The prayer room, suffused with a divine aura, was as serene as if it had swallowed all the noise of the world.
Before the intricately carved statue of the goddess, the candlelight flickered faintly, its gentle glow wrapping the surroundings in warmth and subtlety.
Kneeling in front of it, Lilian slowly lowered her delicate hands.
“High Priest… do demons really exist?”
Next to Lilian stood a middle-aged man in priestly robes, his brow raised in curiosity as he looked at her.
“Have you perhaps encountered a demon?”
“…No, I haven’t seen one.”
Lilian stared blankly at her outstretched palm for a long while.
Just recently, when she had grabbed Lady Blanc’s arm at the banquet, the sensation she felt then was still vivid in her memory.
Something dark and thick.
It was undoubtedly malice.
An ominous feeling so deeply rooted it couldn’t be described with words. She had unconsciously unleashed her sanctity at that strange sensation.
And if she wasn’t mistaken, the expression that crossed Lady Blanc’s face in that moment had clearly shown pain.
The sacred power was originally a force for healing, a grace to save those whose lives were in peril.
But what could it possibly mean for someone to suffer from that same power?
“I don’t know why the Saint is curious, but I believe that demons are real.”
The priest turned his head towards Lilian with a calm demeanor.
“Really?”
“Just as we have the all-powerful goddess, there surely exist entities behind the veil. After all, the brighter the light, the darker the shadows that loom behind it.”
“Then surely… demons…”
“The hypothesis about demons has been passed down from the past countless times. There’s a theory that they emerged from those once called angels falling from grace, as well as stories of spirits called forth by human malice.”
“But isn’t nothing actually proven?”
“Indeed. Unlike the blessings of the goddess that everyone can clearly feel, those claiming they’ve seen demons are exceedingly few.”
Lilian was well aware of the stories about demons.
Corrupted beings possessing as potent a power as the damp desires harbored in the hearts of humans.
They worm into the depths of human hearts when people are at their weakest, corrupting souls and inciting desires.
The fallen become puppets of demons, living empty lives, only to have their bodies and souls stripped away in the end.
However, this too was nothing but tales passed down through the ages; no one had ever definitively proven the existence of demons.
‘…Maybe I’m overthinking things.’
Demons—it sounded like a farcical story.
There was no certainty that the ominous energy she felt from Lady Blanc was indeed that of a demon.
Perhaps it could just be a simple misperception.
“Please don’t worry too much, Saint.”
The High Priest smiled softly as he looked at the goddess’s statue.
“Demonkind can ultimately only hide in darkness. They won’t roam freely in this land blessed by the goddess.”
“I’m glad to hear that…”
“Forget about beings like demons and focus on your awakening as the Saint and your standing in high society.”
“Oh, right! I have a banquet to attend today.”
Was it because she had been absorbed in prayer? Without feeling the passage of time, the clock hands had already skipped past noon.
Lilian quickly dashed to her room to start preparing for the banquet.
Although she had to handle most of the preparations alone without any attendants, she didn’t mind much.
‘Wasn’t Arien attending this banquet too?’
Arien Kaltree, a grateful person who always stayed by her side.
Of course, she was aware that Arien treated her kindly because she was a Saint, but still, she always cherished Arien’s warmth.
Without her, wouldn’t she have been going through a much harder time?
“I hope I can make new friends too.”
New encounters always quickened her heartbeat.
If she could present a more polite and elegant demeanor, surely new connections would form as well.
With excitement in her heart, Lilian pulled out the dress that was tucked deep in the wardrobe.
“Hum~ Hrum.”
With a faint smile forming, Lilian began to hum a tune.
Even when trials come, she believed that if she didn’t give up until the end, everything would work out well.
Her relationships with noble young ladies and her life as a Saint—everything would turn out well.
However.
That expectation crumbled to pieces not long after she arrived at the banquet.
Life, as it turned out, was not that smooth sailing.
The moment she stepped into the social hall, what greeted Lilian first was none other than—
Whoosh-!
A deluge of scarlet wine poured over her head.
“Oh dear, what a blunder.”
Lilian slowly felt the red wine trickling down her head.
Like droplets of blood, the crimson liquid soaked her carefully prepared dress in an instant.
‘Well, isn’t that just bold?’
I hid a smile at the corner of my lips and leaned lightly on Versha’s shoulder.
Enjoying her gentle touch as I looked at the wine-soaked Lilian.
The woman standing before Lilian belonged to Versha’s faction, holding an empty wine glass as she gazed down at Lilian.
