Chapter 488: Understanding, Goodbyes and Excitements

“Emilia…”

“Hm…?” she hummed lightly, still dabbing her lips with a napkin.

“Is there a boy you like?”

Cough! Cough!

The soft clatter of metal cutlery echoed through the large open dining hall as Emilia nearly choked on her tea.

It was still early morning, with golden light seeping through the stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the long, rectangular tables.

Normally, this place would be lively—filled with knights, paladins, priests, nuns, and acolytes sharing quiet conversation over bread and prayer.

But for now, it was just two people: the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, Benedict Clement, and his granddaughter, the Saintess Emilia.

Still recovering from the sudden question, Emilia looked up, her delicate black hair swaying slightly as her flushed face peeked out from behind her teacup.

“W-What do you mean, G-Grandfather?” she stammered, her voice rising a pitch too high to sound natural.

“You don’t need to hide it,” Benedict said calmly, sipping his own tea. “I promised not to interfere in your academy life, and I have kept that promise. But news… always finds its way to me. Indirectly or not.”

Emilia’s shoulders stiffened.

“D-Did Amon and Anna—?”

“No, they didn’t,” Benedict interrupted, setting his cup down. “They may be my direct subordinates, but it seems they value their loyalty to you more than their reports to me. So rest easy, they aren’t spying on you.”

“O-Oh…” she mumbled, lowering her gaze.

There was a long pause.

“…Then how did Grandfather—?”

“So there really is a boy you like,” he said with a raised brow and a small, victorious smile.

“NO, NO, NO, NO!” Emilia instantly waved her arms, practically leaping from her seat, panic flashing across her face. “Y-You’ve got it all wrong, Grandfather! There’s no way I’d have a boy I like! I-I’m the Saintess! The Holy Kingdom’s Saintess! The Sole Saintess of the entire continent! The Goddess Incarnate! M-My heart belongs to everyone! To everything! The trees! The children! The world! Not just one single—boy!”

She paused for air, her words running like a waterfall. Her face now bright red, she hugged her teacup like a lifeline.

“S-So if I did like someone—which I don’t!—it would just be the same as how I love all of humanity! A general kind of love! A-a spiritual connection! A divine compassion! S-So technically… i-it’s not ’liking’ even if I like him!”

Benedict stared at his granddaughter with the expression of a man who had seen centuries of absurdity, but still found himself caught off guard by the sheer density of this one.

He sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“…So it’s serious then.”

“W-What do you mean it’s serious?!”

He gave her a tired, amused look. “You only panic like this when you’re emotionally compromised. Honestly, you’re a terrible liar, Emilia. You always were.”

“I-I’m not lying!”

He just smiled knowingly, pouring her another cup of tea.

Emilia pouted, burying her face behind her teacup, only the tips of her ears visible—bright red.

The Pope let out a light chuckle under his breath.

So… there was a someone.

And judging by that flustered outburst, it wasn’t just some fleeting crush.

Benedict sighed again—this time, internally.

He had known this might happen.

Not the romance, per se, but… something. Something along these lines.

That was the entire reason he had objected, albeit gently, to Emilia’s decision to attend the academy in the first place.

Of course, he relented in the end.

What kind of grandfather would he be if he didn’t allow his granddaughter at least a semblance of freedom?

But still… he knew. The moment she stepped foot outside the Holy Kingdom, the world would start stirring.

And it had.

He stared down into his tea, watching the way the light rippled across its surface.

The outside world was a volatile place—full of unknowns, masked enemies, and hidden daggers.

Even in the so-called safest place for prodigies and elites—Agathis Academy—it was no different.

Especially not there. That cursed school, despite its reputation, was a breeding ground for chaos.

Just last year, they had uncovered a massive underground network of demon worshippers hiding within the student body and faculty alike.

And even now, despite efforts to keep everything hushed, the ripple effects of those incidents were still felt—instability, unreported disappearances, sealed incidents. Shadows moving under the pretense of peace.

He knew.

Because the moment his precious Saintess had left the Holy Kingdom’s protective walls, all of the world’s evils began to stir.

