Chapter 24

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Chapter 24

4. What saint?

[ Do you need to be so cold? Didn’t you say you’ve been friends for a long time? ]

“Is there a reason for me to be kind?”

He asked back with an expression that said he didn’t see any reason to treat someone kindly just because he knew someone from way back.

Ignis just stopped talking.

Honestly, no matter how close they were when they were younger, the fact of the matter was that they were apart for a much longer time, and it wasn’t like they shared letters over the years.

It wouldn’t be surprising if they became strangers in the long run, and so this was the explanation Frey gave to Ignis.

It wouldn’t be surprising, but…

[ Didn’t you say you wanted to always be kind and nice for the saint? ]

He said that he didn’t want to be like Lisandro, who was one person in front of the saint and another person when she’s not looking, and even Ignis honestly thought that it wasn’t funny.

Just who was Frey?

With thick, towering walls around himself, he pretended to smile as he touched on other people’s nerves, and he wasn’t the kind of person who befriended other people at all. He was a cold human being who liked himself and looked down on other people with contempt.

He was definitely smiling, but it never felt like it would reach his eyes. It was difficult to get close to him as he prevented anyone from getting close.

Even though his own body was hot, Ignis trembled as he felt the coldness of human beings that he didn’t have.

“She’s never going to meet Yuni.”

[ You don’t know what can happen. ]

“Then I can just tell her not to meet that woman and feign innocence. I’m a kind, pure child to Noona.”

Smiling broadly, Frey really looked like an innocent child who didn’t know the ways of the world.

「 I couldn’t find the person I wanted to find the most right away.

I didn’t want to give up hope, so time passed quickly.

I couldn’t find that person, but I instead met a friend who sacrificed her life on behalf of me.

I thought that I should give her something that she wanted, so I left a note with the contact details of my family’s butler.

I blocked any possibility of abuse, so you don’t have to worry.

There’s nothing equivalent to a life, but I decided to end our connection there because I realized that she might be up to something.

I have many stories that can’t be expressed well in just a letter. I really want to see you soon, Noona.

And it’s a shame that your debutante has already passed.

I was going to come back on time for it, but you already did it as soon as you turned 18…

I know I missed out on seeing Noona during your coming of age, but from now on, I don’t want to miss out on anything anymore.

I’ll take it all in with my eyes and I’ll store it well in my mind.

There’s a lot I want to say once we meet again. I’ll be there soon.

Noona, I miss you so much.

I’ll probably be back by the time you receive this letter.

P.S. I didn’t send my gift to you just yet. I want to give it to you myself. I’ll hurry up and come back to you. 」

In the spring of my nineteenth year, a letter arrived before Frey’s return.

I folded the letter and placed it in a box. It was full of letters from Frey, and this collection had accumulated steadily over the years.

The presents he gave me also piled up, and there was a room dedicated just for the gifts I received from Frey.

“Princess.”

“Hm?”

The news of Frey’s return made me smile unconsciously.

While I sipped my tea, I could see Uta feeling restless.

“Princess, are you going to skip?”

“What is it this time. Negligence of duty?”

“…Yes.”

Uta replied while holding back her tears as though she was eating mustard seeds.¹ She’s a good kid who cries over many trivial things.

Uta has been my personal maid ever since I was young, so she made such a fuss even if I got hurt a little.

“But does that make sense? How can the Princess be someone negligent!”

I laughed incredulously at the news that just came in.

It was a rumor that was gradually being circulated, and it was clearly to undermine the saint.

“Did you also hear them say that I have a bad personality?”

This was a rumor that came about because I acted candidly, so it wasn’t something that bothered me.

“I keep telling them because those people really don’t know anything!”

Calming down the flustered Uta, I responded casually.

“Well, that rumor hasn’t been going around just once or twice.”

As though I was listening to rumors about someone else, I picked up a book.

There was no change in my overall life, whether I lived in the temple or at home.

Since I was attending school, the temple had been working at making me a saint only in name, and now after proceeding with the plan in earnest along with my mother’s help, everything was being done by the temple, along with volunteer work and other official work.

Vocational schools and orphanages have become more stable over time, and relief organizations for the poor have been established as well.

It started with temples in the Imperial capital, but temples in other regions were also changing.

When they first hid the saint, of course there was backlash.

The temple was accused of trying to monopolize the saint, and the nobles protested.

They protested about what the temple had done so far, and I wondered who would make such a ruckus.

The nobles were eventually reined down by my mother, and the temple organized their own people.

And I’ve been under hot water all these years. Basically, no matter how weak the saint was, their divine power was still by far the best.

Therefore, no one expressed much dissatisfaction with the saint’s abilities—though it’s steadily weakening, their power still wasn’t something to scoff at.

And more than that, after I appeared, there was a phenomenon of divine power returning.

That rumor went somewhere else, but anyway, that was my plan.

Let’s not do it ninety-nine times. Just do it well once and be done with it.

Originally, if someone couldn’t show good results all those other times but can produce one good result, past behavior would still be seen and remembered. I made very good use of this.

No one questioned it even when I chose to return home after graduating from the ministry academy.

The usual reaction was just, ‘I knew it’.

Ever since I was in school, I’d been doing volunteer work, and whenever I did, I would just say that I’d go as a habit.

And it literally means that I’ll go to the temple, but I’ll return home—though I won’t quit being the saint.

