I Can Hear the Saint’s True Feelings

At first, I thought Victoria was just messing with me.

Her heart was as troublesome and venomous as a snake coiling in her chest, so it wouldn’t be wrong to say that her personality was annoyingly harsh and sharp.

There was the time when, after having a drink, she mocked me for addressing her with honorifics, saying, “Yes, I am your saint, Victoria,” and teased me for days.

“Hey, Victoria, did you put some kind of spell on me?”

“…Me? Are you out of your mind? Or have you lost your sanity because you’ve made someone as beautiful as me your lover?”

Victoria scoffed as if my question was absurd and shot me a look of contempt.

However…

Oh no…! Could it be that the contract relationship is really working? What if you’re starting to see me as a woman…?! Oh, I’m not ready for this yet…!

A voice, filled with embarrassment, trailed off, and another one—completely opposite—began to echo in my mind.

Finally, am I seeing the fruit of my year-long unrequited love?! Thank you for the advice, Heavenly One…!

“Are you sick or something…?”

I muttered in disbelief. Victoria, the saint, who had always argued with me, had secretly liked me all along?

Impossible. There was no way.

She, who never hesitated to criticize and mock me, even taking away my alcohol and cigarettes, could never be in love with me.

“I already knew you weren’t normal, but I’ll overlook it this time.”

Victoria sighed, as if resigned to it, and placed her hand on my forehead. A warm sensation spread through my body, soft and comforting.

“There’s no fever, but… have you consumed something strange? Well, considering you drink and smoke like that, it might be withdrawal symptoms.”

If anyone had seen us, they would have thought we were lovers, so accustomed to physical contact were we.

After all, we had crossed many life-threatening obstacles together in order to defeat the Demon Lord. It wasn’t unusual to see one another injured or even put back together after losing limbs.

Ah, your eyelashes are long. How can someone be this handsome? Did the Heavenly One make a mistake or something?

Victoria’s serious face was in stark contrast to the voice in my mind.

“….”

“…? What’s wrong?”

I stared at her, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Perhaps she was playing some kind of trick to gain leverage over me.

Ah, your blue eyes are so captivating. I feel like I could get lost in them. I wish time would stop…

In the Blue Tower I had once belonged to, it wasn’t uncommon to tease each other with wands or magic, so I thought it reasonable to be suspicious of this.

“Did I do something to upset you? Was the contract relationship a trick from the start? Are you trying to pull some scheme now?”

I carefully pulled away from Victoria, making sure not to harm the flowers blooming on her body.

The flowers were a side effect of the miracles she used. They were connected to sensitive nerves, and I had to be cautious not to touch them wrongly.

“Why would I go through all this trouble for someone as clueless and unattractive as you? This is really a pointless question.”

Victoria, who had distanced herself slightly from me, narrowed her brows and glared at me.

Yes, you’re right, it’s a trick. I want you to understand how I feel…

The voices in my head were absurd, even for someone who had been a part of the Blue Tower and seen similar tricks.

She, known as the most beautiful woman in the continent, with men admiring her everywhere, couldn’t possibly have concocted such a complex scheme just to get me.

“…Dispel.”

I couldn’t understand it, but I ended up using a spell to remove the illusion myself.

I’d rather believe that someone jealous of our relationship was using mental manipulation against me.

Having even been mentioned as a possible candidate for the next leader of the Blue Tower, I never expected to end up in such a puzzling situation.

“Is this an attack from the enemy? If you want, I can help with my holy power…”

“No, don’t use miracles on me.”

I immediately stopped Victoria, who was about to use a miracle. Her miracles required a sacrifice of both body and mind to make the impossible possible.

“Stop crying about your pain at night and save your energy for when it really matters.”

I didn’t want Victoria to sacrifice herself, so I endured with potions and healing magic instead.

It was unbearable for me to see someone innocent, just because they were chosen as a saint, suffer.

The flowers that bloomed with her miracles caused extreme pain to her body.

I had learned this after finding her, once, biting a cloth to bear the pain, drenched in cold sweat.

“…You’re always so consistent, aren’t you?”

That’s exactly why I like you.

“….”

