Chapter 1

The Abandoned Saintess and the Demon

Chapter 1

Atria, the capital of the Empire, was burning up from the excitement of the festival. It was the first anniversary of the day they gained victory over the ghastly Demon King and the demons. As it was the Victory Day, the streets were crowded with people who had put off their work and had come out to the streets, and every little open space was filled with the merry laughter of the singing and dancing people.

The festival led by the emperor was not only celebrated in the capital, but a similar festival was also being held in various parts of the Empire.

A revelation was passed down by the Goddess ten years ago. It was said that the Demon King Carlen had descended into the world of mortals and was conspiring to take over the continent.

The temple was deeply shocked. Demons were descendants of darkness who did not worship the Goddess and although they had human-like appearances, they were a cruel and vicious bunch. If their leader, the Demon King, took over the world of mortals, it was pretty obvious what would happen to the humans living on the continent.

Fortunately, the Goddess also sent a way to overcome this dismal situation along with it.

A maiden appeared with a divine light on the altar in the prayer room, where only the high priest and the emperor could enter. Her black hair and black eyes that did not exist in this world were as profound and pure as that of the Goddess. She was destined to prevent the Demon King from staying in this world for good.

The entire continent was enthusiastic about the appearance of the saint. She was a big ray of hope to fight against the evil called the Demon King who was more frightening and terrifying than a natural disaster.

True to people’s expectations, the saintess fought on par with the Demon King without faltering for a moment and eventually led them to victory.

Although the saintess returned to the arms of the Goddess immediately after killing the Demon King, the victory and peace she left behind remained burning in the hearts of the people of the Empire.

“For the Raven-haired Saintess!”

Someone in the square shouted, unable to contain his excitement. At his lead, people around him also shouted, stretching their right hand into the air.

“For Saintess Yoo Jinah!”

Waaaaaaaah!

Today’s celebration was fervid, as if reliving the same excitement that of year before.

Except for only one person here.

There was a woman who did not like the faces of these people who were full of happiness.

Her name was Yoo Jinah. She was the saintess from another world whose name was being fervently cried out outside.

She was wrapped in a dark gray robe, covering her body from head to toe with only the tips of her pale fingers visible.

The inside of the carriage was already dark because of the thick curtains, but she wasn’t satisfied with that and pulled the curtains closer to prevent the rays of sunlight from coming inside.

She nervously tapped her feet, but it didn’t make her feel better.

“If you’re doing this for my sake, then don’t block the roads.”

Unlike her words, Jinah pulled her hood down lower. Saintess Yoo Jinah, who was known to have returned to the goddess’ arms, was now cooped inside a carriage that was caught up in the crowds. She was waiting for the carriage to move forward even a little.

“What festival? What the hell are you celebrating?”

Her words had a trace of hidden meaning. That was because for Saintess Yoo Jinah, one year ago, today was the worst day of her life. This idea of celebrating that day by crying out her name seemed deceptive beyond the point of irony to her. She was said to have returned to the arms of the goddess, so why was she in the middle of the capital of the empire?

‘ Why did I become like this…?’

Jinah recalled her long journey that ended last year.

* * *

Ten years ago, Jinah was an ordinary high school student. She was running late on that day because she had overslept, and while taking a corner, she fell. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a different world.

The people with colorful hair, which she had only seen in manhwas, called her a Saintess. She naturally told them that they had misunderstood something, but when she heard the voice of the Goddess, she could no longer deny it.

After that, like in everybody’s knowledge, she devoted herself to defeating the Demon King as a saintess. She learned about the world’s society—that was completely different—, took sword lessons, and learned how to control her divine power.

‘Those were the days when I studied the most in my life to the point of blowing my brains out.’

Jinah vaguely remembered those days.

She had to start from finding the Demon King because at that time, she didn’t know that the Demon King had possessed the body of the Royal Duke. The Demon King secretly conspired to ostracize the saint, and gradually brought the demons into the human world to strengthen his army.

It wasn’t an easy fight. Jinah had to fight with the Demon King’s subordinates who attacked her from time to time and also had to overcome his schemes and tricks, while inferring which of the nobles was the Demon King.

Speaking frankly, Jinah didn’t want to be a saintess or anything. And it was also not the world she lived in. No one would want to take on such a task if they are abruptly summoned to a different dimensional world where they did not know where they were and are forced to fight putting their life on line for the sake of that world.

She felt sorry for the people in this world who had to fight the Demon King or something, but frankly, she regarded it as someone else’s business, and even if they were demons, they didn’t look much different from humans on the surface.

However, the Goddess had made one promise. That she would let her go back home if she defeated the Demon King.

Jinah believed in that one promise and went down the road to become a Saintess. Due to the Demon King’s schemes, she was even falsely framed, was stabbed with a dagger, and had also lost her precious friend.

The fight continued for a good nine years. If the events that had happened in that time were written as a novel, it would be a full-length fantasy novel that could encompass mystery, thriller, action, and politics.

