Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Downfall, Windfall (I)

Time passed and dozens of flower buds formed on the branch.

Seeing that, Rabienne grinned.

‘It’s much faster than in class.’

She didn’t know if it was because she had been training hard, or because she had eaten the holy mixture, but her divine power had definitely grown.

At the end of the allotted time, the pots with sparse buds were presented to the elders.

Rabienne wondered if this would be enough for her to get a good evaluation, and she looked at the elders with expectant eyes.

‘It’s just a flower bud.’

However, Sharon, while looking at the records of the saints before Rabienne, did not say a word and clicked her tongue.

Of course, if Rabienne wasn’t a saint, she would definitely be regarded as having outstanding divine power.

However, her saintly ability was judged by how many flowers she could make bloom.

The flower buds that did not bloom could not be evaluated.

When Rabienne’s divine power did not defy expectations, Sharon raised her hand with a firm expression.

“Open the door.”

The priests waiting at the doorway opened the door wide as soon as they received the signal.

“Door?”

Rabienne was taken aback and looked behind her, following the people’s gazes. And she doubted her own eyes.

The door that should never have been opened until the exam was over was… opened.

While Rabienne squinted, still confused, someone walked inside.

Immediately recognizing the target even from a distance, her red eyes were stained with astonishment.

“Why, why is she here?”

She was so surprised that those words came out of her mouth.

The person who should never be here, the person Rabienne wanted to avoid the most in the test hall.

It was Esther.

With a face filled with steely determination, Esther walked confidently to the center of the test hall.

“Lady Esther, it seems you entered the wrong room.”

Rabienne rushed, practically scrambling. She tried to hide Esther from the sight of the elders.

“This is not a place for the lady to enter. Please leave immediately.”

It was so scary that Rabienne’s face had already turned white.

However, Esther did not stop walking, and Rabienne, bewildered, grabbed Esther’s forearm.

“Lady Esther, I’ll say it again, this place…”

Esther turned her head and looked at Rabienne, who was desperately trying to stop her.

Their gazes intertwined.

Rabienne glared threateningly, but Esther didn’t back down at all.

Rather, Esther was very relaxed.

“Are you very surprised? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an anxious face.”

Rabienne, her pride hurt by Esther’s words, widened her eyes.

She was about to fire back right away, but when she remembered that she was in the test hall, she suppressed her anger.

“Of course I was surprised. I’m taking an important test right now. How dare you come in like this…”

“I don’t know if you should be telling me what’s rude or not. It’s rude to touch my body without permission.”

Esther twisted her arm out, thinking that Rabienne was really, invariably, self-centered.

“Did you say this isn’t a place I can enter? I think they will give you a better answer.”

Esther spoke dryly and pointed at the standing Sharon.

‘No way.’

It was at this point that Rabienne sensed something was amiss.

The door opened, and none of the elders stopped Esther from breaking into the test venue.

As Rabienne turned her head eagerly in the hope that what she was thinking was not true, Sharon bowed to her.

“Saint, we invited her. Please do not stop her.”

Thump. At those words, Rabienne’s heart fell to the floor.

“She was called by the Council of Elders? Why? Why is the grand duke’s daughter in a place like this…”

She had no idea when things had gone this way without her knowledge, or where it had started to go wrong.

“It’s to take the test just like the saint.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Unable to hide her nervousness, Rabienne’s voice rose sharply.

“There was a revelation from the goddess. Should I say in greater detail here that the subject of the revelation is not the Saint?”

As Sharon spoke quietly, Rabienne turned her head, glaring at the high priests who were sitting still.

“High Priest Lucas!”

The fact that what she had asked to be kept a secret was revealed means that one of the high priests betrayed her.

“I-I… it’s not me.”

Lucas shook his hand, quickly denying it.

“I said it.”

Kyle responded calmly to Rabienne, who glaring ferociously to find out the traitor.

“Is it important to find out who said it now? Anyway, those who knew the revelation but hid it will be severely punished after the test is over.”

When Sharon pointed out sternly, Rabienne stomped her foot, protesting that it was unfair.

“But this…”

Rabienne was speechless and frustrated, so Esther pretended to be worried, speaking in a bright and light tone.

“Are you okay? You seem to be in trouble.”

“Did you make it up?”

Rabienne, who was standing close to Esther, gritted her teeth and hissed softly.

Esther smiled, thinking that the fake was finally revealing her true colors.

“No matter how holy you are, please be polite.”

“You’re telling me to be polite?”

No matter how much Rabienne yelled and no matter how much she blamed Esther, her situation did not change.

While she was angry and at a loss as to what to do, the priests who brought the pot earlier came back with an exact same one.

The flower pot was placed in front of Esther.

Now, Rabienne’s eyes were on the verge of popping out. Her whole body began to tremble like an aspen tree.

“Everyone, I am the saint. I can’t understand how you can do this before my test is over. I will make a formal protest.”

“Considering that a revelation has come down, we also have a duty to confirm it. Please understand, we have no choice but to do this with the saint’s broad generosity.”

Her wrath and threats couldn’t do a thing.

