CH 7

(Eve’s POV)

“I greet you, Your Highness the Princess, may the goddess descend upon you.”

This old man seems to be the chief priest.

“I am sorry, this old man should have gone out to meet the Princess in person. As you can see, believers come to receive their blessings before the holiday.”

The chief priest broke out in a cold sweat and made excuses.

I looked around at about ten visitors who filled the main building. Even with the priests standing at the entrance, the number was less than ten.

Now, it seems that the chief priest passed me to the other minister and hid here using the believers as an excuse.

The chief priest was still looking at me with fearful eyes as if I was an evil spirit.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Maybe because Eve had done a lot of things to him.

And then I said with a friendly smile.

“Nice to see you again, chief priest. I came here because I had something to say to you in person.”

“Then, how can I help you?”

“Hold on, let me bring it over.”

When I beckoned, the attendant that I brought from the Imperial Palace brought the jewelry box into the main building.

The chief priest widened his eyes as he saw the jewels from the box.

I pointed to the box and said in a calm voice.

“I want to donate all these jewels here to the temple.”

“Do you mean all of this?”

The chief priest reaffirmed my words in a trembling voice.

“Are you going to donate this to our temple?”

“Yes I am.”

The chief priest looked at me blankly with his wrinkled eyelids raised.

He couldn’t seem to understand what he just heard.

Not only the minister who came with us, but also the visitors around us looked at us in disbelief.

‘I could understand why they couldn’t believe it?’

That Eve would donate her own stuff.

Originally, Eve was never one to give her things to others. She didn’t hand out any common ornaments to anyone at all.

Even though she piled up jewels like mountains, she was always tempted to steal other people’s belongings as well.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Naturally, the victim was mostly the female protagonist, Sorel.

I glanced at the jewels inside the box.

‘Well I think it’s fine since I already took out Sorel’s stuff in advance.’

As soon as I understood the situation just after I possessed this body, I ordered the maids to separate the jewels and trinkets that originally belonged to Sorel, in other words the stolen one.

I would have to return those back to Sorel once she gets back.

I smiled mercifully, pointing to the jewels in the box.

“It’s something that I’ve been using for a long time, that’s why I hoped you could accept it.”

Although the chief priest trembled humbly at the gentle voice, he couldn’t help but have a second look at the jewels that filled the box and were shining brightly.

The chief priest looked at me as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“Are you really going to donate all of these?”

“Yes, that’s right. In fact, these are…..”

I said in a voice filled with deep regret as I stroked the box.

“These are the jewels that hold my memories. And I want to use it for the people of the empire, before I get married. And please, help those who are suffering from the cold.”

Hearing my words, the two ministers at my side were more baffled than before.

The person in front of me, the chief priest, seemed to be confused as to whether he was talking to Princess Eve or not.

“Is there any problem?”

“Oh no, Princess”

The chief priest came to his senses and offered a greeting.

“It is a very merciful decision. This old man doesn’t know where to put himself….”

“If it’s okay with you, may I ask you for a favor?”

I cut off the chief priest’s words and asked.

He suddenly flinched and raised his head. An expression of ‘Well then’ passed over his wrinkled face.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

“Say anything. If there is anything I can do to help, I am willing to do anything.”

“I want to have a flower from the holy tree.”

“The flower of the holy tree?”

The Holy tree is a sacred tree that comes from the divine blessing.

The flowers that bloomed from that tree were so precious and treated like treasures that could only be touched with the permission from the High Priest.

The chief priest looked a little more perplexed.

He seemed confused as to why this infamous Princess asked for the sacred flower.

“I’m sorry, Princess. The flower of the holy tree is something that even this old man cannot pluck….”

The chief priest blurted out the end of his speech as if he was in a difficult position.

‘Is he saying that he won’t give it to me?’

‘My plan won’t work without that flower.’

I asked again with concern.

“Is this too much of a request?”

At those words, the chief priest trembled once again, as if struck by lightning.

“Oh, no. Princess. Of course you can.”

The chief priest hurriedly bowed his head and apologized. A drop of cold sweat ran down his wrinkled forehead.

