Ch.5757. The Real, Real Saint

# Behind the Stage

A massive carriage stood prominently behind the stage.

Though the makeshift stage wasn’t particularly large, this carriage rivaled it in size… it appeared to be at least five or six times larger than a normal carriage.

‘This thing must be a nightmare to drive on regular roads.’

That was my first thought upon seeing it.

Perhaps it was built this large to serve as a mobile rest area. It would certainly be fitting to announce the arrival of a saint with something this impressive.

Whatever the case, I was certain Lilith was inside.

I approached the carriage and knocked on the firmly closed door. Soon, the door opened and the clergyman I had seen earlier emerged.

“Who might you be?”

From a distance, he had merely looked elderly, but up close, despite his age, he had strong features that made him appear quite vigorous.

“I’m sorry, but the Saint needs rest at the moment…”

“It’s been a while, Grandfather Cordas. How’s being a clergyman working out after quitting your butler position?”

“…Your Highness?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Listening to them, it seemed they knew each other.

Based on Celia’s familiar tone and casual attitude, they appeared to have been quite close… Was there someone who had gone from imperial butler to clergyman?

I didn’t recall this from the game, so it probably wasn’t included. Well, implementing such minor relationships would have made the file size ridiculous.

“Are you still doing this kind of work even here? Looking after people must be your true calling.”

“I suppose it is.”

“Then why did you suddenly quit being a butler? Do you know what chaos ensued when I had to find a new personal butler?”

“Hehehe, even an old man sometimes finds something new he wants to do.”

The old man called Cordas laughed as he said this.

Then he shifted his gaze slightly toward me.

“And who might this be…”

“A friend from my academy.”

“I’m Ludion.”

“Hehehe, there’s no need to bow to an old man like me.”

He said this when I reflexively bowed in greeting.

But that wouldn’t be right. The age difference is too great.

For a Korean steeped in Confucian values, disrespecting such a gentle elderly person would be practically sinful.

Anyway, after we finished our greetings, Celia smoothly brought up the main point.

“I need to speak with Lilith. Could you give us some privacy?”

“Of course. The Lord would welcome friends of the Saint.”

“Keep showing off your clergy status and I’ll forcibly drag you back, just so you know.”

“Oh my. Please spare me from that fate.”

The negotiation was quick. There wasn’t much to negotiate about friends meeting each other anyway.

We passed by him as he hurried outside in response to Celia’s playful threat, and entered the carriage.

“It looks even bigger inside than it did from outside.”

The interior of the carriage was indeed spacious. This vehicle had clearly transcended its role as mere transportation.

If the imperial carriage I rode recently was a supercar, this would be a camper van.

It resembled an entire room that had been transported intact, literally large enough to live in. Wow… talk about VIP treatment.

But despite its size, it was still just one room. Upon entering, we immediately came face to face with Lilith.

Seeing us, Lilith jumped up in shock as if catching burglars in the act.

“You… what are you doing here? How did you get in? Where’s Cardinal Cordas?”

She seemed quite startled by our sudden appearance when she had expected the clergyman who attended to her to answer the knock.

But… Cardinal?

“Celia, was that man a cardinal?”

“Now that you mention it, I think I heard he was recently appointed.”

“How long has it been since he quit being a butler?”

“About four years?”

Goodness. So he secured a cardinal position in just four years?

As expected of someone who worked in the imperial palace…

I couldn’t understand why such a person never appeared in the original story.

“How can you two casually chat after barging in like this?!”

Well, she had a point. It was impolite of us to chat amongst ourselves in this situation.

I went inside and sat down on a plush-looking sofa. Celia followed and sat beside me.

“Why are you sitting down without permission? Get out now!”

She seemed to want to chase us out.

Unfortunately for her, we had no intention of leaving so easily.

“Wow, Saint Lilith. Your performance was quite impressive.”

“Indeed. The crowd’s reaction was great too. That’s what being a saint is all about, I guess.”

“…Please don’t talk about that.”

