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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The High Priest's Refusal
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He'd had such a gentle, warm expression, like a spring breeze, but without it, he looked incredibly cold.
Was it really that shocking, for his expression to change so drastically?
“...You wish to step down as the Saintess.”
I nodded firmly.
Then I rattled off the excuses I’d prepared on my way here.
“My recent visit to my family gave me a lot to think about. This position… it doesn’t suit me.”
“...”
“Trying to force myself into a role that doesn’t fit has been incredibly stressful, which is why I’ve been so irritable. It’s led me to be rude to you, High Priest, and to everyone else in the temple.”
I clasped my hands together, bowed my head toward Airic.
“I apologize for all my past actions. If that is not enough, I will seek out each person individually and ask for their forgiveness.”
I hadn't done any of it, of course, but if an apology was what it took to escape this story smoothly, I was more than willing to give one.
It was nothing compared to bowing my head to the police chief who hounded his subordinates over performance metrics. This is a piece of cake.
“...This is all very sudden. I’m rather taken aback.”
“I never thought I would be saying this either. But my mind is made up, and it won’t change again. I hope you can understand my decision.”
“I’m afraid I cannot accept your decision, Saintess. Please, I must ask you to retract your statement.”
I didn’t expect him to agree right away, but his response was firmer than I’d anticipated.
“Besides, I’m not the real Saintess. It’s not like I’m of any real use, am I?”
“Saintess.”
“Ah, is this about the donations from the Kiris family?”
As the Sun God’s power waned, the Grand Temple’s followers had dwindled, and with them, the donors had vanished.
As a result, the temple was now almost entirely dependent on donations from the Kiris family.
If I quit, the donations would stop too, so of course he wouldn’t be pleased.
“You don’t have to worry about that. We can just keep my departure a secret. It’s not like I can return to my family for a while anyway.”
“It’s not just about the donations. And what you’re suggesting is tantamount to deceiving the Kiris family.”
Why is he worried about that?
“Aren’t the people who believe I’m the real Saintess being deceived all the same?”
Airic’s face hardened.
As if his heart had been pierced by a sharp awl.
“Isn’t it better to deceive the Kiris family—who put forth a fake Saintess for their own gain—than to continue deceiving good people because of me?”
“...”
“It’s entirely possible with my help. Please, reconsider, High Priest.”
Despite my earnest plea, Airic remained silent for a long time.
“Even so, the answer is no.”
After his lips parted and closed several times, he finally gave me the answer I didn’t want to hear.
“Do not entertain such strange ideas. Your place is here, Saintess.”
Airic rose from his seat, gave me one last look with his hardened expression, and then left with the empty dishes.
Was he angry? Did I strike a nerve?
It’s not like I was wrong, though.
“I thought he’d let me go without a fuss as long as I solved the biggest problem—the donations.”
Wouldn’t it be better to take this chance to kick out a fake Saintess who does nothing but cause trouble, and just keep receiving the money?
The Airic in the novel was a flexible person, so I’d assumed he would agree. I never imagined he would refuse.
“But I’m not one to give up so easily.”
Who am I? I’m a detective from the violent crimes unit, the very embodiment of tenacity, who never shied away from a stakeout to catch a criminal.
Let's see who wins this.
* * *
After leaving the Saintess’s chambers, Airic headed for the kitchens.
But he hadn’t gone far before his face contorted and he had to lean against the wall.
His gaze, fixed on the tray in his hands, was a storm of complicated emotions.
This was not a task he was meant to do.
But the maids and acolytes—the young servants of the temple—were so terrified of Ordel that her trivial errands had become his responsibility.
It was his fault for accepting a fake Saintess in the first place, so Airic had always attended to her needs without complaint.
Seemingly pleased by this, Ordel would often smile with satisfaction and treat him even more like a servant.
‘But today…’
Today had been different.
There hadn’t been a trace of contempt in her eyes.
Nor was there the usual anxiety of someone who feared being cast out if she didn’t trample on others first.
