The carriage went by quickly.
For about 30 minutes after departure, the interior was filled with silence as no one exchanged a single word with the Crown Prince.
It was while I was enduring the uncomfortable silence, my gaze fixed outside the window.
“...?”
Suddenly it started pouring rain.
It was a heavy rain that came down without warning, one or two drops, so heavy that it was impossible to see ahead.
“Why is it raining so suddenly...”
Even in that brief moment of muttering absentmindedly, the raindrops were getting heavier.
I hurriedly closed the window.
But just before closing it, a wind laden with rain swept through the window and I ended up getting soaked.
'Ugh, my fate.'
If I'm unlucky, I'll end up like a rat getting drenched in rain even while riding a carriage.
As I was brushing away the hair that was stuck to my face with an uneasy expression, the Crown Prince handed me a white silk handkerchief.
“Wipe it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Since I didn't have anything to wipe, I quickly took the handkerchief he offered me.
“The rain is falling for no reason. It didn’t even feel like it was going to rain until a little while ago. The sky was clear without a single cloud.”
“It’s probably because we’re getting closer to the scene. It looks like we’ll be there soon, so get ready to get off.”
I tilted my head at his words.
If you're talking about the scene, I think you're talking about the disaster site we're going to now, but what does that have to do with the sudden heavy rain?
As I looked at him with puzzled eyes, the Crown Prince looked even more puzzled.
“Didn’t you know? The place we’re going now is a place where heavy rain is falling.”
“No, when did you ever tell me? All you did was say that you would be put into action starting tomorrow!”
Why are you looking at me with such a dumbfounded expression on such a topic?
I burst out laughing out loud, but the Crown Prince didn't show any sign of embarrassment and just replied calmly, "Was that so?"
“Anyway, do your best on site today. You may be using your strength, but the eyes of the imperial people are on you.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Don’t worry, I will do my best to relieve the anxiety of the people of the empire whom His Majesty loves so much.”
Whenever he opens his mouth, it's imperial people, imperial people.
It was so loud that it almost made my ears tingle.
As the Crown Prince sighed again at my half-hearted answer, the carriage that had been speeding along slowly began to slow down and soon came to a complete stop.
Sir Arthur's voice was heard from outside the carriage, buried in the sound of heavy rain.
“Your Highness, the road is in bad shape due to the heavy rain and I don’t think the carriage can go any further. I think you will have to walk from here.”
“Yes. Open the door.”
As soon as the Crown Prince gave his permission, the carriage door opened.
The Crown Prince jumped down from the carriage, and Delton, who had woken up at my signal, followed him, sobbing.
The very last moment I was about to get off the carriage.
“What is this...”
I stopped in my tracks.
The ground where I had to step was covered in thick mud.
That wasn't all.
The road leading to the village was completely muddy.
The mud looked quite thick, so it seemed like it wouldn't end with just my shoes getting a little dirty.
When I looked embarrassed, Sir Arthur came up with a makeshift plan.
“I’ll go down to the village and borrow a mat made of dried straw. It won’t completely solve the inconvenience, but it’ll be better than walking along the muddy road.”
“Would you mind? I guess it’s hard to just walk down this road..”
At that moment, I spoke with a smile.
“When time is of the essence, it’s a waste of time to go down to the village and borrow a mat. It’s an inconvenience that the residents of this area experience every day anyway.”
The Crown Prince suddenly intervened.
He coolly rejected Sir Arthur's offer and looked at me quietly.
Although he didn't say a word, I could easily guess what he meant.
Don't be so nervous, just get down.
'Ah. Yes, yes. Your Highness's people endure these inconveniences every day, so what can I, a mere slave, say?'
I jumped out of the carriage with a pouty expression and a pouty mouth.
My white shoes, which had been shining brightly just a moment ago, disappeared into the mud in an instant, but I paid them no mind and continued walking.
One of the knights who followed me from the temple quickly came to my side and held an umbrella over me.
I think I walked like that for about 10 minutes.
The sight of a village enveloped in thick raindrops came into view.
Fields that literally melted in the torrential rain, crops that were buried in the fields and rotted away, roads that were turned into rivers by the water flowing down, and roofs that were broken and shattered here and there by the heavy rain.
