Thiendavis – For The Perfect Salvation - Chapter 1

translated and edited by rie !

「To you in an imperfect world who longs for perfect salvation.」

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“You’re as mannerless as you look.”

A woman’s offensive language poured cold water on the amicable banquet hall.

“I have to say goodbye now. Still, it is a great honor to meet you, Count Zion Laurel.”

The ensuing insults cut off even the remaining laughter, and as if lightning had suddenly struck, the aristocrats were petrified.

The nobles who were enjoying the party blankly stared at the girl.

Evie Ariathe. That’s the name of the girl in the sky-colored dress.

She’s the candidate for the next saint and the culprit who smashed the atmosphere of the banquet hall with just two words a moment ago.

There was a chilling silence in the banquet hall surrounding the girl. And at the time when everyone was bewildered, Evie, the culprit of the situation, was extremely quiet but more intensely shocked than anyone else.

‘What did I say just now?’

Evie looked around at the silent banquet hall with surprised rabbit eyes. Then looked back up at the gorgeous man standing in front of her.

His name is Zion Laurel, the brother of Grand Duke Laurel, who hosted the banquet, and the person who had just been accused by Evie of being mannerless.

While Evie was blinking and frozen, the Count spoke.

“What did you just say?”

In response to the Count’s monotonous question, Evie suddenly came to her senses and tried to utter excuses.

No, I’m trying to explain.

“You’re as mannerless as you look, but it’s such a great honor to meet you, Count.”

However, what came out of Evie’s mouth was a vivacious argument. Then, she swallowed a gasp in shock.

‘Wh..  what’s going on here?’

There’s something wrong. Otherwise, the polite Evie would not have said such rude things to a person she only met today.

Evie quickly shook her head in surprise.

“Um, excuse me, Count. That wasn’t what I was trying to say….”

“If not…”

The Count leaned toward Evie, which prevented her from making excuses.

With the distance narrowing, the Count’s face drew closer. So, Evie looked at him, face riddled with confusion.

The Count was indeed a great beauty.

His delicate features that seem to have been carved by a skilled artisan were impeccable, and his wide shoulders that he lowered to face Evie made her realize just how big of a man he is. In addition, his shiny blonde under the chandelier was as dazzling as a halo.

However, if there was anything different from the rumors, it would be his sky blue eyes, which were said to be empty and had no vitality, were strangely persistent now.

“If not, then what were you trying to say?”

The Count looked at Evie and asked. It was unclear whether he was giving her a chance to explain or holding back his anger.

But the desperate Evie replied, leaving her judgment behind.

“Greet me properly and go away, you rotten bastard.”

I want to die.

‘Is this a dream…?’

Once again, Evie’s mouth moved against her will, putting her in trouble.

Evie found the situation absurd and looked at the Count like a rabbit caught in a trap.

The Count, on the other hand, was gazing strangely at her.

His gaze was akin to someone getting angry, watching something strange, and thinking about how to punish the previous disrespect.

His ambiguous eyes and the silence of the banquet hall choked Evie’s breath.

The nobles watched Evie silently. Everyone looked curious as to why the good and gentle saint candidate suddenly committed such a rude feat.

Evie wanted to give them an explanation or excuse. However, she couldn’t open her mouth out of fear of saying something strange again.

Frightened, Evie hesitated and hesitated then bit her lips.

Then, leaving behind the countless glances that fell on her, she eventually fled from the banquet hall.

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‘How the hell did this happen?’

Evie, who got on the carriage, sighed and remembered what had just occurred.

Earlier, Evie insulted the great nobleman Zion Laurel, in the presence of hundreds of nobles. What’s worse was that she commented on his manners.

It was something no one else would dare.

Only four families are called great nobility here in Thienda, and the first of them is the Grand Ducal family of Laurel.

Laurel is an aristocrat of the nobility and the de facto owner of this kingless continent.

But to insult Count Laurel at the banquet hosted by the Grand Duke of Laurel…

Evie imagined what the aristocrats would say with the desire to cry.

— “Heavens, was she that kind of person in the first place?”

— “It’s good that we discovered her true nature before she was chosen as the saint.”

— “Manners aside, I knew the natives of Vis were low-class people.”

Evie closed her eyes tightly at her self-painted criticism.

Although she is now mentioned as the next most powerful saint, Evie is a lower-class member from the subcontinent, Vis.

Although she is now being talked about as a powerful next-generation saint, Evie is a lower-class citizen from the subcontinent, Vis.

Evie, who had been living at Vis’ orphanage, was blessed by God at the age of 15. Thus, she caught the eyes of the Tower and came to Thienda, the upper continent, the world of aristocrats.

After that, at the age of 18, she entered the society of Tienda in earnest, but the conservative aristocrats were bitterly cold to the lower class Evie. Some young aristocrats even made immature bets on when will the ‘lowly slave’ flee back to Vis.

However, despite the strong malice, the exclusion of Evie did not last long.

It was because of Evie’s wonderful ability to receive divine protection, and her kind and warm personality befitting it.

Eventually, the cold nobles opened their hearts one by one, and now they love Evie enough to mention her as the next saint.

But today, her efforts so far have collapsed. Evie frivolously spat out harsh words in front of everyone.

But Evie swore to God that she had no intention of saying all that.

‘The words involuntarily came out of my mouth. Why is this happening…?’

