My Husband Was Definitely a Paladin
Irene stared at her past life.
In short, it had been an unhappy existence.
As a child, her parents had fallen into a dungeon and left the world behind.
After that, Irene had been sent straight to the orphanage.
A priest who had come to offer service noticed Irene’s purifying power.
With the emergence of dungeons, the age of purifiers had dawned.
Irene was adopted into the Rodiam Count’s family, which had sponsored the most gold at the orphanage.
“No matter what, having a purifier around is always profitable. Hurry up and grow, so you can be useful.”
The count’s eyes were filled with greed as he looked at her.
Anyone who entered a dungeon needed a purifier to heal wounds and purify demonic energy.
Only purifiers could treat the wounds inflicted by monsters and purify the demonic energy they emitted.
That was why the count believed that once Irene reached adulthood and formed a pair contract with a knight, he could earn a fortune.
But after she became an adult, the Holy Temple judged her purifying rank to be the lowest.
The count, who had been waiting for her to earn money, flew into a rage at the lowest rating.
No knights were willing to form a pair contract with a lowest-rank purifier.
In fact, such a useless lowest-rank purifier should be paid to leave.
“Useless! At least she has a half-decent face, or else it would be a loss! That’s why someone is willing to buy her.”
The count, sensing a loss, prepared to send her to the old man who had already discarded six wives.
She wanted nothing more than to run away right then, but as long as the surname Rodiam was attached to her, she was nothing more than the count’s property.
“Please give me half a year! I’ll find a knight to pair with you and earn my own value!”
“Who would pair with a lowest-rank like you? Even if such a foolish knight existed, would he earn back the money he spent on you? And what about the food and lodging costs?”
“You don’t know until you try. Just give me one chance!”
Begging and pleading, Irene scraped together half a year from the count.
In half a year, she could only do one thing.
Find a knight to form a pair contract with on the Night of the Contract and enter the dungeon together to share the rewards.
There was no other way to earn the ten thousand gold she needed in that short time.
Irene immediately set off for the fortress where the Night of the Contract was held.
The fortress was a massive citadel built by the Kingdom Alliance near the dungeon-infested mountains.
There, once a month, adult purifiers would gather to find knights to pair with and sign pair contracts on the so-called Night of the Contract.
‘If I’m here, I might somehow find a pair partner.’
With that hope, Irene set off. But, unfortunately, things unfolded exactly as the count had predicted.
“A lowest-rank purifier… She can only help a little and must split the rewards. If that’s the case, I’d rather enter the dungeon alone.”
No matter how much a purifier was needed, the knights rejected her pairing because her power was too weak.
The few who did offer to contract merely acted as though they were doing her a great favor.
“I’ll make do with only low-rank dungeons. If I take 99 and you take 1, I’ll contract with you. And…”
The knight swept his gaze over Irene from head to toe and licked his lips.
“I want to mix every night. That way the purification should work properly. And, of course, right before entering the dungeon, and any time I want.”
Irene bit her lip at the knight’s demands.
It was a well-known fact among pair contracts that sexual contact was far more efficient for purifying demonic energy than simple touch.
That was why knights always stayed inside their purification rooms after returning from dungeons until the demonic energy was fully purged.
This knight was simply demanding his natural rights. But the look in his eyes revealed a desire to enjoy himself even more.
Moreover, dividing the dungeon rewards one-to-ninety-nine.
Even though Irene’s abilities were weak, this was nothing short of exploitation.
‘Besides… I can just sign the contract and never actually participate in the dungeon raid.’
The knight could simply enjoy himself and leave.
But for Irene, hesitation was a luxury she could not afford. She had to accept even this contract, or she would be sold to the old man before long.
Just as she stood there, frozen, a figure appeared.
The holy knight whom all of the continent revered above all others.
Michael.
He was the only righteous knight on the continent who entered dungeons not for personal gain but solely to save those suffering from monsters.
His participation in the Night of the Contract had not been of his own will.
The Kingdom Alliance had deliberately summoned him to restrain the hero who was gaining worldwide fame.
You must obey the continent’s laws set by the alliance to enter the dungeon, so he had been told to find a purifier to mix with on the Night of the Contract.
