Irena’s Irritation
“Oh, Irena! How terribly sorry I am. I rushed over out of excitement and ended up bumping into you. Are you all right? Can you stand?”
Wilhelmina looked utterly apologetic, twisting her hands in visible distress.
Yet her eyes, still sharp with resentment, could not quite hide her true feelings.
Irena simply ignored the hand being offered and rose to her feet on her own.
‘So she’s here again.’
The only real change from the past was that the woman now standing before her was no longer someone to be greeted with warmth.
She and Wilhelmina had known each other for a very long time.
After all, Wilhelmina lived in the fief right next to Count Rodiam’s estate.
‘In our childhood we were quite close.’
Like Irena, Wilhelmina had been sold off into noble service the moment her purifying ability was discovered in childhood.
The only difference was that she had somehow managed to find a measure of contentment in her life.
“If I’d kept living like that, I’d still be a mess. The fact that I was adopted into a noble house was a blessing I’ll never forget. You ought to be grateful to the Count as well.”
In the basic education seminars held for purifiers, Wilhelmina would never miss a chance to deliver that line to Irena.
Two years older than her, she had taken the purification exam the moment she came of age and received the temple’s judgment.
‘5th rank.’
An ambiguous power somewhere between strong and weak, it left her in an equally ambiguous position.
‘I couldn’t discard her, and I couldn’t keep her either.’
Nobles avoided sending high-ranked purifiers to other families. Children born to purifiers had a higher chance of becoming purifiers themselves, after all.
They simply kept their daughters close while secretly arranging marriages into lesser houses.
‘But Wilhelmina fell into no category at all. She spent years worrying about what to do with her even after entering noble society.’
Finally, fearing she would be sold to some old man who wanted a purifier, she had always hoped to encounter a powerful knight in a dungeon and marry him properly.
“I collected monster blood and tried purifying in advance. The priest said it would be at least 3rd rank or higher. That would be enough to secure me a spot in a powerful house, even if I couldn’t catch a princess. My pair would be a noble man, and we could maintain the bond even after the dungeon expedition ended. I’d become a proper noble lady.”
Wilhelmina had always believed in her own strength.
The higher the rank, the more likely a purifier was to bond with a powerful knight and remain in the pair after the expedition.
Perhaps they could even marry for real.
But she had been judged 5th rank, and after the first expedition the knight had declared the pair dissolved.
Twice, Wilhelmina had been left heartbroken the moment the expedition ended.
‘That’s why she’s been even more restless this year.’
Standing before Irena, Wilhelmina had sobbed and screamed, unable to understand why the pair had not been extended.
Seeing her hurl whatever she could reach, Irena had guessed the reason yet said nothing.
If she spoke frankly, the maid would be the one to receive the next vase, not herself.
And this year, Wilhelmina had been far more curious than anyone else about Irena’s rank.
The moment Irena’s 10th-rank status was confirmed, she had smiled with genuine delight.
That smile carried a firm belief that Irena must never be happier than her.
While Irena recalled the Wilhelmina of her previous life, the woman whispered in a small voice.
“Irena, what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said 9th rank. How did you become Michael-nim’s pair?”
Irene could not stop the chuckle that escaped her.
“Before even greeting you, you start asking that? You must have been dying to know.”
The sudden attempt at friendliness in Wilhelmina’s tone made the laugh slip out again.
Wilhelmina stared at her in confusion.
‘What did I do wrong? Why is she acting like this?’
She remembered exactly how the 10th-rank priest had looked at the shattered face of Irena that day and how relieved she had felt.
‘If she were even higher than me…’
A purifier’s life changes completely depending on rank.
She had treated Irena like a lowly servant for years, yet now that Irena ranked higher than her, she would never tolerate being looked down upon.
But she had thought that with Irena at 10th rank, nothing would ever change between them.
‘Why!’
The moment the ball began, Wilhelmina quickly contracted with the knight she had scouted in advance and slipped out of the hall.
He met her conditions, and she, being decisive, had no objection to spending the night together.
The next morning, the fortress was in chaos.
‘Not only did her rank rise, but she somehow became Michael’s pair.’
The absurdity of that alone was staggering, yet when she learned that Irena’s suite was the grandest and most luxurious room reserved for 1st-rank purifiers, her stomach truly twisted.
Just as she was simmering with rage, a maid approached and spoke.
“My master has instructed me to bring you immediately.”
The crest of the Visconti royal family sparkled on the maid’s chest.
She served Princess Cecilia.
Wilhelmina swallowed her pounding heart and followed the maid without a word.
