Chapter 23
Of course, the Pope wasn’t wrong.
A hundred years ago, after Saint Catherine was granted the title of duke from the emperor despite being a woman, the temple revised several laws to improve women’s rights and even unified the terms saintess and saint into simply saint.
But Lucia Chase was the first saint to appear since then. Meaning—she was the first person to be called a saint while having the body of a woman.
So she wondered if perhaps a mistake could be tolerated—but the Pope’s gaze was cold as ice.
“Y-Yes, I apologize. I misspoke.”
At any rate, that wasn’t the important issue right now. She had to quickly take the position of aide away from Jerome and hand it to Heath.
The Duke immediately stretched out his leg and stepped on Rius’s foot across from him. A signal to quickly support his argument.
“E-Even setting aside his background, Priest Jerome is… you know how he is.”
Because Rius was not from a high-ranking sacred noble family, his words carried more weight.
The real issue with Jerome wasn’t his origins. It was his scatterbrained, clumsy personality.
Most priests of the temple would agree with that point.
“…That is true.”
“Yes, he’s a bit…”
Even though the person being discussed stood right in front of them, the high priests all nodded along with Rius’s words.
But Jerome simply smiled without a single sign of displeasure, as if unaware they were talking about him.
‘…Spineless fool.’
The Duke clicked his tongue. How could a man have absolutely no ambition?
If just a few more voices opposed Jerome, maybe he would step down himself—then Heath could take the position.
Thinking that, the Duke curled his lips into a sly smile.
“Priest Jerome, what do you think?”
And as if reading his mind, the Pope asked the man in question.
Perfect. The Duke celebrated inwardly.
Given Jerome’s usual behavior, he would surely say the position didn’t suit him and willingly step down.
“Hmm. I understand what the high priests are saying. It’s true that I’m unreliable.”
Seeing him scratch his head with a goofy grin only strengthened the Duke’s certainty. The next words would surely be:
‘Therefore, I will step down.’
“But since I’ve already placed the saint’s necklace on Lady Saint… I’d like to work hard to the very end.”
But what came out of Jerome’s mouth was the exact opposite of what the Duke expected.
Why the hell was he acting like this? The Duke glared at Jerome sharply.
“If the person himself says so—why not trust him and let him do it?”
The Pope smiled as if the matter were settled.
“…Then how about this? Since it’s true that Priest Jerome’s work can be sloppy, we simply appoint one more aide to assist him.”
Not about to lose such a good opportunity, the Duke hurriedly presented his proposal.
There was no rule that the Saint must have only one aide, so even if Heath could not have the full glory, at least he would stand in the same position.
And afterward, Heath could coax Lucia, that girl, into helping push Jerome out.
“That is an excellent idea!”
Rius vigorously nodded. The suggestion wasn’t wrong, so the other priests agreed as well.
“…Do you have someone in mind?”
The Pope looked displeased but reluctantly accepted the proposal. He knew exactly what the Duke was after, but had no justifiable reason to oppose it.
“Well, that is…”
The Duke couldn’t recommend his own son directly, so he glanced repeatedly at Rius. Understanding the cue, Rius grinned and spoke the words the Duke wanted.
“How about Priest Heath Imber? He comes from a prestigious family, and since he attended seminary with Priest Jerome, they should get along well.”
How transparent could they get?
The Pope sent them a derisive look, but since the high priests supported it, he had no choice but to appoint Heath as well.
“Very well. Then let it be so.”
At the Pope’s words, the Duke sighed in relief and looked at Rius. Rius flashed a grin that clearly meant, Did I do good?
The plan hadn’t gone perfectly, but the meeting had still gone in the Duke’s favor—so he discreetly gave Rius a thumbs-up.
“Then I shall take my leave. Safe travels, everyone.”
The Pope rose from his seat. The meeting of high priests was over.
Two days had passed since Rosalyn’s friends came to visit the manor.
As usual, I stayed holed up in my room, waiting for news from the temple.
Beside me were Samantha and Caroline, competing with each other for my attention as always.
Samantha had successfully investigated what Rosalyn talked about with her friends at the tea gathering—and it was exactly what I expected.
They were gossiping about me.
“They said you pretended to faint at Lady Abigail’s baptism to ruin it. Does that even make sense? Why would our lady ever do something that ridiculous?”
Samantha said angrily as she relayed the conversation.
She added that Rosalyn had defended me, saying I would never do such a thing—but from what I knew of Rosalyn, she was likely pleased that such talk was circulating.
I wondered how Samantha had found out what they said. She couldn’t have been present—they would have talked freely knowing she wasn’t around—so how did she learn it?
“So, Samantha—how did you find out what was said at Rosalyn’s tea gathering? Who told you?”
Samantha looked startled, as if she didn’t expect me to ask that now, two days later.
“T-That, um…”
“No matter what method you used, I won’t scold you. Just be honest.”
Seeing how she looked like she’d done something illegal, I gently urged her. Samantha hesitated, then confessed.
“There’s a tiny hole in the greenhouse wall. During the last windstorm, a rock hit the glass and cracked it. A maid broke the damaged part by accident while cleaning, and she hid it under the bushes so she wouldn’t get scolded…”
“So you squeezed into the hole and listened?”
“…Yes. I hid behind the rose bushes.”
My goodness. She really went that far.
Imagining her crouched behind plants eavesdropping made me unexpectedly grateful for her effort.
Still, being surrounded by Samantha and Caroline, who competed nonstop for my favor except when sleeping… was exhausting.
I wanted to be alone, so I found an excuse to send them out.
“Samantha, could you bring me some tea? I’m thirsty. And Caroline—would you take Snow for a walk? He seems restless.”
Snow tilted his head, clearly not restless at all, but when I shot him a look, he let out a squeak and hopped onto Caroline’s shoulder.
“Yes! Lord Snow! Let’s go on a walk!”
Caroline marched out enthusiastically with Snow in her arms.
So much unnecessary energy.
“I’ll be back quickly! I’ll make your favorite tea, my lady!”
Even normally composed Samantha had become overly eager these days, probably under Caroline’s influence.
Finally, peace.
Once they left, I sighed and looked out the window.
Just then, a modest carriage entered the manor grounds.
I immediately knew it carried the news I’d been waiting for—the person who stepped out wore the simple brown robe of a temple cleric.
I was wondering when the temple would contact me. Finally.
It had already been five days since I returned from the temple. I had been expecting news any day.
Caroline, out in the garden with Snow, spotted the cleric and hurried toward him—nearly at a run.
But I was just as eager for news from Jerome, so I waited anxiously for Caroline to return.
“L-Lady Lucia! Priest Jerome sent you a letter!”
Caroline rushed into the room, out of breath, and handed me the letter. I checked the envelope.
The name written on it was Caroline’s—messy, crooked handwriting. Clearly a disguise. The letter was meant for me.
…He looks neat enough, yet his handwriting is atrocious.
I sighed at Jerome’s scribbled, childlike handwriting.
His handsome face made one expect elegant handwriting—but considering how he constantly bumped into things, dropped objects, spilled water… it suited him perfectly.
What was inside?
Had he found someone who met my conditions—someone of such noble status that no one could criticize, yet secretly resentful of their spouse’s infidelity?
Or had he found a way to record or gather evidence?
With my heart pounding, I opened the letter—
—but the contents were disappointingly brief.