As if fate itself was waiting for her to be vulnerable.

And now… on top of that…

A thorn had appeared.

A different kind of enemy.

One more difficult to deal with than any demon or heretic.

Love.

Benedict’s eyes narrowed slightly as he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else:

“…Riley Hell, was it?”

Emilia froze.

Her spoon clinked against the rim of her teacup as she set it down, her hands beginning to tremble. “Y-You… already know about S-Senior?”

“So, he is your senior then,” he replied calmly, leaning back with a measured sigh.

“N-No! He’s not—I mean—he is, but that’s not what I meant! I-I just… misspoke!”

He tilted his head slightly. “I didn’t ask how you met him. I asked if you liked him.”

“G-Grandfather!” Emilia’s voice rose an octave, her cheeks turning beet red again. She buried her face in her hands. “I-I can’t believe this…”

“It’s already obvious, Emilia,” Benedict said softly, voice less like a ruler and more like a worried elder. “Why don’t you tell your grandfather all about it? I promise I won’t get angry.”

“I-I can’t!” she practically shouted, then immediately looked down in guilt, voice softening to a whisper. “You’ll get mad…”

Benedict blinked at her.

She stared at her trembling fingers on the table.

“…And really… I really don’t like Senior,” she mumbled quickly, as if saying it faster would make it more convincing. “S-So please just… let go of this conversation…”

Under normal circumstances, Benedict Clement—the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Kingdom, the voice of the Goddess, and the most powerful man in the Church—would have already moved quietly, efficiently, and without mercy.

It wouldn’t have even been a question.

If there were a thorn in his beloved granddaughter’s path—especially one that had the potential to defile her, whether through malice or sheer foolishness—he would have plucked it out before anyone could even blink.

Such matters were usually dealt with in silence, behind closed veils, with not a single soul aware anything had ever happened. That was the sort of reach he held.

But this time…

This time was different.

Because that thorn wasn’t just anyone.

“…Riley Hell.”

He muttered the name again in his mind, almost tasting the weight, it carried.

The boy had far too many connections.

Too much influence. Too much leverage for someone so young.

And the problem was—it wasn’t empty prestige. It was earned. Prodigious. Dangerous.

Even within Germonia, Riley had climbed into the highest social strata faster than any of the Pope’s own informants had ever seen before.

Not to mention the uncomfortably strong backing he had from nearly every major faction within the Empire—nobility, military, even the royal court.

Even Benedict, with all his vast intelligence networks and Church-sanctioned eyes inside the Academy, could only gather a handful of credible reports about the boy.

And those that did come through?

He frowned deeply.

They were… alarming.

To say the least.

“Princess predator”

“Sexual monster.”

“Girlfriend stealer.”

“Abuser of affection.”

“The dong.”

“The hung dog.”

“Danger to all women.”

“Enemy to all men.”

—And those were just the milder rumors.

Benedict had seen darkness in people’s hearts.

He had judged kings and saints, sinners and sorcerers. But never, in all his years, had he come across such a contradictory profile for a student barely out of boyhood.

The worst part?

He hadn’t been expelled.

Not even penalized.

Which meant two things: Either the Academy was willfully blind, or those rumors had more bark than bite.

And Benedict… wasn’t certain which one worried him more.

He brought a finger to his temple, rubbing gently as if trying to push the headache away.

His granddaughter had fallen for that?

That ridiculous, overpowered, over-sexualized chaos incarnate? Of all people?

Why not a calm priest-in-training or a nice shield-bearing paladin?

Why did it have to be the walking, talking embodiment of everything that terrified grandfathers?

He sighed again.

But…

Despite everything—despite the chaos, the rumors, the mystery—Benedict had to admit one thing.

He loved Emilia.

More than he loved his title. More than he loved the Church.

More than he loved the Goddess Herself.

And as much as he wanted to snatch her away from that infernal academy and lock her inside the Holy Temple until she forgot what love even was…

He couldn’t.

Because he had made a promise.

To let her grow. To let her experience life.