Instead, her eyes were filled with a confident light he had never seen before.
“What could have happened?”
It had only been a few days.
When she left the temple, she had boarded her carriage with an expression that screamed she was sick of this place. Yet in just a few days, she had become a completely different person.
‘Was this Count Kiris’s doing?’
There was only one person who could have such an effect on Ordel.
Count Kiris.
Surely this wasn’t part of a plan by the Count to test the Grand Temple?
“High Priest!”
Lost in grave thought, Airic looked up at the sound of his name.
Dietrich Warren, his confidant and a high-ranking priest of the temple, was approaching.
The usual sly, easygoing expression on Dietrich’s face was gone, replaced by a rigid one. He must have heard that Ordel had returned ahead of schedule.
“Doing this again... Allow me, High Priest.”
Dietrich immediately took the tray from Airic’s hands.
He was one of the many who despised Ordel for treating the High Priest like a common servant.
Then again, who in the temple actually liked Ordel?
“High Priest, what happened to your clothes?”
Dietrich’s face stiffened as he belatedly noticed that Airic’s pristine robes were badly wrinkled.
“Don’t tell me… she grabbed you by the collar?!”
It was an understandable misunderstanding.
“The Saintess collapsed upon her arrival. They were wrinkled when I helped her up, that’s all.”
To be precise, Ordel had clung to him, but it hadn’t been intentional.
It had only been desperation, a will to survive.
Yes, that had to be it.
For some reason, Airic struggled to shake off the lingering memory of Ordel’s touch.
“...Pardon? Who collapsed...?”
Dietrich’s eyes went wide. His light blue eyes trembled as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“She was especially famished today.”
Only then did Dietrich notice that the dishes on the tray he’d taken were all empty.
It was the first time Ordel, who did nothing but complain about the temple’s food, had cleaned her plate so thoroughly.
“She isn’t feeling well, so she’ll be more sensitive than usual. For the time being, please ensure the acolytes stay away from her chambers.”
Dietrich nodded firmly at the order to keep the children away from Ordel for their own protection.
“And one more thing. I want you to keep an eye on the Saintess for a while.”
Dietrich’s eyes widened at the unexpected command.
This was the same Airic who typically let Ordel do as she pleased, even when she spent the temple’s funds frivolously.
“I’m not asking you to stop her. Just observe what she does. She’s not particularly perceptive, so you shouldn’t be noticed.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Though puzzled, Dietrich didn’t object.
It was an order to spy on someone, but given his dislike for the Saintess, he didn’t find it particularly distasteful.
As he watched Dietrich, Airic’s gaze drifted to the window.
The sun they served was once again scattering its brilliant light across the land.
He wondered how the god viewed him, a man who had accepted a false Saintess—an act of blasphemy—all for the sake of the Grand Temple’s survival.
He would gladly accept any divine punishment that came his way.
‘Isn’t it better to deceive the Kiris family—who put forth a fake Saintess for their own gain—than to continue deceiving good people because of me?’
Ordel’s words had lodged in his heart like a thorn, and he was tormented by guilt.
He wished the god would just punish him already. Then, at least, this pain would end.
* * *
The moment Airic was gone, I sprang into action.
I had no intention of sitting around and waiting for him to agree.
Today, I had one goal.
Find Ordel’s hidden slush fund!
I searched every nook and cranny of the room.
Under the bed, in the desk drawers, even checking for false bottoms…
I don’t know how long I searched.
Instead of the slush fund I was looking for, I came to a different conclusion.
“This room is incredibly luxurious.”
The room was spotless, adorned with extravagant, jewel-encrusted ornaments.
The bed was large enough for five adults, and the furniture looked expensive at a single glance.
This bedroom, far too spacious for one person, looked like it belonged to someone fabulously wealthy.
“But the Grand Temple of the Sun God is supposed to be poor.”
Recalling the novel’s setting, I surveyed the room with a troubled expression.
