The room was empty. The sound from earlier had been brief and hurried; he’d probably imagined it because he hadn’t gotten enough rest.

The nun shook her head, then left the room and returned to the corridor.

Only after her footsteps had faded into the distance did Carlisle sit up and see where his hand had actually been.

The little white rabbit on the young woman’s chest had been compressed and misshapen beneath the direction of his five fingers. The thin, slightly sheer fabric clung to the fair skin of her chest. Its elegance was gone, replaced by a rather suggestive look. The cleavage had shifted to one side, making it seem much shallower, while the untouched breast on the other side looked especially firm.

All he could smell was the young woman’s pleasant scent, yet he still felt as though a milky smell had hit him full in the face.

Looking farther down, he realized that not only were the young woman’s legs wedged between his, but his legs were between hers as well. He had her white Church robes pinned beneath his legs. The loose clothing had become taut, outlining her curvy figure in full.

Her slender waist and flat stomach, which made him feel sorry for her, were right there before him. One of her slightly arched, fair calves touched the man’s groin, while he had both of the only hands she could use to resist trapped in one of his.

He had to admit, the young woman was more beautiful than anyone he’d ever seen. At that moment, she looked both sacred and humiliated, like a Saintess defeated and taken captive.

Carlisle was sure that, right now, the young woman had no way to resist anything he might do to her.

No man could stay true to himself and resist the young woman’s allure. If a man couldn’t even get **worked up** at a time like this, he couldn’t call himself a man!

Except him.

That was it? He felt nothing. Little Carlisle didn’t even stir.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He lifted his hand away from the young woman’s chest, crawled out from under the table, and apologized to Sherry.

The young woman’s face was bright red with embarrassment, and tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. She looked ready to cry.

She didn’t say a word, as if she’d truly been violated. She only covered her face with both hands and let out a few faint sobs. Her shoulders shook as she cried, making her already disheveled Church robes even more rumpled.

If anyone had witnessed that scene, Carlisle would’ve been branded a violator of the Saintess without even needing an investigation.

“Hey, don’t cry. It was just an accident.” Carlisle seemed especially bad at dealing with crying women. He rubbed the back of his head, then crouched down and pulled open his shirt.

“How about you touch my chest too?”

Maybe it was his imagination, but after he said that, he thought he heard a brief laugh mixed in with the young woman’s sobs.

Seeing that she couldn’t stop crying, he tried again. “Tell me your name, and I’ll grant you one wish.”

A Knight of the Round Table was powerful, after all. Carlisle was confident he could grant her wish. How difficult could the wish of a little Church nun be?

The young woman’s crying slowly subsided. She wiped the tears from her face and pushed herself halfway up from the floor, looking somewhat frail, like someone just recovering from a serious illness.

“There’s no need. If you can, please leave as soon as possible.” Her voice was slightly low and hoarse, yet carried an understated gentleness and resolve. “The church doesn’t welcome guests who enter without permission.”

Anyone would be angry after being groped by a strange man. Carlisle knew the young woman must feel humiliated, too. He paused for a moment, then touched the fingers of his left hand with his right.

There was nothing there.

“Damn Witch!” he cursed under his breath, lowering his arm.

He’d meant to take out something from inside his ring to make it up to her, but it was all that Witch’s fault. She’d stolen his ring!

“What’s your name?” He didn’t give up. As a man, he liked to think he had a strong sense of responsibility.

“You don’t need to know. Let’s pretend none of this happened.” Sherry’s tone turned firm. She stood and straightened her Church robes, trying to look a little less disheveled.

“But…” Carlisle was about to ask more when footsteps sounded outside the door again.

A spell appeared, and he quickly hid himself against the ceiling.

Below him, Sherry roughly wiped her face twice, trying to get rid of the remaining traces of tears.

“Huh? Liya, what are you doing here?” The nun who entered the room immediately spotted Sherry, who had her back to her.

Carlisle’s palms grew a little sweaty as he clung to the ceiling. His tense limbs were ready to bolt at any moment. If Sherry revealed he was there, he’d use a blink spell to shoot straight out of the church.

When it came to running away, a Knight of the Round Table was a top-tier expert. That time the Witch had tricked him had been a fluke.

But, unexpectedly, the young woman didn’t mention him.

“I was just passing by. I’ll be leaving soon.” Though she’d been crying just moments earlier, she forced a smile.

“Oh, I see. Well, I’ve got something to do, so I’ll be off.” The nun didn’t suspect anything. Carrying a large stack of manuscripts, she said goodbye to Liya and hurried out.

She’d only happened to pass by. Church nuns had plenty to do when they were busy; they didn’t have time to slack off.

“Mm. Goodbye.”

Once the nun had disappeared from sight, Sherry’s smile faded, too.

She went to the door. It was time for her to leave as well.

Carlisle didn’t stop her. The nun who’d just come in had let him learn her name. One day, he’d be able to make it up to her.

“Leave this place as soon as you can.” With those final words, Sherry walked out, leaving him with a cool, distant view of her back.

Only then did Carlisle return to the floor.

“You didn’t even tell on him. Well, well.” The thumb-sized Ghostling on his neck popped out again. Its little face, made up of strange features, always had a wicked look. “Maybe she’s into you. I mean, a strange man suddenly barges into the Church—of course they’d want him arrested.”

“She probably didn’t expose me because she was afraid I’d kill her to silence her instead of running away. She managed to stay rational even while she was embarrassed and angry. She’s a clever nun.”

“Fair enough. She must know the difference in strength between you two after being subdued so easily. But speaking of which, how was it, getting handsy with her?”

Carlisle heard it out and shoved it firmly back inside him.

“It was an accident. And honestly, apart from how soft it felt, I didn’t feel anything else.”

“You’ve got the Witch to thank for that. Otherwise, you’d have been all worked up and taken that poor nun right then and there.”

“Bullshit! Don’t lump me in with men who think with their lower halves.”

“Sure, sure. You don’t have a lower half anymore, so of course you can talk tough. Still, that nun’s bound to hold a grudge after you groped her.”

“Let her. I’ll do my best to make it up to her.”

Carlisle walked out of the room. Sunlight from the corridor fell over him, and a comfortable warmth spread from the soles of his feet through his whole body. Only the hole in his pants felt a little chilly.

“The Witch must be hiding somewhere in the church. I’ll keep looking. I refuse to believe I can’t catch her.”