“Miss Erin, I was reading the fortunes in constellations.”
“You know how to do that? So you were planning on opening a fortune telling shop once you become too old to be a clown, huh?”
“Huh?”
“I feel sorry that you’re already thinking about your retirement. Don’t worry, I can at least support your living costs.”
“What do you mean, retirement! A true clown not only knows how to read constellation fortunes, but also card, hand, and tea leaf fortunes.”
“I see. So what about the constellation fortunes?”
“Hm, well, you see.”
The clown hesitated for a long time, going back and forth on his own.
“Oh how tragic! Apparently I’ll die in the hands of the crown prince within half a year!”
Aurest, who was now twenty five, had recently been appointed as the crown prince.
To celebrate, I gifted Aurest cologne.
It was because I couldn’t stand the smell of blood whenever I went to hug him.
Just as he had on the western battlefields, Aurest killed many people in the imperial palace as well.
The dead bodies of servants being transported in the back of the palace was an obvious secret within the imperial palace.
I would be lying if I said I’d never cried into my pillow after imagining the clown among those corpses.
But I smiled and pointed at the chessboard.
Checkmate.
“You’ll die by my hands before you can die by my brother’s.”
“No! This can’t be! I played chess for a whole 20 years!”
The seventeen year old me was an amazing chess player who could compete with the clown, and an amazing actress who could fool a person with a single look.
I was quite good at sucking up to others and pleasing them.
Aurest did anything I asked if I hugged him and begged him with a smile.
“Don’t worry, you won’t die. Brother Aurest knows I’m quite fond of you.”
Even if Aurest was in a bad mood and tried to kill the clown, he may change his mind if I console him.
But the clown seemed to think differently.
“Exactly. That’s the issue. Oh my, my own words are also an issue. How can I overcome this situation?”
The clown frowned and looked down at the chessboard.
“When Laius appointed Aurest as the crown prince, most of the actual authority was given to Aurest. At this rate, the emperor of Tantal will change within 10 years.”
A mere clown dared to call the members of the royal family by their names, as if they were a neighbor’s dog or something!
If someone heard, he would definitely be punished. Shocked, I looked around.
It may be an unspoken rule in the nobles’ world to accept everything a clown says, but that was only when the clown was acting like a clown.
“It pains me to talk badly of your father in front of you, but since when did I care for such things?”
The clown waved his hands as if he was saying that everything was alright.
“I’ll be honest with you. Laius is a conqueror who expanded Tantal’s land, but he is also a tyrant who did not look after the people’s livelihood. In the future, historians will record him as a tyrant for sure.”
The clown poked on the king piece on his side.
“But if you compare Laius to Aurest, he is the best ruler there is. Because he at least allows actors and clowns to speak freely. But Aurest. Ah, where should I put this?”
He paused for a moment, and fiddled with the head of the queen piece made of ebony.
“He dislikes getting his authority questioned. No matter how trivial, he is someone that feels the need to crush whatever challenged his authority.”
The clown put down the queen piece and shrugged.
“I watched him at every banquet when he heard my jokes. He laughed for social purposes, but after getting appointed as the crown prince, he didn’t hide his disapproval.”
He even grinned and exaggerated his words.
“He was practically screaming with his eyes. Ah~ How should I kill him~? His threatening aura was seriously no joke.”
The clown’s voice was as lighthearted as ever, but the contents of his words were violent.
“You know how impatient Aurest is, don’t you, Miss Erin? He will probably kill me in the near future. Mockery of the royal family would be a pretty good reason. I’m looking forward to the day when the unspoken rule of not punishing a clown during a banquet is broken.”
I forced my lips open.
“Brother knows I’m fond of you. Would he still dispose of you like that?”
“That’s the problem. Aurest is fond of you, and you are fond of me. Nothing is more agitating than the fact that the person I like likes something I hate. I don’t think Aurest will be understanding about it when even normal people find it hard to bear it.”
The clown moved his queen and captured my pawn.
“Which is why Aurest Tantal will kill me in front of you, Miss Erin. It’s a warning. He may just beat me up or kick me out, but looking at all the maids and servants have been killed so far, don’t you think I will also end up dead?”
Honestly, Aurest was someone who would definitely do something like that.
“Leave the palace. I’ll give you lots of money. I have enough for that.”
“Becoming an imperial court clown is a great honor.”
“Then just make safe jokes.”
“It is the right of a clown to be impudent towards nobles and royalty. I’m going to enjoy the rights I have.”
“Are you saying you’ll die for your honor and rights?”
“Just like nobles value certain honors and rights more than their lives, a clown has certain honors and rights that they value more than their lives.”
The clown smiled faintly.
“And who will you hang out with if I leave the palace? The one who made a lowly imperial court clown their friend because they had no one to play with is you, princess! You made a clown your chess teacher because no one was there to teach you, too!”
He rubbed salt in my wounds with a smile on his face.
“It’s fine, I have a lot of friends now!”
“The friends the prince introduced to you? They are friends that simply want you to sit still and be pretty.”
“You sure are impudent.”
“You like because I’m impudent- ahh ouch it hurts! Please don’t pinch me!”
The clown became teary and rubbed his arm. I bit my lips as I grabbed my pawn.
“You’re right. I have no power, and my only real friend is a clown. If you died, I’d be losing my only friend.”
My pawn reached the other side of the chessboard.
“Promotion! Congratulations!”
The clown clapped loudly.
I switched my pawn with my queen.
My ivory-made queen was standing on the clown’s side of the board.
“So tell me your name.”
I raised my gaze.
The clown was smiling brightly with his white-painted face.
“Are you already thinking of what to put on my tombstone? How kind. I appreciate the thought, but a true clown is simply written as “clown” even on his tombstone.”
“Nonsense. You know what I’m talking about.”
“I’m an idiot, so I have no idea~”
“I’ll fight with Aurest.”
I wanted the clown to live for a long time with his honor and rights intact.
And I wanted to like him without feeling nervous.
“You’re going to fight with the prince just for the life of a measly clown?”
“It’s not for a measly clown, it’s for my friend, who has honor and rights.”
“Thank you for being so considerate of me. But I want you to think carefully about this. Your life could be in danger if you dived into this to save the life of a clown.”
The clown spoke bitterly.
“The only reason you’re still alive is because you aren’t a threat for Aurest. If Aurest begins to think that you may be a threat, he’ll try to get rid of you completely.”
“So you’re telling me to just sit and watch whether you die or not?”
“Yes.”
“Idiot, fool, moron.”
“I know.”
“You liar.”
“I can’t agree with that.”
“No, you’re a liar.”
I gathered the scattered chess pieces and put them inside the case.
“If you really wanted me to stay put, you wouldn’t even have brought up your interpretation about Aurest killing you.”
“Hm.”
“You would’ve just kept your mouth shut and died when the time came.”
“Ah~ That’s true.”
The clown spoke cunningly.
“Clown, don’t try to test me. You wish for me to fight against Aurest as well.”
I smiled faintly.
“And thankfully, I can fight against him if it’s for you.”
“Even if it means you’ll be in danger?”
“Yup.”
“Titles like ‘idiot, fool, and moron’ should be saved for you instead.”
The clown scolded me, but seemed to be in a good mood.
“Miss Erin will definitely be a good emperor.”
“Is there even a chance that I’ll win?”
It was suicidal for me to fight against Aurest when I had no power or friends and he was already the crown prince.
