Episode 127

Time flew by like an arrow, and before I knew it, I had turned twelve.

It had already been five years since House Kallios officially declared their support for me as a Saintess.

And many things had changed from what I remembered of the original story.

First of all, my reputation and treatment had improved so dramatically that my miserable past life couldn’t even begin to compare.

Of course, people still said my healing abilities were inferior to Diana’s.

That was mostly because, outside of the Kallios household, I didn’t have many opportunities to use my healing power.

And no noble house dared to mention money and try to take me away from Kallios.

Add to that the fact that scum like Dung-keski and Magnus had fallen from power, and the temple’s pressure had disappeared—that definitely played a role too.

Unlike me, Diana was steadily building her position as the Saintess, just like in the original story, showing off her powerful healing abilities.

She’d heal anyone with enough money, was polite, kind, and now that she had been officially registered into the Barelotte family as a noble, it was natural that she had a better reputation than me.

So, did I feel bitter or jealous?

Not at all.

In fact, I loved how everything had flipped completely from my previous life.

‘Right. You have to become the Saintess, so go ahead and take it all, Diana.’

Crunch, crunch.

I munched on chocolate cookies brought to me by Charlotte, my secretary and the accountant of the merchant group, as I thought.

Even if one possesses miraculous abilities, healing is no easy task.

It requires immense stamina and mental focus.

Not to mention, problem clients exist everywhere.

Nobles, having paid massive sums of money, always wanted to exercise rights befitting their investment.

They were already irritable and fussy because of their illnesses—and dealing with nobles who acted out was no easy feat.

‘And unlike me, Diana doesn’t have a healing guide either.’

Even though she had strong healing power, she couldn’t heal Joshua back then.

Recently, rumors had spread like wildfire in the salons that Diana failed to heal the former Count Devolte—who happened to be the Empress’s grandfather.

In the end, he passed away.

The temple and House Barelotte denied it was a healing failure, insisting it was simply due to old age.

And considering Count Devolte’s advanced age, most people seemed willing to accept that explanation…

‘Why didn’t I know about any of this in my past life?’

Well, in hindsight, there was no way I could’ve known.

I had lost my healing guide in my past life, never studied medicine, and had awful relationships with everyone around me.

So I had no channels to even hear such whispers.

Plus, even in the original story, Diana’s failures were never really mentioned.

No matter how miraculous healing powers may be, if you don’t know the exact diagnosis, perfect healing is impossible.

Just like how people in the modern world used to mistake pneumonia for a simple cold, and many lost their lives.

Maybe Count Devolte was one of those cases.

“Tsk, tsk. That must be a headache for her.”

I clicked my tongue, picturing Diana, tears welling in those big violet eyes, looking helpless.

‘Still, nothing she can do about it. That’s the heroine’s fate.’

The protagonist of a novel always goes through trials and pain before finally reaching a happy ending, after all.

“You should be thankful I stepped out of the way.”

That’s what I muttered—but honestly, the one who should be thankful wasn’t Diana, but me.

Just the fact that I was no longer known as the fake Saintess who lost her mind from jealousy was already a huge relief.

On top of that, I hadn’t shown off my healing power or tried to compete to become the Saintess, so I rarely even crossed paths with Diana.

Crunch, crunch.

“Mmm~ delicious.”

Lounging on the sofa in the executive office at the top floor of the salon, munching cookies and counting money—this was my joy in life now.

Thanks to that, Diana seemed to be thriving without any obstacles, unlike the original story…

Ironically though, her fame hadn’t changed much since she was five years old, despite all her achievements.

Was it because of the failed healing that hadn’t stood out in the original timeline?

Or was it because of all the small changes I’d made?

Joshua—once so frail—had become so healthy that it was hard to believe he’d ever been sick.

And because of that, House Kallios no longer had any reason to call for Diana.

The major male leads, including Edwin, were now on surprisingly good terms with me.

I quietly reflected on the ways I’d twisted the original story.

Then suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

‘Wait… don’t tell me… just from stealing a few items?!’

There were three major protagonist buffs I had deliberately taken from Diana.

1. The title of “Holy Child” on the volunteer day when we were five.

2. The Fairy Herb.

3. The plague cure.

But honestly, none of those things seemed like they would have had a huge impact on the original story.

First, number one—after the age of five, I never participated in any more temple volunteer events.

So, just like in the original, Diana claimed the title of “Holy Child” every year.

As for number two, the Fairy Herb, which is now a core part of my business…

Even if Diana had discovered it, she wouldn’t have used it to make money anyway.

Besides, in the original, she didn’t even discover it until she was fourteen.

