Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 41
‘But…maybe I could use this to my advantage?’
After a moment’s thought, Irene spoke with the same awkward smile she used to have when facing Wilhelmina.
“Well, I don’t think I can let you just come and go as you please.”
“What? Why?”
“Sir Michael comes here sometimes. Since he goes to dungeons often, he tends to be in a rather sensitive state when he returns. As you know, he’s a paladin and he’s already uncomfortable with me even as his pair. If there were another purifier around…I don’t think he’d be too happy about it. It would be quite sad if he distanced himself from me even more.”
Of course, in this life, he didn’t seem distant or uncomfortable, perhaps because he was so eager to be purified.
‘But when we rode on the horse, he tried to avoid being touched.’
So it wasn’t a complete lie. Though it wouldn’t matter if it were.
“…”
Wilhelmina pursed her lips and clenched her jaw at Irene’s words. It was the thought of offending Michael more than anything else that made her hesitate.
‘He formed a pair this year, so there’s a high chance he’ll seek another pair next year. In that case…’
There was no need to leave a negative impression. No, more than that, Wilhelmina had to make herself as appealing to him as possible, so that next year he would definitely choose her and not Irene.
“Well, if Sir Michael might feel uncomfortable, there’s nothing we can do. Can I come in for now?”
“Of course.”
Smiling, Irene guided her inside. Once inside the room, Wilhelmina couldn’t keep her mouth shut.
“Why so serious? Come on, have a seat.”
“Uh, right.”
At Wilhelmina’s urging, Irene bit her lip and sat down.
It reminded Irene of the time Wilhelmina had visited around this time in her previous life.
Something really good had happened to her.
“I came by because something really good just happened to you.”
As expected.
“Something really good? What is it?”
Irene widened her eyes, genuinely acting like she had no idea. However, she already knew what Wilhelmina was going to say next.
‘Princess Cecilia wants to invite me to one of her gatherings.’
“Princess Cecilia wants to invite you to one of her gatherings!”
The circumstances may have changed, but Wilhelmina’s words were the same as in her previous life.
“The Princess? Inviting me?”
Irene feigned ignorance, responding just as she did in her past life.
“Yes. Do you know how prestigious the princess’s gatherings are? It’s a meeting attended by all three Grade 1 purifiers currently in the fortress.”
Wilhelmina began explaining, as if bestowing a favor upon someone who knew nothing.
“Don’t take a meetup lightly. It’s not just a tea party. The members of this group will be raiding together.”
Raid. A term referring to forming a team and conquering dungeons together. Once dungeons reached a higher level, it became nearly impossible for a single knight to conquer them alone. Therefore, even within the fortress, individuals negotiated rewards and teamed up to enter dungeons together.
Obviously, raiding with a strong pair increased a group’s chances for success. Hence, Princess Cecilia’s gathering wished to invite all purifiers. She wanted to organize raids with her own group of people.
‘In my previous life, I was so excited to be invited that I couldn’t control myself.’
At that time, Irene didn’t even know what a gathering was. She was simply happy at the thought of interacting with someone else.
So, Irene scraped together the little money she had left to buy tea leaves, the only affordable gift she could get in the fortress.
“You must be Sir Michael’s pair. Nice to meet you.”
And on the day of the meeting, Irene knew as soon as she heard the princess’s voice.
That she was not pleased to see her at all.
After giving Irene a once-over, the princess ordered her maid to show Irene to the farthest corner of the room. It didn’t matter, though. As a Grade 10 purifier, Irene thought she deserved the corner seat, that it was only natural she be placed there.
However, by the end of the gathering, no one had spoken to her.
But there was more. As Irene was getting ready to leave, a maid came up to her. The maid hesitated before saying:
“We don’t drink this stuff, so please take it back…”
‘Looking back on it now, what they did was truly rude and disrespectful.’
But at that time, she couldn’t think straight. So she ran out of the room, feeling ashamed that she didn’t prepare a proper gift.
But now she knows.
Princess Cecilia deliberately invited lower-level purifiers to embarrass them, instilling a sense of pride and superiority to those in her circle.
“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve asked her to invite you?”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“What’s with that reaction?”
Irene should have been overjoyed. But when Wilhelmina saw Irene’s indifferent response instead, she frowned.
“The princess’s gatherings are often attended by knights as well as purifiers. If you’re lucky, you might find your pair for next year.”
At that moment, Irene instinctively objected. “That’s not going to happen…”
Knock, knock.
She was about to firmly deny it, but a knock at the door interrupted her.
“Who is it?”
Naturally thinking it was a servant coming to find her, she spoke toward the door.
“Your pair, Michael. I urgently request to see you.”
From the other side of the door, she could hear the urgency in Michael’s voice.