S-Rank Adventurer Betrayed by His Fiancée in the Hero’s Party Sets Off on a Journey to Heal His Broken Heart ~The Strongest Betrayed Adventurer Ends Up Forming a Harem Party~ - Chapter 29: The Saintess's Confession

Chapter 29: The Saintess’s Confession

During the three years I spent aiding the Hero’s Party on their journey to subjugate the Demon Lord, I never went to see Millia.

However, there were a few close encounters with the Hero’s Party, and during one of those moments, I caught a glimpse of her.

The woman reflected in the crystal now had the same striking appearance as back then—silver hair so clear it seemed otherworldly, and a face sculpted to perfection, like a work of art.

She wasn’t just cute or pretty. No, she was the kind of woman you’d call beautiful in the truest sense.

Staring at her expressionless, ice-like face, I spoke up.

“Ah, yeah, I know you well enough. You were part of the party I used to support, after all. Not that I doubted Frey or Maria, but… I didn’t think you’d actually want to talk to me.”

Right now, I was speaking with her through the crystal in the church, and it was all because of the twin sisters.

When they apologized for disturbing me while I was sleeping and said they’d do anything to make it up, they asked me to come to the church with them.

Apparently, the Saintess herself wanted to have a conversation with me.

Even Elmie hadn’t known about this, but somehow Frey and Maria seemed to have a personal connection with her.

Well then… I tried to keep my tone free of hostility, but how would she respond—

“…”

“…”

“………”

“Um?”

“……………………”

“Can you hear me? Hey, anyone there?”

“Ah…! Hah—haah… haaah…!”

“Whoa, hey, are you okay?”

She had been completely silent for what felt like forever. Then, out of nowhere, she started breathing heavily.

She’d been so still the whole time, I honestly thought the crystal was broken.

“Ah…! Y-Yes, I’m fine…!”

“Oh, okay. If you say so…”

The Saintess, after catching her breath, returned to her ice-cold, expressionless demeanor and calmly said:

“It was just that my heart stopped for a moment.”

“That’s a huge deal!”

Most people would die if their heart stopped!

I couldn’t help but shout, but she replied with complete composure.

“It’s fine. This happens to me all the time.”

“That’s… not fine at all! A healer casually saying they’re often dying is the worst thing I’ve ever heard!”

The idea of the Saintess, the pinnacle of healing, having a chronic condition wasn’t funny in the slightest.

My initial impression of her was that she seemed inhumanly perfect, but now…

“My apologies… I was the one who requested this meeting, yet I’ve shown you such an unsightly display…”

“Oh, Lady Ciel is just nervous because she’s talking to you, Abel~.”
“That’s right, Lady Ciel. Just relax, okay?”
“…Hey, you two? Could you maybe let her talk now? And… uh, I’m not a believer, so can I just call you Miss Ciel?”

“Of course. You must be Miss Elmie, the ‘Sword Saint,’ correct? I have no intention of being overly formal, so feel free to address me however you like.”

The Saintess class represents the pinnacle of healing abilities.

Within the Souther Sky Faith, simply having the title elevates someone to a high-ranking position in the clergy.

That’s why the twins, as believers, address her with honorifics, while Elmie and I, as outsiders, don’t.

“Alright, I’ll call you Miss Ciel then. So… what’s the connection between you and these two?”

Now that the Saintess seemed calmer, Elmie—who had been left out of the conversation until now—decided to ask the question.

The twin sisters exchanged glances.

“Should we tell them?”

“Might as well, right?”

“W-Wait, both of you! I’ve decided to reveal the truth, yes, but I’m not mentally prepared for that part yet—!”

As soon as the two began speaking, the Saintess—Ciel—started panicking.

Though her hands reached out in protest, they couldn’t actually stop the twins, and while her face remained pale, her previously calm demeanor had crumbled, replaced with visible distress.

Completely ignoring her frantic state, the twins continued.

“To put it simply… Lady Ciel is a fan of Abel.”

“…A fan?”

“She means she likes and supports you, Abel.”

“I get that part. What I don’t get is why.”

“U-Um…! P-Please don’t just say something so blunt like ‘likes’ out in the open…!”

Ciel’s expression was the kind you’d expect from someone blushing or paling with embarrassment if her face wasn’t so eerily composed.

But her protests didn’t stop the twins.

“As for how we first met… You see, when someone joins the Souther Sky Faith, there’s a simple ritual performed by a priest to initiate them.”

“Lady Ciel, who was just an apprentice back then, handled it for us during our ceremony. Thanks to her, we’ve become who we are now.”

When they were younger, the twins struggled with their feelings—being in love with each other despite being sisters.

It was the Saintess, Ciel, who accepted them and validated their relationship.

“The Saintess is like a symbol of the Souther Sky Faith, so we didn’t interact much after that.”

“But about two years ago, we went to the church to pray as usual, and Lady Ciel reached out to us. She asked, ‘If you know Lord Abel, could you tell me more about him?’”

“At first, we thought she was asking from the perspective of the Hero’s party, but… the questions she asked were things like, ‘Miss Frey!? What about this?’ They didn’t really have anything to do with that. When we turned the tables and asked her directly, she admitted she was a fan.”

“Um… as a member of the Hero’s party, I was curious about you… and as I learned more, well…”

Ciel’s awkward confirmation of Frey’s words left no room for doubt.

I see… I guess I understand the situation now.

But wait. If that’s the case—

“Then…”

Frey’s tone suddenly shifted, her voice icy enough to freeze flames and laced with a hint of pure malice.

