Chapter 4

I deliberately chose a husband who was timid and had no greed.

He was absolutely not the type of person who would be executed for treason.

“Since another man has touched what’s mine, it seems you’ll need a long period of discipline. Don’t you agree?”

So there was only one answer.

Someone had framed my husband.

After that, things went much like the first time. Except for the part where I smashed through a palace window and jumped out. I couldn’t endure until they handed me the poisoned tea.

At this point, though, those memories no longer mattered.

Lothar asked no more questions.

Instead, he stepped out of the carriage first and blocked my path.

I stared at him, wondering what he was doing, when he held out his hand toward me.

“……”

Was he the type to live and die by knightly honor?

For some reason, the thigh he’d touched earlier still felt hot.

Shrugging, I took his hand.

The carriage had stopped in front of an old temple.

The person who came out to greet us was Priest Yakov, one of the few people I’d threatened before.

Looking at Lothar entering with me, he let out a groan.

“So you truly came.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

“No, it’s not that, but…”

“This is still better than going to prison for embezzling donations at your age, isn’t it?”

“Please don’t say that so loudly!”

Watching Yakov panic and jump around, Lothar narrowed his eyes slightly.

It seemed the morality of the priest approving the marriage bothered him.

Well, whatever. He was perfect for a rushed marriage.

“Stop wasting time and lead us inside.”

Yakov going to prison had happened many times in the past.

There was no way the Archbishop would leave alone someone who dipped into his money pouch.

The old priest sighed deeply and entered the temple.

Then he summoned two priestesses waiting nearby and quietly gave them instructions.

Soon, the priestesses approached and bowed politely.

“It is an honor to meet you, Saintess. Would you come with us for the verification procedure?”

I nodded without resistance.

It was time to prove that my purity or whatever had supposedly flown away.

As I obediently followed the priestesses, I warned Lothar,

“Wait quietly.”

I used formal speech since other people were around.

Still, he should remember that I was the one in charge here.

I ignored the look on his face that seemed to say he’d heard all kinds of nonsense today.

“This way.”

The priestesses led me into a secluded room and locked the door before beginning the inspection.

“Excuse us.”

They checked the stains on the dress hidden beneath my robe.

A pure white dress stained with dark red blood.

I’d chosen those clothes deliberately for the contrast.

“Oh my…”

One of the priestesses failed to suppress her gasp.

It was only natural.

Soon, my relationship with Lothar would become the Empire’s most exciting gossip topic.

Even the Grand Temple would explode over this.

Maybe because of that, the inspection was thorough to the point of persistence.

While the tedious search continued, I thought about my third life.

Back then, I still believed escape was the best option.

How could a powerless saintess possibly defeat the person at the top of the empire?

I thought that if I escaped across the sea to the Kingdom of Virelia, I could finally live a quiet life.

“You were hiding here, my Elise.”

That belief lasted until the Kingdom of Virelia was conquered by Maximilian’s army.

<If a woman with silver hair and purple eyes is found, capture her alive at all costs. >

That was the emperor’s order spread throughout the occupied kingdom at the time.

Only later did I learn the truth.

Maximilian had destroyed every neighboring nation just to find me.

“It’s finished.”

I blinked at the priestess’s words.

Judging by her trembling voice, nothing unusual had happened.

I pulled my robe back over my dress and left the room.

The priestesses who exited before me quietly approached Yakov and reported the results.

At some point, Lothar had moved closer.

Looking at them, he whispered,

“The archbishop truly knows nothing about your plan?”

Ticklish.

I touched the ear his breath brushed against and nodded.

“If he knew, he would’ve locked me up. Or broken my legs first.”

“That can’t possibly be true. Even if he is the Archbishop…”

Lothar stopped there.

Because right beside him stood a Saintess carrying out a fraudulent kidnapping marriage.

At Yakov’s gesture, we walked toward the altar.

The other priests lit the candles around it before disappearing.

Standing on the platform, Yakov looked down at us and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Lothar Eisenrit and Elise. Children of the noble Pellmira. Do the two of you swear eternal love as husband and wife before God?”

Pellmira.

The Goddess of Life had supposedly chosen this body as the vessel of the saintess.

Someday, I wanted to meet her and ask what sin I committed in my previous life.

Was I some kind of traitor in the life before that, too?

“We swear.”

“We swear.”

Our completely insincere answers rang out together.

Yakov sprinkled a few drops of lukewarm water over our heads.

Then, after reciting several ceremonial blessings, he finally arrived at the conclusion I’d been waiting for.

“By the will of God, I approve this marriage.”

That meant the marriage had officially been recognized in the name of the temple.

I immediately approached Yakov, who was trying to slip away, and made one final demand.

“Give me some paper and a quill.”

“You’re planning to write to the archbishop?”

“Obviously.”

“Y-You won’t mention my crimes, right?”

“Just hurry up and hand them over.”

With an uneasy expression, Yakov gave me paper and a quill before stepping back.

He looked desperate to resign from the priesthood and hide away in the countryside as soon as possible.

Sitting on the altar, I began writing the letter.

“Archbishop, I have something to say.”

“To the esteemed Archbishop,

This is Saintess Elise. I write to you because I have urgent news.”

Those were two lines so far.

As I paused to think, Lothar slightly leaned over and said,

“It would be best to write that you kidnapped me because you felt a powerful attraction toward me.”

“…?”

I was already planning to write exactly that.

There wasn’t any other excuse to use.

I shot him a glare before continuing the letter.

“I safely met with the Empire’s Second Prince, Lothar Eisenrit. However, dazzled by his handsome appearance, I decided I must possess him and thus used the empire’s custom of “marriage by capture” to bind us as husband and wife.”

“Well? Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s good.”

Was he serious?

His expression was so calm that it was impossible to read what he was thinking.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I finished the letter.

“This marriage was granted sacred approval by Associate Priest Yakov at Licht Temple in Lindenbelt. I will visit you soon.

Your Elise.”

“The Archbishop is going to clutch the back of his neck and collapse.”

The moment I placed the final period, a voice sounded from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Wolfgang standing inside the temple, looking over the letter with interest.

Judging from the slightly twisted smile on his lips…

He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.

“What are you snooping around for now?”

“Snooping? As the Saintess’s loyal subordinate, I was merely checking for spelling mistakes. You never received higher education, did you?”

“Wow. Now you’re mocking my education level too.”

How exactly was a penniless commoner orphan with no title or parents supposed to receive higher education in this world?

I was about to curse at his annoyingly handsome face when a low voice interrupted.

“Come to think of it, you’re the second son of the Lichtenbrunn family, aren’t you? Does the Marquis know about the current situation?”

“……”

“……”

For a moment, silence fell between the three of us.

Without realizing it, I glanced at Wolfgang’s expression first.

Just as Lothar said, Wolfgang came from a famous noble family.

And not just any family, but one known as a major supporter of the First Prince’s faction.

After all, the archbishop would never place a knight without backing into the position of commander of the Holy Knights.

Naturally, it wasn’t a topic Wolfgang welcomed.

Only lifting the corners of his mouth, he replied,

“Well now. This matter is far too trivial for His Highness the Prince, who must already be overwhelmed with important affairs, to concern himself with.”

That was a very long way of saying:

Mind your own business.

saying the following: