‘Why is Marianne here?’
Since I’d changed the original plot far too much, the flow of the original story had lost all meaning.
In the original, Marianne only received the oracle and became a Saint after Veronica and the Duke of Winston were branded traitors and vanished. Until then, she had to live in hiding with her mother, Gloria, avoiding people’s eyes. After all, she was an illegitimate child without proper standing.
‘Now that I think about it, because Dantellion ascended the throne earlier than in the original, Marianne must’ve received the oracle and become a Saint right away.’
There hadn’t been any formal announcement from the temple yet, but it looked like some work was being done behind the scenes without Dantellion’s knowledge. Especially if she was appearing this openly in the heart of the capital.
“Lady!”
“Ah.”
Startled by Marianne’s sudden appearance, I turned my eyes to her again at Sophia’s shout.
“Your nanny…”
“Are you alright, my lady?”
“Is Nanny okay?”
“Yes, I’m alright.”
To reassure me, Sophia gently rubbed my back with her palm. But even her hand was trembling faintly.
I hugged her tightly, drawing strength from her warmth, and soon my own body, which had unknowingly been trembling, began to calm down.
“Who are you?”
“Ah…”
Abel asked warily, his eyes on Marianne.
Marianne, who had been standing dazedly after spotting me, was flustered by his question and stammered.
“I… I am…”
“…”
It seemed like Marianne also knew who I was. Otherwise, she wouldn’t look at me with such guilt written all over her face.
We’d locked eyes during the previous victory banquet—she must have recognized me then too.
“Saint!”
At that moment, someone came running toward us. The silver armor they wore shimmered in the sunlight.
‘A Holy Knight?’
The sun emblem of the temple was etched onto the armor.
The Holy Knight, with light brown hair and green eyes, exhaled a breath of relief when he saw Marianne.
“Saint, how many times have I told you not to run off like that?”
“But… I sensed a dark presence…”
“Besides, this is private property. Even if you’re a Saint, you cannot just enter as you please.”
“Yes… I’m sorry, Sir Noel.”
At the knight’s scolding, Marianne lowered her head apologetically.
Behind them, servants who had followed them wide-eyed.
“My lady! Lady Sophia! What happened here?!”
The townhouse butler in particular looked pale with shock.
Sophia and Abel were soon busy explaining the situation to the gathered servants.
“So that’s what happened… These people said there was something vile inside the mansion and insisted they had to come in…”
The butler clicked his tongue as he explained why he had allowed the strangers to enter.
Traces of the ancient demon still lingered in the garden.
Even though Marianne had purified the area as a Saint, dark energy remained scattered like ash, unable to be completely erased.
“Please stay away from here for the time being. The temple will guard the area until all traces of the demon are removed.”
“The temple? But we need the Duke’s permission…”
“Then we’ll speak to the Duke when he returns.”
The Holy Knight spoke to the butler as if he was used to this sort of situation. I quietly observed them.
[Ugh, I hate those lackeys of the angels!]
[I hate ancient demons, but I hate these guys too!]
Desmond and Vivi’s reactions were identical. I remembered they’d said similar things about the temple priests during the coronation.
I let the screeching voices of the demons flow in one ear and out the other, standing quietly while holding Sophia’s hand. Abel then suggested we return to the mansion.
“It could be dangerous. Let’s go inside, Dia.”
“Mhm.”
The knights who had been escorting me were now being healed by the Holy Knights. Thankfully, no one had died.
“U-um…”
“…?”
Just as I began to relax and head back to the mansion, Marianne blocked my path.
“Well…”
“…?”
I stared at her, wondering what she was trying to say, but she opened her mouth only to close it again. She stayed silent for a while, unable to speak.
“What business do you have with the young lady?”
“Ah…”
Abel asked on my behalf. Their eyes met.
“Y-Young Lady, I… that is…”
Marianne didn’t seem to know how to introduce herself. We were half-sisters with the same father, but we couldn’t openly call each other sisters. Especially not in noble society, where illegitimate children were never acknowledged.
Even so, Marianne desperately tried to speak to me.
Why? Was it guilt? Did she want to apologize?
But that was between our parents—what did it have to do with Marianne?
‘Whatever the reason, this is a great opportunity.’
Before the ancient demon attacked, I’d been planning to secretly extract Nathaniel from the temple.
And now, someone who could help with that had just appeared out of the blue. It was practically good luck.
I put on the most innocent face I could and beamed brightly.
“Saint Sister!”
“…Huh?”
“Thank you for saving me, Sister!”
“S-Sister?”
Marianne’s eyes widened in shock at my words. Her violet eyes, identical to mine, trembled.
“You were so cool! You shone with a bright, white light!”
“…”
“You’re amazing!”
As I showered her with praise, Marianne’s pale face turned red.
They say compliments make even whales dance. Marianne, who had been frozen, shyly asked,
“R-Really?”
“Yes!”
“…”
She must’ve been seven or eight, being born before Claudia.
She was still a child—easier to handle that way. I hid my devious thoughts and took another step closer to her.
“Dia, don’t.”
“Why?”
“She’s a stranger. It’s dangerous.”
Once again, Abel stopped me. Though he knew Marianne was a Saint, he was still overly cautious.
That was likely because of the temple’s strained relationship with Dantellion.
Though the Duke of Winston and his northern followers had maintained neutrality whenever the imperial faction clashed with the empress dowager and former emperors, they were essentially imperial loyalists. Once Dantellion took action, they must’ve quickly aligned with him.
Now that the entire north supported the Emperor, the temple—being his opposition—could not be on friendly terms.
Abel, heir to the Gideon Count family, one of Winston’s loyal houses, would know this better than anyone.
“She’s not a stranger! I saw her at the big party!”
“The big party?”
“Yeah!”
Since Abel had come to the capital after the victory banquet, he hadn’t known Marianne was there.
And Claudia, being only five, couldn’t possibly understand adult matters. She wouldn’t know that Marianne was her half-sister until she was told.
So I played dumb and blinked innocently. Abel didn’t seem to realize that Marianne and I were half-sisters, but was clearly torn because of the temple.
Tap, tap, tap!
“Dia!”
“Mommy!”
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from somewhere, and Veronica came running toward me, her face deathly pale.
She had gone to meet Cedric. Seeing her safe brought another wave of relief.
“Dia, are you alright?”
“Mhm, Dia’s okay.”
She must’ve already heard from the servants about what happened when she entered the mansion.
Her red eyes scanned me from head to toe. After confirming I was truly unharmed, she let out a long sigh.
“Whew… thank goodness.”
“Yeah! Saint Sister saved me!”
“Saint… Sister?”
At my words, Veronica looked puzzled. Then she turned her head toward Marianne.
It felt strange to let Veronica see Marianne—Gloria’s daughter—but I had no choice now.
As I expected, Veronica’s face went expressionless when she recognized who Marianne was.
“You are…”
“G-Greetings, Lady Veronica. My name is Marianne.”
“….”
Marianne couldn’t bring herself to say Cedric’s surname in front of Veronica, and bowed her head, trembling.
And with the heavy tension settling over the garden, no one dared open their mouth.
