CH 79.2

“If you look at me as a puppy like that, I feel like I want to do anything for you. Yeah, if I have to give a reason… I was a very lonely child when I was young.”

“You, Marianne?”

“Yeah. The Duke’s mansion is huge, right? I was always alone there. I talked to myself and played with dolls by myself. When I got a bit older, they sent me to the southern countryside.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was an unexpected past.

“I still remember. My mother was always occupied with Collen, and my father didn’t really love either of us siblings. I tried my best to be loved. I even gave them gifts on their birthdays. But nobody remembered my birthday. It was such a useless effort.”

I remembered how Marianne cried during the birthday party. It hurt my heart. I roughly knew about Collen’s and the Duke’s circumstances.

‘Because Collen’s childhood wasn’t normal.’

But Collen couldn’t receive love and live properly either.

‘Collen hid things like his constitution and various other matters from you, Marianne.’

That was also something I read in the original work.

Marianne didn’t receive love, but she didn’t have a painful childhood like Collen’s.

‘What kind of person is a father who raises his child as a weapon?’

That’s Collen’s father. Maybe Collen and Marianne’s mother sent Marianne to the countryside to protect her.

‘But that must have been difficult in its own way.’

It must have been lonely. My heart ached.

I listened quietly without saying those words.

“So, you know, when you handed me the jewel as a gift, it reminded me of my younger self. It made me feel comforted.”

“…I didn’t know, Marianne.”

“That’s right. You don’t need to know. However, if you receive the love that I couldn’t receive and grow up happily in that house, the young Marianne that I left behind in that house will find comfort. Is it a difficult story, I wonder?”

I felt like I knew. How kind and amazing of a person Marianne is.

I, too, have felt similar emotions in my past life.

I… was jealous of healthy children. Sometimes, when I went to the park in front of the hospital, I envied the children running around and playing.

I even resented those children.

But Marianne is someone who would be happy for those children and find solace in seeing them play.

‘Being an adult is truly amazing.’

I want to become a person like Marianne after all. I liked her even more.

“Marianne, I will continue to like you very, very much in the future. Until I become as old as you.”

“And when we’re both grown up?”

“Then I want to become Marianne’s friend.”

There was a moment of silence from Marianne. Without realizing it, I pulled Marianne into an embrace.

“And Marianne, it’s not your fault for anything.”

In my past life, since I was in pain, our parents grew tired of each other at times.

I always carried guilt for that.

‘I’m sorry. Mom, Dad.’

And my mother always comforted me, saying that I wasn’t at fault for anything… I decided to say those words to Marianne this time.

‘I really believe that.’

Even if Marianne didn’t receive love and even if the relationship between her and her family was always strained, it’s not Marianne’s fault.

“Oh, honey, you’re such a lovely baby. Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

Marianne seemed surprised for a moment, then she patted me gently and smiled.

After ending the light embrace, I felt my face relax.

“But by the way, when did Marianne become a Saintess?”

“At the age of fourteen?”

“What does it mean to be a Saintess?”

Marianne shrugged her shoulders.

“You just drink a lot, sleep, and wake up, and then you’re a Saintess?”

Did I just hear something incredible?

‘I probably shouldn’t dig into it.’

Drinking excessively at the age of fourteen? That seems strange even by this world’s standards.

“Is that really all?”

“Yeah. Being a Saintess is just a job you get chosen for. The god picks one child among those with a strong magical lineage from a high-ranking mage family and says, ‘You’re a Saintess from today,’ and awakens them. You can say it’s a job that you stumble into.”

“It’s amazing…”

“Yeah, but it’s a job where you can spend the church’s money freely and receive a pension. It’s quite nice.”

Marianne laughed cheerfully.

“When you become an adult, you’ll realize how incredible a pension is.”

“I see…”

So being a Saintess is like a lifelong job in a dream?

‘But Marianne doesn’t always seem happy, though.’

Why is that?