He had planned to appear only briefly and then leave. If Irene had not caught his attention…
The moment she saw Michael, Irene knew. He was the only one who could form a fair pair contract with her. So she approached him and begged.
“Please… form a pair contract with me.”
Driven only by the will to survive, Irene clung to him and pleaded.
The onlookers watched the two of them with interest.
Michael was a holy knight of the Holy Temple.
If he accepted Irene’s request, he would have to break the purity of a priest-like holy knight and become a lewd, corrupted man who mixed with a purifier. If he refused, he would be a heartless man who rejected one who begged for her life for the sake of honor.
Either way, he would end up disgraced. Of course Irene knew this, but she had no choice but to cling to him.
“Even if we form a pair contract, I won’t receive any help from you.”
In the end, he chose to save her.
“But to purify the demonic energy in the dungeon…”
He immediately added in a cold voice.
“My holy power will hold the demonic energy at bay somehow. You don’t need to worry.”
After saying that, he left at once. As if her help was not needed at all.
After that, he never once asked her to purify.
Those who had once mocked him began praising him again, and they showered Irene with contemptuous ridicule.
She is a woman who has soiled the honor of a holy knight just to save herself.
Even hearing those words, Irene could not speak.
It was all the truth.
Michael would occasionally come to find her, share the dungeon rewards, and leave.
He had not exactly known her value, but the gold steadily accumulated until it approached ten thousand.
‘If this continues, I’ll soon be free from the count.’
If that happened, she would pay him back with whatever she had to do.
Not long after making that vow, a highest-rank dungeon appeared in a dangerous area.
Without time to lift a finger, countless knights and purifiers perished in the attack of a massive monster.
But only Michael survived, alone. He defeated the monster and destroyed the dungeon.
The problem was that he was so heavily addicted to demonic energy that he could not recover even with fatal injuries.
That night, Irene mixed with him to save his life. Despite his unconscious state, driven by the instinct to survive, he attacked her with mad ferocity.
“Ah… ugh…!”
His enormous member plunged into her repeatedly. Irene let out a pained groan like a trapped beast.
“Ah… please… slowly… ahh!”
Whether by good fortune or misfortune, as the beast-like intercourse continued, Irene struggled not with pain but with pleasure.
Michael did not come to his senses for days and days, devouring her body.
Only then did Irene clearly see the look on his face when reason returned.
“Why… you… could it be… I…”
Noticing that he had broken a taboo, he hurriedly dressed and left at once.
The place where they had spent days together was left with lewd and vulgar traces and only Irene remaining.
After that, Michael never once came to find her.
And before long, the news reached her that he had been expelled from the Holy Temple.
‘I… I ruined him completely.’
Irene was shocked. Even though she had only tried to save him, such a thing would not have mattered to him.
Meanwhile, the dungeon was entering the end phase.
It was time for the purifiers and knights to sever their pair contracts and return to their hometowns.
At the fortress where everyone had returned to their homes, Irene searched for Michael, holding the gold he had given her.
Now a mere knight living an ordinary life after being cast out from the temple. Although he was a very strong knight and had no trouble surviving…
‘I want to at least apologize somehow.’
She wanted to return everything she had received.
If she returned, the count would immediately sell her, but that was no longer a concern.
A man who had lived his whole life as a vessel of God had been cast out from the place he had devoted his life to, no matter how much he had tried to save her.
Irene could not fathom how to atone for that act.
So she roamed the fortress searching for Michael, but he was nowhere to be found.
Then, Irene encountered Princess Cecilia, the one who had always ignored and looked down on her.
She had never spoken to her before, but driven by the need to apologize to Michael, she asked if he was somewhere.
Cecilia laughed in disbelief, then thought for a moment and spoke.
“Is there a remaining dungeon? Michael-nim went there to clean it up. If you want to apologize, this is your last chance. Go in quickly. All the monsters should have been dealt with.”
Hearing those words, Irene entered the dungeon alone. She wanted to meet Michael there and apologize.
But monsters remained in that dungeon…
‘I died there.’
Yes, she had definitely died there.
Then why…
Slap!
“Useless thing! I should have just sold you to a merchant instead!”
With a stinging slap to her cheek, Irene saw the count flailing in front of her.
Why.
Was the past unfolding before her eyes again?