“It is the Goddess’s Blessing! It is the Saintess’s Holy Magic! How holy, how radiant…”
The Holy Magic Idledra summoned with a casual wave fell like a brilliant golden rain, quietly descending upon every corner of the Church.
In the eyes of some overly devout believers, this was nothing short of a miracle.
Even the Third Prince, who held nothing but contempt for the Holy See, could not help but look on with shock and disbelief.
‘I didn’t expect this crazy girl to actually pull off such a grand spectacle… This makes things difficult.’
He had gone to great lengths to plant an informant among the high-ranking members of the Holy See, and the information provided had never been wrong.
Even the matter regarding that old Priest had been orchestrated through his mole.
It was a pity they had failed to successfully eliminate the Saintess.
“So, Third Prince, do you still harbor doubts about my identity? Or do you still insist that I am a Witch?”
Idledra’s leisurely voice shattered the Third Prince’s forced smile, twisting his expression into a mask of frustration.
To him, Idledra’s faint smile felt like the mockery and disdain of a victor looking down at a loser.
However, in the eyes of the believers and even the soldiers responsible for holding back the crowd, Idledra was merely smiling as gently as she always did.
In truth, she was indeed mocking him, but she did not deign to use exaggerated expressions to ridicule this failed prince.
Even her slightest smile would be perceived as a provocation by his competitive and pretentious ego.
“You bastard… You must have planned this in advance just to trap me like this—”
“Enough! Third Prince, you are in the sacred Church, standing before the solemn Statue of the Goddess, and yet you still show no remorse?”
Idledra’s voice was not loud, but backed by the tall and beautiful Statue of the Goddess behind her, it seemed to pierce directly into the souls of others.
As her words fell, several fully armed Temple Knights emerged from the shadows of the Church to drive out the Third Prince’s soldiers.
“Don’t be afraid. These are the people the Pope planted here. At least until we officially fall out, they won’t harm us,” Idledra whispered.
After the previous incident where Priest Hydra had kidnapped the Saintess in broad daylight, the Holy See had been furious.
A traitor had appeared within their ranks and incited the higher-ups to kidnap the Saintess in public, all while the Pope was completely unaware.
Rather than trusting the five Grand Priests he had appointed, Pope Issar decided to personally arrange his own eyes and ears nearby.
Idledra gently held Hailey’s hand, her fingers slowly tracing circles in her palm as if trying to soothe her emotions.
“Just ignore them. Treat them as… a group of guard dogs that can’t speak.”
However, Hailey didn’t seem to care about what she was saying because she was currently so lightheaded she felt like she was about to lose all her strength.
‘Ugh… Stop moving your hand. Let me lean on you for a bit, just for a bit…’
‘How could this person kiss so hard? Mouth-to-mouth is one thing, but are you sucking on jelly?!’
After that nauseatingly intimate contact earlier, a large portion of the Mana in Hailey’s body had been casually siphoned away by Idledra.
Not to mention, the spectacular Holy Magic Idledra had just used was a high-drain spell, similar to ripping out a battery from Hailey’s own body.
This was why her legs were shaking and she was leaning entirely on Idledra for support.
But they were in public. She couldn’t just collapse against her.
What if she was accused of “great disrespect”?
‘Though, we did just kiss in front of everyone… No, I specifically turned at an angle where others couldn’t see!’
‘Probably, no one saw us… I checked the angle carefully. Basically, our faces couldn’t even be seen. No one definitely saw us, definitely…’
‘Damn it, she took too much at once. Now my vision is getting blurry… Should I just lie down? It shouldn’t be a problem, right?’
“You can, Hailey. As long as you want to, you can at any time.”
Idledra’s hand gently pulled Hailey into her embrace. Caught off guard, Hailey tumbled into the soft, warm hug.
Idledra used her long robes to lightly cover Hailey’s face as she let her rest dazed against her lap.
“The Goddess and Hailey are equally important. If Hailey needs me, then compared to being the Saintess, Hailey will always be more important than anything else.”
‘Tch… Silver-tongued. Since the person involved doesn’t mind, ah, I’m so tired. I’m just going to lie down. Let her clean up the mess herself.’
Hailey leaned against Idledra’s lap with peace of mind and closed her exhausted eyes.
The feeling of Mana depletion was even more draining than the mountain-climbing sacrifices of her past life. She truly wanted to rest.
*Purr, purr.* Perhaps because she was in such a quiet and relaxed state, Hailey actually let out a small sound, like a kitten acting spoiled.
‘She’s quite cute.’
Idledra’s fingertips gently brushed against her soft cheek.
Her eyes were filled with doting affection, alongside a desire and madness that was becoming difficult to suppress.
‘That’s it. Hailey only needs to think of me, and only needs to want me… As long as Hailey is by my side, and Hailey only thinks of me, that is enough. Hailey can rely on me forever…’
‘Just depend on me like this. You don’t need to think about anything else, and you can’t… Hailey just needs to be by my side.’
“Hey, you two! How dare you ignore this Prince, especially you, you Witch—”
“The Prince appears to be delirious. Send him back to the Imperial Palace so he doesn’t disturb the prayer time of others.”
Idledra gave the order coldly.
The Temple Knights acted as if they didn’t see the iconic golden hair representing the Imperial Family as they threw the Third Prince and his followers out of the Church together.
Even after being expelled, the Third Prince continued to swear and curse, pointing his finger at the Saintess inside the doors in a fit of rage.
In the next second, he was slapped heavily by a strange force of Mana.
By the time the Third Prince’s group fled in panic, Hailey was already fast asleep in Idledra’s arms, oblivious to the world.
Idledra poked her cheek, only to be lazily pushed away by Hailey’s hand.
“Very well. I am deeply sorry for once again disturbing everyone’s peaceful time. Please leave for now; I will be waiting for you all again tomorrow.”
With the Saintess’s permission, the crowd, who had been frightened by the series of events, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They quickly led their companions away. Little Mary lay on her father’s shoulder, looking back.
“Hee-hee, Sister, kissing, how shameful!”
Idledra placed a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, but her eyes met Little Mary’s playfully, as if they shared a secret code.
After all, in a world invisible to adults, children could always see much more.