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I just couldn’t understand it. Bael was the one who had watched Axel and me bicker endlessly, closer than anyone else. I narrowed my eyes at him, suspicious like a desert fox, but Bael just burst out laughing and gently set me back down on the bed.

“Anyway, the fact that you two are now siblings is quite the event. Servian will have a field day with this.”

“Ugh, he’s going to tease us non-stop, for sure.”

Just thinking about it made me tired, so I flopped down onto the bed. Bael carefully pulled the blankets over me again, acting just like a father would.

‘Not that I’ve ever had a father, but still…’

Even though I never had one, I had a general idea of what a father’s role was, so I could make that comparison. Clutching the blanket that Bael had tucked around me, I relaxed, letting my body sink into the bed. Bael smiled warmly and said, “I’m glad to see you again, Reshi. After all this talk, I realized I hadn’t properly greeted you.”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words at Bael’s bright smile. I had cursed the reincarnation subscription as a vile product and still believed it was one. But I also realized how incredibly fortunate I was to be able to meet my friends again, even after death—something not everyone could experience.

I returned his smile with a big one of my own. “Yeah, I’m happy to see you too!”

* * *

“What on earth is going on…?”

The group of priests who had come from Kydsha gathered with grave expressions. The confidence they had displayed when they had boldly marched into the Elpinard estate, and later the Ivory Tower, was nowhere to be seen. They all looked deflated, like defeated soldiers.

They had tried to forcibly take the saintess and had failed, putting them in a difficult situation. Not only had they failed to carry out Cardinal Kaltas’s orders to bring the saintess at all costs, but they had also incurred the wrath of Duke Elpinard, who had thrown them out of the estate. 

But what left them most bewildered was the saintess herself. They had all seen it—the saintess, who supposedly couldn’t wield divine power and was therefore deemed a fake, had unleashed an overwhelming surge of divine energy!

“Did you all feel it? When the saintess collapsed, there was an incredible…”

“Shh. Let’s not jump to conclusions without certainty.”

“What do you mean, not certain? Do you think we’re novices? That was definitely divine power! And it was a tremendous force!”

The courage of one priest’s outburst led the others to start murmuring amongst themselves.

Murmur, murmur.

Murmur, murmur.

The uproar seemed like it would never die down until a loud noise brought it to an abrupt halt. The elderly priest who had led the charge into the Ivory Tower—and had been the one to roughly grab Reshia’s arm—slammed his fist on the table. The muttering priests immediately fell silent.

This high priest was the self-proclaimed leader of the group that had come to Elpinard, and he was also a close associate of Cardinal Kaltas, who controlled Kydsha.

No matter how much the others murmured, his opinion was the one that truly mattered.

“I’ve sent word to Kydsha about what happened here, and just moments ago, we received a reply from the ‘Elder Council.'”

The Elder Council of the Central Church was a consultative body made up of five cardinals, who currently held the highest decision-making power in the church, given the Pope’s bedridden state. Among these cardinals was Cardinal Kaltas, who was a member of the council due to his seniority.

“The saintess carries the name of Elpinard, so we can’t touch her recklessly, but isn’t Cardinal Bael clearly a member of the church?”

The saintess herself was never the real issue. The whole point of their actions had been to bring down Cardinal Bael.

The high priest calmly relayed the decision of the Elder Council to everyone.

“For the sin of hastily recognizing an unverified child as a saintess, Cardinal Bael will be brought before a Holy Trial!”

Everyone gasped at the high priest’s words.

“Well then, let’s go apprehend the criminal, shall we?”

* * *

Noah tossed a small pouch onto the bed where I was sitting.

“Found this on the way.”

“If you found it, you should return it to its owner. Why give it to me?” I asked, blinking in confusion. Noah, annoyed, shouted back.

“It doesn’t have an owner!”

“You said you found it on the way, but how do you know it doesn’t have an owner?”

“Ugh! You can just tell by looking!”

“How?”

“I mean… Just look! It clearly looks like it doesn’t belong to anyone!”

‘That’s not true…’

I tilted my head, examining the pouch. It wasn’t embroidered, but the material was obviously high-quality, and the stitching was meticulous. It was clearly a well-made pouch, so it couldn’t be ownerless.

“And if it really doesn’t have an owner, shouldn’t you just throw it away? Who knows what’s inside?”

It might look ordinary on the outside, but you can’t judge by appearances alone.

“It could be something dangerous, so let’s just get rid of it!”

I raised my hand, holding the pouch high.

“Lily! Get rid of this… Mmmp!”

But before I could finish shouting for Lily, Noah, looking panicked, clapped his hand over my mouth.

“Mmmmph? (What are you doing?)”

I frowned and asked, muffled by his hand. Noah quickly removed his hand, his face flushed with embarrassment.

“It’s… it’s not something weird. It’s chocolate!”

“What? You already opened it?”

“Yeah! So just eat it.”

“But it could still be some kind of weird chocolate. You need to be careful with food.”

I raised my hand again.

“Lily! We need to throw this… Mmmp!”

And once again, Noah clamped his hand over my mouth.

I forcefully pried Noah’s hand away and huffed in frustration.

“Why are you doing this? We need to get rid of anything suspicious!”

After the disastrous experience with the awakening potion from the Heaven Market, I had made a vow to be cautious about what I put in my mouth. Unknown chocolates like these should be disposed of before they cause any trouble.

But it seemed Noah didn’t share my concern. He opened his mouth several times as if trying to explain something, then finally let out a long sigh and plopped down on the bed.

“I didn’t just find it.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t find it on the way. I had it made in the kitchen, just for you. So it’s safe to eat. Nothing weird about it.”

Even after his explanation, I was still having a hard time understanding the situation.

“So, you mean… you had it made? For me?”

“Yeah.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied Noah’s face, slowly lowering the pouch. This was the same Noah who usually tormented me with a fierce glare—why would he suddenly give me something like this? It made me reasonably suspicious that he might have done something to the chocolates as a prank.

“I don’t really like chocolate. You eat it, Noah.”

“What? But Lily said chocolate was your favorite snack!”

Noah looked back at Lily with a hurt expression. The truth was, Lily hadn’t lied. I did like chocolate the most among snacks. Not wanting Lily to get blamed, I quickly waved my hands.

“No, no! I like it! I do!”

“…Really?”

Noah, who had been ready to storm over to Lily and demand answers, pouted and pulled a chocolate piece out of the pouch.

“Here.”

I cautiously accepted the chocolate from Noah and popped it into my mouth. Since Lily had confirmed it, it probably wasn’t anything strange, but I still felt a bit uneasy.

‘This guy used to give Reshia such a hard time.’

He had made my life difficult in every way possible, both physically and emotionally. 

‘But come to think of it, he never actually hit me or caused me any real harm.’

As I recalled old memories, the chocolate began to melt in my mouth, spreading its sweet flavor all around.