And finally, the plague cure…

“Ah.”

As the thought struck me, I stopped mid-chew and sighed with a troubled expression.

Minola Disease.

A terrifying illness that came with coughing, chills, rashes, and extremely high contagion.

The main ingredient for its cure—the hairs of the Yellow Fuzzy Spider—was, in fact, unlike the previous two items, not something I intentionally stole from Diana.

“Diana.”

“Hm?”

“Do you, by any chance… know where Yellow Fuzzy Spiders live?”

That was a conversation I’d had with Diana.

Now just a faint memory from seven years ago.

The reason I asked her that question back then was to confirm whether or not she had also returned from the past.

Even if I ended up living at the duke’s estate and accidentally took the Fairy Herb from her—

If Diana had really regressed too, she would surely try to prevent the Minola outbreak that was about to sweep through the capital.

To do that, she would have needed to find the Yellow Fuzzy Spider’s habitat earlier than in the original timeline.

But—

 

“Ew! I hate that kind of stuff! Just thinking about it gives me the creeps!”

 

Her visceral shudder and disgust didn’t seem faked at all.

Even though I had all the confirmation I needed, I couldn’t shake off my doubts. So I waited another year.

Just in case she had been acting to hide her regression.

But even when the capital was thrown into chaos by the mysterious plague—

Diana never once searched for the Yellow Fuzzy Spider.

If I left things alone, Minola Disease would rot away the empire for six years, just like in the original.

So, I had no choice. Pretending it was a lucky accident, I “discovered” the Yellow Fuzzy Spider and handed it over to Grandpa Gordon.

Just remembering how I had to deliberately get infected with Minola to make it believable still gives me chills.

As I thought back to all of that, it hit me how different the current praise and admiration for Diana was from what I remembered.

By this point in my past life, people had already started saying she deserved the title of Saintess.

But now, Diana…

‘She’s still popular with nobles, sure.’

But embarrassingly enough, it was my name that was more widely known among commoners.

That’s because, through the production lines I’d built with Belze Salon, we mass-produced the Minola cure and distributed it for free.

Thanks to that, the outbreak settled with minimal damage.

And many people expressed their thanks to me, to Grandpa Gordon, and to House Kallios.

In the original story, around this time, Diana would’ve discovered the Yellow Fuzzy Spider.

[During an academy field trip to the outskirts of the capital, Diana gets lost and ends up in the habitat of the Yellow Fuzzy Spider.
As a result, she returns covered in spider hairs and webs.”

“Upon arriving at the marquis’ estate, she bumps into a servant suffering from Minola Disease.
A few days later, she notices the servant’s condition has improved.”

“Realizing the spider’s effectiveness, Diana consults a medical academy student she knows.
With his help, she begins developing the cure…]

And that’s how it originally played out.

As I recalled the original storyline, I found myself slipping into a strange mix of emotions.

It wasn’t like I’d intended to steal that moment—unlike with the Fairy Herb.

But still, because of a choice I made six years ago, one of the scenes that should’ve showcased the heroine’s brilliance had been erased.

Sure, I was happy my reputation had improved because of it.

But for some reason, I couldn’t shake off this weird sense of unease.

After finally shedding the stupid “useless extra” label, now it felt like—

‘…It’s like I’m directly competing with Diana.’

The moment that thought hit me, I shuddered and shook my head like I was trying to get rid of a bug.

“Ptui!”

Competing?
What a cursed thought!

I’ve been working so hard all this time just to avoid getting tangled up with her!

‘The moment people start talking about us competing for the Saintess title, I’m automatically cast as the villainess.’

I trembled, trying my hardest to force some positive thinking through my panic.

“It’s just because the story hasn’t progressed much yet.”

Diana still had plenty of chances to shine in the future, far beyond the few items I’d taken from her.

Honestly, if a female lead’s reputation could crash just because she lost a couple plot devices, then the whole story’s trash.

‘…Though yeah, it kind of was trash, come to think of it.’

That follow-up realization made me let out a quiet sigh.

“Okay… from now on, just lay low and don’t stand out…”

Crunch, crunch.

I tried to shake off the gloom and grabbed another cookie—when suddenly—

BANG—!

The office door slammed open with a loud crash, and Charlotte burst in, face flushed and frantic.

“Miss Belze! Something huge just happened!”

“Huh? What is it?”

“You know that building across from our salon? The one that’s been under construction for three months—the one with the ugly yellow exterior?”

Before I could even say I remembered it, Charlotte stormed forward, panting.

“They’re opening a salon there too! And get this—it’s almost the same concept as ours!”