The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

Chapter 242

It had been a week since Ian Blackangers had gone missing.

At the Vatican of Holy Constantine, they were busy welcoming a new saint.

Aria Lumines.

But there was something strange about the newly enthroned saint.

“...Hahaha.”

Oscar Javert, the inquisitor, let out a breath that might have been a sigh—or a laugh—while looking at Aria, who lay collapsed on the floor in her saintly robes.

The knight who had once guarded her when she was merely a candidate, Dave, was currently on trial. He had committed numerous crimes, and execution was all but certain.

“Still, I don’t understand why I have to guard her. I have so many other things to do, haha.”

Oscar crouched down with a grin, meeting the eyes of Aria, who was lying there in tears.

“Saint.”

There was no response from her.

She didn’t even flinch, let alone turn her gaze. Her pupils didn’t waver in the slightest.

“Hmm. It would be better if you looked at me a little.”

Srrrk.

Oscar absentmindedly played with a small portable torture tool before shaking his head.

She was a saint, after all.

“Haha...”

In any case, his job today was simply to take her to the Revelation ritual.

He couldn’t exactly torture her just to get her to move.

“Well, not that torture would mean much to her at this point.”

Aria had already been dragged to rock bottom as a human being.

From what Oscar could see, she was already enduring the worst kind of mental torment.

“...Ian.”

That was all she kept mumbling.

Torture wouldn’t mean much now.

Oscar scratched his head with a smile.

He wasn’t particularly skilled at persuasion—outside of torture, that is.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

“I am also cooperating in the search for Ian Blackangers.”

“...Huh?”

The saint blankly looked up at him, her face streaked with tears.

How had a woman like this ascended to sainthood?

Oscar recalled the Saint Trial and merely chuckled.

During the trial, Aria had crushed every ordeal in her way as if nothing else mattered—solely to find Ian.

It was at that moment that she had undeniably been a saint.

But after she had passed the trial, the Vatican had suddenly abandoned its search for Ian, and everything collapsed.

‘Now that she’s a saint, she could build her own faction.’

Oscar shrugged.

That was her problem to deal with.

Once today’s ceremony was over, she would be able to officially act as the saint.

After that, Oscar planned to search for Ian on his own.

He grabbed Aria’s chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, and spoke.

“If you truly wish to serve Ian, then let’s go receive the Revelation.”

“...Revelation?”

“It is the final step of your ascension as a saint.”

“N-no... Ian is...”

“The fate of that Ian may come down as a revelation.”

“The Revelation may reveal Ian’s fate.”

Aria’s eyes lit up.

At that moment, Oscar realized how to handle the saint.

◆

Aria took slow, unsteady steps.

Her body swayed as she walked.

The exhaustion from the Saint Trial, combined with her broken spirit, had left her in shambles.

But now, she was heading to receive the Revelation—the final step in being recognized as an official saint.

‘Ian...!’

As if her earlier mental breakdown had never happened, her mind was suddenly clear.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

‘If I receive the Revelation, I might find a clue...!’

The only reason she had attempted the Saint Trial again and passed was to meet Ian.

But after becoming a saint, she learned the truth.

Ian had already left the Vatican.

He had disappeared.

It was unbearable.

Tears streamed down her face.

She had wandered aimlessly around the area of his disappearance, only to be forcibly dragged back to the Vatican by the knights.

It was unfair.

“Duke Blitter personally contacted us?”

The Foreign Minister of the Britannian Empire.

Silvia’s eyes gleamed.

Her objective was clear.

To move the Empire in order to track Ian’s whereabouts.

From what Silvia deduced, Ian had been abducted by someone highly influential within the Bloodstone Cult.

‘He vanished without a trace.’

Ian had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

There was no way he had left on his own. That meant he had been taken by an exceptionally powerful being.

Silvia still found it difficult to accept the situation.

Just how incredibly fast would someone have to be to snatch a person away without anyone noticing—even in a crowded setting?

Unless... it was someone with abilities related to space or time.

Either way, it meant that someone equivalent to a Great Magician of a nation had been involved.

‘There’s absolutely no way we can handle this on our own.’

If someone of that caliber within the Bloodstone Cult had moved, it was likely the Cult Leader or a direct subordinate.

That meant the cult’s leadership was involved.

A force at the national subjugation level would be necessary.

The Empire, Holy Constantine, and other factions—all of them would have to be mobilized.

It might seem excessive to deploy such forces just to rescue a single student.

‘But making the impossible possible—that’s politics.’

The Foreign Minister of the Empire.

Duke Blitter’s contact was therefore incredibly significant.

‘The fact that they reached out first—that alone is important.’

Of course, securing direct aid immediately would be difficult.

However, with the right negotiation, she could at least obtain cooperation on several key matters.

That alone would be enough.

‘Having them as a direct backer would be reassuring, but...’

...That was unlikely.

The other party was a duke of the Empire.

Moving someone of that stature through lobbying alone would require at least tens of billions of Krone.

That was just the cost of involving them in a single matter.

And there were countless individuals vying for even the opportunity to pay such a price.

That opportunity had now presented itself.

“We can gather lobbying funds somehow... We should be able to influence three to four key issues in our favor.”

She nodded to her secretary, who had delivered the duke’s letter, then spoke.

“What did Duke Blitter say? Do we have room to respond?”

The secretary nodded before reading the letter aloud.

“Dear Lady Silvia, I owe my life to that boy, Ian. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. I will lend my strength. That is all.”

“...What? What did you just say?”

Silvia’s eyes widened.

He said to let him know if we needed help?

A duke of the Empire?

Was she hearing this correctly?

Silvia tilted her head, wondering if she had misheard.

“He said to let him know if we require assistance.”

Even the chief secretary muttered blankly, as if unable to believe it.

And rightfully so.

For a duke to voluntarily extend a hand—such a thing was practically unheard of.

Silvia took the letter and read it again.

The elegant handwriting left no doubt.

The ink was still fresh.

Reading it once more, she found the reason.

“...The duke says he owes Ian his life.”

“...What?”

The secretary’s voice was filled with disbelief.

Silvia simply stared blankly at the letter.

How—under what circumstances—had Ian saved one of the most powerful figures in the Empire?

Just what kind of things had Ian been getting himself involved in?

What on earth...

“...Why is he always so extraordinary?”

She unconsciously muttered in admiration before quickly shaking her head.

This wasn’t the time to be overwhelmed by emotions.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her coat.

“I’m heading to the capital.”

She was going to the Imperial Capital.

The pieces needed to move the Empire were now in place.