Chapter 13: Fake Saint’s plot

—The story goes back to the day after Evelyn was expelled from the Great Temple.

“I can’t believe it!”

Mary was standing on the ground in front of the Safka family’s house.

The priests who had driven her here in the carriage only looked at her as if she were a fool, which only made her even more frustrated.

(What the hell! Why do they have to call me an imposter?)

It happened yesterday.

Mary thinks that she has succeeded in driving Evelyn out of the Great Temple, and that from now on she can enjoy the luxuries of the royal palace every day with her dreamy, beautiful first prince, Alex.

This was exactly how Mary had been spending her time with Alex for the past few years, but those who were supposedly in Alex’s inner circle were always giving her a hard time about it.

They would say things like, “You’re a disgrace to your sister.” and “She is a wonderful person,” which Mary could not understand.

Every time she did, she reported it to Alex, but these annoying words poured down on Mary every day like a never-ending rain.

So, being able to banish the annoying Evelyn – Mary felt like shouting out, “Suck it!”

She even wished that she had been banished during the winter season instead. Then, she would have been able to spend the night freezing to death.

The Safka family, Mary’s birth family, has been given a special title of Saint, but compared to other noble families, they have little real power. They don’t have free access to the Royal Palace or the Grand Temple, nor do they have any official say in the matter.

In other words, in order to become Alex’s wife, Mary needed the status of a Saint.

Alex understood this and helped Mary. He, too, wanted to be united with a young and pretty maiden rather than an aging Saint.

(That’s right…… everything was going according to plan.)

Today, as planned, Alex was inviting the priests and his brothers to come.

When it was announced that she was the new Saint, Mary was told by the priests to go to a place called the “Hall of Saints”.

The daily role of the Saint is to doze off in a kneeling pose with her hands folded.

Simple. Even a child could do that.

With that thought in mind, Mary kneeled down on the cold marble floor and endured for a minute.

“Was it a prayer ritual? Yes, I’ve successfully finished it.”

As soon as she said that and was about to quickly return to Alex, one of the priests stopped her.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. What are you talking about?”

“I couldn’t sense any magical wavelengths at all. Please try again.”

“Why? I don’t like it.”

“Didn’t you say that you would become a Saint in place of Evelyn-sama?

He gave her a dismissive look.

With a click of her tongue, Mary resumed her prayer pose.

After three minutes, she declared, “I’m done” but he shook his head again. No matter how many times she tried, the process repeated itself.

It’s obvious harassment. She tried to talk Alex out of it, but even there things got unreasonable.

(To top it off, even Alex-sama told me to leave!)

“Mary! ? What are you doing out here?”

Mary couldn’t help but embrace him when she saw the figure standing in the doorway.

After hugging each other for a while, Mary was led into the house with her father, who said, “Come on, hurry up and go inside.”

“Papa! Listen to me.—”

“So, Mary. Why have you come home?　From today on, you’ll be living in the Great Temple as a Saint……”

Yikes! Mary’s shoulders tense up.

“U,um that’s……”

As she looked around in confusion, she saw her mother dressed up on the second floor terrace.

“Mama!”

“Ara, welcome back, Mary.”

Her mother, a beautiful woman who looked just like Mary, smiled at her.

“I hope I don’t have to ask how your day was. What that woman’s daughter can’t do, my daughter certainly can do.”

More and more, Mary broke out in a cold sweat.

If she told everything that happened today in a straightforward manner…… her mother, let alone her father, would be horribly incensed with Mary.

(Some random lie……)

“……The truth is, Onesama has been lying to the priests that I don’t have the gift of being a Saint, and I’m in trouble today because of it.”

“What did you say! ?”

As if to cover Mary’s whisper.

The mother shouted and exchanged glances with the father.

Her father nodded and muttered in a low voice.

“As a matter of fact, Evelyn came to visit me at the mansion yesterday……”

“Eh?”

It was the first she heard of it.

So Evelyn tried to find her parents’ house right after Alex and Mary kicked her out.

(It’s really stupid. There’s no place for you here!)

Forgetting her current situation, Mary almost burst out laughing.

“She was looking at the statue with hatred. She’s no longer a Saint, but merely a demon.”

“Yes, you’re right. I was surprised that she was even staring at me.”

Mary raised her eyebrows in sympathy as her two parents cuddled together.

“I didn’t think that could happen……. That must have been hard on Mama and Papa.”

“What are you saying? You’ve had it worse than we have, haven’t you?”

“But Mary, what do you mean? Didn’t you just kick Evelyn out of the Great Temple yesterday? And then she lied to the priests about it.”

Mary waved her hands in panic, as her lie was about to be exposed immediately.

“Yeah, it’s been happening for a very long time. It seems like she’s been spreading bad news about me to the priests.”

“She’s such a nasty little bitch! She deserves to be called a jealous witch. She deserved to be burned rather than banished.”

Mary was relieved. It seems that they believed her.

“So, you see, if I can’t get the priests to recognize me, I think I should get the people to recognize me.”

“Hmm? Mary, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m going to show them how great I am and make them realize that I’m the one who deserves to be a Saint, not Evelyn!”

The priests were turning their near-angry tempers on Mary.

The second and third princes have been looking at her with a disdainful expression.

Without even looking at her, Alex told Mary to go home.

—If the Royals and the people in the Great Temple don’t approve.

—Yes, we could put them in a situation where they would have no choice but to admit that Mary was a Saint.

“That’s why I’m going to demonstrate to the people how I can dispel the miasma as a Saint!”

(It was easy. Even the dull-looking Evelyn was able to do it for over twenty years.)

The priests were mean to her today, though, and made it sound as if Mary had no power.

It couldn’t be. Mary can use healing magic, and girls born into the Safka family for generations are blessed with the gift of sainthood.

At Mary’s suggestion, her father clapped his hands.

“That’s wonderful. The sight of Mary leading the priests around must be truly divine.”

Her father said that he wanted to hold a parade, and Mary panicked.

“The priests— they won’t help me. I think Onesama told them off.”

Her father held his head in his hands, but her mother quickly interjected from next to him.

“Let’s get the servants to act as priests.”

“Eh?”

“It’s going to be okay. We can make an outfit similar to the vestments and put them on. They won’t know anyway.”

“Mama, awesome!”

Mary was completely impressed with her mother for coming up with such a good idea.

“Papa, go tell the seamstress as soon as you can!”

“I, I understand.”

(Today’s events were just a nightmare— my future self will surely be able to laugh it off like that.)

Mary laughed and thought to herself.

(I’m the real Saint!)