<Chapter 23>
“What did you talk about?”
The High Priest asked me, her voice calm, in contrast to her sharp gaze.
[She’s incredibly furious. Angry that things didn’t go her way, and that Dorothy acted on her own… She thinks she needs to control- Wait, does she think Dorothy is her puppet? Why does she-]
Her inner thoughts seemed to suggest otherwise.
“High Priest! I… I thought of a way to approach the Emperor!”
I deliberately put on a bright smile and spoke like a puppy wagging its tail, seeking praise.
I added a look of intense adoration directed at the High Priest for good measure.
“A way? Is that why… you had a private audience?”
“Yes!”
“Did you… discover a weakness?”
“The Emperor is too flawless… No, I’m going to try to win his heart!”
“…What?”
A crack appeared in her composed facade.
The High Priest, frowning, was saying with her eyes, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’
I pretended not to notice and smiled shyly.
“I… I encountered the Emperor at the Grand Temple before, remember?”
I hadn’t told the High Priest about my first encounter with Theodore.
Because I only told her what was “necessary” at the time, based on my judgment.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Uh, you didn’t know?”
“No.”
“I thought you knew. There were many people watching…”
At my meek voice, she sighed and rubbed her forehead.
‘So she didn’t know.’
Well, she probably didn’t spread the news of my existence before the announcement, for the sake of secrecy.
Besides, my appearance wasn’t particularly striking, so even if someone saw me, they wouldn’t necessarily remember.
And while I was talking with Theodore, no one was around because of the terrifying murderous aura he emitted.
‘It’s a relief I was so nervous… This plan might work.’
As for what this plan was…
After much deliberation about what lie to tell the High Priest when she asked me what I did with Theodore, I came up with this.
It was a somewhat childish and desperate method, but…
Operation ‘Seduce the Emperor’!
From the High Priest’s perspective, this was the kind of plan a commoner girl, whose greed had grown after becoming the Saintess and gaining much, would devise.
I couldn’t think of anything better.
The excuse I gave the Marchioness, ‘I preached about believing in God,’ wouldn’t work.
I went to the Emperor separately and told him to believe in God?
‘The High Priest doesn’t want that from me… she’ll just be annoyed.’
I also couldn’t lie and say that I used God’s power to discover his weaknesses and made a deal or threatened him.
The moment I said, ‘I discovered his weaknesses and threatened him,’ I would have to tell the High Priest what those weaknesses were.
Fabricating weaknesses was difficult. And even if I succeeded, I would have to keep adding to the lie…
I wasn’t confident I could pull that off.
So, it was better to be childish.
“The day I arrived from Themont, I encountered the Emperor at the temple, and he spoke to me.”
“He probably did that to most women he encountered. He was looking for the Saintess.”
“But High Priest, God said that the Emperor was interested in me.”
“…What?”
“Interested, not suspicious.”
I smiled. Come on, fall for it, fall for it. I chanted inwardly, looking at the High Priest.
Since I hadn’t mentioned that I couldn’t use my abilities in front of Theodore, there was no way for her to know that the interest guaranteed by ‘God’ was a lie. She would probably believe it without a doubt.
“…Really?”
As expected, the High Priest’s eyes wavered considerably.
I had been so terrified when I encountered Theodore at the Grand Temple without any safeguards, but thinking about it now, it was a stroke of luck.
Since no one else was present, I could build upon the story and claim that such a thing happened!
“Yes, High Priest. You know, I can find out anything with this ability! That’s how I found out about your secret vault-”
“Enough about that.”
The High Priest, who had looked surprised, quickly regained her composure and glared at me at my sudden attack.
“So you took her out today? To confirm his feelings.”
“Yes.”
“And today’s result?”
“Well… his heart seems to have softened.”
“Softened?”
The High Priest looked at me as if thinking, ‘What kind of expression is that?’
“If it’s hard, it lacks flexibility. It has to be soft to be swayed! Isn’t that how men are?”
“Hmm, that makes sense.”
“I think His Majesty feels that way about me. He’s opened his heart a little.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“During our conversation today, it was mostly trivial talk, like my name, age, hobbies, and things I like.”
“Small talk… with the Emperor?”
Her face was filled with astonishment. I nodded vigorously and continued.
“Yes. He listened to everything I said without interrupting, for a long time. What else could it be but affection?”
[‘The Emperor… didn’t interrupt?’]
The inner voice, the speechless expression…
The High Priest’s astonishment was evident.
It was understandable. Theodore had no history of listening to anyone completely, especially when it came to trivial matters.