To trust her choices, even if they scared him to his very bones.

And so, as an open-minded person, and a very kind grandfather—he took a deep breath and chose to give this… Riley Hell… a chance.

Not because the boy deserved it.

But because her words mattered.

Not to the rumors. But to her. To how she talked about Riley.

He needed confirmation before taking any action.

After all, … he was a “kind grandfather.”

“I know you’re scared, Emilia,” Benedict said gently, his aged eyes softening as they looked at her across the empty dining hall, “but I promise—I won’t get angry.”

He gave her the kind of smile only a doting grandparent could—patient, nostalgic, and unshakably fond.

“As strict as I may be about the rules of the Church, even I can’t stop my dear angel from experiencing love. It is one of the goddess’s purest gifts… to feel something so blessed, so tender, in this world.”

He folded his hands calmly in front of him, his voice steady but genuinely curious now.

“I only want to know… how you met this boy—this Riley Hell—and more importantly… how he managed to capture the attention of my innocent Emilia.”

Emilia stiffened. Her back straightened and her face flushed immediately.

“E-Even if you say that…!” she protested, clutching her robes tightly as her words stumbled into each other.

She knew her grandfather too well.

He was warm, yes.

He was loving. But he was also dangerously protective.

Most of the time, overly so.

The very fact she had even been allowed to enroll in the Academy was nothing short of a miracle—and only happened because of a rare compromise he’d made with the Church council. If he ever truly wanted to revoke that decision… he could.

At any moment.

“A-And besides,” she added quickly, grasping for any excuse, “Vanessa and I… we have to return to the Academy soon! S-So there’s really no time to talk about anything! Y-You wouldn’t want me to miss my ride back, right? Right!?”

“Kukuku~” Benedict chuckled.

It wasn’t an amused laugh—it was the knowing kind. The kind that felt heavy with wisdom and subtle traps.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Vanessa informed me earlier that you still have a few hours before departure. More than enough time.”

He leaned in slightly, resting his chin on his knuckles as he smiled.

“So why don’t you tell this kind old man everything, hmm?”

Emilia’s eyes widened in horror. She tried to look away. She shook her head. She waved her hands, babbled a few incoherent excuses, looked to the ceiling, to the floor, to the heavens—anywhere but at him.

“I-I c-can’t… I-I won’t… n-not even if you l-look at me like that…!”

…

Thirty minutes later.

Emilia had spilled the beans and most of everything.

“T-That’s all…” Emilia finally said, fiddling nervously with the hem of her robe.

“I see…” Benedict muttered, leaning slightly forward, his voice low and pensive. “So he’s that kind of man, hmm? Quite different from the information I had gathered…”

“R-Right?!” Emilia perked up, her flustered voice gaining a bit of desperate energy. “I-I mean—I don’t know what kind of information you have on Senior, but he’s really not a bad person! He’s kind and… and caring, and—well—he’s full of mystery too, but it’s the good kind! Like, the kind that makes you curious, not suspicious!”

She trailed off for a moment, then suddenly added, “A-And also… I think Senior is blessed by the goddess as well.”

Benedict’s brow twitched.

“…Blessed?” he echoed cautiously.

“Mhm,” Emilia nodded, her eyes wide and sincere. “Although it’s faint… and seems like it’s being restrained by something, I can feel it. The divine energy in his soul—it’s the same type as mine. Warm, unyielding… gentle. I don’t know how to explain it, but… it feels right.”

Benedict’s fingers curled slowly against his cane.

“Did you take interest in him because of that?” he asked.

“N-No! …M-Maybe? I-I don’t know, grandfather!” she said quickly, hands flailing slightly in panic before pressing her index fingers together sheepishly. “To be honest, I don’t really understand these feelings myself…”

She looked down at her lap, her voice softening into a whisper.

“All I know is that ever since I started hearing the goddess more clearly… she’s been urging me to stay close to him. To help him. To be by his side. And… my heart just beats really fast whenever I’m near Senior…”

“…Is that so…” Benedict murmured.

