I’m Not A Saint Though?

chapter 24

I laughed heartily, tossing dried cranberries into my mouth one by one while reclining on the sofa.

Delton, who had devoured his share of cranberries in the blink of an eye and was now lapping up the ones I had missed and dropped on the floor, clicked his tongue.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course. You should have seen his pathetic, teary-eyed expression.”

The trash, accustomed to all sorts of delicacies and barely glancing at ordinary food, looked like he was about to burst into tears because he couldn’t have a single dessert.

“Ahaha, I should have had that scene painted into a portrait.”

Delton shook his head at me, hitting the sofa cushions and tearing up.

“But aren’t you being a bit mean?”

“Mean? What do you mean?”

“I helped you because that man, your father, is such a bad guy, and you wanted revenge so badly, but this, using food, is a bit mean, don’t you think?”

“…”

“He’s already lost everything because of your lies, and to do this to him over a single dessert is a bit…”

Delton clicked his tongue with an expression that said, ‘You’re so petty.’

‘It’s an understandable thought.’

As he said, playing with food was the meanest thing to do.

Especially to someone in a difficult situation like the trash.

But I shrugged nonchalantly.

“As I said before, I’m just returning what they did to me.”

“What? So you’ve been through this before?”

“More than once.”

It was common for them to secretly cook and eat any precious imported ingredients while I was away.

And they would often go out to eat without even asking me, while I was busy working in place of the head of the family.

I got used to it later, but at first, it was so upsetting.

It felt like I was living in someone else’s house as a freeloader.

‘Ah, thinking about it makes me angry again.’

Remembering how they had tormented me with all sorts of petty tricks, as if to remind me that I was the outsider in this house, made me furious.

*Clang, clang—*

As I shook the servant’s bell hanging from the ceiling, the door burst open, and Madam Magda and Melina rushed in.

“You called, Saintess!”

“What can we do for you…!”

They asked, their faces filled with fear, clutching worn-out rags in their hands, wondering what kind of torment I had in store for them this time.

“I was just wondering how you’re feeling. You couldn’t even get out of bed this morning because of your fever.”

“Ah… we’re fine.”

“It’s bearable, so don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry? You’re sick.  I told you to just rest today…”

At my concerned tone, the two women’s faces crumpled.

‘That bitch!’

‘And she was threatening us that tomorrow’s work would be doubled if we didn’t work today!’

They glared at me with venomous eyes, but they couldn’t voice their complaints.

“…We’re fine.”

“Yes, no matter how tired we are, we can’t neglect our service to the Goddess.”

I smiled contentedly.

“That’s a good attitude. Goddess Hedel will be pleased with your devotion.”

“Yes…”

“Then we’ll be…”

Just as the two women, with sullen expressions despite my praise, were about to excuse themselves,

“In that spirit, could I ask you for a favor?”

“A favor?”

“What is it now…”

“I saw a lot of fallen leaves in the garden earlier.”

“Ah, yes.  It must be because it was a bit windy today.”

“Yes, it’s the way of nature. But there are so many piled up that it’s an eyesore. I’d like them cleaned up, but the gardeners seem busy with other tasks…”

“W-Wait a minute, Saintess.”

“S-Surely…”

Their faces turned pale as if anticipating what was to come.

Smiling brightly, I said, “I was hoping you two could help out. What do you say?”

“B-But we have a lot of work to do today…”

“That’s right. We’ve only polished fifty-six Goddess statues, and we haven’t even touched the pillars and the screws in the furniture…”

They frantically tried to avoid this task.

But I had no intention of letting them off so easily.

“You can do that tomorrow.”

At my words, accompanied by a sweet smile, the two women’s eyes rolled back.

‘Is she kidding?’

‘We’re working even though we’re sick because we don’t want to do that extra work!’

Their eyes seemed to say so, but what could they do?

They were slaves, and I was the master.

In the end, they had no choice but to obey.

“…We understand, Saintess.”

I smiled, watching them answer through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry to ask this of you when you’re sick.  But you can have this after you’re done.”

“Th-This is…!”

Their eyes wavered as they looked at the plate I offered.

“Yes, it’s from the Imperial Palace.  I shared some with the workers at the loading dock earlier, but I saved some for you two.”

It was a lie, of course.

This was Delton’s share, which he had stashed away before going to the loading dock.

But unaware of that, they nodded frantically with sparkling eyes.

“We’ll finish it in no time!”

“We can do the rest of the work tomorrow!”

Blinded by the sight of the luxurious desserts, they cleaned up all the fallen leaves in the temple at lightning speed.

But as expected, when they returned, the dessert plate was empty.

The two women swallowed their tears, looking at Delton, who was fast asleep with brown crumbs all over his white mane.

***

A week had passed since the trash and his appendages had fallen into my hands.

During that time, I tormented them with all sorts of petty methods, as if taking revenge for the past, and finally…

“Ah, I’m bored.”

I was completely bored.

Controlling those who had already lost everything wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be.

Tired of even facing them and giving them orders, I had the trash and his appendages moved somewhere out of sight.

With the source of my anger gone, I couldn’t be more comfortable, lazing around and enjoying nutritious meals.

‘Ah, I should have lived like this from the beginning.’

Why did I struggle so hard to earn and save when I was going to lose it all anyway?

I was filled with regret.

As I sprawled on the bed, humming leisurely, Delton asked, “But how long are you going to keep playing around? Don’t you need to make any plans?”

“Plans? What plans?”

“You’ve become a Saintess against your will, so you need to plan what you’re going to do next.”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head.

“I’m planning to laze around for a while.”

“Laze around?”

“Yes, what else would I do? I’m just an ordinary human without a shred of divine power.”

Delton looked bewildered as I spoke with wide eyes.

“So you’re not going to do anything? What if you get kicked out of the temple?”

“That’s the goal.”

“…What?”

“I became a Saintess to get revenge on that trash and save my life, but how long can this last?”

I shrugged.

“I’m just going to play around and step down when the time is right.”

“No, how is that possible? You’ve already received the Pope’s approval, how can you step down? Are you going to confess that it was all a lie?”

“Confess?! Don’t say such dangerous things!”

I shuddered as if the thought itself was horrifying.

“Why would I need to confess just to step down from the Saintess position? I can just say, ‘The Goddess said I’m not worthy of being entrusted with the Empire’s safety and that she’ll call upon me later.'”

“Huh, what the…”

Delton burst out laughing in disbelief.

Ignoring him, I stretched languidly, feeling the warm sunlight.

‘Ah, this is nice.’

Hoping that this peace would last as long as possible, and that I could live a slow and lazy life like a slug for once.

But.

“S-Saintess, it’s terrible!”

As soon as my prayer ended, the door burst open, and the maid rushed in.

Her expression was urgent.

“What is it?”

“I-It seems the disasters have started again. Fist-sized hail is falling on the northern border, and the residents are suffering great damage.”

“…What?”

Dumbfounded by the sudden end of peace, I gaped.

‘As soon as I made a wish…’

Unaware of my thoughts, the maid continued to urge me, “This isn’t the time to be like this. His Holiness is looking for you.  The Imperial Palace has also requested your presence.  Please get up!”

I stared blankly at her as she hurriedly pulled the blanket off and tried to get me up.

Then…

“Ah, I suddenly feel dizzy…”

I clutched my head and collapsed onto the bed.

‘That’s my life.’

What rest, what peace.

I sniffled, lamenting my consistently unfortunate fate.