Chapter 95: Big Sister Saintess, You Can’t Go!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Big Sister Saintess, You Can’t Go!
‘I was so focused on the Empress Dowager that I neglected the original plot.’
I bit my lip, muttering to myself.
In truth, the original story had been so warped because of me that I hadn’t given its events a second thought. After all, it should have been impossible for Veronica to survive and marry Dantalion.
And yet, it seemed the original plot was still trying to play its part. I held my breath and continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“The Temple will soon announce the situation.”
“They’ll use the Saintess as a figurehead to incite the citizens again.”
“What shall we do, Your Majesty?”
“Sigh.”
The Temple played a massive role when it came to plagues and their cures. They possessed a powerful weapon known as Divine Power.
So, even if Dantalion despised the Temple, he couldn’t stop them from sending the Saintess to the infected regions to resolve the crisis.
If the Saintess defeated the plague again this time, the citizens would once more cheer for the Temple. Cedric, the Saintess’s father, would regain his honor, and the Empress Dowager’s influence would soar.
[Hmph, they just spread the plague using the Demon’s Poison anyway.]
[Exactly! Even a guy like Ilnes could do something like that easily!]
‘Hmm?’
I tilted my head at Bibi’s words.
Come to think of it, Ilnes was the Demon of Disease. Ilnes, who ate Divine Power—which was essentially poison to him—like it was dessert, was a demon skilled in poisons and sorcery.
‘Just like how the Empress Dowager spread the plague with poison and then withdrew it, can Ilnes do that too?’
[Well, it depends on the type of poison, but even if it’s an Ancient Demon, there’s no poison Ilnes wouldn’t know.]
‘Now that I think about it, Ilnes is here too. Answer me yourself.’
I turned my head and spoke in a subtle tone toward the gray current near Nathaniel. After a moment, a sluggish voice drifted over.
[Ah, how bothersome.]
‘Can you do it or not? Just answer that.’
[I want to say I can’t because it’s a hassle... but I shouldn’t say that to the master I’ve contracted with.]
‘Oh, good.’
My eyes gleamed as I let out a sly grin. Then, a voice filled with expectation flew in from another direction.
“You really do want to dance with me, don’t you, Princess?”
“Huh?”
Startled, I looked up to find Abel staring at me with an overwhelming intensity in his eyes.
Right, Abel had asked me for a dance. On top of that, Nathaniel and Marianne had jumped in too.
I had completely forgotten about it while focusing on Dantalion and Joshua’s conversation. What should I do?
“Umm, well...”
As I rolled my eyes, looking for an out, a man in white formal attire approached.
“Excuse me, Your Highness. May I take the Saintess for a moment?”
It was someone from the Temple. The man, speaking politely to me, gave a beaming smile. Relieved to be out of a tight spot, I nodded readily.
“Mhm, okay.”
“P-Princess.”
“Bye-bye, Big Sister Saintess.”
Marianne looked flustered and stared at me with a pitiful face. I simply raised my hand and waved.
The Temple was likely about to make the announcement regarding the plague. It would be more credible if the Saintess spoke herself.
In that case, I wouldn’t have to dance anyway. If I just stalled for a bit, the situation would soon become far too serious for anyone to be leisurely dancing.
Having organized my thoughts, I looked back and forth between Nathaniel and Abel with a bright smile.
“Dia’s legs hurt.”
“Your legs hurt?”
“Mhm. So I want to rest.”
Abel, who wasn’t easily fooled, looked suspicious, but he couldn’t say anything when the Princess herself claimed to be in pain.
“Dia, do your legs hurt? Should we go back to the palace?”
“Hmm, it’s not that bad.”
I replied while patting Nathaniel, who was innocently worried. Even so, he looked at me with pity. My conscience pricked just a little.
“I have an announcement for His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and all the distinguished guests gathered here.”
It looked like the time had finally come.
I watched the High Priest with cold eyes as he began to speak. He continued his speech with a pale-faced Marianne by his side.
“Regrettably, a plague has broken out in Hilenda Village in the south, and the surrounding villages are also suffering. Some of the guests living in the south may already be aware of the situation.”
