Chapter 25
Crash!
Leona threw a bottle filled with perfume at the mirror, shattering both the bottle and the mirror into pieces.
“What did you just say?”
The maid in front of her bowed her head, trembling all over.
“Didn’t I ask what you said? Are you ignoring me too?”
Leona approached the maid and slapped her hard across the face.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
After hitting her three times in a row, she pouted her lips.
“Adeline revived someone using divine power?”
The maid lowered her head as if she had committed a crime and finally replied in a trembling voice.
“Yes. According to rumors, she revived her knight, the Marchioness Woody, and her baby.”
“With divine power?”
“They say a bright light erupted from her body. That’s why people are guessing it must be divine power.”
“Find someone who witnessed it and bring them to me.”
“Yes.”
As the maid left, Leona began to pace the room due to anxiousness and jealousy; she was biting her nails, unaware that blood was coming from them.
She could not understand why Adeline’s divine power had suddenly increased.
Surely, when she was here, Adeline’s divine power had been quite meager—just like her low status.
To have enough divine power to save multiple people… that was something only a true saintess could achieve.
To be honest, she was not even confident in her ability to save multiple people at once.
She truly wanted to become a great saintess. But she could not comprehend why these strange events kept happening.
Adeline was constantly butting in and obstructing her.
“Have you been deceiving me all this time?”
Thanks to Adeline’s rampages against her rivals, Leona had felt no need to do anything herself. She could simply enjoy the rewards Adeline worked hard to earn.
But then one day, Adeline had transformed completely. After insisting she would never leave the temple, she eventually went outside.
‘Why did Adeline suddenly change?’
Leona was curious about the reason.
“Ah!”
As her nails were torn, a large wound opened, and blood began to stain the hem of her white dress red. She looked down at the slowly darkening fabric.
“What has stained Adeline?”
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
—
“Haah…”
The more I read the newspaper, the deeper my sighs became. It was already the fourth day of consecutive special feature articles. Right about me!
“[Special Feature – Part 1: The Birth of the Empire’s Goddess! Adeline Senner Creates Miracles.]”
“[Special Feature – Part 2: Thank You for Being Born in the Empire, Adeline.]”
“[Special Feature – Part 3: The Good Deed Fairy Adeline Creates Positive Influence.]”
“[Special Feature – Part 4: No Matter How Many Good Stories Come Out, Our Heroine, Adeline’s Collection of Good Deeds.]”
“I didn’t intend for this to happen.”
Now, it wasn’t easy to pinpoint where things had gone wrong. I felt a small sense of regret that I hadn’t just stayed out of it.
“I shouldn’t have sent the Marchioness Woody away that day. I should have accepted her gratitude myself.”
I crossed my arms on the table and buried my head in them. Then I recalled the moment the Marchioness Woody had come to see me after the accident.
—
She arrived at the astrologer’s house, dressed neatly. Then she placed his hand over her left chest and greeted me politely.
“What brings you here?”
“Lady Adeline, I’ve come to express my gratitude.”
“Pardon?”
‘No, what could the Marchioness Woody possibly have to thank me for? I’m seeing her for the first time today,’ I thought, a sense of unease creeping in.
‘Could it possibly be related to the accident the other day?’
“Thank you for saving me and my baby during the accident a few days ago.”
To be honest, I had been drunk that day and overwhelmed, completely out of my mind. I didn’t even know who I had saved. And yet, here I was face-to-face with such a high-ranking noble.
It was a disaster for me.
After quickly organizing my complicated feelings, I replied gracefully.
“It was something I had to do. In that situation, anyone would have done their best to save someone. There’s no need for you to thank me.”
“Lady Adeline, you are being excessively humble. If you hadn’t been there, me and my baby would not have made it. That’s why I’ve come today to repay your kindness.”
“No, it’s really fine. I didn’t do it to receive anything.”
At that moment, the Marchioness seemed somewhat taken aback.
“If a noble receives a favor and does not repay it, it tarnishes their honor. Please, allow me to repay you.”
I waved my hands in a flustered manner.
“No, please don’t. I truly didn’t intend for this. Consider it a gift, and please let this matter pass quietly. That’s all I ask.”
I spoke with sincerity.
After staring into my eyes for a while, the Marchioness seemed to realize my determination and stood up.
I thought she would go home after that, but I was mistaken.
The Marchioness rushed straight to the newspaper office to express her gratitude towards me and donated a substantial amount of money to the empire’s orphanages.
As a result, the rumors about my divine power, which had been circulating quietly, received confirmation and spread throughout the empire.
