***

Cynthia, with a pleasant expression, asked me.

“Now, shall we hear what Miss Wit has to say?”

As I stood before the Saintess and prepared to make my proposal, I felt nervous.

How should I begin?

Rather than beating around the bush, it would be better to get straight to the point.

Gulp.

I swallowed once and opened my mouth.

“Saintess. I know that the sacred relic you lost is actually a demon.”

“……”

…Did I fail?

After a long silence, Cynthia asked me in a trembling voice.

“Could you say that again?”

Huh? Did she not hear me properly?

But seeing Cynthia quietly stand up and walk to the wall, I thought perhaps she needed time to think.

“So what I’m saying is… W-wait, why are you bringing that?!”

I was trying to explain calmly when I jumped up in shock at the sight of Cynthia taking an axe from the wall.

Ah, n-no, what is that?

Why is there an axe in the Saintess’s reception room?!

“Is… everything alright in there?”

He’s still not gone?

Adriel knocked on the door, apparently having heard my scream.

With alarm bells ringing in my head, I tried to call for his help.

“Someone help…!”

“Please calm down, Miss Wit.”

You’re the one who needs to calm down!

However, Cynthia gestured for me to calm down and continued.

“Our conversation isn’t over yet, so please tell him not to come in.”

I pressed down on my pounding chest and thought.

Whew. Right. Calm down. Let’s be calm.

Surely the Saintess, who should be the most virtuous person in this world, wouldn’t kill me?

I just need to negotiate with the Saintess as originally planned.

After taking a deep breath, I called out toward the door.

“I-I just saw a bug!”

“A bug, you say?”

“Yes…! An e-enormous bug! It’s fine now, so please don’t come in!”

Click, click…

Eventually, the sound of someone trying to force the door open gradually subsided.

Meanwhile, I hid behind the sofa and carefully looked ahead.

Cynthia was inviting me to sit down while still holding the axe.

“Well done. Now, shall we have a calm conversation?”

How can I have a calm conversation in front of that axe?!

With trembling legs, I crept to the sofa and sat down.

Seeing me seated, Cynthia asked kindly.

“Miss Wit. Where did you hear such a thing?”

I glanced at the gleaming axe blade before answering.

“I-I know that Marquis Berto stole the sacred relic.”

“…Who did you say?”

“Marquis Berto…. I found out while secretly investigating the Marquis for personal reasons.”

Cynthia’s gentle eyes grew sharper.

“What exactly do you do, Miss Wit?”

“That’s difficult for me to explain, but…”

I clenched my fists and looked at her with serious eyes.

“Just know that I’ve come to help you, Saintess.”

***

Cynthia discovered the “truth” even before her consecration as Saintess.

‘Everything in my hands…’

‘Y-yes, you creatures understand well…’

Late one night, Cynthia, who was particularly unable to sleep, was drawn to faint sounds from outside. Like a fairy tale protagonist following breadcrumbs to a witch’s house, she found herself heading to the temple basement and witnessed it all.

‘Hand over the land of Yerua to me.’

‘Y-you will die if you pay that price.’

The previous Saintess was in the basement.

And hearing an unfamiliar voice, Cynthia peeked through the slightly open door, but no matter how much she craned her neck, she couldn’t see anyone else there.

‘So what?’

‘W-what did you say?’

The sacred relic is talking?

Cynthia covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from screaming.

She wasn’t seeing things or dreaming.

The clock-shaped sacred relic, which she had seen a few times as a Saintess candidate, was emitting a voice.

‘I don’t care. Since when did demons care about mere human lives?’

…Demon?

Cynthia blinked slowly.

Though she heard clearly what the Saintess said, she couldn’t comprehend it.

And that’s when it happened.

‘I-I am not a demon!’

Wriggle-wriggle-

The shape of the sacred relic began to distort, and suddenly it transformed into a crow.

Cynthia’s face turned pale.

A demon.

A real demon.

The demon had been disguising itself as a sacred relic.

Her whole body trembled with fear.

Unlike Cynthia, the Saintess facing the demon seemed calm.

‘Tsk! As you said, as long as the next Saintess is prepared, I don’t care if you creatures die.’

‘…I’m sure you don’t.’

Cynthia bit down so hard that blood pooled in her mouth and barely managed to escape from that place.

And the next day, after spending the night sleepless, she sought out the Saintess before dawn.

Seeing Cynthia’s pale face, the previous Saintess seemed to immediately grasp the situation and asked.

‘You saw, didn’t you?’

‘How could you do such a thing…’

‘You’d better get used to it. It will soon be your duty.’

When Cynthia first witnessed the Saintess’s nonchalant behavior, she was afraid and confused, but those complicated feelings were quickly overwhelmed by anger.

That evening, Cynthia vowed to become the Saintess and break this cycle of evil.

Time passed, and on the day Cynthia safely completed her consecration as Saintess.

‘I have something to show you.’

The High Priest came and guided her to the deep basement of the temple.

And there, Cynthia met the clock-shaped demon again.

‘H-High Priest, I have something to tell you. The sacred relic is actually…!’

‘You saw “it,” didn’t you?’

The High Priest asked as if he already knew what Cynthia was about to say.

At that moment, Cynthia realized.

The High Priest knew everything and had been turning a blind eye.

‘Without this sacred relic, our temple wouldn’t have grown this much. This land we stand on, and this building, the pride of our temple. Everything was possible thanks to the power of the sacred relic.’

The High Priest, who seemed anything but a servant of God, calmly spoke these atrocious words.

‘So regardless of the sacred relic’s true identity, the Saintess just needs to fulfill her duty.’

‘I’ll tell everyone about this. This… this cannot be overlooked…’

‘Go ahead and try.’

‘What do you mean…?’

‘If you want to see the temple slowly crumble as it loses believers due to your irresponsible words. Go ahead, I say.’

The High Priest was right.

If the truth that the object of their faith was a demon became known, what believer would visit the temple?

Cynthia, who had devoted her entire life to the temple, neither wanted such an outcome nor had the courage for it.

‘Make a contract with the sacred relic, as previous Saintesses have done.’

And so Cynthia couldn’t give any answer to the High Priest.

However, she adamantly refused to make a contract with the sacred relic.

She had been fighting daily to seal the demon at her own level without letting others know.

But there’s no such thing as a perfect secret.

‘When night falls, the Saintess goes down to the temple basement.’

While Cynthia was battling the demon, rumors quietly spread.

‘And after thirty minutes, the cries of a demon echo from below.’

Most people considered this mere gossip and didn’t believe it.

But there were those who did.

‘I heard this generation’s Saintess possesses beauty comparable to the goddess. It seems the rumors weren’t just exaggerations.’

A man with unreadable intentions.

‘I am Marquis Lucian Berto.’

From their first meeting, he showed particular interest in the basement. As if he knew what was there.

After that day, Lucian visited the temple daily and caused disturbances.

Just when she began to wonder if he had some grudge against the temple, the sacred relic suddenly disappeared.