Volume 5, Chapter 23 – The Innocent Saintess (Part 1)

“But that’s a secret between you and Evelyn, right? Why would those people at the academy know?”

“My personality is too different from Evelyn’s. It’s easy to see…”

“Couldn’t it just be your imagination, Andrea? Evelyn only presides over the noble council on your behalf. Those people would never have a chance to interact with the Evelyn who’s replacing you. The ‘demon possession’ must be something they just made up.”

I thought it was just like the church’s slander against the Fallen.

Unwilling to continue, Andrea gently shook her head. “The fact that I hurt them is enough. Although implementing new policies will always meet with obstacles, I should have been able to adopt a gentler method at the time. Instead, I let Evelyn do as she pleased…”

Silence.

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What was she supposed to say? Yisi didn’t know where to begin.

The Queen of the Blood Clan and the next Pope of the church forming a partnership was not strange in itself. It wasn’t impossible, given enough pressure from the wider political environment. But for the Queen to guide the church’s believers in place of the Pope, and for the Pope to manage the Blood Clan’s internal affairs for the Queen, was truly incredible.

No, it might be incredible for anyone else, but Andrea would probably agree to it. Unlike Edith, who never changes her mind once she’s made a decision, Andrea was the type to instinctively choose to escape when faced with a setback. Just as she had told Yisi before, “If I could, I would want to be an ordinary person.” She was not suited to be a queen, nor did she want to be one.

As for why Andrea would choose to become a Pope, who also stood at the apex of society, according to her description, the so-called next Pope of the Ymir Church was merely a figurehead position. All one had to do was guide the believers and offer prayers to the gods. Such a life was, for Andrea, an ideal existence.

And as for why Andrea didn’t fight back at all when the students were bullying her, beyond what she had said about having hurt them, the deeper reason was actually self-blame. Because she knew that as a queen, she was not allowed to run away, yet she could not resist the peace that came with escaping. Knowingly walking down the wrong path, this sense of guilt could easily evolve into a mentality where one felt it was only natural to be berated by others.

That was why when Yisi had stolen her necklace, Andrea had barely resisted and had even worn an expression of relief. Andrea knew that relying on the necklace was wrong, but she couldn’t resist the temptation it offered. So she could only pin her hopes on an external force to forcibly stop her behavior.

But this was not the most important issue. The problem now was, what should be done in the future? The necklace had been taken by Yisi, leaving Andrea unable to borrow Evelyn’s strength to make decisions. Although various signs indicated that Andrea was not foolish, merely overly kind and indecisive, what a ruler needed was precisely decisiveness. Indecision would only make her the target of all factions.

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It was for this very reason that Andrea had repeatedly refused to attend the noble council over the past half-month. She knew she couldn’t handle the conflicts between the nobles. Just like when the nobles had made an issue of the orphanages, because Andrea was unable to choose between the spear and the shield, afraid of causing a tragedy, she could only take the responsibility upon herself. If Boris hadn’t taken the lead and borne a portion of the costs for the Queen, the expenses for the orphanages would have been shouldered by Andrea alone, even though it was beyond her means.

If Yisi were to say her true feelings, it would only be that Andrea was naturally unsuited to be a queen. She should have become a character like a saintess, someone who could offer aid to others indiscriminately and bring them happiness.

The originally innocent and radiant face now only showed desolation. As if she knew what kind of expression she was wearing, Andrea forced a smile for Yisi.

“But the necklace is gone now. The curse can be considered gone, right? Although there was never a problem, I knew that always relying on Evelyn was wrong. Having the necklace stolen was, for me, a relief.”

Yisi bit her lip, her fists unconsciously clenching.

The one who had stolen the necklace was her.

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But was stealing the necklace wrong? Objectively, stealing another person’s property was definitely wrong. But for her at the time, taking the necklace was the only option left. Without Andrea’s necklace, Edith would have died. Therefore, even if she could do it all over again, she would still make the same choice.

But this had caused Andrea’s current predicament. Even if Andrea herself admitted the necklace was a curse and felt that losing it was a relief, thinking about it from another angle, why had Andrea chosen to rely on the necklace in the first place? Because she herself could not handle the problems among the nobles. Once she lost the necklace, she would have to face the pressure of being a queen, and this was something she could not bear.

Forcibly suppressing the cowardly part of her heart, Yisi spoke with difficulty.

“…The one who stole… your necklace… was me.”

If she hadn’t gotten to know Andrea on a deeper level, she would never have admitted it so bluntly. Yisi was keenly aware of this. But after seeing Andrea’s weak and helpless state, she could no longer continue the pretense. Although if time were to be rewound, she would still choose to save Edith, what was done was done. Even if she might be blamed or even cursed by Andrea, this was a responsibility she had to bear. If she continued with her previous plan of using her Third Form Awakening to confess to Andrea, she would never be able to hold her head high in front of her again. That would be a form of escape.

Just as Yisi had imagined, Andrea’s head moved slightly. What was different, however, was that Andrea was neither angry nor surprised. On the contrary, her face held an expression of relief, as if she had expected it all along.

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“So it was you, Lady Yisi… Although we were only in contact for a few seconds that time, and your racial features were different from the first time I saw you, the moment I saw your eyes, I felt that it was you.”

She seems so dazed in daily life, but her intuition is very sharp at critical moments?

Her inner thoughts aside, Andrea’s choice not to scold her made Yisi feel a lack of reality, as if Andrea hadn’t taken her words seriously.

“You realized it back then, Andrea? I stole your precious necklace, you know. Without the necklace, things will be very hard for you from now on. It might even cause the collapse of the Blood Clan. You can curse me, hit me, even make me pay a price equivalent to taking the necklace, and I will do my best to fulfill it.”

A change from her previous desolation, Yisi’s words made the expression on Andrea’s face gradually brighten, revealing an exceptionally gentle smile.

“You are the one who drank my blood, Lady Yisi. How could I forget what you look like? Even if you were to cover your entire body with a cloak, I would be able to recognize you at a glance. As for stealing the necklace, I’ve already said it before. Relying on Evelyn is like taking a slow-acting poison. Even if there were no problems in the past, they would surely be exposed in the future. When things developed to that point, it would only become irreversible. For you to take the necklace away beforehand was, for me, only a relief.”