The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 27

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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 027
“…And Lumiel?”
“The Noblewoman will be out shortly.”
Though in truth, it would take a while.
Lumiel seemed intent on deepening her connections with the noblewomen, lingering at the Estate as long as possible for this opportunity.
Sergio surely knew this, yet I couldn’t fathom why he kept asking such pointless questions.
‘It’s not as though Lumiel arrives without a carriage. Why does he keep coming to fetch her?’
Thanks to him, I found myself seeing Sergio’s face every week. Such remarkable devotion to a younger sister.
The fortunate part was that he hadn’t made any absurd suggestions like inviting me to his home since that first day. Though I must admit, that 1% affection I gained then proved quite useful.
“Then do take care of yourself.”
“You’re not struggling with anything?”
I couldn’t understand why he kept trying to extend the conversation.
When I turned my head, he was staring at me with an expressionless face.
It didn’t seem like genuine curiosity. Perhaps waiting for Lumiel alone had grown tedious for him? I gave a perfunctory response.
“Yes.”
Ah, that was far too brief.
“I’m managing fine.”
After adding that single phrase, I headed toward my carriage, when a cheerful cry rang out from behind.
“Brother!”
Interesting—she emerged earlier than usual today.
Glancing back, I saw Lumiel clinging to Sergio’s arm.
And Sergio gazing down at her with tender eyes.
Then our eyes met unexpectedly. He narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘Don’t misunderstand—I wasn’t looking because I wanted to.’
I turned my head away without changing my expression. I had no desire to be suspected of harboring envy.
“The Cassini Noblewoman isn’t a child, yet you keep coming to fetch her. Is the Duke’s work really so leisurely?”
Nora grumbled on my behalf. When I laughed quietly, she glanced at me cautiously.
It seemed she worried I might feel a sense of loss.
“After finally finding his younger sister, he should do at least that much.”
“Still, thank goodness today is the last time.”
Nora, who had been muttering, looked at my face and asked carefully, as if struck by a thought.
“…Do you need to come here again?”
“I’ve taken on new responsibilities.”
When I explained that I’d been tasked with selecting the musical pieces and dance order for the debutante ball, Nora practically leaped with joy.
“That means Countess Conti recognizes you as the future queen! Then the Cassini Noblewoman has no reason to come here anymore, does she?”
“I suppose not.”
How wrong I was. Despite having completed her purpose, Lumiel attended the meeting the following week.
“The Cassini Noblewoman must have received quite a number of slot reservation letters.”
“Oh my… no, not really. Only about ten a day, you could say.”
“Goodness, ten letters a day is quite substantial.”
Unlike me, who arrived almost exactly on time for the meeting, Lumiel had come early and was already engaged in pleasant conversation with the other ladies.
“I’m curious who will claim the debutante’s dance slots. Surely Cassini Duke will take the first one?”
“Of course. I’d like to give more gentlemen an opportunity, but….”
“Yet no one is more suited to the first slot than Cassini Duke.”
“Besides, if the Duke lost the first slot to another gentleman, how disappointed he would be?”
At a ball, one couldn’t simply dance with anyone—partners were determined by the slots written on the dance card.
While some requests came spontaneously, pre-arranged reservations by letter were also common, allowing dance cards to be filled in advance.
Popular debutantes like Lumiel often had their dance slots completely filled before the ball even began. She seemed to be boasting about it now.
“Ah, the Saint has arrived.”
It was then that Lumiel acknowledged me first. Only then did the other ladies notice my presence and offer their greetings.
“Surely you’ve received many reservation letters for your slots as well, Saint?”
I laughed and shook my head at someone’s question.
“Given who my betrothed is, any sensible gentleman wouldn’t send reservation letters to a debutante who’s already engaged.”
It was a subtle jab at Lumiel, who had caused a scandal through inappropriate conduct last time. Her smile stiffened slightly.
“True enough. If the slots filled beforehand, His Majesty might take offense.”
Alfonso? He seemed like he wouldn’t care as long as the engagement held. Instead of scoffing, I answered with nauseating sweetness.
“I intend not to let even my fingertips touch another man besides His Majesty. I don’t wish to displease him.”
“Still, don’t make yourself a wallflower, Saint. Many gentlemen should have the opportunity to dance with you.”
Nonsense. I planned to dance only the first dance with Alfonso that evening and remain like a wallflower. Dancing was such exhausting labor.
“Everyone’s here now. Let’s begin the meeting.”
As Countess Conti entered, the chatter naturally ceased.
“Saint, have you decided on the musical selections and dance order?”
I nodded and handed her the card with the musical selections and dance order written on it. Countess Conti examined the card and murmured.
“The early dances are all cheerful with fast tempos? Usually such pieces are placed in the latter half.”
“Since this is a debutante ball, I wanted to emphasize liveliness and vitality. Moreover, debutantes with limited High Society experience tend to tire as the evening progresses, so I judged it best to place more demanding pieces at the beginning.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Thank you for your effort.”
It was rather experimental choreography for a typical ball, which usually began with slower pieces, but fortunately Countess Conti seemed pleased.
“What do the rest of you think?”
“It seems good. It should help elevate the ball’s atmosphere quickly.”
“Yes, it should be perfect for easing the debutantes’ nerves.”
The others nodded in agreement, offering positive reactions, when I suddenly noticed Lumiel’s expression.
She looked quite flustered, as if about to say something, but when our eyes met, she clamped her mouth shut.
…What was that?
“Is there a problem, Cassini Noblewoman?”
Not letting it pass, I asked, and everyone’s attention turned to Lumiel. Her expression grew even more uncomfortable.
“Your expression didn’t look good.”
“Ah….”
Lumiel laughed with a visibly troubled face and shook her head.
“It’s nothing….”
Something was clearly wrong. I watched Lumiel carefully, but she refused to open her mouth.