But even so, I said I would fight because I trusted the clown.
I didn’t think he’d want me to fight with Aurest without having a plan.
I assumed the clown had something up his sleeve.
And even the clown himself was an outstanding individual.
If he didn’t become a clown, he would’ve become a scholar or a government official.
Perhaps he may have become an amazing secretary serving either Laius or Aurest.
Why did he choose to be a clown, of all things?
He told me that I’d know once I’d grown up more, but I still could not understand why he had become a clown.
“Of course. But I need some time to prepare as well.”
The clown smiled.
“So in one week, when Miss Erin’s birthday banquet is over, I will give you my birthday gift for you along with my name. I hope you’ll like my gift. You must tell me what you think of it once you open it, alright?”
The clown ended up not knowing whether I liked his gift or not.
Because he died at the hands of Aurest on the day of my birthday banquet.
The reason was mockery of the royal family.
Author: geesu
Beloved Tyrant Chapter 02
I’m not saying this because this is a novel I’m translating, but this story is seriously so dark and good it is not your every day romance story I’m absolutely in love please read it even if it doesn’t interest you right now wkfjhwe thank you and happy reading ❤
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In the year I became eight years old, a Baron from the countryside brought a clown, saying that it was a gift for His Majesty the emperor.
The clown’s body was as small as an eight year old child’s, and was twisted like an old tree.
And he had a hidden talent for making anyone from the age of eight to the age of eighty laugh.
My brother and the other nobles laughed and clapped at his dangerous jokes, and did not scold or punish him.
Because it was an unspoken rule to accept everything a clown says.
The brilliant minded fool soon became the imperial court clown, and was called out for entertainment purposes whenever a banquet was held.
The clown played with me on days where a banquet was not held, and he answered like this when I asked what his name was one day.
“Your Highness, a true clown has no name. I am simply a clown. People call me an idiot, fool, or moron, so please take your pick of the three.”
But the clown was not an idiot, fool, or moron.
He was well learned in many fields of studies, and he was skilled in explaining his knowledge easily so that even a child would understand.
And most of all, he was extremely good at chess. He and I played chess tens of times, but I only won a few times.
When I told this to my father a while back, I was scolded for not being able to an idiotic clown.
Father didn’t know anything. The clown was not an idiot.
“Why do you act so dumb?”
“Because I’m a foolish clown.”
“But you’re smart.”
The clown shrugged his shoulders, acting as if it was the first time he had heard such a thing.
“Everyone pretends to be smart in front of my father, because he’ll reward them if they do. But why’re you acting so foolishly in front of my father when you’re smart?”
The clown looked down at the chess board. I was losing.
“Your Highness, I know you’re just trying to buy more time. You have 10 seconds left.”
“I’m not! I really want to know!”
“Then I’ll tell you when Your Highness has grown up a bit more.”
“I’m already all grown up.”
Everyone thinks they’re all grown up when they’re 8 years old.
“You’re right. Your Highness is all grown up. But you’ll grow even more from now on. Shall I go easy on you?”
“Yeah.”
I won that round.
The clown pretended to cry, saying “I played chess for twenty years”.
I was angry. The one who felt wronged wasn’t the clown, but me.
I didn’t win because I was good at chess. It was because the clown had played so that I could win.
“Idiot! Fool! Moron! Do you take me for a fool? You let me win!”
“Gosh, what do you mean I let you win? It’s because Your Highness is too good at chess… Ow, ouch, Your Highness! Don’t pinch, please!”
“Let’s play again!”
I had a close win the next round as well. The next next round was the same.
The clown complained, saying ‘What did I say? I told you I didn’t let you win!’.
To be honest, I felt good after winning so many times in a row.
I was nearly convinced to think that I was actually very good at chess.
But there was no way someone who had been losing all this time could suddenly win so many times in a row.
“Let’s play again!”
This time, I moved my pieces strangely on purpose. It was obvious that I would lose.
But the winner was me again.
The clown searched my expression as he cleaned up the chess pieces.
“Are you angry?”
“I’m not.”
I wasn’t angry. I felt wronged because the joy of victory did not belong solely to me, and I was vexed that I had accepted what someone else was spoon-feeding me so joyfully.
“What did father say?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did he tell you to lose against me no matter what?”
The clown ignored me by bringing cards, juggling chess pieces, and tumbling around the room, but he ended up surrendering to my continued interrogation.
My speculation was right. Father had ordered the clown to never win against me.
His reason for it was that a clown should not dare to win against a member of the royal family.
“That’s weird. Then my chess skills won’t improve.”
“I’m a clown, not a chess teacher.”
The clown scratched his head.
“You asked me why I acted like a fool in front of His Majesty, right? That’s because His Majesty wants that from a clown.”
“Then why did you become a clown? You should’ve become my chess teacher instead!”
The clown patted my head and smiled.
“Your Highness will understand when you grow up more.”
I cleaned up the chess pieces made of ivory and ebony.
It was a gift from father I received on my seventh birthday.
I was happy to receive it, but I did not know the rules of chess, and there was no one who offered to teach me.
So I used the chess pieces as decoration or for playing house.
That was how it was before the clown began playing with me.
The clown was my only chess opponent. I was upset that my only chess opponent had to continuously lose against me.
I threw the chess piece I was cleaning up. The clown became shocked and went to pick it up, saying that it was expensive.
I leaned into my chair and complained.
“But it’s not fun to win like this.”
“Your Highness, doesn’t it feel much better to win so many times in a row rather than losing many times in a row?”
“If I lose, I won’t feel good. But making a fake win makes me feel even worse. It’s not fun for you if you keep losing on purpose too. And you’ll feel bad as well…”
“Well, I don’t necessarily feel bad or anything… Hahahahaha!”
The clown laughed out loud for a long time.
“I’m sorry for laughing so much. I’m supposed to make Your Highness laugh, so what’s going on here? Thank you for taking a clown’s feelings into consideration.”
I lost the next round.
I proudly lied to my father, saying I won all rounds.
My father’s reaction was indifferent.
After this, we became a type of partners in crime (The clown taught me this fancy phrase!) that shared a secret.
I lost countless times, and won quite a few times as well. And every time I did, the clown expressed his genuine frustration and praised me.
The clown taught me many things, excluding chess.
For example, how to survive.
“Soon prince Aurest will be back.”
I was 12, and I was extremely nervous after hearing that son of a bitch Aurest would be coming back from the western battlefield after 5 years.
“Be careful, princess. Prince Aurest will not be fond of you.”
My eldest brother, Hector, had died 5 years ago, making Aurest the most likely candidate for crown prince.
He was a brilliant son of a bitch who could even murder his own brother to confirm his succession to the throne.
I was worried and scared that Aurest may try to kill me as well once he returned.
“Princess, do you want to become the emperor, by any chance?”
I shrank my body.
“Not really… I don’t have the confidence to win against Aurest or take responsibility for this country.”
“Your self objectification skills sure are great. I don’t think my kind princess will be able to win against that evil prince either. And the princess’ influence is pretty crapy- ouch, please don’t pinch me! It hurts!”
The clown rubbed the back of his hand, where I pinched, with teary eyes.
His right hand was a little smaller than his left, and it was twisted into a strange shape.
“So princess, smile like a good child so that they’ll few you as foolish, lovable, and easy to deal with. Make them think that you’re not worth getting rid of because you’re powerless.
