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The Saint who called me, as I expected, was Saint Veronica.

“…Welcome, Colonel.”

As usual, she greeted me, but there was little sign of excitement on her face. She looked like someone who had just woken up after a heavy night of drinking.

Her formerly glossy black silk-like hair was tousled, and dark circles already encroached upon her cheekbones. Her eyes were puffy, as if she had been crying.

Amid her thick eyelashes, her sparkling black pupils were now soaked in fatigue.

Seeing her like this was so pitiful that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

Saint Veronica, who appeared before me looking utterly unrecognizable, remained silent for a moment.

She stared at me for a while, then pouted her lips and spoke gruffly.

“What are you doing? Come in already.”

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

Even someone indifferent to religion must have heard the name of Altiora Cathedral at least once in their life. As a residence for the Saints of the Cult throughout generations, Altiora Cathedral consistently appears in world history exams and international news.

Alongside Medioth Cathedral, which houses the Pope’s See, Altiora Cathedral is one of the three major cathedrals of the Cult.

Even during the historic moment when two saints were born, Altiora Cathedral had only one rightful owner.

The 58th Saint, Saint Veronica.

She is the youngest to be canonized among the Saints and also the cleric who wielded the most formidable power. It was only to be expected, considering that the Emperor of the Kien Empire, the patriarch of a dictatorship, backed her.

Whether referred to as the woman of tragedy or the most radiant star of the Cult, many words described Veronica.

However, among diplomats and information agents sensitive to international affairs, there was only one phrase to symbolize her.

Empire’s Lobbyist.

In ’85, negotiations for the rescue of an aid group kidnapped by armed groups.

In ’87, an agreement between the Kien Empire and the Cult was dramatically concluded.

In ’88, contrary to all expectations, the Pope visited the Empire during an overseas tour.

In ’90, measures were relaxed concerning international magic research and the trade of magic stones, previously restricted by the Cult.

In ’91, the economic sanctions against the Empire by the Cult were lifted.

In ’92, some of the anti-religious persecution policies in a dictatorship on the Mauritania Continent were abolished.

In ’94, a decision to send troops to support the Cult’s northern border conflict.

In ’96, a declaration of support for the Cult’s hardline stance against Eastern and Mauritania nations, among other events.

It was hard to find an incident in modern history that didn’t involve her.

Sometimes for the Emperor, sometimes for the Pope. Veronica always handled matters that others found difficult.

At that time, I wasn’t paying attention to the Empire’s news since I was busy working as Colonel Clevenz’s advisor at headquarters, but according to the news my older sister Adela, who worked as a diplomat, provided, I remember her being quite capable.

It’s no wonder that even the high-ranking diplomats of the Empire, known for their arrogance, referred to Veronica as the ‘unofficial Minister of Foreign Affairs.’

That just goes to show how significant Veronica’s position was on the world stage, and that’s still true today.

“…….”

She usually appeared confident and dignified in the media.

Yet, merely a day later, the Saint I encountered looked utterly worn out.

“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?”

“…No.”

Of course, her audacious demeanor remained unchanged.

“What’s so special about my face that has you staring like that? I mean, I do look pretty good, don’t I?”

“Your face seems…”

“What seems off?”

“It looks a bit… worn out. You look like someone who hasn’t slept.”

“Oh, I just stayed up until morning. Don’t mind me. I had a slight hangover, but it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“…Is that a sane thing to say?”

“I won’t die from this. What’s it to me if my liver is damaged? I can just heal it.”

Veronica was still the same.

She would throw out frivolous jokes, continue on meaningless topics, and, all the while, indulge in a little self-praise which truly was her style.

I couldn’t help but chuckle and nod continuously.

Though I didn’t show it, I was too tired to entertain all of Veronica’s jokes right now.

Noticing my state, she subtly asked a question.

“You look really tired, Colonel?”

“Ah, well… not too much, just a bit….”

“Oh really?”

With that, she crossed her legs. Thanks to her tall stature, she had a decent posture.

She sat with her legs crossed and rested her chin on her arm on the table. There was a strange sense of déjà vu in that position. It felt as if I’d seen it somewhere before.

