The Magical Holy Woman Seraphina - Chapter 18

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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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Magic Saint Seraphina
Episode 18
Part 3. That’s Something I’d Rather Not Know!🐶
“You’re the High Priest?”
“That’s right.”
“But why do you look like that?”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”
If I tried to describe it myself, I’d probably end up arrested.
I studied the man before me.
Smooth silver hair, pale and delicate features, dense lashes the same color as his locks.
And yet those eyes—those thuggish, roguish eyes—erased every trace of his devout appearance in a single glance.
‘The type who pretends to love only you while cheating with a hundred and eighty others behind your back.’
And this bastard is the High Priest?
‘I can’t believe it.’
The High Priest.
Master of the Great Temple, which stands shoulder to shoulder with the imperial palace at the heart of District 1; leader of the Religious Order; the sole person in this age capable of hearing the voice of God.
His name was… Cassian, if I recall.
I’d heard he rarely appeared in public, so only a handful of high nobility knew his face.
Could it really be because of his appearance?
Were they afraid the faithful might harbor wicked thoughts upon seeing the High Priest’s face?
“Fine, fine. It’s all good, whatever.”
The fact that the High Priest was outrageously handsome wasn’t relevant right now. I tapped my foot against the floor and folded my arms across my chest.
“Why did you hide your identity and keep watching me?”
“Because I couldn’t trust you.”
Cassian mirrored my stance, crossing his own arms.
“I received a Divine Oracle to make you a Magic Saint, but that doesn’t mean your aptitude or character had been verified.”
If I left you to act as you pleased, you might make mistakes or cause trouble—naturally I had to confirm things first, didn’t I?
“But did you have to hide your identity to do it?”
“If you’d known who I was, you would’ve whined and begged for my help.”
……
The audacity of this man.
“Yet you helped me a lot anyway?”
“I wasn’t helping you—I was helping the dog.”
“It’s not a dog, it’s a be—”
Tofu’s protest went ignored.
Cassian, who’d been looking down at my silence, let one corner of his mouth curl upward—and said something infuriatingly smug, lifting his shoulder in a shrug.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for getting caught. I apologize.”
……
“Let’s do well together going forward.”
I looked down at the large hand suddenly extended toward me.
‘I can’t quite put my finger on it.’
This man is deeply unlikeable.
“What are you doing? Won’t you shake?”
As I grasped his slightly beckoning hand, he closed his grip firmly around mine. Despite his smooth appearance, his palm was rough with calluses—and slightly cold.
‘Can a priest even hold hands with a woman?’
“They can even marry.”
Cassian spoke as though he’d read my thoughts.
“Priests in the Religious Order can all marry and have children. They just can’t be in love.”
“If they can’t be in love, how do they marry?”
“They can love only one person for their entire life—and they marry that person.”
“I see.”
“It’s basic knowledge, and you didn’t know? Your faith is lacking.”
“That’s only common knowledge for believers.”
I don’t believe in God.
“What has God done for me that I should bother learning about priests’ private lives?”
“God’s giving you a salary. Your Magic Saint salary.”
“That’s compensation for my labor, not charity.”
If anyone heard this, they’d think I sat around doing nothing and was handed money for free—it was ridiculous enough to glare at him over, but Cassian just laughed.
Cassian pulled my grasped hand toward him slightly and leaned down to whisper near my ear.
“Be careful.”
“What.”
“The Ingrid Company receives support from countless noble houses and is famous for repaying those favors. But was it really only the Ingrid Company that stood to gain from its crimes?”
“…….”
“Those who’ve taken offense from this affair might search out the Magic Saint.”
“…….”
Watching me with my lips sealed, Cassian’s smile deepened.
“Magic Saint.”
“What.”
“If by any chance you fail the mission and get captured, I’ll pretend I don’t know you.”
“…….”
“Whatever crisis you find yourself in, you’ll have to escape it alone. The Temple will deny your existence and offer you no assistance whatsoever.”
“…….”
“Not even if you’re locked in prison will I come to your aid.”
I understood perfectly.
This man was deeply unlikable.
‘He’s basically cursing me to get caught, honestly.’
How obnoxious!
“That’s unnecessary worry.”
I pulled our joined hands toward me.
Without applying much force, Cassian’s sky-blue eyes followed obediently as I drew him closer, and I held his gaze.
“I have no intention of asking you for help either.”
“Is that so? Good.”
“Yeah. Expecting help from someone as unreliable as you would only waste time — I’d escape faster on my own.”
