CH 20

Thanks to Hessed’s blessing, I was able to read more than ten thick books in the temple library in one day. And thanks to its good use, the general knowledge about this place is now well established in my mind.

Even if I ran away at night as it is now, I was past the level of embarrassment because I didn’t know where and who I was.

It wouldn’t be difficult to earn money as I could use the sacred power to heal someone whenever I want.

It is said that there is a profession called ‘the healer’ who treats common people at a reasonable price, unlike the priests who require expensive donations when going outside and deals mainly with aristocrats.

Of course, it’s not possible to use the holy power, they usually use medicinal herbs or folk remedies.

‘I think I should find a job this way.’

While I was making plans for my career for a while, I was constantly looking through books, but Daisy came in after knocking.

“Saintess, there is a guest outside.”

At that, I closed the book, blinking my eyes with a puzzled expression.

“A guest?”

I couldn’t think of a guest who would personally come to me.

Ariel, the owner of this body, had no friends. She also didn’t really get along with her family, so I didn’t think they would come.

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince is waiting for you.”

The next words that came out of Daisy’s mouth opened my eyes wide in surprise.

Why is the Crown Prince coming to the temple to see me?

Our last meeting was still in sight.

It still puts me to shame when I think of Ariel’s proposal letter that she wrote to him.

That day, I left without saying goodbye.

“I’m not feeling well today, tell him to go back. Cough.”

The growling voice was still vivid in my ears.

I coughed on purpose as I couldn’t afford to see him again.

Then a low voice was heard outside the door.

“The coughing sound is really annoying.”

Oh no.

A man with blazing red hair stood outside the door that opened immediately.

I looked at him, speechless in bewilderment.

When did he come and stand outside the door?

He knocked on the already open door with his fist.

“I have no intention of going back.”

I stared blankly at him and stood up.

“To His Highness Crown Prince, the blessings of Nine Gods…”

“Come out. I’m here for the story you couldn’t finish.”

He hardened his eyebrows, breaking the formality I was about to set up.

[The God of Destruction, Ciel, pats you on the shoulder and encourages you.]

Ah, come to think of it, Ciel was the guardian deity of the Crown Prince.

I blamed Ciel for the statue that was struck and destroyed by Hessed.

[The God of Destruction, Ciel, winks at you.]

Thinking to myself that I had done something really stupid, I stuttered out after him.

Soon, we went out to the backyard together, and as we were walking side by side on the path to the garden, I could feel the glances of the priests and priestesses.

‘That’s understandable.’

It was strange to see the sudden contact between the Crown Prince and the Saintess.

The Crown Prince in the original story I know is not the type of person to spend so much time on the fake saintess who is a villain, and in fact, neither do the other male leads.

But after walking to a deserted place, he stopped and turned and looked at me for a long time.

[The God of Art, Mond, holds his breath.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, prepares a thunderbolt.]

[The God of Destruction, Ciel, subdues Hessed with quick movements.]

[The God of Love, Odyssey, observes the two with pounding eyes.]

Those guys… No, I don’t know why the Gods are making this uproar, but I didn’t want the temple to be struck by lightning just in case, so I decided to try a function for the first time.

[Do you want to temporarily disable the <Oracle> feature?

(Yes/No)]

The phrase that had been made transparent in one corner of my invisible field of vision came to mind clearly.

[The God of Art, Mond, urgently raises his hand…]

When I thought to click the ‘Yes’ button, all the flashing windows disappeared.

“Last time, I was amazed at how well you acted as the Saintess.”

I turned my attention away from the vanished window and focused on Kyle’s words.

“Your coughing act is bad.”

I was heartbroken, but I remained calm and didn’t respond to him.

“Stop playing with words and talk to the point.”

After a while he spoke again.

“I’ve got something to warn you about, so I looked for you.”

His low voice rang in my ears.

The feeling of intimidation from his tall height and broad shoulders, a handsome face like an actor, and the intense gaze that came out of the shapely red eyes were making all my senses sensitive.

“There is information that the Empress’s younger brother, Alberto Michael, is having an internal communication with a person in the temple.”

His red lips twitched once more.

“To find the weakness of the Saintess. A fatal weakness associated with me.”

The confused public sentiment was stabilized by the appearance of the Saintess.

Kyle had been using this to stabilize his position two years ago. That was the reason why Kyle and Reihausd conspired with the ‘fake saintess’.

And the still-tempered Empress seemed to smell something related to Kyle and investigate the Saintess.

‘Besides, I publicly defended him at the last banquet, so…’

I looked into his eyes and asked.

“Do you have any information about the informant?”

“I have none. What is suspicious is that Alberto is now looking for the informant.”

“Didn’t you say that he’s having an internal communication with the informant?”

Kyle said, raising his eyebrows.

“It seems that something has happened recently to the informant whom he met secretly. That’s why Alberto Michael is running more rampant these days.”

“It’s a good thing for us.”

Kyle shook his head and spoke.

“Even if the informant is gone, they won’t remain silent. They’d rather smell it and run away.”

“Besides, the informant might have already given them some information. Do you have any idea?”

“I don’t know.”

As a fake saintess, it was a situation I had to be quite wary of.

“If anything suspicious arises, report it without delay.”

I nodded.

“I understand.”

And all of a sudden, I thought of what I wanted to say to Kyle the whole time. Now that he came, I decided to be brave.

“Actually, there is something I would like to ask for Your Highness.”

He was the Crown Prince of the Empire, and he was a warrior who practiced swordsmanship to the limit at a young age. He also was the legitimate heir of the Empire and would rule the continent by pacifying the Empire’s armed forces. Therefore, this kind of distribution is necessary.

“Last time, I prevented the deterioration of your reputation, and we are allies, so I thought it might be okay to ask for something like this.”

Kyle looked at me with a slightly frown.

“Is it another proposal?”

“Yes? No, it’s not! I will never play such a vicious prank again.” I was startled by the words that came out of his mouth and spit it out at a fast pace.

“There is only one thing I want. It’s my life’s guarantee.”

And he spoke quickly.

“…It’s a guarantee of life.”

“You won’t kill me unless I turn my back against Your Highness.”

In the original story, Kyle was terribly cold to Ariel. And he was also the one who wielded his sword relentlessly at Ariel for the sake of the real saintess.

Ariel looked at Kyle’s feet as she died, but he turned behind her without helping her.

His eyebrows hardened at my words.

“Do you think I will kill you?”

The reaction colder than I expected made me nervous, but I answered calmly.

“I just want to get a promise. I,”

I had already seen Ariel being killed by the three male leads in the original story, but I couldn’t help but be wary of Kyle’s existence.

Besides, I’m a fake saintess built for his political stability.

I was his weakness, so if the real thing appeared, I had a good reason to be killed.

Although Ariel in the original story didn’t consider the dangers of performing the role of a fake saintess and accepted it.

“I’m working hard for the political stability of the Crown Prince and the High Priest, so please give me a guarantee of life, if not my retirement age. For the sake of my enthusiasm in the future.”

I looked straight at him and said that.