The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 60

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

Chapter 60
The letter, which had been fluttering gently in her fingers, carried a weight far heavier than she’d anticipated.
It was a report of abnormal phenomena detected in the Kroen Dukedom. The concentration of Demonic Energy had surged dramatically, and the frequency of Low-rank Demon Beasts appearing throughout the Northern Region had increased noticeably — the same phrase repeated over and over across the pages.
She knew exactly what lay sleeping beneath the Kroen Dukedom.
“Raum the Arch-demon. Prokeubo’s true body, which was buried under Lebon County.”
So there was one card she could play in this situation: offer Kargen Kroen a Contract Engagement in exchange for dealing with Raum herself.
The duration was clear. Until the Second Imperial Prince fell from power, or until she held complete authority over the Temple.
Until then, they would be a shield for each other out of mutual necessity. No feelings required — just interests aligned with perfect clarity. A contract, nothing more.
Kargen Kroen.
A half-brother with a considerable age gap from the Current Emperor, born late to the new Empress whom the Former Emperor took after the Former Empress’s death.
He carried imperial blood while simultaneously being the uncle of the Second Imperial Prince — a generational advantage that translated into political and moral superiority from the start.
And critically, he was still unmarried. One couldn’t very well propose a Contract Engagement to a married man. For that, at least, she was deeply grateful.
Beyond that, there was one more thing.
The Kroen Dukedom was in the Northern Region.
Which meant, quite simply, that Kargen Kroen was the Northern Duke.
Wait. Isn’t this a total Romance Fantasy Novel cliché?
The Northern Duke — a staple of Romance Fantasy leads — and a Contract Engagement? She’d thought her life would end as nothing but domain management, religious reform, and political intrigue, yet here she was actually sampling a Romance Fantasy cliché. The absurdity almost made her laugh.
The Church was trying to push her into the Imperial Court, desperate to wrest the Saint’s authority from her hands. The Imperial Court, meanwhile, claimed to protect her while using her to manipulate the Temple.
If that was the game they wanted to play, she would have to draw the heaviest, most untouchable piece onto the board.
“If I offer him a Contract Engagement in exchange for subjugating Raum, do you think the Duke would accept?”
Five hundred years ago, she had failed to completely annihilate Raum. She’d spent the final, killing blow of Holy Power saving Valente, who lay dying from mortal wounds.
How could she have let him simply die? They’d only kissed on the bridge to eternal romance a month prior — hadn’t even exchanged confessions yet.
Why had he blushed so furiously, ears and face burning red after receiving that kiss, only to wipe his mouth moments later? Even now, the memory was infuriating.
If Valente hadn’t been so badly wounded in the first place, she wouldn’t have needed to waste that Holy Power on him instead of finishing Raum’s annihilation. When she thought about it, it was entirely his fault.
And so the subjugation of Raum had ended in failure, leaving just a thread uncut.
Five hundred years was more than enough time for Raum — beaten to a pulp by Wilson and burned by her Holy Power — to recover.
Besides, five hundred years ago, that land hadn’t even been a dukedom. Some other noble ruled it, a name she couldn’t be bothered to remember, but the Former Emperor had apparently seized it and given it to his younger son.
The Former Emperor had handed his late-born son a piece of shit — and of all places, land where an Arch-demon slept.
She noticed Arden’s expression harden subtly. Was the mention of a Contract Engagement really so unexpected? He was clenching his jaw hard enough to draw blood.
“A Contract Engagement, Your Highness? Surely there are other ways to pressure the Second Imperial Prince without resorting to marriage.”
“Perhaps. But those methods all take time, and we don’t have time right now.”
She tapped the letter with her finger, continuing.
“Raum is more than capable of rendering the Kroen Dukedom uninhabitable in a mere ten minutes. If a unique individual suddenly appears who can handle such an Arch-demon, and the price is politically sound, the Duke has no reason to refuse.”