Ultimately, Rabienne couldn’t help feeling that her blood was gushing backwards.

Esther did not even bother to further disturb such a Rabienne.

“It’s hyacinth.”

Sharon explained the procedure of the test exactly as she did for Rabienne.

“Is it okay to make flowers bloom?”

“Yes, but the number of blooming flowers depends on the individual’s divine power, so please do as much as you can.”

Rabienne snorted, muttering that it wasn’t that easy.

Without hesitation, Esther examined the planter with the empty branches.

‘Hyacinth.’

There was a time, back when her mark of awareness was about to appear, that the hyacinth seeds just planted in the grand duke’s garden blossomed.

Esther hadn’t yet known how this tree branch would change, now that her condition had changed again from then.

(TL/N: I’m not very good with botany, but are there really hyacinth trees? …Just know that I’m following the raws/hangul…)

“Then let’s begin.”

“Wait a moment…!”

Rabienne tried to stop Esther, but the latter ignored it and spread her gloved hands wide open.

It was the same movement as Rabienne, but the degree of power was different.

With a tremor, a huge amount of light burst out.

The light that stretched from Esther’s hand was not comparable to the faint glow of Rabienne’s.

It was already broad daylight, but a tremendous light brighter than sunlight lit up the inside of the test site.

Those who watched gaped, and the hall was enveloped in silence.

‘Today, to my heart’s content…’

Thinking of the conversation she had with Noah, Esther did not flinch, but poured her whole soul into it.

Perhaps that was why, in an instant, flowers began to bloom on the branches of the tree that was bathed in light.

It wasn’t just one or two.

In the end, all the branches had not one, but several blooms overlapping, and the tree itself had grown so fast that it had surpassed the height of an adult.

Everyone held their breath and put their hands together in a daze at the spectacle that became sacred just by looking at it.

“…Eup.”

There was only the sound of saliva being swallowed. No one said a thing.

Naturally, Rabienne, who was trying to subtly ignore Esther, was the most surprised.

“This is nonsense.”

Rabienne nibbled at her fingernails, her gaze anxiously shifting around.

‘The doctor’s words at that time were true.’

Evian compared Rabienne’s divine power to Esther’s, describing it as a pot going up against a whirlwind.

Rabienne, who did not know that Esther’s divine power would be of this magnitude, no matter that she was chosen as the saint, regretted listening to those words.

“Well, I don’t think any more flowers can bloom.”

At that time…

Esther removed her hand from the flower pot. The pot was on the brink of cracking. It couldn’t hold any more hyacinths.

“…Shall we continue?”

Esther flicked her hair and looked at the elders.

Swaaah.

Even though there was no wind at all, everyone felt the illusion that a refreshing wind was blowing.

It was like Esther’s divine power carried in the wind, and a clear energy was transmitted.

“Her eyes have changed.”

“Wow, isn’t it golden?”

The glittering golden eyes were undoubtedly the mark of a saint.

Seeing Esther’s eyes, one of the elders jumped up in surprise, falling off the chair with a ‘dun’.

But no one blamed him for his frivolity.

“How did this happen…”

Confused, the elders looked alternately between Esther’s eyes and the back of Rabienne’s hand.

It was because on the back of Rabienne’s hand, the mark of awareness of the saint, was clearly shining.

“Who is the real saint? Could two come out at the same time?”

“Huh, what are you saying when you’ve seen that scene just now?”

While the elders, who had come to their senses late, talked amongst themselves, Sharon, deeply moved, acknowledged Esther.

“You can stop. It’s enough.”

Right then, Rabienne’s lips parted and blood dripped from them.

While watching the chaotic scene, she instinctively began chewing her lower lip, but had used too much strength. At the fishy taste, her eyes lit up.

“What the hell did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

Rabienne’s eyes trembled mercilessly when she turned around and discovered that Esther’s eyes had changed.

‘As expected, it’s her. Everyone must have seen it.’

Involuntarily, Rabienne hesitated and took a step back.

Blinking rapidly, the thought that now her position was at stake flashed through her mind.

“Elders, that child has already left the temple. She is not related. I’ll do better. You know that my family has produced saints for generations, right?”

As much as she became anxious, she reached out to the elders and begged them to let Esther go.

The elders, who were already dazzled by Esther, did not listen.

“She is not related.”

“Can you say that even after seeing that tremendous divine power?”

A cold gaze that she had never received.

Rabienne, who had never been rejected growing up, found it so unbearably sad that tears welled up.

“I can’t continue to take tests like that. I am still the saint, please respect me.”

She wondered if they would listen to her.

“Is that so? If you don’t take the test, we’ll assume you’re giving up your status as a saint.”

However, in a situation where the difference in divine power was too overwhelming, there was no one who would take Rabienne’s side.

“Ha, everyone is crazy.”

Rabienne laughed at Sharon’s particularly resolute attitude and gritted her teeth harder to keep from crying.

On the other hand, unlike Rabienne, Esther’s clear voice, full of composure, echoed through the venue.

“What is the next test?”

Ame: Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying Rabienne’s perspective these days? Have I? Have I? :>