Chapter 47
Hertia.
Abandoned in a back alley, she was discovered by a group of priests who had gone to minister to beggars and was taken in to live at the church-run orphanage.
Thanks to her naturally beautiful appearance, she easily won the affection of many as she grew up. But the reason she was chosen as the Saintess wasn't just that—it was the awakening of her unparalleled divine power.
When a friend from the orphanage was hurt, her desperate wish to heal him awakened her talent. The true extent of her power, witnessed by the nuns, was reported all the way up to the church's highest echelons.
After various tests, it was confirmed that she possessed divine power dozens of times greater than that of ordinary priests. Soon, the church designated her as the Saintess, and she embarked on the true path of sainthood.
Assuming the position of the Goddess's daughter, the Saintess, she set aside the name she'd had as a child and was known only by her title.
Though it pained her heart to see everyone—even the children she'd been close to—treat her with deference and awe, she firmly believed this was the Goddess's great will to free the world from evil and suffering, and she devoted herself diligently to her duties as the Saintess.
At first, many doubted that a young girl could be the Saintess, but through her consistent charitable works and missionary efforts, the number of those who truly believed in her grew, and the authority of the name "Saintess" strengthened day by day.
That is, until now.
"Hurry up and release me!! Do you really think you can frame me, the Saintess of this order, and get away with it!?"
A woman's shout echoed through the dim underground chamber. The voice itself was beautiful and elegant, but the shrill, piercing noise revealed just how furious she was.
"Ugh......! Why on earth am I in a place like this......?"
Just a couple of days ago, during the academy's break, the Saintess Hertia had been on her way to visit Polo's family home. Before she could even appeal her charms to Count Helios, guests from the church arrived, forcing her to return against her will.
She was deeply upset that her grand plan had failed, but she understood that it must have been something urgent enough to summon her back, so she held her tongue and boarded the carriage to church headquarters.
But—
'Take that fake into custody immediately!'
'What? What—?!'
It had been two days since the holy knights waiting for her dragged her away by force, without even giving her a chance to argue. Even the ever-merciful Saintess was starting to boil with anger and frustration at their tyranny—no scrap of bread, not even a sip of water.
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, the sound of someone approaching her cell reached her ears. The heavy, weighty footsteps made Hertia tense, wondering if the heresy inquisitors had come. But when she saw who it was, she scowled fiercely.
"How's it going in there? Fake?"
"Archbishop Relic......"
Archbishop Relic, who had always kept a watchful eye on her as a commoner-born. Since joining the Church of the Goddess, he had never missed an opportunity to snipe at her or belittle her. The old man before her had a repulsive face, bloated with fat and slick with sebum, as if his inner greed and ugliness were on full display.
Relic Archbishop was infamous for lining his own pockets by exploiting the faithful's devotion, and there had been plenty of rumors, but thanks to his silver tongue and the massive faction that followed him, he had yet to be excommunicated. He was little more than a festering boil on the church.
One reason Hertia particularly despised him was that, while he'd looked down on her as a lowly commoner when she was young, now that she was grown, his gaze lingered on her body with a sticky, lecherous glint that made her skin crawl.
Priests tasked with spreading the Goddess's word had tried to expel him for his extravagance, debauchery, drunkenness, and even demanding sexual tributes, but their efforts had always failed.
So Hertia was absolutely convinced that Relic, standing before her now, was the mastermind behind all this.
"What have you done......?"
"What have I done? I've just captured the criminal who impersonated the Saintess and committed fraud all this time."
Crack!
"Impersonated!? You've seen the miracles I've performed with your own eyes, and you dare say that!?"
"Then prove it."
"......Pardon?"
"I said, prove it. Right here, right now."
Hertia was puzzled by the archbishop's condescending gaze looking down on her, but to demonstrate her innocence, she tried to summon her divine power...
...Tried?
"Wha...? Divine power...? Why?"
For some reason, the power strong enough to revive someone on the brink of death wouldn't come forth at all. It had always flowed as naturally as breathing, so this sudden change threw her into deep confusion.
She strained until her face turned red, even slapping her own hands in desperation, trying every bizarre method she could think of, but no divine power stirred within her.
"Why? How can this be......? It can't......"
"Keh! Kehhehehehe......"
"......You!"
Bang!
Hertia slammed into the iron bars with all her might, as if to shatter them, glaring at Relic with eyes blazing with fury as he smirked at her from outside.
"Keh! That glare doesn't scare me at all. So... did you enjoy pretending to be the real Saintess all this time?"
"You! What have you done!! How... how did you seal my divine power!!"
What if an ordinary person suddenly lost both arms or legs one day—could they go on with normal life? For Hertia, losing her divine power was the same thing.
