Hush Now, Saintess! - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Translator: Yonnee

—

“Um, is there something on my face?”

Oops. It seems I was caught staring without realizing it.

“No, I was just looking because you’re handsome. My apologies.”

“……?”

“How are you feeling, though? Are you alright?”

“…Yes. Thanks to you.”

He nodded and replied a bit belatedly after a moment of stunned silence.

I smiled slightly.

“Then, that’s a relief. Of course, it’s nothing compared to the help I received from you before…”

“Not at all. You’ve been a great help.”

“Is the proposition in your letter a way of returning the favor for that day?”

Gently broaching today’s main topic, he hesitated for a moment before shaking his head in response.

“It’s not exactly that. I just happened to hear that you were building a fountain for the people of the empire, Saintess, and I wanted to offer my modest help.”

His voice came out stiff and mechanical.

Typical of Hildeon, but—

‘That’s a lie.’

I was certain this was a kind of ‘lie’ he had practiced many times.

There must be a real reason behind his offer to provide a location for the fountain.

After receiving his letter, I couldn’t shake off my confusion.

Mary and Jane insisted he must have been moved by something he heard about me, but…

‘Somehow, that didn’t seem right.’

So, after some thought, I reached a conclusion.

Namely,

‘He’s testing me as a candidate who might be able to solve his curse.’

The basis was something he said to me in the temple.

—What dust? What’s covering Your Highness’s entire body right now is dust.

—On my back. I was talking about the dust on my back.

He specifically asked me to brush off ‘the dust on his back’.

Considering how his back was central to his curse, it would have been uncomfortable for him to let someone else touch it.

Asking me to dust such a sensitive area was…

‘Perhaps he wanted to verify something.’

For instance, one of the rewards for completing that mission was ‘reducing Hildeon’s pain’.

If there had been a momentary analgesic effect when I first removed his misfortune dust in Bastion…

‘I’d want to check again too.’

To see if the reduction in pain after my touch was coincidental or not.

Thus, he specifically asked me to dust his back, and having felt the effect again, he wanted to be sure this time.

Firstly, whether I genuinely had a positive influence on the curse.

Secondly, whether he could talk to me about the curse.

‘It’s hard to confide such a significant secret to a saintess known for her unruliness.’

To verify these two things, he’d need to meet me often, in a way that’s natural and beyond doubt for others and even myself.

And what could be more natural than offering ‘land for the fountain’ as a pretext?

Thinking it through, everything clicked into place.

‘Pity he barked up the wrong tree, though.’

I can only remove bugs, not curses.

Only the original female lead and the true saint, Sylvia, can remove curses.

I’m not sure what relationship bugs and curses have, and I’m not sure if removing bugs temporarily alleviates his pain, but…

‘Whatever it is, he’s got the wrong girl.’

However, it was beneficial for me.

Him wanting to test a hypothesis was, for me, the solution to the troublesome issue of finding a site for the fountain.

‘I alleviate pain and occasionally solve bug missions. He provides a location for the fountain. Not a bad deal.’

Even if he mistakenly believes I can lift curses, that’s not my problem.

It’s not my fault he started to misunderstand.

Once the true female lead appears, I’ll correct the misunderstanding and hand him over to Sylvia.

Then, until the female lead arrives, I’ll have been their benefactor.

‘Maybe if Hildeon goes berserk later, he’ll spare his benefactor.’

Hmm. It seemed like a pretty good arrangement.

But first,

“It’s not something grand, but thank you for thinking so highly of it. However…”

After taking a sip of tea, I continued,

“Could you tell me where this development district is? I haven’t heard the exact location.”

“Vention.”

“Vention?”

Where’s that?

As I blinked in confusion, he added,

“It’s a commercial district adjoining Bastion Alley. It used to be quite a bustling trade area, but it completely died down when criminals began congregating in Bastion. Now, hardly anyone lives there.”

“Ah.”

Bastion…