âBy the way, why are you asking about Thiagoâs carriage?â
Daisy suddenly lit up her curious eyes.
After thinking for a while, I opened my mouth.
âDaisy. When Thiagoâs carriage returns, I may leave the temple.â
This child who came under me and trusted only me had a right to hear what was happening.
Daisyâs eyes fluttered violently.
âWhat do you mean, Saintess?â
âYouâre smart and quick-witted, so even if a new superior comes along, youâll be fine.â
âSaintess! No way! Are you going to leave?â
I shut my mouth and Daisy shook her head.
ââ¦I was also noticing that the Saintessâ heart wasnât in the temple. But you take me wherever you go. As the Saintess said, Iâm smart and quick-witted.â
I hardened my eyebrows at Daisyâs words.
âAre you just trying to waste the time youâve spent until you become Eliumâs apprentice priestess?â
In modern terms, itâs like she has passed the civil service exam, but sheâs following me. Thatâs absurd.
âI entered the temple, but I was struggling because it didnât fit my aptitude. When I was wandering and suffering, the Saintess gave me your hand and pushed me. So I donât care.â
Seeing Daisyâs bright eyes saying that she would follow me somehow, I felt a bit of regret, wondering if I had said it for nothing.
ââ¦I never said I was going to leave 100% percent. I was just talking about the possibilities.â
Eventually I turned the end of my talk.
The idea of âârunning a business with Daisy as an employee came to mind, but I wasnât convinced enough to change a personâs life.
âAnyway, if you leave, Iâll follow you wherever you go. Saintess.â
Daisy clenched her fists and shouted resolutely.
***
Taking a walk as an excuse, I stopped at the third pillar on the east side of the ceremonial hall attached to the main building. Because it was the day I decided to meet the child of the Burglarâs Guild that I saved.
The annex collapsed and security was further strengthened, it was doubtful whether the child could come.
However, before the doubts could subside, I heard the childâs voice behind my back.
âYou were⦠the Saintess.â
When I turned around, I saw the child standing there, dressed in neater clothes than before. Perhaps he bought the clothes with the money I gave him.
I smiled softly and opened my mouth calmly.
âTurns out youâre pretty good.â
âThe Burglarâs Guildâs information is the best in the Empire.â
There was pride in the childâs eyes.
âDid you search for what I said?â
The child nodded his head and he immediately opened his mouth.
âI know that the garnet necklace that Empress, the mother of Prince Kyle, received from the Empress Dowager was in the hands of Count Rosento.â
I asked back, pretending not to know.
âCount Rosento?â
âYeah. The Countâs grandfather, Hegen Rosento, bought the necklace from stolen goods 30 years ago. But now it has been sold to a woman through an auction and isnât in his possession. She looks like a noble girl, but she doesnât show her face in social circles, so we donât even have information about her in our guild.â
I hid my surprise inside and said to the child.
âYes. Thatâs enough.â
The accuracy of the information exceeded expectations.
I took 50 franc out of my pocket and handed it to him.
[Your Money: 1,610 franc]
âThis is the next information request.â
Itâs a lot of money, so itâs a little heartbreaking, but there was nothing like money to build trust with each other.
âBecause you, too, will need what it takes to dig up information from your superiors.â
The child with money in his inner pocket looked at me with clear eyes.
âThis time, find out about a person from the Ares area.â
âI understand.â
Around evening, Reihausd came to see me. On the other side of the closing door, I saw Dwayne with a shaky expression on his face.
After the last outing, for some reason, he seemed reluctant to me, but I didnât really care.
âThe blessings of the Nine Godsâ¦â
âAriel.â
Before I could finish my words, he called my name. The golden eyes fluttered in the dark atmosphere. Somehow, his voice seemed wet.
âIâm here to ask your opinion.â
ââ¦â
I looked at him with a calm expression and opened his mouth.
âPlease say it.â
I hope this isnât a question about the ruined temple annex.