‘Did she want to drag me into her gathering?’
Purifiers formed gatherings around the strongest members.
Of course, not everyone was welcomed.
High rank, noble lineage, or a powerful knight as pair.
One of those three was usually required to enter a prestigious group.
For the past two years, Wilhelmina had not even dared approach near Princess Cecilia’s gathering.
Yet this year she had been personally invited.
‘If I’m lucky…’
The princess’s gathering was the envy of every purifier.
In that circle, one could raid dungeons together with one’s pair, or if the current pair displeased them, they might receive a new knight introduction for the following year.
Naturally, the knights introduced by the princess herself came from noble houses and boasted outstanding skills.
And they possessed refined manners as well.
The gathering Wilhelmina attended far exceeded her expectations.
Most members were 3rd rank or higher, all paired with top-tier knights.
And the rooms inside the fortress, usually too precious to use freely, were all available here.
In the center of the gathering, Princess Cecilia smiled as she greeted Wilhelmina, wearing an artifact obtained from the previous expedition.
The problem was that the princess had not invited Wilhelmina to join the gathering at all.
After some vague explanation, the only thing the princess demanded was one thing.
‘Bring me news about Irena and Sir Michael.’
Why did a man who had never been a pair and had received purification from no other purifier suddenly want a pair?
And why that particular target, Irena?
Wilhelmina was no fool.
She could guess why the princess had summoned her and demanded information so openly.
Michael was likely to seek a new pair next year.
‘Princess Cecilia is hoping to seize that chance.’
She wants to know under what conditions Michael chose a purifier for next year, so she can become his pair herself.
Wilhelmina herself wanted to know why Michael had requested a pair from Irena.
‘9th rank paired with him, so surely 5th rank me still has a chance?’
Eager with that hope, she had come looking for Irena.
‘He’ll spill everything the moment I ask.’
She imagined Irena, usually so shy, greeting her warmly in a place where no one knew them and clinging to her like a lifeline.
But the blunt, almost rude tone surprised her greatly.
While Wilhelmina was still flustered, Irena let out a silent sigh at the sight of her.
‘As expected, someone was sent to ask. And it’s probably the princess.’
‘She’s been dying to get into the old gathering.’
Recalling the past memories, Irena bit her lip.
After learning her rank, Wilhelmina had refused to speak to her at all, embarrassed that a low-rank purifier would be seen as friends with the great Irena.
The same was true this life.
Even at the ball yesterday she had refused to speak, barely sparing a glance before fleeing.
Now she was suddenly pretending to be friendly?
They would never meet again in days anyway, so Irena could ignore her.
But after a moment’s thought, she opened her mouth.
“I don’t know why I became 9th rank either. The priest suggested that the first measurement might have been wrong. And the reason Michael-nim requested a pair from me is…”
“…”
“I don’t know the reason either.”
“What?”
“That’s exactly what I told you. I don’t know why he came to me either.”
It was no lie.
He had said he had come in desperation, but when she thought about it, the wounds had been serious, yet not so dire that only she could see him.
When she asked if there was another reason he had subtly requested a pair, he answered in the exact same parrot-like way: he had simply come because she was nearby.
Irena watched Wilhelmina’s expression closely.
Wilhelmina must have assumed she would confess every secret willingly.
After all, she had been one of the very few friends she had in the past, so she had told her everything she asked or demanded.
And something else.
‘In the past, Wilhelmina had pressured me to go find Michael.’
Wilhelmina had always been interested in Michael.
So whenever they met, she had always been right beside him, dressed in her finest.
And yet.
“I wish I had been his pair instead. I would have helped him more than you ever could.”
Wilhelmina often said that with a click of her tongue.
She never dared speak such words in front of Princess Cecilia.
Recalling how desperately Wilhelmina had chased Michael in the past, her current appearance now seemed almost laughable.
So she could not stop the sigh that slipped out.
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you go ask Sir Michael yourself?”
The rude tone surprised Wilhelmina even more than before.
Yet after a moment, the noble aura radiating from Irena made her grind her teeth in frustration.
“Perhaps Sir Michael has learned your situation and offered the pair out of kindness. He is always gentle with those who suffer. But maybe you think you’re receiving special treatment and came anyway.”
Just as Wilhelmina finished speaking, a maid from the fortress entered and bowed deeply to Irena.
“Purifier Irene, please check the items that have arrived for you.”
“Items for me?”
A short while later, back in her own room with Wilhelmina trailing behind like an unwelcome shadow, Irena could not keep quiet.
“What is all this?”