Chapter 55 …
“Your Majesty. Over there—”
“As a man, that is shameful behavior, Sir Alex.”
There was even the grinding sound of teeth.
That’s not what this is…!
Of course, since he was acting as a man infatuated with me, this kind of interruption would create quite a dramatic scene. But right now, we didn’t need it to go that far…!
It was the perfect setup for a romantic scandal, so I hurriedly shifted my gaze.
If Victoria spots Alex, she’ll misunderstand.
I had no desire to wedge myself between two young people in love.
Fortunately, our group was standing in a blind spot, so we couldn’t be seen from where they were.
“Ah—! I’m sorry, Saintess. I was out of line…!”
After reading the atmosphere, Alex flusteredly stepped back. Naturally, his hand slipped from my shoulder.
“I truly apologize. Truly!”
He bowed deeply.
“To behave so carelessly toward a lady—no apology would be enough. I’m sorry!”
“It’s all right, Sir. I know how earnest you are.”
“Saintess. You’re being too leni—”
Before Theodore, who was taking his acting a little too seriously, could escalate the situation, I quickly stepped in.
“But Sir. If you behave in ways that invite misunderstanding, what will happen if the young lady you cherish so dearly—Miss Han. Son—misunderstands? From now on, please refrain from being overly kind to other women.”
At the same time as I was explaining things to Theodore, I was also advising Alex to stop acting like a man full of sins.
“Ah… Yes. That was truly my mistake. I’m sorry. Thank you for the advice.”
“…Miss Hanson? Cherish?”
Theodore looked utterly confused.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We were discussing Sir Alex’s romantic endeavors. Now that you’ve discovered his secret, what shall we do, Sir Alex?”
I explained it to Theodore. He stared at Alex blankly.
Alex let out a deep sigh.
“…It can’t be helped. The fault is mine. Your Majesty, please do not misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand…”
Theodore still looked unsettled.
“I am well aware that Your Majesty… holds the Saintess dear. I would never presume to overstep my place.”
“…Yes. I… do hold the Saintess dear.”
Theodore answered in a somewhat strained voice.
He’d been performing jealousy so flawlessly up until now—why did he suddenly sound so awkward?
Was he confused, then realized he had interfered unnecessarily and grown embarrassed?
I glanced at him. He still wore an unreadable expression.
“Yes. You appeared just now to protect the Saintess, did you not? I believe that is something I should learn from.”
Whether Theodore felt awkward or not, Alex gave a wholesome smile. The way he winked, as if he understood everything, was almost cute.
The acting worked perfectly.
The ending had been a bit clumsy, but still—he’d done an incredible job overall.
Who would have thought Theodore would be such a master of romantic acting? It was hard to believe he was the same man who used to recoil at the mere sight of women.
“Well then, I’ll head back first. Please take your time, the two of you. Ah—Saintess, if you’re free next time, may I request a private meeting?”
“I always welcome the stories of youth.”
I smiled gently and sent Alex off.
The moment he disappeared into the blind spot, I turned toward Theodore.
“Your Majesty, weren’t you a bit too passionate about your performance? Sir Alex almost ended up branded a scoundrel.”
I let out a soft laugh.
It had startled me for a moment, but in the end it was just a minor misunderstanding.
“…Yes. Acting.”
Theodore muttered the word as if reminding himself.
It seemed he’d grown genuinely embarrassed, thinking he had gone beyond a simple misunderstanding and overacted.
“You worked hard. You seem a bit flustered from immersing yourself in the role, but you did amazingly well. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
I smiled and encouraged him. He gazed down at me quietly.
“…Immersed… Yes. That’s right. That’s why.”
“Even if you did jump in because of a misunderstanding, it probably made a stronger impression on them! The rumors will spread in no time—assuming Sir Alex has a loose tongue.”
“An impression… Yes, that was the point.”
Theodore, who had looked dazed, gradually began nodding as he regained himself.
He was usually so imposing that he probably had no immunity to embarrassment. It seemed to take him a moment to recover.
“Yes. You must have been overwhelmed at the end from forcing yourself to act despite the embarrassment. Are you all right?”
“Yes, Saintess. It was my first time acting like that, so I was flustered. It wasn’t like me.”
Theodore nodded, affirming my words.
“It wasn’t like me. There was a situation that required acting.”
Having shaken off his dazed state, he now even looked somewhat refreshed.
For a moment, it felt as though light was radiating from his face.
The blue lake stretching behind him suited him so well it seemed like a backdrop prepared solely for his existence.
“Please continue to take care of things like this. If you do as well as you did today, it’ll be perfect.”
“My acting must have been acceptable, Saintess?”
Theodore smiled. I returned the smile and nodded.
“I didn’t expect you to be that good.”
“My, my. It seems I was born with acting talent as well.”
“Ah, yes. Shall we head back now?”
