âBut do you know this story?â
I heard the voices of women as Kyle moved away from the podium and back into the main street.
âThe High priest and the Saintess have that kind of relationship. I heard that when the two of them go in and out, the heat in the prayer room burns.â
âAh, that canât be. High Priest Reihausd is the one who is called the god who came down from heaven. Just looking at it, he seems to be overflowing with piety and sacrednessâ¦â
âRight. And the Saintess is planning to marry His Highness the Crown Prince.â
âWell, there have been rumors for a long time.â
What else is this?
I couldnât pass by after overhearing the womenâs conversation.
They say Iâm a hot topic wherever I go in the Empire these days, but since Iâve been out there, Iâm unintentionally hearing a lot about myself.
âYouâre all wrong. On the way to Ares Mine, she accompanied Marquis Lloyd, and, well, the two of them shared a hot kiss in the same carriage.â
âWhaaat? I heard that she had a secret tryst with His Highness the Crown Prince in the backyard of the Ares Ball.â
No, smoke continued to rise from the chimney.
âWait a minute, by any chance, the Saintess⦠isnât she dating all three of them?â
When that story came out, my clenched fists were trembling involuntarily.
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, is delighted with gossip.]
[The God of Love, Odyssey, listens.]
âMaybe sheâll marry all three of them.â
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, claps his hands and blows a whistle.]
[The God of Death, Kairos, turns his uneasy eyes.]
âOh my, goodness.â
âThree husbands⦠Wouldnât it be great if that were the case?â
âWhich of the three will be the most favored by the Saintess?â
âIt will never be like that.â
I know itâs better to just pass by like before. But I couldnât stand it any longer, so I abruptly interrupted the womenâs words.
I thought it was unconventional when I saw the ending of Camillaâs three husbands in the original story, no, broken prophecy, but now Iâm the main character of such a rumor.
Isnât it too much?
Daisy, behind me, was barely holding back her laugh.
âThe Saintess is so busy serving the Gods that she has no time to date. She wants to live in the temple serving the Gods for the rest of her life!â
The three women who saw me suddenly interrupted me, blinked their eyes and asked.
âBy the way⦠Who are you?â
âDo you know the Saintess?â
âAre you a friend of the Saintess?â
Wearing a dress like this and makeup that was different from usual, it would be difficult to guess that I was the Saintess.
I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.
âYes. Thatâs right. Iâm a close⦠priestess of Saintess Ariel.â
After all, I was embarrassed to say that I was the Saintess. Revealing oneâs true identity in such an outfit feels like real-name cosplay.
Anyway, I wanted to put an end to the rumors that I had three husbands.
âMy goodness. Did you come from the Temple of Elium?â
The womenâs eyes sparkled.
âNowadays, even priestesses wear dresses like this. My father, who is sensitive to women revealing even one wrist, should see it.â
âYouâre beautiful. Isnât this a dress that even the demons can praise and look up to?â
[The God of Love, Odyssey, agrees with the woman and is satisfied.]
Daisy shrugged and smiled at my compliments on how I looked.
After a while, the main questions began.
âBy the way, what kind of person is the Saintess?â
âIs the Saintess really not interested in dating?â
It was time to open my mouth amid the flood of attention.
âA priestess of Elium?â
A young womanâs voice came from behind.
Looking back, I saw the long, wavy brown hair and arrogant, dense features. A young lady was standing in a luxurious-looking blue dress.
Daisy came closer to me and whispered.
âSheâs Lady Rie of Count Raven.â
I had heard that Count Raven was a prestigious and powerful family in the capital.
The three women who were sharing rumors recognized the Ladyâs face and hurriedly retreated farther back.
Lady Rie came up to me, stood in front of me, and opened her mouth.
âYou seem to know a lot about the Saintess, so you need to talk to me.â
I frowned my eyebrows, not liking it.
Then, Lady Rie raised the corner of her mouth with an expression of bewilderment.
âArenât most priestesses commoners or lower-class nobles? But should I, as the daughter of a count, make a request to a priestess?â
I was a little annoyed at the bottomless, rude words.
I was trying to figure out what kind of personality the woman in front of me was.
Whoa, should I reveal my identity?
