Chapter 226 – Money Talks

Using the Eye of Truth, the saintess swiftly scanned her surroundings in search of the empress, but after a long while her expression darkened. ‘Cecile… Where did this girl disappear to?’ No matter how hard she searched, Cecile couldn’t be found anywhere.
In the first place, the second rampage was only supposed to be a plot device to further strengthen the bond between the protagonist couple.
Estian would take Cecile’s hand while she tried to calm him once again, and he would carefully pour out his heart to her, conveying how his love grew more fervent and deeper with each passing day.
That was supposed to be the scene the saintess had envisioned!

‘What do we do if Cecile’s not here noooow!’ It was a matter easily dealt with by Cecile, but without her? All hell would break loose.
She had only included the small scene in the hopes of witnessing the male lead go wild without the female lead at his side.
How was she to know it would evolve into a do-or-die situation with Cecile not around?

Drawing upon her holy power, the saintess was pleasantly surprised to find there was more power than she’d expected.
The fifty or so priests, who collapsed back in the alleyway and probably in la-la-land right about now, were probably useful talents of the Holy Kingdom.

She was relieved to find her powers were rapidly recharging from her reserves, even after having expended quite a bit of energy after using the Eye of Truth.
With this amount of power, she might be able to somehow manage to stop Estian.
Although she couldn’t be sure whether the second rampage had been triggered under the same conditions as the original plot, it wouldn’t be as difficult to calm as the first.

‘Since Estian has already experienced it once himself, he should be able to suppress the blood of Eugendiph with a little help.’

Despite knowing all of this, the saintess was still hesitant.
She’d sworn to use all the holy power she regained for the sake of entering Cecile’s body.
To expend it here would make all her efforts meaningless.
No matter how she sliced it, she gained nothing from calming Estian in Cecile’s place.
She would only be throwing the holy power away.
Moreover, the empress wasn’t even here, so there was no way to take over her body in the first place!

The saintess thought of all the humiliation she suffered through over the past few months due to her lack of holy power. ‘I even put up with Irene and her temper!’ After becoming the empress’s handmaiden, the woman had spent day after day tooting her own horn—“Look at me dealing with all this kind of work.
Don’t you think I’m more suited to being the empress after all?”—before disappearing.
Gazing after her retreating figure, the saintess often mused how Irene had all the makings of a head chamberlain, not an empress.

‘And aside from that, she was always making a fuss telling me to be careful of Kane, but…’ I’m sorry—it was far too late to be careful.
The saintess brooded over the promise she’d made to Kane, when she heard the loud argumentative voices of a man and woman standing across the street.
It was Kane and Irene.

They stood there in the open, as if meant to be seen by her.
At this critical moment when people were fleeing in terror while Estian’s power went berserk, the two were yelling at each other, locked in a heated argument.

“So, who’s going to give permission? She’s my maid! Mine, I say! You’re not going to date, but get married? Tell me, who do you think is going to allow that?”

Kane retorted, “I already received permission from the lady herself! It’s not any of your concern, dear lady!”

The saintess was flabbergasted by the ridiculous farce playing out before her eyes.
Were they really looking to fight over her in the middle of such a precarious situation? She was almost tempted to jump in between them and act out the line she’d always dreamt of crying out, “Don’t fight because of me!”

However, even she had more sent than that.
Inwardly, she screamed, ‘Now isn’t the time for that, guys!’