The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 25

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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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The Saint Is Such a Good Liar! Episode 025
What is this? I squinted at the status window, and suddenly a numerical countdown appeared.
5, 4, 3… Ah, so there’s a time limit too.
“I’ll do it!”
In my urgency, I blurted it out, and Sergio looked at me with startled eyes.
I laughed awkwardly and scrambled to recover.
“Actually, thinking about it, I can spare a moment. I’ll take my own carriage.”
I’d just have some tea and come back. There were no other conditions besides accepting the invitation.
“…Are you really going?”
Cassandro, who had been watching me decide to take my carriage, asked with a strangely reluctant expression.
Well, he knew Justitia well—a woman wounded by her cold-hearted brother.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back shortly.”
“….”
Cassandro’s expression seemed to say “then why go at all,” but instead of pressing further, he silently opened the door for me.
But life is inherently unpredictable. After some time, the carriage stopped, and the moment I entered Cassini Duke’s Residence….
“How convenient—it’s just about lunchtime.”
Sergio suddenly said this. I, who had planned to drink tea and leave, shook my head.
“Tea alone will suffice for me.”
“That’s far too stingy, Your Holiness.”
Lumiel interjected as if it were absurd.
“Cassini doesn’t entertain guests that way. Please, have a meal with us.”
Just then, the butler added that the meal was ready, and the atmosphere became one where I couldn’t refuse.
With no choice, I went to the Dining Hall and sat in what I remembered as my seat.
The second seat to the left of the head of the table had been mine before I left this place.
Sergio, who had once sat beside it, now occupied the head of the table.
“Why don’t you sit beside me?”
“This seat is comfortable.”
At that, Lumiel, who had been sitting to Sergio’s right, rose and moved to the seat beside me.
“Sitting like this, we really do look like a family, don’t we?”
Instead of answering, I smiled without much sincerity. Well, it was certainly what the real Justitia had always longed for.
But I wasn’t the real Justitia, and I had no attachment to this house whatsoever.
The appetizers began to arrive.
While I moved my cutlery in silence, eager to eat quickly and leave, Lumiel continued chattering beside me.
Sergio gazed at the scene with evident pleasure, of course.
‘They would have preferred it if I weren’t here.’
Then it would have been a perfectly harmonious family scene. As I thought this, I suddenly noticed something odd.
Wasn’t the food coming out too smoothly?
I wasn’t an expected guest, yet each dish arrived without the usual delays in preparation.
As if I had been invited from the very beginning….
“I hope it suits your palate.”
It was then that Sergio suddenly asked me a question.
Lumiel’s chatter ceased abruptly. I set down my utensil and lifted my gaze to look at him.
“It’s delicious—a bit salty, actually.”
“Is it?”
“The Temple uses very little salt.”
“The Temple’s food is certainly healthier.”
Sergio murmured.
“You must have missed the food from here.”
“Quite so. At this point, I’ve spent more time at the Temple than I ever did here, so my palate has changed.”
I finished speaking and dabbed my lips with a napkin.
At my gesture to end the meal, Sergio narrowed his brows and asked.
“You’re leaving already?”
“I’m not accustomed to unfamiliar foods. I hope you’ll understand.”
The food was actually delicious, but not enough to endure sitting with uncomfortable people. I rose from my seat.
“Thank you for the invitation, Duke. The meal was wonderful.”
And I promptly left the Dining Hall.
I knew it wasn’t proper etiquette to leave during a meal.
‘But these aren’t people I need to maintain propriety with.’
As I walked, recalling the Entrance Hall I’d come through earlier, I heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind, and someone seized my shoulder, turning me around.
“…Duke?”
Sergio stared at me with sharp eyes, breathing heavily. I made a small sound before speaking.
“There’s no need to see me out. Perhaps you should go to Lumiel and—”
“Why are you leaving so soon?”
“Because the meal is finished?”
I asked back, bewildered.
“Is there a reason to stay longer?”
“You said you were preparing for the ball with Lumiel.”
“There’s no need to do it today.”
I glanced at the hand gripping my shoulder as I spoke.
“I’m rather tired. I’d like to go home and rest.”
So won’t you let go of me?
But instead of releasing my shoulder, Sergio clenched his teeth.
“…Your room is still here.”
Perhaps because of this, his voice was somewhat strained.
“I haven’t had it cleaned. If you’re very tired…”
“I have my own home.”
I’d never truly considered the Temple my home, but it was certainly more comfortable than here.
At my answer, Sergio’s eyes wavered. I drove the point home like a wedge.
“Please send me home, Duke.”
“…You’re Cassini too.”
Justitia Cassini. Hearing him recite that old name, I couldn’t help but let out a silent laugh.
“So I was the Duke’s younger sister.”
“….”
“That’s right. I had momentarily forgotten.”
Lumiel had already gone outside to find her brother.
Watching her from a distance, I leaned close to Sergio and whispered.
“But the younger sister who came to pick him up today seemed to be just one person.”
“….”
“Go quickly. Your sister is looking for you.”
I gestured with my chin toward the space beyond his shoulder, and Sergio turned his head. While his gaze shifted, I slipped away from my spot.
After that, leaving the Cassini Duke’s Residence proved easy.
I boarded the carriage with Cassandro’s escort, leaving the grand and stately mansion behind.
“Did anything happen?”
I had told Cassandro there was no need to follow since I would be out shortly.
I answered with a light shrug of my shoulders instead.
“Let’s return quickly. My bed must be yearning for me earnestly.”
As the carriage door closed and we departed the residence, I caught sight of Sergio emerging into the courtyard.
I couldn’t fathom what he was chasing after. When what he had been searching for so desperately was right there inside his own home.