Her immense divine power was the proof and guarantee of her sainthood. Without it, she was just a devout commoner.
"You've been living high on someone else's power all this time. Now it's your turn to experience the opposite. Isn't that right, Fake?"
"Someone else's power...? This is my power—"
"Not anymore. At least, not from now on."
With that mocking laugh, Relic left, saying he'd see her tomorrow.
"My power was someone else's......? No, that's impossible!"
Her power was hers alone. She'd known that instinctively since awakening it. Even if it wasn't responding now for some inexplicable reason...
"I have to prove my innocence... prove it, and then deal with Archbishop Relic and his cronies, no matter what!"
That night, Hertia stayed up in the dark cell, practicing summoning her divine power relentlessly. But even as dawn broke, her faithful companion refused to answer her call.
"We shall now begin the trial of the grave sinner who impersonated the Saintess."
The next day, dragged once more by the holy knights' brute strength, Hertia found herself on the church's judgment dais—a place she never imagined she'd stand in her lifetime.
"Impersonated!? I am the real Saintess—"
"Silence! The sinner will hold their tongue! A witness who suffered from your wicked deeds is already present!"
"A witness...?"
She had never harmed anyone in her life. Well, maybe she'd been a bit clingy to classmates because of love, but that was just fair exchange, wasn't it? She'd lived by the Goddess's teachings, cherishing mercy and love deep in her heart. For someone like her to have hurt another?
Hertia, who had so much to say, lost her words upon seeing the witness.
"......Eris?"
Her precious friend from the orphanage days, who had always played with her. After Hertia became the Saintess, their relationship had become hierarchical and a bit awkward, but Eris had still insisted on being her attendant, always by her side. Why was she there...?
"Sister Eris... no, Saintess Eris. Please tell us of all the suffering you've endured at the hands of this fake."
"......What?"
Eris, the Saintess? And she'd suffered at her hands...?
What in the world...?
"Yes... When I was young, I awakened my divine power. But in my joy, I told my friend here—the sinner. Coveting my power, she engraved a curse on my body under the pretense of an 'eternal friendship token,' and because of that, my power has been stolen by her all this time."
"This curse being...?"
"The Curse of Plunder... You know of it, surely?"
"Heavens... The Curse of Plunder, taboo among curses... It steals not just power, but life force itself at its worst......"
"Fortunately, my power was so great that I didn't die from having it taken, but every day was agony... The physical pain of having my power drained, and using volunteer work as an excuse for stress, she'd beat me in hidden places, make me lick her feet, eat scraps from the floor—every kind of humiliation......"
"Eris!! How could you!!"
Thwack!
"Guhk!"
"Silence, sinner!"
A knight watching from behind quelled her outburst with the hilt of his sword to her side. In the unfamiliar pain that made even breathing slip her mind, Eris ignored her and continued.
"In my suffering, Archbishop Relic happened upon me and discovered the forbidden method to break this curse, freeing me from my torment. And as a result......"
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a wave of golden light rose from Eris's hand. The divine power Hertia had always demonstrated was manifesting from Eris's grasp.
"Heavens... this can't be."
"This power, this aura... It matches exactly what the sinner showed before."
"Hmm... Archbishop Relic. You claim you broke the Saintess's curse?"
Called upon, Relic rose with a confident smile.
"Yes. It was a complex curse known only from ancient texts, but after long research, I unraveled it."
"Can you prove it?"
"When a curse is broken by external force, its essence rebounds to the caster. Check the sinner's body—you'll see the curse mark has reappeared."
Snap!
At the archbishop's finger snap, a holy knight behind Hertia tore open the clothing at her collarbone by force.
"Kyaa! Let go! Let me go!"
"Th-that's!"
"The curse mark... To think we'd see it in person......"
Her chest. The spot that had boasted pure white beauty just days ago now bore a bizarre black glyph boldly etched there.
"Wha...? Wh-what is this......?"
Only then did Hertia look down at her chest, her eyes trembling in panic. The black pattern oozed ominous malice. She scratched at it with her nails to erase it, but only her skin reddened—the mark remained untouched.
"N-no! It's not me! This is all their conspiracy!"
"Tch. Still refusing to admit her sins."
The high priests, their minds already made up, gestured to summon others. Armor in dark crimson, unlike the shining holy knights' gear.
"Heresy inquisitors. Take this grave sinner away and make her confess every sin in detail."
"Yes."
"W-wait! Please believe me! I really am... I really am not a fake! There must be some mistake—!"
Drained of all strength, on the verge of being dragged away by the heresy inquisitor's hand, Hertia saw it.
Farther away, in the witness stand, Eris looking at her.
With an innocent smile, smirking.