I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 247 [The Real Saint (3)]

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by James B. (8/14). If you enjoy reading and are willing to help me catch up to the latest chapters faster by sponsoring bonus chapters, see my Ko-fi.

After briefly comforting Agnes, who became depressed upon realizing that she was the only one who didn’t know (more accurately, the last to find out) that I had become the Saint, I explained in detail how I realized my identity as the real Saint.

“Then, does this mean that Miss Seriste and the Hero knew from the beginning that Miss Lilith… no, Saint Lilith was the Saint?”

“Yes. In my case, I found out through a ‘divine revelation’ that came after I became the Hero.”

“M-Me too… I’ve known since I happened to treat Lilith before…”

These were the answers from the two people who had known I was the Saint even before I became the Saint, each from their own position.

By the way, in this world, that ‘divine revelation’ was the excuse Gyeongmwajogyegigwat used most often whenever he predicted the future. [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

The inhabitants of this world only knew that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat was a Hero from another world, but they didn’t know that this world was inside a game and that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat knew the plot of this world.

“But why didn’t you tell me in advance… no, never mind. Thinking about it, it was right not to tell me.”

“That’s right. As I’ve said before, I don’t care at all whether Seriste is the real Saint or not. I just want Seriste to fulfill her wishes by my side, that’s all that matters.”

“H-Hero…”

“That’s why I couldn’t tell you either, Seraphine. If you had separated Seriste from me just because she was ‘merely’ a fake Saint, it would have made our future journey even more difficult.”

“I acknowledge that fact, too. While Seriste might not be able to do anything as a fake Saint, at least her abilities as a priestess, including her Holy Power, are excellent. At least for now, she’s probably far superior to Miss Lilith, who has only recently become the Saint.”

Seraphine was comforting Seriste for her usual excellence as a priestess, though it probably wasn’t her intention, and thanks to that, it became much easier for me to bring up Seriste’s story.

“Yes. The person who secretly consecrated me and made me a Saint was Seriste, so I think she’s even more suited to be a Saint than I am, as she made me a Saint without hesitating even at her own risk.”

“W-What?! N-No, Lilith! P-Please take back those words…!”

Seriste was horrified by my blasphemous statement, as expected of someone raised on the church’s salary. But that didn’t mean I was going to stop saying what I had to say.

“But I really think you’re more suited to be the Saint, Seriste. You’re taking the lead in subjugating demons alongside the Hero much more than I am.”

“Ah, ahhh, no… Someone as greedy as me couldn’t possibly be a Saint…”

“Isn’t it more Saint-like of you because you’re human? And…”

“…Anyway, there was also a demon mixed in among the people who were present when Prince Machart’s dark magic was revealed. It seemed like that one was trying to escape urgently, so we were late because we had to deal with it.”

“Subjugating demons… You’ve worked hard, Hero.”

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat abruptly cut off my story as it seemed like it was going to get longer, and started listing his own achievements. Agnes was also eagerly trying to appeal to me that she had participated too, pointing at herself.

If it’s a demon that remained in the annex, ‘it’ is probably referring to Evelyn. If possible, I wanted to deal with that one, too. The reason we hadn’t specifically planned for that was that we thought there was a possibility of failing to deal with Machart if we dispersed and invested our resources unnecessarily. [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

While Evelyn was just a mid-high-level demon, Machart was a prince. The difficulty of killing him, the process that we had slowly built up to kill him, and the aftermath of killing him were all far more challenging, so we had to focus solely on Machart for this operation.

“I see, Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat.”

“Moreover, judging by how hastily it was trying to escape, it probably noticed that you, Lilith, are the real Saint. If we had left it alone, rumors that you are the real Saint might have spread among the demons.”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, I’m not trying to show off or anything. Just saying.”

‘I saved your life, so you better be grateful, Lilith, you noob.’

“…Yes, I sincerely thank you, Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat.”

‘Yeah. I’m truly, tearfully grateful, you bastard.’

After finishing the event briefing, including the imaginary conversation in my mind, silence once again fell over the conference room.

Actually, at first, I was nervous thinking I’d have to annoyingly reveal that I was the Saint, but after the meeting was over, it turned out to be an unnecessary worry.

Seraphine had been certain that I was the Saint even before I revealed it, and Agnes had also gone along with the atmosphere and acknowledged that I was the Saint.

The six people here, including me, were the only ones who knew that I was the ‘real Saint’.

…Now, they were the people who would prove that Seriste, not me, should be the real Saint.

“Anyway, it’s good that we know now. It’s a shame that the possibility that Seriste might be the Saint, which I had harbored, has been completely erased, but I guess it’s rather a gain that we found out that Lilith is the real Saint.”

“I-I’m sorry for d-deceiving you until now…”

“Don’t worry about it, Seriste. I knew, anyway. And for the sake of public opinion, Seriste will need to continue acting as the real Saint for a while…”

“…No. That won’t be necessary, Princess Seraphine.”

