Chapter 23
Light novel: Episode 23
Manhwa: Chapter 11
“…So, Ordell says she’s going to properly fulfill her role as the Saintess from now on.”
At the Count’s first words since the end of the report, Gale hurriedly nodded.
“Y-yes! From what I saw, not only the High Priest but also the Captain of the Holy Order seem to treat her far more warmly than before.”
High Priest Airek, who had reluctantly accepted her out of necessity but always showed subtle discomfort at her un-Saintess-like behavior.
Captain of the Holy Order, Seth, who, even while treating her respectfully as the supposed true Saintess, had never once shown signs of drawing closer to her personally.
And yet, in just a few months, both their attitudes had completely shifted.
As if Ordell had truly gained their trust.
That change was exactly why Gale had started to believe her claim about wanting to act as the Count’s spy.
“She’s pulled all kinds of stunts before just to get my attention so I find it hard to believe this one, too.”
But unlike Gale, Count Kiris hadn’t seen the situation with his own eyes, and so he didn’t believe a word of it.
Gale was disappointed, but he didn’t try to convince him otherwise.
Considering Ordell had even once faked a suicide attempt, it was only natural that the Count wouldn’t believe her so easily.
“But right now, she’s not the only concern. Are you certain Duke Sieri actually visited the grand temple?”
At the Count’s follow-up question, Gale’s face stiffened.
That’s right, Ordell wasn’t the only problem right now.
He himself had been stunned to see Duke Sieri at the grand temple.
“Yes. He was with Yuri Poulton.”
“And you don’t know what brought him there?”
“All I heard was that it was an urgent matter. I hid outside the temple and waited for the Duke to come out, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”
Neither the Duke nor Count Poulton spoke a word to each other until they got into the carriage, so there had been nothing to eavesdrop on.
“Shall I ask Ordell what the Duke’s business was? If she really intends to act as your spy like she claimed, she’ll reply with an answer.”
“…Fine. Who knows how much information the High Priest would allow a false Saintess to access, but there’s nothing to lose. Send her a letter.”
“Understood. I’ll send it right away.”
“Oh, and what kind of expression did the Duke have when he left the grand temple?”
At the Count’s question, Gale tilted his head.
He wasn’t sure why the Count was asking something like that, but he answered honestly for now.
“He was smiling. That same unpleasant smile he always wears. Or… maybe it looked a bit brighter than usual?”
The tone might have been slightly different, but that unsettling, insufferable smile he always wore was definitely still there.
At Gale’s reply, the Count waved his hand dismissively as if he understood.
Gale immediately bowed his head and stepped out of the Count’s office.
He was relieved that the Count hadn’t made a big issue of it.
“Lute Sieri visited the Sun God’s grand temple…”
Now alone, Count Kiris tapped his fingers on the desk.
To think that a catch like Lute Sieri had wandered right into the place where he had planted a fake Saintess for the benefit of his house.
It would be ideal if Ordell managed to gain the man’s trust and could bring back all sorts of information… but that’s probably too much to hope for.
For now, just the fact that Lute Sieri had made contact with the grand temple was enough.
Count Kiris put down his pen and rose from his seat. There was still much work to be done, but the paperwork in front of him was not what mattered right now.
The more pressing matter was reporting Lute Sieri’s movements—
To his master, who was exceedingly interested in that man’s every move.
* * *
When Airek belatedly realized that what had been given to Lute wasn’t a sacred relic, but a divine relic, he fainted on the spot.
Startled, Seth hurriedly carried him to his bedroom, and I trailed closely behind them.
“I figured you’d be shocked, but to think you’d actually faint. How can you lead the grand temple with such a weak constitution?”
I placed a cold, damp cloth on Airek’s forehead.
He lay in bed groaning, and the sight of him was honestly a bit pitiful.
“Well, it was a divine relic after all. The shock must’ve been too much.”
Seth gave an awkward chuckle, siding with Airek.
“Still, he really does seem too delicate. When the meat delivery arrives today, I’m going to make sure the High Priest eats a lot.”
“Agreed.”
“This is all because he’s not getting enough protein. People need to eat protein to stay alive.”
I glanced around Airek’s bedroom.
It was my first time seeing someone else’s sleeping quarters inside the grand temple. And… well, it was pretty shocking.
Even though he held the second-highest position in the grand temple after the Saintess, the room was small and worn-down.
As for furniture, there was only a bed and a wardrobe. That was it.
His office was decent enough, but no matter how clean this room was kept, it couldn’t hide how old and shabby it was.
“Hoo…”
Living in a place like this could give a healthy person an illness.
