Chapter 99: An Unexpected Confrontation and Confession

Nanaya slowly set down her knife and fork, her gaze fixed on Menglinna. “By the way, are you satisfied with your current life?”

The sudden question startled Menglinna a little, but it wasn’t exactly alarming.

Menglinna swallowed the bread in her mouth and answered honestly. “My current life? It’s okay. Not exactly what I dreamed of, but at least it’s comfortable.”

A flicker of irritation crossed Nanaya’s face as she unconsciously tightened her grip on the napkin. “So you did what you did to me back then just to live like this?”

Nanaya suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

Sensing that Nanaya’s expression was off, Menglinna couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong with her answer. She braced herself and asked, “Are you angry?”

“No, I’m not,” Nanaya denied flatly. “Just a little disillusioned. So the youngest daughter of the most powerful duke in the empire became an adventurer living from hand to mouth, and that’s why you did what you did to me?”

Menglinna had thought the past was settled, but she never expected Nanaya to bring it up now. She assumed Nanaya’s nightmare this morning must have been related to it.

“I know it sounds absurd, but what’s done is done,” Menglinna said, lowering her head. “Whether you want revenge or to make me atone, I’ll accept it either way.”

“Good, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Nanaya suddenly grabbed Menglinna’s wrist. “Since you said that, then I’ll repay you a hundredfold for what you did to me. You’d better atone properly!”

“What?”

Before Menglinna could react, Nanaya grabbed her chest.

‘Did I ever do this to little Nanaya back then? After all, Nanaya didn’t have much to grab…’

“You seem to be thinking something inappropriate!”

Nanaya’s face darkened, and she tightened her grip.

‘No, no, this isn’t the time to worry about Nanaya’s chest size. Still, this is hard to accept—how did things suddenly turn out like this?’

‘Is this what atonement means?’

Having been a bishop all her life, Menglinna couldn’t find any justification for Nanaya’s behavior in her memory. Her mind went blank.

“Good morning! We’re here!”

Shiya and Kaili, who had agreed to come together to deal with Quyi, pushed open the door and happened to see the two engaged in strange actions in the church dining room.

“Sorry, we came at a bad time. But you two should be careful—doing this kind of thing early in the morning isn’t right!”

With that, Shiya and Kaili stepped back and closed the door.

“Hey, come back!” Menglinna finally snapped out of it. “It’s not what you think!”

…

After a long explanation, Shiya and Kaili finally agreed to sit down.

“So like I said, it was just a coincidence,” Menglinna tried to cover up. “Nanaya wanted to get some jam, but she lost her balance and grabbed onto me. Right, Nanaya?”

Nanaya gave a soft “Mm.”

“Alright, alright, we totally believe you,” Shiya said, though her eyes and lips clearly expressed the opposite. “Just be a little more careful when you’re playing around.”

“You don’t believe a single word I said, do you?”

Nanaya, the culprit, didn’t participate much in the discussion.

Truth be told, she was also a bit confused.

Why did she do something like that today?

She really did miss the kind, golden-haired sister she had met in the monastery. But now she believed that person was dead, replaced by a hopeless scumbag.

She had always wanted to make that scumbag pay for deceiving her back then, but such a direct approach wasn’t part of her plan.

Was it because of that nightmare?

It was pointless to dwell on it now. Since the words had been spoken, Nanaya decided to see it through.

‘From now on, I’ll take even more aggressive revenge on that scumbag lady.’

After some idle chatter, everyone dispersed.

Although the church wasn’t open today, Quyi had long arranged to come for confession. The two front-liners, who shouldn’t have been there, hid themselves.

“Ding-dong!” The church doorbell rang. Menglinna looked up at the clock.

It wasn’t even eleven yet. Coming early wasn’t a problem, but this was hardly noon.

‘Come in.’

Pushing aside her thoughts, Menglinna walked to the church door and opened it herself.

The moment he entered, Quyi looked apologetically at Menglinna. “Sorry, the shift schedule over there is tight, so I came a bit early. You don’t mind, do you, Reverend?”

‘Since you’re already here, what’s the point of minding?’

Suppressing her urge to retort, Menglinna put on a smile. “It’s fine. Coming early is actually better—at least I don’t have to wait long. I should thank you.”

“That’s great.”

Quyi nodded and followed Menglinna toward the confessional.

“By the way,” Quyi said, glancing at Nanaya sitting nearby, “You and that saint candidate… are you two together?”

Menglinna’s mouth twitched. Luckily she was walking ahead so he couldn’t see her expression.

She found it hard to answer directly, so she asked back, “Where did you hear that?”

Quyi replied casually, “My girlfriend told me.”

Though she wanted to deny it, considering his girlfriend was Yixing, there was no point in refuting.

She just pursed her lips. “Don’t spread it around.”

Quyi quickly nodded. “Got it!”

As they talked, they reached the door of the confessional.

The confessional was essentially two small rooms separated by a curtain—one for the penitent, the other for the clergy.

Menglinna smiled apologetically. “Technically, the clergy isn’t supposed to see the penitent’s face, but our church is short-staffed, so I have to do it myself.”

“Not at all. I asked for it.”

Though just an ordinary adventurer, Quyi surprisingly trusted Menglinna as a clergy member.

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