Even at my halfhearted response to his boastful joke, Theodore didn’t frown.
“Let’s.”
He simply returned to his usual relaxed expression.
Something had felt slightly off, but it must have all been because of the embarrassing acting. That was the only explanation—because otherwise, he looked exactly as he always did.
The High Priest would occasionally summon me or send someone to share updates.
Most of it was about the Re-Consecration Ceremony and the invitations. There were also talks of several banquets and gatherings being arranged.
Between running into the High Priest, attending the services arranged by Kaiden, and being dragged from one tea party invitation to another, I led a busy life as the Saintess.
Before I knew it, the Re-Consecration Ceremony was tomorrow.
[Only one day left…]
For no reason, I felt tense.
Even in the midst of all that, I had the gods thoroughly watch and monitor the High Priest every time.
Was there anything suspicious? The closer the ceremony came, the more vigilant we needed to be.
But they said there were no particular irregularities. The High Priest was simply busy preparing for the ceremony and plotting to bring down Theodore.
As for the Beja Mountain Range incident, it was to be revealed on the second day of the ceremony—after I had moved to the Beja Mountains.
It would be the moment when the High Priest’s attention was divided, and it would clearly demonstrate that I was being used over there.
As for delivering the evidence, documents, and instructions to Kaiden, we scheduled it as late as possible—right before my departure.
The reason was…
Regrettably, distrust.
Unless it was myself, or Theodore—who despised the High Priest so thoroughly and handled matters with chilling precision—I found it difficult to trust anyone.
It wasn’t easy to trust people or circumstances. Not when mistakes or changes of heart could happen.
Theodore said he would entrust the delivery of the evidence to a reliable subordinate, so there would be no chance of it failing to reach Kaiden… His eyes had flashed sharply as he said it, in a rather frightening manner.
He also assigned his own men to monitor Kaiden, who now knew the truth about the High Priest and the mines.
I felt even more apologetic toward Kaiden.
But the heart of someone who knows the truth can change at will. And wasn’t the High Priest one of the two supreme authorities of the Empire?
So Kaiden, who oversaw the newspaper The Empire’s Morning, was handled that way.
Theodore, meanwhile, finished preparing to pressure the other newspapers.
Well. I didn’t expect this alone to bring down the High Priest and the Grand Temple in one blow.
But it would weaken their power.
[It’s about time I left the Grand Temple.]
[Where will you stay?]
[Theodore said he would arrange something.]
It seemed necessary to escape the High Priest’s surveillance.
If the media reported that the “Saintess” was being used by the Grand Temple, yet the Saintess continued to reside there? People would naturally assume she was being held captive.
Public opinion would turn even more fiercely.
Then the Grand Temple would have no choice but to let me go.
At first, I entered as a shield because of Theodore… but it became quite the shackle.
Sneaking around constantly was exhausting.
Once I left this place, there would be far more I could do.
[Dorothy, we’ve been overflowing with power lately.]
[Really? That’s a relief.]
That was welcome news.
[But maybe we have too much power? Lately… everyone’s been saying they have headaches.]
Agasa spoke in a bright voice, but her words were shocking.
[Is it… possible for gods to feel pain?]
I asked seriously, startled.
[Uh… Come to think of it, ever since we became gods, we’ve never felt pain or hunger.]
[But you’re saying your heads hurt?]
[Yes. We keep feeling something strange. Especially after visiting the High Priest.]
Agasa sounded puzzled herself.
Can… a god even get sick?
In my past life, my mother used to say that gods were capricious because they were powerful beings.
Powerful enough not to need to mind anyone else.
[Isn’t that dangerous?]
[It doesn’t seem… dangerous.]
Her vague answer made me firm.
[No. If a god is feeling unwell, that’s a problem.]
It seemed that not only humans like me needed rest—perhaps the gods did too.
[Hmm… No, I think we’re really fine. Truly. We’re overflowing with power and in great condition. To the point that I feel like I might even be able to use the power of Iason, the God of Medicine, soon.]
[Then is it really as you said—your head hurts because you have too much power?]
[We’ve only recently regained it, and this has never happened before… so perhaps.]
Well. We had been busy lately.
Recently, I’d met many noble families, and attended several more services with Kaiden.
Not just Kaiden—quite a number of nobles I had helped had even established private chapels in their homes.
Even Count Russell—who had once been so ruthless with his servants that I had to warn him to treat his subordinates better—was now reportedly giving generously to his staff after the attack and spending every day locked in his prayer room.
With so many across the Empire praying, it wasn’t strange that the gods had grown stronger…
Still, something feels off.
Does growing stronger really make a god’s head hurt?
Absentmindedly, I touched my bracelet.
It had been nearly a month since Kaiden gave it to me.
The gemstones that once infused me with energy had now almost completely lost their light.
