NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
I smiled softly and after a while, I opened my mouth again.
“But, by any chance.” I whispered to her in her low voice. “Does your family know?”
“…!”
After that, Annie said to me with her eyes wide open.
“W-What does that mean?”
Those bright brown eyes were shaking aimlessly.
“Shouldn’t I also know who’s on the fake saintess’ boat?”
I kept my calm look, and now it was Annie who was bewildered.
“I’m the only one who knows that the Saintess is not real! My family has nothing to do with this!”
The situation turned around in an instant.
“Shouldn’t I listen to your family in person for that?”
“S-Saintess!”
She, who threatened me with her eyes, hesitated for a while and knelt down. She looked afraid of her family being harmed.
“I think I was too arrogant. Um, you don’t have to give me money anymore. I’m really sorry. I will never do something like this again in the future!”
Seeing Annie kneeling in front of me and being afraid, I felt a little relieved.
‘Stupid Ariel, were you being used and threatened by a child at this level?’
But I’m different. I had no intention of living my life as a fool in the future.
“Saintess… If you forgive me just once!”
At that time, the door opened without knocking.
Startled by the sudden sound, I saw a holy white uniform and bright blonde hair in my sight. Beautiful golden eyes that shine darker today under straight eyebrows.
I stared blankly at him as he approached me without saying a word.
“High Priest… ”
Annie was shivering as she saw the High Priest’s figure, and her face became even paler.
And he quickly pulled out a long sword from his waist. For a moment, a thin mist of blood scattered, and Annie, who had her back stretched out, fell to her floor in an instant.
It was such a moment that I couldn’t even scream.
The dark red blood that spread round the floor was even more unrealistic.
Soon he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blade with a dirty expression.
“…”
I stared blankly at him.
I couldn’t believe he, someone who used a kind voice towards me, had just killed someone.
A person died.
And that was also Annie, my direct maid.
Of course, she did something really bad, but it was the first time I’d ever seen a person die.
I desperately suppressed my throbbing inside.
I clenched my trembling fists.
He quickly pushed the polished sword into the sheath and looked at me and bit his lips.
“Due to the circumstances, I had to dispose of her immediately.”
The surprisingly calm and soft tone made me feel strange.
Reihausd’s judgment would be right.
Annie knew the truth she shouldn’t have known, and she was a wicked woman who threatened me under the pretext of it, so even if she was interrogated outside, there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t leak again.
However, contrary to the objective judgment, this situation was still shocking.
I was barely holding onto my sanity, turning pale.
Soon after, Reihausd’s voice was heard.
“I’ll tell you to organize your seat, Saintess.”
I turned my gaze to the other side and didn’t open my mouth. Even if I said something to him in this state, it wouldn’t be a proper expression of opinion.
High Priest Reihausd turned around after a while.
“Please take a rest.”
He didn’t ask any questions about the situation. And that made me even more anxious.
Just like when he killed Annie without asking anything, I fear that one day he’d do that to me too.
My heart raced as if it was about to leap through the silence as it went out.
The door closed with a small noise, and then I took a deep breath. Then, with both hands, I rested my forehead, where headaches poured in.
My body was constantly trembling in the vibrating blood. A blue chat window appeared in the dizzying view.
[The ancient beings who were bored are curious about your cleverness.]
[The ancient beings who were bored are curious about your judgment.]
[The ancient beings who were bored are curious about your calmness.]
[The unlock condition of the oracle is getting closer.]
I still didn’t know what it meant. My mind got more complicated, so I just closed my eyes.
***
[Then, what will happen to the maid who hid me being a fake saintess while receiving 650 franc a month?]
Ariel’s twisted voice echoed in Reihausd’s ears.
He strode into the office with a cold, subdued look.
[Wouldn’t you envy me in the guillotine?]
On the way, he grabbed the long sword out of his waist and threw it away, then the sword hit the floor and made a crackling sound.
Although it was a sword of noble value, he had no intention of reusing a sword stained with dirty blood.
A glimmer on Ariel’s face, who was pretending to be calm, hiding her fearful eyes.
Did that kid have such wit and courage?
‘No, if she had that kind of brain in the first place, she would have suffered.’
Reihausd frowned when he remembered Ariel’s face, which was often staring into the distance with a gloomy expression as if she was dead.
He took off the jacket of his uniform, hung it, and unbuttoned a couple of his shirt’s buttons.
The image was visible in his golden eyes, which had a turbid light.
The God of Art, Mond.
Elium is a temple that enshrines all nine gods, and unlike the saintess who worships all gods, the priests, including the High Priest, worshiped different gods.
Reihausd’s eyelids, who were gazing at the statue with restrained eyes, fell.
***
Annie died, and new maids were assigned.
Other maids took turns coming in to prevent the same thing as before, and I often confused their names. The maids were especially careful with me, perhaps because they knew that Annie was dead in my room. Every time they made a small mistake, they dropped so much that it felt a little burdensome.
And at first, the shock was so severe that my condition, which had been restless for a day, was almost restored.
I knew that I was good at adapting, but I can’t believe I’m so calm about a person’s death…
I felt a little bitter about myself.
This isn’t modern time. The values of human life are also different.
I know why Reihausd did that.
The fact that I’m a fake saintess was a secret that could literally turn the country upside down, and if the truth was revealed, it would be a devastating blow to both the Temple and the Emperor.
But I didn’t have the courage to see Reihausd again.
The area around my neck became cold for nothing when I remembered the blade of the blood-covered sword he was holding.
‘I’d better escape a little earlier.’
I was going to wait for the real saintess to come, but I felt like my life would be shortened if I did.
Annie, who knew I’m a fake saintess, also died that way, and there’s no way he wouldn’t take my life as a fake saintess.
In addition, the chat window that appears often in front of my eyes. It made me feel even more uncomfortable at the beginning of its existence.
‘What the hell is this?’
I started writing the formula again at my desk.
Yes, it’ll be too difficult to manage if the building is too big. If I sold the relics, I could buy a medium-sized building worth 70,000 francs.
Even with that, my normal life as a landlord wouldn’t be a concern.
Since the average monthly salary of commoners is around 1,000 francs, there was no need to worry about making a living even if it wasn’t a building.
If I live in a proper disguise, I’m sure Reihausd will forget me in two or three years. In the original story, he was indifferent to Ariel and had a cold personality.
“Good. It’s for three years.”
I put down the flagpole pen and muttered.
The five-year self-reliance plan was reduced to three years. There is no Annie who threatened to take 65% of my monthly salary, so now all you have to do is collect it.
Then, suddenly a knock was heard.
‘Who is it?’