I confirmed the cut of Ares’ blushing face and smiled confidently.
‘Alright, he’s falling for it.’
There was a reason I was trying so hard to persuade him towards the religious side.
‘Ares thinks that someone sacrificing themselves is nothing out of the ordinary.’
The idea of sacrificing the few for the greater good.
In some ways, it was an incredibly dangerous way of thinking.
I recalled the recent chat with the writer.
[Igogodon: (Donation/3,000 won/자)]
[Igogodon: The straightforward fact this time is temporary.]
[Igogodon: Starting with introducing a woman with a beautiful smile…]
[Igogodon: Let’s captivate him so thoroughly that he can’t help but believe in God.]
[MoneyPlease: Thank you so much for the donation! Sharing your power again, how generous of you.]
[MoneyPlease: Of course, I will fulfill your wishes. But I have a question.]
[MoneyPlease: What exactly do you mean by ‘temporary straightforward fact’?]
[Igogodon: Exactly what it says.]
[Igogodon: A temporary application of God’s straightforward fact.]
[Igogodon: Let Ares taste what he needs the most for a brief moment and leave him craving for more.]
[Igogodon: After that, it’s simple.]
[Igogodon: ‘Want more? Then believe in God.’ Bam!]
[Igogodon: Ha! I’m a genius! Praise me!]
[Igogodon: This is how you increase believers as easily as eating cake.]
[MoneyPlease: Understood.]
[MoneyPlease: What do you plan to bestow upon Ares?]
[Igogodon: As I said before, introducing a beautiful woman seems like a good idea…]
[Igogodon: But to be more specific, I need to know more about Ares’ situation.]
[Igogodon: Sorry, but could you observe a short comic about Ares? Like the ones you did for the knights before?]
[MoneyPlease: You’ve granted power. How could I defy your will?]
[MoneyPlease: It might take some time, but I’ll do my best to observe quickly.]
[Igogodon: Lol.]
***
A few tens of minutes later.
I checked the short comic about Ares through the link the writer had sent, and—
‘This can’t be…!’
The information I learned was truly shocking.
Ares von Einsberg.
As a child, he was loved dearly by the previous emperor, his mother Aisha, and mastered various fields of study.
Through his historical studies, he realized the absolute flaws of monarchy—the risks the empire bears when the ruler is not a competent person.
What began as mere thoughts solidified with the emergence of Eirene, who implemented aggressive policies to strengthen imperial authority amidst the chaos following his mother’s death.
‘This can’t go on. I have to step in.’
The fact that imperial blood flowed through his veins was, to him, a divine revelation to reform the monarchy and establish a new political system—this formed the foundation of Ares’ ideology.
He was not inherently evil.
It was true that he prioritized the happiness of the masses over personal gain in his pursuit of transformation.
However, as suspicionless righteousness can sometimes be more dangerous than outright evil, Ares regarded a certain level of sacrifice as utterly natural.
Just as he placed his own life on the scales without hesitation, he thought it inevitable that some might suffer injustice in the process of reform for the greater good.
Being in my late twenties, I wasn’t old, but I had seen enough to know how far someone convinced of their own righteousness could go.
In that sense, Ares was undoubtedly a dangerous individual.
Even if it wasn’t for protecting Eirene, leaving him unchecked posed a risk to Erin.
After all, even in the comic, he spoke of “keeping an eye on Erin.”
But there was one thing Ares, with all his intelligence and noble ideals, had overlooked—
‘God exists.’
‘God is real.’
Even now, scrolling through the world like a rolling scrollbar, watching you, Ares.
I can see what you’re thinking and what you need.
‘I’ll show you exactly what God’s grace is.’
Thinking this, I explained the ‘straightforward fact’ in more detail to the writer in the chat.
[Igogodon: Something like this.]
[Igogodon: What do you think?]
[MoneyPlease: That should be more than feasible.]
[MoneyPlease: However, the 3,000-won worth of power will lose its effect once expended.]
[Igogodon: That’s fine.]
[Igogodon: That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.]
If it lasted indefinitely, it would be problematic.
The straightforward fact shouldn’t be so common that one wouldn’t need faith to feel it.
[MoneyPlease: God’s will… the temporary straightforward fact.]
[MoneyPlease: The world’s response is beginning to move.]
[MoneyPlease: I will do my best to ensure a satisfying observation this time as well.]
I stretched lightly.
Time to summarize.
This time, what I intend to give him is—
***
Wait.
Calm down.
Ares barely managed to look away from the nun’s habit, which was almost scandalous despite being aligned with church doctrine.
It wasn’t something anyone but the nuns would wear.
What surprised him was that he hadn’t expected her to arrive so soon.
‘The church is more transparent in its intentions than I thought.’
Shifting his gaze away from the provocatively split habit, his brain, which had temporarily stalled, began working again.
A beauty trap, perhaps.
Trying to ease his resistance towards religion like this suggested that—
‘Saint Erin might know more about me than I expected.’
Though he’d written books, none were published, and he’d secluded himself after his mother converted to the church.
Yet she seemed aware of his wariness towards religion?
Duke Kal Bayan, who didn’t believe in the church, wouldn’t have told her.
Neither did it seem likely that Eirene would have shared anything.
Her insight was terrifying.
‘Apologies, Saint. Instead of easing my suspicions, they’ve only grown stronger.’
The key was not to act rashly.
At the same time, he resolved not to be swayed by the plausible rhetoric spilling from her lips.
‘While the first was a given, the second didn’t seem like something worth stressing over.’
With such confident thoughts, he slowly turned back to the nun.
