Chapter 116

Updated: 4 days ago

Since the holy flowers cultivated by the Saint contained the same purity, equivalent to that of holy power, they were used for various purposes.

The torches were utilized to create medicine, so all diseases, put aside the incurable, were easily healed.

This mounted to a significant price for the nobles who knew this fact.

Selling torches to collect money was also the main source of income for the Temple.

“Even if there is not enough, we will send them away. This will be the surest way.”

Rabienne replied while glancing around the greenhouse, bearing no greed for money.

There was no way that the few priests along the border area would be able to treat all of the patients.

If she could use the torches to stop any rumors from spreading, so be it.

“However, half the amount must be preserved. Leave the insignificant commoners and slaves… The torches are just too precious.”

Lucas advised, his words tinted with regret. It was rather two-faced, for someone who had just spoken about consulting the Royal family to deal with the matter officially.

In the end, Rabienne burst into laughter and assured him that she would never act in any way that would result in a loss for the Temple.

“High Priest Lucas is very similar to me.”

“Yes?”

“I like it. I believe everyone who does not take care of their own interests is a hypocrite.”

Rabienne approached Lucas, and threw the rotted torch that had consumed her venom to the ground.

“I agree with your statement that wasting the torches freely would not be advantageous, however. If the epidemic spreads further, such a loss would be much greater than losing them. Send at least half the amount for now. With this, we can put out the fire and save more for later.”

“I understand.”

At that moment, Lucas gazed at the torches with dismayed eyes. He frowned upon noticing that Rabienne had yet to complete her task.

“Wait a minute.”

It was not until he observed closely at the nearby lanterns that he realized that not one had been fully purified.

“It’s not as good as I thought. I don’t know if it’ll work even if it’s sent to the border.”

“This… The conditions are not as good as I expected them to be. If a torch in this shape is sent to the borders, I’m not sure they would function properly.”

The reason why the torch changed like this was all due to the absence of the true Saint. They had gone bad since no one tended to them properly.

Rabienne clenched her teeth at the hard work she wasted, all for naught.

“There is nothing I can do. Please send this, and all the high priests will help me starting tomorrow. Let’s put aside other matters and fix the torches first.”

If the epidemic does not subside, the torches would be required a lot in the future, so working alongside the priests would serve as a better alternative.

“I understand. And I hear Khalid has returned. Did you achieve any results?”

“She isn’t the one.”

Rabienne slowly shook her stiff head. Lucas’s face darkened as well.

“This is a problem. We must find the Saint quickly in order to maintain the Temple.”

“…What do we do now?”

Although the revelation came down, the real Saint had yet to be found, and no progress was made. The mission only increased in helplessness.

For the first time, Lucas thought back to whether he had chosen the safer rope.

At this rate, if it was revealed that Rabienne was not the real Saint, it wouldn’t just end with his seat being taken.

At all costs, Rabienne had to keep her place.

“I will pray to the Goddess again.”

“Yes, please.”

While the two were thinking differently, they joined forces and worked to purify the torches.

***

The day Noah arrived at the Grand Duchy.

Noah appeared at dinner as per Esther’s invite.

Since she had informed the kitchen in advance, the meal was prepared with as much finesse as possible.

The food was usually served well, but today’s meal was more extravagant and lavish.

“It’s like the food they serve at parties.”

“Right. When will I be able to finish all this?”

Judy and Dennis each threw out a comment. That’s how much food there was.

Darwin, the twins, and Esther arrived at the dining room first and sat down.

“I hope I’m not late.”

“No, you’re just in time.”

Noah, the guest, was last to arrive. He looked around and searched for a place to sit.

He wanted to be next to Esther, but the empty seat was beside Judy.

Judy kicked the chair, marking his hostility towards Noah.

“Please sit here.”

“Thank you.”

Darwin waited until Noah sat down and pointed to the table apologetically.

“We unfortunately don’t have much prepared.”

It was unmistakably a platform holding a limitless amount of dishes. The table was literally about to break.

Noah rolled up his sleeves and mustered a bright smile.

“What do you mean, there isn’t much? There are simply too many plates on the table. Everything is in my favor. Thank you for letting me stay for the day, but to serve such a meal… Your generosity is abundant.”

Darwin only gazed at Noah before twisting the corners of his lips upwards and raising a spoon.

“Then let’s eat.”

“Thank you for the food.”

Noah grinned sheepishly at Esther, who sat across from him.

While the main dishes continued to stack on the table, Judy pushed every single one towards Esther.

The subtly more delicious foods were all farthest from Noah.

“Judy.”

Knowing that Judy was doing this on purpose, Darwin sharply called his name.

“It’s alright. I have long arms compared to my height, so I can touch everything well.”

Noah chose to overlook Judy’s blatant provocation and stretched out his arms to appease the mood. His arms were indeed long, so he could reach almost everything.

Esther tried her best to hold back her laughter as she observed Judy’s sullen expression.

She wanted to give Noah something to eat, but she couldn’t while in front of Darwin.

