Saintess - Chapter 46 - Belle Reservoir

Chapter 46

Translator: Yonnee

—

“W-What exactly are you saying! This is all the Almighty God’s—!”

“Your Holiness.”

As Raon cut off Andreas’s words, he smiled.

It was at this moment that his uniquely noble and benevolent appearance shone.

“To me, God no longer exists.”

“You’ve… You’ve truly gone mad, haven’t you?!”

“To me, my only God is her.”

“Hah!”

Pope Andreas let out an exclamation containing all of his indignation.

Raon Toulouse himself was saying such a thing. Andreas could never have expected this to happen at all, to Raon of all people.

The old man’s body started trembling, perhaps because of the surging betrayal washing over him.

“Do you even know what everyone is saying about you?”

“No. What are they saying?”

“They’re saying that you’ve sold your soul—to that obscene saintess.”

This time, Raon laughed out loud.

Peculiarly, it sounded like the laughter of a man who had gone mad.

“They aren’t wrong.”

“You…!”

Andreas grabbed his forehead as though he was about to collapse.

How did the innocent young man, who had been soothing the pains and sorrows of his grief for his departed family with the power of prayer and faith, become ever so corrupt now?

What exactly was covering his eyes, his ears.

His mind?

“She is nothing but a witch who’s putting you in a trance! Wake up!”

“Has she not already proven her identity through the ceremony of mixing blood with holy water? Wasn’t that what proved that she is, indeed, a saintess? Your Holiness the Pope, are you denying the Almighty God’s will?”

“Raon Toulouse!”

“Well, it’s a mere ruse anyway, that ceremony, so you’re changing your words now like a mere flip of a coin.”

“Y-You… What are you getting at?!”

“I could only wish that I remained clueless for all of my lifetime.”

Raon already knew the whole truth.

Half of him wanted the pope to ask him how he got to know everything, but in the end, he wondered. What’s the point of talking about it?

With his eyes closed tightly, the pope made a sign of the cross with his hands trembling.

“However… You must not deny God, Raon. That’s the only thing you must never do.”

It was a burden that Pope Andreas had been carrying all this while—for him to have singled out Count Raon Toulouse and made the young man take upon the ‘duty’ of impregnating the saintess to fulfill the prophecy.

A prophecy that he made up all on his own.

Nevertheless, the pope chose Raon because he knew of the young man’s firm belief in God.

Although Raon might resent God for a moment, the pope had no doubt that Raon would soon find the right path once again.

“God truly exists for those who believe in Him sincerely. I’d rather that you blame me, Raon. I would understand if you would never forgive me until the day I die.”

“Your Holiness. Do you not know that your very existence in itself is evidence to the fact that God is dead?”

Though he had uttered such a lambasting remark, Raon rather looked happy.

The pope tried to shake off the constant waves of despair rising within him.

He still had one card left that had not been taken out.

In fact, this was also the biggest reason why he had visited Raon today.

Hoping that this young man, who had been blinded by the obscene saintess, would come to his senses even just a little, the pope spoke with a heavy voice.

“…That woman’s entire family is dead.”

And the pope’s words seemed to have worked quite well.

Raon had been smiling this whole time, yet the moment he heard those words, his expression hardened.

“The old woman suffocated to death, and the leper starved to death. There are handprints on the old woman’s neck—it is evidence enough that she had been strangled by someone else.”

Raon did not answer, but he continued listening to the pope without averting his gaze.

“Raon. You sent Agnes home not long ago. And, she returned here to your residence. She must have wanted to run away from her home because she had committed the grave act of murder. She is merely acting in front of you to have a way out.”

“…That is absurd.”

“That woman killed her husband and her mother-in-law. And yet you’re saying that she is your god?”

“Those people’s corpses… Where are they now?”

“They’ve been moved to the cathedral’s morgue for an autopsy. I shall indict Agnes for her sins and bring upon due punishment to her. Do you not know that anyone who had committed such a grave crime shall be subject to the imperial law and will thus be sent to the guillotine?”

“Leave. Now.”

“Open your eyes. Do you still have faith in her? No matter how many times she might confess, she shall never be forgiven!”

“Then it is quite obvious as well, isn’t it, Pope? You, too, shall never be forgiven. You killed thousands upon thousands of women who you ‘deemed’ as witches!”

“Their deaths are noble sacrifices for the sake of our religion. I have no doubt that they all must be wrapped in God’s embrace now.”

“Bullshit!”

As he had been clenching his teeth, Raon practically growled.

Want to read more? The story has been [completed], and all advanced chapters are available on Patreon: