“That woman is a fraud.”
Alberto pointed at me with his index finger.
The Emperor was taken aback by his direct words, and he took a deep breath.
“Sir Michael! What a profanity!”
The Emperor roared.
His voice rang out in the Queen’s chamber.
The saint is the temple’s leader, second only to the emperor in the empire. Although she is required by law to bow her head to the imperial family, she has the same level of dignity as them.
“Saintess, please pardon my brother-in-law’s mistake…”
“Your Majesty, Alberto is right.”
Then I heard the Queen’s voice from the bed,
“When I found out, I was devastated.”
The new saint from Tiago stood silently beside her with her head bowed.
“Annie, the maid who had been caring for the Saintess until last month, said she would tell the truth, so she went to Alberto to confess her sins. While Alberto was debating whether the country would be turned upside down if the truth was revealed, a real saint appeared in Tiago, and I am only now able to announce it.”
Haa, Annie.
The sudden mention of Annie’s name caused me to frown.
‘So Annie was the person inside the temple with whom the Queen’s brother had an affair.’
That girl was plucking out 650 francs a month from Ariel’s weakness of being a fake saint.
“The investigation with the High Priest’s cooperation will reveal that Annie received a substantial sum of money from the Saintess each month in exchange for her to keep silent. I can’t look into it because she went missing, but I do have a handwritten letter.”
Alberto took out the letter from his inner pocket and unfolded it. ‘It is difficult to please the fake saint,’ said the letter, written in smooth handwriting.
The Emperor stiffened.
His gaze gradually shifted to me.
“What does the Saintess think about this story?”
With my mouth shut, I approached Alberto and reached out.
“That letter, will you give it to me?”
Alberto snorted, exclaimed, and continued to speak to the Emperor.
His voice could be clearly heard as he read the letter,
“And as you can see, ‘I asked her about the proposal letter she wrote for the Crown Prince. She wrote obscene words on purpose and say that men like things like this, I can tell that she is a vulgar and stupid woman.’ Is what was written. This is completely out of character for a saint to do.”
Ah, is that why she wrote such a ridiculous letter?
The newly revealed truth made my head hurt.
At that, the Emperor looked at Kyle and asked,
“Proposal letter? What do you mean?”
Kyle replied with cold red eyes,
“I don’t know.”
Kyle is the one who created my existence, so you shouldn’t question him.
I shook my head inside.
Alberto clicked his tongue and said,
“Your Majesty, it’s not written in this letter, but Annie once said this. The Crown Prince knows she’s a fake saint. He is clearly an accomplice. Also, if she’s even proposing, then it’s not a normal relationship…”
“Oh, Alberto.”
Rosé’s tired voice could be heard clearly from the bed, like a well-executed play.
“You didn’t tell me that story. How could the Crown Prince be involved in this…”
“Your Majesty, please calm down.”
It was the soft voice of the ‘real saint’.
The Emperor’s face was as hard as stone, and doubts about me, who had been listening without saying anything, were slowly rising from his eyes.
“Why don’t you answer, Saintess?”
The thorny air was entwining my neck and forcing me to confess. If it had been Ariel, she would have trembled with tears and a runny nose.
However, I am not Ariel. All of the hovering voices are true, but in the end, they are not real.
My mind went cold, and I considered the best option available to me at this time.
“Sir Michael.”
I heard Kyle’s cold voice,
“Can you take responsibility with your life for the nonsensical story that came out of that mouth?”
Alberto staggered backwards in the face of Kyle’s ferocious gaze and appealed to the Emperor,
“The Crown Prince is frightening me.”
Kyle scowled at him and turned to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty.”
And when Kyle was about to speak in a low voice to protect me, I organized everything I needed to do from now on. Then I opened my mouth,
“From a mere maid.”
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on me.
“Are you trying to make me a fake saint purely on the basis of that delusory letter?”
Alberto’s narrowed forehead was unsightly.
“There’s the real saint right there, and you’re still pretending!”
“What evidence do you have that she’s a real saint?”
I asked, obliquely raising the tip of my lips.
“……!”
Alberto’s eyebrows wriggled.
“What a nerve.”
Rosé’s sharp voice could be heard.
I only came to one conclusion about them. Even the saint named Tina is most likely a fake.
First of all, she was not ‘Camilla,’ the real saint in the original story.
I suspected that something had changed, causing her to appear in a different location, but she did not resemble the platinum-haired Camilla.
And secondly, if it is revealed that I’m a fake saint, the Crown Prince and High Priest will be dealt with a crushing blow. On the contrary, even if the Queen sets up a fake saint this time, there is no one in a position to doubt.
If it was the process of verifying power through the Holy Sphere, all that was required was to write up the necessary documents, just as Reyhas did for Ariel.
With the power of this kid from Tiago, one would think she was more of a ‘fake saint’ than I do.
‘There’s no hesitation if it’s a fake versus a fake.’
Then I heard Alberto’s voice,
“Tina made a deer walk that couldn’t do so due to a broken leg and opened the eyes of a blind man. Many people in Tiago witnessed that scene.”
“……”
“But you’ve never shown your powers under the excuse of being weak. It’s clear who the fake saint is.”
Ah mhm, I made a small sound and asked the Queen,
“Is the Queen’s opinion the same?”
“……?”
Rosé wriggled her thin brows.
I wasn’t afraid of what the Queen had in store for me.
Because I have them.
“I wonder if you truly believe she is the real saint, Your Majesty the Queen.”
In front of my eyes, the chat window glistened.
[Monde, the God of Art, criticizes Michael’s face]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, touches the whip handle]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, growls]
Alberto hesitated at my outspokenness, but I continued without hesitation,
“Based on your expression, you don’t seem to be confident.”
Then the Emperor said,
“What do you think, my Queen?”
“Your Majesty! I’m…”
As she closed her mouth, I could feel the Queen’s gaze on me.
The saint from Tiago, who was shaking and had anxious eyes, seemed comical now.
Annie must have informed Alberto of Ariel’s stupidity. He must have concluded that this shoddy plan would be enough to drive Ariel away.
‘But right now, I’m not Ariel.’
Aside from escaping the temple, I don’t want to die for being branded as a swindler.
“Bring in the imperial pharmacists. It will aid in determining who among us is a fake saint.”
“I will do as the Saintess says.”
The Emperor readily accepted my offer.
“However, if Your Majesty had hired a number of them in advance…”
“The Imperial Palace isn’t weak enough to be manipulated by someone. You haven’t proposed a method yet, so there’s no reason to object to it, Sir.”
The Emperor’s words forced Alberto to take a step back.
In my judgment, the Emperor had a normal and easy-going face, but he wasn’t that blunt on the inside. Fortunately, he didn’t want to lose Kyle to this.
Whether it was out of a father’s love for his child or he didn’t want to break the balance of power between the Queen and Crown Prince, he listened to me anyway.
Kyle would undoubtedly suffer if it was revealed that I was a fake saint.
Shortly after, four imperial pharmacists arrived. Pharmacists had no power, but they were well-versed in all of the world’s herbs and plants.
“Ariel.”
I heard Kyle’s low and small voice as he whispered,
“What are you trying to do?”
His red pupils shook.
I turned my head slightly and gave him a faint smile.
“Look carefully from now on.”
I’ll definitely turn it upside down.