The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

A commotion erupted.

At the Emperor's birthday banquet, a person - a young boy no less - had fallen. It was a major incident. On a day that should have been more auspicious than any other, misfortune had struck.

Inevitably, curiosity and fear intermingled as crowds gathered.

"It's gotten quite rowdy," Linia Catadel remarked.

"Indeed, Lady Catadel. No doubt an accident caused by excessive excitement," someone immediately flattered her. They too must have been curious, but not enough to forsake the power before their eyes.

"Let's not act rashly. Others will surely gossip like busybodies, so we needn't concern ourselves."

"How insightful, my lady!"

"I'm ashamed I even considered diverting my attention for a moment."

At first glance, Linia's opinion seemed correct. She was exemplifying the demeanor of a proper noblewoman. But even for someone like her, her true thoughts differed.

How negligent must their education have been to make such a blunder? It was an unseemly act her own well-mannered son would never commit. Of course not - her proud son would become the future Duke Catadel and surpass Elphisia Luminel. He would never cause such an incident.

But as time passed, the reactions grew strange.

People's gazes increasingly focused on Linia.

Half were sympathetic, half scornful.

By this point, even the noblewomen associating with Linia couldn't help but notice the suspicious atmosphere. They made various excuses to leave Linia's side, and eventually, she was left alone.

Of course, Linia, at the center of this maelstrom, was also aware of the peculiar mood. She sensed that it was likely related to the boy's fall outside.

As she pondered this, her heart began to race. Anxiety quickened her steps and sent chills down her spine. Forgetting her composure, Linia openly displayed her agitation, lifting her skirt hem slightly as she ran.

When the Duchess finally arrived at the rear garden where the boy had fallen, the mask she'd been wearing completely crumbled.

---

---

By the time Harte and Elphisia descended upon the scene of the accident, Linia stood petrified as if under a stone curse. She'd frozen, unable to process the storm of thoughts assailing her.

"That's... the Catadel heir, isn't it? As expected..."

"I wonder if there was some kind of accident?"

"Well, so much for the Catadel family's reputation..."

Reputation. Yes, that damned family reputation. Linia, who had staked everything on it, was now wracked with worry.

'What's going on? Why is my son like this? No, more importantly, medical treatment... But why did he fall? Surely he didn't jump of his own accord... No, I must treat his wounds quickly... But the people's gazes...!!!'

While Linia remained motionless, the flame of life Helio harbored continued to dwindle. Even as he wheezed out ragged breaths, his eyes took in his dumbfounded mother. The woman who, more than anyone in the world, had placed her expectations on him and loved him...

Meanwhile, Elphisia narrowed her eyes as she observed the situation.

'Was that woman always this stupid? If she's worried about the family's reputation, she should be rushing over and calling for a physician right away.'

It would have been better to faint outright than to remain frozen while conscious. But Linia was stuck, unable to decide on a course of action.

'He's dying either way. He should have died instantly, but... it seems the fall was somewhat cushioned by tree branches.'

As much as Linia was conscious of Elphisia, Elphisia too kept Linia in mind. She had always found it rather amusing how Linia desperately tried to surpass her, and occasionally put her in her place. Yet Linia persisted like a weed, never failing to raise her head again.

To see that same Linia unable to properly handle the scene before her - it made Elphisia realize anew what an insignificant woman had been clinging to her.

"Let's head back, Harte."

"..."

"Hey, you?"

Elphisia narrowed her eyes and urged Harte. But Harte didn't budge, staring at the dying boy. Finding this strange, she was about to pull his hand when Holy Maiden Ibria arrived from the other side.

Unable to bear Linia's neglect any longer, a bystander grabbed Ibria and asked:

"Holy Maiden, Holy Maiden... Is there any chance that child could live? I believe someone of your stature must be able to hear the words of God..."

"Please, take pity just this once and bless him."

"He's still just a child. Besides, today is His Majesty the Emperor's birthday celebration..."

They knew nothing of baptismal names. They had never even seen divinity with their own eyes. They approached with only a vague belief that there must be some reason she was called a Holy Maiden.

Ibria's face darkened.

In truth, Ibria's divine power could work miracles. But no matter how dire the circumstances of someone close to her, divine power must not be leaked to the outside world.

While it wouldn't cross the line as a baptismal name holder, it clearly went against the will of the deity.

As Ibria, destined to awaken as the next vessel of God, she couldn't help but be conflicted.

'I... I can't use divine power...'

This is why the temple rarely allows baptismal name holders out into the world.

Outside the temple, countless people's stories are tangled like a web. And just as many temptations lurk.

Greed, lust, jealousy, exhibitionism. Apart from these negatives, even justice and compassion were equally potent temptations. Thus, it was safest for baptismal name holders to remain within the temple, turning a blind eye to outside affairs.

They only reveal themselves when humanity walks the path of destruction.

Or when the demon side spreads malice using divine power.

It was right to descend only in these two cases.

As Ibria wavered between virtue and compassion, it happened.

Step, step.

A man in pure white uniform cut through the crowd and walked to the center.

It was Harte.

His usual foolish demeanor had vanished so completely that for a moment, Elphisia thought she was looking at a different person.

He passed by the kneeling Linia and approached Helio, who was barely clinging to life with labored breaths.

Thud.

Harte knelt on the grass. Then he gently laid Helio's head on his lap.

Harte and Helio's eyes met.