It was a well-known fact that no one had ever managed to have a proper conversation with the Emperor, not in political meetings, noble assemblies, or any kind of social gathering.
Theodore, not wanting to be remembered as an unfilial Emperor, only endured listening to his mother, the Marquis of Alland, and the Marchioness. And even then, he would storm off if he heard something he didn’t like.
Well, I understood.
Every time someone spoke to him, they would invariably bring up the two topics Theodore vehemently disliked: supporting the temple more, and taking an Empress.
“…So, Saintess, you…”
The High Priest gulped.
“Moved… the Emperor’s heart?”
“I never thought he would be into my type, but it seems His Majesty is also just a man.”
‘Just a man.’
It was an explanation tailored to the High Priest, who was practically the embodiment of desire.
“Indeed…!”
I could see the flames of desire flickering in the High Priest’s eyes.
I could clearly see the calculations running through her mind.
‘She’s hooked.’
I breathed a sigh of relief.
I had overcome the immediate crisis.
What would happen if this reached Theodore’s ears? No, if Theodore accepted my offer of cooperation, I would have to tell him myself.
‘…That would be terrifying.’
Wouldn’t he try to kill me…?
The thought of the murderous glint in his blue eyes sent shivers down my spine.
At the same time, I thought I should try to become even more powerful and get on that scary man’s good side.
Because having a scary person on your side can be reassuring.
Isaac, the Emperor’s chief aide, kept his lips tightly sealed and just rolled his eyes.
He felt like he would be swallowed whole by his master if he so much as swallowed his saliva at the wrong time.
For that reason, Isaac didn’t change his posture once during the entire carriage ride back to the Imperial Palace.
Theodore, sitting across from Isaac, had his long legs crossed and was looking out the window.
The statue-like handsome man, lost in deep thought, looked so unreal, like a sculpted figure.
Isaac, while admiring his master’s beauty, grumbled inwardly, ‘That face with that temper, it doesn’t match.’
“Tsk.”
“Gasp.”
As if reading Isaac’s mind, Theodore clicked his tongue. Startled, Isaac inhaled sharply.
At the sound, Theodore turned his head towards Isaac. Nothing good ever came from making eye contact with Theodore at times like this.
Isaac thought, ‘I shouldn’t have even breathed.’
“Why are you so surprised, Isaac?”
“N-No. I was just worried that something might be bothering you.”
“And that’s why you were surprised?”
“I was worried, and then you clicked your tongue as if you were indeed displeased, so I was surprised that I was right…!”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Theodore frowned. Isaac felt like crying. He couldn’t just say he was surprised because he got caught badmouthing him.
“Were you talking behind my back?”
“What?! No, Your Majesty! How could I dare-”
“Then it’s fine.”
He crushed his subordinate’s liver, then casually ended the topic as if nothing happened.
‘He’s my master, but he’s annoying.’
Unaware of Isaac’s thoughts, Theodore was lost in thought.
That woman bothered him.
And the fact that his emotions were so easily swayed by her words.
It wasn’t surprising that she claimed the temple was the cause of the epidemic. The temple he knew was a group capable of such atrocities.
But it was a preposterous story without a shred of evidence. Moreover, it was the temple’s Saintess who told him this.
How could he believe it?
Yet, he couldn’t shake off the thought.
This was incredibly unpleasant.
He hadn’t been this displeased even when he realized he had missed the Saintess right in front of his eyes after sending Isaac to the Grand Temple during the Saintess’s return announcement.
‘I was quite furious even then.’
And after that, she won over the hearts of the people with her relief efforts declaration and even elevated the temple’s standing. Her very existence was irritating.
And what was that earlier?
In that tense atmosphere, she pulled him aside at a timing that seemed almost like a rescue…
‘You’re curious, aren’t you?’
‘What?’
‘Isn’t that why you granted my request for a private audience? Besides, a Saintess wanting to bring down the Maelta religion. How intriguing. Isn’t it interesting?’
Not curious?
‘That’s… absurd…’
Yes, of course, he was curious.
The suddenly appeared Saintess. The Saintess who deceived him. The Saintess who single-handedly declared and implemented the relief effort, something the High Priest wouldn’t even dream of, clearly outmaneuvering the High Priest.
And today, the woman who had looked terrified when they met…
Yet, she requested a private audience?
Of course, he would be curious.
‘She’s a strange woman.’
Theodore sighed deeply. His stomach churned.
Perhaps his irritation stemmed from the fact that he couldn’t understand the Saintess.
Usually, he could see right through people, but that Saintess…
‘I can’t read her.’
Thoughts about the Saintess continued to linger in his mind.