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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Birthday
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I craned my neck back, finding myself looking up at Menelik for a long moment.
Menelik was about to say something, but my sister was faster.
“Still, it was a good thing you came, little sister. Once this is over, they’ll lose interest in you for good.”
“...”
My sister lifted her chin and spoke to Menelik.
“If nothing happens by sunset, you may leave whenever you wish. Though I suppose you would do so even if something did. It would be uncomfortable for all of us for you to spend the night here.”
Of course, nothing was going to happen.
If the Cheria from the novel had a supernatural ability like Kivrin, did she think she would have lived her life being tormented by her family? She would have overthrown them long ago.
“I knew it. I’m not a snake.”
My sister’s face lit up at my thoughtless mutter.
“Right? Unlike me, you’re just an ordinary, talentless, useless human who’s always sick, aren’t you?”
“...Thank you for spelling out exactly what you think of me.”
It was a mercy that the Cheria before me never had to hear that.
My sister grabbed my chin, her eyes scanning every inch of my face.
“You’d better not have any scales. No, wait, why don’t you go to the bathroom and take off your clothes? I’ll check for you.”
That was the last straw. I slapped her hand away.
“Are you that worried your precious reputation will be tarnished if I turn out to be the second snake?”
“Of course, I’m worried. Why did you suddenly become the Young Lord’s wife? Were you promised a comfortable life until you came of age, only to be sacrificed to him?”
Wow, there were some lines you just didn’t cross!
And our parents were the ones who sold me off!
Before I could lunge at the Saintess in the middle of the Temple, Menelik swept me into his arms.
But my patience had already run out.
“Sister, are you ever going to stop running your mouth without thinking? Does being the Saintess mean you can say whatever you want?”
And does being the heroine mean you can do whatever you want?!
Seeing me fuming, my sister let out a sharp laugh.
“Well, doesn't it? There are hordes of people begging me to spare them a glance, and I make a lot of money, too.”
“Hey!”
“If what I said was harsh, I apologize. Please, I’m begging you, just stay my ordinary little sister. Okay?”
“...”
Ugh, I should have brought something to throw at her!
“Oh, and congratulations. Even a half-hearted congratulations is better than nothing, right? It’s not like you get them from anyone else. Well, I’ll be on my way.”
My sister laughed her fill and left.
I ground my teeth with a grating sound.
“Aren’t you angry, Your Grace?”
“It would be a disaster if I, of all people, got angry over a children’s squabble. And if I were truly angry, the Saintess would already be dead. Hmm, but I have no intention of offering my left arm.”
Menelik set me down on the sofa and sat beside me.
“...Offer your arm?”
“The priests wanted to burn Winter at the stake for giving birth to a monster, so I hunted down and killed every one I saw. I made peace by cutting off my right arm in front of the Emperor.”
“...”
So, that’s why the atmosphere in the Temple was so tense. He had a history.
It also explained why Zenon, who was relatively young, was the only one who had approached me.
And what he meant when he said it would be a disaster if he, of all people, got angry.
As if to comfort me after my run-in with my sister, or perhaps to tell me not to be afraid of him, Menelik gently stroked my hair.
“This is becoming a habit.”
And my hair is becoming a tangled mess.
“If you don’t mind my asking, would you get that angry for the Young Lord, too?”
My question made Menelik pause.
“...That’s a rather novel question. I thought you were going to ask how many people I killed.”
I mean, if a Sword Master had to offer up his own arm, that pretty much said it all, didn’t it?
The male lead in ** had yet to awaken as a Sword Master, which meant Menelik was currently the only one in the empire.
If Menelik hadn’t been a genius destined to go down in history, the duchy would have had to pay a much steeper price.
I nudged the pensive Menelik.
“Please answer me.”
“Well, I suppose I would. Though Kivrin would despise it. He’d just call me rambling trash again.”
“...”
“The more I think about it, the more it hurts.”
I couldn’t imagine Kivrin spewing venom through the communication stone while I was asleep.
In any case, he must have been doing it to defend me, so I stammered.
“I’ll apologize on his behalf...”
Menelik looked dumbfounded.
“Just how much of a scoundrel are you trying to make me out to be?”
“But it’s true that I was being a nuisance.”
“I said that on purpose. I was trying to make you angry.”
