Actually, I was the Real One

Raw Provider: Jessica

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TL: Ms MTLer

Mina: “Ack!”

A painting of the goddess hung above the altar, staring at Mina.

For a moment, she thought she had made eye contact with someone, and she almost lost strength in her legs and nearly collapsed.

Mina: “Painting… I-it’s just a painting.”

‘There’s nothing to be afraid of.’

Pulling herself together, Mina started looking around.
It didn’t take long to find the divine artifact, laid out proudly on the altar.

She ran to the altar and threw the divine artifact to the floor.

Crash–!

The crystal goblet shattered.

She hurried out of the prayer room to complete her plan and saw no one in the hallway.

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Until arriving safely in the building opposite the inner hall, Mina did not run into a single person.

Now that Mina’s mission was a complete success, her fear faded. 

‘I did it…!’

The thought of completing the mission for Lady Cosette made her heart flutter.

That warm face, she’d smile softly and pat her head, right? 

Mina, who mindlessly made her way back to the other prayer room, realized that there was still evidence of arson in her cloak.

She must destroy the evidence to prevent getting caught.

She turned back and headed to the incinerator area in the inner hall.
But just as she was about to leave the building, Mina ran into a nun.

“Oh my, Mina!”

“Ah, Sister Helen.”

She was a woman who helped her for the past few days and served Cosette.

Sister Helen was a very warm and friendly person, and Mina had fun while staying together, but she didn’t want to encounter her at this moment.

Mina struggled to control her facial expression. 

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Helen: “Didn’t Lady Cosette ask you to look after the divine beast? Should you be outside right now?”

Mina: “T-that…”

She couldn’t exactly say that she came out because she had something to dispose of.

If Sister Helen asked her what she came to throw, Mina wouldn’t have anything to say, and she shouldn’t do anything else that might incriminate her. 

As if embarrassed, Mina replied with a bashful smile.

Mina: “Hehe, it’s frustrating to stay in a room without a window the whole time… I’m out to get some air.”

Helen: “Yes?”

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Mina: “Can’t you turn a blind eye just once? Yeah? I’ll go back in a bit.
Sister Helen…”

Helen: “Haa…”

Helen sighed deeply at her cute and childish tone.

‘This is why young kids do it… Well, it’s kind of cute.’

Helen: “Then rest for a while and then come back.
It would be severe if anything happened to the divine beast.”

Mina: “Yes, yes.
Of course.”

It would have been better if she had let Mina go after that, but this noble nun did not stop preaching.

Helen: “You know Princess Cosette adores you a lot, right? You have to repay the favor of your superiors with hard work and effort.
Don’t be lazy or anything like that.”

Mina: “Of course I’m aware of it.”

So stop it and finish it, lady.

The rude words she couldn’t get out of her mouth lingered on the tip of her tongue.

Helen: “Look at your brother Mason.
That kid is always quietly doing his job.
Mina is the older sister.
You should set an example for your brother…”

After that, Helen’s nagging continued for a while.

Mina: “Yes, yes! I understand! Thank you for your kind words! I feel the same way.
I should hurry up and go and protect the prayer room!”

Mina couldn’t stand it anymore and had to run away.
Helen didn’t have the chance to catch her, so Mina managed to escape and arrive at the incinerator.

Mina: “Haa, haa, how can that woman be so nosy?”

Were all priests and nuns like that? Mina pursed her lips and looked around. 

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After confirming that no one was watching, she threw the items hidden under her clothes into the incinerator.

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With this, all the evidence was gone.

A cheerful smile formed on her face.
Now, the woman who tormented Miss Cosette would not be able to show her face for ruining the service.

Mina’s steps back to the prayer room were light.

As the priest said, the fire in the inner hall was extinguished not long after.

Thanks to that, the ancestral rites would be carried out without setbacks.
As soon as a nun told her she was now allowed to go back inside, Lira hurried to the inner hall. 

‘Was there anyone who would even mess with the ancient artifact in that chaos?’

Lira thought so, but for some reason, her heart was pounding with anxiety.
Her mouth was dry, and her palms felt clammy. 