“Hehe~” Emilia chuckled nervously, her face now a deep shade of red. “I-It’s really weird, you know? There was this one time… when I asked him to come into my room naked and I saw everything… ah we didn’t do anything suspicious okay I just cleansed him from a curse…! and back then, I was fine looking at his bare body! Like—really calm! But now just seeing his face makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”

She covered her cheeks, voice getting smaller. “Vanessa said… I probably fell in love at first sight without realizing it.”

Then, almost as if trying to justify her feelings to herself, she added, “B-But that doesn’t mean I’ll do anything, okay?! I know Senior already has the other seniors around him, and they’re all so pretty and confident… I mean, Senior Snow is literally a princess! S-So I know my place!”

All the while, Benedict sat frozen—his once serene grandfatherly expression slowly beginning to crack, his forced smile trembling at the edges, pupils ever so slightly shrinking.

As Emilia kept rambling, her voice growing softer but more honest, Benedict’s internal world began to shatter.

She saw him naked and wasn’t fazed—

Her heartbeat races when she sees his face—

She hears the goddess telling her to be near him—

AND he has a harem of beautiful noblewomen already?!

It was at that exact moment, as Benedict’s spiritual stability was on the verge of imploding, the door to the grand dining hall burst open with a soft creak.

“Emilia, we need to go—Ah, good morning, Your Holiness,” said a composed voice.

Vanessa stepped in with a respectful bow, green hair falling over one shoulder as she calmly entered the room.

Her elf ears were out in the open as she had gotten used to the friendly atmosphere in the holy kingdom.

“I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but we need to begin preparations for our return to the Academy.”

“V-Vanessa…!” Emilia nearly jumped out of her seat, looking as if she’d just been caught doing something illegal.

“Did I interrupt something?” Vanessa asked calmly, her gaze flicking between the wide-eyed Emilia and the barely-holding-it-together pope.

“…Nothing,” Benedict muttered softly, smoothing out the creases in his expression. “We were just… talking about academy matters.”

“I see,” Vanessa replied, her tone polite but laced with subtle awareness.

Emilia immediately rushed over to Vanessa and clung to her arm. “D-Do we really have to go now? I still have so many things I wanted to tell Grandfather!”

“Well, we still have a few minutes to spare, I think—”

“It’s fine,” Benedict interrupted quietly, cutting Vanessa off before she could finish.

“B-But didn’t you want to hear everything, Grandfather?” Emilia asked, confused.

“Yes… but I’ve already heard enough,” he said, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m satisfied with what you’ve shared with me.”

“T-Then… everything’s okay?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes,” he nodded. “Everything’s perfectly okay.”

A bright smile bloomed on Emilia’s face as she threw her arms around him. “Hehe~ thank you for understanding, Grandfather. Bye-bye for now!”

“Go on now,” he said, gently patting her head. “You’ll be late.”

She giggled and gave him one last hug before skipping back to Vanessa’s side. Normally, Benedict would have walked her out of the cathedral himself, seen her off at the gate, and given a final prayer for her safety—but right now, his mind was far too occupied

“Ah! Emilia, your ring—” Vanessa called, just as they reached the doorway.

“Ah, right…” Emilia quickly slipped a slender golden ring onto her finger, doing her best to hide the action from her grandfather’s eyes.

She failed purposely so….

“Uhm his holiness is still around….”

“Its fine now grandfather said he’ll understand….” Emilia said with a bright smile as she gazed back at her grandfather lightly.

She was so wrong.

Benedict’s right eye twitched violently. The glint of the ring… it was unmistakably divine-infused. A gift. Possibly… no, likely enchanted.

But none of that mattered once you know the meaning behind such golden rings….

He felt his veins go cold.

Did that bastard already—?!

A thousand thoughts exploded in his head.

My angel…! My pure, innocent little saintess—defiled?!

Understanding dawned.

As soon as Emilia and Vanessa exited the room, Benedict raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, cloaked figures emerged from the shadows—his most loyal templars, hidden within the very walls of the cathedral.

