A chilly silence involved everything.
When the priests could not say anything, Erich pushed them fiercely, as if he had been waiting.
“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t understand it with my common sense.”
“Stop it, Erich.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When Erich, who had been running wild like a mad dog, suddenly became quiet, the priests began to look at her with awe, a bit of an exaggeration.
“But Erich has a point. Even if it was a mistake once, it can no longer be called a mistake if it happens multiple times. Especially if it is the saint of a country.”
Gulp, Cardinal Simon swallowed.
“I also have a position as duch*ess Blanchett, so I can’t just understand it and ignore it.”
“Yes, I understand too. If there is any reward the duch*ess wants…”
The story of compensation came from the mouth of Cardinal Simon, who seemed at first glance to be the person in charge. She opened her eyes wide in surprise and waved her hands.
‘Why not end it with an easy reward?’
“I’m not talking about asking for compensation.”
She must not mistakenly believe that the situation was currently going in her favor.
“What could be the fault of the priests? Moreover, the reason I was able to wake up was because the priests treated me.”
Cardinal Simon’s face brightened at the unexpected words.
“Then you will let this matter go…”
“Yes. I can’t embarrass the benefactor who treated me.”
Strictly speaking, the saint did not commit a major mistake. Since there was no evidence or witnesses, it was difficult to raise an issue.
‘If this incident becomes public, it will be my loss.’
If she were to point out the saint’s sin, it would be because she only pretended to be acquainted with John in front of her, his wife. The fact that she vomited blood could easily be misunderstood because of the circ*mstances, but there was still no evidence. Later, the priests would try to protect Stella, the saint.
‘Maybe she’ll be the only weird and sensitive girl she is.’
Maybe she could turn into a crazy woman who threw up her own blood and went on a rampage because she accidentally called her husband’s name. As if the saint was waiting, she asked for forgiveness and would take care of her image. So, now that she was at her best advantage, she had to get what she could.
“I’m going to move on peacefully when I can quietly cover up this incident at the temple, huh…”
As she strained and kept her eyes open for a long time, tears flowed from one of her eyes. Cardinal Simon was astonished.
“Du, duch*ess?!”
“If you are having a hard time right now, get more treatment…”
She deliberately lowered her head as if she were sad. The priests looked at her with tense faces.
“Sorry. It looks like my upset feelings haven’t fully resolved.”
“…”
“But my will remains the same. Let’s move on to the fact that I happened to be sick.”
She smiled pretty as she looked at each of the priests’ faces. Cardinal Simon asked back in a voice of complete disbelief.
“Are you sure you don’t mind doing that? The duch*ess’s image may suffer if the story spreads incorrectly…”
“I’m fine. I’m used to people talking badly about me. And all the priests are called by God and dedicate themselves to the empire.”
The priests who were suddenly praised raised their eyebrows awkwardly.
“I don’t want to give those people any more hard work.”
“God Atea…”
Some of the priests, who had a hard time holding back their overwhelming emotions, even quietly called out God’s name as if praying.
Cardinal Simon asked with surprised eyes.
“However, as a priest who worships the god Atea, it is against duty to not offer any apology or compensation to the injured duch*ess.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So, if you have anything to ask of us, even if it’s something small, please let us know.”
“If you really want to.”
She was waiting for those words!
“Please do me a favor sometime. That’s enough for me.”
‘Please do me a favor.’
In some ways it was nothing, in other ways it was a very big condition. However, Cardinal Simon, who was intoxicated by the atmosphere, asked with worried eyes.
“Is that enough? Even though I am a Cardinal, there is not much I can do in my name.”
“That’s right, duch*ess. No matter how much it is for our sake, it would be nice if you thought a little more about the duch*ess’s well-being…”
Still, perhaps because they were priests, everyone was worried about her.
‘Maybe this is why they were influenced more by Stella?’
But contrary to what they thought, this was what she needed most right now.
‘I might have more trouble with Stella in the future, so I need someone on my side inside the temple.’
She smiled with an innocent face without any greed.
“How can I pursue my greed against priests? That’s enough for me.”
Some of the priests were moved and had tears in their eyes.
“How could the saint have such a misunderstanding with such a person…”
“The duch*ess Blanchett, as rumored, had such a great personality.”
Cardinal Simon, who looked at her in silence for a moment, nodded his head.
“All right. I promise you this in the name of God Atea.”
The other priests also nodded as if it was a natural thing. Maybe because of how she looked now, they didn’t think she would ask for too much of an unreasonable request.
‘No way!’
She would use it to her advantage to find out the identity of the saint.
* * *
Carlos opened his eyes and woke up late.
“Wait…!”
When he woke up in a cold sweat, the only person by his side was Ben, his loyal servant.
“Your Highness, are you conscious?”
“Where am I now?”
“This is the Crown Prince’s room. Your Majesty was lying down in the ‘place’ so we brought him to you right away. I didn’t call any other servants just in case.”
Carlos saw a scar on his arm.
“It wasn’t a dream either.”
Scars used for rituals would not disappear no matter what you do. This was because scars were a sign of the success of the sacrifice. When it disappeared, the price also disappeared. Instead, since it was used in a ritual, there was no pain left after it was over.
“Ben, was there anyone else other than me who entered the ‘place’?”
“No. There was no one there.”
“Right.”
To be honest, Carlos wanted to deny the Estelle he saw in the imperial cave. As soon as he saw her face, he involuntarily begged and hung on, because he hated it.
‘In the end, she turned away from me.’
He even said he needed her, but he didn’t want to believe that he was rejected.
‘But it was Estelle who I met.’
To begin with, it felt completely different from the Estelle he had seen in his dreams. He should have put forward some terms or suggestions that would be tempting to Estelle.
As soon as they met, all he did was cling to her like an idiot.
‘It’s not okay to hang on to Libertan as a condition…’
Estelle would never hold his hand now. Carlos admitted this fact irritably, ruminating on the situation that had completely changed from the past.
‘Unlike me, she no longer needs me.’
In that case, all he had to do was make sure Carlos was needed again. Just like the time in the past when Carlos was the only one left and sent a heartbreaking letter.
“I have to separate the two of them.”
“Yes?”
“Ben, please investigate all weaknesses against Duke Blanchett.”
From beginning to end, Ben answered as if he was troubled.
“Your Highness, you have given similar orders before, but unlike your Highness, there was nothing that would cause much trouble to Duke Blanchett.”
“Does that make sense?”
Carlos hit the wall of his room with his fist.
“Since he’s a human, he’s probably going to have a fatal problem! He must have had minor problems with women before he got married!”
“Unlike Your Highness, Duke Blanchett organized everything so neatly that there was nothing like that.”
“…That guy came up from the bottom. Common sense tells us that he would have had to do something dirty in the process, right?”
Of course, John was a descendant of the historic Blanchett Duke family. However, ironically, because he was a man accused of rebellion, he was also called a model of a self-made man.
“Are there any slight suspicions about Blanchett’s superiors or political maneuvering?”
“First of all, from what I checked, it was clean with no problems.”
Carlos twisted his face.
“With that arrogant personality?”
Carlos was also an arrogant man who would never be pushed aside, but the John he met in real life was a much stronger man than Carlos.
“I am still your servant, so is it okay for me to be honest with you?”
“Why don’t you just say it somewhere?”
“Duke Blanchett may be arrogant, but he is different from other nobles. Because he doesn’t let arrogance take precedence in his actions.”
“…”
“Your Majesty the Crown Prince is also elegant, but when you meet Duke Blanchett, you feel an innate sense of superiority. So even though he doesn’t humble himself, he seems to naturally draw respect…”
Ben secretly noticed Carlos’s gaze. Carlos clenched his teeth as if he was going to throw an object, but fortunately he did not throw the object at him or take out his anger.
“Damn it, there’s no way?”
It was the moment Carlos muttered that.
“More than that, Your Highness, there is a guest outside who came to visit you.”
“Who?”
“This is a person from the temple. He showed me the temple’s token, saying that if your Majesty ever met him, you would immediately recognize him and welcome him. Did you make any promises to the temple?”
