IPAMB 3

Chapter: 3

“Uh….”

Why is he just standing there, spacing out?

I rolled my eyes slightly.

This was clearly a dangerous situation, yet the boy—despite gripping his sword—showed no intention of running away or even swinging it.

He did look kind of helpless, which oddly fit the atmosphere.

Did he freeze up from fear?

I glanced at him once more, then turned my head away.

That wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Grrrraaah….”

A monster that looked like a black slime squirmed forward, slowly stretching out its arm.

I wanted to stop it before it was summoned, but I’m too late.

Black magic was a type of magic that summoned monsters, and because of its danger, it was strictly forbidden in the Empire.

At least monsters can be eliminated with divine power.

Still, it took far more effort than stopping black magic from activating in the first place.

I poured divine power into the temple insignia I was holding. The amount was on a completely different level from what I’d used earlier just for show.

“Don’t bully the weak!”

I hurled the insignia at the monster.

Fwoosh!

The monster was engulfed in white flames the moment it was struck, and before long, it vanished completely.

“Phew….”

Letting out a sigh of relief, I picked up the insignia and turned back toward the boy.

And in that instant, I doubted my eyes.

Jet-black hair like the darkest night. Deep crimson eyes gleaming under the moonlight. A sharp nose bridge and refined facial lines that seemed far too striking for someone so young.

His hair was slightly tousled by the wind, but even at a glance, he was unmistakably beautiful.

Isn’t this… the protagonist?!

He looked exactly like the illustrations of the protagonist as a boy from the novel.

There was something strangely subdued about his presence, but I was certain.

“Are you Young Master Kain Argent?”

My hands trembled, and I clenched one with the other to steady myself.

The boy, who had been silently staring at me, finally spoke.

“That is correct… Who are you?”

“!”

It’s real. He’s real!

My mouth fell open.

“Hello, Young Master! I’ve really, really wanted to meet you!”

My eyes sparkled as I took a step toward Kain.

Startled, Kain stepped back.

Ignoring his reaction, I launched straight into my explanation.

“My name is Winiel, a saintess candidate! I came because there’s something I absolutely had to tell you, Young Master Kain—”

But my words cut off abruptly.

Huh? Why does Kain look like there are two of him…?

Suddenly, the world spun.

Strength drained from my body, and I collapsed to the ground with a thud.

“…!”

Kain hurried toward me, then froze mid-step.

I’m dizzy… I can’t get up…

My stomach churned, and my body began to shake uncontrollably.

I’d been feeling unwell, and now it had finally come back to bite me.

Why now, of all times…!

But I didn’t even have time to feel wronged.

“There! I sensed it over there!”

“Huh? The light’s gone now. Is this thing broken?”

“Just check anyway! If it’s really a monster, it’ll be a huge problem!”

Voices echoed from deeper within the forest.

“People….”

Worse still, Kain turned toward the voices, as if recognizing them as members of the ducal household.

It looked like he was about to call for help.

No, you can’t!

I hadn’t finished explaining anything yet—I couldn’t let Kain go like this.

On top of that, I was the suspicious person who’d just been chased away from the ducal gates.

If someone like me is seen with the young master, it’ll look even worse!

If things went wrong, I might never get another chance to talk to him.

That can’t happen! I have to do something—anything!

Grabbing onto a tree trunk, I forced myself upright.

“Young Master Kain…!”

At my faint call, Kain turned back.

Somehow—anyhow—I needed my sincerity to reach him.

Gathering every last bit of strength I had, I spoke.

“Just now… I’m the one who saved you.”

“……”

“Your lifesaver. If you don’t repay me, that makes you a person with no conscience—”

Unfortunately, I lost consciousness before I could finish my sentence.

***

By the time I turned three, our mother had passed away as well, leaving my brother and me out on the streets.

Perhaps because we were so young and the hardship was overwhelming, those days are still vividly etched into my memory.

There was no one willing to help us as we lived like wanderers.

Eventually, we ended up in an orphanage.

But life there wasn’t any better.

The orphanage rarely provided proper meals.

Especially for me—they used the excuse that I was young and wouldn’t eat much, and gave me even less food.

“Winie, you’re hungry, right? Here, eat my share.”

My brother handed me his portion, even though it wasn’t enough for him either.

“I’m sorry, Winie. I’ll try to get more next time.”

He apologized for not taking better care of me.

That was when I vaguely realized something.

That I was a burden to my brother.

“The silver-haired girl is becoming more appealing by the day. She’ll sell for a high price. It’s about time we start looking for a buyer—”

One day, my brother and I accidentally overheard the orphanage director saying that.

Without hesitation, my brother took me and secretly left the orphanage.

“Winie, from now on, we’re going to see the world together.”

He probably thought I wouldn’t understand anything—but at five years old, I wasn’t as naïve as he believed.

“Yeah! Sounds great! Brother, look—there are so many flowers on that tree!”

Still, I pretended not to know and smiled as always.

Because there was nothing someone weak and incapable like me could do.

Because I didn’t want to make things harder for my brother.

But deep down, I always thought—

If I hadn’t existed, my brother could have stayed at the orphanage and been adopted.

He could’ve eaten all the food he begged for by himself.

I was the heaviest home in the world—the weight my brother carried.

“I sense an immense amount of divine power coming from your younger sister.”

And then, finally, the chance came for me to stop being a burden.

