Hush Now, Saintess! - Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Translator: Yonnee
—
“Could we meet alone later?”
“Pardon?”
“If you’re alright with it, I’d like to invite you to my home. What do you think?”
Honestly, I didn’t find it all that enticing.
Me? Visiting Helena’s house? And just to meet Helena’s mother?
“It’s not an obligation, of course. But I would be grateful if you would accept.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I nodded. With her asking so politely, it felt hard to decline.
‘So this is what they mean when they say you can’t spit on a smiling face…’
Isn’t that exactly the sort of saying for moments like this?
“Thank you, dear. Then, we’ll meet again soon.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
‘What is this really about?’
Whatever. I’ll figure it out when I visit her later.
For now, I focused on finding Hildeon and continued walking.
And before long—
“Your Highness!”
“…Roella?”
I found him.
He was, indeed, alone. Not even Hestin was with him.
‘Looks like he came by himself today.’
“What brings you here…?”
Hilideon looked a bit taken aback. It seemed he hadn’t expected me to come looking for him.
Feigning a pout, I shrugged and said,
“My partner abandoned me, so I came to find him.”
“My apologies. I hadn’t considered that. I just…”
Just what?
“I just didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere. This was your moment, Roella, and I didn’t want to spoil it.”
…That was just supposed to be a joke.
I hadn’t expected him to respond like this.
‘Well, until recently, he did believe he brought misfortune to the world, so…’
And he thought everyone was afraid of him, too.
Wow. Now I feel like a real jerk.
Doing my best to keep my tone light, I shook my head.
“There’s no way you could ruin anything, Your Highness. That’s nonsense.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
It seemed like he didn’t believe me, yet he couldn’t bring himself to voice it, so he simply let out a small smile.
Oh boy.
What am I going to do with him?
‘Honestly, he’s kind of pitiful.’
I felt an odd sense of sympathy.
He was the kind of person who swallowed his words for fear of making others uncomfortable.
And now, here he was, hiding in a quiet corner to avoid ‘ruining’ my ceremony.
‘He’s probably been doing this for a long time.’
Finding a secluded spot to sit by himself, time and again.
The more I learned, the more I thought of him as a kind and truly good person.
I sighed softly and extended my hand to him.
“……?”
“Your hand.”
“My… hand?”
His gaze, confused at first, grew sharp with a sudden realization. He looked at me with a serious expression and then lowered his voice.
“Is it for purification?”
“Pardon?”
“Are you sensing any of Arhopev’s aura on me?”
Where was this coming from?
Oh. Maybe he was thinking back to when I’d explained ways to cleanse Arhopev’s energy from him.
— Well. I might suddenly hold your hand or throw something unexpectedly. The methods can vary each time.
Embarrassed, I shook my head.
“No, not at all.”
“Then…?”
“I just wanted to hold your hand, to offer some comfort.”
“…It’s not for purification?”
“Nope. Just for comfort.”
His expression slowly turned blank.
I guess it is a bit strange to offer comfort by holding someone’s hand.
‘Does he think I’m overstepping with this random show of affection?’
Now that I think about it, he might misunderstand.
“Warmth is one of the best ways to comfort someone, you know.”
Trying to make him feel less awkward, I added a quick explanation.
“When someone holds your hand in difficult or lonely times, it’s reassuring. It makes you think, ‘Oh, I’m not alone after all’.”
It was something I had once felt too.
On nights that felt especially lonely and difficult, I would go to my grandmother’s bedside and hold her wrinkled hand.
Without saying a word, my grandmother would quietly hold my hand back.
There were no tender gazes, no soothing words, no gentle reassurances.
She simply held my hand.
And somehow, that was enough.
It was enough to make me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world.
‘After she passed, that was what I missed the most.’
Not having anyone to hold my hand like that.
I realized that I hadn’t thought about that feeling for a long time.
As I was lost in those old memories—
“Ah…”
Warmth settled over my empty hand.
“It’s warm.”
He murmured quietly.
“It’s certainly comforting.”
…Yeah.
It really is.
“Saintess.”
“Yes?”
“Not everyone needs comfort.”
Huh? What was that?
‘Weren’t things really heartwarming just now?’
Why does it feel like he’s suddenly picking a fight?
Is he about to tell me that my attempt to comfort him was presumptuous?
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