The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Chapter 29: The Ugly Duckling's Sincerity

"Huh...!"

Second Prince Rayners gasped in shock. Inevitably, Harte and Elphisia's attention snapped towards the flustered Rayners.

"Your Highness...?"

"We greet you, Your Highness."

Elphisia swiftly masked her emotions and bowed. Harte, still flustered, awkwardly followed suit.

Rayners waved his hand, unable to hide his bewilderment.

"Ah, please rise."

"Ahem..."

After this unexpected encounter, only a thick awkwardness remained.

Neither Elphisia, who had been berating Harte forgetting her dignity, nor Harte, who had boldly slammed the door after declaring outdoor play, had much to say.

"Well then... I'll take my leave. Please, carry on with what you were doing."

Rayners turned on his heel. He could almost feel the dazed stares of the couple burning into his back. It was a truly awkward moment for all involved.

When he had walked about ten paces, Rayners suddenly thought of Linia Chandler. He imagined her, ever proper, still in the banquet hall, fretting over whether someone might be speaking ill of her.

The moment that precarious image crossed his mind, Rayners' thoughts ground to a stop.

"Your Highness!?"

"What's come over you suddenly...!"

... When he finally came to his senses, two pairs of feet were in front of him.

Elphisia's and Harte's feet.

And he, the Second Prince, had forgotten all dignity and was prostrating himself on the grass.

Rayners raised only his eyes, still keeping his body low.

The bewildered faces of the two were vivid in the moonlight.

Meeting their gaze, Rayners spoke.

"Lord Harte."

"Y-Yes...! Your Highness!"

"I know well how extraordinary the bearer of a baptismal name is. After all, the imperial family has the right to read many of the Empire's secret histories."

Rayners knew well what title a life bearing a baptismal name carried.

Humanity's final line of defense.

God's vanguard, only revealed to the world when the age of man becomes corrupt. That was the true identity of the human called Harte before him.

"It was written that his words would proclaim miracles and his hands would balance the world. I still remember that text clearly."

"... What do you wish of me, Your Highness?"

"..."

Rayners fell silent.

He felt ashamed that while his tongue sang praises, his heart harbored desire. Yet he felt that if not now, he might never have another chance.

So he crawled to Harte's feet and, with tears in his eyes, begged:

"Change my body. I don't ask for much. Just... even if only these lumps of flesh would disappear... I know how base and shameful this request is, but I... I want to become someone my fiancée won't be ashamed of...!!!"

"Your Highness..."

"It's not that I lack the will to lose weight. But I fear that by the time I change from beast to man, she will no longer be by my side... I'm terribly anxious. Curse me, trample me if you wish, but please, share your miracle with me..."

His resolve came far too late.

He never imagined Linia Chandler would appear as if driven to the edge overnight.

He had mistaken her for strong because she was too good for him.

So he had been lazy. Never realizing the price would be so devastating.

If only his fiancée didn't find him repulsive, the shadow on her face might have lightened a little.

As Rayners pressed his forehead to the ground, Harte knelt on one knee and spoke.

"Your Highness... I understand your sincerity, but that's impossible."

"..."

"I'm sorry."

It wasn't that it was impossible even with a miracle. It was a matter of significance.

The typical order for manifesting miracles follows three steps:

Wish - Fusion - Manifestation.

Wish is the process of establishing the intent.

Fusion is using divinity to construct the foundation for the wished miracle.

Finally, Manifestation is the stage of bringing about the miracle from the constructed foundation.

In other words, if one were to pray for weight loss during the 'Wish' stage, it would be entirely possible to transform his body.

'... But that would be too much.'

Rayners' weight loss wasn't a matter of life and death.

Moreover, there was no guarantee it would dramatically alleviate someone's misfortune.

Though Harte had frequently used his divinity in the outside world, he hadn't completely disregarded principles.

Be it Court Count Arwel's son, Tina's circumstances, Glen's tragedy, or even hunting the dragon, he had revealed his divinity because the matters were extremely grave.

He did so because there was no hope for improvement unless a miracle occurred.

'Even this was a gamble, but...'

In truth, he should have stood by and done nothing, whether for Tina or Glen. That was the rule and fate of one bearing a baptismal name.

Even now, there were countless people living in worse conditions than Tina and Glen.

Would he bestow miracles upon all of them?

The answer was no.

The beneficiaries of miracles were simply lucky.

It was mere fortune, like finding a coin while walking down the street.

Thus, Harte had no choice but to help the prostrate prince to his feet.

"Please... please... don't push me away. I'll give you anything I have, I beg of you..."

"Your Highness. I truly am sorry."

Harte met the tear-soaked eyes of the prince squarely and continued.

"Your wish isn't as grave as a girl's misfortune and illegal auction, nor is it something that can be justified as righteous."

"Ugh... hic..."

"So let's do this."

Whether Tina or Glen, in the end, they were just lucky.

They were beneficiaries of fortune, like finding a coin on the street.

If the prince, flat on the ground, couldn't see that coin on the ground, wouldn't that be strange?

