Secret Love Affair between a Former Saint and a Dark Hero - Chapter 79
“Sure. Jane, come in.”
As Arcanda’s white arm extended gracefully, Jane’s face lit up with a bright smile. Enjoying Jane hesitating in her mesmerized state, Arcanda snapped her fingers. She wished the girl would just come in and start talking, but her maid still seemed a bit clueless.
“My Lady, I see you’re still awake.”
“I was just laying about. What’s the matter?”
She looked pathetically foolish, her face blossoming as if she couldn’t be happier to have Arcanda’s attention.
“Really? Don’t worry, Lady Arcanda. I have an interesting story to share.”
“Oh, what story? Perfect timing. I was getting bored. Come on in.”
For a moment, Jane’s eyes sparkled like a bird catching its prey.
“Yes! Hehe, I’ve got some news!”
“Hmm? News?”
“Now is not the time to be so wide-eyed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lady Arcanda, there’s a strange amount of talk…going around about that Iora von Ribandt right now! Everyone must be crazy, how can they say such nonsense? It’s not like she’s been stupid for just a day or two, and how dare they start making comparisons now!”
The smile disappeared from Arcanda’s face for a moment. Not seeing it, the maid bobbed her round head excitedly and chattered away. Watching quietly and regaining her smile, Arcanda gently brushed Jane’s hair with her fingers.
She whispered, “…I told you not to say such things, Jane. But, what were you saying about Iora?”
“Yes, well, there’s a rumor going around that the stupid wench’s character has improved!”
Arcanda’s golden eyes froze in an instant.
* * *
Guillen von Vendas was the third son of Baron Vendas and one of the knights of the Marquis von Ribandt. As one of his vassals, Baron Vendas owed his allegiance to the Marquis and his loyalty was unwavering and unequivocal—but only to one person.
‘That foolish woman.’
Iora von Ribandt was once the marquisate’s brightest hope but had now become a drawback and blemish. When she was born, the oracle declared her a candidate for sainthood, but she instead became this petty and malicious figure. She was said to be envious and resentful of Arcanda, the woman who should have been the saint by all accounts.
Guillen secretly admired the saintly Arcanda from the moment he first saw her. Her affectionate nature, bright intellect, and her calm temper, even when she was a small child—if she was not a saint, who else could be?
How could Iora, the woman who tried to come between the close relationship between this saintly woman from her fiancé the Crown Prince, possibly be the saint? And there were many knights who thought that couldn’t be the case, not just Guillen. Perhaps that was the reason.
‘What? What did they just say?’
After returning exhausted from a day of monster slaying, an unexpected order descended upon him like a thunderbolt.
He was ordered to become the escort knight of the dreaded Iora von Ribandt!
‘From now on, you are hereby assigned to guard young Lady Ribandt. You will be her sole escort, so you must be prepared and ready to enter the mansion.’
‘Wait, wait a moment, Commander. Why me?’
‘Are you disobeying orders?’
However, Guillen’s protest seemed valid at first glance. Regardless of his internal struggle with his admiration for Arcanda and enmity toward Iora, Guillen von Vendas had been touted since boyhood as the next Vice-Captain of the Great Company for his prowess with the sword. But now, to become the lackey of an heiress? Moreover, as the sole escort?
‘The Madame von Ribandt herself issued the command, so it has to be obeyed without question.’
‘…’
That’s how he ended up in this position, dragged along. There was no reason to feel good about it. Glancing to the side, he saw the young girl next to him was equally unhappy. She was barely past her mid-teens, and her big eyes were so full of tears that it made anyone’s heart ache.
“Hu, sniffle!”
“…”
“Sir, don’t you, don’t you want to cry?”
“…It’s fine.”
In reality, it wasn’t fine. If it weren’t for his dignity, he might have ended up crying like that young girl.
They say her temperament was quite vicious. Rumor had it that Iora’s personality was just like the wicked villains in novels. He couldn’t complain about the mistreatment by the master he served, and he already knew how dreadful his knightly life was about to become.
“Well, I, uh, I came to the Marquisate of Ribandt because of the high pay. I was originally in the Earldom of Jerry…”
“The Earldom of Jerry lies on the outskirts of the kingdom, so it makes sense his staff wouldn’t be paid well.”
“Yeah, sniffle. But, but after coming in, it’s like–like this.”
“…There’s no need to be too frightened. Even if they’re nobles, they can’t mistreat a servant recklessly.”
He wouldn’t let that happen. He planned to firmly stop his mistress if she ever crossed the line. If he protested too much and got dismissed, he might have to return to his original position, and there was also a sense of obligation to ensure the girl next to him didn’t cry. After all, he had a younger sibling who was exactly her age.
Guillen swallowed hard and knocked on the door, not liking the fact that it had been completely discourteous to have summoned them at this late hour.
With a creaking sound, the door opened. The first thing I saw was the back of someone standing stiffly. Then, he noticed the fine hair that flowed down luxuriously, spread out like a waterfall. It had a peculiar color. Perhaps it was because the moonlight shining through the window was falling on the figure, but the hair glistening with light powder didn’t seem human.
And then…
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Iora von Ribandt.”
Not caring about formalities, she faintly smiled and introduced herself first. It was her, the woman who had a reputation that made her sound dreadful beyond his imagination.
