But in this worldline, that abuse actually happened

Chapter 65

The front door of an old-fashioned, modest manor opened.

When Lucius stepped inside, the waiting head maid approached and bowed.

The familiar scent of the manor brushed past his nose.

"Is Sophie doing well?"

"Yes! She's been very peaceful and well while you were away."

"Any other reports?"

"Yes. There have been no signs of the seizures or rashes you were worried about."

"That's a relief. Good work."

Lucius finally let out a small sigh of relief.

Just knowing the worst thing he feared hadn't happened made his steps feel lighter.

Tap, tap.

He climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor.

He stopped in front of the familiar door at the end of the hallway and lightly raised his hand.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

A clear, thin voice, so soft you'd miss it unless you were listening closely.

Lucius carefully turned the doorknob and stepped into the room.

"I'm back."

"Mm-hm. You didn't hurt at all while I was gone, right?"

A beautiful woman seated on the sofa greeted Lucius with a bright smile.

Her appearance was identical to Lucius's, as if looking into a mirror.

But her face was tinged with a faint, unmistakable pallor.

"I know. The head maid just told me everything on the way up."

"Right. Maybe it's because you diligently took all the medicine I made before I left?"

His twin younger sister, Sophia, chattered away in a very spirited tone.

'Forced cheer.'

Lucius didn't bother saying aloud that her exaggerated cheer only highlighted his sister's frailty.

Because he knew all too well that it was his sister's gentle way of not worrying him.

"That's a relief. I'm glad the medicine is working."

"So? Nothing happened on the region tour? You weren't supposed to be back this early."

"There were plenty of interesting things, but I think I should tell you this first."

"Mm? What is it? Why are you acting so smarmy?"

"I found you an absolutely perfect marriage prospect."

Jolt!

"……What?"

"For the record, you can't refuse. I've already made it final on their side, so there's no backing out."

Sophia's frail body froze in place.

She stood there with her mouth hanging open for a while before letting out a quiet sigh.

"……I don't know what you're thinking, but you do know that's incredibly rude to the other person, right?"

"What's rude?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about sending a bundle of flaws like me, who's always sick and wheezing, to that precious arranged meeting. What did the other person do to deserve that?"

"It's fine. Instead, we'll put our entire family on our side of the scale, including the position of head of the house."

"What?"

"I won't let them ever treat you like dead weight, no matter what. You trust me, right?"

"You... Haa."

Sophia shook her head back and forth, completely overwhelmed.

"Seriously, I have no idea what you're thinking, Lucius."

'No need to know.'

Lucius swallowed the words back and smiled gently at his sister.

For the sake of his sister's complete happiness, Lucius really could do anything.

Because the "our family" he said he'd put on the scale naturally included Lucius himself as well.

Lucius grinned and shrugged.

"You just need to wear the prettiest dress, go out there, and have a quick look at the person's face."

"You want me to go see their face? Just who are they that you're pushing this so forcefully?"

"You can look forward to it. You know our sense of aesthetics is the same. In my eyes, they were very attractive."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Cool."

"What's cool?"

"Their speech. Their conduct. The ideology and philosophy peeking through all that. You know? We're the kind of people who find that sort of person cool no matter what they look like."

"……Fair enough."

What a relief.

That he didn't have to add a single lie to those words.

"This is the first time I've seen you praise someone that much without holding back."

"I don't exactly want to hand over my precious little lookalike to just anyone."

"……You didn't secretly make some weird contract or anything, did you?"

"A weird contract? I only arranged a perfectly fair and transparent meal invitation."

"Is that really something I can trust?"

"Of course. Anyway, just get yourself ready properly. I'll make sure everything matches perfectly, from the dress to the accessories to the makeup."

Lucius looked at his own double with warm eyes and thought to himself,

that if it was for his sister's happiness, he'd do anything.

Because Sophia's happiness was Lucius's happiness.

* * *

Drip. Drip.

Sweat rolled down her forehead and dampened the floor.

Her breath was caught in her throat.

The enormous stone slab resting at an angle on her knees felt like it could slip off at any moment.

'I have to endure.'

To keep the slab from falling, she had to maintain a full seiza posture with everything she had.

Her thighs, knees, shins, and the entire tips of her feet ached and trembled as if they were about to snap.

Her whole body was drenched in sweat.

"As always, you must reflect on your sins."

Cardinal Barneo's low, solemn voice echoed from behind her.

"Keep endlessly repenting for your current happiness and for the fact that you can sink no lower."

"……."

"That is the sacred burden the saint, the proxy of God, must carry."

If it had been the Lily of the past, she would have been shedding tears under this suffocating pressure and pain, blaming herself.

That this suffering was due to her own inadequacy, her shallow faith.

But now it was different.

'It doesn't hurt at all.'

It did hurt, but it wasn't as agonizing as before.

Cardinal Barneo's holy sermons no longer reached her ears.

It might have been closer to the fact that she no longer trusted those words at all.

'Because I found the answer.'

In this life, she had clearly learned why she must not follow the cardinal who tried to bind and control her for no reason.

Cassian del Parne.

The world he showed her was nothing like this suffocating prayer room.

'I just have to endure this time.'

Right now, her knees felt like they were about to shatter, but if she endured these moments, she knew she could be completely happy during the daylight hours.

She could eat delicious food and laugh in Cassian's company while feeling the warm breeze.

So Lily bit down hard on her lip and gladly endured the weight.

"We'll stop here for today."

At last, this time was over.

"……Phew."

Lily carefully lowered the huge stone slab that had been pressing on her knees to the floor.