Victoria smiled slightly, seemingly relieved, as she saw my reaction.

For the first time, I felt like something was finally falling into place.

“So, don’t you think there’s something missing?”

Victoria stood beside me, lightly tapping my hand with her fingers. She was hinting that she wanted to hold my hand again, just like she had earlier.

If I do this, I can subtly appeal to him to hold my hand without making it awkward, right? I read in romance novels that you’re supposed to naturally request physical contact!

It was then that I realized the second voice I was hearing was actually Victoria’s inner thoughts. Though I didn’t understand the cause or mechanism, there were clear emotions in the words she was speaking.

“I didn’t realize I was neglecting my girlfriend’s hand. I thought it was cold, so I let go of it on purpose.”

I said this in an overly sweet tone, grabbing Victoria’s hand roughly, hoping that if these inner thoughts were really hers, I’d get some reaction.

“I didn’t think you’d be so clueless about these things.”

Oh no, oh no, oh no…!

Victoria’s breath was heavy. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her body temperature had risen, reaching her ears.

I think I’m sweating… Please don’t think I’m being a nuisance…

Suddenly, I felt her hand getting clammy in mine, and I could hear the panicked voice in her mind.

At this point, one of two things seemed certain.

Either I had completely lost my mind by entering into a contract relationship with the saint, or Victoria’s inner thoughts were indeed reaching me.

“What do you think of me?”

“A drunkard, a smoker, good at magic, but completely clueless when it comes to women.”

A drunkard, a smoker, good at magic, but completely clueless when it comes to women.

This time, the voices overlapped. It seemed like her inner thoughts and spoken words were finally matching.

“I knew you’d say that…”

I sighed, realizing I had expected too much.

But, you’re kinder than anyone else.

As I reacted, Victoria gently brushed her shoulder against mine.

“Still, I think you’re a pretty decent mage.”

She smiled brightly, her laughter sounding cheerful.

“……”

At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel like I had truly lost my mind.

For the first time in a year, I had heard a compliment from Victoria.

‘D-did I get caught…?’

Victoria, the saint with blood from both a Gold Dragon and a human, stepped away from Astral for a moment to reflect on what had just happened.

‘I thought my heart was going to explode…’

She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart. She hated that she was so flustered just from holding his hand.

The contract relationship had never been her idea in the first place. It was a suggestion she had received when asking for advice from the Heavenly One.

[So, you’ve secretly liked Astral for a year? How cruel. How could you fall for someone like him…]

[Please refrain from such harsh words. No matter who the Heavenly One is, insulting my love is unforgivable.]

A few days ago, while drinking, Victoria had poured her heart out in prayer, confessing her feelings for Astral.

[So, you want to win his favor? There are methods like making a contract with the goddess of love to charm the other person.]

[Isn’t there a more natural way?]

Victoria didn’t want to force Astral to love her. She just wanted to see him fall for her on his own.

[There’s a way to make him realize naturally. You could try dating him as a test.]

A contract relationship, you mean…?

That was the solution that came to her—the contract relationship.

[If it doesn’t work, you can go back to being friends. Who knows, the experience of actually dating might make the infatuation fade.]

….

[He’s really handsome, but you know, a face isn’t everything. What matters is his character.]

Victoria couldn’t help but agree with that last point. When she had been tricked by the Succubus Queen’s dream, she had genuinely thought Astral was confessing his feelings for her.

Upon seeing that, she had been so happy that she screamed and fainted.

[Since it’s come to this, you should also deal with the Succubus Queen’s dream manipulation. If you faint like last time, it will be a big problem.]

This was a secret only known between women. The Heavenly One had worried about Victoria and had helped her come up with a strategy.

‘Thank you so much, Heavenly One.’

Victoria thought back to the events of the past few days and silently offered her prayers of thanks.

The contract relationship had given her a chance to take a step closer to the person she liked.

“…In the name of Lumina the Heavenly One, please forgive me for lying to you.”

Victoria lightly tapped her shoulder and made the sign of the cross. It was a habit she had formed to cope with the guilt she felt in her heart.

“My feelings have already grown uncontrollably, and I’m afraid of being rejected by you.”

She continued to lie to the person she loved.