TVWRL Chapter 11
Paulian couldn’t take his eyes off the stage.
“It’s Adeline Senner, the person I met in the mirage. I didn’t even notice it was her.”
He never expected it.
Though it was a short meeting, the person he talked to was so different from the rumored Adeline Senner.
She was confident, elegant, and intelligent back then.
The rumors about Adeline that spread throughout the social circle, magic circle, and shopping district were the worst.
She was said to be evil, greedy, selfish and violent who did whatever she wanted.
That was the image Paulian had of Adeline.
In fact, he wasn’t the type to pay attention to rumors, but these days, with the intense competition for the title of Saint, Adeline and Leona were always the topic of conversation.
The Villainess, Adeline and the Saint, Leona.
This rumor originated from those who directly experienced Adeline’s tactics in the saint competition and spread throughout the empire.
Those who failed in the competition bitterly attributed their failure to Adeline’s schemes.
There were many who were unable to participate in the trial due to injuries, skin blemishes, or slander, all caused by Adeline.
Since those who had directly experienced this were making these claims, the rumors seemed quite believable.
So, Paulian had also thought that Adeline wasn’t a good person.
That’s why he hadn’t suspected that the person he met at the cafe was Adeline.
But the atmosphere on stage felt strange.
Until now, the rumored Adeline was said to stop at nothing to become a saint, yet the Adeline on stage was blackmailing the high priest using the statue of a goddess.
This was something that a candidate for the position of Saint of the Myaria Church would never do.
Such behavior was only possible if she had given up on becoming a Saint.
‘What could a saintess candidate gain by threatening the high priest? Ah! Is this what they mean by using any means necessary? A shift in mindset that there are no limits to what one can do?’
If Adeline was indeed threatening the high priest to become a Saint, it was clear that she was a person with a tremendous audacity that Paulian had never seen before.
Paulian, who had no idea what was going on, grew more curious as time passed.
‘Why would Adeline take such actions?’
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Meanwhile, another person who had been watching Adeline and the high priest’s conversation from afar, Christian, had one corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked manner.
His face seemed relaxed, but his eyes were cold.
“If what’s lost is regained, that’s all that matters.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
As a man of the church, the high priest kept his promise.
The very next day, I handed in my resignation, packed my belongings, and left the temple.
The temple, seen from beyond the fence, was serene, peaceful, and beautiful.
‘Goddess, thank you for everything. Let us never cross paths again.’
After a brief farewell in my mind, I turned away.
I didn’t feel sad or sorry for myself, just joyful, refreshed, uplifted, and cool.
I stepped forward energetically to live the life I had dreamed of.
‘Starting today, it’s a brand new life living as Adeline!’
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I didn’t want to look for a house right away, so I unpacked my things at the inn.
I had actually been looking for a place to live before, but all the contracts were canceled. The landlords would take one look at my face and be shocked.
Not even showing them the rent money in advance could get them to trust me.
The way they looked at me was as if I was a “thief”.
‘Adeline, how on earth have you been living all this time?’
Feeling it was pointless to resent, I quickly devised a new plan to change my image.
First, make “friends.”
Not just any friends, but influential ones.
So I went to an inn run by Nancy, a reputable and trusted woman in the shopping district.
The ground floor served as a restaurant and bar, while the upper floor consisted of several rooms.
After unpacking, I hurried down to the ground floor to establish rapport with Nancy and ordered a meal.
A tempting soup and sandwich arrived.
The warm soup was comforting, and the sandwich was delicious, so by the time I finished eating neatly, a kind-looking middle-aged woman emerged from the kitchen
“You eat so elegantly. Was it to your liking?”
“Yes, it was delicious. I’ll be counting on you for a while.”
Known for her friendliness, she naturally came and sat in front of me.
“I’m Nancy.”
“I’m Adeline.”
“Oh my! Your name is the same as the saintess candidate. I couldn’t go yesterday, but the people who went said that her sacred power was amazing. I thought she was only infamous, but it seems that her sacred power was also high.”
Actually, the sacred power that day wasn’t solely mine.
I was worried that I might get caught.
I kept complaining that I didn’t have enough divine power, so the church secretly gave me a ring that contained the power of the Pope.
I performed the ceremony with the power of the ring, not my own.
I chuckled slightly at Nancy’s words and said,
“I am that Adeline.”
Nancy scrutinized me incredulously, her eyes scanning my violet hair and deep violet eyes, her mouth gradually widening.
“They were praising you so much yesterday. But why, why are you here…?”
Nancy was so shocked that she couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Her troubled face reflected her internal conflict.
‘Why is the infamous Adeline here? Is she angry at me for what I just said?’
I maintained a gentle smile and calmly continued the conversation.
“I’ve resigned from the saintess candidacy.”
But Nancy seemed skeptical of my words.
