<Chapter 13>
The chilling glare from the well-built man in expensive clothes…
As if sensing that this was a fight they shouldn’t get involved in, the people who had been exchanging pleasantries with me started to leave. In an instant, the area around me was empty.
“You hesitate for a long time. Is that also part of your practice?”
Theodore’s sarcastic remark followed, as if he was perplexed by me still not removing my hood.
“I-I’ll take it off.”
It’s okay, it’s okay. I took a small, deep breath. Theodore didn’t know me anyway. It would be fine.
As I removed my hood, my long, light wheat-colored hair, which I had tucked inside, cascaded down.
“I, I, I apologize…!”
I bowed my head deeply, trying to appear as polite and subservient as possible.
“Raise your head.”
I slowly raised my head. And I gasped in surprise.
‘He’s insanely handsome.’
I had never seen anyone this handsome, including everyone I had met in my previous life. I struggled to collect my dizzying thoughts and examined Theodore’s face.
He seemed unfazed, as if he was used to this reaction. He just stared at me silently with a serious expression, then suddenly asked,
“Are you… the Saintess?”
“What?!”
“The fraudulent Saintess from Themont, who took over the gambling den.”
How did he figure it out? This being born with crazy good luck must also have incredible intuition.
As I stood there speechless, Theodore took a step closer.
“You are her, aren’t you?”
The murderous aura emanating from his slightly twisted lips was no joke.
‘What kind of virtuous ruler shows this kind of murderous aura? He’s a tyrant…!’
He was much taller and larger than me, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
I had felt overwhelmed by the High Priest’s size earlier, but compared to Theodore, she seemed small and cute.
“Wh-What are you… talking… about.”
Trying not to stutter under the pressure, my words came out haltingly. And in the end, I stuttered. I looked incredibly suspicious.
‘I’m doomed.’
“So you are her?”
Theodore’s smirk was comparable to that of a grim reaper. That man with his crazy intuition.
‘Agatha’s absence is painful.’
I had confidently carried out my plans because I had a cheat key that allowed me to see through them in advance.
Not being able to know what my opponent was thinking felt like fighting blindfolded.
‘No. I need to pull myself together.’
I clenched my fists.
Whenever I faced Theodore, regardless of when, I wouldn’t be able to receive divine help.
Because his aura would keep severing our connection. I had to do well now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t stand a chance in the future.
And even Theodore couldn’t drag me away by force inside the temple in broad daylight. That’s why I came here to seek the temple’s protection.
At least for now, I was safe.
“Saintess, are you usually this quiet?”
Theodore’s smiling face seemed quite amused.
‘He’s definitely testing me. He can’t be certain.’
My mind raced.
Theodore had simply singled me out because he found me suspicious. He had been checking the identities of others as well.
He couldn’t be sure that I was the Saintess.
‘Right. It’s impossible.’
So, for now, I had to feign ignorance.
There was no way for me to arrange a private meeting with him to persuade him that I would help him if I became the Saintess, and I didn’t have the power to do so.
Even if a private meeting were possible, I was still useless to Theodore.
To prevent him from seeing me as an expendable pawn and trying to eliminate me, I needed to ascend to the position of Saintess and build my influence.
Right now, he would undoubtedly think it more convenient to eliminate me without any future trouble.
To avoid dying… this was the only way. I spoke with a determined heart.
“-Saintess? Do you mean Maria is holy and beautiful? Oh my. For such a beautiful person to compliment me…”
I squirmed dramatically.
“Maria is… so happy.”
I even used the third person, clutching my cheeks with both hands.
“…What?”
“Oh my. You’re staring so intensely… Maria is embarrassed. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
My face flushed with shame. It would look like I was blushing, perfect for acting crazy.
I gritted my teeth inwardly. Just wait until this is all over. I’ll go somewhere where neither the temple nor the Emperor can see me and live in peace.
“Is she… crazy?”
Theodore uttered in a bewildered voice.
The reason I chose this method was because a passage from the romance novel vaguely came to mind.
「Theodore felt disgusted by the nobles who dressed their daughters up like dolls and presented them before him like market goods, asking, ‘Do you like her?’
He felt the same way when he saw the women, their eyes burning with the desire to climb the social ladder and secure a handsome husband, refusing to miss the opportunity.」
Theodore was so obsessed with reforming the empire that he was indifferent to other matters.
