The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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# Chapter 34.
“Saintess.”
I turned, and Gaitel, standing at the entrance of the White Rose Greenhouse, smiled knowingly.
She was no longer the brown-haired Gaitel I had known.
She bore the Empire’s symbol in her long black hair and blood-red eyes—the Imperial Princess herself.
The ambitious princess who, even in the novel, had outlasted them all.
“I’ll send you an invitation soon.”
She said she would become my backing.
“An invitation?”
“Yes.”
Gaitel laughed softly.
“I shall take responsibility for your first step into high society, hehe.”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
High society? Me?
‘Can’t I just stay at the Temple giving Blessings to people?’
“Couldn’t I… not go?”
From Gaitel’s silent smile, I could hear a definitive answer clearly.
No.
“That won’t do.”
Of course.
“My, why do you look so frightened?”
Gaitel bent slightly to meet my eye level.
“I’m right here beside you.”
That’s exactly what terrifies me.
* * *
Gaitel kept her promise remarkably quickly.
It was the fourth day since Erisha’s ascension.
An invitation arrived at the Temple, and it was bound to be the most ornate envelope possible.
The Imperial seal was stamped in the very center, and the paper itself carried an old-fashioned fragrance.
Even the gilt lettering looked elegant.
The moment I saw it, I stepped back.
I could tell what it meant without opening it.
“Becki.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“Tell me—do I really have to open this?”
“An invitation from the Imperial Palace? There’s nothing harmful about maintaining good relations with the Imperial House.”
No, Becki. You’re wrong.
You have no idea how frightening these people are.
‘They’re nothing like the soft, gentle priests at the Temple.’
The Pope, occupied with work before me, opened the invitation and lifted his eyebrows slightly.
I studied his expression carefully.
Was he angry? Had I caused some great trouble and disappointed him?
His deep green eyes moved slowly.
Having read the invitation through, he looked at me.
“This is an invitation from Princess Gaitel.”
“The Princess?”
I repeated the question even though I already knew.
“Yes. She wishes to invite you to a small tea party.”
“Is that… a place I should attend?”
Please tell me I don’t have to.
‘I have so much to do. I still need to give Blessings to all the people who come.’
Whether he noticed my reluctant expression or not, the Pope approved with satisfaction.
“Well then.”
He set down the invitation and pondered for a moment.
“It seems the Princess wishes to help you enter high society.”
“High society…”
My voice grew faint.
“Must I really go?”
“You could refuse, if you wished.”
The Pope gently stroked my head as he spoke, his tone soothing.
“But Diane, the position of Saintess cannot exist only within the Temple walls.”
The logic was sound, which made it all the more distasteful.
‘Honestly, the Temple isn’t a charity organization either.’
They need to put me on display to earn money and keep the place running.
The moment this thought crossed my mind unbidden, the discipline that had been loosened by the sudden barrage of affection snapped back into place.
Like a splash of cold water.
‘Right. I’m not here on vacation.’
At least if they’re feeding and sheltering me, I owe them something in return.
There were people who would be disappointed if I refused High Society outright.
‘And I can’t stand to see them like that.’
Faced with a reality I couldn’t escape, I stuck out my lip in a pout.
Fine. Gaitel said she’d help me, so I should seize this opportunity.
“There will be a lot of people, won’t there?”
“The Princess herself wrote down ‘a small tea party,’ so the numbers should be modest—though there may well be those with significant power among them.”
Ugh, just thinking about it drains me.
The Pope wiped the cocoa from the corner of my mouth with his thumb and chuckled softly.
“Don’t make that face. Yes, I’ll send Sir Liam along with you as well.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
That brought some relief. He was the one who saved me first, after all, and except for Becki, he’d been around me more than anyone else—
‘Like a duckling that’s just imprinted on its mother.’
Inevitable.
Of course, as the Captain of the Holy Knights, he was a busy man, and guilt gnawed at me for it.
‘Keeping someone by my side so often—someone who’s supposed to die in my place in the future—is that really alright?’
