C161
Arsia walked out confidently and snatched the piece of stone from Liena's hand.
Shwaaa. It shone as brightly as when Liena used it.
People sighed with relief at seeing that.
"—That's right."
"—As expected, Arsia-nim can't be false!"
No matter what they said, it was Arsia whom the people of the empire revered as a saint.
"—Wait, but that..."
At that moment, Isaac muttered a question under his breath as if he were talking to himself.
"Don't you think the light is a little dimmer than when Liena used it?"
"Is it?"
Roland tilted his head, but I also felt that way.
However, it was a subtle difference, and few people seemed to have noticed it in the chaotic atmosphere of the courtroom.
Moreover, observing Arsia's confident demeanor, it seemed that such a thing was not a big issue.
"Personally, I don't think it's worth answering, but since someone as high-ranking as a cardinal is involved, it's necessary to reveal the truth to the world."
"A-Arsia..."
"—Everyone!"
Morton shuddered and called out to her, but the saint ignored him, looked around the crowd, and declared.
"In three days, we will hold an event to reveal who the true saint is between this woman and me! Let's open the verification door one by one in front of you all!"
The people were shocked by the surprising announcement.
"—Verification door?"
"—Was that something that could be made public?"
The Verification Door had never been revealed to the public for almost a hundred years.
This was because the rule was that the verification process for saint candidates was to be carried out in secret within the main sanctuary.
"As expected, Arsia is the true saint. If she were false, there would be no way she would suggest verifying the sanctity in that manner." Hearts of those who thought so gradually turned towards Arsia.
The cardinal Morton's complexion turned pale as if he had read the trend, but there was only one person who was relaxed.
"Fine. I'll be happy to do it."
Liena, with a sincere smile on her face, gracefully responded.
It was an expression that exuded confidence that she would never lose.
After that, the emperor himself stepped forward and abdicated his position.
"The trial will resume once the sanctity verification is complete."
With that brief remark, the people gathered in the open-air courtroom dispersed.
Although some people felt disappointed by the senseless conclusion of the trial, many vanished, stirring up a scandal in anticipation of the saint verification that would take place in a few days.
"Oh? And her father?"
I quickly got up to leave, but I couldn't see Roland in the back seat.
Isaac, who had been drinking wine, shrugged.
"In case Liena is truly a saint, he went to pack and said he should flee abroad."
"...That was fast."
"He's a quick action person."
No matter how you looked at it, he was the kind of person who would be the first to betray and flee if his allies were at a disadvantage in war.
"What about you? Don't you have to avoid it?"
"Well. Honestly, in my opinion, Liena seems more like a saint than Arsia... As strange as it may seem, I'm actually not afraid."
He looked at me with a smile.
"For some reason, it seems our viscountess Lucibiu has a plan. Isn't she going to set that plan in motion now?"
"Well. Just wait and see."
After giving a vague response with a smile, I left the open-air courtroom.
When they arrived at the carriage, Jack came and reported Terence's whereabouts.
"His Highness departed first for the imperial palace, accompanied by His Majesty the Emperor."
They must have been busy since they had much to discuss due to this situation. For now, I have no choice but to act alone.
"Do you want me to take you to the annex?"
"No. Please go to the temple."
I sat down and answered the coachman's questions.
The place where the saint lived was deep within the main temple.
"It's not possible. Currently, the saint is not allowed to meet strangers without permission."
A woman dressed in priestly robes firmly shook her head in front of me when I asked to meet Arsia.
She was Arsia's closest confidante, and we knew each other well.
The last time I came to see Arsia with Terence's help, this person guided me.
"Ask the saint. I made an appointment last time."
"Perhaps it was so back then, but now the saint is facing a serious problem. If she meets a stranger and ends up being deceived..."
But she couldn't continue speaking.
"What are you doing, detaining my guest?"
This was because Arsia appeared in person.
"Viscountess Lucibiu, welcome."
"Saint, no! Didn't His Holiness, the Holy Father, tell you to be careful?"
"Although I respect His Holiness, he is not my superior. There is no obligation to unconditionally follow what is said."
"There are many people in the temple who are not pleased with the viscountess because of the price of magic stones. If it were known that the saint had met this person at such an important time..."
"Enough, Priestess Artan. What kind of rudeness is this in front of my guest?"
When the saint forcefully came out, Priestess Artan kept her mouth shut as if she had no other choice.
"Please come this way."
With Arsia's guidance, I walked to the saint's residence.
Before entering the carefully decorated living room, I looked back and said.
"I would like to speak with the saint alone."
Priestess Artan, who had been following us as if it were natural, stiffened in surprise.
"Well, but there is also a security issue..."
"Take care of other matters, Priestess Artan."
"Saint."
"Didn't you hear me?"
In the end, Priestess Artan had to walk away from us with disapproval written all over her face.
