CH 79

“Yes. I have to work.”

Ophelia got up and went back to her seat, putting down the cup of tea she hadn’t taken a sip from.

Cooper patted Iris on the shoulder as she stared at the small of Ophelia’s back.

“I understand how you want to give back as much as you have been helped, but she doesn’t seem to want to say anything, so please wait.”

“Yes.”

After a brief break, how long had it been since they became document-cutting aides akin to an old man sharpening a stick?

—Tok tok.

“Huh?”

A sudden knock sounded.

Ophelia, who was unable to focus on the documents due to her complicated thoughts, immediately looked up.

—Toktoktok!

Ophelia tilted her head at the impatient knocking that seemed unable to stand even a second’s wait.

“Come in.”

As soon as permission was given, a servant burst the door open and entered.

“What’s the matter?”

“Where is Aide Halsey?”

“Cooper? He’s over th…”

Before Ophelia could finish her words, the servant ran off in that direction, so fast it was as if he vanished.

“What?”

Ophelia stretched her neck out to see where Cooper was, but all she could see was a white pillar made of piles of papers.

She lifted her butt off her seat, about to go to Cooper when her eyes widened like a bunny’s. 

This was because a hard-faced Cooper had left the aide’s office along with the servant who rolled in.

Blinking, Ophelia immediately straightened her body and headed towards Iris.

“What was it?”

“I don’t know. He left before I could even ask.”

“I have this feeling…”

“Feeling of déjà vu?”

“When Iris was away for a few days, it started like this.”

Words became seeds. The current Ophelia and Iris did not expect that Cooper would be absent for several days without saying anything, just as the former had mentioned.

—

Rushing out of the aide’s office, Cooper headed straight for Richard.

Immediately after arriving at the crown prince’s office, Cooper skipped the greetings and brought up the main topic with a serious expression.

“The medicine has reappeared.”

“Did the original producer show up?”

Richard buried his back deep into his chair and asked with his eyes closed.

“No.”

Richard sluggishly opened his eyes at the reply.

The shadows in the golden eyes staring at Cooper grew so thick that they seemed black at first glance.

“Then what?”

“It’s said that the saint is distributing the medicine.”

It was a completely unexpected story, but Richard’s bored expression remained the same.

He tapped the armrest and looked at Cooper.

“A saint?”

“Yes.”

“She appeared at a good time.”

Although the devastated atmosphere was somewhat renewed by the festival, the areas swarmed by the locusts were in a serious situation in reality.

A famine didn’t happen thanks to the private storage and wealth of the imperial family as well as the families in charge of each territory, but it would never be the same as before.

A saint in this situation. Didn’t the savior appear at the right time?

“Moreover, a saint that distributes medicine… If it’s a saint, she should be using divine power.”

There was a faint arsenic in his dry voice, and Cooper sighed.

That would be normal.

Things like saints, divine powers, and voices of gods were just history.

It was so old and subtle that even those that were real were dismissed as myths.

“Isn’t it something that would only appear in the history of the Bolsheik? A saint.”

“It actually happened. A saint. It’s believed one has to pay with their life in order to reveal their divine power.”

“Life. It means she had to burn that much to qualify as a saint. But distributing medicine. What did the temple say?”

“Well…”

Cooper sighed even deeper than before.

“They don’t officially recognize the saint, but they don’t seem to stop it either. To be precise, it’s the first time they’ve seen a saint…”

“It must be chaos.”

In the empire, religion had already become a way of life.

It had been a long time since the temple cried out to God or organized sacred events.

Wouldn’t it be a surprise to have a saint who was said to be a messenger of God suddenly appearing in front of them? 

In addition, the people who belonged to the temple were basically pure people with little greed.

It was unknown if that’s what happened when one entered the temple, or if only those kinds of people entered the temple, but the temple of the current empire was literally pure water itself.

“Should I say it’s fortunate that they didn’t try to use the saint?”

“It would have been good if they didn’t bow in excitement when the saint went to the temple and fluttered her white clothes.”

Cooper’s sighs were unstoppable because priests could have done so.

It was really unpleasant for Cooper, who often went to the temple after losing his younger sibling.

“By the way, Cooper.”

“Yes.”

“Is it certain that the saint is a saint of the current state religion?”

“You’re saying…”

“I’m asking if it’s possible that she’s a saint from the religion related to human trafficking.”