Among the old houses that had not been properly maintained, there were even cases where one side completely collapsed.
'I thought it wouldn't be that serious since it was a heavy rain scene...'
When I saw it with my own eyes, it was not a situation to be taken lightly.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
“If it hadn’t been so miserable, I wouldn’t have been rude enough to visit you while you were bedridden due to the settling of your holy powers. You weren’t even sick in the first place.”
“...”
I responded to the Crown Prince's additional remark with silence.
If it were a normal situation, I would have told him to stop talking about something that was already over, but after seeing the disaster scene with my own eyes, I couldn't say anything like that.
I just quickened my pace.
After a while, I arrived at the square and gave instructions to the knights.
“Please prepare an altar to offer prayers to the goddess Hethel.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
The knights who respectfully followed my orders diligently built the altar.
In the meantime, the villagers began to gather one by one, having heard the news of our arrival.
“Oh, the Saintess has really come!”
“There is also a representative of the goddess?”
“Didn’t they say that she was just lying down because of the stabilization of her holy powers? They also said that it’s not easy to predict when she’ll recover, so how did she come?”
“Oh, this guy too. How did you come here? Why did you come here? You must have come because you are all better. Fortunately, it seems like the holy power has settled well in your body.”
“Ah, the goddess helped her.”
The villagers who had been whispering among themselves soon began to plead with one voice.
“Saintess, save us!”
“Please stop this horrible rain!”
“Please help us!”
As I was quietly looking around at them, a paladin came running and announced that the altar was complete.
I took a step with Delton.
One step at a time.
With each step, the imperial citizens gathered in the square quickly split left and right.
Finally, I made my way through the crowd and arrived in front of the altar. I took off the white robe that covered me from head to toe and knelt down.
And I want to hold both hands tightly.
“Oh my, the Saintess’s face...”
“It looks like she was really sick.”
“How much pain must she have had for her face to be so disfigured? She must have been on the verge of death, huh?”
“She must have been so sick that her face was about to swell, yet she came all the way here for us...”
“How can I repay this favor?”
I wiggled my eyebrows at the pitiful sighs that came out here and there.
'Shut up, it's just a bare face!'
I, who had barely survived after going between life and death with just a bare face, held back the urge to shout, “Let’s see how good your bare face looks!” and clasped my hands together.
Then I started to move my mouth silently, pretending to pray.
Of course, this could have been done with just one request to Delton, without any procedures, but to show the 'majesty of a Saintess' that the Crown Prince had spoken of, a certain amount of show was necessary.
It must have been like that for about 10 minutes.
Unable to bear the boredom, Delton whispered in a low voice.
“When will this live show end?”
“Just wait a minute. A true conman knows how to time his actions.”
“...Now you don’t even think about hiding the fact that you’re a conman.”
I ignored Delton's tongue-clicking words and continued to pray.
Then, when the crowd started to cry out in anxiety, saying things like, “Why won’t the rain stop?” and “Isn’t it that the power hasn’t fully settled yet?”, I poked Delton in the side with my elbow.
That moment.
“Hey! Look over there!”
A sacred white light flowed out from my body, then soon transformed into a pillar and rose straight up into the sky.
The moment the white pillar that had reached the end of the sky scattered like fog again and covered the sky, the pouring rain gradually weakened and then suddenly stopped as if it were a lie.
At the same time, the dark clouds quickly cleared away, and soon a clear sky and brilliant sun appeared.
It was the first clear sky I'd seen in a week.
Exactly.
“Oh, it’s a miracle! It’s the Saintess’s miracle!”
Someone among those who were staring at the sight with their mouths wide open shouted.
It took only a moment for that cry to spread throughout the crowd.
“Wow!”
“Thank you, Saintess!”
“Thank you for saving us!”
“Long live the Saintess!”
“You were in so much pain that your face became like that, yet you came to us and performed such a miracle!”
“I will not forget the Saintess's grace!”
It was truly an honor full of scars.
For about 30 minutes after departure, the interior was filled with silence as no one exchanged a single word with the Crown Prince.
