The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 62

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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 62
Yet even as my axe blade gleamed brilliant in the sunlight, Johan’s demeanor didn’t shift one bit. He’d clearly intended to bow and be done with it, nothing more.
Before I could say anything, Arden moved first.
Thump.
Arden’s hand pressed down on the back of Johan’s head, forcing it into a proper bow. The motion was so natural that for a moment I almost wondered if this was some standard greeting protocol.
“Ugh!”
Johan’s posture collapsed for an instant, and he ground his teeth as his head came back up. His eyes wide, he turned to stare at Arden.
“What are you doing, Arden?”
Despite the lethal edge in his voice, Arden didn’t so much as blink.
Without the slightest change in expression, Arden answered.
“The Saint deserves at least basic courtesy.”
“But I just greeted her—”
“That wasn’t a greeting. That was merely a neck exercise.”
……
“Again.”
At the curt command, Johan’s temple twitched. The look in his eyes was murderous—as if he wanted to challenge Arden to a duel right then and there.
Kalianna sent me a desperate look from the side, silently begging me to say something.
But I pretended not to notice. I knew perfectly well that if I tried to restrain Arden here, Johan would only resent him more—not suddenly develop any reverence for me.
What good would it do to reproach Arden and take Johan’s side? Would that move Johan to suddenly respect me?
Absolutely not. I was certain of it beyond any doubt.
The man would merely think, ‘Ah, the Saint is meddling unnecessarily again,’ and leave it at that. All I’d do is earn unnecessary resentment.
But if I let it play out like this? At minimum, one piece of common sense gets lodged in his head—that he must show courtesy to the Saint.
Better to plant the idea that he needs to treat me with respect than to breed pointless ill will.
Johan finally clenched his teeth and bowed properly, paying his formal respects.
“I greet you, Saint.”
“Yes, delighted to meet you, Johan.”
I accepted his greeting with perfect grace and smiled warmly. How grateful I was that Johan had bent the knee before I needed to invoke my Immediate Judgment Authority. However necessary the lesson, I’d rather not stain the Temple grounds with blood.
And so, having properly established the hierarchy for Johan, we were ready to depart.
Baggage was loaded into the carriages one piece at a time, the Holy Knights inspected their horses, and the Priests conducted a final inventory check.
This expedition was considerably larger than when it had been just Arden and myself. The fact that the Archbishop had assembled a contingent of this size weighed on my mind.
What scheme was he cooking up? Everything about it felt suspicious from start to finish.
But I couldn’t question him now. The game was already in motion, and this was the best wager I could place on the table.
I boarded the carriage with Arden’s assistance. Kalianna followed, helped up by Johan.
Soon the sound of hoofbeats echoed out, and the procession began to move.
And so our journey to Croen Grand Duchy commenced—one that was somewhat noisier than before, considerably more suspicious, and now included not just Arden but Kalianna, other Priests, and the Holy Knight Order as well.
The moment I settled into the carriage, I stretched out my hand to Arden, who sat across from me.
Arden gazed at my hand for a moment, then drew a small glass vial from his breast pocket and passed it to me. It was the mysterious bottle the Archbishop had given me yesterday.
The golden liquid inside still sloshed heavily, and as sunlight filtered through the carriage window, it caught the light in a way that seemed at once sacred and deeply suspicious.
I deliberately didn’t slip it straight into my pocket, instead rolling it gently in my palm—making sure both Kalianna, seated beside me, and Johan, seated beside Arden, could see it clearly.
“Have you discovered what it is?”
At my question, Arden inclined his head slightly.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I made every effort to identify it, but I’m afraid I’ve learned nothing of substance.”
As I listened to Arden’s reply, I watched the reactions of the other two carefully.
Kalianna and Johan. If either of them had received even a hint from the Archbishop about this potion’s identity, they would certainly betray something in this moment of open exchange—a flicker of the eyes, a tightening of the lips, a caught breath, or an overly deliberate show of ignorance.
But neither of them showed any unusual reaction.
Johan still wore that offended expression, while Kalianna seemed utterly captivated by the golden liquid inside the vial. Her face wasn’t that of someone harboring a secret—it was the face of someone who’d just spotted a glittering pair of earrings in a street vendor’s stall.
I seized the moment to ask Kalianna directly.
“Do you know what this is?”
Kalianna’s eyes never left the slowly swirling golden liquid as she shook her head.
“I don’t know what it is, but… it’s beautiful.”
The moment I heard her genuine admiration, my interest in probing them deflated. Right. Not her, then.
Kalianna knew nothing about this vial. Even if the Archbishop was hiding something, he hadn’t seen fit to tell her.
I met Arden’s gaze; he’d been watching Johan the whole time. He gave me a short, subtle shake of his head. He too had found nothing amiss.
I immediately discarded the hypothesis that this was some new weapon only I was kept in the dark about.
If the Priests and Holy Knights in this very carriage didn’t know about it, it couldn’t be standard Church equipment.
Which meant I was back where I’d started.
A mysterious golden liquid given to me personally by the Archbishop. It could help, it could harm, or it could be something he’d calculated me to suspect—a puzzle wrapped in riddles wrapped in trouble.
Oh, Caritas. I’m begging you, grant me the Poison Heart Skill.
I offered up my usual complaint prayer to Caritas and slipped the vial into my breast pocket.
The carriage rolled on for quite some time.
The road itself was better than expected, but sitting in a carriage that jolted for hours was another matter entirely. Even with plush cushions laid down, my lower back and hips began asserting their existence in unison.
Kalianna had peered out the window with wonder at first, but as the hours dragged on, she grew restless and sat quietly with her hands folded. Johan and Arden kept their attention fixed on the surroundings, never letting their guard slip.
It wasn’t until late night that the carriage finally came to a stop.
We decided not to push further and to rest at a nearby inn for the night. While the attending priests checked our luggage and the Holy Knights inspected the carriage and horses, I went ahead into the inn. After so much traveling, the smell of warm food felt unexpectedly welcoming.
I scanned the menu and ordered beef stew. Kalianna, sitting beside me, hesitantly ordered the same thing.
At first, I thought she was simply copying my choice. But when the food arrived, I noticed she was eating the beef stew without much enthusiasm.
Finding it odd that she would order something she clearly disliked, I looked at her questioningly. Kalianna set down her spoon and confessed shyly.
“The Third Saint was said to have enjoyed this dish, so… I wanted to try it once. My family never allowed me to eat such things.”
Oh—so she was a fan of mine after all.
After dealing with Arden, who was my critic, it was refreshing to meet a genuine admirer. Of course, Arden would insist he wasn’t a critic at all, but a man who made comments like “corrupted by wealth, he sowed the seeds of the Temple’s decline” about my past self could hardly be called anything else in my estimation.
By contrast, Kalianna was forcing herself to eat a dish that didn’t suit her palate, simply because the Third Saint had supposedly enjoyed it. What admirable faith.
I smiled warmly and took a spoonful of beef stew. Kalianna still didn’t look particularly pleased with the taste, but she ate with genuine effort nonetheless.
At the inn, Kalianna and I were given separate rooms. Soon, several attending priests entered my room to help me change.
I removed my robe, unfastened my jewelry, and felt their hands arrange my hair in turn. I let myself relax into their ministrations while discreetly checking the position of the golden vial I’d tucked into my bodice.
‘Hmm…?’
At that very moment, I noticed something odd about the attending priest who was unfastening my brooch.

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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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