Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Saintess Rain (1)
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The saintess who began living in our territory adapted surprisingly well to the harsh conditions of the lord's castle, contrary to my worries.
She ate the provided meals without expressing any particular complaints.
Well, since she was originally from the back alleys, our family's standard of living might not faze her at all.
The problem, however, was...
“Wine! Wine! Bring more!”
That this excommunicated saintess turned out to be a severe alcoholic.
No matter how much wine I pulled from the warehouse and gave her, she chugged it down the moment it was handed over and demanded more.
It wasn't even wine diluted with water.
It was pure wine, extremely rich in flavor and heavily astringent.
Yet she downed at least five bottles a day as a baseline, and up to ten bottles on the worst days.
Fortunately, grapes were our territory's specialty product, so we had plenty of wine stockpiled, and fulfilling her demands wasn't a major issue.
What worried me, though, was her health.
If the saintess I'd been saddled with suddenly keeled over dead from alcohol poisoning?
I had no idea what kind of catastrophe might strike.
Lost in thought while sorting documents after rising early in the morning, I resolved—for the sake of the family's well-being, if nothing else—to break her alcohol addiction.
“Head Butler!”
“Yes, Family Head.”
The head butler, who had been waiting outside the door, cautiously opened it and entered.
His hair, after over fifty years of service to the family, had turned almost entirely white, with black strands now hard to find.
I stared at it vacantly for a moment before issuing my instructions.
“If the saintess requests wine today, refuse her.”
“I-Is that... permissible?”
A look of bewilderment crossed the face of the head butler, who was always so composed.
Even if she was an excommunicated saintess, he seemed burdened by the very title.
“Yes, I'll take responsibility. If she starts causing trouble for the servants, call for me.”
The head butler flinched, as if debating whether to try talking me out of it, then slowly bowed his head.
“I shall follow the Family Head's will.”
About an hour passed.
“Wine~ Wine! Bring it here!”
As expected, the saintess's voice demanding alcohol soon filled the building.
The castle was so cramped, with such poor soundproofing, that her shouts from her room—directly opposite the Family Head's office—echoed vividly all the way here.
*Here we go again today.*
Curiously, the saintess woke up every morning precisely at 8 a.m. and began clamoring for alcohol.
That also happened to be the exact time the servants began their daily duties, so the entire household now started its routine to the sound of her high-pitched yells.
At least she didn't start her rampages before the servants' workday, disrupting their rest—that much was a relief.
“Saintess, we cannot provide any wine today.”
It sounded like the maid captain was conveying my instructions by refusing the saintess's demand.
“Why? Why? I'm a saintess!”
*You are a saintess—albeit an excommunicated one.*
“Haha... We're simply concerned for your health...”
“You all want me to croak quick, don't you? I'm gonna chug booze and drop dead, so why the hell are you stopping me?”
Her refusal to get wine seemed to be ramping up the intensity of her language.
It looked like her outburst was starting to peak.
“Saintess, we harbor no such intentions at all.”
“What a load of crap, fuck. I know you all think I'm shit. That's why I'm gonna drink up and fuck off!”
“S-Saintess...!”
I rose from my seat, having been quietly sorting documents.
As expected, the servants alone weren't enough to keep the saintess in check.
In that case, I would have to step in.
“Gimme wiiiine!”
Hearing the sounds of objects shattering, I headed for the saintess's room.
Ever since arriving in our territory, the saintess hadn't stepped foot outside her room even once.
She just holed up inside, eating her meals and drinking.
Today, I intended to shatter that pattern.
“F-Family Head...”
I quietly signaled the servants—who looked exhausted from dealing with her—to withdraw, then cautiously knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
“Saintess Rain, it's Laden.”
The saintess's rampage inside cut off abruptly.
“Oh, the bastard's here?”
“...Yes, the bastard has arrived.”
“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and give me some... some wine. Your lackeys won't listen to me?”
Assuming I'd hand over the wine, her outburst seemed to have calmed a little.
I let out a deep sigh, then stated firmly,
“No.”
“...What?”
A chilling voice leaked from beyond the door.
“Say that again.”