The sacred aura emanating from her presence once again tugged at his attention, but he managed to counter it by focusing on other thoughts.
“Welcome, Sister. I was informed, but you arrived quite quickly.”
“Hehe, yes! Though I was supposed to start tomorrow, I just couldn’t wait to spread the will of God to Prince Ares, so I came today!”
“Is that… alright?”
“Of course! Ah… was it perhaps a bit uncomfortable for you…?”
Karen looked up at him with bright, sparkling eyes.
Unable to meet her gaze properly, Ares awkwardly averted his eyes and replied, “No, well… it’s fine for me. But, wouldn’t it be inconvenient for you or something…”
He had resolved to act nonchalant.
‘Yet, why was interacting with her so difficult?’
“That’s a relief!”
As Karen spoke, she smiled brightly again.
Ares tried his best to clear his mind and stay composed.
‘Don’t get swayed by just a woman, Ares.’
Besides, when he thought about it rationally, this delicate balance between them would only last for now.
As soon as the topic of religion came up, he was certain he’d quickly lose interest and feel a sense of distance from her.
Not believing in the existence of God, he found religious discussions utterly uninteresting.
So, he wished she would just start the Bible study already.
***
Just then—
“Wow… Even a prince’s room is just like any other man’s. My younger brother always leaves his room messy too, so cleaning up becomes my responsibility.”
Karen entered the room without hesitation and began looking around.
“Sister? It’s fine that you’ve come in, but please take a seat over there—”
“Oh my, there’s a chess set! Have you been playing alone?”
It wasn’t just her easygoing personality—
With every graceful movement, glimpses of her thighs or hips caught his eye.
And the sway of her sacred aura pouch only made Ares’ mind whirl even more.
Instead of responding in detail, he sighed and replied resignedly, “…Yes, that’s correct.”
Despite his lofty ambitions for reform, he was, at the end of the day, merely a young man who had only recently come of age for marriage.
It was a time in his life when he was naturally drawn to the opposite sex.
‘…Wait a moment.’
“Excuse me, but how did you figure out I was playing alone?”
Karen tilted her head, her expression innocent, as if to ask why he would even question such a thing.
“Well… from the movement of the pieces, it seemed like you were contemplating alone. Why do you ask?”
“That’s… something you can tell just by looking?”
“Yes!”
He wondered if she was just humoring him, but then Karen clapped her hands and smiled radiantly.
“Oh! Speaking of which, why don’t we play chess together?”
“Uh? I mean, sure… But didn’t you come here for Bible study?”
“That’s important too, but getting closer to the prince is just as important!”
‘…It’s not easy to beat me in chess, though.’
Suppressing a chuckle, Ares smiled wryly to himself.
Chess was one of the few things he was truly confident about, as he enjoyed hobbies like this.
Fine. He didn’t need to overwhelm her.
He’d play a courteous game.
But that didn’t mean he planned to let her win easily.
He thought about making it a close match for fun.
“Alright then. Please make your move.”
***
Several minutes later—
Ares clasped his hands together and stared at the chessboard intently.
No matter what move he made… he couldn’t avoid a checkmate in three moves.
He glared at the pieces, but no clever solutions came to mind.
At some point, it felt as if his defeat had already been decided long ago.
Not only had he failed to make it a close match, but if he lost this round, it would be his third consecutive defeat.
Ares couldn’t believe it.
The fact that he was losing three straight games of chess to someone else was a catastrophe unlike any he had ever faced in his life.
Looking up at Karen, he saw her still smiling cheerfully.
‘Damn it… What is with this woman?’
Slowly lowering his head, Ares bit his lip and reluctantly spoke the words he didn’t want to admit, “…I concede.”
“Well played, Your Highness! This game was fun too!”
“Have you ever formally learned chess?”
“I haven’t. I just picked it up while playing with my younger brother. It’s fun! Since then, I’ve naturally developed an interest in board games in general.”
Her younger brother, huh.
Though she appeared around his age, Ares suspected that to her, he must seem like a younger brother as well.
To work at the grand cathedral of Igogoden, she must have spent six or more years in training.
And the minimum age for official entry as a nun was eighteen.
‘She didn’t formally learn but plays this well?’
“Ah, Your Highness! If you don’t mind, shall I point out where things started to go wrong for you?”
“Before you conceded, you seemed to be wondering, ‘How did it end up like this?’ with a rather devastated expression.”
‘Was I really?’
He thought he’d done a good job hiding it, but it seemed his emotions had leaked through.
‘What should he do?’
Accepting advice on chess, something he prided himself on, would be a blow to his ego—
But at the same time, he was curious about the perspective of someone who had pushed him this far.
“Please… I’d appreciate it.”
“Alright! Excuse me for a moment.”
With skillful hands, Karen rewound the board seven moves.
Then, she stood up from her seat and approached Ares.
The scent of her perfume hit him suddenly, and at the same time—
-Soft!
Karen’s side pressed against Ares’ arm through her nun’s habit.
“Here, Your Highness moved the knight for defense, correct? Actually, that wasn’t the best move. As you saw, it opened up the bishop’s path when I removed the piece here…”
Thump, thump.
She was undoubtedly explaining something, but he couldn’t hear her clearly.
In exchange for his dulled hearing, his sense of touch seemed to heighten.
The softness of her body made focusing on the game utterly impossible.
This was absurd.
Coming for Bible study only to end up playing chess.
Starting casually but getting so absorbed in the game that it turned serious.
And… being completely dominated by an older woman.
In this situation, all Ares could do was—
‘Stay focused, don’t lose your composure, stay calm, stay calm…’
—Struggle to maintain control over himself.