“…When Millia started fooling around with the Hero, you were the one who confronted her about it—weren’t you, LADY CIEL?”

Ciel visibly flinched at Frey’s words, her eyes widening as she looked away, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“There’s no way you didn’t know about Millia and Abel. After all, we talked so much about it, didn’t we?”

“You’ve kept us waiting, but it’s time to come clean. If you knew and still allowed it, then as a Saintess—no, as a member of the faith—you’ve acted in a way that’s completely unworthy of your position. What do you have to say for yourself, Lady Ciel?”

Even Maria, usually so composed, fixed Ciel with a sharp glare through the crystal’s projection.

Elmie said nothing but directed the same intense gaze toward her.

Three A-rank adventurers, each with a deadly edge in their eyes, stared down the Saintess.

Under their pressure, Ciel’s shoulders trembled as she finally spoke.

“Yes, I… I knew about your relationship with Millia, Lord Abel. And I knew about her infidelity with the Hero… and yet, I didn’t inform you or the Souther Sky Faith of her betrayal!”

・　・　・　・　・

―After that, the Saintess began to speak.

She revealed that the Hero and Millia had indeed been having an affair.

That the Kingdom of Sildiel was unaware of their relationship, and that even the princess was another victim in this situation.

That the Holy Knight who turned a blind eye didn’t know about me at the time.

And that Millia had the audacity to say things like, “If he’s an S-rank now, I might consider getting back together with him.”

Ciel was the only one who knew everything—their affair, as well as the bond between Millia and me.

“I first learned about you about a year into your journey… when you were promoted to B-rank. That promotion allowed us in the Hero’s party more freedom to act. I learned about you, looked into you… and in the process, I found out about Millia. I discovered your reasons for fighting. Your way of life moved me deeply. I admired you… and eventually, I came to hold feelings of respect and affection for you. That’s when I began speaking to the two of them. But not even half a year later, when you were promoted to A-rank… that’s when I realized…!”

Her voice trembled as she confessed, her words spilling out like a repentant sinner’s.

Though she usually heard confessions in the church, now it was her turn to speak—to me, through the crystal.

“By then, Millia had already become arrogant, judging people solely by their status, power, and wealth. I thought telling her about you would be pointless. Even so… I tried to make her stop many times. But she wouldn’t listen.”

Even when Ciel tried to speak strongly to Millia, her words never sank in. Instead, Millia’s behavior only escalated.

Ciel explained how she eventually gave up, choosing to remain silent. Speaking up seemed to have the opposite effect, as if reminding Millia only fueled her actions further.

Unable to bear it, Ciel stopped confronting her—but even now, she regretted not continuing to try.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, but no tears filled her eyes. Perhaps she believed she didn’t have the right to cry.

“To rise from a C-rank (an average adventurer) to A-rank (a rare elite) in just a year and a half… knowing your determination, your resolve… it made me unable to tell you the truth. I couldn’t stop my closest friend’s foolishness… and in the end, as part of the Hero’s party, I could only use you!”

Use me, huh?

Knowing about Millia’s betrayal but not telling me… it could easily be seen as a way to ensure my continued support for their party.

Of course, for a Hero’s party, that would be the logical choice—to benefit themselves, even if it meant disregarding my feelings.

“And that’s why…! This is all my fault. Everything that hurt you so deeply, every part of this… it’s all because of me. I accept full responsibility and offer my sincerest apologies. If you wish it, I’ll even give my life to atone. I’m so, so sorry…”

As she spoke, her head, already bowed, lowered even further.

It was a genuine apology, straight from the heart of Ciel, the Saintess.

・　・　・　・　・

Silence filled the room.

After her long confession, the Saintess remained bowed, choking back sobs, unwilling to lift her head.

The heavy, stifling atmosphere was finally broken—not by me, but by Elmie.

“Miss Ciel, I’ll always side with Abel. I have a lot of things I could say about you.”

Ciel… listened quietly, like a condemned sinner awaiting judgment.

“But I also understand some of what you’re saying. I’ve been in a place where it hurt so much I couldn’t bring myself to speak.”

Elmie spoke with a tinge of regret in her voice.

“Still, you’re not telling us the whole truth, are you?”

“—!”

Ciel’s head shot up in surprise, her eyes locking onto Elmie, her face full of shock.

“I can tell. But you don’t have to say it now. Whether I’m angry at you or feel sorry for you doesn’t change… and I think the others feel the same, don’t you?”

“Yes… I know Lady Ciel better than Elmie does, so maybe I’ve already come to terms with it.”

“I’m still angry. Your motives are pretty transparent. But yeah… my feelings are about the same.”

As the three of them seemed to come to a shared understanding, Elmie turned to meet my gaze.

“Abel… we’re not the ones directly involved, so it’s not our place to decide. What do you think of her?”

Urged by Elmie’s words, I struggled to sort through the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me.

Finally, with some clarity, I managed to form the faint beginnings of an answer and let it spill from my lips.

“…Honestly, I’m overwhelmed with everything I’ve just heard. My thoughts are all over the place—‘I didn’t want to believe it,’ or ‘how dare you come here and say this,’ or even ‘you’re just as guilty as they are.’ Still, there’s one thing I need to say first.”

It’s complicated.

But there’s something I have to express, no matter what.

“…Thank you for looking out for Millia all this time.”

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[Author’s Note]

I’ve been so focused on writing the main story that I haven’t had the time or energy to reply to comments lately. Honestly, trying to do that while writing this chapter would’ve been impossible for me.

I know the buildup of frustration from the previous chapters makes posting this one a bit nerve-wracking, but Abel’s true feelings… well, those will come next time.