The saintess's rage made pure white holy power roil wildly inside the room.
The backlash made my hair stand on end, my face stinging.
But I couldn't back down here.
Her health was one issue, but I couldn't keep handing over sales-bound wine indefinitely.
For the saintess's sake as much as the family's, her addiction's vicious cycle had to be broken.
“I said I cannot provide you with any wine.”
“Hahahaha...”
Insane laughter rang out from beyond the door.
The laughter carried traces of resignation, fury, murderous intent—a whole tangle of emotions.
“Yeah, fuck, it's all my fault, huh? Right? Every damn thing in this world is my fault~ I should just die, fuck.”
The saintess suddenly started muttering nonsense.
I couldn't see her face, but I could picture her rambling incoherently beyond the wall.
“Wow, I'm totally screwed? Getting dissed by some pissant frontier bumpkin baron's errand boy?”
“I do not disrespect you at all, Saintess. Quite the opposite—I respect you.”
“So out of *respect*, you talk back to me like that? Huh?”
“Yes, precisely because I respect you, Saintess, I'm trying to pull you out of that alcohol hell.”
“...”
Objects flew haphazardly as the noisy room fell silent.
It seemed her outburst had subsided somewhat.
*I hope it stays that way.*
“...What a load of bullshit. You repulsive hypocrite bastard.”
A sullen voice emerged from inside—the saintess's usual tone.
Her fit appeared to have passed for the moment.
I perked up my ears, gradually easing the tension as I strained to detect any further disturbances from within.
“Call me a hypocrite if you like—as long as I can fix your alcohol problem.”
“...”
No reply came from inside the room.
***
Saintess.
Saintess.
Saintess.
Saintess.
Ever since the saintess was exiled to our territory, the entire household's attention had fixated on her.
When she bellowed for alcohol, everyone trembled in fear of some accident befalling her in the room.
When she went deathly quiet like a mouse, everyone trembled in fear that she'd died unnoticed inside.
Daven Baron's family emergency meeting.
“The saintess's condition is critical.”
With everyone just watching each other warily, the maid captain was the first to speak up.
Fine wrinkles creased the corners of her mouth as she presented the saintess's leftovers alongside her words.
“The amount of food the saintess leaves behind keeps increasing with each passing day.”
No one knew if she was skimping on other things, but she'd always eaten her rice diligently—yet the tray the maid captain showed was barely touched, as if she'd only taken a couple of bites.
“Hmm... This is serious.”
Everyone attending the family meeting hardened their expressions upon seeing the tray, grasping the gravity.
It had now been three full days since we'd stopped supplying her with alcohol.
Every day, she clamored for booze, and when her outbursts finally ebbed, she would sob pitifully.
Even if she never left her room or exerted herself physically, the daily screaming and crying must have drained her stamina considerably.
Imagining her state, I quietly opened my mouth.
“At least the saintess still shows some will to eat, right?”
“Yes. We hear vomiting sounds from her room every mealtime, so at minimum, she seems to have the intent to eat.”
“Then she's unable to keep food down because of withdrawal symptoms.”
“That seems to be the case.”
I racked my brain over how to resolve this issue.
Should we resume supplying alcohol right now?
The absolute worst choice.
After enduring the past three days' ordeal, I didn't want all that effort to go to waste.
She probably wouldn't want that either.
For all her daily howls for booze, glimpses of her desire to quit shone through whenever her fits subsided.
That said, this world had no drugs like those on Earth to ease withdrawal symptoms.
Here, the only way to overcome alcohol addiction was to endure the withdrawal symptoms in full and push through.
In the end, she had to conquer the withdrawal—but we couldn't let her starve in the process...
The head butler, who had been sitting silently, spoke up.
“Given her food intake, and factoring in how poor her physical condition already was, I'd say two or three days is her limit.”
“...”
“In the end, even if she vomits, we'll have no choice but to force food into her. And to do that...”
The head butler glanced at me cautiously.
The only one who could force-feed a former saintess was me—a baron, minor nobility though I might be.
I steeled my resolve and turned to the maid captain.
“Prepare food that's easy to digest. I'll feed her myself.”
“Yes, understood.”