But even in this way, I also wondered what there was to be asked about me.
âLetâs see where you come from. What are you curious about?â
As if I had acknowledged my commoner status, the Lady frowned and asked as she snorted.
âWho is the Saintess meeting right now?â
At that, I raised my eyebrows.
âExcuse me, Iâve been saying this since a while ago. The Saintess doesnât have a lover.â
âThere are rumors in the country, who do you think is stupid?â
At my words, Lady Rie raised her eyebrows in anger.
âAnd you dare to speak casually to me?â
âYou really donât know whoâs being rude? You were the first to speak casually.â
I looked at her with cold eyes and said.
I heard the three women backing away and breathing.
âI donât know which familyâs daughter you are, yet you dare to act as if you didnât learn from a daughter of the count, thus you must be educated.â
After Lady Rie finished speaking, the maids approached.
Daisy stood bravely in my way and glared at the maids.
âHow dare you, do you know who this is!â
[The God of Destruction, Ciel, blesses you.]
Just then, someone came up behind me and casually placed a hand on my shoulder.
When I looked back in surprise, I saw Cassâ solid body.
Lady Rieâs eyes widened.
âAh, Marquis Lloyd!â
Daisy quickly backed off.
Lady Rieâs maids also hesitated and stepped back.
âLady, what is your business with my lover?â
I flinched at Casâs relaxed voice. I could see Lady Rieâs eyes shaking violently.
Only then did I realize why Lady Rie was wondering who my lover was.
âLoverâ¦?â
âDid you get in her way knowing that this person was my lover?â
Lady Rieâs face hardened. She still didnât seem to know that I was the Saintess.
âIt seems that the Lady is still clinging to your old past with me.â
Her face contorted at Cassâ direct words.
âFor a woman who wears such vulgar clothesâ¦â
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, swears and runs wild.]
[The God of Art, Mond, criticizes Rieâs dress.]
Cass replied with a cold gaze to Lady Rie, who spat anything out in anger.
âYouâd better be careful with your words, especially about the clothes I put on myself this morning.â
At those words, Lady Rie bit her lip. Her face looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
âSooner or later, the Count is going to visit my mansion to reveal his plans for the debt situation. I donât really want to bring up unpleasant things about the Lady on the spot.â
Whew, sheâs going to cry.
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, is very satisfied with Cassâ response.]
Lady Rie looked at Cass with resentful eyes while clenching her fists, turning around. Then she covered her face with her hands and ran away.
I let out a small sigh as I watched the maids follow behind her.
âShe would have deliberately started a fight just because you were a priestess. To vent her anger, or even to create gossip to damage the Saintess.â
I heard his low voice.
Daisy had her eyes twinkling.
âMarquis, youâre so cool!â
Cool, what cool? Who causes all this to happen, though.
I removed his hand, which was still on my shoulder, and looked back at him. And I spoke softly enough for only him to hear.
âThank you for helping me, but I donât feel good because I feel like Iâm caught up in a love affair.â
Cassâ eyes widened at those words.
It was Cass who showed a cold attitude towards Lady Rie, not feeling the slightest acknowledgment.
Of course heâs on my side⦠yet somewhere in my heart was uncomfortable. For some reason, my heart feels tingling.
[It seems that the Lady is still clinging to your old past with me.]
What kind of relationship did he have with the haughty-looking young lady of the count?
Was she also a âtoolâ? Yeah, because heâs Cass Lloydâ¦
âIâll be on my way.â
Turning around, I heard his voice.
âAre you going to the temple?â
I glanced at him and nodded my head.
âWell⦠Thatâs how it should be. Iâve been watching the festival to my heartâs content.â
Then, suddenly, he strode towards me and gently grabbed my wrist with a speed not to be rude.
His dark eyes were gleaming as he looked at me. I couldnât tell what kind of feeling it was, but I could feel that the furrow was big like a wave that came and went.
âCan you not go?â
ââ¦â
A few seconds later he pursed his lips.
âPlease donât go back.â
[The God of Destruction, Ciel, growls.]
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, breathes out.]
[The hands of the God of Love, Odyssey, are sweaty.]
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, is thinking about your child plan.]