Chapter 54 …
The reason was that the people in charge of all my grooming had stormed into my room.
Even though I had woken up earlier than usual, I didn’t feel particularly tired. This body wasn’t very good at feeling fatigue in the first place.
If it had been the old me, I would’ve dragged myself out of bed with heavy bags under my eyes and boarded the hellish subway to work.
It was probably around four in the morning.
If I’d had to dry my hair by myself at this ungodly hour, it would’ve been unbearably annoying—but the caretakers from the Central Church took care of my long hair, drying it and tending to it from every angle.
All I had to do was sit there, and before I knew it, I’d been polished to a shine.
Fine fabrics and extravagant jewels were layered on one after another. They kept changing things, applying things, bustling around nonstop, and before I realized it, the entire morning had already passed.
After eating a light breakfast and waiting for a bit, I heard movement outside the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Please come in.”
I thought it might be someone coming to clear away the dishes, but when I turned my head, an unexpected figure appeared.
“P-Pilgrim…”
“Sister Calebrinn?”
“Well, um, preparations are all finished…”
Calebrinn, though assigned as my guard, had been subjected to all kinds of adornments so as not to diminish the dignity of a Saint.
Of course, it was far less than what I’d been subjected to, but compared to her usual attire and personality, it was an excessive level of ornamentation.
Yelena would probably be dressed up in her own way as well.
“I see. I believe I’m more or less finished too.”
“Y-Yes… then, um… see you later…”
“Yes. Let’s meet again ‘later.’”
I escorted Calebrinn out after her brief visit.
But when she said the preparations were finished, she didn’t mean the grooming.
It meant that preparations were complete to strike back at the unidentified powerbroker—the marquis—who had attempted to poison me.
I’m looking forward to it.
Since he had been present at the banquet, he would surely attend the Saint Announcement Ceremony… and given that he hadn’t sent another assassin in the meantime, the likelihood was high that he’d make his move during the ceremony.
Just before that happened… Calebrinn would strike him with a curse and bring him down.
Of course, she wouldn’t kill him. If he had been seated to the right of the Dowager at the banquet, he was undoubtedly an important figure—too valuable to kill just yet.
Antonio had already arranged for his people to abduct the fallen marquis afterward, so it was a perfect plan.
Of course, it would be troublesome if Antonio’s people were exposed in the process…
But Antonio and I didn’t have much of a direct connection. No joint businesses or anything like that.
He had simply been giving me things freely, and I had given him information in return.
Based on that, Antonio had done various things on his own. The donations, too, were entirely his doing.
Well… if someone really dug deep, there’d be plenty of questionable connections. But if they investigated me to that extent, wouldn’t Antonio just catch those rats and make them end up like the marquis?
A priest of the Central Church opened the door to the waiting room.
“Are you ready?”
At exactly noon, when the sun stood highest in the sky, the Saint Announcement Ceremony would begin.
Apparently, the exact minute and second were also significant, but I hadn’t bothered to memorize them. Too much trouble.
I nodded at the priest and rose from my seat.
“Of course.”
*
People gathered noisily in the vast plaza before the towering temple. Aside from the front area of the plaza, the surrounding streets were packed with vendors, which made such a gathering possible.
“A Saint announcement?”
“All of a sudden? The Central Church must be scrambling to put out a fire and just grabbed some random person to prop up as a Saint.”
“According to the words of Lady Lumensia, the Saint is meant to descend once more in this era, reconciling light and humanity! We must believe!”
“Look at the state of the Central Church these days! How can you trust them?”
A sharp accusation suddenly rang out.
“Are you defying Lumensia right now?!”
“Heretic…!”
The man grit his teeth and shouted out his convictions from within the crowd.
“Listen to me! The Central Church is a corrupt religion that constantly turns its back on poor citizens unless they’re paid, while eagerly siding with the powerful!”
People either whispered among themselves, fled, or hurled insults at him.
“G-Gasp…! To think a heretic was hiding among us!”
“Mom, there are too many people here!”
“Lacroix, come here! Don’t even make eye contact with that man!”
“You filthy heretic! Get out of the Empire right now!”
It was only natural.
They were people who had believed in Lumensia long before the Empire was founded—before it was even called an “Empire.”
Lumensia was truth, light, belief, and a way of life itself.
In the minds of the imperial citizens, the Central Church might be wrong, but Lumensia never was—and in truth, that was correct.
Lumensia had done nothing. It was those who used her name selfishly who were at fault.
Yelena, wrapped in her robe, quietly observed the situation from within the crowd. Unable to watch things escalate further, she pulled back her hood.
“What seems to be the disturbance?”
As the robe fell away, the uniform of an Inquisitor was revealed.
The crowd reacted with the same shock they had shown toward the heretic.
“G-Gasp…! An Inquisitor!”
“This man is the heretic!”
As if he’d been waiting for the moment, someone eagerly pointed at the accused man instead of expressing shock.
“…!”
Moments ago, the man had been passionately proclaiming his beliefs, but upon facing the Inquisitor, his expression shifted to one of someone caught doing something terribly wrong.
