After a brief exchange of greetings, Sienna led me to the inner chamber of the temple.

“Please make yourself at home, Vivian.”

Despite her position where she could easily order others around, she personally poured me a cup of tea. 

Curious, I asked her, “Don’t you usually have people assisting you, Your Holiness?”

“Not really, but I do have people who help me. But right now, they’re out doing charity work….”

Ah, that’s a shame.

Should I have gone outside instead?

It seemed like the person I was looking for might be among the “people outside doing charity work” that Sienna mentioned.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I observed the graceful way Sienna prepared the tea.

As she took the cloth bag of tea from the wooden box, she said softly, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any good tea leaves…. Will this do?”

What she pulled out was a very cheap and common tea, mostly drunk by commoners. It was in accordance with the Yuphiter doctrine of moderation as a virtue.

However, since this was a temple in the capital, they would probably have served higher-quality tea to visiting nobles and aristocrats.

‘Did she take the cheapest tea leaves on purpose?’

After a moment’s suspicion of Sienna, I quickly concluded that this was unlikely.

It’s not the kind of person she is, and especially not when I think of the Sienna I knew as a child.

I smiled warmly at her.

“No worries. It’s a very good tea with a grainy scent.”

“Still, I wanted to offer you something better… But this is all I have…”

“It’s okay.”

I reassured Sienna and looked at her closely.

Flawless, clear skin and hair as white as a fine layer of snow. Small, pouty lips and pink eyes, more beautiful than any jewelry.

Despite her simple attire and a face without any makeup, she exuded elegance and beauty.

‘She was supposed to be at the palace.’

I’d come here thinking she wouldn’t be here.

The burbling sound of tea filling my cup echoed in the space between us. 

“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

I sipped the tea, which was more of a dull brown color than the clear, pinkish black tea I always drank. Contrary to appearances, it surprisingly tasted like barley tea.

“You’re too kind.”

“Is that so?”

Sienna’s face brightened with a smile at my generous evaluation of the tea.

Suddenly, I became curious if Sienna remembered that we had met before in the past.

It was such a brief encounter from our childhood, I couldn’t blame her if she’d forgotten.

Moreover, I had no intention of bringing up the fact that we had met before.

I wasn’t sure if she held a positive view of those days when she roamed the streets.

Besides, pretending to be too close to her might make her feel uncomfortable, considering my feelings towards Kyle.

To conceal my inner thoughts further, I put on a smile.

“It’s an honor that the Saint would spare time for me and personally guide me.”

“Oh, no, not at all.”

Sienna’s cheeks slightly flushed, and she seemed a bit embarrassed.

“On the contrary, I am more honored to guide you, Vivian.”

“Don’t be so modest, Your Holiness. You are the closest person to the blessed Yuphiter and are respected by all their followers…”

“Um… Vivian!” Sienna interrupted me abruptly. I looked at her in surprise, and she stammered, “It’s Sienna….”

“What?”

“Can you please call me Sienna?” Siena asked carefully, and her ears turned red.

It wasn’t a difficult request, but why…?

I decided to comply and called her as she wished.

“Sienna.”

“Yes, Vivian!”

Sienna’s face lit up and bloomed like a flower. She looked so honestly pleased that I knew I would never be able to call her saint again.

Sienna turned to me and asked, “You said you came to pray. Where would you like me to take you? The prayer room? The Mass room? Or the doctrine study room? I’ll take you wherever you want, Vivian!”

Why is she so proactive?

Besides, even though I used the excuse of wanting to pray, I had no intention of actually praying.

The real purpose was to check on Sienna and any suspicious follower that might be hanging around the area.

I blushed slightly and whispered, feeling somewhat embarrassed, “Actually, I came because I wanted to meet the saint.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It’s an extraordinary honor just to meet Saint– or rather, Sienna – who has appeared after a hundred years.”

As I spoke, I realized that my words could be interpreted as opportunistic.

