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~Chapter 55~
Piaze once again tried to calm everyone down.
“No, it seems you’re all too worked up. It’s probably because you realized there are no priests going to the North.”
“Hmm…”
“I know the North needs help more than anyone. I’ll do what I can, so please calm down.”
Kassen looked at Piaze with gratitude. His words quickly changed the subject, and the surrounding nobles began talking.
“Come to think of it, even the new High Priests refused to go to the North, right?”
“I guess the temple and the North have completely fallen out.”
“The number of priests has been decreasing for years. This time, I bet none will go at all.”
“They say the temple has sided with the Second Prince. I guess that was true?”
Piaze smirked slyly. Calix and Johannes exchanged glances. Calix slowly rolled up his sleeves.
Unaware of what they were about to do, Piaze continued speaking.
“It’s such a shame the North will suffer great losses. But we can’t send people who refuse to go…”
And at that moment—
“UAAAAAH!”
The High Priest let out a strange scream as he burst into the banquet hall.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the High Priest. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, and his fists were red.
He looked nothing like the usually lethargic yet composed High Priest. The onlookers shared one thought:
‘The High Priest has finally gone mad.’
‘Oh no, he must be so devastated that the Saintess hasn’t appeared…’
They all believed he had lost his mind after yet another banquet without the Saintess appearing.
“UAAAH! AAAH!”
His voice was almost insane as he shouted from the center of the banquet hall:
“I will move the Grand Temple to the North!”
Everyone became certain he had completely snapped. Piaze reacted the most strongly.
“High Priest, what nonsense is this?! Move the Grand Temple to the North? Even if you’re shocked the Saintess hasn’t appeared, you must keep your sanity!”
The High Priest’s words, no matter how crazy, carried weight. The moment he said it, he had created a justification for moving the temple.
But he didn’t answer Piaze. He just kept mumbling incomprehensible sounds.
“UAAH!”
Behind him, Ahin was dragging in Hardin.
“Senior Priest Hardin? What in the world is going on?!”
Hardin was barely coherent.
“Excommunicated? I was excommunicated?”
“Excommunicated? What are you talking about, Priest Hardin?”
It was the High Priest who answered, his eyes now clear and sharp.
“He dared insult the Saintess. Of course he’s excommunicated.”
“Insulted the Saintess? What are you saying?”
The High Priest pointed respectfully to Sestia, who was walking in behind him.
“This is the Saintess.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the young girl in a maid’s uniform. They looked at the High Priest with pity.
‘He must have been under so much stress…’
‘Isn’t that Delphina’s maid? Does he really think she’s the Saintess?’
No one dared speak, cowed by the High Priest’s terrifying glare.
Sestia muttered as she watched,
“This… is power?”
Even she could tell the High Priest wasn’t normal, but no one was willing to oppose him. Feeling the thrill of power, Sestia fell even deeper into it.
The banquet could no longer continue normally.
Elcayan and Kassen were ready to duel at any moment, and next to them, the High Priest was laughing maniacally.
Watching the chaos, Delphina sighed softly.
‘What a disaster…’
She hadn’t planned for it to get this out of hand. But seeing the blank expressions of Kassen and Piaze made her feel a strange sense of satisfaction.
‘Hardin is completely ruined, and Sestia has safely become the Saintess.’
In the end, it was a happy ending for everyone who mattered.
Delphina approached the completely dazed Hardin and placed a wine glass in front of him.
“Congratulations on being excommunicated. This is a celebratory drink from me.”
Hardin let out a scream similar to the High Priest’s.
“UAAAH!”
In the end, it was the timid Emperor, sitting quietly in the corner, who wrapped up the situation.
“Let’s end the banquet here. There’s no way we can continue like this.”
Everyone agreed.
With a disgraced Senior Priest and a half-insane High Priest, the banquet was over.
But not everyone was satisfied.
“W-what about the High Priest’s blessing?”
It was Ivelina who asked, and the High Priest answered,
“Ah, I was just about to give it.”
He turned to Sestia and asked,
“Saintess, who should receive the blessing?”
The answer was obvious. Sestia shyly pointed to Delphina.
“Lady Delphina.”
She added with a sparkle in her eyes,
“Lady Delphina is the one who shines the most here.”
Ivelina swayed on her feet and collapsed—right toward Kassen. But he stepped aside, letting her fall flat on the floor in an embarrassing heap.
A few days after the banquet, Delphina sat across from the now cheerful High Priest. He had just finished speaking with the Emperor and seemed very pleased.
“Hahaha, thank you so much. I don’t know what to say. Thanks to you, our Saintess has returned to the temple,” he said with a broad smile.
The priests could only use holy power if the High Priest opened the path for them. After confirming Sestia’s power, the High Priest had done so, and she was officially recognized as the Saintess. Ahin also entered the temple as a trainee Holy Knight.
“Sir Ahin also seems to have very strong holy power. It’s strange we hadn’t discovered people like this until now.”
The High Priest’s eyes gleamed.
“I knew something was off with Hardin. But I never thought he was secretly withholding those with strong holy power!”
Delphina asked,
“What happened to Hardin now?”
“He was excommunicated and thrown out. The Frey family also said they would strip him of his title.”
Sestia spoke in a firm voice.
“I was almost married off to a man over 30 years older than me. We can’t just punish Hardin. The noble who planned to marry me off with him should be punished too.”
The High Priest’s face turned red with anger. Thinking Sestia must have suffered while he was unaware made him furious.
“How dare… What was that man’s name?”
“Baron Orman.”
“Ah, I heard his family was recently ruined by an attack. They say a mysterious Sword Master appeared.”
“Oh…”
“But that’s not enough. Saintess Sestia, don’t worry. Our temple’s Holy Knights will handle him more thoroughly.”
Sestia nodded, her cheeks flushed. She muttered softly,
“Power really is the best.”
