I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

Chapter 71: Northern Mountains (4)

[Excerpt from Saintess, Reverse Harem is Corrupt! Volume 6, Page 79]

A massive tremor reverberated underfoot.

Staring at the distorted ground, Dersian thought to himself:

‘Strong.’

The destructive power was chilling.

However, it was still no match for Razen Berthus.

It wasn’t as fast or stealthy as Isha of the Shadow Moon.

After all, Dersian could read its attacks.

This was an opponent he could handle with rationality, not just raw instinct.

In that case, he wouldn’t lose.

Dersian was confident he would never lose to an enemy weaker than the Shadow Moon.

****

Dersian hesitated for a moment, then approached.

Despite everything, he was still a high-ranking noble.

With a feigned smile of courtesy, Sirien greeted him warmly.

The reason for the “feigned” part was the artificial undertone that was impossible to ignore.

It was a beautiful smile, but there was a faint hint of annoyance.

Was it because their time alone had been interrupted?

It seemed even I had become adept at reading Sirien’s expressions.

Well, considering how much time I’d spent around Sirien, it wasn’t hard to guess what was on their mind just from a glance.

“What brings you here, Sir Dersian?”

“I wanted to have a brief conversation. Could you spare me a moment?”

“Hmm, sure. I don’t have anything pressing right now.”

He wants to talk? That must mean he wanted to speak to Sirien alone without me.

The weather was cold. Sirien disliked the chill, so it would be better to keep them by the fire.

It seemed I would have to step aside.

Whatever they talked about, I could always hear it from Sirien later.

As I was tidying up and preparing to leave, Dersian scratched his head awkwardly.

“Ah, I should have said this from the start.”

“Pardon?”

“The person I wish to speak with isn’t the Saintess but rather Sir Razen.”

The Sword Saint wanted something with me?

A million question marks flooded my mind.

I couldn’t begin to understand what was going through Dersian’s head.

What could he possibly have to say to me?

Could it be that he overheard me badmouthing him? No, that was unlikely.

“May I ask for your understanding for a moment? I promise not to go far. After all, I wouldn’t separate the Saintess from her guard.”

“Ah… sure.”

“Thank you.”

Sirien nodded in approval, though their brow furrowed slightly, as if their mood had worsened.

I’d have to smooth things over with them later.

Dersian moved first, and I followed.

True to his word, Dersian didn’t go far.

He stopped at a spot where our conversation would be drowned out by the chatter of others but where I could still keep Sirien in sight.

It was the farthest I could reasonably go as their guard.

“Is this distance acceptable?”

“Yes. Now, please state your business. As you can see, I was in the middle of a meal.”

“First, I must apologize.”

“Pardon?”

Dersian bowed his head.

Naturally, he had done nothing that required an apology.

I couldn’t fathom what had prompted this.

Fortunately, the explanation soon followed.

“Well, I wasn’t sure at first, but now it’s clear. When we first met, I sensed killing intent from Sir Razen.”

“…What?”

I had debated whether to kill this man when I first saw him.

But I hadn’t thought I’d let any killing intent slip. Apparently, I had.

It was nothing more than a fleeting thought, a passing whim.

Even Sirien hadn’t noticed, yet this man, at his level, had?

Was this heightened awareness a perk of being a main character?

“I wondered why. After all, it was our first meeting. It didn’t seem like you had any personal grudge against my family.”

“No, I hold no personal feelings.”

“That’s a relief. I was curious why someone who helped me at the forefront would act this way. But I just figured it out moments ago.”

Dersian had a look of sudden realization earlier, and this must have been it.

It had piqued my curiosity at the time, and now I was about to find out.

Though not manipulative, his thoughts were impossible to predict.

At that moment, I came to a realization of my own:

This man is the same type as Baron Esquente.

The type whose thoughts zigzag unpredictably.

Was it because he was more mature in the original story that I hadn’t noticed before?

“So, what conclusion did you come to?”

“Well, I tend to get close to people without hesitation, which often leads to misunderstandings.”

No need to ask what kind of misunderstandings.

Even as he awkwardly scratched his head, Dersian continued.

“Especially with women. I’m frequently misunderstood as making advances, even when it’s not my intent.”

“Ah…”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I stared blankly at Dersian’s face.

The kind of face you’d find in a romance comic—a perfect prince.

Judging by the reactions of the female staff and basically every woman on Earth, it was easy to see how his looks alone could cause misunderstandings.

“So you’re here to explain to me that you weren’t flirting with the Saintess?”

“Exactly! I have no intention of interfering in your relationship. I’m not that kind of person. Whew, I feel relieved now that the misunderstanding is cleared up.”

“Ah… I see.”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out a way to explain,

‘Actually, I debated killing you because you’re a future enemy.’

It was better to leave him with the misunderstanding.

“But was it really that obvious we’re together? I don’t recall mentioning it.”

“At first, I wasn’t sure, but the way the Saintess looks at you—it’s unmistakable. Unless someone’s completely oblivious, they’d notice.”

“Is that… so?”

Dersian truly had a great personality.

To put it kindly, he was optimistic; to put it less kindly, he lacked a sense of personal boundaries.

Now that he believed the misunderstanding was cleared, it seemed he thought we’d become friends.

“I was deeply impressed watching you face the monsters earlier. Your skills are so exceptional that I’m surprised your name isn’t well-known in the capital.”

Well, that was because Sirien and Baron Esquente had tightly controlled the flow of information.

It wouldn’t do for our names to reach Count Roxen.

Since we were so young back then, few nobles knew of us.

We hadn’t gone so far as to use aliases, but we certainly didn’t want our names spreading in the capital.

I gave Dersian a suitably vague excuse and asked him not to casually mention my name in the city.

“Understood. I owe both of you my life, after all.”

“Thank you. Then, can I consider your business here concluded?”

“Well… actually, I do have one more thing to ask.”

“Go on.”

Dersian scratched his head again.

In the original story, this was described as his habit whenever he had to say something difficult.

Though his thoughts were hard to predict, his emotions were easy to read—they always showed plainly on his face.

Which only made my feelings more complicated.

Why does he act like a romance comic protagonist experiencing his first love in front of me?

The discomfort in my chest made me want to run away from this conversation.

“I heard you’ve known Isha-nim the longest here. Ah, excluding Sir Russell, of course.”

This guy even added the honorific “-nim” to a commoner’s name?

Whatever. It wasn’t an incorrect statement.

I hadn’t known Isha for very long, but within this group, I’d been around her the longest—by a matter of days.

“It’s not as long as you might think. But why are you asking about Isha?”

“Well…” Dersian coughed awkwardly. “This is embarrassing to ask, but… does Miss Isha have someone special in her life?”

“…By someone special, do you mean in the romantic sense?”

“Yes, exactly.”

My mind went blank.

So, what Dersian was asking me was whether Isha had a lover.

Aren’t you two supposed to hate each other?

Shouldn’t there be some kind of instinctive hostility bubbling up between you two?

In the original story, you were at each other’s throats the moment you met!

“As far as I know, she doesn’t.”

“That’s great to hear!”

The confusion in my head only deepened.

Now Dersian, full of excitement, began to gush about Isha.

“This is such a relief! I’ve met many women before, but I’ve never felt my heart race like this. It must be fate. I can’t get her emerald-green eyes out of my head!”

“…So, you’re saying it was love at first sight?”

“Love at first sight? There’s no better way to describe it.”

The world truly was an unpredictable place.

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