While pondering, I suddenly recalled the first time I met her.

On a night of heavy rain.

Veronica waited for me on a bench beneath the bridge, seated in a haughty posture, just like now.

“So, what brings you to find me at dawn?”

“…….”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Not that, but….”

Haa.

With a deep sigh, Veronica’s body slumped. Like someone exhausted, she let out all the tension from her body.

“I don’t know how to put this… um, just….”

With her legs still crossed, she settled her chin in her palm as if contemplating over her words and then dropped her head with a peculiar mumble.

“I just called you.”

*

Having numerous connections with information agents, Veronica was undoubtedly a standout figure.

Her conduct and the way she treated me were anything but ordinary.

Even now.

“…It’s frustrating that now that I’ve finally decided to take a break, those old-timers are flipping out. They are throwing tantrums like they will flail on the floor of the office, complaining about my decision to rest just two days before the coronation. It’s truly….”

Veronica, who had summoned me to the cathedral, led me into an unknown room. Then, unexpectedly, she brought out a bottle presumed to be hidden in a drawer.

It was alcohol.

“This is reputed to be the famous liquor from the Mauritania Continent, you know? It’s a distilled spirit….”

Her explanation about the drink was brief. It seemed she felt it was better to drink a sip than waste time chatting about it.

Seeing is believing, as they say. She swiftly got a glass and filled it with the traditional liquor from the Mauritania Continent.

“Krah…!”

Veronica downed her drink energetically and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

Thud, as she set the glass down, a chunk of transparent ice rattled noisily. Temporarily, as the liquid poured over the ice, she began drinking again before I knew it.

Gulp, gulp. The alcohol flowed down her throat.

Lifting the filled glass to drink, she looked just like an avid drinker.

Veronica was glugging down the distilled spirit like a traveler in the desert who urgently needs to quench her thirst.

“Paha! Ugh, that’s amazing….”

“Ugh….”

Having drank heartily, Veronica began to show a mischievous smile while holding the bottle.

“Colonel, you should have a drink too!”

“…You want me to drink?”

“Of course!”

Despite my incredulity, Veronica was unbothered.

Was she feeling bored just by drinking alone? She filled her own glass to the brim and then insisted that I join her.

“When else will we drink on a day like this?”

“…….”

“Come on, don’t hold back! Just down it!”

In the end, I had to finish the drink she offered me.

The distilled spirit, over 40 degrees, was notably strong. I couldn’t quite distinguish its unique flavor, but its effects were certainly evident.

“So, how is it…?”

“…That’s strong liquor.”

“Do you like it? The taste isn’t much, but it gets you tipsy quickly.”

Veronica offered me the bottle and extended her finger to take the glass. Naturally, I refilled mine, and without hesitation, she drained her glass.

After circulating the liquor once, Veronica showed no sign of wanting to speak.

Surely she called me for something, but the owner of this cathedral was only focused on drinking.

“Here, take your glass, Colonel. I’ll refill it for you.”

With a silent sigh, I brought the drink to my lips.

It seemed Veronica had no intention of getting to the point right away. Then it should only be natural for me to indulge her little game.

I downed the drink in one go and handed the glass to Veronica. She took it with a sly grin.

“This is the perfect gathering for catching hepatitis, right?”

“Does a saint get hepatitis?”

“Of course! Isn’t a saint still a person? If you drink a lot, you’ll get drunk, and if you binge, you’ll catch hepatitis.”

“That’s not something to brag about.”

“It’s okay. I’m a seasoned drinker!”

“Oh dear….”

Veronica’s claim of being a seasoned drinker wasn’t an exaggeration. She finished off several bottles in her seated position while I watched, almost in disbelief.

After quite a bit of time passed and after several rounds of drinks, we finally got to have a proper conversation.

“Why did you call me?”

I set down my glass and lit a cigarette, diving right into the main topic.

“You’re not the type to call me without a reason.”

“Tch… don’t we have to have a reason to meet? Lucia has finally been canonized, so can’t we at least drink together?”