So today, we’re absolutely having a meat feast. I’m going to feed everyone until they’re stuffed and can’t eat another bite.
“Ugh…”
Just then, Airek began to stir. And as soon as he made eye contact with me, he let out a deep, heavy sigh.
Sighing right after looking at someone’s face? Talk about bad luck.
“Saintess, why… why on earth would you give away a divine relic—”
“It just seemed like the Duke needed that more than something like the Relic of Light.”
“But Saintess, a divine relic is a gift from the gods themselves, so it’s extremely important, especially in a difficult situation like ours—”
I cut Airek off mid-sentence.
He only saw one side of the situation and was missing the bigger picture.
“High Priest. If the divine relic just stays quietly stored away in the underground sanctuary, will the name of the grand temple be spread and known to all?”
“……”
“If we just treasure it and keep it safe, will gold bars start falling from the sky?”
If anything, the Sun God keeps draining every cent I make and converting it into divine power.
Of course, no one but me will ever know that.
Which somehow makes it even more depressing.
I definitely had 200 million in my hands at one point, but now all I have left is divine power.
I’m a modern woman. I value cash more.
“So instead, lending it to someone who actually needs it and getting something we desperately need, which is money, is a much better deal. Besides, we’ve gained a new follower, haven’t we?”
And not just any follower—an S-rank one worth 300 million.
In fact, he even handed over 300 million in cash, meaning he’s a premium customer worth a total of 600 million!
There’s no way I can let someone like that go.
“Once word gets out that Duke Sieri has become a follower of the Sun God’s grand temple, others might start coming too. He even promised to visit at least once a month.”
“Once a month?”
Airek, who had been at a loss for words, widened his eyes in shock.
Seth, who hadn’t heard any of this either, was also surprised.
“Duke Sieri is famous for how valuable his time is. And someone like that plans to visit the temple monthly?”
“Yes. He said he’d be coming to have the relic’s condition regularly checked.”
Since I couldn’t very well say he was coming for a blessing recharge, I offered a vague excuse.
“For the record, the Duke doesn’t know it’s a divine relic. He didn’t know what the Relic of Light looked like, so I just told him Aurora was the Relic of Light.”
“That was well done. It’s better to keep the divine relic’s existence hidden, just in case the Duke develops other intentions.”
Now that he’d calmed down a little, Airek took the cloth off his forehead and sat up.
“Then the real Relic of Light is still in the sanctuary?”
“Oh, I was just about to mention that.”
I pulled out the jewel box that had held the Relic of Light from my sleeve.
In novels and comics, I always thought it was strange how people pulled stuff out of their sleeves but now that I’ve possessed someone, I get it. It’s actually really convenient for storage.
Kind of feels like I’m a martial arts master in a wuxia novel.
“No matter how I look at it, this thing looks fake.”
I placed the box on the bed and opened the lid. When the shattered necklace inside was revealed, Airek looked stunned.
“I just applied a bit of pressure, and it broke. There’s no way a sacred relic would shatter this easily. Either someone swapped it out, or it was never real in the first place.”
I added that this was why I had no choice but to give the Duke the divine relic instead.
“To be honest, I agree with the Saintess. It’s hard to explain, but compared to the divine relics or even other sacred relics, this one gave me a really unpleasant feeling. It felt… repulsive.”
Seth, who had been silently listening until now, finally spoke up and agreed with me.
“…You two felt that way as well?”
“Huh? You mean you felt it too, High Priest?”
Airek nodded with a conflicted look.
“The first time I saw it was right after I inherited the position of High Priest. But the feeling it gave me was so unsettling that I never looked for it again. So when the Duke requested it, I was honestly relieved.”
“So let me get this straight… you were thinking of handing over something this disturbing to the Duke? Wow…”
“No, that wasn’t my intention—!”
“If the Duke had taken this and something went wrong, our grand temple, barely holding on as it is, would’ve been utterly destroyed…”
Wait a minute. Could this be the real reason why the Duke was so hostile toward the Sun God’s grand temple in the original story? Not because of the final mastermind who treated him like a slave, but because of this?
Even if he had asked for it himself, we handed over a flawed relic without a single warning, acting like we were doing him a favor…?
That actually sounds pretty plausible.
“Ahem! Then what should we do with it now? Putting it back in the sanctuary seems a bit…”
“I already have something in mind. I’ll take care of it.”
Casting a sideways glance at Airek, I closed the lid of the jewel box and hugged it tightly to my chest.
Oh, how I’d always wanted to smash this wretched piece of jewelry that had been causing me so much grief and frustration throughout the novel.
There was no way I was going to give someone else the satisfaction of destroying it.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!