#82

“I’ve been expecting you,” Naaman greeted me with a kind smile.

Thanks to Kiera notifying them in advance of our visit, a line of Hebel’s priests had formed around the carriage we arrived in. Among them was Isaac, the one who had previously interrogated me.

Rachel held my hand tightly and remarked, “This is quite the enthusiastic welcome.”

“Of course. You are the first saintess candidate to appear in a thousand years. Such treatment is only proper,” Naaman replied.

“A saintess candidate, huh?” Rachel said, brushing her long hair behind her ear as she looked down at me. We had already agreed on our approach during the journey here.

My actions would depend on how Hebel received us. Luckily, Naaman seemed eager to label me as a “saintess” rather than a suspicious figure who had stolen a sacred relic.

I had been worried they might focus on “Zakari’s rampage,” but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Rachel turned to me and asked, “So, what do you think?”

She subtly shifted the conversation away from Hebel and toward me. Only then did Naaman lower his head to meet my gaze, abandoning his prior habit of only addressing Rachel.

His eyes betrayed an assumption that I was young and naive. I chuckled inwardly. If you underestimate me, you’ll regret it. I’m a hardened Korean who’s seen it all.

Gone was the pushover white weasel—I was now the fierce one, ready to stand my ground. Naaman maintained his kind expression as he spoke.

“To confirm your status as a saintess, we’ll need to conduct a simple verification process. Would you be willing to cooperate?”

“Before that, I have a condition,” I said firmly.

Naaman didn’t so much as blink at my audacious demand and replied smoothly, “Please, feel free to speak.”

Pulling out a prepared contract from my pocket, I said, “Before we proceed, I want to renegotiate the contract between Hebel, myself, and the Jabis family.”

“Excuse me?” Naaman looked at the suddenly produced document with a bewildered expression.

Oh, you’re surprised already? We’re just getting started.

I smirked and continued, “First, let’s make it clear: even if I’m confirmed as a saintess, I’m already part of Jabis and won’t be staying in Hebel. Secondly, Hebel must pledge not to interfere with Jabis under the pretense of saintess duties. These two points are the most important, and there are 101 additional clauses listed here. Take your time reviewing them.”

My rapid-fire demands caused not only Naaman but also the lined-up priests to stiffen visibly.

“That’s… quite unreasonable…” Naaman began hesitantly.

“The only unreasonable ones here are Hebel,” I shot back. “For over a century, Hebel has meddled in Jabis’s affairs over something that should’ve been resolved long ago. And now, when I, the saintess, assert my rights, suddenly that’s unacceptable? That’s the definition of hypocrisy.”

“Hypo—hypocrisy?” Naaman stammered.

“You dare—Cersia Jabis!” Isaac snapped, unable to hold back. However, Kiera stepped forward, blocking his path.

“This isn’t your place to interfere,” Kiera said coldly.

“Ugh!” Isaac glared at me with burning eyes but didn’t dare push past Kiera. Ignoring him, I waved the contract in front of Naaman.

“So, what’s it going to be?” I asked with a cheeky grin.

“…” Naaman remained silent, contemplating his response.

“Should I leave now, or will you sign the contract?” I added, stepping one foot into the carriage in a deliberately provocative gesture. Isaac trembled with suppressed fury, but to my surprise, Naaman merely chuckled.

A moment later, he knelt on one knee with an air of respect and said, “Of course. Clarity in such matters is important.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” I replied, smiling brightly.

“I’ll review the contract thoroughly,” Naaman assured me. “And please forgive the boy’s rudeness. His actions stemmed from loyalty.”

“Excessive loyalty can be toxic. It’s also the master’s responsibility to discipline their subordinates,” I said, casting a cold glance at Isaac. At my unyielding gaze, Naaman pulled Isaac forward.

“Apologize at once,” Naaman ordered.

“But—”

“Now,” he said firmly.

Naaman’s firm tone caused Isaac’s face to flush red with embarrassment. He muttered an apology so quietly it was barely audible, like the buzz of a mosquito.

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

But I wasn’t kind enough to let a half-hearted apology slide. I deliberately made a show of putting my hand to my ear, feigning difficulty in hearing him.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that?”

“…I apologize.”

“Hmm?”

“I APOLOGIZE FOR MY RUDENESS!” Isaac finally shouted, his voice echoing loudly.

“Ah, so that’s what you said.” Only after forcing him to repeat it loudly did I pretend to understand. Isaac ground his teeth in frustration and bowed his head.

I patted his shoulder in mock sympathy and said, “I’ll forgive you this time. But be careful in the future, alright?”

I could feel his shoulders tense under my touch, the anger practically radiating from him. Well, who told him to mess with a sleeping white weasel?

“Who thought I’d be easy prey in the first place?”

It wasn’t my intention to behave rudely from the start, but Isaac’s behavior during the wedding had been excessive, to say the least. It had been like watching a hyena pounce on an opportunity.

Had I been caught off guard and interrogated, I might have inadvertently made statements unfavorable to Jabis. Given my physical condition at the time, I might have even collapsed from exhaustion.

And yet, he bolted as soon as Zakari lost control.

For all their talk of neutrality, Hebel’s brand of neutrality seemed to involve running away when it mattered most. That incident had left me with a far lower opinion of Hebel than I had from the novel. In the story, they had been portrayed as a relatively pure and virtuous group, but the reality was far from it.

Sensing my hostility, Naaman gestured toward someone. A junior priest, hood pulled low, flinched and hesitantly stepped forward, head bowed as though trying to make themselves invisible.

It was obvious they were trying to gain my favor by sending someone around my age, but the attempt made me frown. Naaman stepped forward and spoke.

“This child will assist Lady Cersia during your stay.”

“This child?” I asked skeptically.

They looked like they could barely make eye contact, let alone handle a job. They weren’t even a suitable companion for conversation—it felt almost cruel.

However, Hebel didn’t support anyone who didn’t work, so perhaps being assigned to me was the easier option for the child. After all, I didn’t have any intention of working them hard.

But why are they trembling like that?

The way they shook, as if they had seen something they shouldn’t, was pitiful. Just as I was beginning to feel sorry for them, Naaman’s next words froze me in place.

“She may be a bit shy, but she’s a capable child. Ella, introduce yourself to Lady Cersia.”

“!!”

“H-hello, I’m Ella,” she said, finally removing her hood and greeting me bashfully. Her sparkling blue eyes glanced up at me occasionally, shimmering like precious gems.

I stared at her in stunned silence.

Pink curls and blue eyes, just as I had imagined. It was unmistakably Ella.

In the novel, Ella was incredibly shy, having escaped from pheromone manipulation experiments and been rescued by Hiscleif. The trauma had caused her to lose all memories of the experiments, and she had remained by Hiscleif’s side, suffering from social anxiety.

And yet, here she was, still exuding the same reserved demeanor. Was she being mistreated here?

Her sudden appearance had caught me off guard, leaving me just as startled as she seemed. As I continued to stare, Ella’s face grew progressively redder.

Oddly, I couldn’t detect any pheromones from her. She seemed no different from the other priests in Hebel.

“Perhaps you’ve met before? She attended the wedding as an observer,” Naaman said.

“Ah, I think I might have seen her there,” I replied, drawing out my words as I continued to observe Ella closely.

It seemed my initial impression at the wedding wasn’t mistaken after all.

 

 

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