Chapter 16
Light novel: Episode 16
Manhwa: Chapter 8
“……”
Gale simply trembled, unable to say a word.
He’d been struck right in the heart of it.
“Of course, it’s not like I’ve forgotten the Count’s favor. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be living this luxurious life as a Saintess. How could I forget that kind of grace?”
Deliberately giving him time to think, I whispered in a low voice, as if I’d never threatened him at all.
After I had cracked the whip, now was the time to dangle the carrot.
To keep milking—ahem—I mean, receiving generous donations from the House of Kiris.
“It’s just that, well, the Count and you both keep looking down on me, and that pissed me off a bit. Sure, if it gets out I’m a fake Saintess, the Kiris family will be in trouble, but I won’t come out of it unscathed either, right? I’d be completely ruined in high society.”
“……”
“So that’s why. I’ve decided to start properly playing the Saintess role, just like the Count wants me to.”
“—What?”
At my sudden change in attitude, Gale, who had been watching me suspiciously, widened his eyes.
The momentum had now completely shifted to me.
“You saw how worried the High Priest and Captain of the Holy Order were about me, right? If I put my mind to it, earning their trust is nothing.”
This was exactly why I had told the two of them to overreact earlier.
For this very reason.
Because Gale would trust Airek and Seth’s reactions more than mine.
“……”
As expected, his eyes started to waver, completely unaware that I was lying through my teeth.
“You… you came here because of the infiltrators, didn’t you?”
“……”
“It was me who reported Head Chef Kento’s embezzlement. And the High Priest and Captain of the Holy Order handled the investigation and captured all the spies in the act.”
“Why would you do such a thing! Now that the High Priest and Captain know, planting new spies will be nearly impossible!”
“But in return, I gained their trust.”
I whispered a sweet lie into his ear—one he couldn’t help but fall for.
“The only reason someone with barely a speck of divine power like me was able to gain their trust is because of that. They haven’t figured out yet that the spies were planted by the Kiris family. If they had, you wouldn’t have been let in here today.”
“…Ah.”
“If I, the one who has earned their trust, just play the role of the Saintess perfectly, there’s no need to plant any more spies here. I’ll be the spy myself.”
“……”
“So, what do you think, Gale? Do I still look like the incompetent ‘Miss Kiris’ to you?”
It was a pointed jab at how he kept calling me ‘Miss Kiris’ in front of the grand temple people who didn’t know I was a fake.
His eyes trembled, only now did that idiot Gale realize just how dangerous that could have been.
“So go back and tell the Count. Stop planting spies just to skim off some petty funds. I’ll become the real Saintess of the grand temple and bring in money worth many times more for him.”
Of course, that’s a lie. Only a fool would believe it.
But then again, who told them to play dirty first? This is just getting what they deserve.
“…I don’t know if the Count will accept the S-Saintess’s proposal, but… I will relay it to him.”
Utterly overwhelmed by my momentum, Gale stammered his reply. I leaned back on the sofa, smiling in satisfaction.
If Count Kiris had any brains, he’d accept my offer. If not, he’d probably come running here himself to grab me by the hair.
I just hope he doesn’t make a stupid choice.
* * *
“Will she be alright…?”
Seth asked with a sigh.
Having stepped out of the drawing room, Airek and Seth were now stationed at the entrance of the grand temple.
The reason why they were standing guard was to prevent the knights of the Kiris family, whom Baron Gale had brought along, from entering.
He had brought nearly ten knights with him to the Grand Temple.
“Even if he’s a vassal serving under the Saintess’s father, to act with such rudeness is just…”
Seth, keeping a wary eye on the knights, let out a worried sigh.
Even Airek, who generally knew more than he let on, had a stern expression on his face.
Ordell was already someone who didn’t receive affection from the Count, so how much worse could the disrespect get when she was alone with someone like that?
Their refusal to leave earlier when Ordell ordered them out hadn’t been solely because she asked, they were genuinely concerned too.
“…Sir Victoria is standing guard outside the drawing room, right?”
“Of course. Though she’s not quite at master level yet, so she probably can’t hear what’s being said inside. The soundproofing in that room is excellent.”
“Would she be able to hear if someone raised their voice?”
“If it gets loud enough that a knight needs to intervene, she’ll definitely hear it.”
Airek nodded at Seth’s assurance.
Ordell was the kind of person who didn’t hold back when she got angry as she’d yell without hesitation, so she’d be fine.
