* * *
After the war with the demons, the Great Temple had been established to purify the cursed lands.
But with most of the priests perishing in the conflict, those who remained were too few to purify the entire continent.
If the miasma wasn’t fully purified, those who barely survived would fall into ruin once more—and the demon invasion would resume.
In their despair, the grace of God descended upon them.
God promised the weak a savior—a sacred soul would be sent to protect the land from the demons.
Guides, called by the divine, scoured the continent in search of these sacred souls.
And thus, the existence of the ‘Saintess’—the representative of the Great Temple—was born.
The Saintess would bestow divine blessings on the worthy, in accordance with God’s will.
Those blessed by the Saintess purified the land and were hailed as great ‘Agents’ acting on behalf of God.
Thanks to their efforts, the Great Temple succeeded in purifying the frozen lands and protecting the Empire from future demonic threats.
But there was one closely guarded secret:
Sometimes, the Saintess was born in a male body.
Despite being biologically male, these individuals could conceive children through the Moon’s blessing.
The temple kept this truth hidden from the public.
In return for marrying the Saintess and protecting that secret, the Imperial family retained their absolute authority.
Thus, the existence of male Saintesses became a secret known only to the temple and the royal family.
The guide told the Countess to raise the child as a Saintess and then left.
From then on, House Vershel raised Frey under the strict surveillance of the Great Temple—preparing to summon him to the Temple once the time came.
Count Vershel was pleased with the chance to secure divine protection for his house.
But the Countess was devastated.
She couldn’t accept that her remaining son had to be raised in place of her dead daughter—as a Saintess.
“You are a mistaken child.”
The Countess repeated this phrase like a mantra each day—and eventually, she acted on it.
She hired the assassin’s guild to kill the ‘daughter’ of House Vershel.
“That’s how I met Danie.”
“……”
Ranshel could only gape in silence.
So basically… he got pulled into a dating sim, became the villain in Zavad Pomel’s route, and now it turned out that the heroine… wasn’t even a heroine?
‘What the hell kind of bullsh*t is this…?’
Ranshel tried to retrace where, exactly, things went wrong.
This was the same game Eunhye used to play.
Frey might not be the Frey he knew, but everything else was uncannily similar.
Then why did it turn out like this?
As he mulled it over, a certain possibility flickered through Ranshel’s mind.
The additional side story for the Zavad route.
It required payment, so he never got to see it, but he definitely remembered the game company releasing it.
He even remembered the tagline from the promo.
[Enjoy a familiar game in a brand-new way!]
Back then, Ranshel assumed it was just a new episode for Zavad’s route—but what if it wasn’t just that?
What if… the game company had added a gender-selection mode for the protagonist?
And what if they tweaked the story slightly to accommodate it…?
‘Are these devs out of their damn minds…?’
Ranshel rubbed his flushed face with the palm of his hand.
‘…Calm down.’
It was one thing if he were a child, but it was baffling how a grown man could maintain that appearance.
Still, it wasn’t entirely without explanation.
After all, this world had demonic plants from the demon realm that defied human logic.
They’d said he’d been raised and managed as a “Saintess” since childhood, so they must’ve been administering some sort of drug.
Ranshel pressed firmly on the frown that had started to crease between his brows.
More than that, there was something else Ranshel really needed to be wondering about.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
This was a secret known only to a select few, even within the Holy Palace—so why was it being revealed to him first?
Frey smiled softly.
“Because there’s something I need you to do, Ranshel.”
“And that is…?”
Just as he was about to ask further, the carriage, which had been speeding along, came to an abrupt stop.
Frey gestured toward the door with a flick of his fingers.
“We should move our conversation elsewhere. Will you escort me?”
“…Of course.”
Ranshel opened the door first and held out his hand to Frey.
Frey took his hand and gracefully stepped down before walking ahead, light on his feet.
Ranshel took a step back and followed.
Whether standing by the carriage or walking down the road, Frey looked every inch the dignified daughter of a noble count.
If Ranshel hadn’t heard it straight from him, he would’ve dismissed it as the drunken babbling of a madman.
Frey must have been meticulously trained to avoid raising suspicion from anyone.
‘There’s no such thing as an easy life.’
Ranshel followed Frey into the parlor.
They had barely sat down before the large tea table was filled with a variety of tempting treats—cakes, macarons, éclairs, soufflés, and more.
“…You planned this, didn’t you?”
Given how fast the setup was, they had clearly known of the visit in advance and prepared accordingly.
Frey smiled and pointed at a shortcake topped with a large strawberry.
A waiting maid moved the plate in front of Ranshel.
“I was happy to get a chance to meet with you like this, so I made a small preparation. Let’s have a relaxed chat while enjoying some sweets.”
“…I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t really have an appetite.”
There was no way he could eat in a situation like this.
Still, Ranshel stifled a sigh and picked up a fork.
‘Just the big strawberry,’ he told himself.
Ever since Zavad’s bizarre eating habits took over, he hadn’t had much of a chance to enjoy food.
This was a rare opportunity.
But once he popped the strawberry in his mouth, the cream followed, and the soft sponge came with it.
At Frey’s gesture, the maid placed another cake in front of him.
Ranshel ate that one too.
By the time he snapped back to his senses, three plates of cake had vanished.
It wasn’t until he’d finished a cup of hot tea that he jolted and looked up in surprise.
“Wait… When you said you had something to give me, were you talking about cake?”
“Not exactly, but I’m glad to see you enjoyed it.”
“…I really wasn’t that hungry. I’ll stop here.”
Was this a ploy to lure him in with sugar?
Ranshel set the fork down with a trembling hand.
“You’re welcome to have more.”
That gentle voice almost made his hand reach for the fork again on its own.
Ranshel had to grab his right hand with his left and shove it under the table.
“Then… what was the reason you brought me here?”
This time, instead of pointing to another plate, Frey raised his hand in the air.
At once, the maids waiting nearby exited the room.
Once the two of them were alone, Frey finally spoke.
“To tell the truth… the reason I called you here today was to bestow a blessing. I want you to become the divine proxy who stands against the demons.”
“…Excuse me?”
* * *