During the final battle, the Saintess’ combined forces and the Demon King’s army waged an all-out war all over the continent, while the Saintess and the Demon King battled to death in the imperial palace. It was a long and fierce fight to the point that the morning sun rose in the sky where the daybreak stars used to be twinkling.

Jinah eventually managed to stab the sword straight into the Demon King’s heart.

‘It’s all over now.’

Just when she was deeply moved by her hard-won victory, the Demon King’s hand pierced into Jinah’s stomach. It would be a fatal injury to an ordinary person, but it wasn’t anything serious for Jinah, who was blessed by the Goddess. If the price of killing the demon king was this much, she thought it was a rather insignificant price to pay.

However, the wound did not heal even after two days. With the high priest’s help, she barely stopped her bleeding, but the pain and red scars remained as if she had just been injured. The bigger problem was not the wound.

Her divine powers had disappeared from her body. She could also no longer hear the voice of the Goddess.

The things that happened after it were like a terrible nightmare.

The people who learned that the Saintess had lost her powers showed either two kinds of reaction: a look of sympathy for the Saintess or a look of disdain questioning whether she had done something vile to be abandoned by the Goddess.

No matter how much Jinah claimed her innocence, it spread everywhere almost like a widely accepted theory that there could be no reason for her to lose her powers other than that she had committed something sinful.

The people who worshipped her until yesterday, now saw Jinah as if they were seeing something filthy. Even the maids who served her avoided touching her as if they would also be tainted by her immorality with a touch.

Jinah was very shocked by their change. When even the emperor, who had proposed to her, began to avoid her, Jinah lost all her will and shut herself in her room. When she opened the window, the songs of celebrating their victory resonated everywhere, but she didn’t know why it was her who lost everything.

The wound inflicted by the Demon King hurt at all times as if someone was piercing and digging up the wound with a knife. No matter how much she called the Goddess in pain, the Goddess did not respond to Jinah’s cries.

Jinah would have gone crazy in the imperial palace if the high priest had not found her in time and helped her run away from there at night.

Over the past year, Jinah had lived alone in a suburban house arranged by the high priest. She didn’t even step out of the bedroom and locked herself in her room. In the meantime, Jinah’s physical condition gradually deteriorated. Her face turned pale from not seeing the sunlight, and because she skipped her meals from time to time, her body was as thin as a withered branch.

Even while living like this, she was able to survive for a year thanks to the blessing given by the Goddess at the time of her transmigration. She found it really strange that the blessing she had received was still effective even though she was abandoned, but that was also upto a limit.

She was wasting away.

* * *

Waaaaah!

Jinah heard a roar loud enough to shake the carriage walls. The carriage, which seemed to move a little, stopped again. The window connected to the coachman’s seat opened and his face came into her view.

“Excuse me… Miss. I’m sorry but can’t we stay here for a bit? It is said that the procession of His Majesty, the Emperor, will soon pass from here. Anyway since the roads are blocked, I don’t think we can go anywhere, so let’s just watch the parade.”

Though he was making excuses about the road’s condition, he seemed desperate as if he really didn’t want to miss the parade. Jinah wanted to return home as soon as possible, but she could not refuse the coachman’s request.

“Okay.”

“Thank you! Milady, you too should come out and watch the procession with us! If you climb onto the carriage, you’ll be able to see it well!”

“No, I’ll pass.”

Jinah closed the window connecting to the coachman’s seat with a serious look.

‘Why would I want to see something like that?’

If she had known today was Victory Day, she would have never gone out. While she holed herself up inside her house, her sense of time disappeared, so she didn’t even know what day was today. Because the high priest had pleaded with her to take care of herself and live well in his letters, she felt indebted to him and decided to pay him a visit.

As she came out of the temple a while ago, she saw that the high priest had a vague expression on his face. His intention was obvious. He wanted to let her know that the peace they gained from her sacrifice was this precious. However, Jinah’s grudge only increased and became distorted. When she heard the people’s merry laughter, she imagined gagging their mouths and yelling at them.

She knew it was a twisted way to think, but she couldn’t escape the mindset of: ‘I’m living so painfully, but you all are happy? I can be sacrificed for your happiness?’

“Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!”

The coachman shouted loudly. Even without looking out the window, she could see that the emperor’s procession was approaching.

Jinah curled up her body and covered her ears.

One day, when the battle against the Demon King was intense and at its peak, the emperor promised her: If they killed the Demon King, then he would hold a grand festival and show off their victories while riding around the capital on a huge carriage drawn by dozens of war horses.

Along with that promise, he handed Jinah a ring and said with a shy face: ‘At that time, I hope the person standing by my side would be you.’

But now, the person standing next to him was the daughter of the Royal Duke Ashiroff. Just one month after Jinah left, the emperor got married. She had heard that it was a very grand wedding.

The shouts grew louder and louder. No matter how hard she covered her ears, the cheers from the crowd entered her ears.

‘It hurts.’

The wound in her abdomen hurt like hell, and her forehead was soaked with sweat.

‘I, I can’t take this any longer.’

Jinah opened the carriage door and ran. Behind her, the coachman was flabbergasted and called her, but she kept running without looking behind.

To somehow get away from this clamour.

That was all she wanted.