She seemed to think I had been expelled from the temple.
“Oh, well, that’s a shame. They said if you make it to the final round, you’re welcome in the temple even if you don’t win. How did you end up being pushed out like this? Did you cause trouble? Or get into another fight? I heard you caused a scene at the flower shop and got dragged away by the holy knights. Be careful.”
“It’s not like that.”
Ignoring my words, Nancy got up and went to the kitchen.
She soon returned with a bottle of liquor.
“It’s normal to experience ups and downs in life. So don’t be too disappointed. You’re still young.”
What kind of cheesy pep talk is this!
I said, throwing up my hands to show I was okay.
“No, it’s not like that.”
Without saying a word, Nancy nodded understandingly.
She seemed like a character who wouldn’t listen to others’ words to such an extent that it was astonising.
Nancy poured liquor into two glasses and handed one to me.
“Though you didn’t receive the goddess’s blessing, here’s to a better future.”
She clinked her glass against mine.
And so, we drank until the sun set and the moon rose.
‘This isn’t what I intended…’
Though it wasn’t intentional, thanks to the always handy alcohol, I quickly bonded with Nancy more than I expected.
Becoming friends with Nancy made everything easier.
With her introduction, I found a reliable real estate agent and secured both a shop and a home at a better price than planned.
Nancy willingly became my guarantor for my new life.
The owners of the house and the shop trusted Nancy and signed contracts with me.
As I stayed at Nancy’s inn while the interior design work was being done on my new place, our relationship grew stronger.
It was true that I had approached her with a purpose, but my trust, reliance, and affection for her were genuine.
As the renovations finished and the day came for me to move into my new home, Nancy was visibly sad.
“Adeline, you have to tell me everything that happens.”
“Of course. And since the shop is nearby, I’ll visit often. Thank you, Nancy.”
After bidding a bittersweet farewell to my first friend, Nancy, I headed to my new home.
The house was about a twenty-minute walk from my store.
It was a bit pricey being close to the marketplace, but it was a worthwhile investment for the future.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, the simple white-toned interior caught my eye.
In the empire, interior design was mainly reserved for the nobles, and they preferred extravagant styles.
When I initially described the clean feeling I wanted, Tom, who was in charge of the renovations, didn’t quite understand the concept.
After finally understanding what I wanted, Tom tried to dissuade me, but I didn’t budge.
It was a rough start to get us to understand each other, but when it was finished, Tom said he loved it and asked if he could do this design for other clients, and I gladly agreed.
The house consisted of just a cozy bedroom, a small room, and a small living room connected to the kitchen, but I loved it.
Compared to the one-room apartment I used to share with a friend, it was much better, and although it was smaller than the temple dormitory I had lived in until recently, the fact that it was my own home made up for it.
Even though it was a rental.
Anyway, it really felt like my life as Adeline was starting now.
Humming a tune, I finished tidying up and headed to the shop.
The shop’s renovation was also in its final stages, and we planned to open next week.
The shopping district was still wary of me due to my bad reputation, but thanks to my friendship with Nancy, the hostile atmosphere had eased somewhat.
The stores that had directly dealt with me before were still wary, but they were willing to sell me goods.
It was a decent start.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Before I knew it, it was the day before the grand opening.
Although the shop wasn’t large, I paid close attention to everything from lighting to furniture and decorations to maintain a mystical atmosphere.
I placed deep violet crystal beads, much darker than my own eyes, in the center of the tables I personally designed.
I also had various equipment such as handmade tarot cards, flags for fortune-telling, and bells.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I created a worldview that unified Eastern and Western shamanism.
‘After all, isn’t it all about the presentation?’
My heart pounded as I looked around the store.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I woke up at dawn and sat in front of the dressing table, gazing intently at my reflection in the mirror.
My face, filled with hope, looked genuinely happy.
A house and a shop in my name.
It was the happiest face I had ever seen, a life complete with things I hadn’t even dreamed of when I was Lee Chan-mi.
“I’ll live truly happily.”
I made a promise to myself, whether to the old Lee Chan-mi or the soulless Adeline, and went outside.
As I walked lightly, I was greeted by a sign that said .
After carefully cleaning the signboard and finishing the front cleaning of the shop, I looked up at the sky, which was unusually clear.
The weather was good, preparations were perfect, and I had a good feeling about it.
‘Oh, heavens! I’m starting a business. Please let it be a successful money-making venture!’
I passed the walnut pie I had prepared as an opening greeting to the neighboring shops.
Some shop owners who had encountered Adeline directly or had suffered from her antics were still surprised to see me.
They looked at me with suspicion, as if I might be poisonous or something.
But I was too happy at the moment to care about their suspicions.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
However, despite the hopeful breeze, overflowing determination, and all the preparations, the shop had not seen a single customer for a week, not even an ant.
