Chapter 5: A Morning of Misinterpretations

The next day.

The morning sun streamed through the monastery’s stained-glass windows.

While the other nuns were still asleep, Lucia had already arrived at the church, preparing to begin her morning prayers in the church’s stone chamber.

Ordinarily, the prayer ritual was not lengthy, but Lovelenica had assigned Lucia a two-hour prayer session.

Lovelenica claimed this was to temper her will, to simulate the experience of confronting one’s inner fears alone in an isolated darkness.

Initially, Lucia would sometimes feel her emotions abruptly unravel within the dark stone chamber, but now, she could genuinely sense an improvement in her mental fortitude and resolve.

Just as Lucia was about to enter the stone chamber, she discovered that Lovelenica had also arrived at the church, and was now stopping her from beginning her prayers.

“Lucia, you don’t need to pray today.

From now on, you can simply pray with the other nuns in the monastery.”

“Wh-what?!”

Lucia’s eyes immediately widened in alarm at these words.

What did it mean to pray with the other nuns from now on? It surely meant Lovelenica would no longer be teaching her!

“W-why?! Teacher, have I done something to displease you?!”

“Uh… displease? Lucia, you’re misunderstanding, aren’t you?

I just think praying for such a long time is too torturous, and… what sane person gets up at five in the morning to pray…?”

Hearing this, Lucia immediately breathed a sigh of relief, yet she remained puzzled as to why Lovelenica would suddenly find two hours of early morning prayer so torturous.

As she looked at Lovelenica, she noticed that her teacher was not wearing her nun’s habit.

Not only was she without her habit, but dark circles sagged beneath her eyes, she was dressed in pajamas, and her silver hair was a disheveled mess, clearly uncombed since waking.

“T-teacher… are you…?”

“It’s nothing, just not enough sleep.

I forgot to tell you to pray later today when I left yesterday, so I came to remind you now.

Mmhmm—”

As she spoke, Lovelenica stretched languidly, letting out a yawn before continuing.

“I’m going back to sleep.

You should go back to sleep for a bit too.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get up before ten in the morning.”

Having said her piece, Lovelenica turned to leave.

“W-wait! Teacher, aren’t we supposed to train this morning?

If you go back to sleep now, how will we train later?”

“Uh… actually, I thought about it last night, and it’s time to devise a new training regimen for you.

You can have the morning off for now.

If you can’t sleep, you could grab some breakfast, or find somewhere to entertain yourself, or whatever.

Just… don’t disturb my sleep.”

Lovelenica waved a dismissive hand, then departed from the church.

“…Yes.”

Gazing at Lovelenica’s retreating figure, clad in pajamas with her disheveled silver hair, Lucia felt a sudden bewilderment wash over her, unable to comprehend what had come over Lovelenica.

‘Was Lovelenica too disappointed in her, thus abandoning her tutelage?’

‘Or had she realized she was too strict, preparing to ease up a little?’

Lucia couldn’t fathom it.

The sudden free time and reduced training volume left Lucia feeling rather unaccustomed.

However, Lovelenica had stated her intention to sleep and not be disturbed, so Lucia had no choice but to find something to occupy herself.

‘…No, that’s not right!’

Lucia seemed to recall something, and now she was certain that Lovelenica had relaxed her training because she realized it was too strict.

Because if Lovelenica had been disappointed in her, given her usual character, she would likely have simply ignored Lucia, and after Lucia’s prayers were over, Lovelenica would have been nowhere to be found.

However, the current situation was entirely different.

Lovelenica’s appearance clearly indicated a lack of sleep, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Firstly, Lucia had never seen Lovelenica looking sleep-deprived before; she must have suffered from insomnia for some unknown reason.

Secondly, Lovelenica had actually woken up despite being extremely tired and desperately wanting to continue sleeping, specifically to inform her that she didn’t need to pray.

‘Wasn’t this clearly a sign of her concern for Lucia’s well-being?

Worried that she would continue training in such a rigorous manner, Lovelenica had endured physical discomfort and interrupted her own sleep to come and inform her personally.’

‘Following this train of thought, the reason for Lovelenica’s insomnia was also clear!’

‘She had finally realized her feelings for Lucia!’

‘Just yesterday, when Lovelenica was on the verge of harming Lucia, she had finally recognized her feelings, which was why she had held back at the last moment, even showing a slight tremor.’

‘Realizing this, she had quickly fled, tossing and turning all night.

It was to atone for her previous misdeeds that she had risen so early to notify Lucia.’

‘It must be so!

Her teacher had saved her, taken her in for so many years; how could there be no feelings…?’

Having understood everything, Lucia’s gaze, fixed on Lovelenica’s retreating back, softened with newfound emotion.

****

However, Lovelenica’s thoughts were far from that.

A small part of it was indeed Lovelenica’s desire to atone for her previous mistake, to ensure Lucia harbored no resentment or suspicion towards her.

A much larger part, however, was simply that Lovelenica genuinely needed to sleep.

Ever since transmigrating, she had found it difficult to sleep soundly, and yesterday, Liliana had utterly exhausted her.

Surely, she deserved a proper rest today?

Her coming to inform Lucia was merely a matter of common courtesy and decency.

If she hadn’t said anything to Lucia, wouldn’t Lucia have continued her grueling ‘demon’ training here by herself, following the old methods?

As for Lucia’s training, who cared?

Besides, she had already exceeded Liliana’s target progress, and regardless of whether she did well or not, Liliana would still torment her.

In that case, she might as well adopt a more ‘Zen’ approach.

Lovelenica had indeed figured things out over the course of last night, but what she had understood was certainly not any ‘feelings’ for Lucia.

What she had realized was this: since Liliana would torment her no matter what, she might as well ensure Lucia’s strength didn’t improve too rapidly.

This way, she would not only have an easier time, but also avoid revealing any weaknesses.

It was, in essence, killing two birds with one stone.