"I can't make you lose weight. But I might be able to heal serious injuries."

"What do you mean...?"

"I mean I can create an environment where it doesn't matter how much you push your body, Your Highness."

The deliberation was long.

Normally, he wouldn't even be able to make such a promise. But because the Pope had made a mistake, an opportunity to justify it had arisen.

At least, for this one night...

"My wife Elphisia received a blessing from His Holiness the Pope today. You saw that, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes, I did."

"To put it simply, it's a continuous healing. It won't heal external wounds like cuts from a blade... but it will immediately respond to injuries like sprains or knee problems."

"I understand."

"I'll give you the same blessing."

"... Ah!"

The prince finally seemed to understand, letting out an exclamation.

Receiving the blessing meant he could exercise without injury.

No matter how much he pushed his body, it wouldn't be a problem.

"If Your Highness's resolve is firm, you'll surely be able to change."

"Thank you... truly, thank you...!"

Above Rayners' head.

Golden particles flowed from Harte's hand.

It wasn't even a grand blessing.

It was a one-night workaround, only possible because the Pope had privately blessed Elphisia.

At least one person grasped a thread of hope from that stroke of luck.

---

---

"My... Harte is treading the line dangerously again~"

"Your Holiness seems to be looking beyond the horizon."

"It's more that I can't help but feel it? I am the window through which the Lord views the world, after all."

"That window of yours is quite something. To think the boy I saw at the coronation in my youth is still the same. This old body of mine is now careful even when walking."

Currently, the Pope was having a private audience with the Emperor at the head table.

The head table in the ballroom, from which even the Empress was excluded, was truly a holy place. People dancing below could only steal glances, busy guessing the content of their conversation.

In such an environment, the Pope opened the conversation.

"Your Majesty, do you know about the line that bearers of baptismal names must not cross?"

"I know such a thing exists, but..."

"Ah. It seems the previous emperor knew but didn't pass it on to you."

"Are you going to tell me? Is that necessary?"

"Your Majesty rules over humans, after all~. If you understand properly, you won't make unnecessary decisions, right?"

"..."

Originally, not knowing wouldn't have caused any problems. But now that Harte, God's vanguard, was known to the outside world, the Emperor needed to know about their line for Harte's own safety.

"There are two lines that bearers of baptismal names must not cross."

One is using divinity for personal desires.

The other is using divinity in betrayal of the justice they themselves uphold.

The Pope shrugged, having finished his concise explanation.

"... That's all."

"Truly like a clergy's textbook line."

"It's only natural since they've received God's name~"

Silence enveloped the two for a while.

One was reminiscing about the past, while the other was simply grinning without a thought.

Finally, the Emperor, who had been recalling distant memories, spoke up.

"I disliked the temple. To be precise, I hated the deity you serve."

"Honesty is a good thing."

"I've always wondered why a being more perfect than humans doesn't rule over us, that way there would be no mistakes. I simply dismissed it as the laziness and laxity of an exalted being."

"Have you found an answer now?"

"It's mere conjecture, but hearing about the line that bearers of baptismal names must not cross, I think I get it."

"Oh?"

The Emperor closed his eyes gently and rested his head comfortably on the chair.

Then, for the first time in his life, he offered an answer derived by ignoring reason.

"If omnipotence were to intervene in human history, it could no longer be called human history. If a society where everything is abundant and resolved simply by believing and following were to come... we would have no choice but to equate the relationship between humans and gods to that of livestock and farmers."

The paradox of losing freedom in paradise.

The contradiction of devolving into livestock for a better world was the very essence of rule by divine authority.

Subjugation in place of sorrow.

Control in place of sin.

Pleasure in place of diligence.

Perhaps the rule of a superior being would be something like that. That was the answer the Emperor had derived in his own way.

"Aha ha."

The Pope let out a light chuckle.

"You're somewhat correct. Without being grandiose about it, the Lord simply wants to respect freedom."

"Is that why the baptismal name is 'humanity's final line of defense'?"

"As expected, you're wise, Your Majesty."

The omnipotence that appears in the end times, rife with corruption and decadence, was indeed the baptismal name and humanity's final line of defense.

Such was the final mechanism to maintain human history.

A moment later, the Pope lowered his voice with a soft sigh.

"Your Majesty."

"Speak."

"The balance has been broken. It seems our Lord, who respects humanity, has made an absurd mistake."

"... Is it alright for one who calls himself the Lord's window to say such things?"

"Unfortunately, there's no one to replace me, so... haha."

The Pope's expression turned cold after saying that much.

"In the past, there was a balance with the power of the demon god worshipped in the demon realm... but it's different now. The demon god might directly intervene in the demon realm."

"Are you saying war will break out?"

"It might. Though the reasons are unclear, it seems they're quite angry. If I were to pinpoint the fundamental cause, it would probably be..."

The Pope watched the couple who had just returned to the ballroom.

Harte and Elphisia Luminel.

They were the anomalies of this era.

"It seems to be our runaway knight and his wife."