“Fine. If you won’t believe me, that’s your right. Well, I must go now and put up some magic barriers.”
Maybe I should’ve played the fragile victim like Jill, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. All I could do was implore people to realize Jill was wrong.
In the end, I became the villain of the story. If Philip had a shred of trust in me left, we could’ve patched things up. But as long as the premise that I was the bad guy held fast in his heart, we would fail to reach an understanding no matter what I said.
Besides, I had work to do. I had to fulfill my duties as a saint—the very profession that Jill used to accuse me of abusing her with. My task today was to erect magic barriers in the forest to the east of the royal capital to keep the monsters out. It was a direct request from the royal family of Elshaid, so I couldn’t dilly-dally.
“H-hey, now! I just ended our engagement! Isn’t it a bit too soon to take on new work, you capricious wretch!”
At this point in the exchange, Philip finally lost his composure.
It’s too soon to take on new work? You’re one to talk, Philip, I thought. You wouldn’t even listen to me.
I felt that he was the capricious one, for not even hearing his fiancée’s side of the story. And I wanted to say so, but I knew it would accomplish nothing. Above all else, continuing to be there was painful, and I wanted to leave as quickly as I could.
As far as I was concerned, I was better off single.
My father would probably scold me for ruining my engagement to a duke, but I assumed Philip would approach Jill next. I could practically see it happening already. That way, our house would still marry into a duke’s family, so it shouldn’t disadvantage my father in any way.
Besides, Jill had already ensnared Philip’s heart. I had no proof, but my long years as her sister left no doubt in my heart that it was so.
I entered the carriage parked outside Philip’s manor and headed for the forest to the east of the royal capital. As I rode in the carriage, I ruminated over what Philip had said. They really had some nerve, claiming I was flaunting my status as a saint…
I knew that Jill was insecure over my being a saint. Three women of the kingdom were selected as saints to protect Elshaid from harm, and each saint was assigned a church.
The main religion practiced in the east was the Aejis Faith—it was the national religion of Elshaid. Every kingdom that practiced the Aejis Faith employed saints, of which there were always three. The reason there were only three saints was because three was considered a holy number in Aejis…but therein lay the cause of the discord between Jill and me.
Two years ago, an Elshaid saint retired, so the church held examinations to select a new saint. Jill and I took the exams together. We both passed with flying colors and made it into the final seven.
House Westoria had produced a long line of renowned mages, and Jill and I were born with magic ability far above normal—naturally, we held an advantage in exams that prioritized magic. So we both made it to the final round of exams, yet Jill rejoiced as if she had already become a saint. I remember how delirious with excitement she was that she would finally achieve her dream of being a saint…ignoring the fact that only one of the seven remaining candidates would be chosen.
In the end, I was the one chosen to be a saint. I would never forget the look on her face that day. When she stared at me, her eyes were filled with an antagonistic contempt I’d never seen before. That was likely the first time those negative feelings grew so big inside of her.
“It’s just not fair!” she cried, blaming me for her loss.
From then on, she alleged to everyone that would listen that I was flaunting my position as a saint. No matter how hard I asked her to stop, she refused to hear it. Little did I know that this incident would escalate into what had just happened…
When the carriage arrived at the forest, I let another little sigh escape me. “My heart feels so heavy…” But I had to put up my barriers, so I chased that thought out of my head, and I got out of the carriage to see what condition the forest was in.
“Ah, I see. According to these traces, the barriers were destroyed quite a while ago. I’ll need to do a full-scale barrier incantation.”
When I surveyed the forest, I found the barriers to be in a sorrier state than anticipated—monsters could just waltz in as they pleased. I needed to take care of this as quickly as possible.
I knelt, looked up at the heavens, and prayed. My prayer let me borrow God’s powers, which I converted into light magic to activate my five steles into a summoning circle. That summoning circle would serve as an area marker to erect a protective barrier that would cover the entire forest.
“Are you Saint Leia?”
“Mmf?!” I twirled around, surprised by the voice suddenly behind me.
“Are you the insolent saint who has been abusing her little sister?”
And there before me stood Eric Elshaid—the Kingdom of Elshaid’s crown prince. He had beautiful silvery hair and deep blue eyes that I could lose myself in. Having those eyes turned on me made my heart skip a beat.
Why is the crown prince talking to me?
And he was talking just like Philip, accusing me of abusing my little sister. What in the world was happening?