…But then again, when was the last time she actually yelled?
It used to be a daily occurrence—her shouting fits were like clockwork.
He hadn’t heard that high-pitched voice of hers, raised in something like angry tears, in quite a while now.
Instead, what filled his recent memories was that calm, composed voice—one he’d rarely heard before.
“High Priest. Someone is coming this way.”
Just as that strange realization settled into his chest, Seth’s voice rang out.
Two unfamiliar men were coming toward them from the far end of the garden.
Could they be people from Kiris family who had come with Gale?
Airek’s gaze turned sharp as he stared down the approaching knights from the Kiris household.
But strangely, they too wore guarded expressions.
Were they unrelated to that man? Then who could they be?
It had been so long since anyone other than someone connected to the Kiris family had visited that he couldn’t even begin to guess.
“High Priest, it’s Duke Lute Sieri.”
At Seth’s urgent whisper, Airek’s eyes widened. The man’s appearance certainly matched the rumors he had heard.
Lute Sieri.
The Duke who governed the western region of Carnus, the continent’s only empire and master of its vast western mines.
Head of one of the empire’s four ducal houses, and the only one who has no imperial blood in his veins yet still wielded overwhelming power.
And now he had come to the grand temple?
Even after living here for eighteen years, it was the first time Airek had seen someone of his stature visit the grand temple.
“Did you already know I was coming? Standing in line like this to greet me, such enthusiastic hospitality, I hardly know what to do with myself.”
The man had somehow already approached close. Lute Sieri tilted his head slightly as he stood at an angle.
His gaze was intense as he surveyed each and every one of the people gathered at the entrance.
It made people instinctively shrink back.
While the knights of Kiris scrambled upon realizing who he was, Airek and Seth descended the stairs to greet the duke.
“Welcome to the grand temple of the Sun God. I am the High Priest, Airek Dert.”
“And I am Seth Noel, Captain of the Holy Order.”
“Oh, High Priest and Captain of the Holy Order. Did you really know I was coming after all?”
Lute raised an eyebrow, surprised. It seemed he hadn’t expected the two highest-ranking temple figures to greet him personally.
Not knowing what his intentions were, and finding it awkward to offer unnecessary explanations, Airek simply got to the point.
“If we had known the master of the western region was visiting, we would have made proper preparations. Unfortunately, we lack the foresight to have predicted today’s visit.”
It was a refined way of asking: “Why are you here?”
“Ah, so the temple lacks prophetic abilities?”
Rather than answering the question, Lute replied with one of his own.
“…We do not possess such a thing.”
“Ah, how disappointing. I had hoped for some kind of prophecy. Truly a letdown.”
Behind the slanted lens of his glasses, the corners of his eyes drooped with visible regret.
It didn’t seem like sarcasm. It seemed as if he had genuinely expected it, which left Airek momentarily at a loss.
Prophecy—seeing into the future—was a domain reserved solely for the gods.
How could a mere human possibly glimpse the future?
Even the Saintess and Saint, chosen by the divine, could not do such a thing.
To think he had genuinely believed they could… was astonishing.
“I’ve come on important business, so please guide me somewhere quiet. What I have to say isn’t something to be spoken where there are too many ears listening.”
As if the light tone from earlier had never existed, Lute Sieri’s expression suddenly turned serious.
The shift in atmosphere carried a subtle weight that pressed down on Airek.
Indeed, there was a reason this man was called one of the pillars supporting the empire.
“This way, please.”
With no grounds to refuse—and curiosity piqued—Airek was just about to lead him inside when—
“High Priest? Who is that man?”
Ordell appeared with Gale just as the conversation seemed to have ended.
Instinctively, Airek glanced at Ordell’s face first.
Whenever she got angry, the corners of her eyes would flush red, as though she’d been crying but now, her expression was completely calm.
As if nothing had happened.
Only after confirming Victoria’s face behind her, equally composed, did Airek quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
“This is Duke Lute Sieri. He says he has come to the grand temple for important business.”
Airek didn’t elaborate further, assuming Ordell already knew who Lute Sieri was.
“…Who did you say?”
But her dazed expression made Airek tilt his head in confusion.
Don’t tell me… she doesn’t know who the duke is?
“He is one of the four pillars that uphold the empire, and the master of the western region.”
Ordell’s face, which had seemed perfectly fine just moments ago, suddenly went white.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
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