The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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# Chapter 14.
Demian recalled the first time he had met Diane. A gaunt child with ash-colored hair, covered head to toe in dirt and wounds. A child who had clearly never known stable affection.
“I think she’ll like it.”
He pointed to his bulging pockets as he spoke.
“Candy. It’s sweet, isn’t it?”
“……Well, well.”
The Pope chuckled softly and stroked Demian’s dark hair.
Startled by the sudden touch, Demian stepped back.
“Thank you. You’ve grown quite a bit, Your Highness.”
“……!”
“Please be good to Diane.”
Demian snorted dismissively and ran a hand through his tousled hair.
“I’d do that without you saying so.”
“Ha ha.”
The Pope watched as Demian spoke curtly to him and hurried away down the corridor.
The deep dark circles that had once shadowed his eyes and the pallid complexion were gone—replaced by the glow of one well-fed and well-rested.
“The crown prince is seven years old, is he not?”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“A difference of two years.”
The deep green eyes that had held the Pope’s warmth grew cold and distant. Michael, attending him from beside, carefully observed his reaction.
Yet it was understandable.
The Pope had spent several hours deliberating whether to give her more candy before finally taking his leave.
The Pope gazed down the corridor where the crown prince had vanished.
“The Imperial Palace is a complicated place.”
“Yes.”
“There, children learn to mimic adulthood faster than anywhere else.”
The Pope’s voice grew softer.
“I wish that Diane would not be caught up in such matters.”
“You care for the Saint greatly, Your Holiness.”
“Diane is a young saint. She is a child who needs to drink her milk each morning, enjoy adequate rest at midday, and have her hand held.”
The Pope spoke with conviction.
“I believe she should not yet be troubled by the affairs of the Imperial Palace. I hope she retains her innocence a little longer.”
Michael’s answer was a faint smile. The Pope did not miss it.
“Why are you smiling?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
“Simply that Your Holiness reminds me of a father.”
The Pope paused for a moment. Then he turned his head away.
“Ha ha…….”
He offered only laughter and no reply.
“Diane must be waiting.”
The rustle of candy wrappers lingered in Michael’s ears.
* * *
I crammed two pieces of candy into my mouth and managed a smile.
I was about to drool at the tart lemon flavor, but I hastily gulped—
“It’s—it’s tray-shus.”
“Do you like it?”
“Mm…….”
“I’ll bring you more next time.”
At this rate I’ll get cavities.
I stared awkwardly at the Pope, who gazed down at me with wavering eyes and a contented expression.
At first, he had slipped me one candy each time we passed in the halls or on the street, but now he came to my room several times a day and wouldn’t leave until he’d watched me finish chewing every last piece.
‘It’s a bit overwhelming.’
While I was chewing away, I had to give him a thumbs-up to show I thought it was delicious—it felt like I’d become a salaried worker doing my job.
“Um.”
The Pope was hesitating. No matter how much I looked at him, I couldn’t adjust to his beauty.
‘He’s really beautiful.’
If his hair were just a bit longer, you could mistake him for a woman.
Right then.
“I have been thinking about you, Saint.”
Oh, you startled me.
That’s not some kind of confession.
If he says something like that with that face, a lot of people are going to get the wrong idea.
Before my flustered eyes, he thrust a handful of candies at me—their wrappers crumpled and creased.
“So, if you just tell me what you like―”
“Your Highness.”
Something, I mean…….
I think I understood.
“Is it possible you want to get closer to me?”
So this was like that. The kind of thing where at the start of a new school year you hand out candies to your classmates to make friends.
The Pope said nothing, as if I’d struck a nerve.
When you thought about it, he was my guardian too.
‘Something like a father…….’
“Yes.”
Watching the Pope nod, I let out a small sigh.
How did I end up putting in so much effort?
“Then please speak to me casually, without formality.”
Truthfully, it was uncomfortable. Someone wielding power comparable to an emperor was using formal speech toward a child who’d only recently gained Holy Power after being an orphan.
No matter what they called me, I was just a five-year-old child.
The Pope deliberated briefly, then his lips moved.
“……All right.”
Only then could I smile.
In that instant, with a pop and crackle, a pink Status Window appeared before my eyes.
[The Pope’s Affection Level has increased.]
[From now on, he will offer you his full support in all your endeavors.]
[Hidden Quest]
Try calling the Pope “Father.”
Reward: Good Deed Gauge +1
There is no set time limit.
I stared at the Status Window with a reluctant expression.
A rapport hadn’t even properly formed, and they wanted me to call him Father?
‘I don’t want to.’
Because I’d never received a family’s love in my previous life, the words mother and father carried a special weight for me.
If I were to call him that…….
‘Well, since my Affection Level went up, that’s a good thing.’
I forced myself to think differently.
“Oh, and about the Crown Prince―”
At my words, the expression of the Priest standing behind the Pope shifted subtly.
‘……?’
“Go on. Tell me.”
“Even when he does nothing, his Holy Power is already draining away by half.”
The Pope hummed, absently touching his chin.
“Then we’ll need to increase how often you meet.”
“Yes. I think I’ll need to see him frequently and replenish his Holy Power.”
“Won’t that be difficult for you?”
“Actually, I nearly lost control earlier―”
Hah.
A small sigh escaped from behind me.
He’s been irritating me since earlier.
“―but fortunately I managed to regain control right away.”
……
I didn’t mention that the Crown Prince had seen a spirit. Besides, these people wouldn’t be able to see spirits anyway.
“You nearly lost control. That’s dangerous.”
At that ominous tone, I fell silent.
“It seems risky.”
“I’m really fine.”
“I can’t believe you when you say you’re fine anymore.”
He knelt down to meet my gaze.
In that moment of silence, I met the Pope’s eyes steadily.
It felt like that situation was overlapping with something.
When I first told him about Gordon’s true identity—the man who killed Camilla in the Funeral Hall—the Pope had lowered himself to meet my eyes and spoken to me then as well.
“I’ve received reports that you cry out in pain every night.”
He stroked my head gently and sighed.
“It seems to me that you’re pushing yourself too hard right now.”
“……Pushing myself?”
“You don’t need to prove your worth here. We love you simply for being who you are.”
I stepped back.
“I’m only doing what I must do.”
“When I heard that you’d found the body in the middle of the night back then.”
He gritted his teeth.
He seemed to be remembering when he’d first learned of it.
“My heart sank.”
“……!”
“I felt as though I’d planted another terrible memory in you, just when you’d barely escaped the pain.”
“Your Holiness. I’m truly all right.”
Of course it might linger like a trauma, but this wasn’t my first such experience.
Besides, it was a case that had ended well.
Faced with my resolute attitude, the Pope stepped back. He offered a bittersweet smile and stroked my head again.
As the shadow of his hand fell across my face, I flinched without thinking.
The memories of abuse had never truly faded.
Meow.
Cheese’s soft cry seemed to tremble slightly—or so I thought.
“……All right. Healing the Crown Prince is important, but let’s promise not to pour in so much Holy Power that you lose control.”
The Pope’s warm, deep green eyes, full of compassion, held mine.
I nodded and held out my pinky finger.
“This is?”
“A promise.”
I lifted the Pope’s weathered hand and extended his pinky finger just as I had mine.
We hooked our fingers together and pressed our thumbs, and I smiled.
“It means I’ll never break it.”
The Pope’s eyes widened for a moment, then softened.
He smiled in return and pressed his thumb firmly against mine.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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