Yelena merely watched the scene calmly, her face expressionless.
The man pointing the finger wore a strangely smug yet uneasy smile.
“This man is a heretic! He insulted Lumensia and slandered the Central Church earlier!”
“I did criticize the Central Church, but I never insulted Lumensia! The Central Church… the Central Church is…!”
The branded “heretic” faltered, his emotions surging as he failed to finish his sentence.
Yelena gently pushed through the crowd with her arm and stepped into the center.
“That’s enough. This alone does not constitute heresy.”
“He’s obviously a heretic! If this isn’t heresy, then what is—!”
Perhaps because of Yelena’s composed expression, his once-confident voice now trembled.
She abandoned her usual friendly tone and spoke coldly.
“What is it? He simply looks like someone who wants to reform the Central Church.”
“H-He’s not a heretic, but someone who wants reform?”
“Yes. People without affection don’t even bother saying things like that.”
The man muttered under his breath, but in front of an Inquisitor, he couldn’t say another word.
Gradually, people began leaving the plaza, until only Yelena and the accused man remained.
Without saying anything, she looked at him quietly for a moment, then pulled her robe back over her shoulders and disappeared into the crowd.
Two hours remained until the Saint Announcement.
She had been making rounds early, both to patrol and to ensure no assassins or agitators were lurking…
The distrust toward the Saint announcement is too deep.
At this rate, the Pilgrim would have a hard time.
Still, she wasn’t overly worried. His ability, his eloquence, his strange atmosphere and appearance—he’d somehow manage.
But the Pilgrim has to establish himself properly.
It was her mother’s request, but also her own path to survival. To escape her parents’ control, she needed to make use of him.
Until the banquet, she’d thought of him as just another mildly interesting person.
But that interest had turned into full support when she saw him enter the banquet hall and effortlessly claim her mother’s favor, the position of Saint, and everything else he wanted.
For that to happen, first and foremost, the Pilgrim had to stay alive.
When she heard days later that he had faced a poisoning attempt, the shock left her scalp tingling.
Sharp, pale eyes that looked intimidating when he wasn’t smiling, skin like marble carved from a statue—when such a man calmly announced that he’d been poisoned while smiling cheerfully…
The absurdity of it was unbelievable.
Instead of reacting like, “Oh, there was poison in this!” he looked ready to immediately hunt down the culprit! How can someone be this careless about their own safety?!
According to Kardil’s testimony and the otherworldly monster encountered at the marquis’s estate, he’d even thrown his own body into the fight to defeat it.
At this point, does he just not feel pain?
He even coughed up blood regularly…
This is such a headache. He really doesn’t have any defensive artifacts or relics.
Defensive artifacts were incredibly rare, and only the very highest-ranking nobles could afford them. There was no way she could just hand one to him.
After all, an Inquisitor’s salary wasn’t much different from that of an ordinary priest.
Most Inquisitors lived off under-the-table money given by the powerful.
But Yelena, who accepted no bribes, had no such funds.
Beyond what she needed to live and to forge weapons, she didn’t even save money.
Anything extra went to donations.
“Ha…”
Yelena let out a sigh into the empty air. Then she noticed a familiar face.
Marquis Bernator.
Marquis Marzes Bernator? What is he doing here…?
Why was he wandering through the marketplace instead of remaining in the VIP seating?
Having earned his marquis title through battlefield achievements, Bernator was a massive man.
Even with his hood pulled low, that imposing build was impossible to hide.
Ignoring him feels like something bad might happen.
Yelena carefully followed him.
Maybe he just came to see the Pilgrim?
Her mother, who had entered the Central Church days earlier, hadn’t mentioned anything unusual… so it should be fine.
She gripped the handle of her halberd, forged from an otherworldly demon. Having only tested it in the training grounds, it still felt unfamiliar.
Bernator wandered through alley after alley before stopping at a dead end. Had he noticed her?
Yelena removed her hood first. She knew him well enough—he was a man who had lived on the battlefield. Provoking his temper was unwise.
“Marquis Bernator.”
“Ah. Inquisitor Yelena.”
“Yes. I noticed you seemed lost, so I followed you, begging your pardon.”
“Hmph. Nonsense.”
Bernator removed his hood. The scar crossing his jaw and under his eyes was far too rough for a noble.
“Shall I guide you to the VIP area?”
“Yes. I was planning to take care of something anyway.”
‘Take care of something,’ huh…?
But Bernator wasn’t someone she could casually question.
“Then I will guide you.”
Rather than asking further, Yelena obediently led the way.
*
Waaaaah—!
The roar of the crowd reached my ears.
Looking down, I saw a sea of colorful heads. If this were Korea, it would’ve been nothing but black.
Dong— Dong— Dong—
The bells of the plaza rang three times.
The most senior bishop of the Central Church, acting as the Pope’s representative, cleared his throat and raised his staff to his mouth.
“By the will of Lady Lumensia, we shall now proclaim the new Saint.”
