EP.92 The Wedding Without Blessings (8)
Brightly beautiful and eerily cruel.
Is there any sentence that could better express the untainted nature of children than this?
There are countless expressions that celebrate and admire the purity of a child, but finding one that illuminates its darker side is quite rare.
As a result, many people likely overlook this.
Just how cruel children can become.
Childlike innocence is undeniably lovely and grace-filled, but at times, it can also show endless ignorance and selfishness.
“Stand straight.”
“H-huh! Ugh! U-ugh!”
The Saintess, holding her garment with delicate hands and shedding tears like chicken poop, occasionally looked up at me cautiously.
Her anxious gaze seemed to be trying to confirm the unbelievable reality before her multiple times.
There was no way this audacious person who slapped her own face could be the same man who had attentively supported her every move up until now.
Desperately trying to deny the harsh reality before her was nothing short of pitiful.
I could easily guess why the Saintess was crying so much over just a slap to the face.
Surely, it was not the physical pain of the burning cheek, but rather the pain from knowing that it came from me that was weighing heavily on her heart.
If it had been me at another time, my heart would have softened a bit at this point.
Wondering what the Saintess could possibly know.
Using her ignorance as an excuse, I would let all her mistakes pass because of my position, and it would have been obvious that I would let this whole series of events slide.
But now that the Saintess has crossed a line that can’t be overlooked, filled with a fierce sense of duty, I found no space left in my thoughts for sympathy towards her.
“Don’t come closer. Stay right there.”
“H-huh!”
Even though she had already been pushed away a few times, the Saintess was again cautiously trying to close the distance between us, and I firmly stopped her.
Despite not raising my voice, the way she flinched as if thunder had struck every time I spoke was truly pitiful.
“J-just wait a moment! Regis Priest! The Saintess didn’t mean it in a bad way! H-hiiik!”
The Sister, unable to bear it any longer, tried to rush in between us, but when she met my gaze, she fell silent as if to say, “What happened?”
No matter what circumstances there were, it was unacceptable for the knight dedicated to protecting the Saintess to forget his position and inflict harm upon her. I fully understood the Sister’s intention to stop me.
However, regardless of her status as a Saintess, dragging innocent civilians, let alone a toddler taking their first steps, into her own selfish desires was to me an unforgivable breach.
I subtly urged her with a desperate gaze to stay away for now.
Fortunately, it seemed the Sister grasped my meaning to some extent, as she quickly halted her steps toward me.
Though I was a bit worried that she was standing too far away like lightning had struck right in front of her, I thought to myself, “Eh, it’s not a big deal.”
“I-I can’t believe it! T-the Priest is this furious! Like, this furious!”
Following that, the Hero, hugging his sheathed sword like a pillow, whined in a trembling voice as if he had seen a ghost, but I decided to ignore it.
Who’s angry?
Right now, I was merely a bit emotionally stirred. Not angry at all!
Besides, no matter how much I worked myself into a rage, someone childlike like the Saintess would just be a bit scared.
There’s no way I could exude enough presence to intimidate someone fearless like the Sister.
If I could, I wouldn’t have struggled so much when the rascals picked a quarrel with me a moment ago.
“Raise your hands.”
“Huh?”
A heavy voice escaped alongside a deep breath.
For a while, the Saintess seemed confused, tilting her head now and then as if unable to make sense of my words, but noticing my intense gaze, she seemed to grasp that something was off, and soon began to hesitantly raise both hands.
“Lift them high─!”
“W-whoa!”
But that slow and clumsy movement became urgent the moment my command burst from my mouth.
Right after the Saintess raised her hands high over her head, everyone in the church, confused over what was happening, started raising their hands too.
“May God smile upon you!!!”
To anyone who didn’t know the situation, this sight might have looked like everyone was cheering “Hooray!” together.
“Who told everyone to raise their hands? Welna. It’s just you who should lift them. Hold them up straight again.”
“W-wahh!”
“I told you not to cry. If you cry even once more, you won’t get the chance to see my face ever again.”
“Huuh! Ugh! Aaaah!”
The Saintess desperately held back the tears threatening to spill over right away.
I thought about complimenting her efforts for a moment, but quickly dismissed that thought.
For now, I had to focus solely on chastising her.
Thud! Plop!
Eventually, the guests in the cramped church began to drop to the ground like puppets with cut strings, and the Hero, now completely free from their encirclement, looked around briefly.
“Phew!”
Fortunately, nobody seemed to have fallen in a wrong or harmful way.
It was a good sign. This way, I could focus entirely on the Saintess before me without any lingering worries.
“Okay! I-I was wrong! Huuh! I was wrong!”
“Hold on. Be quiet.”
It was quite pitiful to hear her pathetic-sounding apologies whispering in my ears from time to time, but I made it clear through my actions that it was simply unacceptable.
“Huuh·····.”
I pretended to pinch my brows for a moment, trying to steady my swirling mind.
Physically, I had already hit rock bottom, and my barely sustained consciousness felt like it could blackout completely with just a momentary lapse of tension.
But I had to prevent this time from dragging on.
I kept chewing on what was in my mouth, continuously awakening my awareness.
“What did you do wrong?”
“H-huh·····?”
At the beginning of that question, the Saintess’s gaze began to waver dramatically.
It was clear she intended to throw out some casual apology and move on like before.
“Can’t you hear me? What did you do wrong?”
“Wahhh·····.”
Tears that had yet to fade from her eyes threatened to spill again, but perhaps my threat about not seeing me again if she cried worked because the Saintess finally swallowed her tears.
Honestly, I couldn’t say this whole situation was entirely the Saintess’s fault.
She simply didn’t know.
That trying to enforce your will while sacrificing others is not a correct action.
There had been no one to tell her what was wrong and guide her, and such a lack of experience was likely a completely natural development leading to this situation.
Naive. Simple-minded.
While the resonance of those words could be beautiful, it also suggested that she hadn’t fully grasped the relationship between herself and the world yet.
If a more thoughtful person had been by her side, they would have noticed this truth long ago.
Had I been someone deserving of this role, armed with a proper qualification and noble character, I surely could have embraced her shortcomings without leaving such scars.
“It’s enough now·····. Lower your hands·····.”
“Ugh·····.”
I briefly observed the Saintess as she quietly lowered her hands.
One cheek slightly swollen. An anxious gaze peeking at my expression. Lips tightly squeezed to avoid showing tears.
Her previously fierce determination seemed about to chill completely, leaving behind a pitiful figure.
Had I gone too far with the slap?
I felt deep regret to the extent that it was almost about to cause a large-scale tragedy.
Once again, I realized in that moment that I didn’t have the qualifications to support her or the capability to guide her in the right direction.
Respect for my parents across the nation grew anew.
It was tough enough to discipline a child just once.
Truly, raising kids isn’t something just anyone can do.
“Haa·····. I’ll apologize to the guests later for the trouble caused, but for now, I’m sorry to you, Hero·····.”
“U-uhhh·····. E-everyone?”
“S-Saint Priest!? ”
“Regis Priest!?”
In my gradually fading consciousness, what popped up wasn’t guilt or a sense of achievement, but rather a resolve that couldn’t even be called a commitment.
Yes, after the Blessing Ceremony is over, let’s just drop everything then.
That would surely be for both me and the Saintess’s good.
Today made me painfully aware.
That I, as a being, only bring negative influence to the Saintess.
It’s time to retire. To retire and hand her over to a suitable person.
This time for sure.
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