The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 39

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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 39
The next morning, Arden brought me the findings he had compiled regarding the Coronation Ceremony.
My body still hadn’t fully recovered, so I was leaning back against the pillows in bed, and seeing my state, he seemed unusually cautious about speaking.
This room was, after all, a Holy Power Charging Station—not some inn where one could rest and recover.
He started to say something, then closed his mouth again and bowed his head in thought—a gesture that repeated several times. It was rare for Arden to choose his words this carefully.
“The upper hierarchy of the Church contacted the Underground Network in order to procure Extreme Poison.”
Finally, he broke the silence. His voice was low, and it was clear he was deliberately stripping it of unnecessary emotion.
“Not an ordinary toxin, but something potent enough to kill an elephant in a single dose. It’s the sort of thing that’s nearly impossible to obtain through normal distribution channels, which is why they appear to have conducted the transaction through the Underground Network.”
I nodded without speaking. The story held no major surprises. Rather, the fact that they had prepared such an unambiguously lethal poison spoke volumes about the Church’s desperation.
“They also retained a physician beforehand.”
Arden paused for a moment, then continued.
“Should the Saint have died, this man would have been used to declare the cause of death as the Will of God. They planned to obscure any traces of poisoning and frame it all as Divine Rejection or a backlash from Holy Power.”
I closed my eyes, then opened them again. The scene played out in my mind far too easily, and a chill ran down my spine.
The Saint bleeding out and collapsing on the Altar, faithful weeping in anguish, and the Archbishop declaring the Will of God with a composed expression.
“What happened to the doctor they had bribed?”
“We’ve already moved him to a safe location. He’s currently under our protection.”
The word “our” stuck in my ear. I turned it over in my mind for a moment, then found myself curious enough to look at Arden.
“Does ‘our’ mean your people, or does it include me?”
Arden smiled—a surprisingly gentle expression crossing his frost-sharp features—and answered.
“Since I have sworn the oath of a knight to the Saint, the answer is already determined, is it not?”
So he’s stepped across the line, at least conditionally. One misstep, though, and he’ll be cast out without mercy. In this regard, he truly did resemble his ancestor.
I exhaled shortly and nodded.
“There are also findings regarding the spire of the Bell Tower.”
Even though the room had no ears and was soundproofed well, Arden lowered his voice further still.
“Unfortunately, no direct eyewitness has come forward to confirm that anyone was present just before the spire collapsed. However, upon investigating the Bell Tower before repairs, we concluded that natural collapse was nearly impossible. The cross-section was far too clean. No form consistent with deterioration or age-related structural failure could have produced it.”
Having said I would bury it, reopening the events of the Coronation Ceremony day and dragging it into judgment has become virtually impossible. Despite how much evidence remains.
As the scene from yesterday returned to me, my teeth clenched involuntarily. The fact that my choice had saved someone collided in my mind with the fact that same choice had handed the Church a weakness to exploit.
“It would be difficult for your people to protect all the orphanage children and my fellow novices who’ve already moved out, wouldn’t it?”
At my cautious question, Arden gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“To be honest, yes. However, the Church will likely find it difficult to move against the Central Temple Orphanage. If it becomes known that they exploited children from a facility they themselves sponsor as leverage, the backlash would be considerable. They would certainly lose standing with the faithful.”
He paused to choose his next words carefully before continuing.
“The difficulty lies with those who have already left. The further one moves from the Temple Domain, the weaker the Church’s influence becomes. If the former novices could relocate to lands beyond the Temple Domain’s reach, their situation would improve considerably.”
I clenched my fists against the mattress. Should I drain the hidden funds to provide my fellow novices with resettlement assistance so they could move to lands outside the Temple Domain? Calculations began spinning rapidly through my mind.
Next, I would need to decide how much to withdraw from the Prayer Chamber’s hidden reserves.
And whether it would be faster for me to find my fellow novices, or for them to find me.
***
That afternoon, Vivian came to see me.
The moment I saw her face as she opened the door, I already knew. Everything was written there—what she had heard and how worried she had become.
“Dino told me.”
At that, I exhaled shortly.
“If Dino told you, the news would have traveled fast. Don’t come too often for a while, Vivian. It’s dangerous.”
Vivian bit her lip and nodded. She understood, but her face showed how hard she found it to accept.
“What are you going to do? You can’t go on living like this.”
She sat beside my bed as she spoke.
“You still have ten years left on your Saint’s Term. Honestly, the way things look, you’re more likely to collapse from nervous exhaustion or fall victim to the Church’s scheming before your term ends. Don’t you think it would be better to abandon the position sooner rather than later?”
I let out a quiet laugh and rested my head against the headboard.
“The position of Saint was originally a lifetime appointment.”
When I explained the Church’s actual tradition, Vivian fell silent for a moment before gently patting my shoulder.
“Please. If you keep surviving like this, those Church bastards would sooner amend the law to shorten your term than suddenly remember tradition and bind you to a lifetime appointment. Don’t worry—they’re not the type to cling to more trouble than they already have.”
It was comfort in Vivian’s characteristically pragmatic style. I listened without speaking, thinking to myself.
‘In this life, I’m going to restore the Saint’s position to a lifetime appointment.’
Wasn’t that part of correcting the Church’s corruption?
“Siella.”
After hesitating for a while, Vivian spoke. Unlike her usual careless tone, I could feel her choosing each word with care.
“I respect your choice. But honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. I won’t be actively supporting it either.”
She didn’t avert her gaze from mine. She didn’t soothe me with hollow words of hope, and she didn’t try to persuade me through emotion. She simply laid reality bare before me.
“The Church’s corruption runs too deep for individuals like us to correct. This is like throwing an egg at a stone.”
I looked at Vivian for a moment, then the corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
“Of course, if you throw an egg at a stone, the egg will shatter first.”
Vivian cut me off immediately.
“Don’t tell me that if you throw something a hundred million times, you’ll eventually scratch a stone.”
I couldn’t help but let out a short laugh at her words.
“No, your premise is wrong from the start. This sister isn’t an egg—she’s a rock, Vivian.”
Vivian’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“No matter how many times you throw an egg, the rock won’t shatter. But if you throw a stone well, it’ll break apart completely, shattering into a thousand pieces.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Vivian sighed and lowered her head, then looked back up at me.
“…Have you really never been afraid? This time the bell tower even came crashing down targeting you?”
I paused to think, then answered honestly.
“Scared isn’t the word—more like furious.”
“That sounds like you.”
At those words, Vivian’s expression softened a little.
“But you know what really frightens me?”
I turned my gaze toward the window. Beyond the glass, the Temple Garden was peaceful, utterly at odds with the chaos within the Temple itself.
“Doing nothing and just watching it all happen.”
Vivian said nothing, but I could tell her silence wasn’t a refutation.
She knew she couldn’t stop my choice, and she knew my mind was already made up.
It was then that Vivian rose from the bed and hurried over to the table, reaching toward the fruit basket.
She picked up a Green Apple and returned to the bed, then took a bite without hesitation.
The next instant.
All color drained from Vivian’s face in an instant. The apple fell from her hand and struck the floor with a dull thud.
Her body went limp, tipping forward. The slow way she slid from the bed where she’d been sitting seemed to stretch through time.
“Vivian!”
I shot upright, calling her name in panic. My heart raced wildly.
This couldn’t be coincidence.
It couldn’t be.

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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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