The events in the novel took place in the future. Naturally, Theodore had been on the throne for quite some time. Yet, the position of Empress remained vacant. Because Theodore was indifferent.
With the position next to the empire’s highest authority remaining empty, the nobles naturally coveted it. They were so persistent that they never gave up.
‘It’s amazing that Theodore ignored and blocked their persistence.’
If he had no heir, the imperial factions would feel uneasy, so it would make sense to take in a few concubines for the stability of imperial power, but he didn’t.
It was difficult to distinguish noble families that weren’t colluding with the temple.
Since he was planning to overthrow the temple, or rather, the Maelta religion itself, taking in someone connected to the temple as a consort would complicate matters. And he couldn’t bring in a commoner or someone from a lesser family into the imperial family.
Ah, of course, Theodore personally received too many advances from women and abhorred the situation to the point of disgust.
In any case, a woman acting coy and manipulative was something Theodore loathed.
“M-Maria might be crazy. The gentleman is so beautiful…! Oh my, I said it. What should I do?”
I acted as coy as possible. Even as I spoke, I was unsure.
Is this… how you act coy?
Not knowing how, I just shook my head from side to side. I probably looked like a crazy person.
‘Please let him think I’m crazy.’
The embarrassment is temporary.
I might be treated as a serious criminal later for deceiving the Emperor, but by then, I would already be the Saintess. I could find a way out.
“Y-You… who sent you?”
As Theodore stared at me silently with a slight frown, his aide, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.
“Viscount Hummery? Or Baron Aquivere? No, I’ve checked and avoided every single woman in those families, even distant relatives… There was no one like this. Who is she? How did she even find out about the visit to the Grand Temple that was just decided?!”
“What?”
I widened my eyes and asked back. The aide continued to shout.
“Is it Count Quickey! That rat! Did he pull another stunt?”
The names all sounded strange.
Anyway, it was fortunate that he was misunderstanding. Whether I was a noble lady or not, the topic of conversation would shift entirely. The word “Saintess” disappeared from our conversation.
I smiled inwardly.
“What?! M-Maria doesn’t know anything about that. I was just practicing at the Grand Temple… But if the gentleman chooses Maria, I’ll… I’ll stop practicing! Agatha will understand my love…!”
The aide’s face was filled with horror. Good. I must look like a crazy girl smitten with a handsome man.
“Let’s go back, Your Majesty. She’s a strange and malicious person. Something might happen.”
“…Isaac.”
“Yes! Shall we return? I’ll prepare the carriage out-”
“Shut up.”
Theodore ordered in a low voice. Aide Isaac immediately closed his mouth.
“You.”
Theodore took a step closer, staring directly at me. He was too close.
I was thankful that he was much taller than me. If he were even slightly shorter, his lips would definitely have touched my forehead or ear.
I pretended to be shy and subtly averted my gaze.
‘This is too much.’
As if to render my avoidance pointless, Theodore slowly bent down.
He was so close that his breath touched my cheek. Theodore’s deep eyes scanned me from head to toe. I felt goosebumps rise all over my body.
“What kind of trick is this?”
The coy act didn’t work. I was on the verge of being exposed as the Saintess.
His voice sent shivers down my spine. I remembered the monologue of the male lead in the novel, who witnessed the Emperor, his friend, covered in blood after personally executing rebels.
The description that said he looked like a demon, despite being a friend.
“A-A trick…? I was just happy that the gentleman paid attention to me… Maria, just…”
Having no other choice, I poured all my effort into acting. My fingertips trembled.
But I was relieved by Theodore’s next words.
“Is it really Count Quickey? Or Viscount Hummery?”
‘No. The coy act worked…!’
I succeeded in shifting his suspicion from Saintess to a bothersome fly vying for his attention.
I had to make him completely misunderstand and think I was crazy. My heart pounded with tension, and cold sweat trickled down my back.
“I, I… I don’t know. Maria is a commoner… I’m sorry…”
“If you’re lying, your life won’t be enough.”
At Theodore’s words, the knight behind him gripped the hilt of his sword.
Hmm. Not only did he misunderstand, but he now thought I was a noble’s accomplice.
This wasn’t something that could be resolved with coyness. It was time to switch tactics.
“I-I apologize!”
I abruptly prostrated myself on the floor. Did I have any pride left?
That kind of thing would never save my life.
“…What?”
Theodore looked down at me, his voice filled with bewilderment.