“I heard quite an amusing story, Saint. I hear you’re from the Magent Kingdom?”
Upon the mention of the Magent Kingdom, Lilian’s eyes flickered subtly.
She must be curious how they knew that.
The Magent Kingdom was where Lilian had lived in the past.
Before it was destroyed by the empire’s invasion, she was a noble with the name Endoria.
But war took everything away from her.
With no family or home left, the only choice for Lilian was an orphanage. Coincidentally, that orphanage was run by the temple, allowing her to gratefully step into the sanctuary.
Though her memories of that time had nearly vanished since she was so young, she would likely still faintly remember that she had once been a noble.
Of course, now she was just a typical war orphan from a fallen kingdom.
“A war orphan from a fallen kingdom is a Saint? Surely you must be the one chosen by the goddess?”
Her words dripped with mockery.
One might wonder if it was allowable to be this rude to a Saint, but it wasn’t too surprising.
Nobles were fixated on status and power.
The ambiguous existence of a Saint was not particularly welcoming to them.
While the authority of the sacred goddess’s faith might be revered among commoners, it wielded little influence among nobles whose contributions had been recognized.
For a noble, the very idea of a common-born Saint rising to an equal status was displeasing, and the fact that she was a war orphan from a fallen kingdom became a big joke.
Certainly, some might take such a background lightly, but there were far more nobles who wouldn’t leave her be.
‘Well, I did stoke the flames a bit.’
Naturally, I was the one spreading rumors about Lilian.
Long before her powers as a Saint awakened, I intended to ostracize her from high society.
I hadn’t stated anything directly—I didn’t want to deal with any potential backfire later on.
But I subtly mixed her tale into the conversations of the young ladies.
Not only did I spread her being a war orphan, but I also added information that would irk the nobles, saying she held ideals of equality between commoners and nobles, among other things.
As my stories passed through the mouths of various young ladies, they became increasingly sensationalized, eventually transforming into scandalous tales that derided Lilian.
And now, here she was, receiving scorn from countless nobles.
“…”
Lilian still seemed entranced, staring dazedly at the floor.
Watching her blank expression filled me with a thrilling pleasure.
What was this odd sensation?
Why did I feel this way?
Although it was hard to understand, there was no time for reflection.
“What on earth is happening!!”
With a rough voice, a girl with blue hair rushed in. She quickly hid Lilian behind her, glaring at the woman with murderous intent in her eyes.
“To insult the Saint like this… can you handle the consequences?”
“Insult? It was merely a mishap!”
“No one here would believe such words.”
Arien placed her hand on the sword at her waist. The subtle air of menace radiating from her made the wine-splashing woman’s eyes tremble momentarily.
‘It feels like watching a morning drama.’
As I enjoyed the provocative spectacle unfolding, Versha, who had been petting my head, slowly stood up.
She approached the center of the commotion with an elegant stride, her gentle smile presenting a handkerchief to Lilian.
“Are you alright, Saint?”
Lilian looked at her wordlessly. Versha placed her hand on the shoulder of the wine-splashing woman, conveying a look of pity.
“She’s not someone who would normally make such a mistake. Perhaps she’s not feeling well today. I hope the Saint could generously understand.”
Arien stepped forward, her face twisted in anger.
“What utter nonsense…!”
“Mind your words, Lady Kaltree.”
Versha’s eyes instantly tempered into a calm demeanor. Arien froze, losing her words at that gaze.
Even though she was tasked as Lilian’s bodyguard, she had no choice but to remain silent in front of Versha.
Versha was the only daughter of the esteemed Count family, possessing significant influence in high society.
On the other hand, Arien, as the daughter of a Marquis family with minimal political clout, couldn’t match up to Versha.
“Saint? Are you terribly upset?”
Versha once again wore a gentle smile as she asked.
Lilian turned her head down, avoiding her gaze without a word.
“Are you perhaps ignoring me?”
Versha’s tone remained soft, yet an ominous pressure lingered.
“Oh, no. I understand.”
Lilian replied in a trembling voice.
“My, how noble of you to be so magnanimous, Saint.”
Versha nodded, showing a satisfied smile.
In contrast, Lilian looked furious. Her tightly clenched fist was trembling.
I gradually withdrew my attention from Lilian among the curious gaze of the other young ladies.
You have enough to deal with in high society, Lilian.
So please, just keep your feet out of this mess.
That would be less exhausting for both of us.
“…I miss Mother.”
I gently rested my head on the knee of a nearby noble lady and quietly closed my eyes.
Once I return, I’ll have to snuggle into Mother’s embrace and spoil myself silly.
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