Chapter 30

something happened.

“captain, there are some pressing matters, so please check them.”

“wait outside. i’ll check them soon.”

“yes, captain.”

ardal, who was taking care of my clothes, answered dryly to the voice outside. ardal’s hands moved quickly as he fiddled with the buttons.

“it’s okay to ask someone else to dress…”

“no, miss haniel. i want to help.”

feeling his hands, which had been moving slowly, quicken its pace, i tilted my head towards ardal and spoke. he smiled and shook his head. his hands moved quickly, but his expression remained relaxed.

he grabbed the long hem of the robe while fixing his luxurious uniform. calling ardal to help me get dressed was something that made me feel very guilty, considering he was a game character. it was obviously a waste of time since he would have to travel to my living quarters.

“captain!”

“ardal, that’s enough. go.”

“…yes, i’m sorry. i’ll take care of my business and come right back.”

the knight outside raised his voice and called for ardal. ardal let out a short sigh at the urgency.

“if it gets too hard, i’ll call another knight, so don’t overdo it ardal.”

“it’s…”

“ardal?”

as i held ardal’s rough hand and patted him, he frowned in displeasure and shook his head.

“it’s not too much to do this level of work, miss haniel.”

it was the first time he said that to me when i recommended him to reduce his workload. it would be nice to just let it go, but ardal was very stubborn.

“i have to escort haniel.”

ardal said firmly. hearing his resolute tone, i involuntarily nodded my head.

that’s right. ardal was my escort.

“so please don’t even think of calling someone else.”

ardal’s black eyes flashed darkly. it was a similar feeling to jealousy or possessiveness. facing ardal’s rarely revealed emotions, i had to give him an answer that would satisfy him.

“alright. i’ll keep ardal as my escort.”

“thank you, miss haniel.”

ardal smiled and thanked me.

***

he said he could do both, but it was clear that ardal had become quite busy. he came to me briefly while directing the preparations for the coronation ceremony. the time he spent away from me felt like it was getting longer and longer.

even now, due to the sudden change, ardal was away so i had to go to the pope’s office with a temporary escort.

“haniel, are you planning to visit his holiness?”

“yes, it’s okay if you can’t make it to my classes.”

ardal, who ran after finding me making my way to the office, asked. while in the pope’s office, the escorts could not stay around. ardal knew it too. i replied, not knowing what else to say. after answering, i stared at ardal’s back, who came to his senses and turned around, making his way to the pope.

although it was brief, ardal’s expression did not look good, so i thought deeply about whether i should forcibly remove ardal from his position as my escort. even after entering the office and greeting the pope, ardal’s expression remained in my mind.

all of ardal’s actions revolved around me.

i was curious and worried about how ardal would react if the attack was complete. realistically, it was obvious that he would feel used and abandoned if i were to continue. should i say that i’m glad i’m in a video game…

“sister haniel, here is the holy water i made.”

while i was frowning seriously at the thought of ardal’s absence, the pope spoke to me. as i listened to the sentence he spoke, which sounded sing-songy, i looked at him with my brows furrowed.

the holy water he made.

well, the pope sounded weird since this is an r-rated game. it wasn’t because my mind was in the gutter. i frowned subtly and looked at where the pope pointed.

“oh, you made this?”

phew, thank goodness the pope wasn’t playing odd games. he was literally making holy water. it was interesting to me, too. i pushed unnecessary worries about ardal out of my head and got up from my seat. as i approached the pope, he pushed the chalice in front of me.

he rubbed the golden chalice with his outstretched fingers and replied with a smile.

“if you put it in the holy grail and bless it for a few days, it becomes holy water.”

“how is it different from normal water?”

“holy water made by a person with strong, holy powers gives mysterious powers to those who drink it. well, it doesn’t apply to everyone. it only happens to people who meet the conditions.”

the pope explained the random ability given by drinking holy water. the people who met the conditions were players who entered haniel’s body. the developers seemed to have put this in because they thought they should give players unique abilities since it’s an r-rated fantasy game.