A high priest we happened to meet while living as beggars said he wanted to take me to the temple.

My brother turned pale at those words, but after speaking privately with the high priest, he brought me to the temple.

“Winie, the High Priest says you could become a saintess someday. He thinks it’d be good for you to train your divine power at the temple as a saintess candidate.”

“A saintess?”

“Yeah. Someone amazing who brings peace to the world.”

Bring peace to the world? Me?

I didn’t really understand what that meant.

But I understood when my brother continued.

“But if you do that, I can’t stay with you anymore. So… I’m thinking of traveling the world on my own.”

Ah. So this is when he finally abandons me.

I thought it was the right choice.

And I’d already thought about what I should do when this moment came.

I have to let him go.

But for some reason, I couldn’t release my grip on his hand. It felt like something sticky was clinging to my fingers.

“So you can live well here, right?”

“……”

I needed to say “yes.”

But my throat felt completely blocked, like I’d swallowed a huge stone.

No—I don’t think I can. Without my brother, I can’t—

Strange thoughts kept echoing in my head.

This isn’t right. If I cling to him, he’ll be unhappy.

With all my strength, I forced myself to let go of his hand. My fingertips ached.

Still, just like always, I smiled as if I didn’t know anything.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine!”

A smile spread across my brother’s face.

I hoped that, now that I was no longer weighing him down, he could finally be happy.

On my first day at the temple, I prayed desperately to God.

***

“Ugh…”

As I lifted my heavy eyelids, a white ceiling came into view.

Where am I…?

My mind felt hazy.

I sat up and looked around. Medical magic tools and potions were neatly arranged nearby.

Did the temple have a place like this?

Even if it did, I doubted they’d bring me here—unless the High Priest was present.

Ah! Right—I made it to the Argent Ducal Estate. I even met the protagonist.

Memories from just before I collapsed came rushing back.

Being chased away by the gatekeeper, meeting the protagonist in the forest by chance, defeating the monster…

“Then this place is….”

Click.

The door opened without a knock.

“…! You’re awake.”

A woman dressed as a maid entered, then quickly bowed in surprise when she saw me.

“I apologize. I didn’t realize you had regained consciousness.”

“It—it’s okay. I just woke up.”

I calmed my pounding heart.

“Um… who are you? And where is this place?”

“My apologies. This is the Argent Ducal Estate, and I am a maid here.”

The ducal estate? Really?

I’d expected it, but hearing it confirmed made my heart race.

I did it! I got into the protagonist’s house!

I quietly took a deep breath to calm myself.

“I-I’m Winiel, a saintess candidate.”

“I’ve heard from Young Master Kain. He said you saved him from a monster. We are deeply grateful.”

The maid clasped her hands and bowed politely.

“And on behalf of the household, I apologize for the blasphemous accusation of impersonation and for having you driven away earlier.”

So that had been conveyed as well.

At least I wouldn’t need to explain that I wasn’t an impostor.

Well, someone did see me defeat the monster—there’s no room for doubt.

Especially since that witness was the young master himself.

“Young Master Kain said he would grant you any reward you wish.”

“…A reward?”

“Yes. He said anything at all.”

I blinked blankly, then stiffened in shock.

Anything at all?!

Once things started going my way, everything unraveled smoothly.

Then I can just ask him to capture the villain organization early, right?

I wouldn’t need to desperately plead and explain everything anymore.

My heart started racing again.

Is it really okay for things to be this easy?

I did tell Kain to repay me before I collapsed, but I’d only meant not to throw me away.

And honestly, even without me, Kain wouldn’t have died.

The original story didn’t begin until three years later—and Kain was perfectly fine then.

So he probably would’ve just been injured at most.

But there’s no need to say that. This way is much easier.

Now wasn’t the time to refuse food being spoon-fed to me.

“I see. Well, I am his lifesaver, after all. May I meet Young Master Kain right away? I need to tell him what I want.”

“……”

“Is something wrong?”

“…No. Understood.”

The maid made an awkward expression for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and left the room.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I sat on the bed and swung my legs back and forth.

Wow, this is going so smoothly! This is amazing!

The protagonist’s personality was far better than I’d expected.

At this rate, he’ll definitely listen when I ask him to deal with the villain organization early!

Then I needed to prepare properly too!

I stopped swinging my legs and began thinking seriously.

If I wanted things to move as quickly as possible, I had to give Kain accurate and useful information.

And I also needed to make sure I didn’t sound suspicious while saying it.

So what should I say? I can’t just tell him I read a novel in my past life where he was the protagonist.

He’d definitely think I was crazy and throw me out.

But I can’t easily say my brother is a villain either.

That would mean admitting I’m the villain’s sister.

No matter how much of a lifesaver I was, no one would help the sister of a villain.

Hmm… then should I say I saw the future?

If I claimed I’d seen the future and that the villain organization would harm him, it wouldn’t sound strange.

And as a saintess candidate, it wouldn’t be suspicious for me to have prophetic visions.

Saintesses were mysterious beings, after all—so saintess candidates also carried that image.

Alright. Let’s go with that!

Hehe. The corners of my mouth lifted on their own.

Just as I was finishing organizing my thoughts, the maid returned.

“You’re ready? Shall we go now?”

“I’m sorry, but…”

At my question, the maid lowered her head.

“Young Master Kain has said that he does not wish to meet.”