The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 77



77. The Nun and the Prince (1)

* * *

I checked the cut of Ares’s flushed face, a smile of certainty spreading across my face.

‘He’s falling for it so easily.’

There was a good reason why I was going so far to sway him towards the religious side.

‘Ares thinks it’s nothing for someone to sacrifice themselves.’

To consider the sacrifice of the few for the many as natural.

That was, in a way, an extremely dangerous thought.

I recalled the chat with the writer from just now.

* * *

[Leegoogoodeon: (Sponsorship / 3,000 won / J) ]

[Leegoogoodeon: This time, the clean-cut fact going in is temporary.]

[Leegoogoodeon: Starting with deploying a woman with a pretty smile,]

[Leegoogoodeon: Let’s steal his soul so thoroughly he can’t help but believe in god.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: Thank you so much for the sponsorship! You have shared your power with me again.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: Of course, I will do as you wish… but I have a question.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: What exactly is a ‘temporary clean-cut fact’?]

[Leegoogoodeon: Just as it sounds.]

[Leegoogoodeon: The clean-cut fact of god is applied on a temporary basis.]

[Leegoogoodeon: We’ll let Ares taste the thing he needs most for just a little while, then drive him crazy.]

[Leegoogoodeon: After that, it’s simple.]

[Leegoogoodeon: ‘You want more of that? Then believe in god’ *thwack*!]

[Leegoogoodeon: Kya! Leegoogoodeon! Long live Leegoogoodeon-nim!]

[Leegoogoodeon: This is how you easily increase believers like eating cake!]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: I understand.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: So then, what do you plan to bestow upon Ares?]

[ Igwogwodon: Like I said before, I think it would be good to deploy a pretty girl… ]

[ Igwogwodon: To be more specific, I think we need to know Ares’s inner workings ]

[ Igwogwodon: Sorry, but could you observe and make a short comic about who Ares is, like you did for those Paladin guys before? ]

[ GimmeMoney: You’ve bestowed power upon me, how could I possibly go against your will, Igwogwodon-nim? ]

[ GimmeMoney: It’ll take some time, but I’ll observe as quickly as possible ]

[ Igwogwodon: kkk ]

A few tens of minutes later.

I was able to check the short comic about Ares through the link the author sent—

‘No way… .’

—The information I learned from it was incredibly shocking.

Ares von Einzberg.

As a child, he was favored by his mother, the previous empress Aisha, and mastered various fields of study.

In the midst of that, while studying history, he came to realize the absolute contradiction of a monarchy—the risk the empire has to bear when the monarch isn’t a capable person.

What had just been a thought, became concrete with the appearance of Eirene, who implemented various hardline policies to strengthen the imperial power in the chaotic situation after his mother’s death.

This can’t go on.

I have to step up.

The fact that the imperial blood runs in my veins is a divine revelation to clear away the contradictory monarchy and establish a new political system—that was the fundamental way of thinking for Ares.

He wasn’t an evil person in himself.

It was also true that he prioritized the happiness of all people, not his own advancement, in this transformation.

However, like how unquestioning justice can sometimes be more dangerous than evil—he took a certain scale of sacrifice for granted.

Just like they’d carelessly toss their own lives onto the scales, they think that if someone suffers a little unfairness during a revolution, well, it’s unavoidable for the greater good.

I’m in my late twenties, so you can’t exactly call me old.

Even so, I know how far a group that firmly believes they are righteous can run amok.

In that sense, Ares was definitely a dangerous figure. It wasn’t just about protecting Eirene – if we left him alone, there was a real chance innocent Erin could get hurt.

Even in the webtoon, they said things like ‘we need to watch Erin closely’ after all.

But.

There was something that Ares, with his smarts and righteous ideals, was missing – and that was the fact that…

‘God exists.’

God does exist.

Even today, they’re scrolling up and down, looking over the world.

Right here, right now, I’m watching you, Ares.

I can see clearly what you’re thinking, and what you need.

‘I’ll show you exactly what the grace of God is.’

Thinking that, I explained the ‘raw facts’ in detail to the chatroom with the author.

