IMNTI CHAPTER 49

“Seems like it. He could leave it to others and just supervise, but he’s not the type. He says he’ll keep personally handling it until things settle down—but who knows when that’ll be?”

Though the Countess Dallio’s words held a touch of complaint, her face wore a gentle smile.

Luisa gave a small nod of understanding, then suddenly widened her eyes as if something had come to mind.

“Come to think of it, have you heard about the recent slave trafficking scam involving merchant ships?”

“Oh my, not at all. That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Could you tell me more?”

“Well, I don’t know the details since I only heard bits and pieces while working on the wine business, but apparently, they list different items on the shipping contracts, then smuggle slaves inside sealed crates.”

“Good heavens.”

Countess Dallio looked genuinely shocked, her eyes wide and a hand flying to her mouth, clearly waiting for Luisa to continue.

“It happened in a distant land, but since there was an incident, I thought the Empire might start inspecting more thoroughly too… Honestly, I debated whether or not to bring it up. Now I’m worried I may have said something unnecessary.”

Luisa pursed her lips, her expression serious. The mood held an undeniable sense of discomfort.

After all, even if it was a rumor, would anyone involved in high-level commerce take it lightly?

“Of course not!”

Luisa could say with confidence: absolutely not. As expected, the Countess Dallio waved her hand vigorously in denial.

“For people in business, even a one-in-a-million chance matters. This kind of information is extremely valuable. Thank you for telling me.”

Naturally. Knowing from the original novel that this slave trade scandal would bring the Dallio family to ruin, Luisa had shared the warning intentionally.

In the original, although the Dallio couple eventually cleared their names after a long struggle, their honor was tarnished, and public opinion had already branded them with bias.

During that time of suffering, the heroine Bella appeared like a savior and understood their innocence.

Being a family that never forgot a debt, the Dallios became Bella’s staunch allies and offered her great support—but only after enduring unimaginable hardship.

So if she could warn them ahead of time and steer them away from disaster, those intelligent people would surely get the hint and begin inspecting goods more rigorously to prevent any incident.

‘It’s mutually beneficial this way.’

They would retain their prestige—and offer Luisa a worthy reward.

Smiling softly at the truly grateful Countess Dallio, Luisa felt the previously stifling wind turn pleasantly cool for a brief moment.

The day of the Saintess Appointment Ceremony had finally arrived.

To publicly proclaim the ceremony to the Empire, the Grand Temple opened its gates, and the event was held outdoors.

Because of this, a massive number of holy knights were deployed around the area. Among them, one figure stood out prominently—Raphael, who was commanding the scene.

Though it wasn’t rare for commoners to see nobles, high-ranking aristocrats and royals were on a whole different level. The common folk couldn’t tear their eyes away from such a rare sight.

‘Wish it would just end already…’

Luisa hadn’t even started and was already wishing for the end, her face void of enthusiasm.

Along with Raphael, the Blake family drew attention too—but Luisa, oblivious to this, just found the entire situation annoying.

She’d thought it would be a simple indoor ritual inside the Grand Temple. She hadn’t expected it to be this grand and elaborate. For someone like Luisa, who hated unnecessary fuss, this was the worst kind of situation.

“You’ve arrived.”

A large figure stepped into her path, causing Luisa’s brow to furrow slightly before she quickly smoothed her expression.

Raphael greeted Duke Blake, then exchanged a nod with Damian.

During their time in the North, the Blake estate had been adjacent to Raphael’s route, and the two had grown less formal with each other.

‘They’re closer now? Is that why he keeps playing Cupid for no reason…?’

Luisa squinted, glancing back and forth between Damian and Raphael. When her eyes met a pair of clear blue ones, she quickly opened them wide as if nothing happened.

‘They’ve said their hellos—now please, just go.’

Even someone as indifferent as Luisa couldn’t ignore the massive number of eyes staring at them. Each of them attracted attention individually, but gathered together, it was even worse.

Maintaining a neutral expression, Luisa lightly tugged on the hem of Damian’s sleeve as if to say, let’s go.

Fortunately, Damian got the hint and quietly stepped aside with Duke Blake.

The problem was Raphael. Whether he was truly oblivious or just pretending not to notice, he followed her and stood right next to her.

“…Aren’t you busy?”

Luisa whispered, almost like a ventriloquist. Despite the noisy surroundings filled with countless people, Raphael didn’t miss a word.

“It’s fine.”

Well, I’m not fine. Luisa sighed internally, keeping her eyes firmly forward.

Blocking everything out as usual seemed like the healthiest way to protect her sanity, so she quickly moved to her seat.

‘Why isn’t he leaving? Just go…’

She had barely sat down when she realized Raphael hadn’t moved. He remained standing right beside her.

Maybe he was just on duty—but why next to her? Luisa squinted and forced herself to stare into the distance.

“Raphael!”

Then came a bright, chirpy voice calling Raphael’s name. It was surprising—someone else called this rigid man by name?

Curious, Luisa’s eyes moved instinctively.

‘Huh?’

Wearing a pristine white ceremonial robe, Bella approached, her long sky-blue hair flowing behind her and a sunny smile on her face. Luisa blinked in disbelief.

‘This is unexpected. Did she actually get close to him?’

She had wondered whether the heroine and the key characters were even interacting enough, considering how often Bella was at her mansion. But now, that doubt seemed unfounded.

“…Saint.”

“I’m all ready! You’ll be guiding me when the ceremony starts, right?”

Bella’s bright green eyes sparkled like sunlit leaves, and she looked absolutely lovely.

Up close, she had an undeniable heroine aura. Luisa snuck a glance at Raphael.

But instead of being touched, his expression was as dry as a desert. He looked down at her with all the warmth of stone, even as Bella tucked a stray hair behind her ear with a blush on her cheeks.

“I’m unable to escort you due to my duties.”

His voice was cold and curt—so much so that Luisa began to wonder if they were even that close.

“What? But I was told Sir Raphael would escort me?”

“Then perhaps you haven’t heard the later message. However…”

Raphael’s expression hardened. He hesitated for a moment before continuing firmly.

“I have not given you permission to use my name. Please refrain from doing so. Using someone’s name without their consent is a grave discourtesy.”

Wow. A grave discourtesy? That sounded overly harsh—and made Luisa feel awkward, having thrown his name around so casually herself.

But more importantly—were they not as close as she thought? Was he seriously that upset just over his name being used?

Luisa stared blankly at Bella, who had gone pale.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Understood.”

He didn’t even say “it’s okay.” It was the cold, indifferent Raphael Luisa had nearly forgotten about.

That icy look in his eyes made her realize just how much softer he had become toward her lately.

Though his eyes were usually cold as ice, sometimes they had looked so warm and kind toward her. But now? He was all frost again—toward Bella, of all people.

Luisa had never imagined he’d look at Bella that way. It was shocking.

“The Second Prince will escort you shortly.”

“His Highness, the Second Prince?”

Bella asked in confusion, but Raphael didn’t even bother replying this time. He just gave a small nod, clearly tired of the interaction.

Is this how a so-called servant of the gods treats the Saint?

As Bella’s green eyes darted around in confusion, they suddenly locked onto Luisa’s.

Startled, Bella’s pupils trembled. Then, blushing deeply, she turned and practically ran away.

‘What the heck was that…?’

Was Bella starting to develop feelings for him? But judging by his behavior, he clearly had no interest.

Luisa looked up at Raphael blankly, then slowly turned her eyes forward.

‘Maybe I’ve been too much of a “source-material purist”…’

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t followed the original plot that closely anyway. Maybe it was time to just treat it as a rough reference.