Seongguk – Catastrophe

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“This is delicious…”

With each movement of Veronica’s hand, the snacks on the table rapidly disappeared.

‘She’s eating a lot.’

Jade, sitting across from her, watched in amazement.

Could it be that the Pope had prevented her from eating such things when she was recuperating from the Demonic Energy?

Even so, it was surprising to see The Saintess, who always seemed so composed, devouring snacks at such a pace.

-Swish.

Jade picked up a snack from the plate.

“The Saintess, would you like this as well?”

“Uub…?”

Veronica, lost in a world of her own, froze and her face gradually turned red.

Thinking she had shown an unsightly side in front of him, she carefully put down the snack she was eating.

“Ahem… I’m sorry. I just really like to eat.”

“It’s alright. You can eat everything here. I’ll even give you mine.”

Jade pushed the plate towards Veronica, but she waved her hands.

“N-No, it’s okay. I think I’m full now. And you don’t need to be so formal with me. Please, just call me Veronica.”

“How could I possibly to The Saintess…”

Asking him to drop the honorifics with The Saintess? That was no easy task.

Jade was troubled by Veronica’s request.

The three of them appeared to be of similar age on the surface. But appearances aside, there was quite an age difference between Veronica and the other two.

Moreover, The Saintess was a Hero he had only read about in books, so his body instinctively showed respect.

“Even so, you’re older than me and a Hero and a senior, so I can’t do that.”

“M-My age is high?”

“That’s right. The Saintess, you’ve been active on the battlefield for ten years…”

Veronica couldn’t bear to hear Jade mention her age, and she jumped up from her seat.

“I’m not that old! And since I’ve lost my memories of the past, you could say we’re ‘practically’ the same age.”

‘…Is that so?’

Jade paused to consider.

It didn’t seem entirely wrong.

Veronica had lost most of her memories, so if you only considered her mental age, she could even be younger than him.

But there was still a clear age difference, so dropping the honorifics might not be appropriate…

For now, Jade nodded to calm the agitated Veronica.

“Hmm… If you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.”

“Right? Lena calls me casually, so Jade, you can just speak comfortably to m…e…”

Veronica’s voice trailed off.

Realizing her huge mistake, she quietly sat back down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mention Lena on purpose.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. The Saintess, you didn’t do anything wrong that led to this with Lena.”

Although he said it was okay, Jade was reminded of Lena, whom he had momentarily forgotten because of Veronica’s words.

He had no idea what to do about this situation.

At first, he believed in Lena’s innocence, but as he listened to the Pope, his heart began to waver slightly.

Then, when the story about the Revelation came up, his head became incredibly confused.

He wondered if the Pope was framing Lena with a false Revelation, but if The Saintess vouched for it, he had no choice but to believe it.

‘Lena, what should I do? Even if all the evidence says you’re a criminal, should I still believe in you?’

Now, he had no choice but to meet Lena in person and talk to her.

Just then, Annie, who had been sitting with a gloomy expression, spoke up.

“Saintess, no, Veronica.”

“Yes?”

“Is the Revelation really true? Is there no room for a different interpretation? You said she hid her identity. How can you conclude that she’s a minion of the Demon?”

“But it’s true that she suddenly attacked the Pope when he suspected Lena was a Demon.”

“I can’t believe that either. Even if there was a risk of her identity being exposed, attacking the Pope is…”

“Annie, don’t keep making things difficult for The Saintess.”

Jade stopped Annie, who was pressing Veronica.

“It’s also true that, unlike us, there are suspicious aspects of Lena’s past, and there are Holy Knight testimonies that she attacked the Pope, so it’s highly likely to be true.”

He couldn’t blame The Saintess.

The Saintess had simply received the Revelation and passed it on to the Pope, and she couldn’t have predicted the events that followed.

In that situation, with all the evidence pointing to Lena, it was no surprise that Veronica suspected her.

But Annie didn’t like Jade’s attitude.

“So, Jade, you’re saying that everything the Pope said is the absolute truth? That Lena has been deceiving us all along and doing everything according to the Demon’s orders?”

“That’s…”

Of course, Jade couldn’t believe everything the Pope said either.

‘There are still too many things that don’t add up.’

Lena had been a friend since before Jade became a Hero. And she had sacrificed herself for him, even challenging Doran to a duel.

The most nonsensical thing was, of course, what had happened in the Dungeon.

The fact that Lena had fought Raspha and ultimately sacrificed herself for him was something she wouldn’t have done if she had been a Demon spy.

“See! You’re the one who believes Lena is innocent more than I do. Yet you’re criticizing me for trying to find something strange?”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I’m saying that cornering The Saintess won’t solve anything.”

“No. If the Revelation is wrong, then that’s evidence that Lena is innocent. That the Pope framed Lena.”

Annie’s voice grew louder.

‘It looks like Annie is seriously angry.’

Jade thought that if things continued like this, it might turn into a fight, so he tried to calm Annie down.

