The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 31

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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 031
The days leading up to the debutante ball passed without incident.
I no longer gathered at the Conti Duke’s Residence, and I spent my time engaged in charitable work or in prayer.
[Current Gauge: 31.4%]
“…This is serious.”
I muttered while staring intently at my status window. No matter how much I’d been living as the real Justitia lately, the gauge was devastatingly low.
My original plan was to leave this place next month. At this rate, it was utterly impossible.
‘I need to change my strategy.’
I would have to increase my social activities starting with the debutante ball. There were limits to what I could do within the Cathedral.
Besides, Alfonso had already acknowledged me as his prospective queen, so it wouldn’t seem strange to do so.
More importantly, what dress should I wear to the debutante ball? Since I’m only going to fill 1%, I’ll just make do with what I have….
“Um, Saint.”
While I was deep in thought, I heard Nora calling me. When I turned my head, Nora opened her mouth with a somewhat troubled expression.
“A package has arrived.”
“From whom?”
“Three in total. One from the Archbishop, one from His Majesty the King, and one from the Cassini Duke.”
“What? Why are all three suddenly sending me packages….”
In that moment, a thought suddenly struck me. When I looked at Nora with a “surely not” expression, she nodded.
Then she brought three packages of identical size before me.
As I unwrapped each one, the results matched my expectations. I let out a hollow laugh.
The dress code for this debutante ball was white dresses.
Three white dresses with different designs were placed inside boxes, wrapped with elegant packaging.
“Which one do you like best?”
The dress Formoso sent was an empire-waist dress that evoked holy vestments.
Alfonso had sent a bell-line dress covered in frills, the kind you’d see in court portraits.
Finally, Sergio had sent a simple A-line dress, and for some reason, this gift felt the most disagreeable to me.
“The Duke surely sent a dress to the Cassini Noblewoman as well, didn’t he?”
“Well, I suppose so?”
“It’s probably more elaborate than this one. Is he pressuring me to dress more plainly than his own sister?”
Sell it. I immediately pushed Sergio’s dress aside. Nora, thinking the same way, quietly tidied up the box.
“Of course, a simple design does suit you well, but the debutante ball only comes once in a lifetime. I’d prefer something more elaborate.”
“By that logic, this dress resembling holy vestments would also be disqualified, wouldn’t it?”
Of course, it was quite an elaborate dress thanks to the embroidery laid in gold thread and the sapphire jewels adorning the waist area.
But the intention to emphasize my affiliation with the Cathedral was far too blatant, which made me recoil.
“That leaves only the dress His Majesty the King sent.”
Regardless of the sender, Nora seemed to prefer Alfonso’s dress the most. It was probably the most elaborate in appearance, after all.
In truth, this dress did look the best, but I didn’t want to wear something he had sent so readily.
Sergio and Formoso surely knew that I had received dresses from them, and if I wore this, they would think he was my favorite.
I knew that’s how it should appear, and I understood that would be better.
But I pushed the last remaining box aside as well.
“Your Holiness! You’re not wearing that either?”
“No, sell it. Tell His Majesty I’m grateful for the gesture, but I’ll decline the gift. He can’t object if the proceeds go to aid the poor.”
“But then you’ll have no new dress for the ball.”
“Why must it be new? I can have one of my existing dresses altered and wear that instead.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Nora murmured with a bewildered expression.
“But it’s a debutante ball—a once-in-a-lifetime event…”
“Saving people who are starving to death right now matters more, don’t you think?”
Nora sighed and nodded reluctantly.
“That’s precisely why I admire you so, Your Holiness. Please leave the alterations to me. I’ll do my very best.”
“Thank you, Nora.”
I smiled wryly and repacked the parcels together with her.
When I brought the dresses to the Auction House the next day, they initially expressed reluctance. Given who the gifts were from, they seemed worried about potential repercussions.
But once I framed it as the King, the Duke, and the Archbishop all endorsing the charitable cause, they readily paid a handsome sum for the dresses.
Naturally, within days the news had spread throughout the Convent.
The Saint had sold all the debutante ball dresses gifted to her by three men and donated the proceeds to aid the poor.
“Isn’t the Saint truly remarkable? To sell such precious dresses and use the money for charity…”
“But wouldn’t all three of them be displeased? Those dresses were gifts meant for Her Holiness.”
“Not at all. I hear all three approved of her decision.”
The lie I’d told during the sale had become established fact, spreading like wildfire.
Yet none of the three men corrected it.
Naturally, because there’s nothing quite so invisible as an act of benevolence.
Though that didn’t mean it escaped my notice.
“Your Holiness, the Archbishop has arrived.”
This was our first formal meeting since the minor friction in the Choir Loft.
I welcomed him into my room with genuine delight. I had a strong premonition that this encounter would raise his affection gauge considerably.
“Welcome, Archbishop.”
I greeted Formoso with a radiant smile.
Seeing him after so long, I noticed he’d grown somewhat gaunt. I regarded him with puzzlement and asked.
“Are you unwell? You seem to have lost weight.”
As I approached him with a warm smile, Formoso flinched and stared at me blankly.
Observing his reaction with confusion, Formoso opened his mouth with an expression tinged with melancholy.
“So now you treat me with kindness.”
“What do you mean? When have I ever been unkind to you?”
So he does notice after all. I suppressed an inward smirk and continued.
“You’ve grown thinner since we last met, so naturally I’m concerned. Please, sit down.”
I handed him a cup of fragrant lavender tea and asked.
“What brings you here?”
“Are you still upset about what happened then?”
“What happened then?”
“It was in the Choir Loft that I….”
Formoso hesitated slightly, as though reluctant to broach the subject of that day.
“I admit I was overly sensitive toward the Saint.”
There was something subtly anxious in Formoso’s demeanor as he spoke.
“I regretted it. I was merely concerned that gossips might take your name in vain….”
“I’m fine. It didn’t bother me at all.”
I smiled gently and replied. My status window remained calm. Because it was the truth.
Yet Formoso didn’t seem satisfied even by my reassurance. Could it be….
“Were you hoping I would be troubled by what happened then?”
If so, that would be rather self-absorbed. As I asked with a slight lift of my lips, Formoso shook his head firmly.
“Not at all. It’s simply that you sold the dress I gifted you so promptly, and I grew concerned whether your heart was wounded by that day’s events. There were even rumors circulating that I had authorized its disposal.”
“Well, I understood the Archbishop’s intentions in giving me that dress. Isn’t that enough?”
I continued with a faint smile.
“You hoped I would wear a beautiful gown and make a splendid debut. But you know as well as I do. I did not become a Saint to indulge in such personal desires.”
“…Is that truly the only reason?”
“Of course. Could there be another?”
“You harbor no resentment toward me.”
“I don’t. Why would I harbor such a thing?”
As I laughed as though bewildered, Formoso pressed his lips together tightly before posing a rather flustered question.

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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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