“Are you telling me to act like a clown in front of Aurest?”
“Kind of. But you can’t act impudently like I do.”
“So you know you’re impudent?”
“Of course! A true clown is impudent in front of someone with power.”
The clown impudently raised his gaze in pride.
“But you must act like a doll, not a clown. Just like a bisque doll decorated with ribbons and jewels.”
The clown made a bitter expression.
“Please them and act cute. Since you’re witty and smart, it should be easy. You’ll be able to live for a long time, protected by the prince. Perhaps you may even be quite happy.”
The clown somehow looked sad as he nonchalantly talked of such cruel things.
So I spoke in a bright tone on purpose.
“Clown! I’m 12! Do you really want to say these things to a 12 year old?”
“I don’t want to say these things either.”
The clown let out a sigh.
“Listen carefully, Your Highness. If you get sick of it all, and want to fight against prince Aurest, please let me know, alright?”
The clown inhaled sharply and continued.
“When that time comes, I’ll tell you my real name.”
“You said a true clown doesn’t have a name though?”
“You remember that?”
“Of course! I have quite a good memory, as you know.”
I lifted my chest in pride, and the clown let out a laugh.
“I had a life before becoming a true clown. I’m talking about my name from back then. So you must let me know, alright?”
He requested this of me several times, and even made me promise on my pinky finger.
But acting cute was somewhat tolerable.
Aurest, who I met again at the victory celebration banquet, was brilliant.
His curly golden hair, glowing like a saint’s halo, rested on his olive skin, and his shoulders and chest were strong, as expected of a soldier who had been on the battlefield.
His perfectly fitting relaxed and confident attitude was that of a man of power, no matter how you looked at it.
And his cold gaze.
I was wearing a fluttering blue dress, and my eyes met with Aurest’s.
I smiled brightly, just like a girl who was excited to see her ‘only’ brother for the first time in a while, then fixed my expression.
Then I approached him and greeted him as if I were an adult.
“Brother Aurest. Congratulations on your victory.”
Aurest, who had been scanning me with indifferent eyes, smiled brightly and reached his hand out.
“It’s been a while, Erin. Children sure grow up fast. You’ve become a young lady in the past few years.”
I smiled as I took his hand. I could feel the calluses on his hands.
He must’ve killed countless people with these hands on the western battlefield.
And killed countless more people using the hands of others.
I was smiling at someone like that.
It was so I could prevent this son of a bitch, who murdered his older brother when he was fifteen and disguised it as an accident, from killing his twelve year old younger sister as well.
“You must’ve been born under the constellation of an actor. I’m not sucking up to you, I’m being serious. Is this impudent as well?”
“You know you’re being impudent, huh?”
I genuinely laughed.
Beloved Tyrant Chapter 01
I was impatient so here is the new novel I’m working on! I hope you all enjoy ❤
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1. Clown
It was the end of winter.
“What are your last words?”
“Laius Tantal! I will curse you even after death!”
This is obvious, but those who die cannot speak. The condemned could not keep their word on cursing Laius even after death once their neck had been snapped.
The executions continued.
The violent and dull time continued to pass. Aurest, who had been sipping his wine, asked kindly.
“Erin, you seem tired. Why don’t you go in and rest?”
“My brother sure is kind…”
I shook my head lightly.
“But I’m fine. I want to see the deaths of these reckless rebels with my own eyes.”
“If that’s what you wish for.”
Aurest signaled to a servant with his hands.
The servant, recognizing the meaning behind his hand movements, sent a signal to the musicians on standby in the corner of the balcony.
The music began playing.
As soon as the flute’s melody began, someone beyond the balcony let out a scream.
One of the condemned must’ve caused a ruckus. The lute player, who should’ve come in next, hesitated.
“I’m very curious as to who hired that musician.”
Aurest’s voice was full of obvious annoyance.
The lute player’s face paled as he realized how this would end.
The hands of the lute player who missed a beat in front of the princess will be cut off before the day ends.
A chill went through my heart.
I struggled to smile as I leaned my body against Aurest’s shoulder.
“He just made a mistake once. They say it is a virtue to forgive up to three mistakes, so please forgive him once.”
“Who did my sister take after to be so kind?”
Aurest wrapped his hand around my shoulder and pulled me into his arms.
There was a thick scent coming from his chest, along with the smell of blood that could never be erased.
“But, Erin.”
Aurest pointed below the balcony. Below the balcony, the executions were taking place. They were people who planned the rebellion.
“They only made a mistake once as well. Do we need to give them a second chance too?”
I shook my head.
“No way. It would be a luxury to give a second chance to rebels.”
“That’s right. So do we need to give that musician a second chance?”
So the weight of crime of a rebellion and making a mistake while playing an instrument is the same to you, Your Highness?
…Is what I wish I could say sarcastically, just as an imperial court clown would.
But I was a princess, not a clown, and a princess had to act obediently.
“…I’m not sure.”
“Second chances are not given, because everything is decided on the first.”
I lowered my gaze and pushed my face into Aurest’s chest.
Then Aurest clicked his tongue and patted my shoulders.
“You’re too sympathetic. If you feel that bad about it…”
Cutting his hands off is too much, so just giving him a beating should be fine.
“…An execution is a little too much, so let’s just end it at cutting his hands off.”
My older male family member sure ceases to surprise me as time passes. I want to stop getting surprised.
“You two, stop chatting and come over here.”
Our father called us, and the musician was able to narrowly escape the situation. The highlight of the execution had come.
Aurest got up from his seat and marched towards the edge of the balcony.
I also stood next to him.
There were four people getting dragged off the wagon.
They were all members of the Lowenthal Ducal house.
The woman in the front was Duchess Batolia Lowenthal.
Where did that strong woman go, and why is there only a gaunt looking condemned in her place? That woman looked more like a corpse.
My eyes met hers.
Her black eyes were burning up like a falling comet.
It was more radiant because it was facing its end, and it was much hotter because it was burning with life energy as its fuel.
I expressed an extremely short show of respect towards Batolia. This was all I could do.
Batolia’s gaze passed me and went to Aurest, and finally to father.
It didn’t take long for Batolia’s gaze to become full of sharp hatred.
If her gaze was a blade, my father would’ve become sliced meat by now.
If it was a spear, he would’ve died from having millions of spears piercing through his body.
If it was wind, his body would’ve been ripped apart into pieces by it.
My father, who had been ripped and slashed countless times in my imagination, was still standing with the emperor’s crown on his head.
“Batolia Lowenthal, beg.”
The most powerful man on earth finally opened his mouth.
“Get on your knees and beg. Tell me you started a rebellion because you were blinded by greed for power. Tell me you regret everything you’ve done.”
There was not even a sign of emotion in the emperor’s low voice.
“Who knows, perhaps I will be merciful if you do so.”
But you could see the veins and joints on the emperor’s hands, which were gripping onto the railing.
“Regret?”
Duchess Batolia Lowenthal’s cracked lips twitched.
“If you have ears, listen to me. If a second chance is given to me, I will burn everything for the sake of your downfall.”
Batolia was smiling.
“If a third chance is given to me, I will make a deal with the devil for your downfall, and if a fourth chance is given to me, I will throw away all the morals in the world for your downfall.”
All these words dropped down sharply like lightning bolts.
“Even if I fail at all those attempts, I will never regret it.”
The Lowenthal dukedom had carried out the rebellion under the Duchess’ lead.
