Episode 133

As I pressed him with a hardened expression, Joshua stammered in confusion.

“Hit me…? W-Who would dare hit me.”

But even as he said that, the way he avoided my eyes was way too suspicious.

“Then what are these injuries? And why did you go to a pawn shop?”

“I told you, I didn’t go to the pawn shop. And the injuries really are from PE class. It’s nothing.”

“……”

“There it is again—that look. What are you, my mom or something?”

He shot a brief glare at my narrowed, skeptical eyes, then gently pulled my hands off his cheeks.

And quietly, almost like a sigh, he muttered:

“I didn’t even know this was near your shop. How would I have known it was a pawn shop? I was just walking and ended up here.”

“Then why’s a student who should be at the academy wandering around here? Do you even realize how dangerous this area is?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have come. And today was a shortened class day. I didn’t feel like going straight home, so I just came to look around.”

“The butler didn’t mention anything about that…”

“It was decided this morning. The monster subjugation team is returning soon, remember?”

“Ah.”

At Joshua’s words, I let out a small hum of realization—something I had forgotten came back to me.

‘Right. Edwin’s coming back soon, isn’t he?’

At the academy, there was a special subject.

A course that studied the habits of monsters and participated in their subjugation—the Monster Subjugation Corps.

Monsters were generally said to be summoned and manipulated by heretics.

Their numbers had supposedly dwindled significantly after the holy war centuries ago, but some regions still had them.

You could only apply to the Monster Subjugation Corps starting at age sixteen, and just like in my previous life, Edwin had passed the test and joined as an official member.

He had recently left for his first monster subjugation mission.

In my past life, after Joshua died, Edwin rarely stayed at home.

So I fully understood why he had chosen to join the Monster Subjugation Corps back then—but in this life, it didn’t make sense.

‘Joshua’s alive and well this time, so why?’

I tried to talk him out of it, saying it was too dangerous, but it was no use.

Instead, he gently reasoned with me, like an adult teaching a child.

“If I’m to be the heir of Kallios, the one called the ‘Sword of Erea,’ then of course I should be leading the charge against monsters. And there are a few things I need to confirm while I’m at it…”

When I asked what it was he needed to “confirm,” he still wouldn’t tell me.

Anyway, a short telegram had arrived just the other day saying the subjugation mission had ended safely and they’d be returning soon, so I was able to breathe a little easier.

‘Seriously… those two brothers are experts at driving people crazy in sync.’

I looked at Joshua, who’d managed to come up with a fairly believable excuse about his shortened class schedule, with complicated eyes.

Noticing my look, Joshua lowered his head and gently rested his face on my shoulder.

Then, rubbing his forehead against me, he spoke in a cutesy, pleading tone:

“Come on, I told you it’s nothing like that, sis.”

“……”

“Believe me, please?”

His soft silver hair tickled my neck.

He’d grown so much taller than me now.

And yet, when he still called me “Sis” and acted all adorable, I couldn’t help but give in.

Eventually, I swallowed my unease and gave him the answer he wanted.

“…Alright. Let’s just go home.”

* * *

Even though I said that… of course, I wasn’t just going to let it go.

The next day, I delayed going to work and headed straight to the academy.

“Oh, y-you’ve arrived, Director!”

Thanks to my regular donations, the headmaster and the staff welcomed me with both hands raised in exaggerated politeness.

The glow of the Kallios name was nice, but there was a different kind of thrill in receiving this kind of treatment purely thanks to my own money.

I sat comfortably on the sofa in the headmaster’s office—the one he insisted I take—and sipped the tea I was served.

Sitting there with my legs dangling, not quite reaching the floor, I waited for a while when—

Creak.

The door opened, and someone stepped in.

Dressed all in white like a choirboy, holding a scripture in one hand, was a very handsome boy:

Ismail.

He dropped down onto the sofa across from me with a sigh and grumbled,

“…Can’t you call me out in a normal way for once?”

“What’s wrong with this method?”

“You could’ve just sent a letter saying you wanted to meet. Or come by my dorm after class.”

“I’m busy. I don’t have time for that. And besides, this is perfectly normal.”

“Ha.”

Ismail let out a scoff at my shameless reply.

Then, visibly annoyed, he burst out:

“They broadcast across the whole campus that I was being summoned, and the headmaster personally came to fetch me in the middle of class. You call that normal?!”

“Hmm…”

Sure, I had told them to bring my sponsored student immediately—but I hadn’t expected them to go that far.

Still, the deed was done.

I shrugged and replied coolly.

“You’re famous now. That’s pretty great, isn’t it?”

Ismail muttered with a sour face,

“I just wanted to spend my school years quietly…”

“How’s someone who’s next in line to be Pope supposed to do anything quietly?”