I was wondering if this was a difficult request, that is why I asked.

They seem to have accepted it by saying, ‘How dare you refuse my request?’

‘Well he must be thinking that I would say something harsh to him.’

Eve was a child who poured abusive words and even threw teacups to the priests who were like her grandfather.

Originally, she was just a stupid and insensitive person, but thanks to the Emperor’s protection, her personality deteriorated as days went by.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

‘Anyway, this is where Eve’s notoriety helps.’

The chief priest immediately grabbed the shoulder of one of the ministers who was a few steps away from him and instructed him.

“The holy tree was located at the center of the garden. You can take as much as you want. The minister will guide you.”

The chief priest seemed to want to hand me over to the ministers and run away as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, the face of the minister who would  be assisting me, suddenly turned pale.

“Ahhm… This way, Your Highness. I’ll guide you there.”

I followed him out and walked towards the garden.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Eve’s POV)

The Great Hall has an enormous landscape that is the same size as the headquarters of the Imperial Shrine.

As we walked towards the central garden, we passed by three gates and two small shrines.

It was when we walked for a while and entered the depths of the temple.

“Oh….”

In the middle of the garden of the Great Hall, I saw a white tree who was standing still and covered with snowflakes.

The Holy tree.

It was the tree of the gods that was planted in the center of the Great Hall.

As soon as I was about to enter the flower bed, the chief priest next to me was startled and stepped forward.

“Ah, please wait a moment, Princess. We will call someone and clean it up soon.”

I looked at what he was talking about, and white snow was piled up one after another into the flower beds that were planted around the holy tree.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

I walked past him and stepped into the flower bed without any hesitation.

“It’s okay.”

As I set my feet on the white snow field, a cold snowflake stomped on my shoe.

Neither, the cold air that was permeating my body nor the snowflakes didn’t matter at all.

The important thing is to meet the person who was expected to be here as of this moment.

As I continued my steps, I was finally able to reach the holy tree.

“Ahh, wait Your Highness, your gloves…….”

Nell was so surprised as I was about to grab the flower with my bare hands, when she was about to give me my gloves.

“It’s okay.”

Without hesitation, I plucked white flowers blooming among the branches.

I heard Nell gasping from behind me.

Either way, I shook off the snow on the petals with the back of my hand.

The sweet scent of flowers gently lingered through the white snowflakes that was falling from the sky.

Three blooming flowers and a small bud made with pure white petals were picked and tied with a thin ribbon.

A pretty bouquet of flowers has been completed.

‘Would this be enough?’

I turned around, holding the little bouquet carefully so as not to break it.

Outside the flower bed, Nell and the priest were looking at me with a ghostly face.

I asked with a friendly smile.

“Can you tell me where the East Chapel is?”

Now I had to fulfill my real purpose of coming here.

To meet the Grand Duke.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Eve’s POV)

The setting sun dyes the cold marble corridor red.

It was already evening when we entered the eastern section of the Great Hall.

I carefully passed through the hallway, stepping on the crimson flagstone.

With every step I took, an anxiously shaking shadow glistened on the wall.

‘It must have been around here.’

I walked to the end of the hallway, reflecting on what I had read in the book.

I thought I didn’t have to look for it because I knew where the Grand Duke was coming from, but it was difficult to find the way because the Great Hall was just too wide.

“I… Your Highness, where are you going?”

Nell, who had no idea about what’s happening, asked carefully.

“I have a place to stop by.”

After a few steps, a large garden appeared.

This was the eastern garden of the Great Hall.

‘It seems that no one is here?’

‘I planned to hang around here and wait as it says in the book, but it might be possible that he had already passed here?’

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

With such worries, I turned around the corner, and I saw a group of people walking from the other side.

I was startled by the clothes they were wearing.

It was the military uniform worn by the knights of the Grand Duke.

It was obvious that it was the Grand Duke and his attendants.

Grand Duke Terrence’s party seemed to be walking out of the corridor.

I hurriedly called him.

“Your Grace, Your Grace the Grand Duke!”