Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 82
Allen approached the man, grabbing his face with one hand. As he applied pressure, the man’s body began to lift off the ground.
“S-Stop it!”
A knight tried to intervene, but Noah tackled him. Normally, the knight wouldn’t have been easily overpowered, but his body, frozen with fear, was easily pushed back.
The attendants hesitated to move, sensing the tense atmosphere.
“W-Who are you?”
The knight, now more respectful, asked Allen.
“I am Allen, a paladin and a servant of the great goddess.”
Even in this situation, Allen introduced himself politely. But those listening were terrified.
“Why is a holy knight here?”
“Did you not hear? This time, we came from the east.”
At Allen’s words, the knight fell silent. It seemed that the Count’s eldest son wasn’t influential enough to be informed about such matters.
“H-Hic!”
Allen only released the Count’s eldest son when he began to froth at the mouth.
“I will hold you accountable later.”
The calmness in his voice made the surrounding people’s faces turn pale.
Then, the voice of the still disoriented man was heard.
“She has a cursed symbol! Why would a holy knight protect such a being? Arrest him immediately! He’s an imposter!”
Hearing this, Allen calmly made the sign of the cross. Instantly, the swollen red cheek of the Count’s eldest son began to heal.
While paladins were not typically strong in healing arts, they were not completely incapable either.
In this world, the only ones capable of using healing abilities were priests, paladins, or saints.
The attendants fell to the ground and bowed their heads.
“We’re sorry!”
“We didn’t know anything!”
Unlike the Count’s eldest son, who always surrounded himself with alcohol and women, the attendants had heard some things. Rumors were circulating that the new saintess bore a cursed symbol.
It seemed those rumors were true.
As the attendants begged for forgiveness, others began to arrive. They wore civilian clothes, but their knightly aura was unmistakable.
Those who had been rude to Irene grew even quieter.
“There is a shrine in this village, correct?”
Allen asked as another holy knight responded,
“It’s small, but yes, there is.”
“Does it have a basement?”
“I don’t believe there is one.”
He was referring to a heretic torture chamber, and the answer was no.
The Count’s eldest son didn’t understand, but the knight did. He began to plead desperately.
“We are devout followers of the goddess. The young master simply made a mistake due to his lack of information. Please forgive us.”
Finally, even the knight knelt down. Noah added insult to injury with a smug remark.
“He grabbed the saintess’s hair.”
They had been calling her by name to conceal her identity, but with more people gathered, there was no need to hide it anymore.
“He insulted the saintess.”
“Because she has a cursed symbol!”
The Count’s eldest son shouted in frustration, but it had no effect on Noah.
“She is still the saintess.”
At last, the gravity of the situation seemed to dawn on him.
“Is she really the saintess?”
Irene nodded calmly.
“Yes.”
It was a dreadful realization. He would have preferred to face the holy knight unarmed rather than having grabbed the saintess’s hair.
The saintess is the world, and the world is the saintess. Children learn this from birth.
The Count’s eldest son was no exception. No matter how much of a rogue and a scoundrel he was, he understood the importance of the saintess.
‘I’m doomed.’
Sweat poured down his face as a man with a snake-like appearance suddenly appeared from behind. The second floor had filled up quickly.
“I’m sorry. I also apologize for this incident. I will deal with this fool personally. Can you find it in your heart to forgive us?”
Garan looked at Irene with a troubled expression.
“What do you intend to do with him?”
“If you wish, I can erase him.”
It was typical of Garan to add “if you wish” instead of just saying he’d do it.
“No, that’s enough. He’s been punished sufficiently. Let him go.”
That was Irene’s opinion, but the others seemed to think differently.
“No, we can’t let this slide so easily. If we do, others might show disrespect again. How about we make an example of him?”
This was Allen’s suggestion.
“Erasing the family would also be an effective method.”
Garan kept suggesting erasing, clearly concerned that Irene had been harmed in his territory.
“It seems best to do as the saintess wishes.”
The only one supporting Irene was Burt, who had arrived late.
“We were lucky this time, but if things had gone differently, the saintess could have been hurt. Let’s follow the others’ suggestions.”
Even Noah whispered in agreement. As their words piled up, the Count’s eldest son’s face grew increasingly pale, resembling that of a dead man.
“Then, let’s just give him a light punishment. Burt, you handle it.”
Irene decided to entrust everything to Burt, the only one who seemed inclined to listen to her wishes.