âIn about fifteen days or so, the carriage with the girl will arrive from Thiago.â
âI see.â
Fortunately, that wasnât the case, but the story on this side was equally tense.
âAnd the Imperial Palace requested that the Saintess be sent as soon as possible.â
When I heard the word âImperial Palaceâ, Kyleâs face suddenly came to mind.
âThe Imperial Palace? For what reason?â
I asked him calmly, suppressing some anxiety.
The words that came out of his mouth were unexpected.
âDo you know that the Empress was in the meeting?â
The face of the Empress, whom I had only seen once, passed by. Compared to the Emperor with a heavy impression, she was a young and beautiful woman. There was a bit of a venomous look on his face when he said.
âIf the Empress is pregnant⦠Wonât that make Kyleâs position even more precarious?â
âShe said she wanted to receive the blessing of the Saintess.â
As he continued, I remembered a passage from one of the books I had read.
When the immediate Imperial descendant is appointed, they will be blessed by the Saintess.
This is because it is believed that most fetuses protected by divine blessing are led to unharmed births, and after the birth, theyâre blessed one more time.
âSo I have to decide whether I should send you or Thiagoâs new saintess.â
ââ¦â
âI donât want to, but itâs my last mission as a fake saintess, so if you send me, Iâll go.â
At my words, Reyhaus looked at me silently with dark eyes and opened his mouth.
âHonestly, I donât like you going to the Imperial Palace.â
ââ¦â
âBut if you donât let me go, itâll be strange.â
His eyes twinkled. As if reason and emotion were fighting fiercely. All in all, it was a really useless fight.
His troubled eyes shone even more darkly.
âI know how many times Prince Kyle has visited you.â
It was no surprise as his eyes and ears were everywhere.
âDo you still like Prince Kyle?â
No, why is the conversation suddenly flowing this way?
âSir Reihausd.â
I looked at him and said with a firm expression.
âPerhaps⦠Have you been drinking?â
In this world, it wasnât a problem for priests to enjoy alcohol in moderation. There was a slight scent of alcohol in the air, but he immediately opened his mouth.
âYes.â
Then he took a step closer to me.
I flinched, still looking straight up at him without backing down.
A dangerous light flowed through the golden eyes.
âI was comforted by alcohol because things didnât go as I expected.â
His face was particularly decadent with the dim light behind him rather than the bright incandescent light. Even I was dazzled by those red lips for a moment.
âI thought I had dedicated this body to the Gods.â
He lowered his head and placed his forehead on my shoulder. A low voice rang in my ears.
âI guess it wasnât like that. When I see things like this in my head.â
And a chat window flashed in front of me.
[The God of Art, Mond, is delighted and surrenders Reihausdâs body to you.]
And I heard his voice again.
âAt best, I made a comfortable place for you to live in the basement of the annex after your retirement, which was completely destroyed by the earthquakeâ¦â
At that moment, my spine cooled.
âHmm? Living in the basement of the annex?â
[The God of Destruction, Ciel, growls.]
[The God of Art, Mond, talks about the aesthetics of confinement.]
Ah, the fact that I shouted to the Gods when I saw the annex collapsed earlier is canceled. Well done, my Gods.
âIâm wondering what to do to protect you from the Insidious Prince.â
Excuse me, I think youâre the most insidious, though?
Before the atmosphere got weird again, I opened my mouth.
âDonât worry. Sir Reihausd. Iâll take good care of my well-being. So, go ahead and rest today.â
Then he raised his head and looked at me, smiling softly.
He was a little crazy, but when he smiled, he looked like an angel that had descended.
He deserves to be praised aesthetically by the God of Art, Mond.
âAlright. Ariel.â
ââ¦â
âI think I said too many useless things today. Forget it and go to sleep.â
After speaking in a soft voice, he returned to his usual footsteps.
After he left, I let out the breath I had been holding in.