“...What?”
Menelik shrugged.
“The priests in the ducal territory were speculating that you might be the second snake, so I thought I’d test it myself. Kivrin, surprisingly, can be quite hot-headed about certain things.”
I tilted my head.
“But even if I were the real snake, wouldn’t it have been difficult to expose my identity with just that? It would have been better to say something even harsher...”
“Enough.”
“...”
“I’ll have to confess to Winter when I get back. She’ll beat me half to death, which would be for the best.”
He sounded like he pitied himself.
My eyes darted around.
“Are you really that sorry?”
“...”
“Why won’t you answer me?”
“I was just reminiscing about how I lost all credibility. Come to think of it, I also mentioned wanting to kill Kivrin when he was born.”
So you realize you brought this on yourself.
I took off my shoes and stretched my legs out comfortably.
Noticing that my guard was completely down, Menelik changed the subject.
“More importantly, why did the Saintess congratulate you?”
I answered in a light tone.
“Because today is my birthday.”
“...”
“It’s no big deal.”
“...”
Menelik frantically scrubbed his face with his hands, then asked abruptly.
“Do you want my left arm? It comes with a guilty conscience and a heavy heart.”
“...No. I don’t want it.”
“From now on, please call me rambling trash.”
“I don’t want to do that either.”
Calling my father-in-law trash?
Menelik forced himself to swallow a sigh.
“Then... this will require a great deal of mental preparation, but you can call me... an old man...”
...I wonder if this is why Kivrin curses him out, for being so annoyingly persistent.
I wrinkled my nose.
“That’s alright. But what happens if I’m revealed to be the second snake?”
Menelik chuckled.
“Are you still worried, even though neither I nor the Saintess felt anything?”
“...”
“Even if, by some miracle, that were the case, it would mean you also have the ability to hide it, so don’t worry.”
Strangely, that was more reassuring than a simple denial that it could ever happen.
It even gave me the energy for a little revenge.
“I miss the Young Lord. And the Duchess, too.”
“...”
“And the blueberry ice cream I didn’t get to finish...”
“...I see. So the problem was that my apology was only verbal.”
I pretended not to hear him, looking away.
* * *
Just as my sister had said, when the world was bathed in an orange glow, Pope Nocturne appeared, leading the high priests.
He was in his early fifties and, in **, was constantly being berated by my sister.
But I felt no sympathy for him.
In the novel, Nocturne was the one who had tormented Kivrin the most relentlessly.
The moment he saw me standing up, his face was a mixture of relief and disappointment.
He must already know whether I’m the second snake or not.
It seemed the answer was the latter.
Nocturne’s shoulders relaxed, and he signaled to the high priests with his eyes.
The high priests then blatantly let their guard down.
“My apologies for the delay. I am one who has answered God’s call...”
“I’m aware. Get to the point.”
Menelik cut off what would have surely been a lengthy self-introduction from Nocturne.
Nocturne maintained his benevolent smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Your Grace, you haven’t changed a bit.”
I was about to offer a formal greeting, but Menelik lifted me up and placed me back in my seat.
“Begin.”
But I haven’t even greeted him yet!
Suddenly, Nocturne and the high priests were the only ones left standing, having not even received a proper greeting.
It was incredibly childish, but it seemed to be just as infuriating.
“...It seems it would be best for all of us to conclude this as quickly as possible.”
The high priests stirred uneasily at Nocturne’s words.
Menelik smirked.
“So that wasn’t your original intention.”
The high priests’ faces soured in unison.
And with each passing moment, I was understanding more clearly why Menelik had insisted on accompanying me.
If I had come alone, would I have even met the Pope on the same day? Wouldn’t I have been forced to wait for days?
And of course, they would have used all sorts of excuses to prevent me from leaving right away.
I had suspected as much, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
Nocturne met my narrowed eyes, trying his best to appear unfazed.
“I have heard much about you, my lady, from the Saintess. Although you are suffering hardship due to Count Mayol’s rash decision... we do not doubt for a moment that you are as virtuous as the Saintess herself.”
“...”
A rash decision? Suffering hardship?
If the Temple hadn’t demanded an offering to determine whether Kivrin was a monster, I never would have become his wife in the first place.
Instead, my parents would have just sold me off to some other family.
