Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 74
Those who had always lived in despair, without hope, couldn’t fathom it.
So, when the decision was made to ally with the heretics, there wasn’t much opposition.
They thought, “We’ll starve to death hiding like this anyway, let’s hope for a new world.”
Or face destruction together.
“This is the will of the goddess.”
Chess looked at Irene with an expression of disbelief, then approached her and knelt down.
“Tell me, Saintess. Does the goddess truly despise us? Does she see us as beings who should vanish from this world?”
This was the question he had always wanted to ask if he ever met the Saintess. As Irene rose to answer, the birds surrounding her took flight and settled on nearby trees.
A delicate white hand reached out and touched Chess’s forehead.
“No. The goddess said that even those with the ominous symbol are the same as everyone else.”
That was the undeniable truth.
“Is that… is that really true?”
“Yes.”
Irene looked at Chess, who still wore an expression of disbelief, with a bittersweet look.
“Then why must we suffer so much?”
Chess’s voice was filled with anguish.
“How many normal people do you think are left in this village? Those who can still move around properly wander outside to find food, while those who can’t are stuck here digging in the dirt.”
“Chess!”
Adlen tried to intervene, but Chess didn’t stop. The man, who had always appeared calm, seemed to have a heavy burden on his heart.
Faced with such a man, Irene couldn’t find the words to say.
Should she tell him that the goddess made her a Saintess for their sake? Or should she explain that none of this was the will of the goddess?
‘No.’
Whatever she did now, Chess’s sorrow wouldn’t easily disappear. Hadn’t she herself felt the same?
She endured horrible torture and gave up on life amidst the pain. Even after surviving, she lived only for revenge.
How could someone like her possibly console Chess?
When she herself hated the world!
“Chess, stop it.”
Eugene, who had been standing dazed, also began to restrain Chess.
“Yes, stop. The Saintess hasn’t had an easy life either.”
“But she must have had it easier than us. She was a Saintess candidate, after all.”
Irene touched her face. She wanted to check if her expression had twisted.
‘Easy?’
Had she really lived an easy life? Irene began to tremble. Her vision blurred, and her mind grew foggy.
Only after Irene collapsed did Chess stop his accusations. Adlen and Eugene approached her with worried expressions to check her condition.
“She just fainted, it seems.”
“But we should be careful. She’s quite frail.”
“Compared to you, anyone would be frail.”
“No, she is even weaker than Joy.”
Joy had lost an eye because she was born with red eyes.
If Adlen hadn’t found her when she was fleeing, she would have lost the other eye too.
Having grown up malnourished, Joy was often used as a standard for judging weakness in the village.
“Let’s take her inside first.”
“Got it.”
Adlen lifted Irene effortlessly.
“Chess, get up now. If your mind is a mess, take a moment to cool off.”
Eugene spoke calmly, giving Chess a light pat on the back.
“What good is it to resent the goddess and the Saintess now? It’s better to think about what we should do next. We’re not alone.”
“I suppose so.”
Chess replied in a hoarse voice, rising to his feet.
“I’ll take a moment to gather myself.”
“You can cry as much as you want!”
Adlen’s encouraging remark made Eugene frown, but he didn’t say anything. The two then carried Irene inside the house.
“Phew, look at her clothes. Now that I think about it, she had just recovered. She must have sweated a lot. Eugene, turn around for a bit. I need to change her clothes.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Eugene turned around, Adlen apologized to the Saintess.
“Sorry. I’m going to change your clothes.”
She swiftly removed Irene’s clothes, as if peeling corn husks.
First, she took off the sweat-soaked top, supporting Irene’s collapsing upper body. But what was this?
Adlen frowned as she looked at her white back.
“Hey, come here.”
Eugene, who was turning around, quickly covered his eyes in shock.
“She’s not dressed yet!”
“No, look at this!”
“What?”
“Her back! Look at her back!”
Finally, Eugene approached stiffly and looked at Irene’s back. Then he made the same expression as Adlen.
“Isn’t she the Saintess?”
“She was a Saintess candidate before, right?”
“Then why does she have whip marks on her back? And they don’t look like ordinary whip marks.”
“Right? These are torture marks.”
Adlen and Eugene exchanged glances.