“Annie, calm down. And even so, you shouldn’t talk about the Pope like that in front of The Saintess…”

“Are you really going to worry about that when Lena is in such a critical situation? You said you loved Lena. Or did you just want to have sex with her?”

“…Annie. I can’t just let that slide.”

Even if it was Annie, he couldn’t tolerate her insulting his feelings for Lena.

Jade was confident that his love for Lena was greater and more sincere than anyone else’s.

“Ha! If you can’t let it slide—”

“Everyone, calm down!”

Finally, Veronica, unable to watch any longer, shouted loudly.

“The Pope said he would let you meet Lena soon, right? Let’s just wait a little longer. It won’t be too late to talk to Lena and think about what to do next.”

“…”

A moment of silence fell between the three of them.

The silence was broken by Annie.

“Jade, I’m sorry for what I said. I went too far. And I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Veronica.”

Annie acknowledged her mistake and apologized to both of them.

“It’s okay. I understand how you feel. Just know that I want to resolve this situation as much as you do.”

“Okay.”

In this kind of situation, nerves were bound to be frayed.

But they both shared the same goal of saving Lena.

“Let’s just wait until the person who’s going to give us news arrives.”

-Knock. Knock.

At that moment, as if on cue, a knock sounded and the door opened.

“The Hero, everything is ready. You may go now.”

The time had finally come for Jade to face Lena.

**

The man standing at the door bowed to Jade.

“Greetings. I am Lucas, the Inquisitor. The prisoner you are looking for is waiting inside.”

‘Prisoner.’

So, that’s what people are calling Lena now instead of her name.

Jade found the term Lucas used for Lena unfamiliar.

“If any problems arise, please call me immediately. She may suddenly attack The Hero out of desperation.”

“Lena would never…”

Lena would never attack me.

Jade wanted to shout those words at Lucas.

Of course not.

Lena and he were lovers.

They were in a relationship where they could even sacrifice their lives for each other.

But, given the circumstances, he couldn’t blame the people of the Holy Kingdom for suspecting Lena.

There was a lot of evidence pointing to Lena being a spy.

“Hoo…”

Jade took a deep breath and calmed himself.

The important thing now was to talk to Lena, so he couldn’t waste time here.

“I understand. Lucas, may I go in now?”

“Yes. Please, go inside.”

Jade entered the room and immediately spotted the person sitting in the chair.

‘Lena.’

It was her, whom he had missed so much these past few days.

It hadn’t been long since he had last seen her, but it felt like an eternity since he had last seen Lena.

Perhaps it was because so much had happened in such a short time.

Lena’s face was a little gaunt, but she was still as beautiful as ever.

But then, a metal object around Lena’s neck caught his eye.

Shackles.

A symbol of a criminal.

It clearly showed the reality Lena was facing.

‘How did things end up like this?’

Jade’s heart, which had been slightly lifted by seeing Lena, sank back into the deep sea.

Jade slowly walked towards Lena.

-Creak.

He pulled out a chair and sat opposite Lena.

Lena must have noticed him entering, but she kept her head down.

“Lena.”

Only then did Lena lift her head.

“…Jade.”

“It’s been a while. Has anything happened?”

“No. I’ve just been locked up in prison. The others haven’t treated me harshly either.”

“That’s a relief.”

He had been worried that Lena might be tortured or treated badly…

Jade was relieved to see that Lena seemed to be in a similar state as usual.

“Didn’t Annie come with you? Or is she waiting outside?”

“I came alone. Annie said she would look for other ways to help you. She thought it would be better to leave meeting you to me.”

“I guess so. I feel more comfortable talking to you alone too. Actually, I’m a little happy to see you right now. Hehe.”

Lena smiled, as if she was feeling better.

A light but simple beauty could be felt in her smile.

Jade felt a little relieved at the sight.

‘She’s still beautiful even in this situation…’

He wanted to hug her and whisper sweet nothings to her right away, after all the hardships she had gone through these past few days.

But Jade had a story he had to tell now.

“Lena, as you know, things seem to have gotten a bit twisted. Can you tell me in detail what happened?”

“So, you suspect me too? That I’m a Demon spy.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. Of course, I believe you’re innocent. I’m just trying to understand the situation accurately and help you. The situation is serious. You might be locked up in prison forever.”

“….”

But Lena didn’t say anything and remained silent.

A moment of silence fell in the room.

The longer the silence lasted, the more anxious Jade became.

‘Why isn’t she answering?’

It wasn’t like he had asked a difficult question to answer.

All she had to do was say that it was all a frame-up and that she was innocent.

Lena didn’t do that simple thing and just stared at him silently.

‘Did she get hurt by what I said earlier?’

She might have felt very bad because his question sounded like he was suspecting her.

Jade decided to apologize for that first.

“Lena. Maybe I—”

“That’s right.”

“What?”

“I colluded with the Demon.”