"Forgive her rudeness."
As soon as the door to the room closed, Arsia spoke up.
"Currently, not only Priestess Artan but the entire temple has become sensitive."
"Do you mean what happened during the day?"
"...Yes. His Holiness also called me and talked to me about it for a long time."
Arsia's arm, which was resting on the table, trembled.
"Everything happened just as you said. That woman really claims to be a saint."
She sat in a chair, took several deep breaths, and barely managed to speak.
"I also suggested the sanctity verification as you said. So what should I do now?"
"Just calm down for now. From here on..."
"How can I calm down?! If I continue like this, I'm going to lose my mind for pretending to be a saint!"
As I watched Arsia nervously shout, I thought of her in the novel.
Saint Arsia. To be precise, the false saint Arsia. She was a villain who opposed Liena.
If I had to describe Arsia, who appeared in "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers," in one word, it would be a wicked woman blinded by jealousy.
She was someone who called herself an enemy of Liena simply because she felt it unpleasant that Liena was loved by more people than herself.
She often picked fights or criticized her at any moment, and even spread malicious rumors or plots that Liena tried to harm her.
However, our protagonist, Liena, thwarted all of Arsia's evil plans and finally revealed to the world the truth that she was a false saint.
In the end, Arsia meets a tragic end: she dies on the guillotine for pretending to be a saint.
If it were me in the past, I wouldn't have bothered to get to know Arsia, who appears in the novel as a villain with no way to save her.
But now I know that the novel was entirely written from Liena's perspective.
Even if Liena wrote it, I wouldn't doubt it.
If you pay attention to that and reread the novel using the original image, Liena's intention to implicitly belittle Arsia is revealed.
Liena was aware that Arsia was false.
From Liena's perspective, Arsia might have been nothing more than an unpleasant person who took her place even though she wasn't chosen by the goddess.
Moreover, Arsia is a person presented in the temple whom Liena hates so much.
"Perhaps Liena's feelings were conveyed to Arsia, and Arsia also came to hate Liena even more because of this?"
And indeed, there was someone who encouraged Arsia to attack Liena.
Terence is the dark figure in the novel.
He cleverly realized that Arsia secretly disliked Liena, and further fueled the fire by praising Liena in front of Arsia.
Not in vain was he called the ultimate villain. In addition to Arsia, Terence manipulated those who were against Liena and Cassius in this way to hinder Liena.
"I know it was wrong. So this time I prevented Terence from becoming a villain."
Perhaps because I changed the plot of the novel, Arsia has never been seriously involved with Liena.
In other words, the current woman had not yet transformed into the novel's villain.
"My main goal is to prevent Liena from becoming a saint, but..."
If possible, I also want to help Arsia have a good future. That was my sincere wish.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm too worked up."
Arsia, perhaps surprised by the fact that she lost her temper and shouted, immediately apologized.
When I looked at her, her face turned pale.
Arsia seemed very confident in the courtroom, but inside she must have been constantly trembling with fear.
She had to be confident because people would suspect if she showed any hesitation.
"...I didn't pretend to be a saint because I wanted to be a false saint. At first, I thought I really was a saint."
Arsia must have interpreted my look as criticism and began to tell her story as if she were making an excuse.
"When I was young, I was a very religious girl. My family, who could barely make ends meet with farming, always had to beg God for mercy."
Her childhood was represented before my eyes.
"But one day, the current Holy Father came to visit our village. After the previous saint passed away, it was at the time when the high-ranking priests scattered all over the continent in search of the next saint."
It is said that Arsia held a piece of the saint's relic according to the words of a high priest.
"The sculpture shone brightly. I followed it to the capital with great anticipation."
But I wasn't allowed in the verification door.
"His Holiness said it was because I was too young. As I grow older and my divine power increases, the doors will open. I believed that. But..."
Arsia fell silent, unable to continue speaking.
"I found out later. At that time, the temple was under attack because of the corruption of some high-ranking priests, and even after the previous saint had passed away, the next saint could not be found for a long time."
After a while, she opened her mouth again.
"They were just going to use me and then discard me. I was only supposed to stay in this position until the true Saint appears, and then get rid of me quietly."
After announcing that Arsia had died, the true saint would be announced as the next saint.
It was truly a cruel story.
Arsia silently sobbed. I gently stroked her back.
"Don't worry. I'll help you."
"...How?"
"First, let's get rid of that parasite."
"What?"
I left Arsia alone with wide eyes for a moment and forcefully opened the door to the room.
"Aaack!"
The person who had been listening to our conversation near the door fell to the ground.
"Nice to see you again, Priestess Artan."
She was holding one side of her face in shock.
"Or would it be more accurate to call you Herciso, Liena's loyal subordinate?"
The eyes that looked at me were filled with astonishment.