Chapter 61: A Chaotic Night at Daeshin Shrine

“Ahhh!! Stop! Stop pulling!!”

At the sound of a cry as ragged as tearing leather, two men stopped tugging on Lara Schmord and let go. Lara, glancing despondently at the bright red marks on her wrists, bolted out of the room. Mikhail lunged to follow, but Rahi stepped in before he could.

“If you leave like that, you’ll be arrested on the spot. Leave Lara with me,” Rahi instructed.

Since his words were true, Mikhail couldn’t muster a reply. He watched the pair vanish from the doorway, then closed the door and leaned against its cold surface.

“Damn it… If only I’d been wearing proper pants.”

He spotted the trousers draped on the bed. It wasn’t too late; if he could pull them on and follow, he might at least save face.

Mikhail snatched the pants up. He managed to slip his feet in but only up to his calves – they refused to budge any further. Of course, Lara had fetched pants two sizes too small.

He forced them up, but they caught at his knees and refused to go any higher. Mikhail winced as his knees, numbed by pain, protested. His left leg cramped painfully, and his soles tingled with relentless discomfort.

“Ugh… hmm.”

Fearing he might be seen as the weak link, Mikhail groaned in genuine agony, pressing his head to the floor.

As Mikhail struggled for breath, a sudden knock on the door startled him. He braced himself on his chin and turned to face the sound.

“Your Holiness, are you there?”

Standing at the door was Lady Elina V, drawn here by the trail of Sacred Power.

“Your Holiness, if you’re here, please speak. Is Lara also here…”

“…Don’t open it!”

Her tone was uncharacteristically urgent. Though she shifted to a calmer voice shortly after, her tense posture betrayed her worry.

“Holy Lady, please, I beg you, don’t open it. Hehe.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, not that… So please, just leave things as they are. I’m begging you.”

Though he insisted he was alright, Elina V sensed his pain. She had heard faint rumors of the Pope’s chronic illness and feared a relapse. Reluctantly, she turned the doorknob – an intervention spurred by the meddling of the Female Lead.

Surveying the room, Elina V inhaled shallowly. There he lay, collapsed on the floor with his pants half-pulled down – a sight that made her lips tighten in dismay.

“What on earth… Who could do something like this…?”

…

“Your Holiness? Your Holiness…!”

There was no answer. Moments before opening the door, a reply had reached her ears. In a panic, Elina V rushed to Mikhail’s side.

Leaning close to his left chest, she murmured, “His heart… it’s still beating. Thank goodness.”

Although she helped him lie down, his condition appeared critical; his eyes remained closed as if refusing to open.

“Come to your senses, please.”

‘Just go to hell…’ Mikhail thought bitterly. He couldn’t face the embarrassment of opening his eyes, even though the Holy Lady would never willingly leave.

Even as he insisted he was fine, Elina V knew the truth. Had the oblivious Holy Lady brought along bodyguards, things could have spiraled out of control – and that fear soon proved well-founded.

“Holy Lady! Where are you?”

At the sound of knights arriving all at once, Mikhail wished he could bite his tongue and disappear. If only the Holy Lady would unleash her Sacred Power to save him…

“More importantly, what about the person collapsed over there…?”

At the startled knight’s inquiry, Elina V rose calmly from beside Mikhail. She fixed her gaze on the two knights standing by the door and spoke.

“This is war.”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone has spread a plague and lured me here – but they never intended for me to be the target. They used me, the Holy Lady, to draw Your Holiness here. And then, while he was alone, they committed this atrocity…”

Elina V lowered her head, her words trembling as if each syllable was a struggle.

“They dressed him in adult diapers and tiny pants. In that disgraceful state, Your Holiness collapsed right here. I’m just thankful I discovered him first. Otherwise, the honor of Daeshin Shrine would have suffered irreparable damage.”

“Who… on earth would do such a thing!”

The atmosphere grew grim, as if everyone had lost their sanity. Mikhail listened, resigned, to every word from Elina V.

“This is blatant sacrilege – a malicious plot designed to tarnish the honor of Daeshin Shrine.”

“…!!”

“I will not forgive those who commit such vile, horrifying acts. As the Holy Lady, I hereby declare war.”

‘They’re insane.’