“I didn’t think about it at all, so I didn’t inquire. I’m sorry.”

“If anyone said that a saint appeared, they would regard her as a saintess of the state religion without any doubt.”

“I will look into it as soon as possible.”

“No, I’ll ask in person.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know what’s her purpose of claiming to be a saint, but it’s clear that she wants to receive attention, considering she’s using drugs on a large scale.”

“Then shall we call the saint and the others?”

Richard shook his head.

“Bring in the people of the temple.”

A clear sneer spread across Richard’s lips.

“It will let the one who claims to be a saint know that I am keeping an eye on her.”

The answer would reveal itself if they waited and observed what she would do when she knew that she was being watched by the imperial palace.

“If she didn’t even notice that much, then leave it alone. Whatever she does will only serve as a temporary entertainment.”

A chaotic whirlpool called a saint was approaching the temple that had been so quiet.

—

While Richard was summoning the people of the temple, the news reached Raisa as well.

“A saint?”

“Yes.”

The tool delivering the news from the back alleys shrank his neck and bowed his head.

After hearing a series of news that Neir, who shook their weaknesses, became more ruthless and cruel after the festival, he felt numb even though he wasn’t saying a bad thing.

He shouldn’t have to worry about dying unless he made a mistake or brought bad news, but after the festival…

“Hey, what about that guy who usually goes to report to that marquis family?”

“He is dead.”

“Tsk, he must have been forced to listen to an absurd order again.”

“It’s not like that, he died in the devil’s cave.”

“What? Why? The guy who told her she couldn’t drink properly at the festival still has his throat?”

“I heard she’s in a bad mood.”

The subject wasn’t said, but there was only one person who would cut off someone’s head at random from a bad mood.

He consciously bent his back even deeper.

Staring at the tool’s head, Raisa licked her lips.

“Tell me in detail what nonsense you are talking about.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like his throat would disappear right now, so the man hurriedly vomited out everything he knew.

“So, a saint appeared out of nowhere and distributed medicine to ease people’s pain. Is that all?”

“Yes. I’m digging up where she’s from. Just give me a little more time.”

“Where did the worm come from? It must have come from a pile of garbage.”

The man shut his mouth at the sound of a mocking voice.

As cold sweat dripped down his temple, Raisa raised her hand.

“Tell me more about the medicine that the saint is giving out.”

“Nothing has been discovered yet other than the effect of relieving pain. Although there are rumors that it has opened the eyes of the blind and made the cripple walk.”

“Huh, what a stupid thing to say.”

“I apologize.”

Even though the man hadn’t done anything wrong, he bowed his head unconditionally and begged for forgiveness.

Raisa waved her hand as if to drive away a pesky fly or mosquito.

“So where’s the medicine?”

“Here.”

The man crouched on his knees and respectfully offered the vial to Raisa with both hands.

Raisa’s eyes changed when she saw the vial placed on the clean cloth.

“This…”

While examining the vial carefully, Raisa ordered,

“Get out.”

“Yes!”

The man who was finely twitching from the stiffness of an uncomfortable position immediately left the room with a backward step.

Left alone, Raisa rolled a familiar pink vial in her hand.

“Is this medicine that drug?”

It was most likely the drug that could not be obtained now because the original producer had disappeared.

A saint… She thought it’s some kind of bizarre play, but it didn’t seem like she could let it be.

“A saint…”

A servant of God?

The fact that such a person appeared must mean that she came to convey God’s will.

By any chance, if that saint was real, what use would she have?

In fact, if Raisa put her mind to it, she could make a saint right away.

Like a God.

That was because the village she built was close to a kind of religious group.

No, rather than being close, it should just be called a religion.

Was there an easier way to use people as tools than to utilize religious beliefs?

If she wanted to use someone as a tool, she could conciliate with money or threaten with weakness.

However, money could be betrayed for more money at any time, and weaknesses could disappear.

But blind faith led to no doubt about anything.

Moreover, since fanatics move spontaneously and actively, was there a more convenient tool than this?

And she was not the only one who could think of this

But no one was willing to do that.

“The priests of that stupid temple.”

Words mixed with ridicule and annoyance escaped Raisa’s lips.

Ame: For once we have a legit good pure temple, but it’s just going to helplessly get caught in plot. What a shame.

Dea: I’m also surprised to see they exist since temples are usually the root of all evil in novels haha… also i wonder how this saint is going to be like…