The thought of running away crossed her mind hundreds of times, but it stopped at just a thought every time. She didn’t know anyone other than the temple, and she had no family to receive her. Even if she were to leave the temple in haste, she had nowhere to go.
“Should I pretend to be insane and seduce a nobleman?”
It wasn’t that there was no way to change her situation. Strangely enough, in a situation where even the abilities granted by the gods weren’t much of an advantage, the way to elevate her status was through ‘men.’
In a society where titles are passed down from man to man and land is inherited for farming, as it was in the Middle Ages, women’s activities are limited. So, this world can be said to be a world where Cinderella must fall in love with the prince to fix her life.
However.
“Who’s going to like a girl who looks like this. And even if I tried to woo someone, I wouldn’t have the time.”
She has no time to meet someone or seduce them as she divided her time between sleeping and eating while working. Unless, of course, this body she possessed body was a beauty beyond compare that she could knock everyone down at first sight and ask them to marry her with everything they had.
Unfortunately, Elena was not the kind of beauty that would immediately catch one’s attention. Of course, she wasn’t grotesque or ugly, and one could say she belonged to the category of being pretty. But her emaciated figure with no curves, shabby clothes, disheveled hair, and other areas that needed attention left a lot to be desired.
“Ah, forget it, forget it.”
Elena let out a deep sigh and shook her head. She discarded the dirty water from the rag and held the now clean rag in both hands, hurrying her steps.
During this afternoon time, the temple’s superiors were usually busy with their work in separate offices or overseeing the temple’s educational programs. So, she naturally assumed that the last of the four dormitories would be empty. But as she cautiously opened the door, voices from inside sent a shiver down her spine.
“…If we let it slide this time, we can postpone this task to the temple in the Arenia region next time.”
“That’s right. Because of the shock of that day, the male priests are reluctant, and this… The amount retired Sister Genevieve is demanding is outrageous. To think we have to procure a theology instructor for Duke Levi, even if it means giving such a sum of money from our central temple. This is an unfair situation.”
The two middle-aged priests frowned, looking quite displeased.
“You make a valid point. Perhaps we should explain our situation to the imperial court?”
“Didn’t you hear the story of that strict chamberlain, Hugo, yesterday? He demanded we fill twenty spots, twenty spots.”
Elena perked up at the familiar conversation. Education duties for Duke Levi? Chamberlain Hugo? Words that had appeared countless times in 『Empress Rosaline』 made her ears twitch.
“Just pick one of the lower-ranking priests and send them. How about that?”
“Do you not know that you have to be at least an intermediate priest to enter the palace? If we could do that, we wouldn’t have to worry like this.”
Elena’s eyes grew larger than ever before. The two officials inside were discussing Duke Levi’s educational duties. An imaginary bookshelf flipped through her mind.
Rosaline’s journey to the imperial city to become Duke Levi’s governess took place around a year after the ‘purification ritual’ incident. At that time, a considerably older priestess entered the palace as a theology instructor along with Rosaline, but she didn’t last more than a few weeks.
‘What if I were to enter the palace as Duke Levi’s theology instructor instead of Sister Genevieve?’
Elena’s heart began to beat rapidly. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier!
When she woke up, she realized that she had only one advantage in this absurd situation where she had become a sinner in the world of the novel. She knows the contents of this book thoroughly.
If she could just get into the palace, she could escape from this tedious cleaning and laundry, and even if she received only a portion of the amount Sister Genevieve was promised, she might be able to accumulate money much faster than now. It would be a way to prepare for independence from the temple.
‘Regardless of money, at least I won’t have to labor until my hands and feet are worn out!’
Her hands and feet began to tremble. She realized just how crucial this opportunity before her was, perhaps the most important event of her lifetime.
Her mind was flooded with dozens of thoughts simultaneously, to the point where she feared her head might melt. How could she persuade them to let her enter the palace instead of Sister Genevieve?
But her body seemed to have different plans. Before she could form a concrete plan on how to approach them, she impulsively opened the door and walked in. It was an unexpected situation driven by the desperation to escape this prison-like life.
Inside, the two priests who were in conversation were just as surprised as Elena.
“Uhh…”
“Wh-who are you?”
Elena froze solid in front of the two middle-aged men who had been openly expressing their discontent with the imperial family, daring to address Duke Levi, the Emperor’s younger brother, without any respect. She was even more shocked and alarmed by their sharp gaze.
‘Ah, I haven’t even thought about what to say yet!’
As Elena stood there, her face turning paler by the second, the middle-aged priest with his long hair tied back into a ponytail prodded her.
“I asked who you are.”
“I-I’m Elena. Cardinal Geoffrey and Cardinal Javit.”
It had taken her half a year of cleaning the cardinal’s quarters to reach this level of familiarity.
Yet, strangely, the cardinals who had previously punished her in the name of Rahan seemed neither surprised nor sympathetic when they heard Elena’s name. The suffering she had endured in repentance had long been forgotten by them.
Elena clenched her fists. Forgiveness? The person who had punished her didn’t even remember her punishment. There was no reason to continue enduring quietly. She vowed to graduate from this mop and bucket, using any means necessary.
“I am Elena, a low-ranking priest who has been doing repentance labor for spilling wine on His Majesty during the purification ritual one year ago.”
Although she wanted to scream and tear out that bushy mustache, she spoke politely through gritted teeth. Then, as if it had just occurred to him, Cardinal Javit spoke in a loud voice.
“Oh, it’s you. You became an intermediate-ranked priest thanks to your healing ability and then became a low-ranking priest due to that incident.”
“Yes, Cardinal Javit.”
Once again, Elena scrutinized Cardinal Geoffrey’s face, narrowing her eyes.
While both Cardinal Geoffrey and Cardinal Javit held the same rank, Cardinal Geoffrey was clearly higher in terms of his family background and external influence. Besides, among the four cardinals, Cardinal Geoffrey had the highest seniority, and in a way, he could be seen as the second-in-command right below the Pope.
Elena swallowed hard as she remembered who Cardinal Geoffrey was. The second-in-command of the Rahan faith, which everyone in the Empire served, was right in front of her.
“You were an intermediate priest?”
That’s right. Elena cheered internally. He had heard correctly.
It was important that Cardinal Geoffrey, who had decision-making authority, realized that she had once been an intermediate priest. To enter the palace, one had to be at least an intermediate priest or higher, and since Duke Levi was wary and reluctant to have a male priest, she had a chance.
سلام ممنون خسته نباشید عالیه کاش ادامه داشت