The reason behind it was that they could not just leave the current emperor, Liaus’ tyranny and the crown prince, Aurest’s violence be anymore.
Many people were sure that the rebellion would succeed.
The people had turned their backs on the emperor long ago, and a huge amount of nobles stood on the Dukedom’s side.
And although there were very few who knew about it, there was a direct member of the royal family who had been on the Lowenthal Dukedom’s side as well.
But the rebellion had failed.
The people shut their mouths in front of the blade, and the nobles surrendered, and the Lowenthal Dukedom was to be brought to an end today.
I turned my gaze towards the people standing behind Batolia.
Duke Lowenthal had died in battle, so the only ones standing in front of the guillotine were Batolia and the children of the Lowenthal Ducal house.
The blonde man shaking his left leg was the heir, and the black haired lady who had her head held up high was the second child.
And the man who looked the cleanest out of them all.
He was Batolia’s youngest son, the most brilliant general of Lowenthal, Tantal’s blue knight, and the most noble sword of Aurest’s eleven swords, Tristan Lowenthal.
While the rebellion of Lowenthal took place, Tristan Lowenthal had been fighting on the western battlefields to protect the borders of Tantal.
He was not a rebel.
He had simply been dragged out because his family had committed a grave sin.
Aurest grabbed onto the railing and leaned his upper body forward, as if he wanted to see Tristan’s death as closely as possible.
I wanted to push him off. But even if he fell from the second floor, he’d only create a foolish scene rather than dying.
And my neck would be snapped by the raging Aurest.
That was how it was for a princess who only had shallow favor that could be lost at any moment.
I didn’t want to meet an end like that.
This was why I had cooperated with the Lowenthal Dukedom.
If things had gone according to plans, the ones in those spots would be my father and brother, and the ones over here would’ve been the members of the Lowenthal Ducal family.
And right now, I should’ve been laughing brightly on my horse as I rode towards the southerneast beaches.
But the rebellion had failed.
The Lowenthal family will all die today.
We had failed.
I will have to suck up to my father and brother for the rest of my life so I wouldn’t meet a miserable ending like that.
We had failed.
Did we fail?
No, it’s the Lowenthal family that failed.
I did not fail.
A second chance will not be given to the Lowenthal family, who will die today.
But a second chance will be given to Erin Tantal, who will be alive tomorrow.
Think.
Think of a way to kill Laius Tantal and Aurest Tantal.
Think of a way to not meet such a miserable ending.
The Fake Saintess Awaits Her Exit Chapter 03
Hello my dear readers, this is a very unfortunate day. Originally, I was planning on continuing this novel until at least the first smutty scene, but this novel has too much religious stuff and I’m already on my way to throw it out the window, so I will be dropping it. But!! I may have a new novel translation coming soon, so please be on the lookout for that :> Anywho,, please enjoy chapter 3~
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Not too long ago, the entire army of the temple was sent to battle the monsters that appeared on the outskirts of the continent. It was a large-scale battle that even the commander, Latban, took part in, leaving only a minimal amount of people to guard the Grand Temple.
The army traveled all over the continent, spreading the name of God. And after months of battling the monsters without casualties, a problem occurred as the army was returning to the Grand Temple. The sudden appearance of a huge monster caused damage towards the entire army. The monster was taken down thanks to commander Latban, but the vice commander suffered a great injury.
The top priests who had been with them tried to treat him, but it wasn’t enough. Commander Latban took him and rode back to the Grand Temple like a madman. Then he went to Yvelina’s room and begged.
“Please tell the Saintess! Hurry!”
The priests were shocked to see Latban running towards them, carrying a bloody knight, and knocked on the Saintess’ door. But Yvelina did not come out.
“Why isn’t she responding?!”
There was no way she didn’t hear the cry of help from outside her door. But Yvelina did not come out. Latban was losing his composure. Right then, a priestess came out of Yvelina’s room. It was the priestess that served Yvelina. She hurried to Latban and asked.
“By any chance… Did something happen between you and the Saintess before you left?”
Latban’s expression scrunched up at these words.
Before he left, Yvelina requested that he remained at the Grand Temple. It would’ve been a different story if there was a valid reason for it, but Yvelina had requested this because she couldn’t have lower quality guards by her side when she went out of the Grand Temple. And of course, Latban had told her that it would be difficult for him to remain.
Then Yvelina broke out in anger.
“You dare? You are obligated to serve the Saintess, and yet you’re disobeying my words right now?!”
Yvelina suddenly went silent after raging like a madwoman. Then she smiled so brightly that it was hard to believe she had been angry just moments ago. But those who knew Yvelina backed away at her smile. They knew Yvelina was the most dangerous when she smiled like this.
“Yes, go ahead and go, commander Latban.”
“Thank you, Saintess.”
He felt slightly uncomfortable that she had suddenly changed her mind when she had been saying she wouldn’t allow him to go just moments ago, but Latban said his goodbyes and left her room. And while gazing at Latban, Yvelina spoke.
“…I’ll make you regret this day one day.”
The expressions of the priests nearby became dark. They knew Yvelina would do something terrible to commander Latban for what happened today.
And now, everyone realized what was going on as they saw Latban waiting nervously for Yvelina to come out. The Saintess was taking her revenge for what happened on that day.
“Perhaps… The saintess is…”
Latban made an incredulous expression. A Saintess was supposed to serve God and use her powers for the people. But she was refusing to treat the vice commander who was dying from a monster attack just because of the argument they had?
He disliked Yvelina. Her outer appearance was fancy and beautiful, but her violent, poisonous, and cold personality was enough to overshadow her title as the Saintess. But because he was a part of the temple’s army, he served the Saintess. No matter what kind of person Yvelina was, she was the Saintess chosen by God, and was someone he absolutely had to obey. This was why he had continued to lower his head towards her,
but she was about to throw away someone’s life because he had disobeyed an order that sounded more like a child’s whining.
The priestess hurriedly stopped Latban when she saw that he was grimacing.
“Please, you mustn’t argue with the Saintess now. You must beg for her forgiveness. Otherwise she will never come out!”
“…”
Even now, the vice commander’s breathing was thinning out. At this rate, he would not last much longer. Latban gritted his teeth and spoke to the priestess next to him.
“Please ask her what she wants.”
“What?”
“Please… Ask her what I need to do for her to forgive my rudeness from last time and treat the vice commander.”
At these words, the priestess hurried into the Saintess’ room. She soon returned to Latban and hesitated.
“What did she say?”
“Well… uh…”
Latban desperately asked the priestess, who was hesitating to speak.
“What did she say I had to do for her forgiveness?!”
At these words, the priestess shut her eyes and spoke.
“S-She asked that you crawl to her bed on your knees. She said she couldn’t have faith in your apology if you didn’t…”
The people around them gasped at her words. It was ridiculous for her to ask him to crawl, but asking him to kneel in front of her was outrageous. Kneeling was an action one should only do in front of God. But he was being told to kneel in front of the Saintess and even crawl to her bed.
As the commander of the army, it was something he could not do.
Even the vice commander, who had barely been holding onto his consciousness, shaked his head at this.
“You can’t… Commander… That’s… Only for… God…”
Latban did not hesitate any longer when the vice commander coughed up blood and breathed heavily after struggling to speak.
“Please, open the door.”
After saying this to the priests, he got on his knees. Then he crawled towards the Saintess’ bed, which he could see beyond the door, just like a dog. Yvelina was smiling while watching Latban on the bed.
Next to Yvelina, who did not respond to Latban’s calls, were beautiful men in disheveled attire. Yvelina’s attire was the same. It was too easy to tell exactly what they had been doing here until a moment ago.
Yvelina spoke kindly to Latban, who had crawled to the foot of the bed.
“As expected of the commander of the temple’s army. You’re kneeling for a single subordinate of yours. I’m tearing up at your dedication.”
“…Please save the vice commander.”
“Yes, of course. How could I ignore your sincerity when you crawled here like a dog?”
Yvelina’s laughter echoed in the silence, as if she could not contain her joy. That day, thankfully, the vice commander was able to live. But even with Yvelina’s holy powers, it was impossible to treat the injuries completely. Although his life had been saved, he was no longer able to hold a sword, and returned to his hometown.
After that day, Latban no longer seeked out Yvelina. Yvelina did not call for him either. The priests worried that the two with the highest positions in the temple had completely split off, but no one could fix their relationship.
* * *
“Why in the world did you do that…”
I could only sigh after thinking about the novel’s contents. Commander Latban was an exemplary holy knight. He was a knight who had no personal greed and only sought out noble honor. And yet she had mocked someone like that by telling him to break the rules of the temple and crawl on the floor in front of everyone.
‘Can my relationship with him get better even if I try?’
My initial plan to ‘improve relationships with the male leads’ was beginning to seem ridiculous.
My relationship with Latban, who’s in the same temple, is like this, so how complicated must my relationship with Leon, who’s at the imperial palace, and Aslan, who’s at the tower of mages be?
I continued to draw circles around the male leads’ names with a blank stare as I thinked.
Knock knock.
I heard the knock on the door of the study, and soon I heard the voices of the priests standing outside.
“Saintess, priest Carus wishes to see you. What will you do?”
I hadn’t fully gotten used to Yvelina’s life yet. Therefore, I asked the priests guarding the door to reject anyone asking to see me so I could avoid interacting with people as much as possible. They accepted it without question, because Yvelina wasn’t someone who enjoyed meeting people in the first place.
Since then, they hadn’t informed me of anyone’s visit.
‘Priest Carus, hm?’
It was a name I had seen several times in the book as well. He must be quite an important character, since he’s visiting even when I’ve declared that I won’t be seeing anyone. I wondered if I should see him or tell him to leave, but ended up telling the priests to let him in for now.
‘Since there are people I need to meet anyway, it’ll be better to meet them one by one and slowly find out what kind of people they are.’
I put away the paper with the names of the male leads and Iris, and prepared to greet priest Carus.
Soon, the door opened and a huge middle-aged man walked in.
‘He’s one of the senior priests.’
Judging from his robes, he was one of the few senior priests of the Grand Temple. The temple’s structure begins with the Saintess at the top, and the pope, senior priests, middle class priests, lower class priests, and common priests. The army that commander Latban was in had a different hierarchy from the priests.
Anyway, the man named Carus that just walked in now was someone with quite a high status. He walked into the study and bowed his head deeply, following the etiquette of the temple.
“God’s servant Carus, standing on the third stair, greets the Saintess.”
“Please raise your gaze.”
Although I knew how to act because of Yvelina’s memories, I became nervous when meeting people like this. I expected someone to realize that something was off and yell ‘She’s the fake saintess!’ any second.
Much to my relief, priest Carus didn’t say such things, but gazed at me after standing up straight.
“Why did you ask to see me? I’ve announced that I wouldn’t be seeing anyone for the time being.”
Would this be similar enough Yvelina’s usual way of speaking? I spoke nonchalantly, as if I was annoyed, with my voice full of arrogance.
“I know you must not be feeling well since you lost consciousness for a long time, but I came to hear your decision regarding the issue with the priest in charge for the prayer meeting…”
“…Prayer meeting?”
I desperately looked through my memories when he mentioned a prayer meeting.
“Ah…”
A few moments later, I pressed my forehead in frustration. There was an occasion that showed exactly how irresponsible of a Saintess Yvelina was after the fight with Latban. This was the prayer meeting. It was a huge event that was held once a year at the temple, and it was the only day where ordinary people could come into the central square of the Grand Temple. And during this event, the Saintess, Yvelina, must pray to God with everyone.
That was what should have happened.
The Fake Saintess Awaits Her Exit Chapter 02
I definitely didn’t want to die. It was a thought all living things most likely had, but I was a bit more desperate than others.
‘I’ve already died once.’
The memory of the moment of death remained so clear in my head that I couldn’t even deny it. The doctors’ footsteps, the machines’ noises, and the people around them whispering about what to do. Then the view became dark. The doctors stopped talking as the machine beeped and lowered in volume. Then came the silence and the world of perfect nothingness.
Just thinking about the fearful and depressing moment brought suffocation and tears.
‘Also…’
I jumped lightly. I moved my arms and legs around as well. My body was moving as I wished. This was an extremely unfamiliar sensation for me.
All this time, I had to be careful every time I took a step, and I couldn’t even imagine being able to run. But Yvelina’s body, which I was in right now, was healthiness itself.
This was very enjoyable and precious to me. What I’d always wanted in the hospital was this. Effortlessly being able to go to the places I want with my own feet. I was so envious of how everyone was able to move around as if it were a given.
I looked in the mirror again. I saw Yvelina, who had a beautiful face, bright blonde hair, and blue eyes.
I knew I was an intruder who trespassed into this body. So I was definitely going to be kicked out one day.
‘But I can’t just use it as I please.’
Even the ease of breathing at every moment in this body was something I was grateful for. So although I know the body will die 2 years later, I can’t use it as I please. I couldn’t be sure when Yvelina’s consciousness would return, but I wanted to return her body to her safely if I could. It would be better if it was alive, too.
‘Thankfully, I remember the contents of the book, and I have Yvelina’s memories as well.’
It was a fortune among misfortunes that I had access to Yvelina’s memories.
So I didn’t have to say things like ‘Where is this? Who are you?’ because I knew who the people next to me were, and how the temple worked.
‘But there’s another problem.’
The memories were way too clear. Thanks to that, I was able to know what Yvelina had been doing before I transmigrated into this body.
“What should I do…”
I approached the mirror while mumbling and sighing. The clothes I was wearing right now were a Saintess’ normal robes that gave off a very calm, pure, and holy image. There was fancy golden embroidery all over the pure white robe. I held the collar of the robe and pulled it down.
The skin showing above the robe was smooth, fair skin without a single mark, but the same could not be said for the skin beneath the robe.
It wasn’t just red. There were blue bruises that looked like handprints all over the body. Not only that, but there were teeth marks all over the chest.
I had never done anything for marks like these to be left on my body. But “Yvelina” was different.
“…What were you thinking?”
I murmured while looking in the mirror. After I had woken up, I dismissed everyone and confirmed what had happened to me. At that time, I had a splitting headache and Yvelina’s memories popped into my mind. Before I had possessed her body, Yvelina had gone to bed. Not by herself, but with a few others. Yvelina and two men, to be exact.
“She’s crazy…”
The three of them did things beyond my moral understanding. I pressed my head as I recalled my memories. I’d thought that she sure was amazing when reading the novel, but I never imagined I would see such vivid traces of her actions.
Of course, she was free to live her life as she pleased, but Yvelina was a Saintess. In this novel, a Saintess didn’t have to follow a suffocating rule that banned her from even meeting eye to eye with a man or anything, but she was someone who definitely should’ve been living an exemplary life and getting respected by others. And of course, Yvelina’s lifestyle was far from it.
‘No wonder no one was on your side later on.’
When time passed and the real Saintess Iris appeared, there was no one by Yvelina’s side. Even the men who had spent many nights with her. When I was reading, I had merely thought of it as the villainess’ miserable words, but I felt despondent now that I’ve become that Yvelina. When I looked into my memories, I saw that Yvelina didn’t just end it at sleeping with them.
‘Jewels, mansions, status…’
I remembered all the things she gave to the men she slept with. She gave quite a lot to them.
‘But not a single one was on her side, and just ran away.’
That wasn’t all. From what I’ve read, some of the people who had been in a relationship with Yvelina began clinging onto Iris after her appearance, claiming they had ‘finally found their true love’. Of course, these men were all immediately taken care of by the three male leads.
I mumbled again while looking at the mirror.
“…Your life is quite pitiful as well.’
I fixed my clothes and opened the door that was attached to the room that looked like a huge living room. Then I saw a study full of books. I say study, but all the shelves made it look like a library instead. I sat down at the desk, thinking ‘so these are the things a Saintess can have’.
“Let’s summarize the situation for now.”
I quickly found a sheet of paper and a pen. I thought it would be good to summarize the current situation and what’s happened up till now if I wanted to think about what I needed to do from now on.
To be honest, I was planning on running away as soon as I figured out the situation. I was hoping I’d be able to escape from the future I read in the book by doing so. But when I thought about it carefully, I realized that it wasn’t a good idea.
What would happen if I were to run away like this? Although I may be a pain in the foot right now, the current Saintess is Yvelina. The Grand Temple would be thrown into chaos.
‘Even if I have her memories, it doesn’t mean I know this world well.’
Yvelina’s memories were limited to her life within the temple. She had come to the Grand Temple when she was very young, so she didn’t know much about the outside world.
Even if I ran away in this situation, would I be able to do it well? The temple’s army would probably find me after a few days.
‘If that happens…’
I could imagine how the people would point fingers and talk about me. They would think that the Saintess, who had been acting out of control, has finally done it and is causing troubles outside of the temple as well. My reputation, which was already at rock bottom, would only fall even more.
‘And it’s not like Yvelina’s misdeeds will disappear even if I run away now.’
I thought of all the evil deeds Yvelina committed in the novel.
“Haa…”
I couldn’t help but sigh. There were many things that Yvelina had done wrong. She was a Saintess who acted as she pleased, so she would send any priest who corrected her to a faraway temple in a dangerous area, and she used the property of the temple she stayed in as she pleased. On top of it, if the priests who served her made the smallest mistake, she raised her hand against them and didn’t hesitate to insult them harshly. Even so, no one could say anything to her because she was the Saintess.
‘At least she hasn’t killed anyone yet.’
Right now was 2 years before Iris appeared.
It was only when rumors of Iris began spreading that Yvelina began pointing out all sorts of faults in people and executing them.
‘If that’s the case… wouldn’t I be able to fix what Yvelina has done if i work hard from now on?’
If her misdeeds won’t disappear from me running away, maybe I should stay and try fixing her mistakes from the past, was what I thought.
When Yvelina met a miserable ending in the book, no one stood up for her. But I felt like things could change in 2 years if I tried to console and turn back the people’s hearts from now on.
‘Also, Iris and the three male leads…’
I wrote down the four of their names on the paper.
Iris. Latban. Leon. Aslan.
‘I think I can improve my relationship with these four if I work hard, too.’
In the book, Yvelina practically had a seizure anytime someone mentioned Iris’ name. This was why she commanded for Iris to be killed immediately when Iris arrived at the temple. What would happen if Iris appeared and I greeted her happily?
‘…Wouldn’t I be able to get through it safely then?’
In the book, Iris was someone who tried to understand Yvelina till the end. No, if you think about it, she was the only one on Yvelina’s side. Since she was like that, if I worked hard, we would definitely have a good relationship.
‘It’s the same with the three male leads.’
It was the three of them that killed Yvelina in the book. It was because Yvelina had tried to murder Iris. But if I became friends with the three of them from now on and just gave away the Saintess position and everything to Iris and promised to never appear again, what would happen?
‘There would be no problems then.’
The three of them acted for Iris. So if I showed them I didn’t plan on harming her in any way and maintained a good relationship with her, the three of them wouldn’t go out of their way to kill me either.
‘The problem is…’
I looked at the three male leads’ names with worry.
‘I already have terrible relationships with these three.’
Right now, that was the biggest problem.
First, the commander of the temple’s army, Latban. Out of the three, he hated Yvelina the most, as of right now. It was no wonder, since Latban was someone who had to serve the Saintess without question, according to the rules. But how could he have a good opinion on the Saintess when she was so corrupted instead of sacrificing for everyone and using God’s power like she should?
‘And it was just a while ago that their relationship had become broken beyond repair.’
I began recalling the incident where Yvelina and Latban had begun becoming estranged to each other.
The Fake Saintess Awaits Her Exit Chapter 01
I know I said I’ll be cutting off as I see fit last chapter but I figured out how the chapters are split lol they’ll match with the real chapters (hopefully)
Happy reading ❤
* * *
I don’t know why or how I became the 49th Saintess, Yvelina either.
I thought of how I was before I transmigrated into her body.
The ward I was in was where the long-term hospitalized patients were gathered.
The same routine of lying in bed all day, getting a checkup at a set time, getting an injection, and eating a meal. Moreover, most patients had difficulties moving freely, and so they found things they could do while in bed.
The most suitable thing was to play games or watch videos on your phone. If you got tired of that, you could read as well.
That’s how I spent my days as well. Since I was hospitalized for a long time, my parents visited me only about once a week, and I didn’t have any friends who visited since I hadn’t attended school for a long time. I did all sorts of things when I was first hospitalized, out of boredom. The person in the next bed said this when I was installing a social media app on my phone.
“You won’t be able to do that for long. It just brings your mood down afterwards.”
Why would you say that to someone who is about to start using it? I ignored the remark with a frown. But I soon found out why. The only posts I could post while I was in the hospital all day were always the same. Instead, I saw every second of the daily lives of people outside.
A person posting a picture of the subway saying they’re late to an appointment with a friend, a person posting a picture of a concert hall because they’ve finally come to the long-awaited concert of a singer, and a person posting a picture of a cat they adopted because of how adorable it is, and more.
I looked at other people’s daily lives whenever I could as if I’d been possessed. But one time, I rushed into the intensive care unit because of an unknown seizure. The first thing I did when I came back to the hospital room after regaining my consciousness was checking my phone.
Of course, no one had contacted me. I opened the social media app I had enjoyed using as I looked at my phone that had no notifications, and felt despondent. The outside world was so peaceful even as I had nearly died. People continued to post about their daily lives and posted pictures of how happy they were.
I deleted the social media app, just like that. I could finally understand what the patient in the next bed had meant. It just brought my mood down. They were right.
After that, I only read books. There were only special stories written, not everyday life stories, and these stories always came to an end.
Now that I think about it, I think I liked the fact that there was an ending. The characters who met an end before I did. A world that came to an end. It’s embarrassing, but I guess I liked it. The kinds of lives I could feel sorry for, despite the fact that I’m stuck in a ward. Although I knew it was wrong, I wanted to read the stories of those who were more miserable and unlucky than I was. I wanted to think that my life was alright compared to theirs.
In the meantime, my body grew weaker. My parents, who I had usually seen about once a week, were coming less frequently. I didn’t mean to blame them. Since some time ago, they were beginning to look more fatigued than me, though I was the one that was hospitalized.
So I also felt more comfortable when my parents didn’t come. Because I was the one making them like that.
‘I should just be grateful that they’re paying the hospital bills.’
My condition was getting worse, but I tried extremely hard not to show it. I could already feel that I wouldn’t be able to make it past this year. One day, as the days went by, I picked up a book in the lounge on the floor of my hospital room.
At first, I thought it was a book in the lounge, but it was very clean and there was no sign or writing indicating that it belonged to the hospital. I wondered if I should just leave it there, but ended up bringing it with me to the hospital room. I planned on asking a nurse to find its owner after I read it.
Lying on the bed, I looked at the cover of the book. The title was <Iris>, and the number 2 was written after it.
‘Is it the second book of the series?’
Somehow, I felt a bit disappointed. It would’ve been nice if it was the first book. I wondered if I should look up the first book on my phone, but got lazy and just picked up the book again.
‘Let’s just read it from here.’
It wasn’t a book I really wanted to read anyway. So I began reading the second volume of <Iris>. I could guess what the first book was about without even reading it. The second book began with Iris realizing that the power she had was holy power. At the same time, the powers of a Saintess named Yvelina, who was at the Grand Temple, disappeared.
Then came the misdeeds of Yvelina. She became nervous after the disappearance of her holy powers, and began acting more self-indulgent. She refused to attend prayer meetings where showing her holy powers were required, and spent the night with men who only whispered sweet words to her.
She was deceived by those who flattered her, driving away the priests, who told her what the right thing to do was, and gave out the temple’s treasures and property under the name of the Saintess.
So much of the story was about Yvelina that I thought the book should be renamed “Yvelina”.
In contrast to Yvelina’s misdeeds, Iris helped people out with her powers. And by doing so, Iris met many people and became close to them.
‘Let’s see… commander of the army, crown prince, and king of the mages. As expected of the heroine.”
Before getting taken away by Yvelina, Iris had already established friendships with the male leads. Because of this, they moved quickly when Iris was in danger. After reading for a long time, I had already come to the point where Yvelina was getting burnt at the stake.
…This was the last of the fake Saintess.
This was how the 2nd volume ended. Since the greatly threatening villainess was gone, the next volume would be about Iris’ happy story. The main topic would most likely be the nerve-wracking love story with the three male leads.
‘There won’t be any need to read the last bit.’
If I did, I’ll just end up being jealous of the heroine of the story. I closed the curtains, turned off the lights, and got into bed.
‘When people come to make rounds in the morning, I’ll ask them to find the owner of the book.’
But I wasn’t able to.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe, so I pressed the emergency bell. The nurse came running, and she called the medical staff. I heard someone yell at me to wake up, and shocks jolted through my body several times. But my consciousness was fading away more and more. I turned my head as the people’s voices began fading away. I saw the book I read before falling asleep.
That was the last thing I saw.
That night, I died.
Yes, I definitely died like that.
“Ha….”
I let out a long sign and looked around the room.
It was a very big room. It was so big that you would need to take tens of steps to go from one end to the other.
It wasn’t just big, either. The walls and ceilings were filled with detailed and beautiful paintings that seemed as if they could move any second. There were also fancy gold and red colored ornaments decorating the room all around.
There was a fancy chandelier on the high ceiling, and curtains with fancy designs were on every window. In addition, the bed in one side of the room was the kind of huge, fancy bed you would only see in some foreign castle. It wasn’t just the bed. The cabinet, table, chairs, porcelain, and more.
In other words, it was an incredibly fancy room.
After staring blankly at the room for a long time, I got up from my seat and opened the door. My jaw dropped as soon as I opened the door, and I had to blink a few times. In there were items that made the fancy things in the room I had just seen look shabby.
A statue that seemed like it was made of pure gold, a glass studded with all sorts of jewels, a mountain of silk, and so on…. As I stared at all the luxurious items, I unknowingly muttered.
“No wonder you died like that since you lived like this….”
After muttering, I walked towards the statue that was placed on top of the cabinet. Then I looked at the mirror on the side. The statue made of pure-gold that was in front of me looked just like the blonde, blue-eyed woman reflected in the mirror. Then I saw the writing on the pedestal of the statue.
Yvelina.
“Yvelina….”
After muttering her name several times, I wrapped my hands around my head and clenched my hair.
“Why did I have to become her, of all people…!”
* * *
One week ago, I opened my eyes. I thought this was the afterlife, because I remembered how my consciousness was fading at the hospital. That was before I heard the voices calling out to me.
“Saintess! Are you alright?!”
Saintess? Who’re they talking to? When I opened my eyes, flustered, the people next to me called out to God and kneeled.
“Oh, God! Thank you. What are you all doing? Go tell the other priests!”
“Yes!”
The people I was seeing for the first time started yelling and praying by themselves and things were becoming chaotic. I stared at the scene blankly. It was because it didn’t feel real. It was to be expected, since they weren’t the doctors and nurses I was used to seeing, but strangers wearing clothes I had never seen before.
“You don’t know how worried we were because you fainted for a week, Saintess Yvelina!”
…Yvelina? Saintess?
It’s been a week since I’ve woken up like that. Now I knew exactly what situation I was in.
I had transmigrated into the book I read before going to bed. Into the body of a villainess that was destined to be burnt at the stake, at that.
“Why did it have to be Yvelina….”
I transmigrated after dying, but I was destined to die again soon. Within the week, I searched through my memories of the book I read and found out when this was. Right now was two years before my death. One year later, rumors of Iris’ appearance will spread throughout the world, and a year after that, I will die.
What should I do?
This was all I thought all week. The first thought that came to mind was: ‘I definitely can’t die like that’.
Now I had to think about what was next.
“…What should I do from now on?”
The Fake Saintess Awaits Her Exit Prologue
Before we begin, I would like everyone to know that I have access to the full novel, but it is not split up chapter-by-chapter, so I will be splitting it where I think is appropriate, which means it may not line up correctly with the chapters in the chapter-by-chapter version of the novel.
In addition, I assume many people will open up this novel because of its r19 tag, but the r19 scenes don’t appear for a while, so I hope you’ll just think of it as a normal isekai novel until then.
Happy reading ❤
* * *
“I’m the real Saintess!”
Yvelina yelled in a painful voice as she was met with cold gazes.
“I’m the real Saintess! You’re all getting tricked by that fake one!”
Her shouts continued again, but no one listened. They simply looked upon her with cold hatred.
It was expected, considering who Yvelina was. She was someone who corrupted the Grand Temple by drowning in luxury and pleasure as soon as she had become the 49th Saintess. That wasn’t all. She acted as if the Grand Temple’s property was hers, and gave things out to those she favored. The people who received these things were usually those who flattered Yvelina or those she secretly called into her bed.
There was no one in the continent that respected her anymore. Everyone spit as if they had said something dirty after mentioning Yvelina, and they wished for her to quickly return to God’s side and receive consequences for her sins.
And today was the day that the people’s prayers would be fulfilled. There was a mountain of firewood below Yvelina’s feet. It was firewood for today’s burning at the stake ceremony. Soon, when the fire is lit, the notorious witch and fake Saintess, Yvelina, will meet the end of her life.