* * *
As I exited the conference room, Sergio was waiting for me once again, as expected.This time, I offered only a nod in greeting and attempted to pass by him.From my previous encounters, I had learned that it was difficult to improve my standing with him in this place.”So you’re going to ignore me entirely?”But his words caught me off guard, and I found myself stopping in my tracks.Ignore him? Me? Him?Setting aside the question of who had first ignored Justitia, I had never ignored him.”Didn’t I just greet you?””A silent bow hardly counts as a greeting.””At least I acknowledged your presence.”Before Justitia’s death, Sergio had made a habit of ignoring her. I had offered a bow, but he had refused to even glance her way.He did so without hesitation even in crowded venues, and those watching had grown so uncomfortable that they felt compelled to console Justitia.One day, when Justitia had delicately expressed her hurt about it…”I had something on my mind.”He had answered with those exact words, only with a different tone. When I turned his own words back on him, Sergio’s expression became momentarily incredulous.”I’m curious what could be occupying your thoughts so thoroughly that you can’t manage a proper greeting.”Why was he so fixated on greetings? He wasn’t some delinquent upperclassman. I drew a mental line and resolved to end this conversation.”It was about the debutante ball. Now, if you’ll excuse me.””Is it a dance slot problem?”Sergio continued asking questions without reading the room, refusing to let the conversation end. Moreover, it was a surprisingly astute question.”A dance slot?””The first one would naturally be His Majesty.”Unfortunately, that was true. I had spent so much time speaking of love that I couldn’t avoid dancing with him.”Is there any reason to worry about the second one?””No. I’ve never worried about that.”I was only planning to dance the first dance and then leave.Yet at my answer, something seemed to satisfy Sergio, and his expression shifted with subtle contentment.”Then I’ll take my leave.”That subtle satisfaction irritated me, so I quickly excused myself from the situation. This time, Sergio didn’t try to stop me.He was always coming to fetch Lumiel, and now he was nitpicking my greetings. He certainly seemed to have plenty of free time.
I tried to greet him with just a nod this time and pass by him.
From my experience a few times, I realized it’s difficult to raise the gauge here.
“Are you planning to completely ignore me?”
But I was so taken aback by those words that I stopped in my tracks.
“Ignore you? Me? You?”
Regardless of who disrespected Justitia first, I never disrespected her.
“Didn’t I just greet you?”
“Is a mere bow really what you call a greeting?”
“At least I’m not pretending not to know.”
Before Justitia died, Sergio ignoring her was commonplace. I at least paid my respects, but he wouldn’t even spare her a glance.
She did it so shamelessly, even in places where many eyes were watching, that the people observing her became so uncomfortable they ended up trying to comfort Justitia.
One day, when Justitia carefully expressed her disappointment about that point…
“I have something to think about.”
I’ll just give him back the same answer, only with a different tone. Sergio’s expression became momentarily dumbfounded.
“I’m curious what you were so lost in thought about that you couldn’t even greet me properly.”
No, he’s not even a delinquent senior, so why is he so obsessed with greetings? I drew the line inwardly, fed up with it.
“It was related to a debutante ball. Well, I should be going now.”
“Is it a dance slot problem?”
Sergio kept asking questions without picking up on the mood, refusing to let the conversation drop. Moreover, it was a rather out-of-the-blue question.
“Is it a dance slot?”
“The first one would naturally be you, Your Majesty.”
Unfortunately, that was the case. Because I had been talking about love all this time, I couldn’t help but dance.
“Is there any reason to think about a second one?”
“No. I’ve never worried about that issue.”
I’m only going to dance the first dance and then leave.
For some reason, Sergio’s expression subtly shifted to one of satisfaction at my answer.
Then I’ll be on my way.
Something about it felt oddly off, so I quickly excused myself from the situation. This time, Sergio didn’t try to stop me either.
Every time he came to pick up Lumiel, he’d nitpick my greetings for no reason. He seemed to have quite a bit of free time on his hands.

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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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