“Leaving?”
I calmly spoke to him, trying to keep my voice from shaking,
“I was just thinking of buying a villa.”
I improvised and told him,
“I am getting enough rest here, but I still need a place where I can privately rest.”
A momentary silence passed between us.
Will he believe me?
My heart was beating under the intense tension.
“A villa…”
After a while, his lips twitched and his low voice flowed.
His golden eyes staring at me were emitting a dazzling light.
“Yes, sometimes it wouldn’t hurt to spend time alone.”
I nodded reflexively.
And at some point, I realized something was wrong with him.
“What?”
He smiled slightly at me asking back with my eyes wide open.
When a smile crossed his handsome face, he was so beautiful that I became speechless, but his smile just now somehow chilled my spine.
“I won’t interrupt your hobby because it would be frustrating to remain within the temple.”
He soon parted his lips and said,
“Just be careful when you go out. I’ll add more knights besides Dwayne.”
“It’s not necessary…!”
“Your body is precious.”
He cut me off.
I don’t know what’s inside of his dark golden eyes that met mine, but the terrible yet thick sensation of that gaze made my hair stand on its end.
“I can’t allow a single scratch.”
Then I remembered the moment I was blessed by Odyssey.
Reyhas’ behavior has been different ever since.
“I didn’t think... to that extent...”
I shook my head at the end of his sentence, adding a ludicrous laughter.
It was awkward and strange to hear this man worry about my body more than I do.
“Be careful, Ariel.”
After a moment of silence, he said with a faint smile again,
“Then, take a rest. I’m going back.”
After he left, I put my hand on my chest and calmed it down for a while.
Reyhas is weird.
‘He’s definitely weird. He wasn’t that kind of character.’
Now he was a man who was very decadent and overflowing with dangerous feelings with every word he says.
Then the glistening window popped up right in front of me.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, speaks to Odyssey]
[Odyssey, the God of Love, complains that the validity of the blessing has already expired, and that it is not their fault]
[Monde, the God of Art, recommends collecting Reyhas aesthetically]
I was dumbfounded and breathed a deep sigh.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, declares that they will stake money on Cass Lloyd]
I placed my hand on my forehead for a moment due to their pointless conversation.
“Excuse me. I have no intention of dating.”
My goal from the very beginning was to run away at night and become an independent person.
I didn’t intend to be the heroine or steal her seat and film a romance with the three men.
Of course, all three are incredibly handsome, but I knew they weren’t mine.
If I went along the villain route like the original story, I will die, but I didn’t want to die twice.
Death was a traumatic event, so deep I could still feel the knife in my stomach.
But the gods didn’t seem to hear me already.
[Odyssey, the God of Love, shakes Kyle’s stake in their hand]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, shyly cheers for Odyssey]
I brushed my scruffy hair again. Gods, are you already betting on your male lead?
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The day passed quickly and the temple grew loud in the afternoon.
It was inevitable, for tomorrow was the beginning of the Elium Rose Festival.
During the week-long rose festival, Elium’s magnificent flower garden is open to the people of the empire, and night markets are held every night.
Imperial people from the provinces often lineup to visit the temple, and naturally, the schedule of the temple’s owner, the saint, is full.
But aren’t I a fake saint!
Reyhas cancelled my participation in events that I wasn’t mandated to attend. Using the excuse that the saint’s body is weak.
I was planning to go out for the first time in a while.
Ever since I possessed this body, my nerves were always tense, so I should have some time to let loose.
“Bless me, Ciel.”
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, timidly blesses you]
One of the common clichés in romance and fantasy novels is that the heroine goes out to a festival night market and gets robbed.
The male lead would save heroine from a disaster, and love would flourish.
But I never intended to show any weaknesses.
Ciel’s blessing will last about three hours, during which I will return to the temple. Perhaps if someone looks at me with sympathy, it will be that person who suffers the misfortune.
Of course, I wasn’t planning on becoming the King of Destruction, destroying everything I touch.
Because I’ve been accustomed to the blessing and learned how to control the blessing of destruction so that I won’t break anything with my hands.
That is, I can only destroy what I really want to destroy.
“Daisy, are you ready?”