Wouldn’t it be better for Liam if I put distance between us, if I detached myself and severed our bond?
Another dark thought bloomed, and I quickly shook my head.
Wasn’t a person’s destiny something that couldn’t be changed?
……Probably?
“And Diane.”
The Pope called my name.
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard the broad strokes of what happened at the Imperial Palace.”
He exhaled heavily.
“You did something dangerous.”
“…….”
“You even helped uncover a concealed murder conspiracy, I’m told?”
“Yes, well…….”
Wasn’t that a good deed, though? The feeling of injustice rose in me, and tears threatened to well up again.
“I’m sorry.”
The Pope said nothing for a long time.
As the silence stretched, anxiety began to sprout anew.
‘What if he stops loving me because I did something reckless, and hates me now?’
If the Pope abandoned me too, there would be nothing left.
As my fingers fidgeted, the Pope sighed deeply and pressed his hand firmly down on my head.
“……?”
“I’m grateful you weren’t hurt.”
At his words, my head snapped up.
I met the Pope’s startled gaze head-on and asked.
“You’re not angry?”
“I was worried, rather.”
Something stirred in my chest at his answer.
“But from now on, tell me first before you do anything dangerous.”
“Spir——”
I stopped myself and closed my mouth.
In this place, no one except me, Demian, and Gaitel knows that spirits even exist.
So I always had to speak in roundabout terms.
“Things just happened to unfold that way so suddenly. I was surprised too.”
“I see.”
The Pope didn’t press further.
For that, I was grateful.
“Still, don’t carry this burden alone.”
“Yes.”
I opened my mouth without really thinking.
“But I managed well thanks to the Crown Prince.”
The Pope’s eyebrows shifted ever so slightly.
“……?”
What was that just now?
“You’ve grown quite close to the Crown Prince.”
His expression and demeanor were gentle, yet for some reason a chill ran down my spine.
Without knowing why, I hurried to explain myself.
“He helped me. We’re, we’re friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Though his face didn’t look like he believed me in the slightest, he seemed willing to let it slide.
“It’s fine to be close, but don’t give him too much of your time.”
Michael, who had been standing beside the Pope, winked at me and whispered softly.
“His Holiness is jealous.”
“Michael.”
He cleared his throat with a small cough, stepped back a pace, and broke into a grin.
“Why do you look at me that way, Your Holiness? I was merely speaking the truth.”
Though he’d terrified me at first impression, Michael—handsome like the Pope himself—seemed to have genuinely taken a liking to me.
In those early days after becoming the Saintess, I’d once gotten lost wandering alone through the Temple.
“Please see the Saintess safely to her room. She’s only just arrived and doesn’t know her way around yet—show her the path well.”
Worried at my fear of him then, he’d stopped a passing priest and arranged for them to guide me to my quarters instead.
After that, Michael made it a habit to look after me whenever we crossed paths.
Each time we’d meet in the corridors, he always seemed to be carrying something.
“I brought this for you, Saintess. Since Liam enjoys lemon flavor, I thought I’d prepare green grape for you.”
Dried fruits and candies—small, inconsequential things.
Where in this world could there be kindness without reason?
‘There must be something he wants from me.’
No matter how many times I turned it over in my mind, I couldn’t detect any hidden agenda.
When my expression grew dark, he simply asked why. When I skipped meals, he’d scold me. He was just like an ordinary guardian, nothing more.
That was all there was to it.
It was a way of being I’d never experienced before.
Kindness came with a price—I’d learned that lesson through long years of living.
So at first, I thought they all meant to use me.
Because of my station as the Saintess, or for the Temple’s reputation.
But somewhere along the way, such calculations began to fade from view.
The Pope, Michael, Becki, Liam.
They all treated me in the same way.
‘I was so frightened of the Cardinal back then.’
Now he felt almost like a dependable uncle.
Lost in that warm and comfortable atmosphere, I momentarily forgot all about the invitation Gaitel had given me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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