The Beloved Fake Saint

Chapter 6

The man looked back, frowning at the voice that had interrupted him. In my casual dress, he didn’t seem to have a clue who I was. Seeing the two maids behind me, he hesitated for a moment, trying to ascertain my rank.

“Didn’t you hear me?” I asked a second time.

He still didn’t move an inch.

“If you want to flirt with a woman, do it outside the temple,” I said firmly, looking him dead in the eye.

The man frowned, offended that a young girl was ordering him around, but also wary of calling me out. “I was just having a conversation with this trainee priestess,” he said. “Who are you to—”

“It seems to me that she doesn’t want to have a conversation with you,” I said, cutting him off. Clearly he wasn’t the type to be persuaded with nice words. “What’s your name?” I asked the girl.

The trainee’s eyes lit up at my words. She quickly spoke up. “My name is Daisy, sister. This man has been harassing me for some time.” She, too, must not have realized that I was the saint.

The man knitted his brow. “Harassing? It seems Elium Temple will accept anyone to be a trainee priestess these days. We were just having a friendly conversation, and now she’s throwing out false accusations.”

He seemed to regain his confidence as I stood staring at the books next to him. The man probably thought he could get away with it because of his connections at the temple.

Oh, that seems useful as well. Of course, I was merely browsing through the books I needed. I made a mental note to also pick up Imperial Banquet Etiquette.

“How dare you make such absurd accusations against me!”

Daisy glared furiously at the man. “You just asked me to go out for a drink!” she shouted.

He crossed his arms, feigning innocence. After I had finished scoping out the books I needed, I approached the man.

“If I may ask, which family do you come from?” I said with a smirk.

“I’m Hans, the son of Baron Raysfield.”

Hmm... Raysfield. I didn’t recognize the name from the novel, so they must not have been a very influential family in a political sense. I’d never heard the name Hans either.

“I’ve told you my name,” he said, raising his chin and looking down his nose at me. “Now tell me yours. I shall file an official complaint with the temple against both of you for insulting me.”

The maids behind me interrupted the man with raised voices.

“How dare you!”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?”

I raised one hand to stop them. “Since you are a trainee priestess, let me quiz you,” I said, staring straight at Daisy, who looked nervous about dragging me into this.

Hans blushed, like he was embarrassed for being ignored.

I continued unaffected. “Can you tell me the names of three people in Elium who have the authority to expel a believer from the temple?”

Hans’ expression turned stiff when he heard the word expel. He’d declared that he would file a complaint to the temple, but he was bluffing. The Raysfield household was not in a position to do such a thing. And expulsion? That meant he would never be able to set foot in the temple again. Being expelled from Elium Temple was essentially the same as being booted from the nobility.

And the three people who had the authority to make that happen were...

Daisy looked puzzled but soon answered my question in a calm voice. “Yes, sister. Those who have the authority to expel a believer from the temple are the high priest, the pope, and... the saint.”

And of those three, the saint was at the top of the pyramid.

The old Ariel was expelled by the real saint when she refused to leave the temple.

“That’s right,” I said, recalling what Camilla said in the original novel. “The saint holds the power to expel a disciple.”

The man let out a huff.

“What’s this all about?” he said, glaring at me. “Do you mean to tell the saint and ask her to kick me out or something? She has no time to meddle with... Ha! You two have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into. You will not get away with this!”

It didn’t even seem to cross his mind that the saint might be right in front of him this very instant. I guess the dress I had put on that day was rather plain for a saint.

And he would have no way of knowing what I look like since my health has kept me cooped up in the temple.

The sound of his voice was starting to get on my nerves. I approached him with a twisted smile.

“You’re the one who won’t get away with this, Sir Hans Raysfield.” The ice in my voice made the air around us turn cold. “Because I am the saint.” I glared at him as I spoke each word slowly and clearly, savoring the taste of victory on my tongue.

It took a few moments for my words to sink in, but when they did, Hans turned pale. He looked to the maids behind me as if he could not believe what he had just heard. But their faces were almost as satisfied as mine.

How do you like me now?

Daisy, the trainee priestess, also seemed to be in shock hearing that I was the saint. Her eyes were wide with surprise. I felt their gaze as it traveled from my blonde hair to my eyes. She flinched.

Mmm. It was a delicious feeling, shutting someone up with my position.

“Y-you’re the saint?” he asked in a trembling voice. The look on his face was so satisfying.

There were only two sources of power in the empire: the imperial palace and Elium Temple. And the saint was, for all intents and purposes, the emperor of Elium Temple. Although Ariel rarely engaged in external activities due to her health, she was still the daughter of the great deities.

“I’ll officially file a complaint against your family through the temple knights.”

Hans bowed to me immediately, as if he had come to his senses. “I’m so sorry, Your Holiness! I had absolutely no idea!”

Power tastes so good.

I looked down at him, raising my eyebrow as if to say go on.

“I’m sorry, I apologize! I wouldn’t have dared to speak so rashly had I known you were the saint. I’ve committed a grave sin.”

The word expel must have been floating around in his tiny mind. Since being expelled from Elium was tantamount to expulsion from noble society, if the Raysfield household had an heir that could replace Hans, he could potentially be kicked out of his family.

“Please! Please forgive me, Your Holiness,” he begged me, laying down his pride.

“You should be asking someone else for forgiveness first.”

His head shot up. “Pardon? Who do you mean?”

I pointed at Daisy. Let’s get one thing straight.

“She’s the victim, not me.”

He gasped. The saint was certainly above him and his family. He knew this. But priestesses were, in most cases, daughters from common families. Even priestesses of Elium were merely daughters of lowly viscounts.

From his point of view, it made no sense for him to apologize to a trainee priestess whom he’d only intended to spend one night with.

“B-but, I really wasn’t harassing her...” His shriveled pride seemed to be swelling again.

“Do you mean to suggest that my eyes and ears, blessed by the nine deities, have deceived me?” I said, squinting at him.

He fell silent for a moment, then bent his head toward the trainee to ask for mercy. “I-I’m sorry!”

Daisy’s black eyes shimmered. She had not expected to receive a formal apology. Now that the situation was under control, I turned to the maids.

“Bring me copies of The Collection of Congratulatory Speeches for Imperial Banquets and Imperial Banquet Etiquette. You’ll find them right behind that man.”

I could’ve avoided all this by having the maids deliver the books to me in the first place.

Suddenly, a blue chat box appeared again before my eyes.

[The bored deities from the beginning of time are curious about your sense of justice.]

[The bored deities from the beginning of time are curious about your will.]

[The bored deities from the beginning of time are now deeply interested in you.]

[You have become the first one to acquire the ability to receive a prophecy.]

[“Prophecy” has been unlocked.]

[You can now receive a prophecy.]

“Prophecy” has been unlocked? What is going on?

I stared blankly at the message in front of me. They seemed to stop for a while and then began pouring in like bombs.

[Prophecy Lv. 1]

[Odyssey, the deity of love, has entered your prophecy.]

[CAP 1/3]

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, has entered your prophecy.]

[CAP 2/3]

[Monde, the deity of arts, has entered your prophecy.]

[CAP 3/3]

[■■■■■■, who wasn’t able to join the prophecy, is furious.]

[■■■■■■, who wasn’t able to join the prophecy, is pouting.]

[■■■■■■, who wasn’t able to join the prophecy, is sighing.]

Unknown names appeared one after another on a screen that could only be described as a dialogue box.