[Igwogweodon: It’s about like this]

[Igwogweodon: How is it?]

[GiveMeMoney: At that level, it seems more than achievable]

[GiveMeMoney: However, after using up 3,000 won worth of power, it appears it will lose its sustainability]

[Igwogweodon : It’s fine]

[Igwogweodon: That’s exactly what I’m aiming for]

It was more of a problem if it was kept being given to me.

Even if you don’t believe in God, it’s not something that springs up so readily, this plain fact.

[GimmeMoney: God’s will… that is the temporary plain fact]

[GimmeMoney: The world’s response has begun to move]

[GimmeMoney: I will endeavor to ensure that this observation is also satisfactory]

I stretched lightly.

Let’s quickly summarize it.

What I want to convey to him this time is——

* * *

Hold on.

Let’s stay calm.

Ares barely managed to tear his gaze away from the nun’s habit that was pulling at his eyes.

Nuns’ attire, however much it conforms to doctrine, had a somewhat lewd aspect to it – so nuns were the only ones who wore it.

What was unexpected was that he hadn’t even imagined they would already be here.

‘The Order is acting surprisingly transparently, huh.’

After pulling his gaze away from the violently slit nun’s habit, his briefly halted mind began to turn again.

A honey trap, perhaps?

That they would try to reduce the resistance to religion in this way… It made him feel like Saint Erin, perhaps, knew more about him than he had thought.

He had written a book, but not yet published it, and had been holed up ever since his mother converted to the Guerdon Church, yet she was aware of his wariness towards religion?

Duke Kal Bayan didn’t believe in the Guerdon Church, so there was no way he would have told her… And considering that it wasn’t likely that Yuliana Eirene would be keeping tabs on him, it was almost frightening the extent of her insight.

‘Sorry, Saintess. My wariness hasn’t lessened, it’s actually gotten worse.’

Anyway, the important thing is not to act rashly.

And at the same time, not to fall for the plausible sweet talk flowing from her lips.

The first one is understandable, but honestly, the second one doesn’t even need to be etched in my mind-

Thinking that, a bit overconfident, I slowly turned my head towards the nun.

The holy power pouch, yanking my gaze again, shook Ares’ heart once more, but I quickly managed to counter it by thinking something else.

“Welcome, Sister. I heard about you, but you came very quickly, didn’t you?”

“Hehe, yes! It was supposed to be from tomorrow, but I wanted to spread the will of God to Prince Ares even one day sooner, so I just came today!”

“……Is that alright?”

“Of course! Ah… perhaps, were you a little inconvenient…?”

Looking up at me with those bright, clear eyes, I couldn’t quite meet Karen’s gaze and awkwardly avoided her eyes, saying.

“No, well… I’m fine, but I was just wondering if *you* might be troubled, or, well…”

I had decided to treat her normally.

Why is it so difficult to deal with her like this?

“That’s a relief!”

Watching Karen smile brightly again, Ares cleared his head to try and maintain his composition.

‘Don’t be charmed by a mere woman, Ares.’

Well, thinking coldly, this kind of delicate relationship is just for now.

Once talk of religion comes up, I’ll quickly lose interest and feel a subtle distance from her, that’s for sure.

As someone who doesn’t believe in God, there was never any fun in listening to religious stories.

So, it was right when I was thinking, ‘I wish we’d just hurry up and start the Bible study already.’

“Wow… Even a prince’s room is pretty much the same as any guy’s. My little brother’s whole thing was messing up his room, so cleaning up was always my job.”

Karen, as if it was nothing, just waltzed into the room, starting to look around.

“Sister? I don’t mind you coming in, but at least you should sit in that spot over there first-“

“Oh my. Chess? Were you playing by yourself?”

She was just so headstrong, but –

Every time she swayed, I’d catch glimpses of her thigh and hip, or the holy power pouch bouncing lightly, and Ares’ mind would get all messed up again. Instead of responding properly, he just gave in, answering with resignation.

“…Yes, I was.”

Even though he was preaching about change and whatnot, he was just a young man, barely old enough to get married.

Meaning, he was at the stage where he felt an overwhelmingly strong pull toward the female form.

‘… Wait a minute.’