The nobles began to whisper at the High Priest’s words. Like Dantalion, it seemed some nobles had already received reports.
“Some of you may remember the tragedy of Belus Village in the south years ago. It was truly a horrific event.”
“Ha.”
They were the ones who spread that plague in the first place. I glared at the High Priest, who was putting on an act more hideous than a demon’s, with pure disgust.
“To ensure such a thing does not happen again, our Temple will assist the Empire with all our heart and soul. Our Saintess for this generation, Lady Marianne, will personally lead the priests and paladins to purify the plague-stricken region.”
The High Priest pushed the incredibly tense Marianne forward. Marianne, looking as if she might faint at any moment, opened her mouth while trembling.
“I... I will do my absolute best to fulfill my duty as the Saintess.”
“Ohh!”
“As expected of the Saintess!”
Despite the fact that anyone could see the child was being forced to say those words, the nobles cheered and shouted.
‘These people are insane.’
Even if she is the Saintess, Marianne is still just a child. Though the Empress Dowager was also young when she purified the plague in Belus Village, she wasn’t as young as Marianne.
Yet, no one here was worried about Marianne. They simply thought it was natural for her to go to a dangerous place because she was the Saintess. I found it unbearably sickening.
“No!”
“Y-Your Highness?”
I shouted at the top of my lungs and stood up. The nobles looked at me with bewildered eyes.
“It’s a dangerous place! Big Sister Saintess can’t go!”
“Princess, I...”
“Don’t go! You can’t go!”
“Ugh...”
No one could stop me as I approached Marianne. I scurried over and grabbed the hem of her stiff formal dress, shouting. Marianne’s face instantly crumpled.
“Actually... I don’t want to go either.”
“Then just don’t go!”
“But I am the Saintess.”
“Why does the Saintess have to go?”
“That’s...”
When I asked angrily, Marianne couldn’t find an answer.
Because only the Saintess can purify the village.
But was that really true? Priests could sufficiently handle most infectious diseases. Yet, every once in a while, a plague would appear that even the Temple supposedly couldn’t handle.
Of course, that was because the Temple was the one staging it. In the end, Marianne was just being used by them.
The nobles didn’t know that fact, but they began to cough awkwardly, looking uncomfortable as if their consciences had been pricked by my words. They were suddenly feeling uneasy about sending a child to a death trap just because she was the Saintess.
“There are lots of Priest Uncles in the Temple! The High Priest has lots of Divine Power too!”
“P-Princess.”
“So why does Big Sister have to go? Don’t go! Dia won’t let you go!”
I continued to throw a tantrum and shout. At that, the nobles began to glance at the High Priest standing behind Marianne.
Come to think of it, the High Priest was just as devout and possessed as much Divine Power as the Saintess, so why wasn’t he going? Was it really right for the much younger Saintess to go instead?
Sensing the shift in the room, the High Priest furrowed his brows in flustered annoyance.
“Our Princess is right.”
“Y-Your Majesty.”
Dantalion rose from his seat and approached Marianne and me. Kneeling down, he stroked my hair.
“As the Princess said, it is far too cruel to send the young Saintess to such a place.”
“But, the Saintess’s duty...”
“Is that a command from God?”
“...It is not.”
The High Priest’s face contorted miserably, sensing that things were not going according to his plan. Dantalion continued, glaring at him coldly.
“Then the adults of the Temple can surely fulfill the Saintess’s role in her stead. I will also dispatch the Knight Order and physicians to investigate the situation, so I expect the Temple to cooperate actively.”
“...Understood.”
The High Priest squeezed his fists and forced out an answer.
With this, the Imperial Family had seized complete control over the plague situation. I looked up at Dantalion in admiration.
‘I was the one who gave him the opening, but...’
Dantalion, who took that opening so perfectly and even managed to squeeze out extra benefits, seemed impressive once again.
‘Hmm?’
Just then, Dantalion caught my eye and gave me a quick wink.
It was as if he were saying, ‘I did well, didn’t I?’