The Duke would certainly prefer a Contract Engagement that had virtually no chance of developing into an actual marriage over losing his dukedom to an Arch-demon and being driven out with nothing but the clothes on his back.
Even if Kargen Kroen were a Sword Master, without Consecration woven into his blade, he couldn’t so much as scratch an Arch-demon’s body. Yet she’d never heard of any Sword Master in the Empire.
If the Duke were a Sword Master, the Imperial Court would be shouting from every rooftop about how someone carrying imperial blood had reached that pinnacle.
“It’s the strongest shield I can raise right now. The mere fact that the Northern Duke and the Saint are bound by Contract will prevent the Second Imperial Prince from moving against me carelessly.”
Arden couldn’t bring himself to object further. Instead, he swallowed a sigh.
“Your Highness… you truly do choose the most dangerous moves.”
“Yes. But I’ve survived this long precisely because of moves like these, haven’t I?”
Even when heaven collapses, there is always a hole through which to rise.
It was fortunate, in the end, that she’d failed to annihilate Raum five hundred years ago. Without Raum, she’d have nothing to bargain with for the Duke’s hand. Her past failure had become, five hundred years later, an unexpected asset.
Valente, I’m not blaming you anymore. I’m counting it as my own arrangement. Are we clear?
As she spoke silently to Valente in her heart, Arden suddenly touched his ear.
“What’s wrong? Your ear hurts? Should I heal it?”
“No, it’s fine. It just felt as though someone were speaking about me…”
How tedious. She let out a flat breath and put her head together with Arden’s, scheming naturally on how to get dispatched to the Kroen Dukedom.
If she asked directly, they’d certainly find it suspicious and refuse — she was certain that future would see Wilson on the losing end of the bet.
***
Caritas, forgive me my sins this day as well.
Standing in the center of the Prayer Hall, she tapped the statue’s head in a brisk, steady rhythm, her expression grave and reverent.
To anyone watching from outside, it would have been an inspiring display of devotion. Inside, however, her mind was a calculator spinning wildly.
The moment her prayer ended, she opened the Subspace Pouch she’d brought with her. Items she’d asked Arden to prepare — “just in case we might need them.”
He had prepared everything without a word. She appreciated that he didn’t waste time with unnecessary questions.
When traveling far, funds with a clear source were the most dangerous of all. Money from the Temple could be traced easily, and money from nobles became chains.
What she needed were funds with no traceable source, no documented use, and no responsible party — a perfect trinity. Secret Funds. The very Secret Funds she’d squirreled away five hundred years ago. Who could possibly trace them?
As she stuffed the Subspace Pouch full of Secret Funds, she reflected on the scheme she and Arden had constructed.
The solution they’d devised was beautifully simple.
They had asked Lebon, now hers to command, to write a letter making a great fuss about the Kroen Dukedom — crafted so carefully that stepping on that land would feel like immediate death from Mana Contamination.
Lebon proved he deserved her confidence. The letter was completed precisely to her specifications and filtered through the proper channels into the upper echelons of the Church.
The result came swiftly.
The Archbishop summoned me and issued a directive: resolve the problems in the Kroen Dukedom and return. It was phrased as a courteous request on the surface, but stripped bare, it was nothing short of a command.
Not that I’d ever had a choice in the matter.
Still, I couldn’t help laughing inwardly with satisfaction.
He thinks he’s pushed me away, but the truth is I maneuvered him into it myself. The Archbishop had fallen neatly into our trap.
If he’d actually harbored any genuine concern for my protection, he might have turned the tables on me instead. Tsk, tsk. This is precisely why people should live virtuously.
I swung the Subspace Pouch—packed with jewels and gold enough to fill nearly two vaults, yet weightless in my hand—and laughed softly to myself.
It’s a shame it doesn’t make that satisfying clink, but I can’t complain about the convenience.
Now, then—everything is ready for my departure to the Kroen Dukedom.

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