Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 180
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Felix gently pinched Reyna’s cheek as she grinned mischievously.
“I was just thinking how everything got better after we met Irene.”
“That’s true.”
Felix readily agreed with his pair’s words.
The two, who had been holding each other for a while, began strolling hand in hand through the fortress garden. Despite the tense atmosphere within the fortress, the garden remained serene and peaceful, as always.
They chatted about what Felix had practiced that day and the kind of dungeon they’d face tomorrow. Suddenly, Reyna seemed to remember something and asked,
“Felix, I’m curious—are holy knights bound to the temple for life?”
“Not exactly… but most do live as part of the temple until they pass away. That’s why people say they ‘leave the temple through death’.”
Reyna’s expression darkened at those words.
Michael, the most renowned knight in temple history, would undoubtedly be someone the temple wouldn’t want to let go of.
“But there are those who leave. When I thought about joining the temple knights because I couldn’t pair with you, I found out that while a lot of people apply after hearing of Sir Michael’s fame, fewer than half remain after just a year.”
“I thought it was hard to leave?”
“It is, but you only officially join after three years. Before that, if you break any of the doctrines, you’re automatically discharged.”
“Break the doctrines? Like what?”
“Like this.”
Felix leaned down and captured Reyna’s lips in a kiss.
In the beautiful garden, the young couple shared a leisurely, long-awaited kiss.
“Hah…”
Breathless after a while, Reyna lightly tapped Felix’s chest before pulling away.
“So, this kind of thing gets you kicked out?”
“Why, are you planning to have someone expelled?”
“I wish Sir Michael would leave the Holy Order.”
Felix nodded as if he understood Reyna’s wish.
“The atmosphere between him and Irene has definitely changed recently.”
“Yeah, but…”
Reyna touched her slightly swollen lips and muttered.
“I feel like this kind of thing might be a bit difficult for them.”
No matter how much the atmosphere had shifted, Michael was a paladin famous for his piety. Someone like him wasn’t likely to easily give in to physical desires.
“It’s going to take a long time…”
Even holding hands might not raise suspicion, but according to Irene, Michael only requested purification in private, avoiding even minimal contact in the presence of others.
If he was that mindful of others’ gazes, how long would it take to kiss her? A thousand years?
Unaware that Michael had already crossed far beyond what she imagined, Reyna both worried for and cheered on the couple’s future.
They’ll figure it out.
* * *
While Reyna was entertaining these thoughts, Michael was softly stroking Irene’s cheek as she slept.
She had been so shaken by the day’s events that she fell asleep mid-conversation with him.
Michael carefully withdrew his hand, clenching his teeth in frustration.
The fact that a monster had targeted her was unthinkable.
Most monsters obeyed his commands—whether in this world, elsewhere, or even across time.
If there was a monster threatening Irene, it could only be one thing.
He thought of the gray, clay-like monster he had encountered in the dungeon—the one that continuously followed him, trying to become him.
‘Can that even be called a monster?’
No, it was something else entirely…
Michael ran his hands over his face in exasperation. Then he turned and looked toward the open door of the room opposite.
The maids had been dismissed, leaving no one else inside.
“Come out.”
Michael spoke softly toward the door.
A moment later—
Gurgle.
With a peculiar sound, the apricot-colored tentacle sluggishly slithered out from the open door, as if bracing itself for a scolding.
Cagalli Athha
Thank you for the chapter ☺️