CH 45

‘Since you don’t trust Roella, I thought for sure that you’ll take it.’

Honestly, even before the duke would say that he’d take this thing from me, I was going to willingly give it up and earn some brownie points by doing so.

When turning yourself in, wasn’t there some kind of silver lining in it?

I really wonder if that’s right.

“Is there any reason why you shouldn’t have it?”

“…No, it’s just, well. My divine power is weak, and there’s some bad rumors going around about me. Most people would feel unsettled to learn that this sacred relic has been entrusted to me…”

At that moment.

Snap—

Suddenly, with a loud noise, the fountain pen that was in the duke’s hand got snapped in half.

“……!”

Whoa, what about the documents!

After the fountain pen broke, blank ink started spreading everywhere.

The documents that the duke had been reviewing just a while ago were unable to escape the ink’s wrath.

As a former office worker, I felt my heart shattering in pieces.

Hurriedly, I took out my handkerchief and handed it to the duke.

“Are you alright? Please use this to wipe it off.

“…Thank you. Ke-hum. The pen must be very old.”

The duke took the handkerchief and murmured these words under his breath, and I was shocked.

‘Just how old is that fountain pen for it to snap in half like that? Since this is a household with a long history behind it, is that pen some kind of heirloom?’

As I thought about this and that, the duke wiped off the ink from his hands and spoke.

“In any case, you should keep the sacred relic. And.”

“……”

“No matter what anyone says, you are the Saintess. If anyone dares to doubt this fact, it would be an insult to God and an act of mutiny against the Empire and the Imperial Family. Besides that, it is also a challenge against our House Brietta.”

As the duke listed down this series of heavy charges, he became more and more visibly incensed.

Was doubting me lead to such huge issues?

‘With that in mind though, there seems to be a lot of doubtful people.’

However, it’s not as if the duke had lied.

As he spoke, his eyes had gone cold.

“So, if anyone dares to utter such nonsense, bring them right in front of me. Understand?”

“……”

“Understand?!”

“Yes. I will.”

When he repeated himself, I nodded right away.

Only then did the duke’s glacial demeanor ease a little.

Seeing him like this, I made up my mind.

Until the moment Sylvia would appear, I wouldn’t ever joke about me being a fake saintess.

In the end, it was concluded that the sacred relic would be under my supervision until my next class with Victor, through whom I could send the relic back to the temple.

“Then, um, I’ll be off…”

Since what I came here for had reached its end, it was time to say goodbye and leave the room.

“Wait.”

However, the duke’s stern voice held me back from leaving.

* * *

And, a few days later.

I was deeply regretting the choices I made a few days ago.

‘Ugh, I should’ve just said I’d keep it.’

I shouldn’t have brought it up at all. Just what the heck is this now.

To soothe my bitter sentiments, I chugged down the cocoa that was in front of me.

“How does it taste, Milady?”

As soon as I gulped it down, a question flew in from the side.

When I looked up, my eyes met with a man’s wrinkled, narrowed eyes.

It was Graham, the head butler of the Brietta ducal residence.

As a former vice-captain of the paladin order, he still looked in rather good shape despite being middle-aged.

However, unlike his intimidating physique, the impression he gave off was warm.

He was always smiling gently like a kind uncle.

His atmosphere was completely different from that of the duke, who always looked frightening.

I answered with a smile.

“It’s very delicious.”

“Please eat some of the biscuits together with the drink. We’ve prepared some light refreshments for you, and they go well with cocoa.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy the food.”

Just as he said, the light biscuits went well with the cocoa drink.

While nibbling away at a biscuit, I glanced away from him.

‘It’s so awkward.’

The place my gaze reached was where the duke was. He was sitting behind his desk—after all, we were in his office.

Right.

Recently, I had been coming into the duke’s office every single day for the purpose of ‘sacred relic checking’, as if I was getting some kind of stamp for my visits.

Back then, a few days ago…

—Wait.

When the duke had stopped me from leaving with just one stern word.

His head was slightly bowed, so I couldn’t see his expression properly. Then, he continued speaking.

—Come to think of it, if you just leave like this, you might feel apprehensive.

—Huh?

—Didn’t you say that you’re conscious of other people’s eyes because you have the sacred relic in your possession? So, let’s do this.

—Do what…?

—Come to me every day and report the status of the sacred relic. In doing so, you don’t have to worry about what other people say.