Thanks to living as a troublemaker along with my prolonged seclusion back then when I had the dream of Lisandro killing me, people just responded like this:

”That’s how she is. It’s not surprising.”

So even if there was no saint, the temple’s volunteer work was actively being carried out.

Even without the saint, the temple was helping the people. Rather, it was safe to say that it’s good to see them be more well-off than before.

Those who didn’t have a job entered the vocational schools and discovered their talents. Eventually, they got jobs.

Those who got food from the feeding program would later volunteer at the temple because they wanted to repay the grace they received.

And my blessings had never been received by anyone except the Emperor, Crown Prince Crimson, my family and Frey.

In other words, I was saving my abilities. I didn’t overuse it.

Some wanted to get treatment directly from me just for getting hurt a little, but I refused every time.

If goodwill was started and continued, people would start feeling entitled to it.

After regressing, I deeply sympathized from this one quote in a movie I watched before.

At that time, many people were complaining around one person, but that character smiled kindly.

”My divine power is weak, and if I use it in advance, I won’t be able to use it for those who are truly in need. Then what would happen if something urgent happens? If you don’t care for that person to die or not, then would you still like me to treat you?”

It was an openly sarcastic tone, but it was said with a friendly expression, so everyone stepped down in a calm manner.

And really, another reason was that I had a nasty temper.

Now, even if there was a saint in the Empire, the consciousness for that existence was slowly settling down.

The God L’Aquila’s saint that would never leave the Empire. Just this much.

It was a very satisfactory result for me.

That’s why even if talks of me being negligent in my duties came about just like now, or even if I was known to have a horrible personality, then I would stay calm.

Above all, these kinds of rumors seem to be late.

It’s been a year since I started staying at home as though in seclusion.

“If it’s supposed to be like that, shouldn’t the talks of negligence have come out earlier. They’re really late.”

I didn’t pay much attention to the rumors.

“I heard that the Princess’ nature isn’t like that originally, but since you’re only showing your face to do volunteer work sometimes, these days more and more people are cursing that you aren’t really a saint.”

“Hmm.”

I fiddled with the corners of the book that I was reading. There was only one reason why such rumors came out even as I stayed still.

I guess someone was trying to shape my reputation for me.

What did they plan to do with it?

I didn’t pay much attention to these things. Even if I was cursed at, I was the one holding the reins anyway.

Meaning, nothing would happen even if they hated me.

Because I was a saint, the best they could do was grumble with their mouths. They wouldn’t be able to touch me recklessly since I was also a daughter of a ducal household in this Empire.

On top of that, whether they truly rallied for ‘peace’ or thought that the saint should belong to the people, it was a situation that wouldn’t be enough to pull me out.

I don’t know if the one involved in this has a brain or anything. Honestly, I don’t understand.

What if they make a mistake and I decide to move to another country?

Uta glanced at me and asked.

“What should we do?”

“Leave it alone.”

“Huh?”

Uta was shocked, but I calmly turned towards the bookshelf.

“When did you ever see me pay attention to rumors?”

“It’s not that, but…”

Saying things like me not being ready to be the saint—I wasn’t bothered by it. The saint was a person, too.

There are things I want to do, things I don’t want to do.

However, there was suddenly someone demanding that I, a person resting well, to do my role as a saint.

Even though I’ve already said over a hundred times that I wouldn’t do it.

“But even if I’m a saint who uses my divine power well, what’ll happen? I’ll be the perfect saint for the people to use.”

“That’s…”

Uta also thought it was right, so she couldn’t refute it.

Then, after contemplating for a moment, I quickly felt more refreshed, thinking that the problem would solve itself.

“Rumors that spread quickly will also die down quickly.”

Although I said this, the rumor was still spread out of nowhere, so it was strange.

Indeed, it couldn’t have looked good to the people since I did no other work as a saint other than volunteer work over the past two years. However, no matter how much I thought about it, the rumors about it were quite late.

What’s the reason for bringing out something that was already yesterday’s news?

Was it really just to undermine my reputation?

“The temple didn’t say anything, right?”

“Yes. Maybe just like the Princess, they also thought that the rumors would die down soon?”

Uta’s answer was overshadowed by a tapping sound from the window.

Uta was in the middle of pouring tea for me, but she soon approached the window where a white carrier pigeon was waiting. It was a messenger bird from the temple.

“Princess, it seems to be a message from the temple.”

Uta handed over the note that was hanging from the pigeon’s neck. I opened the rolled up note.

“What did they say? As expected, they’re worried, right?”

“Yeah. They want to discuss what we should do.”

I got up from the sofa and approached my desk. Taking out a piece of paper, I wrote a reply to the temple.

I just said that they shouldn’t worry and that it’s a rumor that I didn’t really care about.

Whether it was a rumor that would grow or would disappear, it wouldn’t hurt me in any way.

If the rumor grows, then I can just return to my duties as a saint moderately. If it disappears, then I can just continue living like this.

The temple had been running smoothly without a saint for nearly seventy years.

No, well, it hadn’t been running smoothly per se, but anyway.

The people still also just received help as though they’re entitled to it.

However, when the saint appeared and there was a new person they could rely on, their behavior changed to the point that it could be frowned upon.

——

¹ crying while eating mustard seeds – it’s when someone is forced to do something he or she would rather not do, but pretends to enjoy it anyway.

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