CH 3

“From what I remember….hmm. This is too much for me. My head feels dizzy when I think about it.”

“……” 

As I acted as if I were dizzy, Ian’s eyes squinted at me. There wasn’t a sign of belief either.

Nevertheless, I continued to act in front of him. It felt like I was auditioning for the most important acting role of my life. 

“Could you not ask me about that? Furthermore, there’s solid evidence that I am really a saint-.”

The moment I spoke up, I suddenly got a sharp headache on my head.

“Ung…..”

I held onto my forehead and groaned. Strange imagery flashed through my mind. 

“It’s your last mission. We’ll let you go if you succeed in this.”

A man, covered with a black cloak, smiled at me. 

“It’s not a difficult mission, is it? You just have to do what you have been told.”

Rumble.

I felt my body tremble like a leaf. My whole body was frozen with fear.

“Sneak into his bedroom and make everyone believe that he slept with you… incite the biggest scandal in the cathedral. Do you understand?”

A man in a cloak approached me. The closer he got to me, the more nervous I became. Then the man raised my chin and whispered.

“Listen, number 76. You must, you must, succeed in this mission.”

“……Gasp.”

I gasped for breath as if I was a drowning person pulled out of the water. After blinking a few times, my vision returned to normal.

The man in the cloak was nowhere now. What I saw in front of me was Ian looking at me with surprise.

“Haa, haa….”

I had shortness of breath. The fear that seemed to be engraved in my instinct evoked the moment I saw the man. I’ve never felt this way in my life. 

‘It was…, what was it?’

Dreams? Illusions? No, it was too vivid for that.

‘The memories of the original owner’s body?’

Number 76. The man definitely called me number 76. Was it originally the name of this owner’s body?

‘A number is a name, what is that….This must be.’

It was like a real slave. My head throbbed from the memories that had suddenly popped up. I held onto my forehead and managed to recall why I was here again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I had a headache all of a sudden.”

By the end of my sentence, I was trembling. Ian, who had been staring at me silently for a few moments, asked. 

“Is it because I asked about that memory?”

Lucian lowered his head to Ian and whispered carefully to him.

“Sir, she seems to be in a lot of pain. I don’t think she is lying.”

Ian rubbed his forehead, as if he was troubled. His neat eyes first showed signs of exhaustion.

It was the first time she had an understanding of his personality. 

Maybe that was why. My mind suddenly flashed back to the biography of a man named Ian.

Ian Esteban. A man who was famous across the continent as a faithful Holy Knight Commander. In reality, he was a vengeful demon who had sharpened his sword for decades behind the mask of the commander of the Holy Knights.

Ian’s father, the former Emperor, was known to have died on the battlefield. But the truth was;

‘He was killed by Ian’s brother, the current emperor.’

Ian held his breath for a long time after learning this and dreamt of revenge. Finally, he became a Cardinal and obtained the military power of the Holy Knights. He got revenge by killing his older brother, the Emperor, and usurping the throne.

The process could never have been smooth. It must have been painful for him to have to serve the older brother who killed his father. The hidden fatigue seemed to have passed through Ian’s eyes for a while now.

“I’m sorry, saint.”

Ian, who had previously looked me up and down, now stared at me with his blue eyes. 

“I can’t trust people who aren’t even sure where they’re from. I believe they’ll understand my position….Lucian”

“Yes, sir.”

“How long will it take for the saint verification process to be ready?”

“It will take a week because Priest Kennen, who is in charge of verification, has urgently traveled to the Holy Land.”

“A week.”

Ian looked at me with cold eyes.

“Would it be a problem if I kept a saint in my custody for a week?”

“······ Yes, if the saint verification process reveals that Irene is truly a saint a week later. That would be the case.”

This guy really. I bit my lips hard. Ian still didn’t trust me. 

Well, I didn’t think that he could easily be fooled by a few minutes of my acting. 

‘I need to gain his trust right now.’

Those words, to keep me imprisoned, could never have been a joke. Ian wouldn’t leave me alone for a week. He was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to do anything to reach his goal. 

‘I’ll be dragged away if that’s the case. The Holy Knights have a torture chamber dedicated to them.’

My body shivered. I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to die.

So no matter what! Now I have to make Ian believe me.

‘I have no choice but to throw caution to the wind, as expected.’

I took a deep breath and looked up straight at Ian.

“Sir Ian.”

I wouldn’t necessarily know the location of Ian’s sword. But, there was a chance I could find out if I thoroughly researched the information. 

