Plants that used to grow rapidly when I infused them with holy power couldn’t grow like before these days. The same went for those who were ill.

My holy power hadn’t completely disappeared, but since anyone could see it wasn’t what it used to be, people who openly ignored me like the crown prince’s attitude earlier were gradually increasing.

“Where does she embezzle the money to pretend to be so frugal?”

They even mistakenly thought I was receiving a lot of money in return for working for the empire.

Strangely, after my holy power declined, the way people around me looked at me had changed to ‘a hypocritical saintess pretending to be frugal.’

Anyone watching would think I had a lot of money but was hiding it. I’d feel less wronged if I actually received money, right? I receive money that doesn’t allow for luxury, so why are such false rumors spreading?

The compensation I received wasn’t much different from what the maids earned. Yet they seemed to think I was receiving substantial compensation from the imperial court.

I don’t know who spread the false rumors, but I wished they would actually check how much I was taking home.

Recently, even that imperial support was cut off. When I protested, they gave me the silent treatment – what was I supposed to do? Even when I met with the crown prince to request corrections, he had no intention of listening to me.

Ah, come to think of it, he had said something similar to me too.

‘Even that money isn’t enough for you. What a truly extravagant woman.’

From that, it was clear that to them, a saintess was nothing more or less than an unpaid volunteer. So even if I received a small amount as compensation, they probably thought that was payment enough.

Isn’t this too much? They should at least provide saintess robes!

The saintess robes I received were supposedly custom-made, but they were so expensive that I couldn’t even buy one with that money.

So without even that money, I had no choice but to mend torn parts with needlework.

But from their perspective, it probably looked like I was intentionally wearing them to appear as a frugal and modest saintess.

Everyone lives abundantly without lacking money, so they probably can’t even imagine not being able to buy dresses due to lack of funds.

Fine, think whatever you want!

Today, with a new saintess appearing, I was now in a state of giving up. Ever since the imperial court confirmed my holy power had diminished, they had practically abandoned me.

‘If you need anything in the future, please tell me.’

The person in charge of me changed from a minister to an administrative officer of the imperial treasury department. And he didn’t hide his expression showing he’d been stuck with a bothersome task.

As a result, while before there used to be so much food left over that I thought it was wasteful – a true feast – now the quality of meat gradually declined until even meat had long since disappeared.

But today a saintess appeared, so the blatant disparagement and distrust toward me would obviously grow even more. I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by their attitude.

Hadn’t I sacrificed myself for three years to save the empire? How could they treat me like this?

Though it was an unwanted engagement, I was still the crown prince’s fiancée. No matter how much my abilities had declined, shouldn’t they at least show me minimum respect?

Yet everyone’s attitude changed just because my holy power had weakened – this must be because of the terrible things the original owner of this body, Stella, had done.

I was essentially receiving her karma in her place.

Sigh.

The more I thought about it, the more pitiful my situation felt, leaving me only frustrated.

I had been heading to the chapel but turned toward my room to rest for a moment. But unlike usual, I was wide-eyed seeing my room bustling with maids.

“What are you all doing right now?”

The maids were putting my belongings into large bags. I couldn’t help but be flustered by what looked like packing for a move.

“We received orders to relocate your quarters.”

“Relocate my quarters?”

“Yes.”

“So suddenly? Where to?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

They unilaterally took the packed luggage and left the room. Wondering what was happening, I followed them out to observe the situation. They loaded the luggage into a carriage waiting outside.

“Please board the carriage quickly.”

How could I obediently follow when they suddenly told me to relocate like this? It wasn’t a good sign, so I stood firm without moving a single step. Then two maids each grabbed my arms and pleaded.

“Orders came from the imperial court, so you must comply.”

“Please, follow the orders.”

When I didn’t budge, their faces gradually began turning pale. It seemed like they would be in big trouble if I didn’t move as instructed.

“This is an order I gave, so comply.”

Just when I was wondering if I should keep being stubborn, I heard a coldly subdued voice from behind me. When I turned around, I saw the crown prince approaching me.

“I greet the Little Sun.”

I gave my greeting, but he seemed to let it go in one ear and out the other. He simply looked at me with contemptuous eyes for not following orders.

Even if my holy power had declined, wasn’t that attitude too much? Though anger welled up, I held it back and tried to speak as calmly as possible.

“Why are you telling me to relocate my quarters without any prior notice?”

“There’s been talk lately that your holy power isn’t what it used to be. So after deliberation, the council of elders suggested relocating your quarters.”

What does that have to do with my holy power? It was absurd, but arguing wouldn’t change anything.

“…I understand. I will obey the order.”

Unable to refute the excuse about my declining holy power, I had no choice but to board the carriage. The place we traveled to by carriage was the detached palace. It was a 10-minute carriage ride from the main palace.

Since I usually spent time in the chapel at the main palace, staying at the detached palace would actually be inconvenient. Yet sending me here was probably implicit pressure that if I wanted treatment similar to before, I should show my abilities.

When I arrived at the detached palace, the place was… a sight to behold.

The detached palace I would use was so poorly maintained that you’d think I’d been sent into exile – weeds grew wildly everywhere, and there were cracks in the walls here and there.

The room contained only a bed sitting alone. There was no other furniture besides that. There should have been at least a dresser, but there wasn’t even that.

It was an environment incomparably worse than where I had been staying.

The only fortunate thing was that there was a separate dressing room, but seeing all the spider webs, I could tell it hadn’t been used in a long time.

Did the crown prince know about this condition when he sent me here?

“Marianne, you’ll have a lot of work to do. Can you handle it alone?”

Lost in thought, I came to my senses at the maids’ voices. They didn’t seem to have any intention of cleaning up. They looked ready to just leave the luggage and depart.

Their gazes, which had been looking at Marianne with pitying eyes, soon turned to me.

“From today, Marianne will assist you alone.”

Originally, I had five maids attending to me. Those who had only served me recently began doing other duties concurrently, and now they had completely withdrawn from me. Leaving only Marianne, who had been most loyal to me.

It could be said that they had taken measures to keep only the minimum number of attendants for me.

When I looked at Marianne standing behind me with a bewildered face, she had an expression of having accepted everything. She probably already knew but just hadn’t tipped me off.

Even if all five had pitched in, it would take a long time for the detached palace’s condition to improve, but she was supposed to do all this work alone?

This could definitely be called harassment.

“Marianne, will you be okay alone?”

“It’s my job! I’ll do my best to assist you!”

Marianne showed determined eyes and clenched both fists tightly. Meanwhile, the maids who had been attending to me greeted me and left the detached palace.

They were really leaving with just Marianne and me?

When I looked at Marianne with a bewildered face, she smiled showing not to worry. Then she began clearing away the spider webs hanging throughout the dressing room.

“Marianne, thank you.”

In the worst situation, the fortunate thing was that Marianne was on my side. Without her, life in this world would have been miserable.