Chapter 471

Chapter 23: Holy Maiden of Helvetia

Episode 432 Rin

The territory of Helvetia, which was governed by Earl Vient Dominique Helvetia Bergunt, was a relatively rich land located in the western part of Sinclair Republic. Despite its distance from the Holy City of Elysion, the climate was mild, and the land was fertile. In addition to the lush countryside, it faced the ocean, which held the key to trading, allowing the remarkable development of the territory. The young incumbent Earl was still in his 40s with exceptional skills in domestic affairs.

His appointment to be the Supreme Commander of the Third Crusade Army in the Pandora Expedition was enough to describe the power of the Earl and his territory.

Earl Bergunt was about to accomplish rapid progress in the development of Helvetia. Unfortunately, the territory was suffering from many misfortunes just before the announcement of his participation in the expedition.

There was an outbreak of monsters, invading bandits from the neighboring territory that was falling into ruins, as well as the uprising of the heathens that had been hiding in ambush for a long time. With these three dangerous forces that appeared almost in unison in the territory, Earl Bergunt’s well-being was also threatened.

Bandits would often ambush the soldiers who were sent to save villages from invading monsters. With all their resources thoroughly robbed, the soldiers managed to rebuild their position and resumed the march, only to be attacked by the heathens. The occurrences of situations like these were common.

The Helvetian Knights, who had been training consistently for a long time, had not been defeated. But their strength had been sharply sheared and steadily exhausted. Above all, the loss of his only son in the battle with the heathens, who had been raised to be his successor, made the Earl suffer.

Even after the death of his important heir, the intermittent raids still yet to subside in various places. The once peaceful and lush territory had abruptly become rough. Anxiety among the people became more intense each day. And with no prospective solution visible, distrust in the lord of the territory had increased as well —

Meanwhile, a girl suddenly appeared.

A beautiful maiden with black hair and black eyes. A Sister dressed in pure white priestess’ robe.

Her name was Linfelt.

She was grandly announced to be Earl Bergunt’s daughter. However, if it were only the discovery of his illegitimate child, it would not become a significant topic.

Linfelt’s name was very well-known in the territory, even in the distant Holy City of Elysion. It was not because of her beauty that she was well-known, but because of her unparalleled ability.

Sanctuary. The so-called Original was under the divine protection of the White Gods and was so powerful that it could not be awakened by merely the apostles.

With that power, she exterminated monsters, annihilated the bandits, and the abominable army of heathens. Within a year of Linfelt’s appearance, Helvetia had regained peace.

Due to the great accomplishment of such a miracle and her beautiful holy figure, Linfelt was naturally known as the Holy Maiden of Helvetia.

The name was Rin. I was one of the ordinary apprentice Sisters commonly seen everywhere in Sinclair. Moreover, I wasn’t serving in a church like the white, glistening cathedral in Elysion, but I served in a somewhat dirty and shabby little church in the slums, where only orphans and beggars came for shelter and food. I was just a pseudo-Sister who had not been baptized.

I thought this social status of mine was shady, but for an orphan like me whose parents were unknown, it was only appropriate. For as long as I could remember, I was abandoned and raised in this church. Or rather, I was scrambling for the black bread on the table against the other orphans who were being taken care of by the church as well.

When fellow orphans reached the age of 15, they either left this place immediately and never returned or died before becoming an adult. If orphans remained here after turning 15, they would be subjected to pseudo-Sister apprenticeship and had to take care of the new generation of orphans like what I was doing.

It wasn’t because I wanted to be an apprentice. Somehow, I was going with the flow and did it. The person who was managing the church up until now, in other words, the Sister, who raised me in place of my parents was too old that it wouldn’t be surprising if she ascended to heaven any day now, had become senile, and I couldn’t leave her alone.

I felt like there was no other choice but to continue her work. I persisted to try my best in taking care of those brats until they were healthy enough. I had a hunch that I would continue this service forever, eventually grow old just like Sister, and would still be here.

One day, my noisy but calm everyday life suddenly came to an end.

“— Nice to meet you. I’m Sebastian who serves Earl Bergunt’s family. Under the orders of the Earl, I have come for you.”

A ridiculously beautiful knight with blond hair and blue eyes appeared. Under the orders of the Earl, he took me away immediately, even before I knew what was going on.

“Oh, you must be Rin, Linfelt! Such beautiful black hair and black eyes. You truly are a copy of her …. There’s no mistaking it. You’re my daughter!”

“… What?”

When I realized, I was already in Earl Bergunt’s mansion. The lord of this territory, the Earl himself, was hugging a girl from the shadiest region of the slums, in an occasion that appeared to be an emotional reunion. No, rather, I couldn’t keep up with the conversation at all ….

“Well, in short, you’re the Earl’s illegitimate child.”

And that night, when Sebastian explained from the beginning in my bedroom, my thoughts finally caught up with reality, and I had a better understanding of the situation.

So it was the so-called secret birth. My pitiful self was suddenly a daughter of an Earl! A princess?! Such a story was a common development in nonsensical entertainment books circulating widely even in the slums that girls tend to long for and dream about it.

However, after living a hardcore orphan life for fifteen years, my calloused heart understood that those dreams were merely a ridiculous attempt to escape reality. I was a realist that considered bread for tomorrow to be more important than dreaming.

For a realist like me, it was completely unexpected to turn into an Earl’s daughter overnight ….

“Actually, I don’t know if it’s really the truth or not.”

“Is that so? That Earl looked very deeply moved.”

“As a noble, at least you should try to be like one, even if it’s just an act. You seem to be earnest, but … either way, as long as the Earl wants to you as his daughter, you already are Earl Bergunt’s daughter, Linfelt.”

“… What’s with that Lin-whatever? My name is Rin.”