It was while I was enduring the uncomfortable silence, my gaze fixed outside the window.
“...?”
Suddenly it started pouring rain.
It was a heavy rain that came down without warning, one or two drops, so heavy that it was impossible to see ahead.
“Why is it raining so suddenly...”
Even in that brief moment of muttering absentmindedly, the raindrops were getting heavier.
I hurriedly closed the window.
But just before closing it, a wind laden with rain swept through the window and I ended up getting soaked.
'Ugh, my fate.'
If I'm unlucky, I'll end up like a rat getting drenched in rain even while riding a carriage.
As I was brushing away the hair that was stuck to my face with an uneasy expression, the Crown Prince handed me a white silk handkerchief.
“Wipe it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Since I didn't have anything to wipe, I quickly took the handkerchief he offered me.
“The rain is falling for no reason. It didn’t even feel like it was going to rain until a little while ago. The sky was clear without a single cloud.”
“It’s probably because we’re getting closer to the scene. It looks like we’ll be there soon, so get ready to get off.”
I tilted my head at his words.
If you're talking about the scene, I think you're talking about the disaster site we're going to now, but what does that have to do with the sudden heavy rain?
As I looked at him with puzzled eyes, the Crown Prince looked even more puzzled.
“Didn’t you know? The place we’re going now is a place where heavy rain is falling.”
“No, when did you ever tell me? All you did was say that you would be put into action starting tomorrow!”
Why are you looking at me with such a dumbfounded expression on such a topic?
I burst out laughing out loud, but the Crown Prince didn't show any sign of embarrassment and just replied calmly, "Was that so?"
“Anyway, do your best on site today. You may be using your strength, but the eyes of the imperial people are on you.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Don’t worry, I will do my best to relieve the anxiety of the people of the empire whom His Majesty loves so much.”
Whenever he opens his mouth, it's imperial people, imperial people.
It was so loud that it almost made my ears tingle.
As the Crown Prince sighed again at my half-hearted answer, the carriage that had been speeding along slowly began to slow down and soon came to a complete stop.
Sir Arthur's voice was heard from outside the carriage, buried in the sound of heavy rain.
“Your Highness, the road is in bad shape due to the heavy rain and I don’t think the carriage can go any further. I think you will have to walk from here.”
“Yes. Open the door.”
As soon as the Crown Prince gave his permission, the carriage door opened.
The Crown Prince jumped down from the carriage, and Delton, who had woken up at my signal, followed him, sobbing.
The very last moment I was about to get off the carriage.
“What is this...”
I stopped in my tracks.
The ground where I had to step was covered in thick mud.
That wasn't all.
The road leading to the village was completely muddy.
The mud looked quite thick, so it seemed like it wouldn't end with just my shoes getting a little dirty.
When I looked embarrassed, Sir Arthur came up with a makeshift plan.
“I’ll go down to the village and borrow a mat made of dried straw. It won’t completely solve the inconvenience, but it’ll be better than walking along the muddy road.”
“Would you mind? I guess it’s hard to just walk down this road..”
At that moment, I spoke with a smile.
“When time is of the essence, it’s a waste of time to go down to the village and borrow a mat. It’s an inconvenience that the residents of this area experience every day anyway.”
The Crown Prince suddenly intervened.
He coolly rejected Sir Arthur's offer and looked at me quietly.
Although he didn't say a word, I could easily guess what he meant.
Don't be so nervous, just get down.
'Ah. Yes, yes. Your Highness's people endure these inconveniences every day, so what can I, a mere slave, say?'
I jumped out of the carriage with a pouty expression and a pouty mouth.
My white shoes, which had been shining brightly just a moment ago, disappeared into the mud in an instant, but I paid them no mind and continued walking.
One of the knights who followed me from the temple quickly came to my side and held an umbrella over me.
I think I walked like that for about 10 minutes.
The sight of a village enveloped in thick raindrops came into view.
Fields that literally melted in the torrential rain, crops that were buried in the fields and rotted away, roads that were turned into rivers by the water flowing down, and roofs that were broken and shattered here and there by the heavy rain.
