The Beloved Fake Saint

Chapter 8

* * *

When I came to my senses, I turned around to grab my speech and handed it to him. He seemed mysterious and secretive in the original novel but he was even harder to deal with in real life. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then his were boarded up. It was impossible to know what he was thinking from one moment to the next.

A cool breeze blew in through the slightly open window. He read in silence for what seemed like forever, his eyelashes fluttering as he scanned the page. When he finally raised his head to face me, his eyes were so cold that I flinched, thinking I’d done something wrong. But the coldness disappeared in an instant, so fast it made me wonder if I’d even seen it in the first place.

“It’s excellent,” he said. Although what he offered me was clearly a compliment, his voice was so guarded it made me uneasy.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. It’s just... you’ve matured quite considerably. I would’ve believed you if you said someone else wrote this for you.”

“That’s because I merely paraphrased some excerpts I got from a book,” I replied without hesitation.

This was the truth. Knowing I needed to avoid his suspicion, I copied from the book directly, even though I could’ve written it better myself. Reihas followed my finger pointing at The Collection of Congratulatory Speeches for Imperial Banquets.

“I see,” he said. “Well, it’s much better than that love letter you wrote last time.”

Well duh!

“By the way,” he continued with a hint of a smile. “I heard there was a little commotion in the library.”

I felt tense under his gaze. I did go a little overboard with Hans’ brazen attitude, and it seemed to have reached Reihas’ ears.

“Yes. I went to the library to get some references for the speech, when I saw the son of Baron Raysfield harassing a trainee priestess. As the saint, I offered him a little warning.” It was better to be honest than to shrink with shame. “But perhaps I’ve overstepped my boundaries?” I wore an innocent smile that would remind him of the Ariel he knew.

“I’ve expelled him,” he said as if it meant nothing to him. “Not just him. His whole family.”

I gasped. “Oh...” I tried my best to look calm as he continued.

“If something like that happens again, please let me know. I’ll take care of it.”

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, analyzes Reihas carefully.]

Another message appeared.

[Hessed is now wary of Reihas.]

He expelled the whole family? I thought of how mercilessly he had killed Annie and a chill ran down my spine.

[Hessed thinks Reihas has an impure heart.]

Suddenly, as I stared tensely at Reihas, the chat box appeared in front of his face.

[Monde, the deity of arts, thinks Reihas’ noble appearance can compensate for the impurity of his heart.]

This comical message caught me off guard. What’s this now? The gods continued with their conversation.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, criticizes Monde for being obsessed with appearances.]

I squinted to try and make the chat box disappear. It was hard to keep a straight face while reading their silly comments.

“Are you feeling dizzy?” asked Reihas, whose face looked fuzzy through the game screen.

“No. It’s just...” I trailed off, struggling to find the words. After all, I was still trying to stay on his good side. “I just realized how incredibly determined you are.”

He peered curiously into my eyes.

“Cutting off dead weight is never an easy job,” I continued. “Especially when you have to consider everyone’s interests.”

“Most of the priests think I’m a tyrant. It seems you don’t agree,” he replied, testing me.

“I think Your Holiness is a fair and righteous person. I’ve always thought so,” I responded without hesitation. I could say this with all sincerity because I had read the original novel.

Reihas’ eyes widened.

To Ariel, the villainess, he was a terrifying man, but he was always supportive and helpful to Saint Camilla. Even his motives for installing a fake saint were not for personal gain. Unlike the crown prince, who was protecting his own political position, Reihas knew many were anxious about not having a saint and he wanted to put their minds at ease.

“Though I am surprised to hear you expelled the entire Raysfield family.”

If I wasn’t the villainess and he wasn’t one of the three men who killed Ariel, I might’ve admired him a little bit.

I smiled at him, as he stared silently into my eyes for a long time. So long, in fact, that I started to suspect I’d done something wrong.

“I fear I’ve taken up too much of your time,” he said, quickly averting his gaze.

Since I did want him to leave, I laughed awkwardly but didn’t protest.

“I’ll be going now. Good day.”

With those stiff words, Reihas left the room. Only then was I able to relax my gaze.

The gods were still debating about Reihas in the chat box.

[Monde, the deity of arts, is giving his opinion about the perfect proportions for a human body.]

[Odyssey, the deity of love, is listening to Monde attentively.]

I put my hand on my forehead.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, is explaining that it’s the inside that counts.]

[Monde snorts at Hessed’s comment and says one’s appearance is the most important.]

[Odyssey suggests waiting a little more since there may be a man more handsome than Reihas.]

“Can we please talk about something more constructive?”

But it was no use. The deities continued with their heated debate for quite some time.

* * *

She no longer blushed or averted her gaze. Her eyes seemed so much clearer and looked directly into his.

Reihas frowned irritably as he took off his jacket.

What changed her so much? He couldn’t think of anything.

“Reihas de Elle.”

He still remembered the strange feeling he felt when he heard his full name come out of her mouth.

Had her eyes always been so blue? How come he had never realized? Now those blue eyes were following him around, getting on his nerves.

“I think Your Holiness is a fair and righteous person.”

A faint smile had spread across her red lips. He never knew Ariel could smile like that. Her voice, which he’d always found to be either whining or melodramatic, was now pleasing to his ears and kept echoing in his mind.

Reihas shook his head. He had only brought Ariel to the temple because he figured she was naive enough to play the part of a fake saint. She’s like a whole different person...

Just then, Reihas’ office door burst open to reveal a very angry man.

“How could you expel a disciple from the temple without consulting me?”

It was Haines, the high priest. His bald head glistened in the light of the holy stone on the wall. He came and stood in front of Reihas, breathing heavily.

“I heard what happened with the saint. It was shocking enough that she even brought up expulsion. How could you just go along with her?”

Reihas stared blankly at Haines.

“To think that you expelled the whole Raysfield family! The priests cannot accept this.” Haines’ face was flushing one hundred shades of red. It was truly a ridiculous sight to behold.

“It seems you have been misinformed,” said Reihas, calmly sitting in his chair and looking elsewhere.

Haines clenched his fists at the insolence of the pope, who was much younger than him.

“I expelled them because...” Reihas began.

When their eyes finally met, Haines felt his boiling anger oxidize. He suddenly felt like a small animal in front of a large beast.

“He was making dirty deals with some corrupt priests. At Elium Temple, no less.”

Haines felt his throat go dry. It was common for lowly noble families like the Raysfields to bribe their way into Elium Temple in order to improve their social standing. But in the case of the Raysfields, Haines himself had been their way in.

“Someone told me that cutting off dead weight is never an easy job, but it’s still worth doing.”

He had known everything from the start. Reihas smiled at the high priest, who now seemed hesitant to share his opinions.

“I’m thinking of pulling this problem out at the root while I’m at it. What do you say?”