“Prepare for war—”

BAAM!!!

“Ugh!???”

But before he could finish the order, a loud, bone-rattling smack echoed through the chamber.

His head jerked forward from the impact, his entire upper body lurching as if he’d just been hit by divine judgment itself.

“You senile old bastard!” a voice growled.

It was Gregory—his younger brother, the second-highest authority in the Holy Kingdom, and the only one allowed to hit the pope without being smited.

He stood behind Benedict with his arm still raised from the backhand.

The templars said nothing.

They understood.

“Are you seriously trying to start a war with the Germonia Empire over your granddaughter’s teenage crush?!”

“She’s not just any teenager—she’s my angel! That damn playboy dares to lay his hands on—!”

SMACK!

Another hit. This one cleanly knocked Benedict off his chair and straight into the ground.

Gregory let out a long, tired sigh. “It’s a good thing I hadn’t left yet for my diplomatic work. Any longer and you’d have had the whole kingdom declaring holy war over children’s love.”

The templars stood silently in the shadows, heads bowed.

….

As the specially-prepared carriage quietly made its way through the pristine white snow toward the border of the Holy Kingdom, a soft jingle of protective divine wards hummed from its silver-trimmed wheels.

The air outside was cold and clear, but the interior of the carriage, reinforced with gentle warmth spells, remained pleasantly cozy.

Emilia sat near the window, bundled in a white and blue winter cloak that mirrored her divine colors.

Her black hair rested neatly over her shoulders as she watched the snow-covered trees pass by.

Then, turning to the front where two shadowy escorts rode—her loyal subordinates, Amon and Anna—she asked softly, “Should we head into Hamen City like last time, Amon? Anna?”

Amon didn’t look back, but his reply was calm and respectful, “Although that’s a good suggestion, Milady… unfortunately, we can’t afford to take any detours this time.”

“Why not?” Emilia tilted her head slightly, curiosity evident in her voice.

“The Pope has already arranged a direct transfer with the nearby Mage’s Association Tower due to… well, several recent complications over the past few months. So the ship we’re taking will be handled more secretly than before. From what I understand, it’s a private flight—meaning it’ll most likely be just us aboard.”

“I-I see…” Emilia mumbled, her fingers gently pressing together in her lap.

“My, my~” Vanessa said teasingly from across her, smirking as she rested her cheek against her hand. “Were you hoping to ride the same ship as Senior Riley?”

“N-No… I just thought—maybe? I mean…” Emilia’s cheeks flushed pink. “I’m just… excited to see everyone again, that’s all. Besides, Reina will be there too, right? Maybe we can share stories about our vacations together…”

Vanessa chuckled. “Stories, huh? You spent most of your days praying and studying theology… What are you going to share—’Today I almost glowed after prayer hour’?”

“Hmph!” Emilia pouted. “There were a few interesting things, I’ll have you know! L-Like that bird I helped save and…and that time I—” she deflated a little. “…Okay, maybe there wasn’t much.”

Vanessa laughed again. “It’s fine. We needed that kind of peace, honestly. It was… grounding.” Even an elf like her had found solace in the Holy Kingdom’s serenity. Though she had been dragged into Emilia’s daily spiritual rituals, it had been her choice to stay. And she didn’t regret it.

After a moment of silence, Vanessa looked out the frosted window and murmured, “I wonder what the others are up to…”

Emilia smiled faintly, fingers still resting over her warm lap. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s exciting… more exciting than our prayers, at least.”

…

Meanwhile, back at the academy…

A sleek floating ship hummed quietly as it landed atop the grand docking station of the Academy.

Among the descending passengers, a graceful figure stood out.

A woman with long golden hair and piercing blue eyes stepped onto the marble floor of the academy with quiet dignity..

Her pale skin shimmered against the afternoon light, her coat fluttering gently in the cold breeze. Though her return was subtle, there was an air of finality—of completion—around her.

A subtle smile tugged at the corners of her lips, as she looked at the expectant gaze of the golden eyed young man next to her…

’I’ve done my task as beneficially as possible… Original.’

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