<Chapter 10>
“The Saintess is at the temple?”
A cold voice cut through the air.
Isaac, the Emperor’s chief aide, felt his heart clench. Despite the calm tone, he could sense the immense anger within it.
“I beg your forgiveness.”
There was only one thing to do in situations like this.
Bow your head.
It had only been a year since the Emperor ascended the throne, but Isaac had served him for nearly a decade. Knowing the precise angle for an apology, Isaac bowed skillfully.
‘Why does my superior have to be the Emperor?’
Honestly, if he served anyone else, a mistake would only result in a scolding or dismissal, but with the Emperor as his superior, it felt like walking a tightrope between life and death every time.
Of course, Emperor Theodore wasn’t one to kill without reason.
But every time he saw that angry face, fear instinctively made his toes curl.
How could such a cold aura emanate from a face as beautiful and radiant as the personification of the sun?
“Is that all?”
“…Pardon?”
“I asked if that’s all the news my subordinates brought. You’re not telling me that they went all the way to Themont only to lose the Saintess right in front of their eyes, are you?”
The frozen sun chilled the entire staff. Ironically, the sun of the empire seemed to shine not from burning, but from freezing.
“The carriage carrying the Bishop of Themont and the Saintess… headed straight for the capital. We tried to track them, but by the time we learned about it, it was already…”
Isaac trailed off.
It was his subordinates who messed up, so why was he, the aide, being scolded?
The answer: because he was the chief aide.
‘I’d be willing to have my salary cut in half if I could just work as a low-ranking official.’
Isaac swallowed his desperate prayer. His back started to ache, and his legs felt numb. By the time the Emperor’s anger subsided, his whole body would probably be cramping.
He was glad he had asked the infirmary for muscle relaxant herbs before coming.
“Why… did it have to be like this?”
Meanwhile, Theodore couldn’t shake off his uneasy feeling.
“You said the temple in Themont didn’t contact the Saintess for the past two months. In fact, you said there were more people in that temple who despised the Saintess as a fraud.”
Wanting to clarify the connection between the temple and the Saintess, Theodore had ordered his men to bring her in and gather information from the Themont temple.
But unexpected information came back.
That the temple despised the Saintess.
“Yes. So, we thought there was no connection with the temple… but then why did she flee to the temple? It’s difficult to understand.”
The situation became even stranger.
Why did she flee to the temple? If she had intended to seek refuge there, why didn’t she go sooner?
Why did she flee to the temple right after the Imperial Palace came looking for her? As if she had been ‘waiting’ for Theodore to come.
Was she afraid of being punished for her fraudulent activities and ran away when the Imperial Palace came looking for her? That was the most common assumption.
But if she wanted to run away, she should have hidden, not gone to the temple. Moreover, she headed straight for the capital, where the Emperor resided.
It was as if she knew the Emperor would harm her and that the temple, specifically the High Priest’s power, could ‘protect’ her.
Like someone who understood the power struggle between the temple and the Emperor.
“…Strange.”
“Pardon?”
“Isaac. Is the fact that I’m in a power struggle with the temple well-known even among commoners?”
Theodore seemed lost in thought. This was his chance. Theodore tended to calm down when he was preoccupied with his thoughts.
Isaac straightened his back. Pain shot through him. A groan escaped his lips, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed it.
“No. Originally, the imperial family and the temple were close… Nobles, bishops, and priests might know, but it’s not something known among commoners. In the first place, if the commoners knew that Your Majesty and the temple are at odds, public sentiment would shift, so the temple wouldn’t spread the news either.”
“That’s right.”
There was no benefit in letting the power struggle with the temple leak to the outside. Not for Theodore’s reforms, nor for the temple’s standing.
But how did the Saintess know?
Since he hadn’t met the Saintess, all of this could be excessive suspicion.
But he couldn’t shake off his uneasy feeling. Theodore, naturally lucky, was rarely wrong about his intuition.
“Your Majesty!”
Just then, the door burst open.
“I-Intelligence report.”
“What is it?”
Theodore had a feeling that something troublesome had happened.
“The Grand Temple… is officially recognizing the Saintess’s return. It hasn’t been publicly announced yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“…How very efficient of them.”
Theodore gave a sardonic smile.
“And the Grand Temple… is going to hold a return ceremony to reveal the Saintess to the public. Soon… everything will be announced.”
Everything about the Saintess was progressing rapidly. As if someone who knew all the workings of this world was orchestrating the plan.
It was truly strange.
“Wow…”
Right. This is a romance novel world!
The dazzling streets of the capital, the gold-gleaming fountain. The extravagantly decorated carriages and the beautiful dresses glimpsed within the occasional salon.
I hadn’t realized it until now, having been in the rural city of Themont.
We arrived at the Grand Temple and got out of the carriage. We were greeted by saluting paladins in armor and headed towards the High Priest’s chambers.
“Saintess, are you really going to help me get reinstated?”
The Bishop of Themont whispered.
The Grand Temple. It was the Grand Temple that had the power to protect me against the Emperor. The Themont temple couldn’t protect me.
So, I had to meet the High Priest, appeal to her, and seek her protection, and for that, I needed the bishop’s help.