While Mikhail observed the unfolding chaos with dismay, the chase between Lara and Karlahee continued.

Lara darted out the back door of an inn to shake off Rahi, who was hot on her heels. Yet as he pursued at a similar pace, an overwhelming urge spurred her to seize a bicycle parked on the roadside and ride faster.

Just when she thought she had eluded him, she spotted a bicycle barreling up from behind. The rider, poised like a professional, was none other than Rahi.

Mesmerized by his fluttering purple hair, Lara almost forgot her escape – soon she discarded the bike and leaped into a nearby river. Even then, she caught sight of Rahi cutting through the current in hot pursuit.

Startled, Lara swam with even greater urgency. Upon reaching the opposite shore, she scrambled up and bolted. Just when she believed Rahi wouldn’t follow, the splashing of his wet feet echoed on the ground.

“Gasp, gasp…”

“…gasp, whoa…”

Before long, Lara’s strength waned. The same was true for Karlahee, who, with trembling arms, managed to grab Lara’s wrist. They halted, one foot still mid-stride.

“Hold on a minute… I screwed up, didn’t I? Hah, hah. Don’t you think I deserve an apology?”

After what felt like an ironman triathlon, the desperate grip on her wrist was all too real.

Karlahee, his legs quivering, fell to his knees before Lara. The scene was almost as if a proposal were unfolding.

“I’m sorry for yanking you so hard. Whew. Let’s get your wrist treated right away.”

“Gasp, whew… It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt that much… whew.”

“Wait—if not for that, why did you run away until now?”

“It was Rahi chasing me… gasp, it just happened without thinking.”

Indeed, they had both been putting on an act. Even Lara’s collapse made the situation absurdly comical.

“What have we been doing all this time?”

“I really wonder the same.”

Gazing at each other, drenched from head to toe, they burst into bright laughter. Karlahee, realizing he had nothing left to offer, toyed with the hem of his shirt and absentmindedly smoothed his coral hair clinging to his pale cheek. As he carefully untangled each strand, they suddenly realized how close they were.

“Ah…”

“…”

“Hey… did you hear about Yuri’s Fan Comic trial?”

“Goodness! They’re putting it on trial? I must go buy it immediately—I’ve been a fan since the first issue. Rahi, you’re coming too, right?”

“Of course. Not a single issue has ever escaped my collection. I even have those limited-edition ones. Just say the word if you want to take a look.”

“Ah, dear friend! Love you.”

Behind his glasses, his eyes widened in delight.

“Hmm, Rahi?”

At that moment, as the atmosphere suddenly fell silent, Lara turned to see Rahi slowly lowering his head. His face, reflected in his smooth glasses, edged closer until his nose nearly brushed hers. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Achoo!”

“…”

It was just a sneeze. Drenched by a mist of homemade amylase, Karlahee jerked his head back as if waking from a slumber. Lara quickly took his face in her hands and dabbed it gently with a wet handkerchief.

“I’m sorry. But, what were you planning to do?”

“…I, um, just thought your eyes were pretty, so I wanted a closer look… maybe.”

Truth be told, even Karlahee wasn’t sure what he had intended. His hands moved on their own, led purely by instinct.

“Um, I think we should go back and dry off.”

Karlahee rose first and extended his right hand. Lara nodded warmly as she took it.

Thus, the two retraced their steps. They swam, soaked, and rode the bicycle for what felt like ages, even remembering to return the bike to its original spot.

Their wet clothes dried completely—so much so that they even began to sweat. Though it was late by the time they returned to the inn, Mikhail was nowhere in sight.

“Sis!”

Just as Lara was about to leave the inn, a child burst out, calling her name. It was the boy from the Slums, perhaps coming to thank her for his rescue.

Lara, smiling warmly, stepped toward the boy. Yet a part of her wondered if an extra twist was allowed, given the Female Lead’s usual role in such moving scenes.

Then, suddenly,

“Hic, hic, hic.”

The giggling child produced a banknote from his pocket – an Imperial Check stamped with the number ‘10,000,000.’

“…That money?”

“The Holy Lady gave it. She said she had urgent business and needed to leave, and told him to use it to treat his mother. From now on, if you meddle, just hand over the cash!”

Muttering as he spat on the ground, the boy turned and his figure gradually shrank until he disappeared down the alley.