Chapter 100:  Sacred Competition (1)

While I was comfortably eating breakfast at the official residence.

My name began to appear in the capital’s newspapers without my knowledge.

“50,000 gold miracle.”

This single sentence, crafted by the skilled writer Mansachs, carried a tremendous impact.

Haman, the city blossoming into a hub of food culture.

With its transformed image, mayors from other underdeveloped cities often requested that I be dispatched to them as well.

However, the Empress did not easily agree.

She believed it was first necessary for me to be granted an audience with His Majesty the Emperor and make my name known.

Still, not everyone gave up on approaching me.

Saint, a city located just thirty minutes away by carriage from Haman.

Here stood the empire’s largest Silver Truth Church cathedral, the holy site for its believers.

It was also the place where bishops and saints from across the regions gathered for meetings.

“Saint, won’t you join us for lunch?”

“This time, you must join us. Didn’t you leave in a hurry the last time as well?”

The elderly bishops warmly invited Istina, who was young enough to be their daughter.

However, Istina politely declined.

“I’m sorry, bishops. I already promised to eat with someone else today.”

Without a single escort, the saint descended the long staircase alone.

Then, she immediately hailed a carriage waiting in front of the cathedral and boarded it.

“To Margaret’s detached palace, please. To the physician’s office.”

“Understood.”

The saint looked into the mirror fixed inside the carriage.

She removed the hood lined with silver wolf fur wrapped around her neck and adjusted her face.

Her radiant silver hair was gracefully swept to the side.

Then, she blinked her sacred blue eyes, the symbol of a saint.

“……”

After checking her face, she suddenly picked up a newspaper lying on the carriage seat.

On the front page, she spotted a familiar man illustrated alongside the Empress.

“As I thought… my guess wasn’t wrong.”

A man who completely changed the perception of a city with just 50,000 gold.

She gently brushed the letters of his name with her long fingers.

“I can’t let him monopolize everything alone.”

As if she had found the one who would save her from this stifling saintly life, her lips curled into a subtle, mischievous smile.

Like a little devil hiding her true intentions.

“We’ve arrived, miss.”

The saint handed the driver his payment, saying she did not need change.

And as soon as she got out, she headed straight to a clinic located within the detached palace.

―――――

The main gate was wide open.

However, it took her quite a while to arrive, as she had to respond to the greetings of the ministers who recognized her along the way.

At last, the saint, Istina, entered the clinic.

There, she met the only acquaintance she had within the Imperial Palace, the renowned physician, Sir Mikhail.

“Isn’t this Lady Istina? What brings you here at this hour, when you should be in the middle of meetings?”

“Nice to see you, Sir Mikhail. The meeting ended a while ago.”

Istina sat gently on the examination chair.

“I never imagined a day would come when the Saint herself would visit me.”

“That’s true, we’ve only ever seen each other at official church events.”

She removed her hood with a benevolent smile.

Both of them, as figures admired by the public, could not help but smile warmly when they looked at each other.

But.

Each carried their own strong aura and convictions within.

Still, they had one thing in common.

Both of them loved the people.

“So then, what brings you to see this old man?”

“I wish to meet someone. If I were to ask directly at the Imperial Palace, I feared I might be hindered, so I came to you instead.”

Mikhail raised his monocle, curious about the person the saint wished to meet even while avoiding the palace.

“Tell me. If it’s within my ability, I shall help.”

“Julius Roger. I heard he is staying here at the residence?”

Julius Roger.

A name that had been mentioned quite often lately.

Intrigued, Mikhail lifted his green eyes from beneath their deep shadows.

“Many noble figures have been seeking him these days. And now even you, Saint…”

“As you’ve seen in the papers, his achievements are rising to prominence.”

Istina maintained her merciful smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

But the elderly physician noticed there was another intent hidden behind her words.

“If it’s him, he is probably fast asleep in his room right now. He has been unwell recently.”

