The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 47

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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 47
Because I’d made a promise with Lady Lebon, we crossed the Sierra-Valente Grand Bridge once more and returned to Lebon Castle.
The moment we arrived, I found Elise as promised. The child lying in bed opened her eyes wide and looked up at me as I entered. Seeing the healthy color in her face, I finished my mental calculation.
Handling a problem of this scale didn’t mean I was running low on Sacred Power, but there was no way to know what else might happen in this domain, so there was no reason to waste Sacred Power on a child who was already recovering. That’s why I chose Blessing Light.
Blessing Light consumed the least Sacred Power and gave the best results for the cost.
I drew up only a small amount of Sacred Power and let it burst above Elise’s head.
Warm radiance rippled outward like a wave, enveloping the child’s body. Elise’s eyes widened in wonder, and as if all her ailments had truly been washed away, she sprang upright in bed.
“I feel all better!”
She clapped her hands as she said this, and visible relief flickered across Lady Lebon’s face as she watched. Only after confirming her expression did I nod. This was the placebo effect, they called it.
“Don’t hold the nurse and Kana responsible. The ones truly at fault aren’t them, but the heretics who exploited their love for a friend.”
I offered this counsel to Lady Lebon.
She bit her lip for a moment, then bowed her head deeply. That response alone was enough.
The moment Count Lebon entered the reception room, he rose from his seat and gave a light bow. His face bore both exhaustion and an unmistakable awkwardness that wouldn’t fade.
“Your Holiness, I am deeply ashamed of what occurred that day.”
The sudden extreme deference flustered me.
He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully, then bowed even more deeply.
“My daughter-in-law has committed repeated discourtesy. I offer my apology in the name of our house.”
That day had been such chaos that I hadn’t pressed the point, but it had indeed been a grave breach of courtesy. To grab a Priestess in the midst of her work and whine for treatment of the child’s vigor—it was outrageous.
No matter how much the Church wanted me gone as an eyesore of a Priestess, this was a matter tied to the Temple’s authority itself. Had any other priest from the main Temple witnessed it, Lady Lebon would have been excommunicated on the spot with room to spare.
And a Count’s house with an excommunicated member would take a tremendous blow to its reputation. Count Lebon knew this well, which is why he, as the head of his family, bowed to me.
I waved my hand lightly.
“Your apology suffices. A mother thinking of her child—these things happen.”
Count Lebon looked up, relieved. He moved directly to the main point.
“Was there any trouble in the domain?”
At my question, Count Lebon burst into hearty laughter, asking whether I, a Priestess, hadn’t already resolved the domain’s problems.
“It hardly seems likely you’d ask the Temple for help over a single doll.”
So Count Lebon broached the real issue.
“If we purify the castle and the domain’s land, won’t monsters burst forth all at once like they did five hundred years ago? Looking at the current state of the main castle, I don’t think it’s caused by my granddaughter’s doll alone.”
I nodded.
“The reason monsters pour into this land is to taint it with Demonic Energy and make this very ground part of their domain. In other words, Demonic Energy is like the Demon Realm claiming territory—contamination by Demonic Energy is equivalent to becoming part of their realm.”
Count Lebon’s brow furrowed as he realized that creatures from the Demon Realm had occupied roughly half of his domain and Lebon Castle, where his family lived, without paying a single coin.
“But there are exceptions that Purification cannot resolve.”
Count Lebon, who had been exhaling in relief, suddenly stiffened. Five hundred years ago, his feet had been properly bound to this village because of that very thing.
“If the shadow of a great demon sleeping beneath this land awakens and covers this domain, monsters will pour out just like five hundred years ago.”
This was how I knew what slumbered beneath this domain.
“It’s highly likely that those Ecclesia Church bastards running rampant in your domain orchestrated all this to awaken that great demon’s shadow—Prokouvo.”
Even under relentless interrogation, the Ecclesia Church dogs never revealed their reason.
I’d begged Caritas earnestly—a total of 1,237,415 times across past and present lives—to create a Confession Skill usable with Sacred Power, but our Caritas, of course, ignored my pleas entirely.
“When will it awaken?”
“I can’t say for certain. But given that the Ecclesia Church tried to summon it awake, it doesn’t seem to be imminent.”
Still, it probably won’t awaken while Count Lebon is alive. If he lived to a hundred, perhaps he might see it then?
Though Count Lebon certainly wouldn’t want to witness such a sight.
“Perhaps in about twenty years?”
At my added estimate, the relief on Count Lebon’s face hardened again.
“In any case, I’ll purify Lebon Castle and your domain, so don’t worry.”
But Count Lebon’s expression remained clouded with concern.
“Twenty years from now, you say……”
Count Lebon muttered as if lamenting, then looked at me and asked.
“Will there truly be a Priestess like Your Holiness in the Church even then?”
“There won’t be another Priestess like me, but I’ll be around.”
Count Lebon blinked, understanding the implication.
Watching him visibly calculate things in his head, I smiled faintly. I hoped he’d make a wise decision.
“Oh, and could you look into what happens in the neighboring domains around yours?”
“How would I know of other domains’ affairs?”
“Who doesn’t know you have spies planted everywhere?”
Count Lebon’s eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost. Hmm, was he really underestimating me that much?
I was someone who, as indulgence-broker to the nobility, had wrung out everyone’s dirty secrets. Most nobles planted spies in neighboring domains to get reports on their rivals, so what was he even talking about?
***
After my meeting with Count Lebon ended, I sat down to eat with Knight Arden in the guest room. If I was to purify the castle and domain tomorrow, I needed to eat well.
Since the contamination had progressed considerably, there was a fairly high chance that pouring out only a modest amount of Holy Power wouldn’t complete the purification.
Beyond the window, the sun was sinking toward the horizon. This was the fifth night she’d spent in this territory. It felt like two weeks had passed, yet it had only been five days.
Beneath the soft lamplight, the food on the table looked impeccably prepared, and more than anything, the simple fact that she didn’t need to suspect it or scrutinize every dish loosened something tight in her chest.
“Now that I think about it, you haven’t had a proper meal in days.”
Knight Arden cut into his steak as if the thought had only just occurred to him. He’d been so busy that all three meals had been hastily replaced with bread.
That explained why this dinner table felt like a lavish feast. In truth, there were only a couple more dishes than what she usually ate at the Temple.
The way he handled his knife and fork was almost too natural, and every time she watched him, she thought: yes, this man was definitely raised a nobleman. His posture never wavered, and his table manners had the weight of pure habit.
“I never knew it could be this happy—not having to Purify my food before eating it.”
The words had spilled out before she could stop them.
Remembering those days of pouring Sacred Power into the plate before her, of checking for poison with every bite—this simple, ordinary meal now felt strangely moving.
Damn those rotten successors for making her grateful for something like this. One day she’d bring divine judgment down on their heads.
At her words, Knight Arden’s hand stilled. The knife halted against the plate, and he looked at her directly.
“Was there poison in the meals at the Temple?”
It was a careful question. She could have laughed it off as a joke, but his eyes held a seriousness that didn’t permit dismissal.
“Yes. Do you know how tedious it was to Purify everything one by one?”
She answered without particular inflection. In that moment, undisguised shock flashed across Knight Arden’s blue eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me until now?”
His voice remained composed, but beneath it ran a clear current of anger and self-recrimination. She set down her fork and met his gaze.
“I don’t know. What do you think, Knight?”

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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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