CH 159

Although Jun tended to stay as far away from danger as possible, he sometimes sensed from her the dangerous daringness and the twisted thinking characteristic of those who had once toed the line of life and death. Sometimes, she would even do unimaginable things. Like how she recklessly stayed with His Excellency when he had lost his senses, trying to awaken his holy power… Now that was something an ordinary person with a sense of danger would never do.

To her, the captain was more dangerous than a wild beast, capable of tearing her in half at any moment. Even August himself would take care when he was around Mayer and the level 80 man was out of it. How must Jun have felt when she was level 25 at the time? Surely her instincts must have refused, even if it was something necessary.When Jun had come to August for treatment, she had seemed unconcerned, saying she was just summoned by Mayer. Yet her forearm was bruised black and blue. At first, she gave the excuse of falling off the bed. August realized soon enough that she was talking nonsense. Jun didn’t seem to have any intention of telling the truth, however, so he made a calculation of the days she would get hurt.

One day, he secretly followed behind her to the captain’s quarters. It was then that he got to know a piece of the truth. Initially, August had thought that Mayer was having a violent relationship with Jun, his lover. Admittedly, the Mayer Knox he knew wasn’t that sort of person. Then again, there was the possibility that the man’s hidden instincts would reveal themselves on the bed.

In the priest’s opinion, enduring such suffering because of love was utterly foolish. He had intended on persuading Jun to quit that sort of relationship, and also to give a sharp word of advice to Mayer. So he pulled her to a stop and asked about the situation.

Fortunately, it turned out that they were not in that kind of relationship, but that only made August feel even more chilled. Jun had looked so calm and matter-of-fact as she explained that she was only going through what was necessary. Perhaps he would’ve empathized a little more if she had been enduring out of love, even if that would’ve seemed foolish. Her injuries would leave her bones intact, but the pain of muscles twisting and bursting was nothing ordinary. And yet, she went through this pain over and over again as if it was only natural, looking as if that much was bearable enough. But even the acolytes in penance for Saint Marianne would not suffer as much as her.

Mayer Knox would never have dreamed that Jun could have gone so far for him. Otherwise, he would never have simply stopped at asking August to look after her. He would have kept her within his sight, using whatever excuse necessary. August’s guess was that Jun had probably done something similar in front of the captain before. That was probably why she was so adamant about hiding her injuries from Mayer, and also why Mayer was so sensitive about her getting hurt.

The priest clicked his tongue. Although he understood Jun’s insistence on keeping that past incident a secret to Mayer, he wondered if that was the right thing. What was the meaning of a sacrifice that was buried without anyone knowing? He couldn’t understand. And even though Mayer knew none of all this, the man was fussier than anyone else. He said, “That is why I often worry. So, Reverend August, I ask you to keep an eye on her from now on as well. You have to be the one to stop her when I am not there.”