Chapter 5
A blue satin dress draped with white lace.
Airek knows very well what this is.
This dress was a gift from Count Kiris on the day Ordell first came to the Sun God’s Grand Temple as the Lady Saint.
Since it was a precious gift from her father, Ordell loved and cherished it, so much so that she was careful every time she wore it, and would get furiously angry if a maid even accidentally touched it.
But now, she plans to sell it too.
She even lied and said that she had bought it with her own pocket money.
‘Was this planned with Count Kiris? Does she really intend to leave the Grand Temple?’
Come to think of it, she was willing to deceive the Kiris family too.
Did she have a big fight with the Count?
Ordell was loyal to Count Kiris, but he didn’t cherish her much.
It’s possible she realized this and decided to turn her back on him.
‘Everything fits now.’
The sudden change in her demeanor, her desire to quit being a Lady Saint and leave the temple, and the profound emptiness in her expression when she said those words.
Now it all made sense.
“I think it’s better to sell them… Our operational funds are becoming increasingly insufficient.”
As Airek stared seriously at the list, Dietrich spoke cautiously.
He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Indeed, the temple’s finances were in dire straits due to the Lady Saint’s extravagance.
“—Alright, let’s proceed as the Lady Saint wishes starting tomorrow, and you’ll be in charge.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Relieved by the positive response, Dietrich nodded with a brightened face.
Now, he better get it done quickly before Ordel or Airik changed their minds.
“……”
However, unlike Dietrich, Airek couldn’t smile.
Although he was honestly glad about Ordell’s change—
The thought of selling her blue dress, the one she’d treasured so much, kept nagging him.
Especially since she insisted on keeping the money from selling just that item.
In the end, that meant that despite her anger, she couldn’t let go of her attachment to the Kiris family.
Recalling Ordell’s hollow face from earlier in the day, Airek sighed deeply.
* * *
“Ah, I feel refreshed.”
The morning after I handed the list over to Dietrich, I woke up feeling incredibly relieved.
A weekday morning without having to go to work, it’s truly blissful.
“Should I just stay here?”
If I go out, I’ll have to work again to make a living—
But here, as the highest-ranking Lady Saint, I don’t need to work.
When it’s time, they cook and clean for me.
Isn’t this the perfect job?
Maybe I should just stay in the Grand Temple, save up some money, and leave when Idella appears a year later?
It’s a bit embarrassing to tell Airek now that I can’t leave, but he already opposed it anyway.
But my brilliant plan is shattered in less than ten minutes.
“I’m so, so, so, so sorry, Lady Saint–!”
I stared blankly at the woman kneeling before me.
The maid who brought me my breakfast had been visibly frightened from the start.
Until then, I hadn’t given it much thought.
She must be one of the victims of Ordell’s viciousness.
Maybe I should start with her and slowly apologize.
That was what I was thinking.
Until the woman, trembling so much, accidentally bumped into me while setting the tray on the table.
“I’m sorry. Please, please, please forgive me—!”
“……”
Wow, I’m really at a loss for words.
Just a slight touch and she’s groveling like this…?
What on earth did Ordell do here?
“—I’m fine, you can leave now.”
What do you say to someone trembling as if they might get hit?
Knowing she wouldn’t take an apology from me right now, I just sent her away.
“H—Huh?”
“I’m not upset in the slightest, so you can leave now.”
Thinking that she’d be more scared if I asked her to stay longer, I stopped paying attention to her and started eating.
Soon enough, she hesitated, bowed deeply, and rushed out of the room.
Funnily enough, even as she rushed out, her footsteps made no sound.
No, actually, it wasn’t funny at all,
“I should just leave the Grand Temple.”
Forget about changing my image, for the sake of these people’s mental health, I should just leave.
I continued my meal with a sad face.
After finishing the meal, I faced another problem.
Yesterday, Airek and Dietrich had cleared away the dishes, but today, since I had sent the maid away early, there was no one to take them.
Rather than having and watching another frightened person come in and tremble while cleaning up, I decided I should take them myself.
“But where is the kitchen?”
As far as I remember, the dining room and kitchen are connected… But then, where is the dining room?
Moreover, I don’t even know where this bedroom is located.
Since Airek carried me half-conscious from hunger and motion sickness as soon as I arrived at the temple yesterday.
What should I do? Should I call the maid again?
Wouldn’t she faint this time, thinking I’m really angry…?
As I was seriously pondering while looking at the empty tray—
【As per the user’s request, I will guide you through the ‘Map’ system.】
A system message popped up in front of me.
“You were there?”
Maybe because it hadn’t been much help.
That I had completely forgotten about it overnight.
Then, as if asking how I could forget it, the system screen enlarged.
In the upper left-hand corner of the screen, it read:〈Map of the Sun God’s Grand Temple〉.
Right. A possession-system story should have a map feature.
“Find me a route from where I am to the kitchen.”
A path to the kitchen appeared on the map, marked with red dots.
I might have to take back what I said about it not being helpful.
I immediately followed the red dots.
I thought about going directly to the kitchen, but that was connected only through a passage used by the staff, so I decided to cross through the dining hall.
Well, hopefully, the people in the dining hall would not get startled at seeing me—
But my hope was quickly dashed.
“Ah.”
As soon as I entered the dining hall, dozens of eyes instantly locked onto me.
Right, it was their mealtime.
The faces of those who made eye contact with me turned pale instantly.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your peaceful mealtime…
“Lady Saint?”
Airek, who had noticed me, stood up and approached.
“What brings you here—”
“I came to take the empty dishes to the kitchen. But I guess I chose the wrong time.”
I felt bad for making everyone uncomfortable during their meal.
After offering an indirect apology, Airek snatches the tray I’m holding away from me.
“I’ll put these away for you.”
“Oh, if you would–”
“And there’s no place in this Grand Temple that the Lady Saint won’t be able to go. You can go anywhere you wish, anytime you want.”
Huh? No, why is he making such a big deal out of me just coming to a dining hall…?
“Oh, yes, I’ll keep that in mind…”
I’m going to leave soon anyway— But for now, I just nodded.
And just as I was about to quickly disappear from the dining hall for everyone’s sake—
“······?”
I saw something strange.
“Lady Saint?”
Ignoring Airek’s puzzled call, I strode towards what I had just seen.
I felt sorry for the children’s faces turning pale at the end of my gaze, but I couldn’t pay attention to that now.
“What is this–?”
Standing in front of a group of children huddled together at the end of the long table, I widened my eyes in surprise.
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!