Chapter 29: Avenge Rosa

Iserin gently patted Mowan’s back, showing as much tenderness as she possibly could.

Immersed in her grief, Mowan failed to notice that Iserin’s behavior was slightly different from her usual persona.

Her hands reached up, hooking around Iserin’s shoulders as if she were clutching at her last lifeline, viewing Iserin as her only source of comfort.

Finally.

Mowan stopped crying.

She released Iserin from the embrace and took a step back.

Iserin cupped Mowan’s face in both hands and asked with concern.

“Have you had dinner yet?”

Mowan shook her head.

“I didn’t see you when I got back, so I wasn’t in the mood to eat. Now… I’m even less in the mood.”

“Alright, let’s go back to the room.”

Iserin took Mowan’s hand and led her to the room, pushing her gently to sit on the bed.

“Get some rest first.”

Mowan grabbed Iserin’s arm.

“Will you stay with me? Sister Selin.”

“Yes. I’ll stay tonight.”

“I… I’ll go tidy up the guest room.”

“Stay here and rest for a while, I’ll go take care of it.”

Iserin raised her other hand, gently wiping away the lingering tear tracks from the corners of Mowan’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave.”

Mowan nodded.

Only then did Iserin get up and leave the room.

A short while later, Iserin returned to the room carrying a tray.

Under Mowan’s surprised gaze, Iserin advised her softly.

“You consumed a lot of Magic Power during the mission today. It’s best to replenish your energy.”

Mowan hesitated for a moment before taking the tray Iserin handed her.

On it was bread and dried meat that Iserin had warmed up, along with a hastily cooked stew.

It seemed that Iserin was not very good at housework.

No, she probably knew how to do it, but she just hadn’t cooked in a very long time.

Mowan slowly put the food into her mouth.

“Is that Monster… still alive?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me the location of that Monster? I want to avenge Rosa.”

“That Monster is very powerful, and right now you are blinded by hatred. Acting on impulse will only push you into a dangerous abyss.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, Mowan. I’m truly sorry. I don’t want to lose you. Please forgive me for stopping you.”

Iserin’s explanation made Mowan’s surge of vengeful desire feel like a punch landing on cotton.

And seeing Iserin so full of self-reproach tonight made it difficult for Mowan to ask anything more of her.

Emotionally, she still blamed Iserin slightly for not letting her seek revenge, but rationally, she could understand Iserin’s concern for her.

Mowan finished her dinner slowly.

Iserin patted her head and left with the tray.

Mowan lowered her head.

She couldn’t help but think about Iserin’s excessive humility tonight, her meticulous care, and how she took the blame upon herself.

It was too different from the Iserin in her memories.

Why… why would Iserin be so good to me?

Iserin is the Saintess.

It isn’t surprising for a Knight to be sacrificed during a mission to clear out Monsters.

The Saintess shouldn’t need to feel guilty about it.

One could even say that Iserin should have been used to it by now.

So, the reason she was acting so out of character tonight wasn’t because of Rosa’s sacrifice, but… because of me…

Mowan hugged her knees tight.

It was because Iserin cared about her.

She cared about her even more than she had imagined.

Mowan took a deep breath.

She shook her head, pushing aside those negative thoughts.

It wasn’t Iserin’s fault, and it wasn’t her fault either.

But she had to avenge Rosa.

She had to find a way, using the favor Iserin showed her, to find out exactly where the Monster that killed Rosa and the others was located.

Mowan left the room.

She discovered that Iserin hadn’t been tidying the guest room, but was in the bathroom using Magic to heat up bathwater for her.

“Sister Selin, are you still going back?”

“No, I’ll stay with you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay in your room with you tonight. Go on, take your bath.”

Iserin walked to Mowan’s side, reached out, and placed her hand on Mowan’s shoulder, then moved down to the collarbone to undo Mowan’s top.

Mowan froze.

How could a member of the Demon Race receive such treatment?

Iserin, the dignified Saintess, was actually looking after her like a maid.

As Iserin’s fingers brushed across her back, she couldn’t help but shiver, her body involuntarily reacting slightly.

She hurriedly pushed Iserin’s hand away.

“Sister Selin, I can do it myself.”

“Alright.”

Iserin nodded. She glanced at Mowan’s chest before turning her gaze elsewhere.

“I’ll wait for you in the room.”

A slight, strange sensation surfaced in the depths of Mowan’s heart.

In the past, Iserin would never have looked at her body with such… desire in her eyes.

But the last time Mowan had been seen naked by Iserin was a month ago.

In this past month, just how much had Iserin’s internal attitude toward her changed?

Mowan bit her lower lip.

She stripped off her clothes and soaked in the bath.

At a time like this, how could she still be thinking about these things?

Mowan took a perfunctory bath.

When she returned to the room, Iserin was still there.

She had moved a stool and was sitting by the bed.

Mowan’s hanging heart quietly relaxed.

But if she let Iserin stay with her, how could she sleep in the same bed?