Evie was confused and searched for the cause, but suddenly swallowed a gasp.

Come to think of it, the butler once told her something like this before.

— “Ms. Evie, if you want to go out in the social world, you need to know about the curse.”

— “On rare occasions, the aristocracy even commissions a curse as if it were an assassination.”

— “The curse puts the target in trouble in a bizarre way. So you have to be careful.”

Indeed, I’ve heard of it, about the curse.

Evie, who recalled those words, was convinced of her condition at the same time.

Maybe— no. This is obviously a curse! Otherwise, my mouth wouldn’t move freely like this. 

When her thoughts reached that point, Evie’s delicate eyes shook anxiously.

‘Even if it’s because of a curse… will everyone believe me?’

If she says that insulting Count Laurel, the great nobleman, was not her intention, if she says that the previous rudeness was all due to a curse… 

Evie thought so and shut her eyes.

I hated myself for being more anxious about the eyes of the nobles than the mysterious curse.

But I couldn’t help it. In Thienda and Vis, there was a wall of status that could never be crossed, in which pride was a right and servile was duty.

While Evie was stomping her feet, the carriage arrived at her mansion.

The servants rushed to meet the master when she returned home, but Evie ran straight to the room, leaving them behind. Then, he took a deep breath with his back to the door.

‘In order to explain it, I must first find out what kind of curse it is.’

Evie thought so and looked at the full-length mirror in the bedroom.

In the mirror, a neat girl with black hair was standing holding her breath. The elaborately decorated appearance was beautiful in her own eyes, and the situation of her running away again was upsetting to think about.

Evie bit her lips in frustration and whispered to the mirror.

“I am Evie Ariathe. Evie Ariathe, the saint candidate of Managna Tower, who is presumed to have been cursed….”

Evie muttered a few words as she remembered, and started to cry again. Unlike when she spoke ill of the Count, she now spoke properly.

‘What..? Could it be that I only speak like that in front of other people?’

It’s a plausible assumption, but it’s still too early to conclude. Earlier, Evie was able to speak properly in front of the count, even if it was for a brief moment.

Evie stared into the mirror and repeatedly agonized, and the sound of a shrill knock rang out.

“It’s me, Ms. Evie.”

A calm voice came from outside the door. It was the voice of Evie’s butler, Dieth.

“I heard that you returned. You came earlier than expected, is something the matter?”

The butler asked politely, but Evie couldn’t afford to explain, so she roamed around the room.

“At the banquet, I cursed at Count Laurel, called him rude, and ran away because I couldn’t handle it.”

“….What?”

“Ugh!”

No, I attempted to cover it up.

However, her voice once again betrayed the will of her body, Evie was startled and covered her mouth.

Ugh, Again! My mouth moved freely once again. Why? Why now…

‘Wait, by any chance, this…?’

Evie, who had been absent-mindedly stiff, swallowed in vain with a certain foreboding.

Come to think of it, it was. There was a certain situation before Evie’s mouth spat out unwanted words. The first, second, third, and now.

Evie swallowed dry saliva at the ensuing speculation. Then she asked the butler outside the door carefully.

“Well, butler, let’s put this aside for a moment and ask me a question. Anything you’re curious about.”

“What do you mean…”

“Just once, it’s important.”

Evie hired a hesitant butler. The butler reluctantly started his rhyme.

“Then, Ms. Evie, did you really accidentally break the statue of the Tower Master, which was discarded?”

“Nope. I kicked it on purpose.”

There was a moment of silence in response to Evie’s unadulterated answer.

Evie opened her eyes wide in surprise, and the butler outside the door was silent for a moment.

“… Why?”

“Because the tower master made me angry.”

It was the same when the butler asked for a reason. Evie replied unconsciously and froze in a daze.

After a significant silence, the butler asked softly.

“Then, Ms. Evie do you know the whereabouts of my Verdaede-limited teacup?”

“Yes, I buried it in a flowerpot inside my room.”

“Did you break that, too?”

“Again, yes, but this time it was a mistake.”

“But why did you feign ignorance every time I looked for it?”

“You nag a lot and hold grudges!…  Tha– that’s enough! Stop!”

At the butler’s successive interrogations and the confession that flowed out of her mouth, Evie freaked out and stopped answering questions.

The butler shouted to open the door. So Evie held on to the doorknob and groaned.

“This is unbelievable.”

Evie finally realized. The curse that befell her, and that she can’t explain anything to the nobles, including Count Laurel.

Evie Ariathe, the saint candidate with a gentle and noble, is cursed.

I’m certain. It’s the curse of answering other people’s questions honestly.

And just an hour ago, Evie, who was cursed and became painfully honest, said this in front of everyone.

— “You’re as mannerless as you look.”

— “Greet me properly and go away, you rotten bastard”

“Ah..”

Evie’s face turned white as she pondered over her words.

Now that I’ve come this far, I have to admit it.

This cheap nonsense, which was blamed on the curse, was actually, in fact, Evie’s pure sincerity.

The kind and gentle Evie Ariathe had a rough and snobbish personality by nature, but she pretended to be meek with the sole intention of becoming a saint.

However, the curse that fell like a thunderbolt on her was a curse that exposed her pretense, so Evie, who realized the situation, sat down with her back to the door.

She then forgot how to breathe and screamed in silence.