“Unwell…? That Roger?”

The saint’s clear eyes widened at the unexpected news.

“Yes, it seemed like the flu, so I prescribed him some strong medicine. He should rest for at least a day.”

“I see. Still, I feel I must meet him…”

With a troubled expression, Istina rested her hand softly on her chin.

Then, in the most casual tone, as though it were nothing of consequence, she asked the physician,

“Would you be able to tell me his room?”

“You truly intend to see him?”

Mikhail looked curiously at the saint, who seemed determined to meet him despite his illness.

Then, with her hands clasped together, Istina spoke in her sacred voice.

“As a patient, he all the more deserves to be seen. Caring for them—that is my duty, is it not?”

A saint visiting a patient.

There was no reason for the old man to argue against such logic.

Thus, Mikhail reluctantly gave her the information.

“Room 204. However, if his condition is severe, I advise against it. The flu can be contagious.”

“The Lord will protect me, so that will not be an issue. Thank you for telling me.”

From inside her nun’s robe, Istina pulled out a silver cross.

She gently placed it on the otherwise bare desk.

“A small gift for my visit.”

“Thanks to you, the office feels much brighter already.”

The elderly man escorted her all the way to the clinic’s main entrance.

The saint offered a light bow and gracefully made her way alone toward the grand residence.

“What a curious thing indeed.”

Mikhail’s eyes followed her swaying silver hair with each step.

“For even the Grand Duke’s daughter to show interest, and now the Saint as well… perhaps Roger is truly quite the remarkable fellow.”

Soon, another man came to his mind—one who, like Roger, carried the same worldly-worn and hollow gaze.

“I never sensed it from his children, yet strangely, I feel it from his secretary instead.”

The Grand Duke of the North, Duke Luton.

Thinking that Roger’s eyes resembled his, Mikhail fiddled with the cross, then sat back down at his desk.

――――――

Arriving at the residence lobby, the saint headed straight for the stairs to reach Room 204.

But she was forced to halt mid-step.

For there, on her way up, she locked eyes with a familiar woman.

“Oh my, isn’t this Lady Echina?”

“Saint Istina…? What brings you here?”

Echina wore black stockings, a skirt with a shirt, and draped over her shoulders was the uniform of the Black Knights.

Istina, meanwhile, was wrapped in a nun’s robe that covered her down to her calves, a hood drawn over her shoulders.

The two women faced each other on the staircase.

“I saw the newspapers. The joint imperial project ended successfully, I see.”

“That’s correct.”

Echina replied curtly.

At this, the saint smiled brightly at her cool demeanor.

“Then, now that your arrangement with him is finished, it’s my turn to see him.”

Roger, who had been taking on requests one after another from within this very house.

Since Echina’s turn was over, she was saying it was now hers to claim him.

“……”

It was, indeed, only natural. A promise was a promise.

Yet, the Grand Duke’s daughter, perhaps unconsciously irked, let out a short sigh.

“I’m afraid Roger is unwell and resting in his room. It would be best if you visited another time.”

“That makes it all the more necessary for me to visit.”

Placing her hand upon her chest, Istina spoke with her blue eyes unwavering.

“Is it not only natural for a saint to care for the sick?”

A logic that worked on Mikhail.

But Echina was not a woman so easily swayed.

“If you were to catch his illness, the thousands of believers you must care for would be put at risk. For their sake, I advise you to remember your position.”

At Echina’s smooth words and unchanging expression, Istina’s eyes narrowed slightly for just a moment.

As though to say, “So that’s how it is.”

“That same logic applies to you as well, does it not? You have many under your care.”

“Roger, at one time, was one of them.”

“But not anymore.”

A confrontation between a mighty lioness and a ferocious she-wolf.

The air grew so tense that guests who had been about to descend the stairs quickly turned back and took the opposite staircase.

But.

Someone strode straight through that suffocating tension without the slightest hesitation.

“Saint Istina? What brings you here?”