Seraphine was a bit surprised by me suddenly interrupting her words just as she was about to wrap up the meeting and dismiss everyone.

She fixed her gaze on me and tilted her head slightly, and I quietly approached Seriste as planned.

“Lady Seriste.”

“L-Lilith…? P-Please refrain from using such honorifics…”

“By any chance, while traveling with the Hero as a fake Saint, have you ever thought about wanting to become the real Saint?”

“…Pardon?”

Seriste blurted out in a confused voice, not knowing what the intent behind my words was.

She had been uneasy and didn’t know how to act when I praised her earlier, but now, her eyes were darting left and right urgently upon hearing my words.

“W-What do you mean by that, Lilith…?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I think you, Seriste, would be more suitable for the position of the Saint than me.” [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

“W-W-What… S-Such blasphemous words…”

“I don’t think it’s blasphemous. I believe you, Seriste, are the person closest to the goddess’s will because you have selfless compassion, unwavering love, and the courage to face any crisis.”

“Ah, uh, ah, uh, ah…”

I used the most flowery language possible to stimulate Seriste to somehow accept the power of the Saint, but the more I spoke, the more flustered Seriste seemed to become.

“Um, Miss Lilith… no, Saint Lilith…? You shouldn’t say such things carelessly…”

“…Lilith, be careful with your words. You might receive divine punishment for that.”

…Looking at it now, it wasn’t just Seriste who was flustered.

I had only said that the person qualified to be the Saint was Seriste, not me, but suddenly Seraphine and Agnes were also watching me with slightly serious faces.

And Ethan, though not saying anything, was somehow staring at me with wide eyes and a surprised expression. …Is this really something to be so nervous about?

At least Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, who, like me, was from another world, seemed relatively normal, so I changed my target and tried to address him.

“What do you think, Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat?”

“…Me?”

“Yes. As the Hero who has been watching Seriste closely for the longest time, you surely know that Seriste is the most suitable person to be the Saint, right?”

‘We’ve already discussed this, haven’t we? Try to persuade the others a bit.’

“I don’t think there would be any major problems if Seriste became the Saint instead of Lilith. In fact, since many people already think Seriste is the Saint, it might even be better.”

‘I prefer Seriste being the Saint, too. It’s the surest way to protect Seriste from the public.’

When I conveyed the hidden intentions to Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, a somewhat self-interested response came back from the Hero’s side.

Yes, if I could just get the Hero’s agreement, Seriste’s agreement would follow. This way, I could dump… no, hand over all the Saint’s power and qualifications I had to Seriste, and from now on, I could live a leisurely solo life in this other world…

“So, you think so too, Hero.”

“It’s not that I think so, it’s that I ‘wish it could be so’.”

“Then, Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, if it were possible for me to transfer my ‘Saint’s qualification’ to Seriste, what would you think about that?”

“S-Saint Lilith?!”

“Lilith? Are you in your right mind?!”

“Uh, ah, uhhh?!”

“……”

Everyone except Ethan was so surprised that they stood up, but Gyeongmwajogyegigwat remained calmly seated, listening to my words.

As the Hero who knew the whole situation, I thought he would naturally agree and back me up, but unexpectedly, what came back from him was a lukewarm and ambiguous answer.

“Hmm, I’m not sure what to say.”

“Pardon?”

“To be honest, I’ve been active with Seriste for a long time, but I have almost no memory of being active with you, Lilith. Even at last year’s end-of-year Hunting Festival, we weren’t even in the same party, and even in this Machart incident, although we acted together, we ended up fighting separately.” [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…I’m not sure what you’re saying, Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat.”

“It doesn’t make sense for me to talk about Saint qualifications in the first place, but what I mean is that I can’t objectively judge who is more suited to be the Saint.”

“……”

“Of course, I know Seriste is an excellent priestess. But as for you, Lilith, I don’t even know yet whether you’re an excellent priestess, an excellent mage, or an excellent swordswoman. As I said earlier, while I’d prefer Seriste, who I’ve been active with for a long time, to be the Saint, I can’t make a judgment because I don’t know anything about Lilith to compare.”

What is this?

What he’s saying makes sense, but does he have to say this right now?

Wasn’t it already decided that I would transfer the Saint’s power I possessed to Seriste? Why is he suddenly acting like this?

Just as my head was starting to ache with all sorts of complex emotions flashing through my mind, someone interrupted Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, who had been making various excuses.

“So, that’s why I’m asking, Lilith, if you…”

“…So.”

“……”

“Are you saying that you’re going to take my Lilith away from me now?”

Along with Ethan’s cold voice, who had been quietly listening, blue energy rippled around his body.

In his eyes, a straightforward killing intent was stretching towards Gyeongmwajogyegigwat across from him.