‘Noah has a really good personality.’

She noticed this when it was just the two of them, but even with Darwin and the twins around, the mood melted comfortably.

Despite the wary and uncomfortable attitude they exhibited, Noah passed by everything easily, which was astounding.

Esther focused her attention away from Noah to consuming the delicious plates.

“Esther, water.”

Dennis, per usual, constantly reminded Esther of her water.

Judy pushed Esther’s favorite foods towards her, one after another.

Although Darwin seemed indifferent, he carefully checked on what Esther was eating.

‘It’s a good family.’

Noah observed them as a third party, a light smile on his face. The meal revolved around Esther.

Esther, too, was naturally receiving all the flowing favors from her family. The affection seemed natural to accept.

It wasn’t like this when she first visited the sanctuary.

The shadow on her face completely disappeared. She had now transformed into a child who knew how to be loved.

‘That’s a relief.’

Noah was a person who knew of Esther’s past experiences. As a person aware of her many traumas, it was an overwhelming experience to witness these changes.

It was nice to see Esther mixing naturally among these people, her smile bright.

His nose tingled with emotion as he observed Esther’s happy smile in such a warm home.

Judy suddenly stopped eating, realizing Noah’s stare at Esther.

He then cut a big slice of steak onto Noah’s plate so he would be distracted from her.

“The food is getting cold.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Noah replied, a moved expression on his face.

After that, he focused solely on his plate, nervousness suddenly taking over him.

‘He must be serious.’

Darwin observed Noah’s reactions to Esther throughout the meal.

His conclusion was that the Crown Prince did not know of Esther’s powers, but was serious about her.

The boy couldn’t take his eyes off Esther for a moment, so Darwin couldn’t help but notice the way he gazed at her.

When on earth did he become so engrossed in the scene? Darwin knocked some sense into himself and decided to take measures gradually from here on out.

“I’ve also prepared dessert, so take your time with the children. I have a meeting to attend, so I’ll leave first.”

Noah’s eyes shone at the word ‘meeting’. He could roughly guess what the topic of discussion would include.

“Alright.”

Esther was relieved when Darwin left. Everything passed safely.

Aside from that,

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Judy suddenly gulped down a glass of water and called out to Noah.

“Why don’t we talk comfortably to each other while we’re alone? You’re speaking informally to Esther, too.”

Noah contemplated before answering. Although he was the Crown Prince, they were both of the same age.

“Shall we?”

Judy had been itching to speak casually since earlier, so this was great for him.

Then he turned straight towards Noah and put on a fake act.

“I heard you were ill. Did you work out? Did you even learn how to use the sword?”

“I learned before I was bedridden, but now that I’ve been resting for a long time, I’ve forgotten pretty much everything.”

“I’ll teach you. Why don’t we go out and have a fight?”

“Brother Judy! That’s…”

Esther intervened, surprised by Judy’s obvious intentions.

At first glance, one could tell that the weak Noah and the fit Judy couldn’t be classified as rivals. It was clear who would win and lose.

However, Esther’s clear worry for Noah only flared Judy’s jealousy more.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I’m just offering to train with him.”

“Hm. Exercising after a meal is good for your body.”

Even the rational Dennis, whom Esther expected to stop Judy, encouraged the whole catastrophe.

“Alright, if you want.”

Even Noah smiled leisurely in acceptance to Judy’s duel.

‘What’s going to happen now?’

Esther was worried that Noah would get hurt by Judy’s excellent skills.

***

The three put off dessert and headed for the backyard, where Judy ran every day.

Since either could receive injuries, the two held wooden swords. Soon, they began to circle around each other.

“Why is this happening after such a nice dinner?”

Esther sat down to observe the both of them and tapped her feet nervously.

She couldn’t stop the fight anymore because they had both agreed to it.

While Esther was overwhelmed with restlessness,

The battle began in an instant.

“Hiya!”

Judy howled and struck his sword from above his head to the floor.

Judy closed his eyes, anticipating Noah to be beaten right away, but surprisingly, the guy avoided the attack. Leisurely at that.

“Oh, He’s more agile than I thought?”

Dennis, who had left to bring something, arrived just in time for the show.

Esther glanced at Dennis as he sat next to her and tilted her head.

“What’s that?”

“This? Snacks to enjoy the entertainment.”

Dennis smiled and showed her the round barrel. The inside was filled with fried corn.

***

Hey! I’ve been busy lately with finals, so I’ve decided to take a break for a while. Don’t worry, it won’t be forever, just that homegirl’s a procrastinator so I’m reaping what I sowed. Instead, here’s a form I want y’all to fill out for a new project I’ll be taking after I return and finish asa(A Saint who wad Adopted by the Grand Duke)

ALSO. If anyone wants to join me so we can finish this novel, feel free to dm me about it so we can form an alliance~ I just need someone who can translate well, and is good with their English (It doesn’t have to be your first language, but I want it to be as good as a first language). It can be Mtl, you just have to make the chapter have good English and it’s all good.