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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Rumors of Departure
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Noah scoffed and stepped closer to me.

“I heard you passed the Ivory Tower’s test.”

“Uh-huh. That’s wight.”

“Tell me the truth. You used some weird trick, didn’t you? Just like in that warehouse.”

“No.”

I shook my head confidently.

I used magic in the warehouse and my intuition for the Ivory Tower’s test. They were completely different tricks.

“Yes, you did! And all those gold coins that rained from the sky back then…!”

Noah raised his voice to argue but clamped his mouth shut when he saw Lily and the other maids.

It seemed he wasn’t keen on broadcasting the story of how he got put in his place after picking a fight with me.

“Anyway, I know you’re fooling everyone with your tricks. You’re not even a real Saintess.”

Noah stood crookedly, looking me up and down.

“Well… I guess your days of wearing such fine clothes while living at the Elpinade estate are numbered.”

“What do you mean by dat?”

“What do you think? It means your little scam is about to end.”

Noah lifted his chin arrogantly.

“My father told me. Priests from the central church are coming to the Elpinade estate soon. They’re going to take a liar like you to Kidsha to be verified!”

Kidsha?

Verified?

This was the first I’d heard of it.

I turned to see if the maids knew, but the three of them looked even more shocked than I was.

*They didn’t know either.*

Judging by Noah’s confidence, he probably wasn’t lying.

*So, he’s planning to send me back to Kidsha…*

From Duke Elpinade’s perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable course of action.

I wasn’t his real daughter anyway, and he had no real reason to stop the central church from taking their Saintess back.

*Besides, to the duke, I must have been nothing but a troublesome burden.*

The church was offering to take back a child he’d been forced to look after. He’d probably welcome it with open arms.

“Th-That can’t be true.”

Lily denied it, her face pale as a sheet, and Rose and Daisy chimed in to support her.

“That’s right. There’s no way the Duke would send the Young Lady to Kidsha.”

“Of course not. He even ordered us to prepare a grand party for her upcoming fifth birthday…!”

Daisy stopped mid-sentence and slapped her hands over her mouth.

Lily and Rose also shot alternating glances between Daisy and me, their eyes screaming, *‘You messed up!’*

“Hmm. So, Grandfather was planning a birthday party for this thing?”

Noah grinned and shrugged.

“Then that must be it. A last supper!”

His smug, gleeful smile was incredibly irritating.

“Even prisoners on death row get a lavish meal before the end. Isn’t your birthday party the same kind of thing?”

* * *

Noah’s bombshell put an end to our walk.

The flower-named trio was far more shocked than I was, making a leisurely stroll impossible.

“It can’t be true, Young Lady.”

The moment we returned to my room, Lily spoke with a firm tone, as if to tell me not to worry.

*I’m really fine, though.*

But seeing the three of them wringing their hands as if it were the end of the world made my own heart feel unsettled.

It wasn’t the thought of leaving the Elpinade estate that bothered me, but the fact that the central church was finally making its move.

I was the Saintess officially recognized by Bael.

*For my position to be this unstable…*

It meant Bael’s standing within the central church wasn’t very strong.

*He was the leading candidate for the next Pope when he returned to Kidsha after we defeated the Mad Dragon.*

Back then, it wasn’t just Bael; the rest of the expedition party had been on a roll.

Axel became the Master of the Magic Tower, and Servian was appointed head of the Imperial Academy right after the Mad Dragon’s subjugation.

And it went without saying that Kirke’s influence grew immensely after he became emperor.

As a black mage, my own limitations were inherent, but I’d expected the others to continue their rise.

I wondered what had happened within the central church during that time.

As I stroked my chin, lost in serious thought, the maids’ faces turned ashen.

Realizing my mistake, I quickly forced a smile.

“It’s okay. I was owiginally from da temple, anywave.”

“Young Lady…”

But once again, it had the opposite effect.

They seemed to think I was forcing myself to act fine despite my sadness.

“…This won’t do.”

As if she’d made up her mind, Lily clenched her fist with grim determination.

“Young Master Axel is close with you, Young Lady. He’ll be able to persuade the Duke.”

“A-Axel…?”

Would he, though?

Considering how we always bickered, he seemed more likely to tell the Duke, *‘Do we really need to throw her a last supper?’* and have me sent to the temple immediately.

Contrary to my thoughts, Lily’s face was full of conviction.

“Don’t worry, Young Lady. I will explain the situation to the Young Master and ask for his help!”

* * *

*What in the world is this nonsense?*

Axel furrowed his brow and strode toward the duke’s office.

When Lily, Lesia’s maid, had come to him with a grim expression, he hadn’t thought much of it.

He received regular reports on Lesia’s affairs, so he assumed this was just another one of them.

But Lily, with tears welling in her eyes, had told him something he could never have imagined.

Axel thought it was absurd.

Though he had taken her in somewhat reluctantly, it was the duke himself who had given Lesia the name ‘Elpinade.’

The duke was a man who valued the weight of the name ‘Elpinade’ more than anyone.

There was no way he would meekly send Lesia ‘Elpinade’ to the temple.

However, given Lily’s earnest plea, the part about the central church arriving soon might be true.

Maintaining his impeccable posture even as he walked quickly, Axel arrived at the duke’s office.

He opened the door without making a sound.

His father would have sensed his son’s urgent approach from the end of the hall anyway.

But it wasn’t Duke Elpinade who greeted Axel in the office.

Baron Logan of Lisière, the duke’s closest vassal, was sitting at the desk instead.

He and Axel had been like friends since childhood.

“Logan?”

Axel called to the baron, who was buried in a pile of documents, in a casual, familiar tone.

When Logan looked up, his face was gaunt, with dark circles etched under his eyes.

He looked like he’d been overworked for more than just a day or two.

“Where is the Duke? Why are you holding down the fort?”

“Ah…”

Logan leaned back in his chair with a weary sigh.

“His Excellency has left for the Kroiche duchy. He said he had business to attend to.”

“The Kroiche duchy? I didn’t hear anything about that.”

Axel tilted his head.

If it was a matter that required Duke Elpinade to move personally, it was no small affair.

A large retinue would have set out, yet Axel hadn’t sensed any movement despite being at the estate.

“Yes. He departed in a hurry. He said it would be best to strike quickly and retreat before the Kroiches could prepare.”

“He speaks as if he’s going to war.”

It wasn’t like he was launching a surprise attack.

Since he would be formally knocking on the gates of the Kroiche duchy anyway, giving them time to prepare or not was of little consequence.

At that, Logan let out another deep sigh.

“Considering the circumstances, it is close to a war.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“His Excellency went alone to kidnap Duke Kroiche’s son.”

“…What? Kidnap?”