“Who are you calling unreliable—”
Squeeze!
“Ow!”
“Heh.”
See? Unreliable.
I released Cassian’s hand, which I’d been gripping with all my strength.
Red marks bloomed across his fingers from that single grip, and when tears actually welled up in his eyes, Cassian opened and closed his fist repeatedly. Matching his expression, I curled my lips into an equally insufferable smirk and spoke.
“I’ll forgive you for deceiving me to this extent.”
“To this extent? My hand nearly broke!”
“That you’re weak isn’t my fault.”
“…Fine then, Miss Seraphina, such a sturdy Magic Saint.”
“What.”
“There’s another mission.”
“Already?”
“So I want you to choose for yourself which one of these three you should help.”
“Yes.”
“Is this also part of that ‘verification process’?”
“Yes.”
I looked back and forth between the three documents Cassian had handed over and his face.
‘I could say I’ll think it over and tell him this evening… but somehow that feels like losing face.’
I didn’t want to sound weak in front of this irritating man. Simply because he was obnoxious.
While imagining myself hitting Cassian’s head with an invisible hammer, I skimmed through the documents.
Each contained a basic personal profile and a summary of recent events involving three different people.
1. A newlywed couple living in District 15.
One day a Capital Guard member arrived and accused them of stealing their neighbor’s chicken. During the altercation, the husband was severely injured. They filed a complaint with the Capital Guard, but the guards dismissed it, claiming they were “merely doing their job.”
2. An actor currently enjoying the greatest popularity in the capital.
Recently, however, he was spotted having an altercation with a journalist at the Hat Shop.
Before the incident, this journalist had boasted at the Tea House he frequented, saying “That actor is finished now.”
3. An heir whose parents recently passed away.
However, due to ambiguities in the Will, he was wrongfully deprived of the Jewel he possessed by his uncle.
—Who will you help?
“Number two.”
“Why?”
“In the case of the newlywed couple, there’s only mention that the husband was injured—nothing stating they didn’t steal the chicken.”
If they truly hadn’t stolen it and the guard unjustly pursued them, shouldn’t their first response have been to express their grievance?
“And what the third heir needs isn’t me, but a skilled lawyer. There’s nothing I can do to help.”
Even if I stole the Jewel from the uncle and returned it to the heir, it would only lead to the uncle reporting it to the Capital Guard.
“District 2 as well—I don’t know their story either, but at least it feels like something I can actually do.”
I handed back the documents as I spoke.
Was that the right answer? I glanced over, searching for his reaction, but Cassian said nothing—neither confirmation nor denial.
He only smiled faintly and clapped his hands together once.
“Excellent. So our Magic Saint will look into this Rosena from District 2 and find out what sort of trouble she’s in, won’t she?”
“Rosena is an actress’s stage name?”
“You don’t know? She’s the most popular performer these days.”
“Do I look like I have time to catch performances?”
I work at the Costume Shop all day, then spend my nights hunting down criminals. I shot Cassian a hard look.
“Fair point.”
I forgot our Magic Saint was so terribly busy. Whether he was being sarcastic or not, I couldn’t quite tell—but Cassian settled himself onto the box he’d carelessly abandoned when I’d attacked him earlier, moving as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
He crossed his legs and laced his fingers together, resting his hands on his knee. The whole sequence of movements flowed like water—effortlessly elegant.
‘And yet he sits.’
No manners. Truly insufferable.
‘But wait. I’ve been speaking to the High Priest in casual speech this whole time.’
A High Priest was essentially equal in rank to a duke, wasn’t he?
In fact, I seemed to recall hearing that Cassian, the High Priest, was originally the youngest son of a ducal family with a place in the line of succession to the throne.
It doesn’t matter. What would I know?
Cassian explained.
“Rosena is an actress who appeared like a comet not long ago. Her remarkable talent and beauty made her famous quickly—so quickly that His Majesty the Emperor himself attended one of her performances last year.”
“Interesting.”
“A new play starring her will debut at Opera Sernier soon.”
As everyone in the empire knows, performing at Opera Sernier is the highest honor an actor can achieve.
“But.”
“But?”
“According to what’s written here, recently some journalist has been harassing her. I don’t know the details, but apparently she has a secret—something that mustn’t come to light.”
……
“I’d like you to look into her situation and help resolve it.”
Hmm.
“Cassian.”
“Yes?”
“How do you know Rosena is the victim and the journalist is the aggressor?”

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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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