“Won’t we get punished if the High Priest finds out?”
Daisy was a little nervous but couldn’t erase her curiosity from her eyes.
I don’t think he’d care about a saint stuck alone in her room.
“He’s probably busy with the guests.”
I had been told that there would be guests coming from the royal family, and that they would be visited by key figures from abroad.
I don’t think he’ll have time to pay attention to a saint confined to her room.
[Odyssey, the God of Love, claims that real love is something you find even if you’re busy]
I turned around once in front of the mirror, ignoring the window that suddenly appeared.
I borrowed Daisy’s clothes; She was smaller than me, but it wasn’t bad, though a little tight. I tied my hair roughly and looked like a commoner.
“It’s just plain clothes, but you’re so beautiful.”
Daisy said, making a fuss. I think it’s because I look in the mirror.
A fun outing has begun.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
It was the day before the opening of the festival, but the night market was already as crowded as any other busy street.
More than a hundred tents and small stores were operating in what would have been just a square, with several lanterns hanging along the tent.
The sound of exciting instruments and songs was heard, and the fragrant smell of food was carried by the wind, tickling the tip of my nose.
Yeah, this was the real life I wanted to enjoy.
“Saintess, they’re selling glass snacks. Wow.”
There was a pile of clear candy in Daisy’s hands. I was surprised that the candies were as transparent as real glass.
“How much is a bag?”
“One franc.”
I bought two bags of glass cookies, I opened one and gave the other to Daisy as a gift.
Daisy glistened with emotion when she received the bag of snacks.
“Saintess.”
“Try it, it’s so sweet.”
Unlike the unpleasant snacks eaten in the temple, it was a sweet candy with high sugar content. If I eat half of it, it melts away, but it’s addictive, so I kept getting my hands on it.
We walked around the night market, devouring the candies one by one.
Of course, this time is different from modern times, so there were no disputes at all.
One of them was attributed to the legend of young people who met their partners during the Elium Rose Festival.
“Daisy, do you think they’re still following us?”
At my words, Daisy nodded nervously and hurried her steps. There were about three groups who suggested we play together.
Two of them were fine from my refusal but one wasn’t. That’s why that fat, short guy and the skinny, bald guy kept following us this whole time.
“What should we do, Saintess?”
Daisy didn’t look good seeing the men who had already been following us for a few laps.
“Let’s lure them to a dark place first.”
Daisy asked back with a look of surprise at what I said,
“But they might try to do something bad!”
“Don’t worry about that.”
I spoke confidently and Daisy followed me, though she was still suspicious.
After some time, as we walked to the vacant lot where furnitures were piled up for the preparation of the festival, I was right when they followed closely.
I stopped in the vacant lot and turned around when I heard the voices of those who laughed.
“Now you’re ready to play, pretty girls?”
His sleazy voice made me feel like vomiting the glass candies I had eaten.
Daisy said as she stopped in front of me with a pale face,
“To whom do you dare to do anything?”
It seemed that Daisy’s words were insignificant for the fat man. Of course it won’t work if you say it in a commoner’s clothes.
“Daisy, wait a minute.”
I lowered Daisy’s arm and walked closer to the skinny man.
If being civil doesn’t work, the only answer will be violence in the end.
‘Ciel, have mercy on them.’
I reached out and slightly softened the power of the blessing, then gently pushed his chest.
He was, of course, not afraid of a woman’s non-threatening gestures. But…
“......!”
Naturally, the man fell flat on the floor.
I’ve tested it on wood several times so he’s probably still breathing.
He may have peed a little bit.
“Hey, are you okay? What? Hey! Open your eyes!”
When the skinny man collapsed, the fat man was startled and tried to wake him up by hitting him on the cheek.
But the skinny man couldn’t get up because he fainted with his eyes rolled back.
“Oh, what happened? Did the Saintess do it? You’re amazing!”
I heard Daisy’s voice behind me.
I raised my hand again to make the fat one faint.
But at that moment, I heard a familiar voice somewhere,
“You’re using a great technique, Saintess.”
…Oh. God.
When I looked back, Cass Lloyd, with his shining big, dark blue eyes, was watching me with his arms crossed.