"Priest, has the guest left?"
Maris, having finished her temple duties, approached Lucan. Looking down at her, Lucan felt a bit sad. He felt sad that he needed to say goodbye to a girl who did all his work.
However, he needed to send her away to the capital so she could gain recognition and become a saint.
But would she leave? Lucan knew Maris loved him, and there was no reason for her to leave.
Lucan needed to think of something to convince Maris to leave if she refused.
After a few minutes.
Sitting face to face at the table, Lucan told Maris everything.
"I refuse."
After finishing the explanation, Maris declared with a full smile.
Lucan smiled in his heart. He already had the perfect way to convince her, but she immediately shook her head.
"...I'd like to say that, but I understand. I'll go to the royal capital."
"Huh...?"
She agreed quite readily.
Lucan felt surprised and a bit sad. He had thought of the perfect way to convince her, and he didn't even get the chance to use it.
"Don't get the wrong idea! I don't want to be separated from you, but I've also been thinking that things can't go on like this..."
"What do you mean?" Lucan asked.
"You're a noble, aren't you?"
"Yes, on paper I'm still a noble but with no power."
Lucan still used his surname, Ironfist. Although he had no power, he was still a noble, which was a higher status than a commoner.
"Nobles and commoners can't marry. So, I need to attain a higher status."
"Huh? What did you say?" Lucan asked. However he understood her and felt happy because Maris thinks of him even when she going to leave, this means, possibility of her coming back is huge.
"No, I just think that I can't always rely on you. I'll attend the academy, become respectable, and come back to repay you!"
"You don't need to repay me. In fact, I've received more than enough," Lucan said.
It wasn't just words; he really had received a lot. Maris's blessings affected him daily, making him stronger and stronger every day. He wasn't the strongest, but he was strong enough to protect himself in this world, as long as the most powerful people didn't come after him. Of course, he wanted Maris to continue repaying him for a lifetime.
"Even though it was only five years, welcoming a Saintess like you into this temple has been my pride. From now on, live for your own happiness," Lucan said with a smile. Although he was greedy, he had to make sure she didn't realize it.
"My own happiness... Is that really okay?"
"Yes, of course."
"So, it's okay for me to prioritize my happiness? You're saying I can put my happiness above your wishes? Is that right?"
Lucan was silent. He felt he had stepped on a landmine.
"Actually, I don't have the right to stop you. You can do whatever you want. If you want to kill the whole kingdom, you can do it. Just remember that there will be something stopping you from doing what you want. So you can push those 'somethings' away and do what you want, or be stopped by those 'somethings'."
Maris repeated what Lucan said and she understood. If she wanted to marry Lucan, then society would stop her. For now, she was a commoner and Lucan was a noble. Society wouldn't allow a noble and commoner to be together. In the future, she would be a saint, and Lucan just a noble with no power. So again, society wouldn't allow a saint and a noble to be together.
Not only society but Lucan's feelings would also play a part in stopping her if he didn't love her. Now, she could stop or continue until the end.
"I understand. I will live however I want to achieve my happiness. But... may I have one reward before I leave my hometown for the royal capital?"
"A reward...?"
"Yes. If I fulfill my duties as a Saintess and graduate from the academy safely... how about you grant me one wish?"
"A wish...?"
After a brief moment of thought, Lucan nodded. He needed something to make Maris come back, so this was good. Besides this, he needed to do more things to make sure she remembered him and came back.
"Sure, as long as it's something I can do," Lucan said.
"Thank you. I'll hold you to that promise."
"Um, what do you mean by 'hold me to that promise'?"
"Don't worry about it... I won't let you back out."
Lucan understood her words and his left eye twitched. He decided to deal with this when the time came.