Chapter 202: You Don't Mess With Kids
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: You Don't Mess With Kids
To put it bluntly, she was implying that since I was a fake Saintess who couldn't even show her face in public, it was only natural we hadn't met.
My blood boiled, but my goal for today was "don't cross the original female lead."
"I suppose so."
I smiled as if I hadn't caught the subtext and introduced the welcoming crowd standing behind me.
"The residents gathered to greet you after hearing the news of your arrival. They would be overjoyed if you could show them your face for a moment."
With her nose held high, Constine brushed past me and approached the crowd.
I licked my dry lips, feeling a bit tense.
There was one thing Constine didn't know.
Half of the hastily assembled welcoming party were servants from the Grand Duke’s Castle, and the other half were residents of Porcelain and Sablang.
This meant more than half of them knew the truth—that I was the real Saintess.
Norton did tell them to keep their mouths shut earlier, but still...
— "Do not say anything strange in front of the Saintess. Especially you, Village Elder."
— "Is this not also a trial sent by the Goddess? This old man will keep the secret even if I am beaten to death!"
— "Why would you be beaten to death?!"
While I recalled the Elder roaring as if he were a martyr, Constine was already facing the crowd.
"Saintess, thank you for coming to our village!"
The children in the front row of the crowd handed Constine flowers one by one.
"Oh my, are these for me?"
Constine accepted the flowers, looking noticeably more delighted than usual.
"How lovely. Flowers are the Saintess's favorite thing in the world."
"The Saintess is very happy to meet you all, too."
As she spoke, Constine stole a glance toward the Grand Duchess.
The Grand Duchess was watching with a composed, steady smile, acting as if nothing were wrong.
Why is she so conscious of the Grand Duchess?
I felt a surge of irritation at myself for even engaging with such childish provocations.
"May the Goddess's blessing be with you."
Constine placed her hand on a child's head and bestowed a blessing.
A faint energy, too pathetic to even be called light, flickered from her fingertips.
At this rate, there's no difference between that and just touching their head.
Constine was wearing a ring that stored the holy power of other priests. It seemed that power was already running dry.
In the end, Constine merely went through the motions of reaching out as if she were granting a blessing.
After all, the priests here were all on her side, and ordinary people couldn't sense holy power anyway.
A Sword Master like the Grand Duke might notice, but...
I looked back and saw that he seemed to have no interest in her, his eyes fixed solely on his wife.
Constine approached the last child.
A cute boy with chestnut hair stood there.
The hesitating boy handed a flower to Constine.
"Oh, aren't you just darling?"
Constine gave a bright smile.
The young boy looked exceptionally more nervous than the other children.
Taking the flower, Constine placed her hand on his chestnut-colored crown.
Even after she bestowed the blessing, the boy strangely showed no reaction.
Puzzled, Constine tilted her head.
The man standing behind the boy, who appeared to be his father, placed a flustered hand on the child's shoulder.
"Robbie, you have to say thank you to the Saintess."
So his name was Robbie.
Despite his father's words, the boy hesitated and kept his eyes cast down.
"Saintess, I'm so sorry."
The father blurted out an excuse.
"My child was injured yesterday, so he's a bit out of it right now."
"Oh dear, where was he hurt?"
She asked with feigned concern.
"Show the Saintess!"
A woman standing nearby chimed into the conversation.
"Robbie got burned by scalding hot spring water yesterday!"
Only then did I see the bandage wrapped around the arm beneath the boy's sleeve.
Robbie's father looked troubled.
"It's fine. It's almost all healed now...!"
"Almost all healed?"
Then this was actually perfect.
If it wasn't a major wound, she could use what was left of the holy power to heal it properly.
I should take this chance to show off the Saintess's healing power in front of everyone.
Constine leaned down toward Robbie.
"Robbie, would you like to show the Saintess?"
However, Robbie, who had been still until now, hurriedly hid his arm and showed clear wariness.
"It doesn't hurt."
"Oh, are you scared? It's okay. The Saintess can make it all better."
But Robbie shook his head and refused.
Even Robbie's father waved his hands in dismissal for some reason.
"It really is all healed! There's no need for you to look at it."
"What are you talking about? You were making such a fuss about him being badly hurt yesterday."
Three or four nearby residents nagged, seemingly unable to understand.
