Marianne’s Invitation
Come to think of it, Abel hadn’t been with the direct descendants earlier when they were talking.
I stared at Abel, who looked completely unbothered, then turned my gaze to Marianne.
For some reason, she was looking at me with sparkling eyes as I was held in Raven’s arms.
“I went to pee.”
“I see.”
Abel gently nodded and looked at me as if I were adorable.
Even though I had possessed a child’s body, it was still hard to act boldly like I was supposed to.
“Saintess unni, are you going to live with Dia now?”
“Ah.”
“You are, right? Hm?”
“Well…”
Startled by my sudden question, Marianne flinched and looked around nervously.
Then her eyes met Abel’s, and she stiffened as she answered.
“Yes, I’ll be staying here for a while too.”
“Yay! Then let’s sleep together tonight, Dia and you!”
“Eh? That’s…”
At my suggestion, Marianne first looked surprised, then her face brightened.
But then, glancing at Abel again, she trailed off.
What is up with her? Why does she keep looking at Abel like that?
Frustrated and confused, I turned to look at Abel.
But, as always, he was simply smiling softly.
“That won’t do, Dia.”
“Whyyy?”
“We can’t let someone unfamiliar into your room.”
“Saintess unni isn’t a stranger!”
“Still no.”
“Tch!”
I turned my head with a pout.
But Abel remained firm.
Of course, it wasn’t like I truly wanted to sleep with Marianne—
I was just trying to act friendly with her, consistently.
Then Abel took a step toward me and asked,
“If you’re scared, do you want to sleep with me?”
“Hmm?”
I narrowed my eyes at Abel, who was strangely acting like he was flirting.
Just then, I felt a terrifying stare from somewhere.
“Viscount, that’s an inappropriate suggestion.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Tonight, I’ll be staying by the young miss’s side!”
“….”
Sofia shouted, her voice sharp.
It was the first time I’d seen the usually quiet Sofia this worked up.
“Don’t worry, young miss. Your nanny will be with you all night.”
“Y-yeah.”
For some reason, everyone around me—except me—seemed deathly serious.
Even Raven, who was holding me, had veins bulging in his arm.
…Are they worried because I nearly got attacked by an ancient demon?
A bit dazed, I suddenly remembered Marianne and turned toward her.
“Unni!”
“Yes?”
“Let’s eat together later!”
“Ah…”
There’s a saying in Korea—if you eat together, you grow closer.
Surely, it’s not much different in this world either.
My eyes sparkled with determination—I wasn’t going to give up on this.
But even now, Marianne hesitated.
“Saintess!”
“Ah, Sir Noel.”
At that moment, the holy knight I’d seen earlier approached quickly.
He glanced briefly at me and gave a slight nod—
Maybe because I was a Winston heir, he still treated me with courtesy.
“The High Priest is summoning you.”
“But…”
“We’re sufficient here. Please return to the temple now.”
“…!”
It was like thunder striking.
I thought I’d have plenty of chances to get close to Marianne,
But she was leaving already?
Frozen in shock, I suddenly came to my senses and shouted,
“Unni!”
“Yes?”
“Don’t go!”
“…!”
Marianne’s eyes widened at my plea.
They were the same violet eyes as Cedric and Claudia, yet somehow felt different.
Marianne’s violet eyes weren’t cold like theirs—they were warm.
Maybe even warmer than mine.
Her eyes softened like an angel’s descent—so gentle and kind.
“I’m sad to part so soon too, young lady.”
“Unniii…”
“Please come visit the temple. Promise me.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
An invitation I hadn’t expected.
I widened my eyes in surprise.
Nathaniel was in the temple’s underground.
If I could use meeting Marianne as an excuse to enter the temple,
I might just be able to sneak Nathaniel out using the demons.
“Yeah! I’ll definitely come!”
“Yes, young lady.”
Marianne smiled and waved at me.
Wanting to leave a good impression, I also waved enthusiastically to see her off.
Soon, Marianne and the holy knight left the mansion.
“Do you like the saintess that much, Dia?”
