The Count who had let Adelia leave his hands felt regret at not gaining the Holy Kingdom’s power.

‘Why! That thing isn’t any better than me so why did God choose something like that!’

Robelia, buried in inferiority, felt jealousy.

‘Perhaps….. Is that why she became Crown Princess? Because she’s connected to the Holy Kingdom? Of course! His Highness the Crown Prince loves me, not that thing!’

Lady Odor, fallen into misguided love, harbored vain delusions.

Adelia took in the sight of them with their reddened faces and tightly clenched fists.

In her half-curved eyes, her small pupils glinted eerily. Her eyes were busy scanning the entire banquet hall with a smiling face.

‘Found it.’

What Adelia had been looking for wasn’t Count Vita, Robelia, or Lady Odor.

The most suspicious person in the banquet hall. Someone who wasn’t moved or amazed by the prophecy and was trying to leave.

There was a noble lingering in front of the servants’ passage in a corner of the banquet hall.

Though the distance was too far to see their face, it wasn’t someone familiar.

Adelia secretly marked them with white magic. While difficult at very long distances, she could leave traces of their movements within the capital.

The man quickly turned his head to scan his surroundings before instantly slipping out of the banquet hall.

‘He must definitely be working with the one attacking the merchant guild.’

There were too many risk factors to follow that man right away. Meeting the culprit unprepared was dangerous, and this was still the middle of the banquet hall. With people’s attention focused on her, she couldn’t move freely.

Adelia clicked her tongue in regret as she withdrew her gaze.

“Oh…… holy woman.”

The high priests had somehow surrounded Adelia and the Saintess. The wary looks toward Adelia had disappeared, and they now looked at her affectionately like a beloved granddaughter.

At the sudden change in situation, Adelia could only smile awkwardly.

“We failed to recognize you. Please forgive our earlier rudeness.”

“No, since I kept it hidden, you couldn’t have known.”

“Ah…… Indeed, holy woman! There was a reason God chose you!”

Led by the oldest high priest, the delegation members began gathering around Adelia one by one. Though the holy knights maintained their positions firmly, their gazes were directed at Adelia.

The high priests praised in unison that her benevolent appearance was identical to the Saintess’s. As they approached with hands clasped together like fanatics, Adelia unconsciously stepped back.

‘I must absolutely avoid getting involved with the Holy Kingdom.’

The priests of the Holy Kingdom seemed like they were selected by gathering only the most God-obsessed among fanatics. With just one prophecy from the Saintess, their attitude toward Adelia had completely changed.

They looked like they wanted to prostrate themselves immediately, placing her on the same level as the Saintess.

Even the high priest staying in the Empire hadn’t been this extreme.

Adelia firmly resolved never to visit the Holy Kingdom.

Making her resolution meaningless, the high priest immediately spoke up.

“Holy woman. Please visit the Holy Kingdom once.”

“What……”

“God would also wish for the holy woman to visit. Since you’ve been exposed to magic all this time, come for purification as well.”

“Haha…… magic……”

“Though you had to use it unavoidably, it is law that God’s servants must live a life unexposed to all magic, including artifacts. If you come to the Holy Kingdom and purify your body and mind, God will understand.”

Adelia smiled awkwardly and avoided answering.

There was no malice in the high priest’s words. From a priest’s perspective, it was unusual for a holy woman to use artifacts. They naturally thought repentance was needed for using magic all this time.

‘I knew this would happen.’

She had anticipated this situation. How could such words not come from a group of God-obsessed fanatics.

She had already coordinated with the Saintess. Just as Adelia jabbed the Saintess’s side to move according to their script, a familiar voice came from behind.

“High priest, you go too far. Where do you think you’re taking my wife?”

“Your Highness?”

The owner of the familiar voice was none other than Lucian.

Turning around, she saw him walking down from the platform step by step.

People flinched at his predatory gaze looking down from above.

“P-Prince.”

“Who dares to order someone to come and go?”

Lucian bared his teeth with a growling voice. The high priest gulped at the sight of the predator with his red eyes wide open menacingly. The high priest hurriedly waved his hands.

