This Old Man Really Knows How to Keep the Romance Alive

Episode 085

The look in the pope's eyes I could see was full of pity rather than anger.

As a true believer, it was a strange mix of awe and admiration to see such a young saintess facing the world so squarely.

'Oh.'

Come to think of it, the Gold Cross Knight Commander uncle's face is worth seeing too.

Earlier at the gate, he was all razor-sharp edges, lasers practically shooting from his eyes as if he were about to execute the heretic on the spot.

But now the burly look on his face as he watched Lily had melted away like spring snow.

He looked just like an ardent believer moved by the enlightenment of a true saintess.

The pope asked in a subdued voice.

"Saintess Lily. Then, are you saying that"

"Yes."

"you can say so firmly that the temple is no longer your home?"

"That's right."

Lily's answer held not even a trace of hesitation.

"The place where Cardinal Barneo pulls the strings is no longer, and can never again be, a warm home for me."

"……."

"It was nothing more than a horrible prison that thoroughly blinded my eyes and ears, and blurred my identity as both a person and a cleric."

Pope Heinz gave a deep, bitter smile at that painful answer.

Slowly, he turned his head and looked down at Cardinal Barneo, who was bound on the floor and breathing hard.

"Cardinal Barneo."

"Your Holiness! My innocence……!"

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of letting everyone in this sacred place listen to your pitiful excuse at length."

The pope's voice froze over like ice.

"Our order's reputation has already been dragged so far through the mud that it is beyond salvaging."

"……!"

At those words, murderous intent flared red-hot in Barneo's eyes.

He twisted his bound body and glared at the pope as though he wanted to kill him on the spot.

'Wow. That old man really doesn't mess around either.'

How is that kind of fierce spirit even possible at that age?

Maybe aging skips people who get obsessed with power.

"You're trying to silence me…… that cleverly?"

Barneo hissed like a snake and sneered.

But Pope Heinz answered without a tremor.

"No."

"Then what is it!"

"Before I hear your excuse-filled version of events, I'm simply going to ask you one very simple question."

The pope slowly rose from his seat.

"If you answer this one question honestly, no matter what your excuse is, I'll let you explain it to the end."

Ah.

I think I know what that is.

That pope uncle is a seasoned old hand who's been through every storm the political arena can throw at him.

He knows exactly how to set up a checkmate.

"About Saintess Lily."

The pope's eyes flashed as if they would pierce Barneo's soul.

"Is it true that you continuously subjected her to abuse under the guise of prayer?"

Crack!

At that moment, the sound of Cardinal Barneo grinding his teeth rang eerily through the grand conference room.

'Oops.'

At that age, if you keep clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth like that, you'll crack a perfectly good tooth.

There's no denture or implant technology in this world either, is there?

Your chewing is going to be pretty rough later on.

"……."

Cardinal Barneo couldn't say a word.

Only his lips trembled, and he fell silent as if that vaunted tongue of his had been completely paralyzed.

'He'd basically been fact-checked into politely shutting up.'

Admit the abuse?

Then every word that old geezer spits out from here on is just excuses and nonsense, so there's no value in listening.

Deny the abuse?

Then they'd immediately prioritize checking the horrific signs of abuse left on Lily's thigh right here and now.

In any case, Viscountess Müller had already vouched for it, so even if he denied it, it'd be a lie that would be exposed for what it was.

In the end, a lose-lose situation. A perfect checkmate.

Cardinal Barneo bit his lips hard enough to draw blood, then finally shot back at the pope, pretending to be heartbroken.

"……You really are shamelessly trying to silence me, Your Holiness."

But Pope Heinz didn't even twitch an eyebrow at that paltry accusation.

Instead, he declared it without hesitation.

"Even if I am a coward."

"……."

"I left that comfortable, rotten temple that blinds the eyes and ears behind, determined to find the truly poor and learn true love."

The pope turned his gaze toward Lily, filling it with the deepest respect.

"I will make protecting that holy saintess's dignity my top priority."

Damn. That's insanely cool.

This old man really knows how to keep the romance alive.

* * *

That was the end of it.

Since the pope, as the representative of the order, had cleanly and refreshingly acknowledged their fault without leaving any loose ends.

What more was there to do?

'Wrap it up.'

It was an exceptionally big-hearted decision, one that willingly accepted bleeding gums in order to pull out the rotten tooth that was Cardinal Barneo.

They did say that, once they returned to the church, they might have the abbess inspect the traces of torture inflicted on the saintess and investigate the cardinal's past conduct.

And if anything turned up that warranted sorting out, they might have to set up another meeting.

But I wasn't in a position to be nervous about that.

I know from the original story that the cardinal is a total bastard.

What if?

Like hell there'd be anything like that.

'It's just over, plain and simple.'

As if to mock this heartwarming ending.

Grab!

The pink ball of fur beside me grabbed my arm with both hands.

"Lord Cassian!"

Lily seemed to finally relax, and though both arms were trembling, her eyes were sparkling.

"D-Did I do well?"

"……."

In that instant, every gaze in the conference room, which had been getting ready to pack up and stand, shot toward us all at once.

'God, this furball.'

She makes it way too easy to be misunderstood.

I raised my voice clearly and loudly to smooth over the attention we were getting.

"You did well."

"Really?"

"Of course. I think everyone here heard your honest feelings without misunderstanding them."

I deliberately put force into my voice.

This was my own refined media play, meant to tell everyone, 'You said that of your own free will, right? Isn't that right?'

Then Lily smiled and responded.

"Hehe. Just like Lord Cassian told me, I tried my best to honestly say what I saw and felt without forcing myself to consider the feelings of the people who protected me!"

"……."

"Will my honest words cause any trouble for Lord Cassian?"

Haa.

Okay.

This is enough.

Lily's real intention was clearly not to cause trouble for me alone, but.

Everyone gathered here, those super lofty and cultured types, will filter that statement beautifully on their own.

'She told the truth because she didn't want to hurt the academy and everyone who protected her.'

What a commendable saintly intention.

In fact, the expressions on Pope Heinz and Gold Cross Knight Commander Saint Luiten's faces that I caught from the corner of my eye were exactly that.

A gaze warm and affectionate, like they were looking at a beloved granddaughter or a grown daughter.

'Perfect.'

I silently cheered inwardly and, unlike my booming voice from just moments ago, lowered my voice so only Lily could hear me.

"But, Lily."

"Yes?"

"In a situation this heartwarming, before you go begging me for praise, there's something you should do first."

"Something……."

"You should go greet His Holiness the Pope first and thank him for willingly shouldering the church's loss of face and admitting his mistake to protect you."

"Oh."

Lily's mouth opened a little.

"And you should also thank Princess Iveline for stepping up and keeping today's situation from getting any worse."

"Ah."

Since that made two ahs, her mouth opened a little wider.

She really is adorable, honestly.

"Saying that you're truly grateful and won't forget the favor is basic courtesy to the family elder and imperial elder who helped you."

"Ah! I'm sorry."

No.

There's nothing for you to apologize to me about.

"So hurry up and go greet them politely first."

"Oh, yes! I'll be back right away!"

Trot trot trot!

Lily turned around and trotted over to the pope.

Sure enough, I could see a pleased, benevolent smile blossoming on the pope's wrinkled face.

Even so, it was a little annoying that she didn't go to the princess first.

But Iveline didn't seem particularly bothered by it, either.

Besides, Lily's saintly aura today was so strong it was practically enough to slap a speaking-in-tongues prayer silly, so I figured it'd be fine.

"Phew."

I only then relaxed and rolled my shoulders.

But then it happened.

Snrk.

Professor Iris, standing right next to me, and Viscountess Müller both let out small chuckles at the same time.

"……Why? What's so funny?"

"Well, just because."

Viscountess Müller put both hands on her hips and smiled with her eyes.

"It's just that I feel like this is your own tremendous talent too. Isn't that right, Professor Iris?"

"I agree. Honestly, I'm a little, well, a lot flustered right now."

Professor Iris pushed her glasses up with her index finger and looked at me.

"Usually, mages are scholarly and logical, so they're the kind of people who have a very hard time getting close to clergy who blindly devote themselves to faith."

"Right."

"And yet you've managed to resolve this tangled theological and political conflict in such a natural way by wooing a woman."

"What do you mean, wooing!"

I raised my voice indignantly.

What the hell was she talking about?

When had I ever wooed anyone? All I did was make sure she ate, let her sleep, and protect her from bad guys.

"Well then."

Professor Iris propped up her chin and continued in a very serious tone.

"Rather than someone who wooed her as a woman, you look more like a…… devoted butler and an obedient pet dog."

"……."

Our teacher, you could joke around and roast people with such a perfectly composed face?

I really feel betrayed.

"No, do you think I'm doing this because I want to treat a perfectly respectable adult saintess like a cute dog?"

As I protested, Professor Iris nodded with an utterly unreadable expression.

"I know. I know."

A strange hint of mischief lingered at the corners of her mouth.

And beside her, Viscountess Müller, who had spent the whole day treating me like a very amusing toy, was at it again.

"My, my."

"……Could you please stop that little sound effect?"

"Why? I'm just marveling at how excellent Cassian's taming skills are."

Viscountess Müller lightly tapped my shoulder.

"How on earth did you make her trot over to you wagging her tail after just one gesture? What's the secret? Beef jerky?"

"It's not jerky; it's sincerity and effort."

"Oh, really? Then show me that sincerity and effort too. I'm absolutely overflowing with the willingness to wag my tail for you."

"……Viscountess."

Professor Iris shot Viscountess Müller a sidelong glance, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Please refrain from making jokes that are a little too explicit with my student."

"Oh dear. Sorry. Well, as a teacher, I suppose that's a joke I really can't allow."

Damn.

This is a total mess.

"Haa. My lot in life."

Still, whatever. Everything ended well, so it's fine.

In the distance, after having a heartwarming conversation with Princess Iveline as well, I could see the pink retriever running back toward me, shaking her hair instead of a tail.

"Lord Cassian! I greeted them!"

Why are you acting like some dog that just came back with a frisbee in its mouth?

Ah.

Just a moment ago, I'd been teased like a clown.

I don't even know anymore.

If they're going to tease me, let them tease me.

"You did very well. Excellent."

"Hehe! Then are we heading back to our lab now? Can we go finish the leftover fried rice there?"

"Of course. Let's scrape the whole thing clean and eat it."

Because after we eat, there's somewhere I need to go.

"Ah."

"What's wrong?"

"No. Nothing."

It's not something I should say to Lily.

'Once this complicated matter is safely over, please come find me then.'

'……Where?'

'At the Rosenberg joint research lab or the academy garden. Anywhere you're comfortable, I'll wait quietly.'

I was in such a hurry that the conversation came out weird.

If I told her to come find me, shouldn't I specify where I would be?

So where exactly are you going to be?