“I’ve been working since the canonization ceremony. As an advisor to Camila and a Defense Attaché, I can’t miss a diplomatic event. I was finally hoping to get some rest, but then you call me out of the blue!”

“…….”

In the deep of night, it’s time for everyone to head to bed.

The canonization ceremony has concluded, but the coronation ceremony is still ahead. During the remaining days, I must manage event preparations alongside various tasks.

“Can you really call me out here when work is piling up like a mountain?”

I tentatively asked Veronica about the reason for pulling me out here.

As I stepped in, Veronica, who had been cautiously glancing around, hesitantly began to speak.

“Alright, alright. I’m just going to say it. Actually… I called you to talk about the story we didn’t finish last time.”

“The story we didn’t finish? Ah… could it be about those siblings…?”

A rather heavy topic landed on the table.

The relationship between Lucia, Francesca, and me.

This was a relationship I wanted to keep hidden from Veronica, but eventually, it was exposed in less than a year. I couldn’t withstand her threats when she lured me out disguised as Lucia, which is how I ended up spilling the full truth.

“……”

Honestly, if I had decided to lie, I could have done so quite easily.

But once caught in a lie, I would inevitably face the backlash. A dispute between information agents and officers could quickly escalate to the possibility of betrayal.

The moment it came to light that I had hidden the fact I had gotten close to her precious sister with a brazen lie, the disappointed Veronica might have cut ties with me first.

Of course, even if I found myself in such a situation, it was the role of the officer to sway the agent well, but Veronica was certainly not someone you could persuade with words.

So I decided to come clean.

The relationship between Lucia and me. The relationship between Francesca and me.

Though it turned out this way with Veronica too, it was somewhat an accidental incident. To be honest, my ties with Lucia and Francesca were also unexpected accidents.

“Well, well. You’re quite aware, aren’t you? I trusted you, Colonel, never thinking you would betray me like this. It’s like being stabbed by an axe you completely trusted.”

“…Actually, I didn’t initiate anything first.”

“Oh ho!”

Veronica slammed her hands on the table. It was such a forceful strike that it left me feeling numb. She pointed at me and raised her voice.

“What a cowardly excuse! How many times did I say this to you, Colonel? To take good care of my sisters. That meant you had to keep your promise, no matter what happened!”

“Well, that is true….”

“What do you mean, ‘that is true?!'”

A series of stinging reprimands followed. Perhaps she was a bit tipsy, but the saint scolded me with a stern voice.

“Did they drag you in against your will? Or did they drug you? The most that happened was drinking a few cups, so how could you not hold yourself back and just rush in?!”

“……”

I had numerous responses that popped into my mind, but they all sounded like feeble excuses. Shifting the blame was indeed a cowardly excuse.

I had nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths.

I hung my head like a sinner while Veronica continued her accusations. The cheerful drinking party atmosphere suddenly shifted dramatically.

“I trusted you! I believed in you, Colonel…!”

“Cough….”

“How could you do this? After everything, you had the audacity to say you’re secretly dating Francesca?!”

“U-uh, dating? That’s a bit too much….”

“What’s too much is you, Colonel!”

That was undeniable.

I buried my head and began to tremble. Why did I ever mention having a relationship with Francesca?

No, thinking about it, it was something I had to mention someday. It was just the method that was the problem.

After all, to someone I had established an intimate connection with throughout the night, I casually said, “Actually, beyond Lucia, I also had something going on with Francesca.”

Back then, since Veronica was in a good mood, I thought any word would earn me forgiveness, but that turned out to be a blatant miscalculation. In retrospect, it was an utterly ridiculous thing to do.

If it had been a secret, I could have taken it to the grave, but I thought too lightly of it.

Though I prided myself on having been through all sorts of chaotic situations, I had never been in a relationship with an information agent’s treasured younger sister, nor had I ever dated more than one woman at the same time. It goes without saying I had never received any training on how to resolve relationship issues when they arose.

“Are you just all in heat?!”

“……”

“It doesn’t make sense otherwise! How could you simultaneously meet my younger sisters, especially Lucia and Francesca?! You say you’re dating Lucia? Were you deceiving me?!”