Helio's eyes were a beautiful green. While his brown hair came from Linia, those olive-like eyes were clearly Rayners' legacy.

The child who resembled both parents equally shed tears.

"You must be in a lot of pain," Harte said softly.

"It doesn't hurt..." Helio denied it with slurred speech. Because if this level of pain was too much, he could never become Elphisia Luminel. But Harte found the already dead heart more pitiful than the dying body.

"Pain isn't just about the physical body."

"It doesn't hurt... nothing hurts..."

"Then you must be invincible."

"I'm..."

I am...

I'm not invincible, I'm Elphisia Luminel...

"Ugh..."

Helio turned his head slightly. Behind his still-dazed mother, he caught sight of Elphisia Luminel watching the scene.

"Uh..."

At that moment, Helio realized.

That his dream of becoming Elphisia Luminel was nothing but a fleeting wish.

Unlike him, she had an upright posture and eyes that seemed to look down on the world. Even a mere sidelong glance revealed her unique confidence. And she possessed a freedom that puppets like him lacked. Though just a seven-year-old child, he had realized this to a sickening degree.

"Hic, huu..."

Blood-tinged tears fell from Helio's eyes.

Harte asked calmly, "Is there anything you want to say?"

"Ugh... urk..."

Then, Helio's trembling lips voiced a desire for the first time in a very long while.

"Save me... It hurts... It hurts."

"..."

Originally, he just wanted to get some fresh air. He felt stuffy and dizzy, and simply wanted a change of scenery.

So when he went out to the balcony and gripped the railing, his vision blurred.

That was all.

"It hurts so much I can barely breathe... At home, I can't make mistakes... I'd rather go to God's side quickly..."

"..."

But looking back now, he had doubts.

Was it really an accident?

Perhaps, thinking he wanted to die right then and there, he had used the blurred vision as an excuse to jump. He couldn't be certain of this sudden doubt even to himself.

But now, in this state, he knew his true feelings.

"I don't want to die..."

Only on the brink of death did the child confess the desire he'd kept buried deep in his heart. It was a pure, honest feeling he could never have revealed to Linia, who was his entire world. But the violet eyes of the man cradling him were so kind and serene that they drew out his innermost wish.

"... I see."

Having picked up on the child's desire, Harte spoke.

"If that's what you want, let's go. To God's side."

"...... Yes."

While promising to fulfill the child's wish, Harte betrayed virtue.

"By living properly."

Let there be light.

The hand extended by God's vanguard shall hold glorious radiance.

The man with a baptismal name summoned golden particles to his palm, recalling the existence of God looking down upon the mortal world.

At that moment, the clouds that had covered the night sky parted, letting moonlight shine through.

Though mere coincidence, people thought this too was miraculous.

The pale moonlight and sacred golden light intertwined, illuminating the Imperial Palace. The light floating like fireflies was the power of the God itself.

Divine power.

The miraculous light that should never be revealed to the mortal world in peacetime gently enveloped Helio.

Simultaneously, Helio's wounds began to heal. As if time were rewinding, his external injuries completely healed, and the blood and dirt staining his clothes were cleansed.

Wrapped in the warm miracle, Helio closed his eyes.

Accumulated fatigue washed over him, forcing him into sleep.

"Ah... Aah...! Helio!" Only then did Linia rush to Helio's side.

"Thank goodness, it's all healed... It's okay, we can start over. We'll make sure this never happens again, more, more, more...!"

Without even marveling at the miracle before her eyes, Linia's eyes flashed with madness.

Harte picked up Helio and stepped back from Linia.

"Hand him over. Quickly," she demanded.

"That's not possible."

"What?"

Harte unilaterally declared to the unfocused Linia:

"From this moment on, the temple will take charge of the young lord's safety. I will not allow any objections."

"How dare you... By whose authority...? I am Helio's mother!"

"I cannot accept that. You forfeited that right yourself."

"You...! You insignificant person...!!!"

Linia screamed hysterically.

"Guards! Come here at once and stop this criminal! Stop him, I say!"

But the Duchess Catadel's authority had absolutely no effect on the guards. Having directly witnessed divine power, they couldn't possibly commit the blasphemy of laying hands on Harte. Even those who normally doubted God couldn't help but feel reverence at such a sight.

It was truly a reenactment of a legend written in myth.

No one could stop Harte's steps as he carried Helio.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Linia tore at her hair neurotically.

Afterwards.

The Catadel ducal house would file a lawsuit against the temple to reclaim Helio.

However, all of Linia's demands, even with a legal counsel's aid, were rejected. The basis was a legal clause stating that the Imperial family guarantees the temple's extraterritoriality.

This incident became an opportunity for many nobles to reaffirm the temple's presence.

---

---

"... Urgh."

Immediately upon returning from the banquet, Elphisia dry-heaved over the washbasin.

When she closed her eyes, she saw the scene of Harte cradling the child and manifesting divine power. This fragment of memory, likely impossible to erase for a lifetime, continued to torment Elphisia.

"Haa... Haa..."

She had understood him as merely a naive man. She had dismissed him as nothing but a fool and a dunce. But the side Harte showed today could rightfully be called that of a saint.

"Damn it."

Filthy.

It's filthy.

Unbearably filthy. Her own self, who had calmly assessed a dying child in that situation, who had wanted to somehow use that light... was utterly black.

'I'm... too filthy to spend such days casually with that man.'

Elphisia's perception was beginning to change.

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