How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 6.10
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Resena was staring blankly out the window in the swaying carriage. The drizzling rain today seemed to foretell how gloomy this day would be.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t go to the temple. Fortunately for Resena, it was a day when Lorona happened to be staying at the temple instead of going out for volunteer work.
Lorona, the daughter of a Baron family, perhaps due to her humble status, preferred staying at the temple rather than at the Baron’s residence. Because of this, she spent a lot of time at the Grand Temple, and there were quite a few patients who came to see her.
“Even if Lady Weiz is a capable saint of god, will she know how to undo this oath?”
To her words, Renard nodded firmly.
“She will know. Because when I participated in the expedition, there was a knight who faced the same problem as you, sister. He was also accidentally captured by dark mages and forced to make an oath to Sernaus.”
“…Ah.”
“The oath he made was to never hold a sword in his hand again. It was no different from swearing to end his life as a knight. But after visiting Saint Lorona at the Grand Temple, he was able to freely handle swords again.”
“I see…”
“So, don’t worry. Saint Lorona will know how to solve this situation. Although she doesn’t help drunkards, she’s always kind to upright people like us. So, rest assured, sister.”
Resena stared quietly at Renard. Noticing her gaze, Renard asked, “What?” and she slowly shook her head. But her heart was turbulent like a storm.
‘I’m grateful for Renard’s words. I didn’t know Lorona was so good at her role as a saint. ‘The Name of Love’ was an R-rated depressing story, and most of its content was about Eldis and her relationship, and descriptions of people around them, so I didn’t know about dark mages forcing such oaths and saints undoing them…’
She felt it was really fortunate that she hadn’t chosen to confront Lorona.
Until now, she had been advising Eldis and even going on a date with him to prevent the world’s destruction, but it was lucky that she hadn’t thought about breaking Lorona’s spirit of sacrifice.
“Renard.”
If it weren’t for Lorona’s excessive spirit of sacrifice, she would have been bound by the oath in this situation, unable to do anything. She was really grateful to Renard who immediately headed to the Grand Temple with her.
“Yes, sister.”
“Thank you. For coming with me.”
“No, I should come along since I know the whole story. You’re the victim, so you might not be able to speak properly in front of the saint.”
“Renard…”
Renard grinned and patted Resena’s arm.
“Don’t worry. It will be resolved well. And you’ve been good to people since you changed, sister. Saint Lorona will know that too… She’ll do her best to heal you.”
“Yes. Renard. Thank you. I’ll stay strong.”
Looking at Renard, a sense of relief naturally washed over her. Resena hugged herself with trembling arms and bowed her head. In the steadily swaying carriage, she sank into her thoughts blankly.
‘I never thought I’d be involved with Lorona like this. Even if Lorona is jealous of me because she loves Eldis, she’s dedicated to her work as a saint, so she’ll treat me. It’s really fortunate that I’m not on bad terms with Lorona.’
At the same time, she felt it was fortunate that she had canceled all the plans that could have troubled her, and that she had been monitoring the Tebas Guild to prevent them from causing trouble and blocking them before evidence could emerge.
“Sister. We’ve arrived. Let’s get off.”
“Okay…”
As she got off the carriage gracefully, holding Renard’s hand, she saw the Grand Temple with its rows of white marble columns. The symbol of Sernaus, three straight lines in a circle, was engraved above the columns, and the white marble reflected light, making the Grand Temple itself shine brightly.
‘Even when I read from Lorona’s perspective, I felt the Grand Temple was beautiful, but seeing it in person, it’s much more magnificent.’
Somehow, her trembling body seemed to stop. Resena took a deep breath and followed Renard into the Grand Temple. Since they had contacted in advance to set up a time, they were immediately guided by a priest to the prayer room where the saint was praying.
“You’ve come.”
Lorona was kneeling in prayer under the statue of the god in the center of the prayer room, wearing a white veil. Sensing their presence, she slowly stood up and turned around.
“Welcome. Lady Arnasus, and young lord as well.”
“Thank you for welcoming us, Saint. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Saint Lorona.”
At Resena’s words, Lorona showed a gentle smile. There was not a shadow in that smile, and Resena felt a surge of relief again. Believing that she would solve this problem, Resena opened her mouth with trembling lips.
“The reason I came today is… because I was forced to make an oath invoking Sernaus by a dark mage.”
“Ah…”
Lorona nodded. Then she waved her hand at the priest who had guided them, sending him away. The method to undo an oath to Sernaus was not something that could be easily shared, even with a priest.
“What happened was…”
Resena, though trembling, explained how Zergard had invaded and how she had been forced to make the oath when captured by him. Lorona, who had been listening quietly with her chin resting on her hand during the painful moment, nodded and offered words of comfort to Resena.
“You endured a scary and frightening situation well. You really did well.”
“Saint…”
“There’s not much one can do in that situation. Just surviving is the best you could have done, Lady. So don’t feel guilty about making the oath. You did well enough.”
Those words came as such a profound comfort that Resena, who had recalled the terror of that moment while telling the story, began to shed tears.
Lorona hugged her tightly and stroked her back. Resena sobbed in her embrace. After a while, Lorona looked down at her with sympathetic eyes, then turned to Renard and said,
“Now, I will tell her how to avoid Sernaus’s oath. So I would like you to leave the room.”
“I understand, Saint. I leave her in your care.”
As Renard closed the door of the prayer room, Lorona spoke kindly to Resena.
“Well then, since this conversation might be long, let’s sit down and talk. Come this way, Lady.”
“Yes, Saint.”
Lorona was truly an amazing person. If it weren’t for her excessive spirit of sacrifice, the world’s destruction might not have happened, but it was because of that spirit that Lorona was active as an excellent saint of the main god.
Complex emotions crossed her mind. She wiped her tears with the handkerchief Lorona had given her.
After calming down a bit, she sat in a chair prepared at one side of the prayer room, as Lorona led her.
Lorona sat facing her and began to speak.
“There’s only one way to break Sernaus’s oath. It’s to make a higher-level vow that nullifies the previous oath.”
“Then, what you’re saying is…”
“Yes. Sernaus’s oath can only be broken by making a contradictory oath that nullifies the previous one. Now, Lady, think about it. What kind of contradictory oath could break it?”
Resena thought quietly for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“To break the oath to Sernaus that I made, how about swearing to give advice whenever His Highness the Crown Prince wishes, to prevent the world from rushing towards destruction?”
“World destruction…”
Lorona seemed to think for a moment but then gestured for Resena to lean towards her. Even though they were alone in the prayer room, Lorona looked around to see if anyone else was inside and then whispered in a small voice.
“Have you also had prophetic dreams, Lady?”
“Pardon?”
Lorona bit her lip for a moment, then shook her head.
“No, it’s fine if you haven’t had any dreams.”
“I… I do have dreams. …But they’re somewhat ridiculous dreams that are difficult to tell you about, Saint.”
Resena hesitated.
“…From the moment you mentioned world destruction, I thought it might be a similar kind of prophetic dream to mine.”
Could it be that Lorona was having dreams according to the original story?
