Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 38
Translated by Elphie
Irene remembered Reyna from her past life. At that time, Irene was doing everything possible to repay 100,000 gold. She drastically reduced her food intake.
Everything else was bearable, but whenever she saw the fruits taken to the rooms of higher-ranked purifiers, Irene stared blankly and swallowed hard.
At least the Count’s estate had been in the warmer part of the country, so there was always a surplus of food. At night, Irene would pick fruits and eat them in secret, away from prying eyes.
But in the fortress, that was impossible.
As Irene drooled over the fruit that was being taken to other people, it was Reyna who walked up to her and asked if she wanted to eat with her.
“You know, I don’t know anyone here either, so…”
As she said that and handed over the fruit, Reyna lowered her head, feeling embarrassed. Reyna also faced ridicule from others, but for the opposite Irene was.
‘In Reyna’s case, she was a powerful purifier who chose a knight with no dungeon raiding experience.’
She had arrived at the fortress this year and formed a pair with a knight named Felix, a friend from her childhood. As a result, she attracted attention right from the start.
As a Grade 2 purifier, she could have paired with a skilled and seasoned knight and made both of them a fortune from dungeon conquests. But she chose to forgo all those opportunities just for a boy. Most of the people in the fortress scoffed at her choice to pair up with her young first love.
“All good things must come to an end. I guess she just plans to sit and watch while others deal with the high-level dungeons.”
“People think she’ll fall behind other Grade 2 purifiers over time. I wonder if she can handle it.”
But despite people’s expectations, their relationship only grew stronger.
Then one day, when Irene sought a secluded spot in the fortress’s deep corners, she came across the two engaged in conversation.
“Do you have to go to the higher-level dungeons? I can heal you, but I really hate seeing you get hurt.”
Reyna pleaded with Felix, clinging to him. Felix gazed at her affectionately, gently brushing her hair as if to reassure her.
“But if I push myself a little more this year, I won’t have to come back here next year. And… I don’t want us to be together just for the sake of purification anymore.”
The two hoped to earn money in the fortress only for this year and return to their hometown for a peaceful life thereafter.
In her heart, Irene cheered for the two. They wanted a relationship where they could be together for each other even without being a pair. Such a bond genuinely seemed so lovely.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
“Felix! Felix!”
On the day he entered a higher-level dungeon, Felix fell victim to a powerful monster’s attack, losing his life.
Healing is only as good as the breath you hold. A cold, lifeless corpse would not breathe again, no matter how much she held onto it.
‘And Reyna crumbled just like that.’
The shock of losing her beloved, the one she had known since childhood, the one she had just paired with, was enough to drive her to madness. People witnessed her roaming within the fortress, calling out to her knight, and commented with a tinge of cynicism.
“We knew it would turn out like this.”
Not long after, Reyna’s family took her away. Rather than sympathizing with their daughter, they were infuriated by her foolish actions, forcefully putting her on a carriage.
The last thing Irene remembers of Reyna was watching her carriage pulling away as she called out her pair’s name.
Just then, a clerk entered the archives and handed a piece of paper to the staff inside. Those who received it became visibly agitated.
To those who approached wondering what was going on, the staff member said, “A high-level dungeon has appeared. It’s the first high-level dungeon this year, and it has been assigned a number starting with 0.”
Upon hearing this, Felix turned to Reyna and said, “I think I’ll apply for that dungeon.”
Reyna replied, “Do you have to go to the higher-level dungeons? I can heal you, but I really hate seeing you get hurt.”
It was a different place and time, but the same words came out of her mouth.
In an instant, Irene, almost unconsciously, turned to them.
“Don’t go to that dungeon.”