Among the old houses that had not been properly maintained, there were even cases where one side completely collapsed.
'I thought it wouldn't be that serious since it was a heavy rain scene...'
When I saw it with my own eyes, it was not a situation to be taken lightly.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
“If it hadn’t been so miserable, I wouldn’t have been rude enough to visit you while you were bedridden due to the settling of your holy powers. You weren’t even sick in the first place.”
“...”
I responded to the Crown Prince's additional remark with silence.
If it were a normal situation, I would have told him to stop talking about something that was already over, but after seeing the disaster scene with my own eyes, I couldn't say anything like that.
I just quickened my pace.
After a while, I arrived at the square and gave instructions to the knights.
“Please prepare an altar to offer prayers to the goddess Hethel.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
The knights who respectfully followed my orders diligently built the altar.
In the meantime, the villagers began to gather one by one, having heard the news of our arrival.
“Oh, the Saintess has really come!”
“There is also a representative of the goddess?”
“Didn’t they say that she was just lying down because of the stabilization of her holy powers? They also said that it’s not easy to predict when she’ll recover, so how did she come?”
“Oh, this guy too. How did you come here? Why did you come here? You must have come because you are all better. Fortunately, it seems like the holy power has settled well in your body.”
“Ah, the goddess helped her.”
The villagers who had been whispering among themselves soon began to plead with one voice.
“Saintess, save us!”
“Please stop this horrible rain!”
“Please help us!”
As I was quietly looking around at them, a paladin came running and announced that the altar was complete.
I took a step with Delton.
One step at a time.
With each step, the imperial citizens gathered in the square quickly split left and right.
Finally, I made my way through the crowd and arrived in front of the altar. I took off the white robe that covered me from head to toe and knelt down.
And I want to hold both hands tightly.
“Oh my, the Saintess’s face...”
“It looks like she was really sick.”
“How much pain must she have had for her face to be so disfigured? She must have been on the verge of death, huh?”
“She must have been so sick that her face was about to swell, yet she came all the way here for us...”
“How can I repay this favor?”
I wiggled my eyebrows at the pitiful sighs that came out here and there.
'Shut up, it's just a bare face!'
I, who had barely survived after going between life and death with just a bare face, held back the urge to shout, “Let’s see how good your bare face looks!” and clasped my hands together.
Then I started to move my mouth silently, pretending to pray.
Of course, this could have been done with just one request to Delton, without any procedures, but to show the 'majesty of a Saintess' that the Crown Prince had spoken of, a certain amount of show was necessary.
It must have been like that for about 10 minutes.
Unable to bear the boredom, Delton whispered in a low voice.
“When will this live show end?”
“Just wait a minute. A true conman knows how to time his actions.”
“...Now you don’t even think about hiding the fact that you’re a conman.”
I ignored Delton's tongue-clicking words and continued to pray.
Then, when the crowd started to cry out in anxiety, saying things like, “Why won’t the rain stop?” and “Isn’t it that the power hasn’t fully settled yet?”, I poked Delton in the side with my elbow.
That moment.
“Hey! Look over there!”
A sacred white light flowed out from my body, then soon transformed into a pillar and rose straight up into the sky.
The moment the white pillar that had reached the end of the sky scattered like fog again and covered the sky, the pouring rain gradually weakened and then suddenly stopped as if it were a lie.
At the same time, the dark clouds quickly cleared away, and soon a clear sky and brilliant sun appeared.
It was the first clear sky I'd seen in a week.
Exactly.
“Oh, it’s a miracle! It’s the Saintess’s miracle!”
Someone among those who were staring at the sight with their mouths wide open shouted.
It took only a moment for that cry to spread throughout the crowd.
“Wow!”
“Thank you, Saintess!”
“Thank you for saving us!”
“Long live the Saintess!”
“You were in so much pain that your face became like that, yet you came to us and performed such a miracle!”
“I will not forget the Saintess's grace!”
It was truly an honor full of scars.
Support Novellate!
thanksn i dunno, i appreciate the crown prince as being loyal to his people, as per his position, but i'd like her to be with someone who would be devoted to her. also i want the prince to suffer in love KEKE
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