Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 51
Translated by Elphie
The seating arrangement had changed, and naturally, the atmosphere of the gathering had shifted drastically from what it had been in the past.
Before, no one had paid any attention to Irene, let alone spoken to her until the gathering had ended. But now everyone’s eyes were on Irene to the point where she felt like they were staring holes into her.
Princess Cecilia didn’t seem to appreciate the change in atmosphere, but she couldn’t say anything. She, too, was staring at Irene.
“So that’s the rumored ring,” said the Princess. “Would you mind if I take a closer look and give you the honor of showing it more thoroughly?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Irene replied politely, holding out her hand in front of her.
The ring was unchanged from when she had first found it in the dungeon. Its design remained crude and simple.
But now it was a ring that would forever be known for its unusual function, the most unique artifact found since the emergence of dungeons.
At first, Irene felt sad that such a valuable item lost its worth by becoming bound to her. But now, looking at the greedy glances directed at her finger, she considered herself fortunate.
‘If it hadn’t become bound to me, it might have been stolen by now.’
Such incidents were quite common. Unbound artifacts exhibited the same abilities regardless of the owner, making them prone to theft. However, artifacts with binding properties were different. If the owner was killed and the artifact was taken, it immediately lost its power.
‘Maybe someone would have gone as far as cutting off my finger to take it.’
Judging from the stares she was receiving now, it didn’t seem like a far-fetched idea.
Perhaps thinking it impolite to stare for too long, Princess Cecilia thanked her for showing them, but she was unable to hide her desire to take a closer look.
Once the conversation with the Princess concluded, other nearby purifiers hurriedly approached Irene as if it were their turn. She interacted with them with no more than the appropriate amount of courtesy.
“Your pair, Sir Michael, is a paladin, right? Does he ask for purification? Given his constant dungeon expeditions, he’s probably going to be even more addicted to magic. Don’t you think it’ll be difficult to purify it?”
The question elicited awkward laughter from the surrounding purifiers. It was quite impolite and teasing, given the circumstances.
Irene looked at the woman for a moment, then answered.
“He asked me to hold his hand, so we’ve been doing that quite often.”
It wasn’t a lie. Apart from the night he had come searching for her, Michael had not been the one to request purification first. Still, he often offered her his hand. Even if it wasn’t a proper purification, it was still a touch of bare skin, so it must have had some sort of purifying effect.
“…!”
The surrounding purifiers gasped at Irene’s response.
Quietly, they all entertained similar thoughts. They had assumed that Michael had hastily grabbed Irene’s hand in desperation on Contract Night but never sought her out afterward. However, if Irene was saying that the frequently held hands, it hinted at a closer relationship than they had imagined.
The purifiers found themselves perplexed, wondering how to treat Irene now.
‘I thought her pairing with Sir Michael was just a one-time stroke of luck…But maybe this means she’ll continue to be Sir Michael’s pair the next year?’
If Michael ended this expedition period with a good relationship with Irene, there was a good chance that he would continue to be with her rather than seeking out another purifier.
In any case, a pair is a temporary marriage. Even if he was simply forced into a pair due to his nature as a paladin, a constant change of partners would lead to unfavorable rumors regardless.
So would he prefer to stay close to Irene? But what if Michael thought better of it and wanted to consider pairing with another purifier next year?
While the purifiers were racking their brains, Irene was also thinking.
‘I wonder how Princess Cecilia will handle this.
Unlike in her previous life, the Princess was treating her with some respect. It seemed that she had deemed it worthwhile to have Irene by her side.
‘I’m guessing she’s doing this because she’s thinking of inviting Michael to a raid.’
So far, Michael has never participated in any raids. However, if Irene were to ask him to join, just as he asked her for purification, he might agree to it at least once.
She imagined how high the status of this prestigious group would be in that case. A raid attended by one of the greatest knights of all time. And her, too, the owner of a ring that will go down in the history of artifacts.
And naturally, Princess Cecilia leading at the helm of such a raid.
‘And while doing so, she’ll surely show Michael the power of her purification.’
She would show him how easily she could heal wounds and purify magic if he chose her as his next pair, rather than some 9th-grade purifier.
‘Then it’ll be good for both of them, Sir Michael and the Princess. They would be good for each other, since it’ll be difficult for me to improve my purification abilities anyway.’
In truth, Irene had hoped that it would make it easier for her to purify him when she got the ring. However, the moment she examined the ring’s abilities in detail, that hope was immediately shattered.