“Celia, what do you think about Lilith’s outfit?”

“I’ve never seen anyone pull off a nun’s habit so well. Though now she’s back to being the usual Lilith.”

“I’ll seriously…”

I actually wanted to tease her more, but Lilith looked like she was about to shoot something at us, so I had to stop.

After taking a moment to calm down, Lilith flopped down on the sofa across from us and sighed before speaking.

“Anyway, why are you two wandering around here? Are you on a date or something?”

“Well, it might look that way at a glance.”

“What do you mean ‘at a glance’? Anyone would see this as a date.”

“Right, anyone would see it as a da… Wait. Celia, you’re not embarrassed?”

It seemed Lilith’s goal was to tease Celia, but surprisingly, Celia no longer fell for such attacks.

Instead, she confronted it head-on, which left Lilith confused.

“…Come to think of it, you said you visited the imperial palace. Hey, Ludion, tell me honestly. What did you do there?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Something must have happened to make Celia act like this. Tell me what happened right now!”

“Really, nothing special happened.”

I did spar with the knights, break the imperial family’s magic stone, deal with some demons that appeared, and incidentally prevent the apocalypse… but I couldn’t go around bragging about that, could I?

So excluding all that, nothing really happened.

But Lilith, unable to believe me, continued her persistent questioning, and amid this, Celia dropped a bombshell.

“That’s right. Nothing special happened. Except my parents accepting Ludion. Right?”

She said this with a casual smile directed at me.

She was pretending to be natural, but I could tell immediately. She was saying this just to mess with Lilith.

Well… though the Emperor himself might collapse if he heard this, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

So I nodded to Lilith, who was looking at me with disbelief, confirming that it was true.

Lilith couldn’t close her mouth in disbelief.

“No way. Really?”

“Really.”

“No way! Really really?”

“Really really.”

If you’re not going to believe it, why keep asking if it’s true?

Feeling like we might get stuck in an infinite loop, I changed the subject before “really” could expand to three repetitions.

“By the way, have you had lunch yet?”

“How can you casually change the subject like that? No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Usually Cardinal Cordas brings food from somewhere nearby and I eat that…”

Lilith muttered while looking outside the carriage.

Noticing something, Celia magically flung open the carriage door and called out.

“Grandfather Cordas!”

“What is it, Your Highness?”

Despite not being a particularly loud call, his immediate response definitely gave off butler vibes. Though he’s a cardinal now…

Celia didn’t bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point.

“We’re going to have lunch with Lilith.”

“As you wish.”

And just like that, Lilith’s next schedule was decided. Lunch together.

“Shall we go right away?”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait a minute. How can I go out dressed like this? I’ll change clothes first, so wait outside.”

“Why? It suits you well.”

“That’s right. I think you could just go as you are.”

“I’m seriously getting angry. Get out now!”

In the end, we had no choice but to wait outside the carriage while Lilith changed her clothes.

A little later, as we were walking with Lilith in her casual clothes, Celia suddenly poked Lilith’s arm with her finger.

“Wait a moment, Lilith. Someone’s following us.”

It seemed someone was stalking us.

However, hearing this, Lilith wasn’t surprised at all and calmly replied.

“That’s normal. They think I’m a real saint.”

This appeared to be an everyday occurrence for her.

But… you ARE a real saint.

Celia seemed to share my thoughts as she voiced her confusion.

“Aren’t you actually a real saint?”

“…You’re right. I am a saint.”

You should at least be aware that you’re a saint.

Anyway, what mattered now was that someone was following us.

It could be considered a very dangerous situation. Not for us, but for the stalker.

While Lilith said this was normal… the situation was a bit different now. Not only was the saint here, but the imperial princess was with her too.

If they got caught, who knows what punishment they might face.

But it wouldn’t be appropriate for a saint or princess to directly confront a citizen.

So I decided to handle it myself.

If left alone, they might disturb our meal, and my fixed stats should be more than enough to deal with an ordinary citizen.

It didn’t take long to realize how wrong that assumption was.