The Beloved Fake Saint

Chapter 9

Haines cleared his throat and looked away, his eyes falling on the longsword hanging on the wall.

“Th-that is...” He’d forgotten what he was going to say, shrinking under Reihas’ thinly veiled accusations. “I just... I had hoped you would consult me before making such decisions.”

Reihas stared silently at him as he rambled miserably.

“B-besides, the saint never carried out her duties properly before. I was merely flustered by her abuse of power. Of course, Your Holiness is fit to expel whomever you please, but the saint...” Haines cleared his throat. He was trying to placate Reihas by redirecting his discontent toward the saint. “It seems I’ve been too busy with my duties as the high priest.”

“That we can agree on,” Reihas replied. “Too busy to realize that Elium had been thus polluted.”

Haines realized that he had put his foot in his mouth. Reihas’ icy glare made sure of it.

“What a disrespectful thing to say,” Reihas said coldly.

“Your Holiness!”

“Too much time on a person’s hands puts strange ideas into their mind, even for priests.”

This was the first time Reihas had ever defended the saint against complaints, even though he was the one who had brought her to the temple in the first place.

“I hear the Ares Mine is flowing with dark energy these days,” the pope continued, still staring daggers at the high priest. “There have been monster sightings in the area as well.”

“Y-Your Holiness!” Haines’ face hardened.

Ares Mine was far away from Elium Temple. If he went to serve there, he might never return. And that area was known to be a barren wasteland.

“I am too old and weak to—”

“This is not a request. I, the pope, am ordering you to investigate this case.” Reihas’ command fell like a judge’s gavel.

Haines regretted his words for the rest of his life.

* * *

My day as the saint went by quite mundanely. I read a book after being blessed by Hessed and took a stroll in the garden. The deities were strangely quiet, as though they were taking a nap. Then, late in the afternoon when I was getting ready for the imperial banquet with the help of my maids, there seemed to be a sudden commotion outside.

“What’s going on?”

“There is a priestess here who is begging to have a word with Your Holiness.”

“A word with me?” I replied curiously. “Bring her to me. Let’s see what she has to say.”

Moments later, a familiar priestess came in with the maids. She had short blue hair and was wearing a stiff cerulean uniform. It was the trainee, Daisy, whom I had seen in the library. She immediately knelt before me and bowed her head to the floor.

“You’re that trainee priestess. What have you come to say?”

She raised her head slightly to look up at me. She looked to be around sixteen or so, younger than I was in that world.

“I would like to serve at your side, Your Holiness.”

I silently stared into her black eyes for a moment.

“I didn’t even get a chance to thank you properly. I must repay you for your kindness—”

“I appreciate your gratitude,” I said, emphatically interrupting her plea. “But the maids I have now are sufficient.”

Under normal circumstances, there would be several priestesses who served the saint besides the maids. Of course, Reihas had not assigned any to me in order to protect my position as the fake saint. Only maids, lacking any divine power, were assigned to serve me.

“B-but!”

“And the only reason I helped you is because that man was blocking the books I needed,” I spoke calmly but sternly. Sweet words were not going to help her.

“Now, would you please leave? As you can see, I’m very busy.”

But Daisy looked at me with eyes still full of determination and welling up with tears. “Even so, I want to serve Your Holiness.”

I let out a small sigh and ordered the maids to leave the room.

“You know,” I started, once we were alone in the room. “A maid named Annie took care of me for a long time.”

Daisy stared eagerly up at me, still kneeling on the floor.

I could tell that she was nothing like Annie, but that wasn’t enough to make her my lady-in-waiting.

“She died not long ago, struck down by a sword.”

Daisy’s eyes widened.

“Why do you think she died?” I asked.

Walking toward her, I looked down at her with my chin up. Scaring children wasn’t really my thing, but drastic times called for drastic measures.

She trembled silently.

“It’s because she couldn’t hold her tongue.”

Now I could clearly see the fear in her black eyes.

“She, an experienced maid, is dead. How long do you think you’d last?”

She was shaking now. I straightened my back, thinking that would be enough to scare her off. But to my surprise, she clenched her fists and raised her head to look at me.

“I still want to serve at your side, Your Holiness!”

I was taken aback. Did she not understand me when I told her she could die?

“I was born an orphan. I’ve always had to fend for myself. I was lucky enough to become a trainee priestess, and I thought that would finally give me some power in this world. But I was wrong. He was harassing me and there was nothing I could do about it. I wished I was dead. It felt like nothing had changed at all.”

Old memories of my previous life resurfaced in my mind. It was no fairytale.

“Never in my life have I received an apology from a noble. I’ve had to beg them for mercy, even when they abused me for the smallest things. But when that man apologized to me... I realized it wasn’t my fault. It had never been my fault.” Daisy’s clenched fists were trembling. “You were a ray of light to me... a vision of the person I’ve always dreamed I could become. As a trainee priestess, I have already dedicated my life to serving the deities. So if I’m going to serve someone, I want that person to be you, Your Holiness.” She stared at me with unwavering eyes.

I stayed silent, overwhelmed with a strange feeling.

“While I am afraid of dying if I were to fall out of favor with you...” she continued, her eyes shining with resolve. “I’ll do my best not to let that happen.”

I couldn’t put my finger on what I was feeling. Maybe she reminded me of myself, struggling to survive in my past life.

“I am not the person you think I am,” I said coldly.

I am not even the real saint. I’m a fake, bound to leave this temple in a few years.

But Daisy remained unfazed. “I don’t care what kind of person you are, Your Holiness,” she said, bowing her head once again. “Please accept my service and devotion!”

I sighed as I saw her lying flat, her forehead almost touching the floor.

A priestess, huh? They were better educated than the maids and blessed with holy power.

“Which family do you come from?” I asked.

She quickly lifted her head to answer my question.

“I am in the care of Viscount St. Caust, Your Holiness. He is my uncle on my mother’s side who adopted me after both my parents died.”

“If you decide to serve me,” I said, after thinking for a moment, “You will put not only yourself but your family at risk. Are you sure you want to do that?”

“I’m sure,” she replied as if what I said was of little consequence. She must’ve hated her adopted family.

I paused for a long time before I spoke again. “From this point forward, there’s no going back.” I had no reason to dissuade her further. After all, it was in my best interest to have someone I could trust by my side.

“Thank you, Your Holiness!” Daisy exclaimed, bowing her head once again.