“What nonsense. Kick him out right away.”
Carlos’ body, which had been half-heartedly waving his hand as usual, suddenly froze.
“Wait, he said I would find out?”
“Yes, she definitely said that.”
“What on earth… Is she a woman?”
“Uh… It’s a woman.”
“Bring her to me first.”
“Yes?”
Ben asked Carlos back.
“You don’t know whether the woman is pretty or not. And yet?”
“Who said what?”
“I remember everyone you’ve met on a regular basis… Is it because she is the person you secretly met?”
“It’s not like that!”
When Carlos growled, Ben hurried to fetch the guest. The customer was wearing a shabby hood.
“Thank you for letting me into your palace without an appointment.”
The voice was as clear and transparent as a rolling jade ball, but Carlos felt a strange sense of disappointment.
‘It’s not Estelle. I had ridiculous expectations.’
Carlos frowned and asked irritably.
“You think I’ll recognize you right away when I see you?”
“I couldn’t reveal my identity to the imperial palace, so I had no choice. But since I’ve met His Highness the Crown Prince, I should also be polite.”-
Dark blonde hair poured out like a waterfall, making it hard to believe it was hidden under a shabby hood. The woman had blonde hair that shined like a halo, but she gave off a pure and elegant aura like a lily.
“Nice to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Saint Stella of the Holy Kingdom.”
“A saint… I’ve never heard of it.”
The saintess smiled brightly as Carlos looked at her.
“I’m honored that your highness knows me.”
“So why did that great saint come to visit me?”
“That…”
The saintess lowered her long eyelashes and smiled her sorrowful smile.
“Because I saw His Highness suffering as a result of an unexpected sin.”
“You’re saying something ridiculous.”
Despite Carlos’ ridicule, Stella did not lose her dignity as a saint. Stella spoke softly after drinking the tea elegantly served by the servant.
“I know it’s not something I can easily understand. These may all be my shortcomings in conveying the word of God. But in my eyes…”
The saint’s eyes landed on Carlos’ arm.
“I can see your pain.”
Carlos suddenly felt uncomfortable as if his scar had been discovered. Carlos, with his eyebrows furrowed, asked her saintess.
“So what are you going to do for me?”
“Please allow me to pray for you.”
“What?”
“Then I will be able to give you a great blessing. So that your Majesty can forget the pain.”
Stella’s blue eyes were colored with a strange light.
‘I was mistaken. He was shameless enough to forget that it was someone else’s.’
But, being a saint, she decided to give it one more chance. Who was the real owner of her place?
* * *
She was afraid that John would ask her things she didn’t know.
“Did you have a good time?”
However, John did not ask her anything special after returning from the temple. He just told her a different story, saying that he had bought her a picture or gift that he thought she would like.
‘Isn’t John curious?’
But on the other hand, it was difficult for her to ask John more about what happened at that time.
‘Isn’t there a reason why John doesn’t ask anything?’
She was deeply troubled as she watched John playing happily with the spirit baby. John was shaking his new rattle to the spirit baby.
“Is this fun?”
The spirit baby laughed, flailing his short arms.
“Abu, abu-bu!”
The spirit baby was not shy only towards her and John. And maybe because he thought of her and John as his parents, he liked being with them.
John, who was shaking the rattle, asked.
“Estelle, what are you worried about?”
“Oh, no. I want to shake it too.”
But the spirit baby seemed like he wanted to catch it himself. So she gave him the handle.
“Ugh, ewuiu.”
Knock, knock.
But he couldn’t quite grasp it with his small hands yet. The rattle kept falling.
“Ah, it seems difficult to catch.”
In the end, she ended up shaking the cute rattle.
‘Is it because it’s a spirit?’
When she played with a spirit baby, all her complex thoughts were forgotten and she just smiled. She had a great time playing with John and was just about to put him to sleep.
A guest from the imperial palace arrived.
“This is a message from His Majesty the Emperor to Duke Blanchett.”
[For this summer festival, a hunting dance will be held in Pescalos Forest.]
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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