Was that a sign of misfortune?

When she returned to the empty prayer room, Lira found shards of the shattered glass.

Lira: “Ah…!”

The altar on which the sacred artifact was placed was quite wide, and it was unlikely that it would have fallen on its own.

It was also impossible that someone accidentally pushed it over when they were evacuating. 

It was a situation that could not be explained other than that someone deliberately pushed it and dropped it.

Lira: “W-what am I going to do? What am I going to do…”

Tears spilled out. 

‘I should have run out with the divine artifact when evacuating.
No, I should have locked the door…’

It was impossible to glue the crystal shards together. 

Feeling hopeless, Lira slumped down and wiped her tears. 

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Then she heard footsteps behind her. 

“…?!”

She had the sudden thought that no one should see the shattered artifact.
She tried to gather the pieces scattered on the floor and cover it with her body.

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Keira: “Lira?”

But her efforts were in vain. 

The people approaching were Lady Keira and Rose.

Lira: “Milady!”

“Oh my God, how did this happen?”

The faces of the two people who discovered the broken artifact were dyed pure white.

Keira stopped in front of the shattered artifact.
She ran because it worried her when she heard there was a sudden fire in the inner hall, but something she was afraid of happened.

‘I was wondering why you were so quiet.’

She had wondered if something was going to happen. 

Keira sighed and touched her forehead.

Perhaps Lira misunderstood Kira’s actions to mean something else because she became more inconsolable as she prostrated herself.

Lira: “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, milady.
I will take all the punishment for ruining the service.”

Keira: “No, now is not the time to take the blame for this.”

Lira: “B-but…”

Keira: “You’re not hurt anywhere?”

Lira: “No, fortunately.” 

First of all, it was not a problem that Lira could take responsibility for.
If the person who planned to set fire to the inner hall and break the sacred artifact was the one Keira guessed, that person would surely bite into Keira. 

The maid was the one who made the mistake, but Keira was in charge of taking care of the artifact, so it was obvious that she had to take responsibility in some way.

What Cosette wanted was for Keira never to attend any of these things again.
Or, to be more specific, to make sure Keira didn’t participate in all temple-related things.

The problem was that it was a method that could be seen clearly, but the reality was that it was highly likely to work.

Helping with the work of the temple had a symbolic meaning.
After all, the spirit was a blessing given to humans by the goddess.

Thinking that she was being drawn into Cosette’s tricks made her nervous.

“Milady, it’s been a while.
The priests will be waiting.”

Keira: “I know.”

However, she couldn’t go to the main hall without any countermeasures.

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Once the ceremony was over, they would return to the prayer room to retrieve the divine artifact.
If that happened, they would inevitably show the shattered artifact to the priests.

It would create a perfect atmosphere for Cosette to drive her into a corner.

‘Calm down.
Calm down and think about how to do it.’

It was impossible to restore something once it had been destroyed.
She considered going outside and looking for something similar to the artifact, but time wouldn’t allow it.

She had to go to the main hall.

Even if she sent Rose instead, it would be impossible to retrieve the same object before the ceremony was over.

‘You calculated this and did this on purpose.’

Keira’s expression darkened.

‘Should I use the chaotic situation in the fire to complain that someone has broken something?’

The priests would agree that someone was behind it.
However, unless the criminal was caught, Keira was likely to take responsibility.

Beside her, Rose fidgeted. 

Rose: “M-milady, if you don’t go to the main hall now, people may come to find you.
Then… “

Then people would see Keira with the remnants of the broken divine artifact.

‘D*mn it.’

Keira couldn’t come up with a solution.
She even considered if she should concede in this case.

The fact that there was a fire before the divine artifact shattered flashed through her head.

“…!”

Keira muttered involuntarily.

Keira: “Then it’s natural that you don’t know, right?”

Lira: “Pardon? What did you say?”

Keira: “It’s nothing.
Lira, we must go to the main hall right now.”

Was it possible? What if the timing was off, and it failed?

All kinds of worries and scenarios came to mind, but there was nothing she could do.

There was only one way.

Keira: “What I’ll tell you to do now, can you do it well?”