“There it is again. Aren’t you tired of saying that?”

Ismail scowled deeply at my words.

“Next pope? Please. The person giving out that title doesn’t even think that way.”

“You fought with the Pope again?”

“……”

That hit the mark—he clamped his mouth shut.

Seven years ago, thanks to Magnus’s wicked deeds, Ismail and the Pope had become close, just like in the original story.

Even though Ismail had distrusted him for a long time…

The Pope had cherished Ismail, recognizing his special powers and keen intellect.

If things had gone according to the original, the Pope would’ve kept Ismail close and made him a junior priest.

And step by step, he would’ve prepared him to become his successor.

But that trajectory changed about a year ago.

When the heretics—who had constantly threatened the temple—suddenly vanished, Ismail no longer had a reason to hide behind the Pope.

He dove into his studies of theology and scripture, and the moment he turned twelve—the eligible age—he enrolled in the theology department of the academy on a full scholarship.

Naturally, the Pope objected.

He was a bit arrogant, believing he alone could teach Ismail everything he needed.

He also voiced distrust and displeasure toward the curriculum run by the imperial academy.

But the one who convinced him?

That was me.

‘Well… I say “convinced,” but there wasn’t much to it.’

Yes, the Pope had protected Ismail from the heretics’ threats.

But in the end, I was the one officially sponsoring him.

When Ismail asked if he could attend the academy, I didn’t hesitate—I dumped a mountain of donations on the table.

As a result—

Ismail became a hot topic among nobles, confidently holding his own among even the most elite.

“…You know the Pope’s just a little old-fashioned.”

Shaking off my brief thoughts, I tried gently placating grumpy Ismail.

“Just let it roll off your back, okay? Don’t fight with him. It’s not like he has many years left anyway.”

But Ismail gave a short laugh and scoffed,

“According to what High Priest Lepis said the other day, he’s so healthy he might outlive the temple walls.”

‘That’s… not true.’

I barely held back the urge to say it aloud.

If the story followed the original timeline, the current pope—Montenus II—would die in a year, the year Ismail turned sixteen.

And then the pope’s seat would remain vacant for two years.

Dunkeski would try to claim the title, but fail due to not possessing the papal signet ring.

And two years later, Ismail, now an adult, would return from a pilgrimage with the ring and ascend as the next Pope.

He’d grown so much over the past seven years, but Ismail still looked so young.

To be honest, I didn’t know how deep his relationship with the Pope really went.

In my past life, I hadn’t even known Ismail was the Pope’s adoptive son, and the original story barely touched on his backstory.

This life hadn’t been all that different.

Even though I was his sponsor, Ismail had lived in the temple all that time, and for much of it, he had doubted the Pope as a potential heretic.

‘…Still, he’s probably going to be really heartbroken.’

I hadn’t known much about him in my previous life…

But I knew the Ismail of this life well.

He always acted cold and indifferent—but in truth, he had one of the gentlest hearts, and he feared being hurt more than anything.

Even if he pretended not to care, I was sure he depended on the Pope more than he let on.

And I felt a subtle guilt at the fact that I wouldn’t be able to stop the Pope’s death that was coming.

“…Be good to him. You’ll regret it later.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

But unaware of any of that, Ismail brushed off my words and shot back,

“So what are you here for this time? I figured I wouldn’t see you for at least half a year.”

His frosty tone made me flinch a bit.

I had been so busy with salon work lately that I hadn’t had time to visit him.

“H-half a year? It’s only been two months since I last came…”

“……”

“And, well… I just thought I’d drop by and see your face for once…”

“Ha. Do you think I don’t know you?”

As I tried to play dumb and make excuses, Ismail scoffed.

“You only come when you need something.”

Hearing that made me feel kind of like a terrible person.

‘That’s not true… I came just to see him sometimes too… right?’

I mean, considering he was the jerk who’d been awful to me in my past life, and even one of Diana’s harem members—wasn’t I being pretty generous?

But something told me if I actually said that, Ismail would erupt like a volcano.

And… it wasn’t exactly something I could explain anyway.

As I hesitated with an awkward expression, Ismail let out a sigh and softened his tone.

“…So, what is it this time?”

“There is something, yeah.”

Once I saw that he’d calmed down, I quickly spoke up.

“Can you look into what’s going on around Joshua when you have time?”

“I knew it. I knew it.”

Ismail, who had just barely cooled down, shot me a glare filled with fresh annoyance.

Then he muttered like he was talking to himself:

“Said you came just to see me… yeah right…”

“……”

“Every single time, it’s a lie the moment you open your mouth, huh?”

I looked solemn again.

‘Hey, you asked what I needed…’

I couldn’t help feeling just a little wronged.