“Hmm?”
“More than me?”
“…”
What’s with him now?
I looked at Abel with a reluctant expression and tilted my head.
Was he getting nervous that someone like Marianne might get in the way of our bond?
Since I was a young lady of high rank and he was my future retainer, maybe he wanted to stay closest to me.
Still, Marianne technically belonged to the temple, so she wasn’t really a threat.
Unable to guess Abel’s true intentions, I ended up frowning in confusion.
He let out a chuckle.
“Sorry, Dia. I won’t tease you anymore.”
“Were you teasing me?”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Abel, you’re mean!”
I turned my head again, pretending to sulk.
Raven, as if waiting for that, started walking.
Right—we were on our way to the bathroom.
I squinted my eyes as I recalled our original purpose.
Now how do I get into the temple…
I had the excuse now, but I doubted the Winstons would just let me go.
They were probably going to overreact and worry like crazy.
I had been attacked by an ancient demon, after all.
They’d be even more desperate to protect me now.
I need to come up with a plan…
As I muttered to myself, the world suddenly went dark.
Startled, I grabbed tightly onto Raven’s arm.
But all strength left my body.
“Young miss!”
[Master!]
[My lady!]
Sofia’s scream rang out, along with Desmond and Vivi’s voices.
Things got noisier, but the sounds felt distant—
I couldn’t understand anything being said.
And just like that, I lost consciousness.
*
“Ugh…”
It felt like my head was splitting open.
A buzzing sound echoed in my ears.
Faint whispers drifted in and out, but I couldn’t make out any of it.
Where am I?
Barely managing to open my eyes, I looked up at the ceiling.
It seemed familiar.
It was the ceiling of my room in the townhouse where I fell asleep every night.
Judging by the daylight-colored ceiling, not much time had passed.
It must still be morning.
[Master, are you awake?]
Ugh… what happened?
[You overused your powers. Your body couldn’t take it.]
I overdid it? Me?
[And you were directly struck by the saintess’s holy power, too.]
Ah…
So demon and angelic powers are opposites after all.
Even though I could hide my powers from regular priests because I had a high-ranking demon inside me,
It seemed being near someone with strong holy power really was dangerous.
Clicking my tongue internally, I turned my head with effort.
There I saw Veronica, Sofia, and the other direct family members looking extremely worried.
“Her fever won’t go down. We still don’t know why…”
“Several doctors have already come and gone…”
“That demon from before—could it have…?”
Their voices were scattered and hard to follow,
But even without hearing clearly, I could tell they were all worried about me.
I hadn’t even been unconscious for half a day,
Yet they were in such a frenzy.
I let out a small scoff—
But what Desmond said next made my eyes go wide.
[Master, you’ve been unconscious for three days.]
What?
That long already?
So the sunlight I saw wasn’t from today—it had been several days.
Shocked, I trembled slightly in bed.
Now that I thought about it, aside from moving my head, I couldn’t move my body at all.
“Dia, are you awake?”
“Mm.”
Veronica was the first to notice I had awakened and approached the bed.
Her eyes were brimming with tears as she held my hand—
Just like she had on the first day I possessed this body.
“Mommy…”
“Yes, my Dia. Mommy’s here.”
“I feel sick…”
“Dia…”
For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say I was okay.
Instead, I whined softly.
Veronica’s face twisted in pain.
Seeing that pained face, I briefly wondered if I should’ve lied and said I was fine.
But instead, pathetic sounds kept spilling from my mouth.
“Mommy… Dia’s sick…”
“Dia… sob…”
As I continued whining without meaning to,
Veronica couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.
Duke Winston and Vincent came over and patted her shoulder to comfort her.
“We’ll have to send her to the temple.”
“But…”
“Even the priests who visited couldn’t heal her. If she goes to the temple… will it work?”
“…?”
Voices overlapped, but one word caught my attention.
Temple?
Before I lost consciousness, I’d been thinking about how to get into the temple.
And now, the opportunity had come.
As expected—luck is on my side.
Eyes gleaming in secret, I opened my mouth again.