It was me, stepping out of my room and following after Echina, who had been about to leave.

“Oh my, Roger. I heard you were ill, but you look perfectly fine walking out here.”

“Yes, I took some medicine and recovered quickly. In fact, I feel even healthier than before.”

At the sight of me in complete contrast to what Echina had said, Istina half-closed her eyes with an odd glimmer.

Then, casting a sidelong glance at the Grand Duke’s daughter, she lifted the corners of her lips.

“Hm. I see. How curious. For someone supposedly sick to recover in just minutes.”

“Isn’t it thanks to you, Saint, always praying to the Lord for the empire’s well-being?”

As I spoke in my usual relaxed tone, Echina let out a brief sigh.

She glanced at me, then said she would be going ahead.

“I’ll be joining the return procession. You’d best stay in.”

“Understood. Please return safely.”

With a dignified gait, Echina descended the stairs.

And then, as she passed by Istina, she paused briefly and spoke in a quiet voice.

“You do know a saint must never desire a man, don’t you?”

Istina, hearing the Grand Duke’s daughter’s warning, lifted her chin softly.

“I know.”

“I believe you to be a faithful woman who abides by the teachings.”

Echina plucked out a loose strand of wolf fur that stuck out from Istina’s hood lining.

Then, she placed it into Istina’s hand.

“Of course. I would never act against doctrine.”

The saint let the tuft of fur fall carelessly to the floor as she spoke.

At the same time, she smiled with meaningful eyes, hiding her true thoughts.

Feeling instinctively disturbed by that concealed look, Echina’s expression hardened coldly.

And she stepped closer to the pretentious saint, whispering words sharp enough to unsettle even Istina’s composure.

“Ah, I wonder… do you know what scent Roger carries?”

A scent.

By nature, something nearly impossible to perceive between a man and a woman unless they were pressed closely together.

Especially for someone meticulous like a secretary, whose clothes and perfume masked any trace—such a scent could only be noticed if…

The two had been so near their faces touched.

“What did you just say…”

Istina, her expression blank, asked the Grand Duke’s daughter.

But seeing the saint rattled at last, the Northern Grand Duke’s daughter wore a victorious smile.

“If you understand, then stop thinking of coveting him.”

Echina revealed a side of herself no one else had seen.

As if laying bare the desire she had pressed down under the weight of knighthood.

“……”

Istina stared in a daze at the lioness who finally bared her fangs.

Beneath her eyes, a faint tremor betrayed the swirl of countless thoughts crashing in her mind.

“Saint, are you all right?”

I stepped closer to her side and asked carefully.

At that, Istina gathered herself once more, regaining her composure.

“No, it’s nothing. I just felt a little dizzy for a moment.”

She rested her hand lightly on the banister and looked at me.

“Is something the matter? You seem to be staring at me quite intently.”

The saint gave no answer at first.

Then, turning her head slightly, she extended her pale hand.

“Would you mind escorting me just to the top of the stairs?”

“I don’t see why not.”

With the refined grace I had as Chief Secretary, I took her hand.

And with practiced tempo, I guided the saint upward.

But.

For some reason, Istina’s steps wavered ever so slightly.

Unsteady, she leaned gently against my shoulder.

“Are you all right?”

“……”

For an instant, her cheek pressed softly against me before she straightened naturally and shook her head.

“Yes, I’m fine now.”

She slowly released my hand and continued ahead of me up the stairs.

At the same time, she murmured under her breath,

“Just from a shoulder touch alone, I can’t tell. Which means…”

Realization seemed to strike her as she let out a short sigh.

Then, with clear displeasure, she bit her lip lightly.

“How dare she try to challenge me through skinship?”

The saint lowered her head slightly and whispered again and again to herself.

Watching her, I furrowed my brow a little.

Between the Grand Duke’s daughter, the saint, and even Helena whom I met at the banquet—

“Is talking to oneself the latest trend among noble ladies?”

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