The reception room of the temple wasn’t luxurious but had an elegant charm. She marveled at the splendor of the murals. They seemed to depict stories of the temple: scenes of the pope bestowing God’s blessing, the emperor holding his coronation ceremony, light descending upon a young woman doing field work with a basket at her side, and various other stories.

After looking at the ceiling, Elena lowered her head to look at the murals. With arched windows perfectly enhancing the style, it wasn’t boring at all just to look around.

The plush sofas were arranged in a circle, making it easy to view the murals. Since the murals were the main decoration, there weren’t many other ornaments. As a result, the interior centered around the sofas made it easy to see people’s faces. And the young nobleman who had been observing Elena for a while smiled gently, as if he found her appealing.

“Where could she be from?”

Prince Gallia of the Kingdom of Tristan narrowed his eyes while stroking his chin. To him, Elena was a refreshingly unique woman unlike any he had seen in the kingdom.

Since people from all over the continent visited the temple, Elena appeared to be a foreigner to him. So he played a solitary game of guessing Elena’s country while watching for an opportunity to speak to her. He particularly liked her clear green eyes that curiously looked around.

“Prince Gallia.”

Prince Gallia, who was about to approach Elena, turned his head. There stood the young novice priest who had guided him earlier.

“Yes. When will the saintess be available? I would like to meet her right now……”

“I’m sorry, but it seems you’ll have to leave today.”

At this gentle refusal, the prince’s eyebrows twitched.

“Did you properly tell her who I am?”

“I informed her that you are Prince Gallia, the eldest son of Marquis Gallia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tristan.”

“And she still refused?”

“She said it’s not possible today.”

Though she hadn’t completely refused to meet him, the prince was already excited. So he was treating the novice priest as if he would devour him.

“Then tomorrow?”

“Well……”

“She would refuse an appointment with me? She’s treating me like an ordinary believer.”

“The saintess doesn’t consider anyone more precious than others. Everyone is precious and deserving of the saintess’s blessing.”

“I don’t understand how this temple can reject me when it operates thanks to whom.”

Prince Gallia frowned more deeply because all eyes were focused on him. He had wanted to create a good connection with a woman today, but to suffer such embarrassment! His eyes kept going to the novice priest’s collar.

“It’s all thanks to Marquis Gallia.”

The novice priest clutched his clerical collar, trying somehow to appease the prince’s anger. However, lies were originally forbidden by God. He couldn’t hide that it was the prince’s father, not the prince himself, who made many donations to the temple.

“Tsk. This little brat.”

The prince quickly became excited and grabbed the novice priest’s collar.

“Ugh.”

“Go back and tell her again who I am.”

“Yes, sir.”

The novice priest left quickly while suppressing his cough as soon as he was released by the man. Soon after, the prince sat down, trying to calm his rising excitement.

“Ahem.”

He changed his expression as if trying to wait with his original leisurely attitude. Feeling he might have shown a bad side to the appealing young lady, he slightly checked Elena’s expression.

Elena, wearing a small smile, slightly bowed her head when their eyes met. Prince Gallia’s mood greatly improved at this courtesy shown because it would have been awkward to just look away.

‘What a rude person.’

As soon as the man turned his head, Elena wrinkled her nose. She had considered him a person with bad character from the moment he roughly grabbed the boy’s clothes.

Though she felt sorry for the novice priest, there was no room for Elena to intervene in their order. She was just a passing breeze, staying only briefly, not planning to remain here.

“Prince Gallia.”

The novice priest who had left not long ago had already returned, as if he had turned back midway.

“The saintess has a message for you.”

“Hmm. What is it?”

The novice priest took a moment to steady his breathing, then stepped back and tightly closed his eyes.

“She said she doesn’t want to exchange even a single word with someone who only knows how to fill his own stomach.”

While the prince was momentarily stunned in disbelief, the novice priest withdrew even faster than before. The prince belatedly tried to catch the boy, but a holy knight took his place and continued the response.

“Prince Gallia, if you have the qualifications to meet the saintess, please wait.”

“What can’t I do?”

“What do you have besides that insignificant status?”

“……What?”

How dare a mere holy knight belittle his precious status! Prince Gallia’s face reddened as anger surged within him.

“If you want to meet the saintess, respond proudly in your own name as a prince, not by riding on your father’s back.”

“How dare you……”

“What will you do?”

The holy knight was not someone who could be treated carelessly like the novice priest. The prince clicked his tongue and flung open the reception room door as if to break it.

As he went outside, he looked back at Elena with lingering attachment. He was outside her interest as she kept her head down in thought.

Prince Gallia, whose pride was hurt one way or another, left roughly as if he would never return. Soon after, the holy knight looked around at the others remaining in the reception room and spoke firmly.

“The saintess’s time will only be given to those who are qualified. If you are judged to lack qualifications, you won’t meet her even if you stay here. The door is always open.”

It meant if you don’t have qualifications, don’t sit around waiting but leave. With those words, the holy knight left, and Elena felt completely drained.

“Qualifications?”

She and the saintess had never met before, and she came to ask a favor, so there was no way she had any qualifications.

Elena covered her face and recalled the man who had just been driven away. Though his father was a marquis of the kingdom and he had the status of a prince backed by his father, the holy knight didn’t prioritize status from the beginning.

‘I didn’t come here as a count’s daughter.’

Her role as Rudfelix’s aide was stronger than being a count’s daughter.

How could she present herself when she was inferior to the marquis’s son? She didn’t think she would receive different treatment from the man who had just left.

“I have nothing to present to the saintess.”

Or should she meet using Rudfelix’s name! Elena looked around in bewilderment.

The novice priest had only asked for the name of the visitor while guiding her. So Elena had initially just stated who she was with a light heart. She hadn’t thought it significant that she hadn’t come with Rudfelix, but now she was flustered for the first time.

Should she call the novice priest again and say she wants to meet on behalf of Grand Duke Raion’s business rather than herself?

“Should I come back with Alix?”

There were no easy meetings. While blaming herself for not researching in advance, Elena suddenly had a different thought.

‘What if they demand such qualifications from Rudfelix too?’

Just the thought created wrinkles between Elena’s eyebrows.

“I don’t want my man to be put on such a test.”

Elena began to hate the very idea of Rudfelix being evaluated on whether he qualified to meet the saintess.

“It’s not like we have to visit to see her.”

Elena stood up.

“I’ll make her come find me.”

The saintess herself.

***

Elena didn’t know many ways to make the saintess come find her.

“It’s not good to forcibly open a trading company, and I don’t know what to sell.”

She didn’t know much about the Kingdom of Tristan. Elena’s eyes scanned the city as she rested her chin on her hand, sitting at a café terrace.

“I’m confident I can call the saintess, but the problem is I can’t attempt it alone.”

She couldn’t move immediately because she needed to blend in with the people living here. So Elena was refreshing herself at the café.

“Who would immediately take the hand extended by a foreigner?”

She gulped down juice because her throat was dry. She had to resolve this frustrating feeling by herself until Rudfelix arrived, but there was nowhere to vent. Elena sighed deeply.

With her head still bowed, Elena raised only her eyes to watch people entering and exiting the market entrance.

Though the architectural and clothing styles differed, busy days were the same everywhere. If she could naturally blend into the lives of those ordinary people, making the saintess come find her would just be a matter of time.