* * *
Preparations for the debutante ball proceeded smoothly. The problem was that my lie gauge was equally depleted.
‘I can’t possibly perform in a gathering of all those elderly noblewomen.’
I had only communicated with Lumiel through letters to leave evidence, so there were no other opportunities.
‘Lumiel did ask me to keep meeting and talking.’
Which made it all the more suspicious. If I tried to gain some gauge points now, I’d only end up in deeper trouble later.
And so the day of the interim check arrived.
“I’ve reviewed the reports you both submitted. The ‘Queen of Spring’ concept is conventional, but it’s equally orthodox.”
“I share that opinion, but… since it came from the Saint.”
Lumiel smiled with a wistful expression and an odd remark.
‘Really, then why don’t you offer your own opinion.’
Lumiel’s letters were filled with nothing but flowery language and never once presented a clear opinion.
After exchanging only meaningless correspondence, I eventually grew exhausted and took the lead myself.
Even after graduating from university, I ended up being the group project bus driver.
Of course, more innovative ideas would be nice… but my creativity is already stretched thin just maintaining my lies.
“I noticed the lady was quite hesitant about offering opinions. I told her any opinion would be fine.”
In any case, no matter how important the gauge is, I can’t bear to look incompetent. I smiled brightly and told the truth.
“I thought if I offered something unconventional in this situation, it might burden the lady. So I tried to suggest the most orthodox direction possible.”
[Lie Gauge increased by 0.1%]
[Current Gauge: 29.7%]
…The status window had to go and mark it as a lie. For the first time, my conscience pricked me, so I pretended not to see it.
“You offered that opinion for my sake?”
This time, Lumiel was taken aback. Her question carried genuine bewilderment, but I pressed forward without shame.
“We’re creating this concept together, so if only I contribute good ideas, wouldn’t it weigh heavily on your conscientious heart?”
As if having her act as a bus driver wasn’t enough—now she wanted me to deliver her safely to a good location? I should be grateful we arrived without incident.
“But then it won’t look like we did this together. It’ll look like I did everything alone.”
The report was supposedly collaborative work, but I’d written nearly all of it.
I hadn’t meant to mention that, yet Lumiel’s eyes were already glistening with unshed tears.

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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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