According to the information in the novel, unlike ordinary priests, the bishops who managed each regional diocese had the right to request an audience with the High Priest.
They were a group obsessed with power.
“Of course.”
I smiled sweetly.
I had no intention of helping the bishop, but I played along for now. There was no need to stir up trouble since I needed him to meet the High Priest.
Once I achieved my goal of meeting the High Priest, I could ignore him, and he wouldn’t be able to harm me.
I was going to become the Saintess, after all.
The Grand Temple, a place dedicated to the gods, was as opulent as an imperial residence.
[I feel conflicted every time I come to the Grand Temple. It’s changed so much…]
Agatha murmured in a melancholic voice.
[Sigh. How did our names end up being used like this?]
It was understandable. I would be angry too if someone misused my name for a small restaurant. The identity theft Agatha suffered was eating away at the entire empire.
“We’ve arrived.”
We arrived before I knew it, and the door opened. I stepped inside.
“Ugh…”
I squinted.
Dazzling ivory marble and pillars, a chandelier with so many crystals it was impossible to count…
Moreover, almost everything, the pillars, the floor… even the spaces between the tiles were finished with gold.
This was insane extravagance.
“Bishop. It’s been 20 years.”
A low, deep voice resonated.
My gaze shifted involuntarily. At the center of all this splendor sat a golden chair.
A middle-aged woman with her hair styled up sat there with her legs crossed, in an arrogant posture.
“H-High Priest…”
The bishop hurriedly knelt.
“I remember telling you never to appear before me again… Did you find my words amusing?”
As expected, this level of charisma was necessary to be the head of a large organization. Despite the soft voice, it was sharp as a knife.
“N-No! Not at all! I-I just came to inform you of the Saintess’s return…!”
“Saintess?”
The High Priest’s gaze shifted to me. Curiosity and… contempt flickered across her face as she raised an eyebrow.
“Ah. The fraud who graced the front page of the newspaper.”
“Hello, High Priest.”
I bowed my head slightly in greeting. The High Priest scoffed.
“A country bumpkin who doesn’t even know how to greet properly impersonated the Saintess? The gods must be appalled.”
This…
This greedy… person who can’t even hear the gods’ voices, just a priest in name…
I suppressed my rising anger and spoke.
“I can make you believe that I am the Saintess.”
“Hmm.”
“And I’ll also tell you what benefits you’ll gain if you join forces with me.”
“What a bold girl.”
Fire flared in the High Priest’s eyes. As if she would devour me. This time, I was a little scared. She was like a wild beast.
“Didn’t you… want to check the Emperor’s power?”
At those words, the High Priest’s face hardened instantly.
But I didn’t let fear show.
Of course, I would be terrified in front of the Emperor, who could even block the power of gods, but with Agatha, I had nothing to fear from anyone other than the Emperor.
“Bishop, you may leave. And you priests, all of you. Make sure no one hears anything from this room. Don’t let anyone in.”
The High Priest waved her hand dismissively, sending the people out. I hadn’t realized how large the room was, but quite a few people had been attending to the High Priest.
The murmuring faded, and only the High Priest and I remained in the silence.
“What can you do?”
“I hear the voices of the gods.”
“How?”
“I can know anything I’m curious about. For example, the location of the secret vault you cherish so much.”
“A secret vault. You have quite the imagination. One tends to receive such slanderous accusations in this position.”
The High Priest replied nonchalantly.
“You’ve prepared a separate house, haven’t you? The location is Miguel. It pretends to be a small tavern, but there’s a huge secret vault in the basement. My goodness. What do you use all that for?”
This was information Agatha and the other gods had gathered beforehand by visiting the Grand Temple several times.
It seemed they could only obtain someone’s information by being near them.
So, we had pre-selected the information that would most likely unsettle the High Priest.
“You… that…”
“Am I right, High Priest? The alias you created for the secret vault is Judith. Quite a cute name!”
“H-How…”
“You said it’s a place even His Majesty hasn’t noticed? Indeed. How did I know?”
The High Priest’s face turned pale.
“High Priest, I am the Saintess. I can communicate with the eight guardian deities, including Agatha.”
“That’s absurd. Communicate? Even the priests who receive oracles can’t do that. The gods don’t speak in such detail.”
Her lips trembled. She shook her head in disbelief, as if she were the personification of shock.
“I can fully assist you in the fight you’re waging. Of course, I can also lead you to victory. The return of the legendary Saintess… this would be beneficial for the temple as well.”
Even as I spoke, I felt like I was whispering the devil’s words.
“Ah, and… before I came here, the Emperor sent people to find me. You’ll know if you investigate. In this situation, where the Emperor is targeting me, are you going to let me go?”
I planned to entice her like this, use her as a shield against Theodore, and then bring down the temple. It felt inhumane.
Well, since Agatha agreed to this plan after hearing it, I wouldn’t be punished. Being connected to a god made it easy to know whether or not I would receive divine punishment, which was quite convenient.
“…Saintess. Your name?”
“It’s Dorothy.”
A strange glint appeared in the High Priest’s eyes.
To be precise, it was a glint of greed.