Kyron’s question was evaded with vague answers. Something about believing it was an important matter but being caught off guard when the story suddenly changed—just rambling nonsense.
I returned to the Duke’s residence with a tangled mind.

There were many issues with the current situation, likely problems that wouldn’t have arisen had I not gone to Pierce.
First, the issue I was agonizing over alone without being able to tell anyone—the matter of divine power.
Would the priests come looking for me because I moved the “Priest’s Stone”?
The temple was already so corrupt that they might not even bother, but I couldn’t just hope that their minds were entirely rotted with greed.
What if they were less corrupt than I wished?

I had no desire to be dragged into some decaying temple. As the Duchess, I just wanted to live a comfortable life.
The people of the temple were so isolated from the outside world that no one could know what was happening within their organization.
Also, just because I was a Duchess didn’t mean they had any reason to treat me well. Who’s to say they wouldn’t just treat me like a rookie and make me suffer?

Even in the original story, the noble saintess was merely a puppet used to encourage donations by standing as the “face of the temple” before the empire’s people while being disregarded within the temple itself.
The organization was already in ruins.

Since I was already married as a Duchess, there was a chance I wouldn’t be dragged away. However, there had never been a case of someone discovering divine power after reaching adulthood, so it was impossible to predict how things might unfold.
No matter how noble a person was, if divine power was discovered and they were deemed necessary by the temple, they could be forcibly inducted into its ranks.

But.
What if they collapsed before they found out?
What if the temple itself disappeared before I could be taken away?

That was my only hope—to live quietly without being discovered until they collapsed quickly.
If the story followed the original plot, the temple would fall at the hands of Kyron and the Crown Prince and disappear into history.
So I thought I just needed to hold out for a little while. It wouldn’t take long for the temple to crumble.

…That is, if Kyron did his part well.
“Great, just great.”
I muttered as I lay sprawled on the bed.

Kyron had suddenly declared he was taking a break, which meant the temple’s collapse was delayed.
Why, though?
If he destroyed the temple quickly, Kyron could exact revenge on his half-brother, the Crown Prince could claim the saintess, I could be freed from this anxiety, and everyone would be happy!

I made up my mind.
I needed to get Kyron back on track and make him snap out of it.

Despite my resolution, my body refused to cooperate. The bouts of coughing and spitting blood continued occasionally. Each time, Kyron would appear out of nowhere, suddenly by my side.

He seemed to have an excessive concern for health issues. Well, if his wife died of illness, dishonorable rumors would surely spread.

At this rate, would he even end his break?
It was frustrating. My poor health made it difficult to push my overly concerned husband back to work.

I had to find a way to get healthier, even just a bit. If I could reduce the frequency of my coughing and blood-spitting, Kyron might feel reassured.
But without knowing the cause of this illness, there weren’t many options to improve my health.

In the end, all I could do was eat well and exercise diligently.

Eating well wasn’t difficult, but I truly hated exercising. This body was not built for physical activity.

A few days after returning to the Duke’s residence, my exercise lessons with Henson resumed.
“Did you enjoy your trip for rest and recovery, Madam?”
“Yes. Not having exercise lessons was wonderful.”
“Haha, if you keep attending lessons with me, you’ll eventually find it more awkward and uncomfortable not to exercise.”
“I’m skeptical of your opinion.”
“Haha, you’ll understand what I mean someday.”

Unable to bridge the gap in our perspectives, the lesson began.
“Ah! It hurts!”
“Just three more seconds, Madam!”

My body had grown even stiffer during the exercise hiatus, to the point where even Henson seemed taken aback.
“Ah… Madam, you’ll really need to work hard at exercising every single day from now on.”
“Fine, but don’t call my husband again. I won’t fall for couple exercises or bets a second time.”
“Understood, Madam. But in that case, you’ll need to put in extra effort yourself.”

When it came to exercise, Henson never backed down. And since I had resolved to get healthier, I had no choice but to try my best.
I gritted my teeth and sweated through the workout.

“Oh my, you must have worked very hard today!”
Lia ran over, surprised, when she saw me drenched in sweat upon my return.
“Yes, I’m going to get healthy now.”
“Of course, Madam. I believe you’ll become healthy. I truly do.”

Her words gave me strength. How kind of her.
“Lia, are you always on my side?”

After finishing my workout, feeling refreshed and clean, I asked Lia. She looked at me with a puzzled expression, clearly wondering where the sudden question had come from.

“Who else’s side would I be on if not yours, Madam? Of course, I’m on your side.”
“If my husband and I were to oppose each other, would you still be on my side?”

After all, Kyron was the one who had directly hired her. It was an awkward question, but Lia answered without hesitation.
“I would stand by your side and support you, Madam.”

After finishing my workout, feeling refreshed and clean, I asked Lia. She looked at me with a puzzled expression, clearly wondering where the sudden question had come from.

In this vast mansion, having even one person who was genuinely on my side brought immense comfort. She probably didn’t realize how much it meant to me.
“It seems like you’re the only one I have, Lia.”
“Oh, don’t say that, Madam. It’s only natural for me to serve you as your maid.”

Her gentle smile had a calming effect on me.
“That being said… Lia, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor? Please, go ahead.”
“Well…”

Even though it was just the two of us in the room, I glanced toward the door, feeling a bit paranoid. No one was eavesdropping, right?
“This is something only you and I can know about.”
“What kind of favor is it…?”

My tone made Lia tense up as well.
I leaned in and whispered my request into her ear.
“…What?”

Hearing my request, Lia jumped back in shock.

***

I decided to go to the Dark Shop.

The reasoning behind this decision was as follows.
To maintain my golden-spoon life without incident, I needed a contingency plan for emergencies.
Who knows if the temple might track down the person who moved the “Priest’s Stone” and raid the Duke’s estate?

For now, I needed to focus on ending Kyron’s break as quickly as possible, but I also needed to make my own preparations.
So I planned to purchase various tools from the Dark Shop, like magic tools for disguises…
I had plenty of prize money from winning the Best Couple Award at the banquet, so money wasn’t an issue.

The problem was how to get there.
I couldn’t simply leave openly.
Kyron was already reluctant to let me, someone who could fall ill at any moment, go out alone, and if he knew my destination was the Dark Shop, he would definitely find it suspicious.

In the end, I had to sneak out.
But staging an escape in the middle of the night with this frail body was too much. That plan was impossible.

So, I came up with the idea of switching clothes with Lia.
I asked Lia to request overnight leave from the head maid. On the day she was set to leave, I would go out instead of her.

Of course, Lia was shocked and vehemently refused. She said that no matter how much she was on my side, she couldn’t agree to such a dangerous request. She repeatedly insisted that she couldn’t let me go out alone at such a risky time.

In the end, I had to convince her to follow me secretly after I left. There was no other way since Lia firmly stated she wouldn’t let me go out alone.
Lia, however, was uneasy about me leaving the mansion first and waiting for her, so she suggested switching the order. She would leave first, wait for me outside, and then I would follow and meet her.

Fortunately, Lia had multiple sets of clothes, so it wasn’t a problem.
“Let’s make sure we don’t get caught. If we do, it’s over.”
Lia and I resolved ourselves and executed the plan.