This should be perfect.

The priests should be able to feel it sufficiently, right? My wealth?

I finished my preparations, thinking bizarre thoughts as if my mind had gone strange from the dazzling brightness.

Knock knock-

“Miss, they’ve arrived from the temple.”

Demian came to the room to personally inform me that the priests had arrived.

“Okay. I’m coming out.”

Click-

“…Miss?”

Demian, who met my eyes through the doorway, froze like ice.

“What?”

“Nothing. Why are you dressed like that today?”

“I need to show off my wealth to the priests.”

“What do you mean…?”

Demian trailed off in confusion. His eyes were shaking uncontrollably. It was the most bewildered I had seen him since I came here.

“It’s just nonsense.”

“I thought you had returned to your old self, Miss.”

“Come on, no way. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t do that. Were you surprised?”

“I was. Extremely. Anyway, there are two priests waiting now, so you should go see them.”

I spoke playfully, winking, but Demian didn’t reciprocate.

“What? Are you upset? You say it’s extremely surprising. Hey, if I went back to my old self, would you pretend not to notice?”

“No. How could I dare to do such a thing?”

“No. You’re more than capable of doing that.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

Without Irena to mediate, we bickered endlessly.

Then suddenly, as if coming to his senses, Demian held his head as if hit by reality, and the situation ended.

“I don’t, sigh, I don’t know what we’re doing.”

“What do you mean? You’re having a childish argument with a lady 10 years younger than you.”

“It’s not ten years.”

“Sorry. It seemed that way.”

I chuckled gleefully, while Demian sharpened his already sharp eyes into even more finely honed blades.

Indeed, teasing Demian is the most fun.

When I leave home, Demian won’t be there, so who will I tease then? I was worried about losing one of life’s pleasures.

“Ah, you go to Sion and tell him that the priests have arrived, so he should prepare in his room.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Leaving the speechless Demian behind, I instructed the maid to have Sion wait in his room.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”

“Let’s go.”

Demian, this era’s tsundere, didn’t say a word until we arrived at the drawing room, and I, of course, didn’t pay any attention to it.

***

When we arrived at the drawing room, two priests in white robes, one elderly and one young, were waiting for me.

The young priest flinched when they saw me, furrowing their brows and averting their gaze. Indeed, it was a powerful outfit.

“Greetings, Sister. We have come because we heard there was a young lamb in need of the Lord’s touch.”

The elderly priest, perhaps due to his years of experience, approached with a benevolent smile without avoiding my gaze.

“May the sun’s blessings and life follow you. It’s nice to meet you. I am Lorazie Epine. Yes, from what I’ve heard, an excellent priest said that treatment was possible, so I was able to be at ease.”

“Haha, while we’ll need to see the condition in detail, God is always with us, so don’t worry too much.”

The elderly priest and I exchanged pleasantries, our conversation full of pretense.

Both my eyes looking at him and his eyes looking at me were dry, contrary to the content of our conversation.

“Hohoho, of course. He must be waiting too. For the moment when a miracle occurs through God’s blessing. I’ve also prepared a small token to contribute to the temple. Demian.”

To drive the point home, I called Demian to bring a pouch full of jewels.

The elderly priest cleared his throat and kept glancing at the pouch. He seemed to want it to be handed over.

“Ahem, God will be moved by your sincerity, Sister. Ahem.”

“Yes. We should quickly go up to meet the one in need of God’s touch. He must be eagerly waiting.”

I pretended not to notice and urged for quick treatment.

“Ahem, let’s go then.”

The priest, seemingly regretful, licked his lips and hurried me.

And so, we went up to Sion’s room with these priests tainted by the secular world.

“Hmm.”

As we reached the door, I involuntarily let out a groan.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

I didn’t expect Sion to be given a good room, but his room was truly terrible. The paint was peeling off the door from the start.

Knock knock-

“Come in.”

As soon as we opened the door and entered, we saw an old bed and stained walls. It was like a dark warehouse without a single ray of light. The air was even colder than in the corridor.

I hadn’t thought they would give him a good room, but the scene surpassed my imagination, making my heart heavy.

“Ahem, hmm.”

“Hmm.”

The priests also expressed their discomfort through throat-clearing.

I hardened my expression and called Sion.

“This place is not suitable for treatment, so we’ll move to another location. Sion, follow me.”

“Yes, Lady Lora.”

He followed without a word, and we headed to my drawing room.

I laid Sion on the sofa in the drawing room and rolled up his pants to examine his leg.

At my actions, the elderly priest’s eyes gleamed like a snake that had found its prey.

“Sister, you’re personally… He must be a cherished slave.”

I calmly replied, as I was planning to give a surprisingly large offering even without him finding fault.

“That’s right. Now, will you examine his condition?”

“…Let’s do that.”

As the priests approached, I rolled up his pant leg a bit more.

Sion flinched every time my hand touched him.

“Sion, stay still.”

“Y-yes.”

He lifted the leg to make it easier for us to see the affected area. As I lowered my head, I could see a straight red scar on the back of both ankles. Feeling sorry, I stroked his scar once with my finger.

“That must have hurt.”

“Ugh, Lady Lora.”

He let out a groan. I quickly removed my hand and showed his ankles to the priests.

“Ah, sorry for touching it carelessly. This is where the wound was. Could you take a look?”

“Hmm. It looks old, how long has it been?”

“About 3 years,” Sion said hesitantly. It had been quite some time, more than I thought.

“Three years since the tendon was cut. Oh my, this is a bit…”

The elderly priest sighed.

“Is it difficult? Ah, this is a small token of appreciation just for you, priest.”

I smiled gently as I detached a brooch from my dress and slipped it into his robe pocket. The young priest, seemingly aware of the impropriety, turned their head and pretended not to notice the situation.

The priest quickly changed his tone, putting on a gentle smile.

“It’s difficult, but nothing is impossible. The Lord always watches over His lambs.”

“Indeed.”

I deliberately put on an impressed expression, clasping my hands together. Of course, I was thinking something entirely different in my mind.

‘What kind of charade is this?’

I had a strong moment of realization, but I decided to endure it for now since we needed to fix his leg before anything else could happen.

“Then, I’ll begin.”