* * *
Since a year ago, there was a rumor that began popping up all over the continent.
“They say the real Saintess appeared.”
This rumor quickly spread throughout the land. A woman from the outskirts of the continent has holy powers so strong that it can’t even be compared to that of the Saintess from the Grand Temple. She fights off monsters and heals the injured people before disappearing.
“I heard the real Saintess’ name is Iris.”
“The monsters that attack whoever they see all run away when they see that Saintess, and she heals tens of people who are injured at the same time!”
The people who had excitedly been spreading the rumors they heard became more and more cautious. Then they spoke in a lowered voice.
“But there should only be one Saintess.”
“Which means… Saintess Yvelina from the Grand Temple is…”
A fake Saintess.
The people exchanged looks, not able to say the words.
The rumors kept growing, and finally reached Yvelina’s ears as well.
“Go find that girl immediately!”
The temple’s army that reluctantly followed Yvelina’s orders found Iris. Right then, Iris, who was healing the injured people, spoke quietly to the temple’s army.
“There is no need to capture me. I will not run. But will you wait a bit until I finish healing the people here…? Latban.”
Latban, the commander, and Iris already knew each other, and so he commanded the army to hold back. After Iris was finished, the people blocked her way as she approached the temple’s army.
“Run away, Saintess! The fake Saintess will try to kill you!”
“Yes! We’ll stop them, please run!”
Iris smiled and shook her head at the people blocking her.
“I promised the knights that I would go with them. I must keep my promise.”
Iris kissed the forehead of the child clinging onto her skirt after she said this.
“Don’t cry. We’ll meet again.”
The people swallowed back their tears as Iris tried to calm them down, despite the fact that she must be the one who felt most nervous. The people began begging the knights once they realized Iris would go with them no matter how much they blocked her path.
“Miss Iris is the real Saintess!”
“You saw it right now too. Miss Iris healed us with her holy power!”
“If you are knights whose duty is to protect the Saintess, you must protect Miss Iris! The Saintess at the Grand Temple is fake!”
The temple’s army felt baffled at the people’s begging. Before coming here, they did not doubt the fact that Iris was a fake Saintess. Which was expected, since there has never been a case where a different Saintess appeared while another existed in the past thousands of years. There were a few who claimed to be Saintesses, but they were all fake. So they had believed Iris would be a fake as well.
The army escorted Iris politely. The power Iris had used just now to heal the people was most definitely holy power. They could be sure of it because as the army of the temple, they could feel it more clearly. On top of it, their commander, Latban, escorted Iris in the most respectful way he could.
When Iris arrived at the Grand Temple, it was Yvelina who greeted her before anyone else.
Yvelina approached Iris, who had her gaze lowered and was staying silent, and scanned her before she commanded,
“Raise your gaze.”
At these words, Iris raised her gaze. Yvelina sneered. In the next moment, Iris’ face was turned roughly along with a loud slapping noise. A red handprint was left on Iris’ fair skin.
“Are you prepared to receive your punishment for pretending to be the Saintess and for fooling the people?”
“Saintess!”
Commander Latban, who had brought Iris, shouted in surprise at Yvelina’s actions. But Yvelina didn’t stop there. She continued to slap Iris, and Iris ended up fainting. Then Yvelina became more enraged and began kicking her as well.
“You bitch! People call you the Saintess? Did you think I wouldn’t know that your holy power was created by the spells of evil heathens?!”
Unable to contain her anger, Yvelina kicked Iris’ stomach. The priests, shocked at Yvelina’s actions, tried to stop her. But this only helped Yvelina’s anger grow.
“Cut her head off immediately! She’ll have to pay with her life for pretending to be the Saintess!”
But Iris did not die that day. It was because the commander had stopped that order by putting his life on the line. The priests also quietly supported the commander.
“Please calm down, Saintess Yvelina. I think it would be better to look into the matter a bit more.”
“What good would that do?! She dared to tell the people that I’m a fake…!”
“If it’s the spell of heathens, it could happen again. So it would be right to look into it now.”
Yvelina grimaced when he said it could happen again, and reluctantly made an order.
“Alright. I’ll let her live. But imprison her in the basement prison of the Grand Temple.
The basement prison of the Grand Temple. This was where the monsters captured by the holy knights were kept. There were all sorts of bugs, not a single ray of sunshine, and it was so wet and humid that it was hard to breathe. The people began talking when they heard Iris was imprisoned in such a place.
“I saw it clearly. Miss Iris really used holy powers.”
“You’re right. And in contrast… has anyone seen Saintess Yvelina use her holy powers recently?”
Everyone felt that something was wrong after hearing these words. Everyone had seen Iris’ holy powers, but no one had seen Yvelina use hers since some time ago. Suspicions became convictions. It wasn’t just the common people, either. Even the priests of the Grand Temple began raising their voices.
Saintess Yvelina’s holy powers are suspected of not existing.
Yvelina became pale after hearing this, and went down to the basement prison. Then she raised the dagger she had hid and attempted to kill Iris, who was tied up in chains. If commander Latban hadn’t become suspicious and followed her, Iris could’ve died at Yvelina’s hands at that moment.
Yvelina began shouting when her attempt to murder Iris failed.
“That girl! She stole my holy powers! There’s no way all my holy powers could’ve disappeared otherwise…!”
All the priests, who had belatedly come down, heard Yvelina’s shouts. The priests asked with rigid expressions.
“Is that true? You don’t have holy power anymore? Since when?!”
The priests were now calling Yvelina “you” instead of “Saintess”. Yvelina trembled at the priests’ reactions, and escaped after pushing them away. After escaping the Grand Temple, Yvelina seeked help from those she had given her favor to. But there was no one who helped her.
Meanwhile, the coronation of a new Saintess was held at the Grand Temple.
The 49th Saintess, Yvelina, no longer existed.
That name had been erased, and the name of Iris, the 49th Saintess, was being spread all over the continent.
And today was the day Yvelina, who targeted Iris’ life even as she ran away, would be burnt at the stake.
“Kill the fake Saintess!”
The gathered people spit at Yvelina, who was still claiming to be the real Saintess. Then they began talking among themselves.
“Anyway, it’s a relief that the real Saintess is safe. I heard commander Latban protected Saintess Iris.”
“Yup, I heard it too. On top of it, I also heard his highness the crown prince of the empire, Leon, also helped out Saintess Iris. Apparently he showed respect for the Saintess’ benevolence, and is staying in the Holy Nation to help her out.”
“That’s not all. Even the king of mages, who despises temples, attended the coronation to congratulate Saintess Iris.”
Soon the executioners and priests appeared. When the priest standing in front began reading out the sins Yvelina committed, the people began roaring even louder for the fake Saintess to be killed. When the priest finished reading her sins after a long time, the executioner finally approached Yvelina and lit the fire below her feet.
The wood began burning quickly thanks to the oil. Yvelina’s voice, claiming that she is the real Saintess, faded into the flames.
This was the last of the fake Saintess.
* * *
The fake Saintess, who continuously committed sins, was dead. Normally, one would clap in satisfaction, but I was unable to do so.
Yvelina, whose sins were exposed and was burnt at the stake for it.
This was the future I, who had transmigrated into Yvelina’s body, would meet in 2 years.
This little goose likes to translate novels. 