But this wouldn’t be enough. I opened my eyes again and looked straight up at Ian. 

“I know where your father is buried.”

“……”

“……”

The room was filled with Ian and Lucian’s silence. Ian’s eyes widened slowly and he stared at me blankly. Soon his mouth opened slowly.

“……You.”

” ……”

“You, how? That…”

The former emperor, Ian Esteban’s and the current emperor Rashid’s father, was not buried in ‘A Haven for Warriors,’ where only the Royal Family and Sword Masters have been buried for generations.

The former emperor was buried under Ian Esteban’s mansion. For more than a decade, the remains of his father, who was killed by Ian’s brother, were kept hidden.

“If-If you so.”

Ian opened his mouth again. His lips trembled slightly. 

“I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”

I’ve been patient all this time. This is indescribable information. Ian had no choice but to trust me when I brought this information out of my mouth. 

This was information that no one knew except Ian’s closest aide, Lucian, and Ian himself, the owner of the house.

“I know that you cherish your father’s remains. However, God Elune didn’t tell me more than this.”

If I knew more than this, my life would be in danger in another sense. Ian stared at me for a long time without saying a word. He finally nodded slowly as cold sweat began to form on his back.

“Yes, if you already know this much, my lady is obviously a saintess. Unless, you have betrayed me, Lucian.”

“Commander….!”

“I’m just joking.”

Ian swept his hair up after saying that. His silver hair like moonlight scattered over his forehead. His eyes were once again revealed and had regained their usual calm and composure. 

“Does God Elune whisper such information to the saintess?”

“I was surprised that such a vision suddenly came into my head.”

“…..”

“Perhaps, God Elune wants Sir Ian to trust me.”

I stared at Ian with unwavering eyes. Ian looked at me and suddenly raised the corner of his mouth. 

“You are a saint with this much power.”

“…….” 

“Am I now in a position where I need to beg you to stand on my side?”

‘No, please don’t do that.’ 

I was scared just thinking about it, and it made me want to cry. It was at that moment, I put an awkward smile on my mouth.

“Co-commander. Commander!”

Outside the room, a panicked voice could be heard. Ian raised one eyebrow as if he was frozen.

“What happened?”

“I-I think you should take a look at this. The newspaper… The newspaper!”

“Newspaper? What… Give it to me.”

“Yes!”

A man rushed into the room almost as if he was rolling. The man, who saw me, opened his eyes wide and stuttered.

“She-she- she is…”

“What’s going on? Get straight to the point.”

“Co-commander. That’s… First, look at this!”

The man handed Ian a pile of paper.

‘What is wrong with him?’

I slowly jerked my head back and peered into the stack of papers Ian had been handed. It was a newspaper. I lifted my eyes.

‘<Empire Morning>! I knew this newspaper. The newspaper that the heroine enjoyed reading!’

Whaaat!?

My eyes gradually grew bigger. Why was there a picture of me on the front page of the newspaper? On top of that, our bodies were barely covered by a blanket.

“Th-th-this picture….”

I stuttered and pointed my finger at the newspaper.

“This is me and Sir Ian, right?”

I accidentally took the newspaper away from Ian. It became more obvious when I saw it up close. There was a woman lying in the bed in the photo, and Ian pinned down on her naked upper body.

“Isn’t this an infringement of portrait rights?”

I exclaimed and Ian’s subordinates blinked. 

“What? What’s that?”

“……First of all, give me that paper again.” Ian said with a devilishly low tone of voice.

‘This guy. This guy is angry.’

I could tell by the tone of his voice. Ian was angry to death.

‘There is no way!”

“Ex-excuse me. Is this newspaper already published?”

I couldn’t accept the situation, so I asked the appropriate question. His subordinate also gave a clear reply.

“Ye-yes. It’s already circulating throughout society. It was issued in a special way because it was breaking news…”

I held my head in dismay.

There was even a big title on the picture.

「Ian Esteban, The First Love of Many Young Girls, Playing With Fire With a Mysterious Woman?!」

This was driving me crazy. The following section was even more speculative.

「Sir Ian Esteban, The Respected Commander of the Holy Knights, was seen in his bedroom with a woman this morning. The appearance of the woman who has been involved in an affair-.」

“You rubbish reporter….!”

“Yes? Rubbish….?”

The corner of the newspaper was crumpled in my hands. Obviously, this was a picture taken by one of the maids who happened to run into the moment when Ian threatened me as soon as I opened my eyes.

How the hell did you get this picture!