“Sister Selin, I’ll sleep on the floor. You take the bed.”

“You can’t. You sleep; I’ll stay with you.”

“What about you?”

“I have no desire to sleep right now. I am repenting for my sins.”

Mowan’s heart twinged.

She seemed to have misunderstood Iserin; Iserin truly did seem to feel sorry for Rosa’s sacrifice.

Mowan sat down on the bed.

She reached out and took Iserin’s hand.

After thinking for a long time, she didn’t know what to say.

She was only thinking about how to get Iserin to tell her where the Monster that killed Rosa was.

But Iserin would certainly not agree.

The two of them remained in a stalemate until late into the night.

Ultimately, Mowan couldn’t outlast Iserin and lay down at Iserin’s insistence.

Iserin held Mowan’s hand, trying to put her at ease.

Perhaps Mowan really was tired.

Not long after closing her eyes, she drifted into a light sleep.

The lights in the room were extinguished, and Iserin’s white hair was buried along with it in the thick darkness of the night.

The light sound of raindrops tapping against the window was like a reflection of Mowan’s current chaotic and complicated state of mind.

Iserin’s eyes were fixed on Mowan’s face. Even though it was pitch black, Iserin’s gaze could trace the contours of Mowan’s cheeks in the dark.

Mowan’s brow was tightly furrowed, and her fingers were gripping Iserin’s palm tightly, her hands slick with cold sweat.

She was having a nightmare.

A troublesome yet pitiable girl.

Iserin lowered her head and gently kissed Mowan’s forehead.

But Mowan did not calm down much because of it.

For the first time, Iserin felt a slight sense of frustration.

Although she had expected that Mowan would need some time to heal her pain, seeing Mowan show such deep care for another person still brought some unexpected emotions to her heart.

She was taking care of Mowan willingly.

Because she loved seeing her plan execute step by step as expected.

However, tonight, she actually had the thought that Mowan was a truly troublesome girl.

Why did she care so much about Rosa?

Was her own kindness toward Mowan not enough to lessen the grief caused by Rosa’s sacrifice?

Why was it that even when she held Mowan’s hand and kissed her forehead, Mowan still had nightmares?

For the first time, she felt how deep and intense the emotions of the purple-haired girl before her were; they were not at all as reserved and indifferent as they appeared on the surface.

However, after some deep thought, Iserin suppressed the dissatisfaction in her heart.

She smiled faintly in the night.

This meant Mowan held the same deep feelings for her, didn’t it?

Iserin imagined that if she were to die like Rosa, Mowan would surely be utterly devastated.

Of course, she couldn’t do that.

She still had to become Mowan’s only salvation, and she didn’t need to use that kind of method to prove her status in Mowan’s heart.

Because from now on, Mowan’s entire life belonged to her.

***

Dawn broke.

Mowan opened her tired eyes.

Last night, her mind had been repeatedly replaying the scene of Rosa’s sacrifice, and she had been in a state of light sleep the entire time.

She turned her head and looked at Iserin.

Iserin was sitting quietly beside her.

In those crimson pupils, not a single trace of fatigue appeared.

The night rain had already stopped.

A faint morning light spilled through the window, draping over Iserin and reflecting a soft glow off her silver-white hair.

Iserin had sat on the stool and stayed with her the entire night.

“Good morning.”

Iserin leaned over and kissed Mowan’s forehead.

“Morning, Sister Selin…”

Then, Iserin picked up Mowan’s hand.

They had been holding hands for a full eight hours.

She pressed another kiss onto the back of Mowan’s hand.

“Don’t worry. Everything that hurt you will pay the price for it.”

Mowan stared at Iserin with wide eyes, pondering the meaning behind her words.

“If you intend to lift your head and face the future again, come find me at the Church after breakfast.”

Iserin gently tucked Mowan’s hand back under the covers.

She slowly stood up, creating a gentle breeze of fragrance, and her figure gradually disappeared out the door.

Mowan also got out of bed slowly.

She kept thinking about what Iserin had just said to her.

Did she mean she was willing to let her seek revenge?

Thinking of this…

Mowan hurriedly swallowed a few bites of bread and tidied her appearance until it was presentable.

She ran to the Church.

But the Nun at the Church entrance stopped Mowan, saying to her politely:

“The Saintess has already left the Church.”

“But, she… she…”

She told me to come to the Church to find her.

Mowan didn’t know if she should tell the Nun about their agreement.

“The Saintess said that if a purple-haired girl came by, I should tell her that she will be back in two days. In the meantime, she hopes you can wait patiently.”

“Then where did the Saintess go?”

“The Saintess did not say.”

Mowan quickly guessed what Iserin had gone to do.

Iserin had gone to help her get revenge for Rosa.

She sighed softly.

She didn’t know how to describe her current emotions.

She was moved by how much Iserin cared for her, yet she also felt regret that she couldn’t personally avenge Rosa.

However, she couldn’t ask for too much.

For her sake, Iserin had already violated the principles of a Saintess.