“Since you dismissed your maid earlier, calling someone else would be faster. Besides, the invitation is meaningless now. What matters is that I removed you from the guest list.”

“Why, why…?”

“You can still watch the event. You’ll just have to stand in the general area.”

“You insolent child…!”

She tried to lunge at me.

She probably didn’t even recognize me as someone above her, which was why she acted this way.

Her futile attempt was immediately blocked by Kyron.

“You’re trying to attack my wife, the Duchess.”

Kyron had returned after finishing his discussion with his aide and now held the Marchioness’s arm.

“This won’t just end as a mere quarrel.”

“D-Duke!”

Kyron gestured to the knights standing nearby. The knights swiftly and cleanly subdued the Marchioness’s outburst.

***

The commotion, which briefly drew attention, soon subsided, and fortunately, the event began on time.

Kyron and I sat in the front row of the reserved seating area.

On the stage stood the Emperor, who was about to deliver a speech marking the start of the festival.

However, there was another figure who drew even more attention than the Emperor. In fact, more people had likely come to see her than the Emperor himself.

The Saintess.

Though the status of the temple had significantly declined, the Saintess was still beloved by the people of the Empire simply for her existence.

The Saintess sat on the stage.

She was a woman with long, silver hair that shimmered in the sunlight and a face that carried an air of melancholy. She seemed kind yet sorrowful, embodying the perfect protagonist of a tragic romance novel.

On her left cheek was a red mark resembling a scar—her stigmata, a sign of her identity as the Saintess.

The people of the Empire believed that the stigmata were only on her left cheek.

But in truth, she also had stigmata on the right side of her chest and on her lower back—something only the Crown Prince would come to know.

As I found myself staring at where the stigmata were located, I suddenly thought of the Crown Prince and how he regarded them.

Lost in thought, I felt my face flush and realized too late that the Saintess was looking at me.

Startled, I quickly averted my gaze. I felt as though I had committed some grave sin.

Feigning composure, I refocused on the Emperor’s speech. Yet, for some reason, the Saintess continued to stare at me intently. Even as I deliberately avoided her gaze, I could still feel her eyes on me.

Perhaps it had been sacrilegious of me to look at the places where her stigmata were.

Why was the Emperor’s speech so long?

I felt trapped under the Saintess’s gaze, unable to escape. It was as though I had been caught doing something wrong and was now being punished for it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Emperor’s speech ended.

Next was the Saintess’s turn to release her divine power as a blessing. Following that, other members of the royal family and we, as representatives, would offer our gratitude to the Saintess.

Since the founding of the Empire, divine power had always been regarded as “a blessing bestowed upon the Empire.”

When it was her turn, the Saintess no longer looked at me and stepped onto the stage. Unlike the Emperor, she didn’t speak much. Instead, she closed her eyes in front of everyone.

It was time for her to release her divine power.

The moment she closed her eyes, it felt as though I had gone deaf, as if I were experiencing an illusion.

The leaves on the trees around us didn’t move, yet I could feel the wind. It was a pleasant breeze that seemed to brush against my cheeks and pass by.

It was the Saintess’s divine power.

For a moment, all my distracting thoughts vanished, and I found myself holding my breath every time the breeze touched me. It was a blessing and a moment of pure joy. Nothing else came to mind; I could focus entirely on the delightful sensation of the breeze—a blessing in its own right.

However, the Saintess’s release of divine power lasted only briefly. After all, the rarer something is, the more it must be conserved.

The breeze disappeared as if it had been a lie, and my hazy mind returned to reality. My ears began to pick up sounds again.

As soon as the release of divine power ended, I turned to Kyron beside me. While I was still in awe of what I had just experienced, he remained indifferent.

“Didn’t you find that amazing? Didn’t you feel anything?”

“The release of divine power is just a tool to win the favor of the Empire’s people. Getting too absorbed in it is dangerous. You could end up trapped in a false illusion, detached from reality.”

He wasn’t wrong. The priests had used this to extract more donations from people. Those who became overly intoxicated by divine power could forget reality entirely and end up giving everything they had to the temple.

Next, it was time to express our gratitude to the Saintess one by one. The gesture was nothing special—just a simple handshake.

The Saintess stepped down from the stage and stood before us.

When it was the Crown Prince’s turn to greet her, I wondered if sparks of romance might fly between them. Instead, the Saintess quickly exchanged greetings and moved on. Well, considering his obsessive tendencies, it made sense that she’d want to avoid him.

While I fully sympathized with her feelings, it was suddenly my turn.

When I shook hands with the Saintess, I was surprised by the strength in her grip. I found it odd but slowly shook her hand and withdrew mine.

And with that, the event came to an end.

The Marchioness Critch was nowhere to be seen in the general seating area, likely because she didn’t want to mix with commoners.

“She’s probably gone back to her lodgings. After being humiliated in front of so many people, she’ll likely return to her estate quietly.”

Kyron noticed that I was looking for the Marchioness and explained.

“That’s true.”

I agreed. Knowing her pride, she would probably try to leave without drawing attention to herself.

Since it felt too early to head back, we decided to explore a bit more.

Kyron and I walked through the streets together.

“Oh? Look at that!”

I noticed a booth where a small crowd had gathered.

“Let’s do that! Dart throwing!”

It was a booth where you could throw darts to pop balloons and win a stuffed toy.

Finally, it was time to put the skills I had practiced so hard to use!

But Kyron’s reaction was lukewarm.

“Are you planning to make another bet?”

He seemed more opposed to the idea of betting than to the darts themselves.

“If we don’t bet, then sure.”

He was firm. It was clear he didn’t want to be pushed into another situation like last time when he had been forced out of the Duke’s estate.

“Okay, no bets this time.”

I grabbed his arm and led him to the dart booth.

“Look, they’re giving out stuffed toys!”

Hanging on the booth’s wall were large stuffed toys about half my height.

“Welcome, Your Grace, Duchess! If you pop five balloons with five darts, you’ll win one of these big stuffed toys. If you pop three balloons, you’ll get a small stuffed toy. Popping one balloon gets you a lollipop. Would you like to give it a try?”

Stuffed toys and lollipops—neither seemed like something Kyron would be interested in. They were more suited for children.

“Don’t you have any other prizes?”

“Oh, are you looking for something else?”

“Is there anything my husband might like?”

“Ah… unfortunately, we don’t have any other prizes prepared.”

“What should we do? You’re not interested in these, are you?”

“I don’t care about the prizes. Let’s just do it.”

I had expected him to refuse, but to my surprise, Kyron agreed easily.