Second Day of the Festival.
Just as on the first day, the streets were crowded with people eager to enjoy the festivities.
For many, the purpose of traveling from all over the Empire wasn’t solely to experience the festival itself but to catch a glimpse of the Saintess.

Opportunities for the common citizens of the Empire to meet the Saintess in person were exceedingly rare—especially at such a close distance.
The Saintess stood on a stage located roughly in the middle of the festival street.
She hadn’t chosen to stand there of her own volition. The priests had brought her to a stage they had previously scouted and placed her there.

Never in the history of the temple had a Saintess faced the people of the Empire at such a close range. A sacred figure such as her would never have stood on such a crude stage in the middle of a street.

However, with the declining prestige of the temple and the subsequent decrease in donations, the priests had decided to place her there.

“It’s the Saintess! The Saintess!”
“Goddess!”

The citizens of the Empire reached out their arms toward the Saintess from below the stage.
The stage lacked any proper protective measures. The only thing standing between the Saintess and the crowd was a handful of Holy Knights stationed in front of the stage, yawning as they idled.

The citizens pushed forward, striving to get even a little closer to the Saintess. Some even attempted to climb onto the stage.
The priests, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped in to stop them, but the Saintess was frightened. People were still reaching out, trying to grab her ankles.

“What are you hesitating for? Release your divine power already!”
One of the priests urged her impatiently.

The Saintess, of course, understood. She knew that the moment she unleashed her divine power, the crowd would calm down.
That was the blessing of divine power—a force so immense that it could instantly subdue even the most clamorous of people.

These people needed divine power more than anything.
The temple might have been crumbling, but the Goddess had chosen her, and it was her duty to deliver blessings to the people. That was her mission.

The Saintess slowly closed her eyes.
She would deliver the blessing of divine power to these ignorant citizens of the Empire.

She would need to release far more divine power than usual, but thanks to the rigorous training she had undergone at the temple, it wouldn’t be a problem.

She began to release the divine power she had been storing.
As expected, the people in front of the stage began to grow quiet.

“It’s still not enough. A little more.”
The priest standing behind her urged her to draw out even more divine power.

“It’s still at the level of the first day of the festival. You’ll need to release more.”

The priests intended to demonstrate the temple’s unwavering authority to the citizens of the Empire by releasing an overwhelming display of divine power at such close range.

In this process, the Saintess herself played the most crucial role.
Unlike the priests, the Saintess’s divine power did not originate from within herself. Her divine power came from the sacred artifacts of the temple.

That was why she had been chosen as the Saintess and why she could release divine power strong enough to captivate such a large crowd.

She focused on releasing even more divine power.

But then…

Her brow furrowed slightly.
She had practiced releasing divine power countless times at the temple. She had also done it in front of people, though never at such close range.

Yet today, something felt… different.
The flow of divine power wasn’t smooth. Something felt off.

‘Why isn’t it working properly?’

***

After returning to the Duke’s residence, my eyes were drawn to the picture frame sitting next to my bed.

Was it because I had just heard Louie talk about our hometown? I couldn’t stop thinking about the three smiling faces in the portrait.

What must Ekette have felt when looking at this portrait?
Her hometown was so far away, and with her husband never returning, she couldn’t just visit whenever she wanted. Her hometown and family must have been her only refuge.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t properly answered Louie’s last question—when I would visit our hometown.

For Ekette, even a brief meeting with Louie or the indirect call to her hometown must have been incredibly precious. They were, after all, the most important people in her world.

I pulled open the drawer of my desk. Inside were letters neatly kept—letters from my parents and Louie after I got married.

The letters were so cherished that they were all carefully organized and tied together with a pretty ribbon.
Ekette must have tied the ribbon lovingly and placed the letters gently into the drawer.

My unexpected meeting with Louie had ended abruptly, without even a proper goodbye.
Even though I was living in Ekette’s body, shouldn’t I at least tie up loose ends for her sake?

The best I could do was leave Louie a letter.
I wanted to let him know that the sickly version of me he had seen wasn’t all there was, that I was doing fine, and that even the Emperor himself had stepped in to help me recover. I also wanted to tell him that I planned to visit our hometown soon and to pass on my regards to our parents.

I decided to use a teleportation artifact to deliver the letter to Louie at his hotel.
It was the quickest and quietest way to get it done.

Since Louie had told me which hotel he was staying at, there wouldn’t be any issues.

I took out a quill, stationery, and an envelope from the drawer.
Since Ekette often wrote letters to her hometown, her desk drawer was well-stocked with stationery, envelopes, sealing wax, and a stamp.

[To Louie. We didn’t get much time to talk when we met again after so long, did we? You must have been shocked to see me in such poor health. But don’t worry—it’s nothing serious…]

I wrote that I was receiving care from an excellent doctor and that, as he had seen yesterday, my husband was taking good care of me—perhaps even too much. I also mentioned that I would visit our hometown soon and asked him not to tell our parents about my illness.

I had worried that writing to Louie might feel awkward, but surprisingly, the words flowed easily.

After finishing the letter, I carefully placed it into a pretty envelope. I sealed it with wax and then retrieved the teleportation artifact I had stored away. It was a mirror-like device.

‘Turn it three times, right?’

Holding the letter in one hand and the mirror in the other, I looked into my reflection in the mirror.

‘Look at yourself once, turn it. Look again, turn it.’

Following the instructions from the owner of the Dark Shop, I repeated the process, all the while picturing Louie’s hotel in my mind.

After turning the mirror three times, I felt as though I were being sucked into it. My stomach churned.

“Ugh…!”

I clenched my eyes shut as dizziness overwhelmed me, causing me to lose my balance and collapse.

A few seconds passed with my eyes tightly closed, and the dizziness subsided.

“…!”

The bustling noise of a lively crowd filled my ears. The sounds weren’t far away.

I opened my eyes again.

“Oh!”

A gasp escaped my lips.

The teleportation magic had worked. Just moments ago, I had been in the quiet Duke’s residence, but now I was standing in the middle of a festival street.

Realizing I was still sitting on the ground, I quickly stood up and dusted off my clothes.

I had landed in a side street, not the main festival avenue. After all, Louie’s hotel was located in an alleyway, a bit removed from the main street.

Despite the ongoing festival, this street was relatively quiet.
Phew, it was a relief that no one had seen the Duchess suddenly appear and collapse on the ground.
Without needing to look around, I spotted the hotel where Louie was staying.

I was still holding the letter in my left hand. Thankfully, I hadn’t dropped it during the teleportation.
Without hesitation, I headed toward the hotel.