“Ugh, mmm.”

When I opened my eyes, I was lying alone on the bed in the Detached Palace. I looked around, but no one was there.

“Marianne…?”

I called for Marianne with a hopeful heart, but no answer came back. It seemed they had also kicked out Marianne, who had been serving me, when I was demoted to a maid assisting the saintess.

How much had I struggled to save the Alpha Empire after being possessed in this new world? Back then, I relied on exactly two people.

Marianne, and my fiancé, the crown prince.

Crown Prince Theodore had always shown me a kind attitude, and I believed that was his personality. Unlike others who expected me to fulfill my role as a saintess, he cared about my physical condition.

‘You look very tired lately. I know you have a lot to do, but I hope you’ll think of your body first.’

Being overworked from 4 AM to 10 PM, those words alone were incredibly comforting. I was grateful that he cared about me.

‘Do you know how to ride horses?’

‘No. I’ve never ridden one.’

‘If it wouldn’t be rude, may I help you?’

Even though he was busy, he tried to help me by specially making time for me.

‘Ah, I’m sorry.’

I wasn’t good at sports, and the body I possessed was the same, so I was bound to be slower than others at learning horseback riding.

Even knowing I was being a burden, I learned riding because I didn’t want to cause bigger problems during inspections. We traveled by carriage, but there might be emergency situations.

The crown prince never frowned even when seeing my clumsy attempts. He just smiled gently and treated me kindly.

Even though it must have been frustrating and annoying, the crown prince’s relaxed demeanor gave me strange feelings. I wondered if this was his real personality, or if he was enduring it because I was a saintess, so I deliberately tested him.

‘I’m too lacking, aren’t I?’

‘It’s hard to do well from the beginning, so you don’t need to be disappointed.’

‘Were you also clumsy like me when Your Highness learned riding?’

‘You might think this is annoying, but I’m the type who learns immediately after seeing something once.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Ahaha. I remembered laughing loudly for the first time then.

Though I felt some strange discomfort from the crown prince’s behavior of not showing any displeasure despite having reason to be annoyed, my gratitude was greater. I even respected his ability to never lose his smile in any situation.

He looked like a prince from a fairy tale and always showed me kindness, so it was natural for my heart to flow toward him.

However, I couldn’t give my heart completely because I felt an insurmountable wall around him.

The crown prince didn’t talk about his inner thoughts or stories about himself. He also didn’t interfere with others. He might look like a well-mannered gentleman at first glance, but that wasn’t the reality.

Whenever I tried to get even a little closer, he immediately drew a line. His smiling face felt like a mask.

So I didn’t expect him to have feelings for me, but I never thought he would change so suddenly. Realizing my suspicions were true, I felt tremendous betrayal.

Indeed, would there be anyone who could disturb the heart of that cold crown prince who only knew himself? 

There would be no one. Even if such a person existed, I was certain she wouldn’t be an ordinary woman.

That’s why I had already sorted out my feelings for the crown prince long ago, but now even Marianne had left, making me feel completely alone.

The result of three years of hardship was loneliness and labor exploitation.

The more I thought about it, the more hopeless my current situation seemed. However, I had no choice but to accept the reality that had befallen me.

The broken engagement with the crown prince. Demotion to maid. These two events were big enough to overturn high society, yet society remained quiet.

Everyone seemed to accept it as natural since it was the expected outcome.

The Alpha Empire’s royal family must not have been favorable toward me all this time. To them, I was apparently nothing more or less than an impudent woman who had briefly stirred up the royal family.

* * *

“I greet the saintess.”

“So it’s you. What’s your name?”

Meeting the newly arrived saintess happened after I was demoted to maid. She called me to the reception room as soon as she heard the news.

“My name is Stella.”

No one had ever called me by my name before. They just called me “saintess.” Since I had never introduced myself to anyone, the name Stella felt strange.

“Stella? That’s a pretty name.”

Lady Radner, who had become the new saintess, looked me over carefully.

I also looked at her. This was the first time seeing her up close, and she was so delicate and beautiful that she seemed like she would collapse with just a light touch from me.

Her voice was also clear and pure, so she would probably capture many people’s attention at first sight.

“Since you were His Highness’s former fiancée, you must know better. I’ll be engaged to him soon, so could you tell me things to be careful about, having experience with engagement?”

Her voice was soft and kind, and at first hearing, there was nothing wrong with what she said. But thinking about it, her words showed no consideration for me.

My engagement was broken, yet she talked about having engagement experience… Why would she say such things to me when she knew it was unilaterally broken?

“He’s a very busy person. We never spent time together, so I don’t know him well, but he’s polite and kind.”

I wanted to speak badly of him since he’d been treating me coldly lately, but I couldn’t speak carelessly about the crown prince, so I had to package it nicely.

“Hmm. Really? You hardly spent any time together? Then I can’t ask you more. Stella, could you organize my clothes first?”

“Excuse me?”

A saintess’s maid and a dedicated servant are different, yet she was ordering me around. I couldn’t answer immediately to this unexpected command. I hadn’t come as a servant. I came as a maid to support her holy power, but she was giving me work that servants do, so I was bound to be flustered.

Since she was the protagonist in the novel, I naturally thought the real saintess would be a noble and dignified being unlike me. But her current behavior toward me was far from my expectations.

In the Alpha Empire, all maids assigned to assist the saintess possessed some holy power. Since the saintess couldn’t handle everything, they would take care of minor tasks.

They couldn’t perform important roles like making it rain or creating holy water, but they usually healed small wounds. So organizing clothes should be left to servants – why was she ordering me to do it?

“Um, if I may speak out of turn, there’s a maid assigned to organize clothes. How about asking her to do it?”

Instead of me, a maid beside me carefully spoke to Lady Radner.

The maids assigned to assist the saintess together were all familiar faces. They were people who had assisted me when I was the saintess.

The reaction toward me, who went from saintess to maid, was split in half. Half continued treating me well, while half ignored and looked down on me. Those who treated me well spoke up for me.

Then Lady Radner suddenly looked at me with teary eyes.

“Oh my, I must have made a mistake. Stella, I’m sorry. I just wanted to ask what saintess dresses would suit me since you have more experience than I do.”

I didn’t dislike her bright smile. I just continued feeling an indescribable sense of unease.