Chapter 55

“I know.”

Daddy said as he held me in his arms. The holy knights looked wary but hesitated to pick a fight.

“…He probably isn’t a bad person.”

Something about that made me feel strange.

Even though this was technically a strategic retreat, I didn’t like the idea of being separated from Daddy. At the same time, I felt reassured that he was already thinking of and preparing a backup plan.

…Is this what it’s like to have a guardian?

For a moment, I thought of my birth parents who never loved me, and of my grandmother who treated me like some unwanted baggage—but I quickly pushed those memories away.

“I know you know a lot. But… you’re still young.”

Daddy hesitated.

“Protecting my daughter… is my job.”

I beamed at him.

“’Kay!”

After that, Daddy gave me a quick rundown of the person who’d be coming, including what little he knew about them and when they might arrive.

As soon as his divine power faded, the holy knights who’d been anxiously holding back stepped forward like they’d been waiting for that moment.

“Come quietly. But I won’t leave until the pope candidate is safely in her room.”

“That’s not acceptable.”

One of the knights, gripping his broken arm, glared sharply at him. His face twisted with anger.

“You must come immediately. That’s the rule.”

“You’re really unreasonable, you know that? Is there anything more important to the Order than a pope candidate?”

“Let’s not twist words. What’s important is His Holiness the ‘Pope’—not this mere ‘pope candidate,’ correct? If you’re that worried, we’ll take her in ourselves.”

The knight smirked.

“Or perhaps the candidate should accompany you to the Inquisition?”

Daddy’s face contorted.

“…Are you insane?”

Uh-oh, that’s not good.

Just as the ominous energy around Daddy began to rise again—

“We’ll escort him properly, so please just—”

“No, I’ll do it!”

The voice cut in suddenly. If they handed me over to that knight, who knew where I’d end up—certainly not just some room.

The owner of the voice barging in was… Laura.

‘Huh? Didn’t she leave just a minute ago?’

The moment Laura stepped inside, the holy knights shifted away with stiff expressions.

She had her own pope candidate, Mel, in tow.

“I have the authority of a guardian. I’ll escort her myself. There shouldn’t be a problem with that, Sir Joshua.”

“…What.”

So his name was Joshua. Guy looked more like Yoda though.

“Otherwise, I’ll have to testify to what I saw from a distance.”

“…”

Joshua looked like he was about to say something, but clamped his mouth shut instead. Definitely was gonna say no.

“…Fine. Do as you will.”

When Joshua gave the signal, the holy knights stepped further back.

The moment Daddy lowered me to the ground, I grabbed Laura’s hand.

“…See you later.”

Daddy’s hand lingered near my head, then slowly withdrew.

‘…He could’ve patted me.’

Did he think it would be disrespectful?

Watching his figure as he was dragged away, bound in some kind of special rope, a swirl of emotions rose within me… and anger surged.

My eyes grew cold.

‘Tosher… you bastard.’

* * *

A short while later, we reached my room.

I sent Laura off again.

“If you’re okay with it, my candidate and I can stay here and act as your temporary guardians.”

I was really grateful for the offer, but I shook my head.

‘If we get too close, it’ll put Laura and Mel in danger.’

There’s a chance Usher might target them too.

It’s best to avoid that outcome.

“Mhm, okay. Safe here…!”

Laura looked around the room, then nodded.

“Wow… Yeah, I get it now…! Seriously, this room feels like a fortress!”

In truth, this room was newly assigned after the whole Usher intrusion fiasco.

Daddy had raised absolute hell with the Central Committee under the Pope’s Palace to get it approved.

Like—”What kind of security is that, when the pope candidate’s room collapses under the power of a so-called ‘washed-up has-been’ like me?!”

‘Washed-up, my foot…’

My poor Daddy, completely unaware of his own power… But still, props to him!

“Ahem. Apologies. This time, I made sure to get a proper room!”

Daddy didn’t have much sway overall, but the safety of a pope candidate was a high priority.

The new room came with a powerful divine protection barrier that even Daddy found satisfying.

“This is acceptable.”

“…It’s just acceptable? Feels plenty safe to me.”

“It should be strong enough to block even a Keter-grade monster—”

“Yikes.”

There aren’t even that many rooms in the Order that can do that. I shook my head in disbelief.

Regardless, Daddy seemed satisfied and slathered the room in his divine power.

He made sure the barrier would protect me no matter what happened.

‘Even if, like now, he’s forced to leave my side for a while.’

And that wasn’t all. There was an especially important function.

A very useful one.

This was why I could stand tall. Fanatics had limits to what powers they could use inside the Order’s walls.

There’s no way they could break through this barrier.

Calling it a fortress wasn’t an exaggeration.

“…The hero of the past still lives, huh? At this level, even the Azure Holy Knights at their prime would need a few minutes to get through… Ah—sorry.”

Laura cut herself off mid-sentence, embarrassed.

The Azure Holy Knights were Daddy’s personal unit back in his glory days.

After he became a Corrupted Holy Knight, they scattered and disbanded—or so the story goes.

‘I don’t mind.’

Either way, even a holy knight like Laura could tell how impressive this room was.

Though she couldn’t stop worrying, she eventually left.

Telling me to call her right away if anything happened.

‘She’s a good person.’

Thud!

As soon as the door shut,

I sat down on the bed and stared at the door. There was no need to act anymore.

‘Freaking fanatic.’

If someone picks a fight, I should return the favor with interest.

‘Daddy will keep his promise.’

There’s no way they could charge him with rampaging. At most, they’d keep him in custody for a bit.

But the fanatic’s goal was to separate us—even just for a moment.

‘Maybe he planned this all along.’

What worried me was the chance he’d try to hurt Daddy. But if I was the target, then the odds were low.

I slowly recalled Daddy’s words.

“The one I’m sending is a woman. Her personality is… a little quirky, but her skills are solid. I’ll give you some clues so you’ll recognize her.”

The person Daddy said he was sending.

There wasn’t much time, so I didn’t get all the details, but the clues narrowed it down to a few candidates.

‘I can think of about three. All of them are key characters tied to chapters.’

Who would I meet this time? A small thrill of excitement stirred.

And not long after…

Knock knock knock.

Only ten minutes had passed since Laura left.

Like a lie, a knock echoed through the room.

But—

‘…This isn’t the person Daddy sent.’

How did I know?

“Even if she’s fast, it’ll take at least an hour. Stay inside your room, no matter what.”

It wasn’t time yet.

So then, who would come find me now—conveniently when I was all alone?

Knock knock knock.

“Dear pope candidate~”

A voice rang out, light and sweet, almost dreamlike.

Playful, with a hint of mischief. The voice of that damn fanatic.

“It’s me.”

Usher.

The very one who tore us apart had shown up.

“Won’t you open the door?”

I didn’t answer. The knocking stopped.

“Or… should I break it down and come in?”

The intruder’s gleeful voice echoed through the room.
 

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Translator: Japchae