“Dating is true—”

“Then you shouldn’t have met Francesca! Are you looking down on Lucia right now?!”

Maybe it was because she was heavily intoxicated, but her words were becoming increasingly harsh. I was somewhat relieved; at least she wasn’t swinging punches like last time.

I quietly hung my head while Veronica clenched her fists and sighed in frustration.

“Break up with my sisters immediately!”

“N-no, that’s a bit….”

“Why? Breaking up with both seems tough for you? Then you should have behaved yourself from the beginning!”

“……”

I couldn’t refute that again.

After receiving a confession from one woman and starting a relationship, to then pursue another would undoubtedly be trashy behavior.

Even the most promiscuous noble wouldn’t usually engage in such blatant double-dealing. One must keep up appearances in public, even if they behave scandalously behind the scenes. Unless you were a Casanova-level man with a magnetic pull, playboys tend to face disdain in every country.

The information agency is no exception. They closely monitor improper romantic relationships, whether in oversight departments or espionage organizations. And there’s also the internal evaluations made by colleagues observing from the sidelines.

Hence, if I wanted to continue my career for a long time, it was vital to keep my romantic affairs clean to avoid scandalous rumors. Conversely, female employees also needed to be conscious of having nothing scandalous surrounding their relationships with men.

However, to speak honestly, I lacked the confidence to neatly cut ties with Lucia and Francesca.

But Veronica was adamant.

Without asking, she boldly demanded I break up with the two.

“Break up right now. I’m being serious.”

“……”

“You can’t do that? Then stay apart for a while.”

Veronica crossed her arms and glared at me with a chilling gaze.

“From now on, your residence is here. Move your belongings from the hotel to the cathedral. You can send someone to do it, and I’ll talk directly with the Hero and your sisters.”

“……”

“If it were up to me, I’d just grab you and lock you up in a room. But since I also need to recruit new colleagues and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is lined up asking for resolution in their disputes, I’ll make an exception. You’ll stay at Altiora Cathedral until the festival’s over.”

She was saying she intended to tie me to her side and keep me under surveillance.

Being monitored by an information agent while being an information officer myself? That was a situation I had never even heard of, no matter the mess I claimed to have experienced.

Even romantic partners wouldn’t go this far. To keep someone confined out of fear they’d cheat, well, that’s straight-up paranoia, isn’t it?

“……”

Then, a strange thought crossed my mind.

Why was Veronica going to such lengths with me?

It suddenly piqued my curiosity.

Saying she was doing it for her beloved sisters didn’t seem feasible, as there was something peculiar about Veronica’s current demeanor. Reflecting on her usual respect for the wishes of Lucia and Francesca, there was clearly something odd about her words and actions now.

Doubt began to rise. So I felt the urge to ask.

At this moment, while it seemed silly to bring it up now, I absolutely wanted to know.

Until now, I hadn’t found a reason or need to bring it up, but…

“Veronica.”

“Ah, no. I won’t change my mind. I have no intention of listening to anything you say, so give it up.”

“Umm, do you possibly like me?”

At that moment.

A thick drink glass clattered to the floor.

Veronica, who had been holding the glass, accidentally dropped it in that instant. However, she seemed completely oblivious to the fact she dropped it. She just stared at me, looking dazed.

Our gazes intertwined in midair, and it was then that I could finally see it.

Veronica’s face was flushed bright red, like a beet, which was oddly uncharacteristic of her.

And both her ears were as crimson as autumn leaves.

The clear signs of panic on her face were evident as Veronica hastily opened her mouth to protest.

“W-w-w-wait, what…!”

“……”

“Who said anything about liking you? Good grief! You’re really something, you know! What could I possibly like about a guy like you, Colonel?!”

Veronica.

Why?

I got it; you should go look in a mirror or something.

……

As she waved her hands and spewed out a hasty breath, Veronica rushed into the restroom.

One minute passed, then three minutes, then five minutes.

Veronica still didn’t come out of the washroom.

“…Excuse me? Veronica?”

“……”

“If you’re alive, could you please respond?”

Veronica remained silent in the washroom. Instead of a response, she merely banged on the door.

 

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