“That’s not what I…… Since the holy woman has been exposed to magic……”

“First correct your form of address, high priest. Not holy woman, but the Empire’s Crown Princess. While we respect the Holy Kingdom’s titles, in the Empire, follow the Empire’s laws.”

Having walked down from the platform, Lucian naturally stopped beside Adelia. Lucian reached out his hand toward Adelia. Like opposite poles of magnets coming together, Adelia took his hand as if enchanted.

Adelia looked up at him with a face full of questions.

“Why did you come down?”

“How could I watch them try to take my wife to the Holy Kingdom?”

Lucian spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

Then he leaned toward Adelia and whispered in her ear.

“It looked like Lawrence would rush out at any moment.”

“Eh?”

Only then did Adelia turn to look at the platform.

There she saw the Prince with a reddened face breathing heavily, and the Emperor holding the Prince’s shoulders and pressing him firmly into his chair.

The Emperor nodded once toward Adelia with an extremely bothered look after gesturing at the Prince with his chin.

‘He means to handle this quickly before the Prince breaks loose.’

From when the high priest invited Adelia to the Holy Kingdom, the Prince had been ready to rush out. Young and full of vigor, the Prince wanted to draw the guard’s sword and point it at the high priest’s neck right away.

Though he was caught by the Emperor as soon as he started to rise from his seat.

Since it was clear chaos would break out if the Prince came down, Adelia smiled and nodded in understanding.

“Holy…… no, Your Highness the Crown Princess. Still, just once……”

“The rule of living unexposed to magic would only apply to those who have awakened holy power. Are you saying someone who can’t handle holy power must follow such rules?”

Lucian pressed on without giving the high priest a chance to speak.

No matter how confident a God-believing fanatic was, it was difficult to talk back while receiving Lucian’s killing intent.

The high priest was dripping with cold sweat.

“But the holy wo…… no, Her Highness the Crown Princess was chosen by God……”

As the atmosphere grew increasingly murderous, the Saintess abruptly cut in.

“W-Well then, wouldn’t God’s words be most important?”

The Saintess’s expression wasn’t good. The Saintess committing fraud in God’s name had no shield of God. The only thing she could rely on was her position as Saintess. Moreover, knowing how little regard the imperial family had for people from the original story, it took great courage to step forward.

She only barely opened her mouth after receiving over a dozen glares from Adelia beside her.

“Saintess……”

The high priest tilted his head at the Saintess’s sudden intervention. His long, full beard swayed gently along with its owner.

The Saintess gently patted the high priest’s shoulder.

“Though the prophecy I spoke is all, the voice of God I heard isn’t the end.”

“What?”

“Originally Her Highness the Crown Princess was destined to live normally, but due to corrupted people, she had to shoulder the great burden of delivering the Saintess’s power. God pitied Her Highness the Crown Princess and said He forgives everything.”

“Ah! If God says so, we must follow!”

The high priest clasped his hands and shook his head, seemingly moved.

The reactions of other high priests who heard this weren’t much different. They all praised God’s will and sought God.

“God wishes for Her Highness the Crown Princess to live doing what she wants without being bound by other things. Even God wouldn’t want us trying to take Her Highness to the Holy Kingdom and recommending God’s rules.”

“I am still too lowly to understand the august will. I apologize, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

The high priest deeply bowed his head toward Adelia with tears welling up in his eyes.

“No. That can happen. I am very satisfied living here now as Crown Princess, so don’t worry about it.”

Adelia smiled gently. The high priest once again sent her a moved gaze.

Lucian’s tone, who said he came down to prevent Lawrence from rushing out, was sharper than usual.

His displeasure showed in his tone filled with discomfort.

Adelia found it strange as she read the subtle emotions others couldn’t detect.

‘Didn’t he come down to help?’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he came down because he had ill feelings toward the high priest, as he looked so displeased. People around him could be seen slinking away and trembling visibly.

But there was no way he could have ill feelings toward the high priest who had been quiet until revealing his fanatical side, with no points of contact.