The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 79

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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 79
“Don’t worry, Arden. I didn’t just pull out my hand blindly without having done the calculations.”
Of course I’ve thought this through entirely.
From the start, I didn’t underestimate the Duke of Kroen when I devised this plan. So it hardly mattered if he proved a more troublesome opponent than I’d anticipated.
If a man won’t trust easily, I make it so he has no choice but to trust. If a man won’t lower his guard, I make him move even while guarded.
Persuasion isn’t built on trust alone. Self-interest, fear, obligation, pride—humans are moved by far more reasons than one might think.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door. I exchanged a glance with Arden before speaking.
“Come in.”
Before the word had left my lips, Johan burst through the door. Still, the discipline from these past days must have had some effect, for he stopped just inside the threshold and offered a curt bow.
The problem was his face—utterly drained of color. More than pale, he looked as though he might ignite in flames any moment, sooner than a sacred candle ever could.
“Raum? The Greater Demon Raum? What is the meaning of this? Is it the Raum I know of? Can Your Highness take responsibility for these words?”
Johan nearly spilled his questions in a torrent. I raised my hand to cut him off.
“Lower your voice, Arden. Don’t tell me the Archbishop didn’t brief you?”
“No.”
Johan’s jaw tightened as he answered immediately.
“I was only told that the Kroen Grand Duchy faces great peril and that the Holy Knight requires the Saint’s Purification Ability, and that I should escort her safely there. I heard nothing of the Greater Demon Raum.”
There was a reason I’d brought up Raum not in private with the Duke alone, but in front of my entire entourage.
I needed to learn what the Archbishop had told them—and what he’d deliberately withheld.
Whether he’d sent them knowing of Raum’s existence, or in ignorance of it. Whether he’d planted them as watchful eyes, or if he’d truly gambled by throwing a wild card into the mix.
I deliberately narrowed my brow.
“Curious. The Archbishop didn’t hint at Raum to you at all?”
Johan’s face grew grimmer still. I let my words drag out, deliberately slow.
“Even if Raum’s resting place is recorded in the archives, five hundred years have passed and the territory’s name has changed. It’s hardly common knowledge. I wonder if the Archbishop was testing your faithfulness…”
I let my voice trail off deliberately, scattering seeds of doubt, while my eyes flickered toward the door Arden had cracked open—careful to keep it hidden from Johan.
“That can’t be…!”
Johan’s composure shattered visibly.
“What could the Archbishop have been thinking, asking such a force to face Raum? Damn it—I should never have left people behind at that estate…”
“What good would a handful of green priests and deacons do?”
I waved a hand dismissively toward Johan, subtly deflecting his mounting resentment back toward me.
“They’d only be a hindrance. Best they’re not here.”
Johan fell silent. I continued, my voice deliberately becoming more measured and calm.
“And we don’t even know yet if Raum will truly wake. As you saw on the way here, the territory is far more peaceful than the reports suggested. We should consider the possibility of exaggeration.”
Relief began to creep across Johan’s face.
It seemed the thought that he might not have to face a Greater Demon immediately had loosened the tightness in his chest.
Of course, I knew perfectly well this was no exaggeration. But what I needed now was not to reassure Johan. It was to have someone beyond that door overhear these possibilities.
“If nothing happens and the Duke merely misspoke, the Temple could find itself branded as needlessly stoking fear to extract donations from the Kroen Grand Duchy.”
“All lands beneath this sky rest beneath the Lord’s protection. Is it so wrong that his representative, troubled by ominous premonition, should come to look after his little lamb’s domain?”
Very faint footsteps sounded beyond the room, then faded into distance.
I exchanged a glance with Arden. Arden gave a subtle nod.
He’d been listening, just as I’d expected. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
***
He’s gone…!
Calianna carefully opened her door and peered into the corridor.
Johan, who always stood guard before her chamber, was nowhere to be seen.
With most of the Holy Knights left behind at the Norwald Family Estate, most of the escort detail had been stationed before Siella’s door instead. This meant no one remained to stop Calianna.
It had been so long since she’d been free to move about like this.
Whether at the Norwald residence or the inn before it, Johan’s watchful eye had made it nearly impossible to step beyond her chamber without permission. The Archbishop’s parting words echoed in her memory: do not provoke conflict with Siella, and reach the Kroen Grand Duchy.
The problem was that Johan, ostensibly assigned to protect her, had treated her every exchange with Siella as if it would spark immediate conflict.
Calianna was slow-witted, perhaps, but she wasn’t foolish.
She could deduce that Johan had received different orders from the Archbishop.
With such thoughts in mind, as she explored the castle, a maidservant approached her. The woman curtseyed respectfully.
“Pardon me, Priest. His Grace the Duke wishes to speak with you briefly.”
Calianna found it somewhat strange, but saw no reason to refuse. She followed the maid.
They arrived at the Duke’s study. He sat with his chin propped on his hand, regarding her with unhurried ease.
“Should I call you Lady Calianna?”
Calianna’s head rose at once.
“I have taken a Lifetime Vow before the Lord. I am no longer the young lady of House Grailton, but High Priestess Calianna Benedictus of the Caritas Church.”
“Very well, High Priestess Calianna.”
The Duke of Kroen smiled without the slightest concern.
“I’ve called you here because I have a proposal.”
Hearing him drop the formal speech, Calianna felt a small pang of regret. If she had ascended to become the Saint, she would be hearing the Grand Duke of Kroen address her with respect, the way he did with Siella. She knew such thoughts were pointless now, yet the regret was real enough.
Of course, she knew it was useless to dwell on it now, but it would have been a lie to say she felt no disappointment at all.
The Grand Duke of Kroen studied the bitterness creeping across her expression and continued.
“From what I observed in the reception room, it seems the blond Holy Knight and the other attending priests—yourself included—were unaware of Raum’s existence.”
Calianna closed her mouth.
“It appears the Saint brought up a matter before me that differs from her original purpose.”
The Grand Duke’s eyes softened with a knowing curve, his naturally languid demeanor lending him less guarded than usual.
“Why did the Saint come to the Kroen Grand Duchy in person? Will you tell me the true purpose?”
At his gesture, a servant brought in three boxes brimming with gold coins and set them down on the floor with heavy thuds.
The coins chimed against each other with a clear, bright sound. Calianna’s eyes sparkled involuntarily. How many people in the world truly disliked money? This was instinct.
“Ah, and this is a simple token of sincerity for the Temple. A kind of……offering, you might say.”
The Grand Duke withdrew an exquisitely crafted jewel from his breast. The stone rolled between his fingers, catching the light and gleaming brilliantly.
“And this is a personal token of sincerity I’m giving to the High Priest.”
The Grand Duke knew all too well the true nature of the Temple’s priests and their love of money.
He had once been a Lifetime Vow candidate himself and had inquired into Temple affairs during that time.
He knew precisely how the Temple’s priests preached ascetic poverty with their lips while their expressions transformed utterly before donations and patronage, sacred relics and jewels.
Calianna’s eyes darted between the jewel and the boxes of gold coins.
“So if I just answer honestly, you’ll really give all of this?”
“Of course.”
The Grand Duke nodded, his smile genuine and sincere.
“Just tell me truthfully what you know.”
Before the Grand Duke had even finished speaking, Calianna opened her mouth without a moment’s hesitation.

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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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