"What kind of opportunity is this?"
"Show the Saintess quickly. What if it leaves a scar?"
"It's really fine! I was just overreacting yesterday, it's no big deal!"
What? Are they seriously not trusting me?
Constine's pride was stung by the reaction that seemed to doubt her healing abilities.
Her nerves were already frayed from several hours of traveling in a carriage.
Just as Constine reached out to grab Robbie's arm, he shook off her hand.
Constine's face flushed red with humiliation.
A child avoiding the Saintess?
The atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
"You were just exaggerating, weren't you?"
Constine spoke in a playful tone to salvage the situation.
"You were scared the Saintess would catch you in a lie, right?"
"It wasn't a lie!"
Robbie raised his voice, sounding wronged.
"It really hurt, but the real Saintess made it stop hurting—!"
At that moment, Robbie's father desperately covered the boy's mouth.
"The ointment the doctor gave him yesterday worked so well that he's completely healed!"
The real Saintess?
The father's eyes darted around in panic as he spoke.
"The doctor must have looked just like a Saintess in the child's eyes!"
"That old grandfather doctor?"
The woman next to him looked bewildered.
"I was so embarrassed by my own fussing that I wrapped his arm in a bandage...!"
As the father hurriedly unwound the bandage, Robbie's fair arm was revealed.
"I'm sorry, Saintess."
Why was she so furious while looking at the child's unblemished skin?
Constine's stomach churned with an inexplicable unpleasantness.
Above all, the words "real Saintess" that had slipped from that boy Robbie's mouth were incredibly grating.
Constine lowered herself completely to Robbie's eye level.
Then, she whispered sweetly into his small ear.
"You should listen to the Saintess. If you keep acting out like that, you'll never be loved by the Goddess as long as you live."
After giving his chubby cheek a sharp, painful pinch and a shake, Constine stood back up.
The child was deathly pale, clearly shocked.
He won't go around blabbing, will he?
"What I just said is a secret between Robbie and the Saintess, okay?"
With a bright smile, Constine returned to being the benevolent Saintess and finished greeting the residents.
Once Constine and her party disappeared to take a brief tour of the village under the Elder's guidance, I approached Robbie.
"Robbie, are you okay?"
For some reason, Robbie's expression had been terrible ever since the Saintess whispered to him.
"Our Robbie couldn't say anything because he was keeping his promise to me, right?"
Those words must have triggered his tears, as Robbie nodded while desperately trying to hold them back.
"Thank you so much."
I patted the back of his small hand.
"It's my fault. I'm so sorry for making you tell a lie like that."
While comforting Robbie, I gently asked what the Saintess had said earlier.
Sniffling, Robbie confessed the words Constine had whispered to him.
The moment I heard them, the blood rushed to my head.
"So... she said the Goddess would hate you?"
Robbie kept wiping his eyes as if his heart were breaking.
It was pitiful to see him trying so hard not to let his tears fall.
I firmly grasped Robbie's two small, fern-like hands.
"You don't need to listen to that. It's all a lie."
As I spoke while looking him straight in the eye, his tearful face relaxed slightly.
"Robbie, you know, don't you? That I'm the real Saintess."
Robbie nodded his head.
"The Goddess always loves Robbie."
"Really?"
"Of course. I asked her myself."
At those words, Robbie finally seemed relieved, and the floodgates opened.
"Waaaaah...!"
I raised my hand to stop the startled knights and his father from coming closer.
"It's okay, don't cry."
I wiped away Robbie's tears and spoke.
"You don't have to care about a single thing that woman says, okay?"
As I held Robbie in my arms and patted his back, I bit my lip hard.
The protagonist?
To threaten a young child with such words just because he didn't behave the way she wanted?
Constine is no Saintess.
That woman doesn't deserve to be the protagonist.
After a calmed Robbie left holding his father's hand, I fell into deep thought.
I had no intention of revealing that I was the Saintess, but...
I absolutely cannot stand to watch Constine acting like some elegant Saintess here in the North.
"Where is Miel?"
When I asked while looking at Norton, he pointed to a corner of the tent.
"He has been here waiting for a while."
"Call Miel over."
I spoke with a face that had turned cold as ice.
"I need to properly prepare a welcoming ceremony for the Saintess."
