felt the opposite. I had no regrets. On the contrary, I felt quite pleased.

More than the original world, I was more devoted to the life I was living now.

And more than half of the reason for that was this white-haired woman beside me.

“By the way, after all this fighting is over, we should settle in the Cathedral, right?”

“That’s likely.”

“That’s where we’ll hold the engagement.”

“There’s that church, you know. Let’s keep it small.”

“Yeah. And you’ll be Elliot Meredain.”

“…What?”

I tilted my head in confusion due to the strange statement.

“Why? I’m His Holiness the Pope, and you’re just some commoner. It’s only natural for me to take your surname as the son-in-law of someone great, don’t you think?”

“Uh, no…”

I couldn’t help but admire her deeply-rooted sense of superiority.

“Aren’t you the one who hated your surname?”

Ophelia detested her last name, Meredain, to the point that just hearing it could make her angry. Such that she once beat Galerius, the commander of the Ice Palace, just because he addressed her with her last name.

Yet here she was, scratching her cheek with an enigmatic smile.

“Hmm… I still dislike it, but for now, I think of it as a part of my identity.”

Ophelia said this calmly.

“It’s true that the Pope has done wrong by me, but he was also my foster parent… At least he made me a Saintess. So, since I’m becoming the next pope, I felt I should accept what needs to be accepted.”

“…Ophelia, that’s not very like you.”

“I know. I feel a bit strange these days. Is it morning sickness?”

“I don’t think it’s just that.”

As I poked her forehead playfully, she laid her head on my lap for a pillow.

Our eyes met. Her bright green eyes shone.

With a chuckle, I reclined back against the support.

To think that Ophelia, who once seemed so naïve, had grown this deep in thought over time.

People do grow, don’t they?

It’s truly a bittersweet feeling.

“Hey, Elliot.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a chamber pot? I need to pee.”

“….”

I suddenly wanted to cancel my previous thoughts.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.