Should I have simply added that I wanted to pray with her?

However, when I looked at Sienna, she was smiling, and it was an incredibly bright smile.

“I’m glad that you wanted to meet me, Vivian.”

She blushed prettily.

“Oh, just offering tea might not be enough. Have this too, and that. This one was secretly given to me by the follower, Tasha. She even put sugar in it and made it herself.”

She even went through the trouble of rummaging through the room to bring out some snacks.

“Do you like the sweets?”

Then, she carefully observed my reaction, wanting to receive praise.

It all felt a bit ironic.

Until just before meeting Sienna alone here, I had thought it best not to form a personal bond with her.

If, and it was a big ‘if’, Sienna and Kyle ended up together as in the original story, it was clear that my relationship with Kyle wouldn’t be the same as before.

Thinking about it made me uncomfortable whenever I thought of Sienna.

But now, Sienna’s affection and kindness made me feel guilty.

How can she be so kind and caring?

Surely, she would make a good match for Kyle, right?

“Oh… Do you not like it?”

Sienna looked uneasy beside me, glancing at me. That’s when I made up my mind.

Alright, let’s sort this out.

Kyle and I haven’t even started any kind of relationship.

I’ve already suppressed my feelings once. I can do it again. Surely, this will pass like a brief shower of emotions.

Besides, if Kyle really had serious intentions to advance our relationship, he would have confessed or made some kind of move by now.

But he hadn’t.

Maybe he had given clear signals that he wasn’t interested in taking the relationship further, and I just didn’t pick up on it.

With my decision made, it became easier to adjust my attitude.

“That can’t be. Thank you. Let’s eat together, Sienna.”

“Yes, yes!”

I grabbed a cookie from the box of cookies on the table. Unlike the tea, which had a certain savory flavor, the sweets she served were really cheap. It was hard and tasteless.

‘Both the tea and the snacks…. The temple may need to be frugal, but this is just too poor.’

“It’s delicious!”

“Yes, it’s okay.”

Seeing Sienna happily say it’s delicious even about something like this made me feel sorry for her.

‘This is exactly how Sienna was when we met as children.’

A little child who would be surprised and delighted even by the smallest kindness.

Suddenly, I don’t know what got into me, but I impulsively spoke up.

“The next time I come to see Sienna, I’ll bring desserts made by our head chef.”

As soon as I said it, I regretted my impulsive words. However, Sienna was very pleased.

“Really? Then, can I see Vivian again?”

“…Of course.”

“I’m so happy!”

Sienna was genuinely delighted. Her clear smile showed no sign of falsehood. In the end, I found myself smiling along with Siena. 

***

In the private chamber, off-limits to outsiders, we chatted quite animatedly.

My original intention was to confirm the presence of the spy lurking around Sienna. So, I asked many questions about her daily life and the people around her. Each time, Sienna kindly answered one by one.

“The people who are always by my side are Aslan, Tasha, and Ruta.” 

Aslan was a corrupted religious man, but not a heretic per se, so that meant either Tasha or Ruta.

“By the way, Vivian.”

“Yes?”

Sienna hesitated for a moment, as if she had something to say. After much hesitation, she spoke with a soft voice.

“Vivian, I was wondering if you could…. me….”

“Your Holiness, there you are.”

Both Sienna and I whirled around at the sudden low voice. Archbishop Aslan stood just outside the door of the private chamber. It was my first time seeing the archbishop up close, and he looked younger than I expected.

Swoosh.

His hazy gray eyes first gazed at Sienna and then shifted to me.

“You must be a believer of the Rosiere family.”

His statement startled me.

How did he know my name?

In response, Aslan smiled benevolently.

“I recognized it from the embroidered sky-blue eagle on your dress. The House of Marquis Rosiere has always been a loyal family showing faith to His Holiness Yuphiter.”

Oh, that’s just because our family contributes a lot in donations, huh?