“Hold on, just a second. How did you realize I was playing alone?”

From noble mtl dot com

Karen tilted her head, as if asking why I was asking something so obvious, and answered with an audacious expression.

“Huh? Well… seeing the way the pieces moved, it felt like you were thinking alone. Why?”

“You could see that?”

“Yes!”

… What the hell?

Just as I started wondering if she was just trying to humor me, Karen clapped her hands, and then, her face bursting with a bright, beaming smile, she said,

“Oh! Now that we’re talking about it, shall we play chess together?”

“Huh? No, well…it doesn’t really matter, but weren’t you here for Bible study?”

“That’s important too, but becoming friends with Your Highness is extremely important as well!”

‘… It’d be pretty hard to beat me at chess.’

Ares swallowed the thought rising within him, offering a wry smile instead.

His chess skill was one of the few things he took pride in, a habit he enjoyed.

Right. No need to overwhelm her, he could just play a casual game of welcoming chess.

Not that he’d let her win just to be nice.

Maybe he’d just describe a close match, that’s what he was thinking.

“Alright then, go ahead and make your move.”

* * *

And then, had it been several tens of minutes?

“……”

Ares, both hands neatly clasped, stared intently at the chessboard.

No matter what move he made here… he couldn’t prevent the checkmate in three moves…?

No matter how hard he stared at the pieces, no good solution surfaced. He was even starting to feel, he didn’t know when it started, that he’d already lost a while ago.

Forget about going easy on her, if he lost this game it would be his third consecutive loss.

Ares couldn’t believe it.

That he was losing at chess, three times in a row, to someone else!

This was a catastrophe unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his life.

He lifted his head to look at Karen, who was still grinning brightly.

“Goddamn it… What the hell is this woman?”

Ares slowly lowered his head, gnawing at his lip with his teeth… and was left with no choice but to utter those words again.

“…I forfeit.”

“You did great, Your Highness! This game was fun, too!”

“Have you ever learned how to play chess?”

“I’ve never actually learned it, I just picked it up playing with my younger brother! It’s fun. That’s how I naturally became interested in board games in general.”

Younger brother, huh.

She looks like she’s around my age, but maybe I’m the younger one to her. To work at the Great Cathedral of Igwogwon, one needs to have been on the path of clergy for more than six years, and the formal age of consecration as a nun is 18.

‘She plays this well, and she’s never even learned it?’

“Oh, Your Highness! If you don’t mind, would you like me to tell you where you went wrong?”

“…Huh?”

“Until you said you were forfeiting, you had this incredibly devastated look, like you were saying, ‘How did things get this bad?’”

‘Was I really?’

I thought I was hiding it, but it seems I couldn’t keep my emotions from showing.

What should I do?

Learning a thing from another person, especially about chess, which is a matter of pride, was humiliating-

But at the same time, I was curious about the insight of someone who could push me this far.

Ares was interested in board games, including chess, as he was in changing the world.

“…I’d appreciate it.”

“Okay! Just a moment.”

With practiced dexterity, she retreated precisely seven spaces—

Then, she slowly rose from her seat… and approached where Ares stood.

The scent of perfume, presumably hers, sharply assaulted Ares’s nose.

And at that same instant—

—*Squish!*

‘!!!!!!’

Karen, clad in her nun’s habit, her violent side-boob making brutal contact with Ares’s arm.

“Here, Your Highness, you moved your Knight for defense, right? Actually, it wasn’t a very good move. As you saw, if I remove that piece there, it opens a path for my Bishop… ”

*Thump, thump.*

She was clearly saying something, but he could barely even hear what it was.

His hearing was lost, but in its place, another sense was amplified—touch.

Because of that *squishy, ​​soft, jiggly* chest, it was impossible to focus on the game.

It was strange.

Coming here for Bible study and then playing chess with him.

Starting without a second thought, but by now, a disaster of unforeseen proportions, he’d become seriously engrossed in the game.

And… being continuously led and having the initiative taken from him by this older woman.

In this situation, all Ares could do was—

‘Don’t lose it, be calm, be calm, be calm… .’

—Just try to control yourself.