I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 87

After all, the power Caesar possessed was the divine power of purification! If that were the case, she felt she actually stood a chance in a fight. However, the words that followed from Caesar’s lips caused her fiercely rising fighting spirit to vanish instantly.

“The Great Saintess? You? Is there such a thing as a Great Saintess who flees the Empire while carrying a holy relic?”

Ouch. Her conscience stung as if pricked by an awl. Even if she had intended to send the Saint’s Staff to Caesar before leaving, it was an undeniable fact that she had abandoned her duties as the Great Saintess.

Odette avoided Caesar’s gaze, her eyes slightly dejected. “I was just taking a short vacation…”

“Another lie.”

“But I did not want to be forced into a sacrifice like my mother was.”

Caesar lifted her chin, looking into her emerald eyes. “If you left for the Eastern Continent and never returned, what do you think would happen to the next generation’s Great Saintess?”

“…”

When Odette failed to answer, Caesar gripped her shoulders firmly. “You went to Demuna. Was it not your fury at what was being perpetrated there that drove you to blow the place up?”

“…Just how long have you been tailing me?”

This time, Caesar swallowed his answer. However, the arrogant confidence etched on his face made Odette’s blood boil with rage.

He followed me from the very beginning. He kept his distance and watched me.

That madman!

“Tell me. Why did you let me run away instead of catching me? Who were you trying to push into a trap this time?”

Did you have to see me meet Maxcalion just so you could kill him? Did you have to do that to prove that you are right and I am wrong?

Odette looked at him with resentful eyes. “I opened the path so that you could flee safely.”

Odette bristled at Caesar’s words, her eyes sharpening. “And why? Why did you do that?”

“I hoped you would return to me on your own.”

He really is insane.

She had spoken clearly and firmly when she left him. She told him that of all the things he offered, the thing she desired the least was Caesar Mais himself. Had he dismissed even those sincere words as a lie?

Odette opened her mouth to save him from his severe misunderstanding, but before she could speak, a confusing statement drifted from Caesar’s lips.

“It was good, wasn’t it?”

“…What was?” Odette’s eyes widened.

“Weren’t you enjoying yourself the whole time we were on the same side, plotting to defeat the villains?”

Oh, heavens! So you were enjoying yourself. Meanwhile, I felt like a victim. How could she enjoy being forced to marry him and sleep with him in another woman’s place when they didn’t even like each other? How could she be happy when he was constantly doubting and monitoring her?

As she bit her lip in disbelief, Caesar whispered with a desperate look in his eyes.

“I told you. You are my destiny. Ever since you opened my bedroom door and walked in, I have no memory of ever being apart from you. Does that answer your question?”

There was no use talking to a lunatic. Strength drained from her entire body, and she felt as if she would collapse from exhaustion.

All that struggle was for nothing.

She had walked mountain paths, traveled by carriage, and taken winding routes to reach Neapolitan just to avoid being tracked. To think that Caesar had been watching it all the whole time made Odette feel like a tiny, insignificant insect. She was furious—not because she had been caught, but because she had never truly escaped him even for a second.

Odette huffed and gripped Caesar’s shirt collar tightly. But why was he laughing? Caesar seemed to be enjoying this argument with her.

Curling the corners of his mouth upward, he spoke. “Tell me, Odette. You knew the rifts would keep appearing and monsters would keep pouring out.”

“…”

“While I was working myself to death trying to eliminate those monsters, did you really want to go to the Eastern Continent to raise three men and a dog?”

Gasp!

No, how could he possibly know that? She had only expressed that true desire once. And since she had said it to Eric, there was no way Caesar should know.

Is he entering my subconscious and peeking at my thoughts because he absorbed my divine power?

Now Odette found Caesar terrifying in a different sense.

Wait? Now that I look at him, the color of his eyes seems different.

His blue eyes were exceptionally brilliant, as if his pupils were filled with jewels. When Odette could only blink without answering, Caesar raised a dark, straight eyebrow, prompting her.

“Is that it? Was your plan to just let everyone deal with the fate of the Empire on their own?”

To be honest, that was exactly how she felt. Caesar had seen right through her. Since this was a world inside a novel, she figured Caesar, the protagonist, would handle everything.

But could I really have lived forever pretending I didn’t care?

Even if she had successfully boarded that ship to the East, her heart wouldn’t have been at peace. And going to the Eastern Continent wouldn’t have made her divine power disappear. Whether through dreams or while awake, if she saw the rifts opening and people being sacrificed to monsters, she would have returned. She couldn’t have ignored the request her mother made in that vision.

“Odette, this is how you do it. You can do it, right?”

Recalling her mother, who had taught her how to purify the contaminated land, the tip of her nose stung again. Tears welled in Odette’s emerald eyes.

“To be honest, I hated the fact that I was the Great Saintess. It was a burden. I am not such a grand person, yet it felt like I was saddled with a massive responsibility. That is why I wanted to run away.”

“Yes, I can understand that.”

For once, Caesar actually agreed with her.

“But it was not something you were supposed to do.”

Of course. It was impossible for Caesar to fully understand her emotions.

Then, Caesar released his arm from around her waist. With a much softer gaze, he asked, “You know I can do the work of three men, don’t you?”

“Wh-what do you mean by that?”

“Three men and a dog. I can be all of those for you.”

The three men were one thing, but what was this about a dog? Was he saying he would wag his tail and act cute for her?

As Odette stared at him in absurdity, Caesar leaned down, bringing his face close to hers.

“I am saying I will make you happy. Every single moment.”

“No kissing.”

Odette placed her hand over his lips, blocking any attempt at a kiss. Caesar raised an eyebrow with a look of grievance.

“You liked it before.”

“I did not!”

Odette turned her head away, refusing to look at him. She felt that if she met his eyes, her lie would be exposed. Honestly, there were times she liked it and many times she felt conflicted. More than anything, she loathed herself for feeling her body react differently than her mind during those unwanted kisses. She was afraid that she would eventually crumble before his demonic charm, losing her soul and becoming a mere doll for Caesar Mais.

Look at him even now.

Odette was trembling, getting angry, and even crying. Yet he remained composed and flawlessly beautiful while holding her captive. It was so frustrating. While she was terrified and her heart felt like it would burst, he seemed to be enjoying this moment.

“You should speak the truth so you don’t regret it later. Did you really hate kissing me?”

At Caesar’s sweet whisper, Odette forced herself to stay focused and spoke firmly.

“I am serious. I dislike unwanted kisses and physical contact.”

“Then are you telling me to skip the kissing and physical contact and just get to it?”

“Get to what? Absolutely not!”

Seeing her emerald eyes widen in shock, Caesar chuckled audibly. He sounded as if he were enjoying the fact that his joke had worked.

Ugh, he is so irritating!

Caesar smiled, lightly tapping the bridge of her nose before she could glare at him resentfully.

“Alright. I will not force you if you do not want it. So, do not hate me too much.”

There was a sense of earnestness in his expression as he made that cautious request.

“I will do better.”

Why was Caesar treating her so carefully? Why was he so desperate? She truly didn’t know. And she decided that she must never want to know what was in his heart. For some reason, she felt that was the only way she wouldn’t get hurt.

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