Her arms were trembling violently, and her lower body was already half-paralyzed, her senses faint.

"You must have suffered, Saintess."

Cardinal Barneo approached with a benevolent smile.

"Your faith has become even deeper."

"……Thank you, Your Eminence."

"To endure such a heavy time of repentance. Excellent."

Even though Lily was already in a state of exhaustion, she answered with the brightest smile she could muster.

"Because I had experienced the very lowest depths myself, it became possible."

"Oh……."

Cardinal Barneo's eyes widened with emotion.

"What a truly blessed realization. All of this must be thanks to God's guidance."

"Yes. Thanks to His guidance."

"I sincerely look forward to seeing how deep your faith will grow from here."

Barneo bowed politely in farewell and slowly left the prayer room.

Creeeak, clack.

* * *

The heavy iron door shut.

And from Barneo's face as he walked down the corridor, the benevolent smile vanished in an instant.

Crunch!

In the mouth no one could see, his teeth ground together as if they would break.

The two fists hidden inside the sleeves of his wide priestly robe trembled with rage.

'How dare...'

His eyes narrowed viciously.

'A saint is supposed to be someone who simply obeys orders, eats whatever she's given, and sits quietly.'

She'd developed a sense of self.

For some reason, that puppet-like saint had lifted her head and was trying to act like a real saint.

She said she was able to do it because she had experienced the very lowest depths herself?

'What in the slums did she see?'

Barneo sank deep into a swamp of misunderstanding.

There was no doubt that amid the horrific misery and hunger of the slums, she'd achieved some enormous spiritual awakening as a saint.

That had to be why her eyes looked so vividly alive.

'This is bad.'

In an era of peace, a saint who cries out for true salvation and sacrifice isn't needed by the church.

On the contrary, she'd only get in the way of maintaining power.

Paradoxically, the appearance of a true saint also meant that, historically, an age of chaos that would shake the system was on the horizon.

'I can't let her be led down the wrong path.'

Anything that went astray had to be cut out and corrected in time.

A jet-black killing intent flashed in Barneo's eyes.

.

.

.

.

At the same time, inside the prayer room.

The saint whom everyone had mistaken for having achieved a great spiritual awakening was.

"Aaaah……."

She was lying flat on the floor and whining.

"M-my leg cramped up……."

Holy spiritual awakening, my ass.

She was just squeezing out a few tears while massaging her numb legs.

But Lily couldn't keep the grin off her lips.

'It's over!'

This horrible time in hell had finally ended.

Now all she had to do was wash up, change clothes, sleep, and then run to where Cassian was.

Though, she couldn't run, so she'd have to walk.

Maybe even crawl?

'Whatever.'

What did it matter.

It didn't matter either way.

"Hehe. Lunchbox……."

Cassian had promised.

That he'd bring a lunchbox.

The food he made felt so thoughtful.

Maybe love and thoughtfulness are only a sheet of paper apart.

Maybe sincerity was part of that paper-thin difference too.

Even in the miracles he performed in the slums, the jerky he handed her, and the room he gave her, he was always sincere and meticulous.

'Affection…….'

It didn't seem like he gave any to me, but still.

Wobble, wobble.

Lily got to her feet, her legs shaking like a newborn foal's.

She hurried out of the prayer room, fearing someone might see her expression.

Without even managing to keep her happy expression in check.

* * *

Clatter.

"Woooow!"

Lily, who had been sitting neatly in front of me, suddenly lit up her eyes.

"Do you like it that much?"

"Yes! There are so many meat side dishes!"

"I made sure to pack it full of meat on purpose."

Each time I lifted a lid, roast beef with a gleaming sheen, meatballs, and braised pork belly loaded with fat revealed themselves.

The look on Lily's face as she stared at it was.

Hmm.

Exactly the face a puppy makes when it hears the sound of its snack can being opened.

That little "heh" face.

"Thank you for the meal!"

Lily smiled brightly and picked up her fork.

But.

It's trembling like crazy.

Why are you vibrating all on your own?

Clatter, clink.

What the—?

"……Huh?"

The fork slipped from Lily's hand and fell onto the plate.

"Ah, sorry."

Flustered, Lily tried to pick up the fork again, but the same thing happened.

Her fingertips were trembling violently, like those of an old person with a tremor.

For hunger-induced shaking, that was a bit too severe.

"……."

I silently reached out my hand.

"Ah!"

The moment I grabbed Lily's thin wrist, her shoulder flinched and jumped.

The sensation traveling up from her wrist was no joke.

Her muscles were screaming and spasming.

Her pulse was abnormally fast, and her skin was hot as if she had a fever.

Obvious exhaustion.

"What's going on here?"

Lily hurriedly averted her eyes.

"Ah, haha…… I just prayed for a long time, that's all."

"Prayed?"

"Yes. It's an obligation a saint should of course fulfill. I overdid it juuuust a little, but once I sleep it'll be fine!"

'Prayed? Bullshit.'

The memory of the original novel flashed through my mind.

That isn't prayer.

Under the pretext of having to descend to the lowest place, it was torture—making her sit in full seiza all night with a heavy stone slab on her knees.

'That crazy cardinal bastard.'

In the original setting, that insane old bastard used this classic abuse method to break the saint.

But something was strange.

In the original second run, the saint's abuse definitely hadn't been allowed to go on this far.

Because Crown Prince Louis had investigated everything about the saint on his own authority, discovered signs of abuse, and raided the scene just before the real torture began, snapping the cardinal's neck.

'But in this worldline, that abuse actually happened?'

Why the hell?

Why is the Crown Prince just sitting there?

'……It's because of me, damn it.'