From that moment on, people began to revere me as if I were nearly a saintess.
I wasn’t the saintess of the church, but rather, something like the national saintess, Mother Adeline.
—
It was my mistake to underestimate the honor of the empire’s nobles. The pride they had in their honor, especially among the non-clerical nobility, was beyond imagination.
I recalled the first time I met Paulian, sitting in front of a cream pie and discussing honor, and it suddenly struck me.
“I was careless, thinking only of the corrupt nobles…”
After that, the number of guests had increased to a level that was becoming overwhelming. For someone like me, who only wanted to live under just enough attention to help grow my wealth, this level of fame felt like a disaster, and I was filled with anxiety.
It wasn’t that I disliked the praise and warm gazes from people. It was just that my situation didn’t allow for such things…
Moreover, my dreams hadn’t been pleasant lately. Didn’t they say that misfortune often follows good fortune? I was worried that something big might happen.
“Lady Adeline.”
The first guest to enter with a bright smile was Chris. He looked at me with a gaze filled with awe.
“You’re truly remarkable! What on earth happened?”
“How did you, of all people, become my first guest?”
“I had no way to contact you after the accident, so I stood in line. In fact, I drew my ticket just yesterday morning, and my turn has finally come.”
I feigned nonchalance.
“It’s nothing special. I was just lucky. Perhaps it was the momentary grace of the goddess Myaria that helped me. Since the goddess can’t be everywhere, it seems she used me, who was present at the scene, as her agent to save people.”
“No one can save another’s life by luck alone. It seems that you truly belong to the Myaria Church.”
I pretended not to hear his words and continued with what I wanted to say.
“It really was just a coincidence, but the Marchioness Woody exaggerated it so much. I think the goddess gave me strength because the Marchioness is such a good person.”
“The Marchioness Woody?”
“Yes. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying this to you, but neutral nobles value pride and honor, don’t they? Unlike the corrupt nobility of the church faction, they don’t engage in corruption. I believe the goddess chose me as her agent to embrace her.”
Chris’s smile seemed to twist strangely at my words.
“You should have been a saintess, Lady Adeline.”
“Please don’t say that. I’m afraid of who might overhear. I just saved someone who was on the right path in place of the goddess. Besides, I have no power left at all now. It’s quite embarrassing.”
As I laughed awkwardly, I heard Sarah’s voice from outside.
“Lady Adeline, there are too many guests outside, so please make it brief.”
Hearing the savior’s call, I quickly turned to Chris and said, “I hope you understand, priest. I’ll see you again next time.”
As Chris stood up, he extended his hand and said, “I want to shake the hand of the hero who saved someone.”
His words made me a bit anxious.
‘Is he extending his hand to check my divine power? But someone like this low-ranking priest couldn’t discern divine power just by shaking hands.’
Feeling uneasy, I fiddled with the necklace that controlled my divine power with my left hand and extended my right.
Chris just smiled, showing no particular change in expression.
—
The atmosphere in the central temple’s conference room was tense. The expression on the vice-chancellor’s face, seated at the head of the table, was utterly gloomy.
The priests had no idea where things had gone wrong. Outside, all they could hear were praises for Adeline. This was supposed to be the time for Leona, who had just completed her coronation, to enjoy the convention effect, yet everyone was searching for Adeline.
In the beginning, when it was first reported that Adeline had saved people at the accident scene, many had their doubts.
However, the testimony of the upright Marchioness Woody could not be false. The priests were left with a heavy heart, questioning whether they had failed to recognize the true saintess. They trembled at the thought that they might have mistakenly chosen the wrong person.
A silence filled the conference room, and a priest sitting at the back finally spoke up. “Shouldn’t we bring Lady Adeline back?”
The other priests in the room held their breath, unable to utter a word. In fact, everyone present had wanted to say that, but they hesitated, fearing it would be seen as disloyalty to Saintess Leona, so no one could affirm or deny it.
The vice-chancellor spoke in a low voice. “The saintess is Lady Leona.”
“But even if she’s not the saintess, shouldn’t we let her stay in a role like the previous saintess candidates and carry out the church’s work? To be honest, because of Lady Adeline, there are no remaining candidates for the saintess this time.”
The vice-chancellor knew this was true, but he could not respond, merely letting out a sigh.
“Indeed. The reason there are no priestesses left to assist the saintess this time is entirely Lady Adeline’s fault. I believe we have a moral responsibility.”
“How are we supposed to bring back someone who said she disliked it so much and wanted to leave? We also need a justification for readmitting her.”
“We may have to corner her and threaten her.”
