The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 96
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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 Lies So Well! Episode 96
The carriage turned into the city district. Sergio took me on a date to the theater, but where was Alfonso heading?
“……A boutique?”
It was the largest in the city. I spoke with a cold, measured gaze.
“I don’t need new clothes, Your Majesty.”
“I know. But I’d like to go on a date with a woman in a beautiful dress.”
“Then I suppose I’m not very beautiful?”
“I said a beautiful dress, Justitia. You’re…….”
Alfonso stared at me intently. I didn’t bother to look away.
Time hung suspended between us for a moment.
“……You are beautiful.”
Flattery. I let out a short, derisive laugh.
“Wear it or don’t—suit yourself. But I’d appreciate it if you’d try it on now.”
“You just said I could do as I please.”
I was about to enter the boutique when Alfonso suddenly seized my wrist. When I turned, he linked my arm through his.
“Still, I came to buy a dress for my betrothed. Shouldn’t we at least pretend to be close?”
I said nothing and entered the boutique willingly enough.
Naturally, the sudden arrival of the King sent the boutique into chaos.
“Your Majesty graces us with your presence! Is it a dress for the Saint that you seek?”
“The most expensive you have—something that suits my betrothed well.”
“How fortunate! We have just the dress for the Saint. Do come this way?”
And so I found myself in a dress that…….
Pale pink sapphires were densely studded along the bodice and waistline, interspersed with tiny diamonds that gleamed so brightly it hurt to look at the mirror for long.
Toward the hem, the ornamentation grew even more elaborate, with rose-tinted gems and pearls layered in intricate patterns.
It was ostentatiously ornate—almost absurdly so—and yet…….
‘Strangely enough, Justitia pulls it off.’
Everyone around me offered nothing but praise. But would such an excessive dress truly please Alfonso?
Doubtful, I made my way to the reception room where Alfonso waited.
With each step I took, the pink radiance scattered like ripples on water—quite lovely, actually.
“Your Majesty, the Saint has arrived.”
The boutique proprietor’s voice rang out bright and eager. Alfonso, who had been sitting listlessly, turned his head.
Immediately, his eyes widened. I smiled and struck first.
“Feels rather like a punishment fitting, doesn’t it?”
“……Not at all?”
Alfonso rose from his seat, a peculiar smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“You look beautiful. Why? Don’t you like it?”
Ah, so that’s your taste…….
“It’s not that, but it’s quite different from the designs I usually wear. Very different.”
“That’s exactly why I had you wear it. You always dress so conservatively.”
Alfonso stepped closer and grasped my right shoulder, murmuring softly.
“It suits you. You look lovely.”
Alfonso looked thoroughly satisfied as he paid the full price for the dress on the spot.
Of course, he didn’t forget to purchase a matching hat, fan, and shoes. When it was all complete, my appearance was utterly princess-like.
“I feel as though I should be paid to wear this.”
“If necessary, I’d be happy to pay.”
“How much?”
“How much do you want?”
“Well, when I think about it, I don’t really need anything.”
Alfonso’s expression shifted subtly at my answer.
“Then what is it you want, Justitia?”
“I…….”
I answered without hesitation.
“I want to go home.”
Alfonso’s expression crumpled entirely.
Ah, I suppose that did sound insulting. I smiled gently and appeased him.
“Don’t worry. I can’t go right now anyway.”
“No, you’ve dismissed the carriage.”
“Shall we have dinner first? I’m rather hungry.”
We went to an upscale restaurant nearby, dined, and then stepped into a quiet café next door for tea. It was a textbook date itinerary.
But the conversations they shared were all hollow—nothing but empty pleasantries. With Alfonso as suspicious as he was, it couldn’t be otherwise.
‘If he’s so quick to doubt everything, why didn’t he doubt Lumiel?’
A false skeptic, she thought. Unable to endure another minute of this meaningless exchange, she finally opened her mouth.
“Wouldn’t you like to take a walk? I’m beginning to feel drowsy sitting here.”
Ah, perhaps that sounded a touch discourteous. But then again, he should have made the conversation more engaging.
As expected, Alfonso’s brow tightened slightly before he rose from his seat. She took the hand he offered and stood as well.
“I wonder when you’ll come to trust me, Your Majesty.”
She let the words fall casually as they walked through the city district, and Alfonso laughed.
“I didn’t know you were trying to buy my trust.”
“It’s not so much that I want to buy Your Majesty’s trust…… it’s that you have no intention of being honest with me. If that’s the case, then these dates are nothing but a waste of time.”
Her blunt words made Alfonso’s expression harden slightly. His lips moved as if to speak, then stilled.
“I find it easier this way. I can’t trust people. That’s how I was taught. Isn’t it the same for the Cassini Duke?”
“Perhaps. At least my conversations with my brother don’t feel as hollow as this.”
“The Duke doesn’t know your true nature, so isn’t it you who’s adapting yourself to him?”
Fair enough. At least that way there’s some pleasure in raising the stakes.
“If you say it like that, I have nothing left to say. In any case, if we’re to marry, you should reconsider…….”
“A demon!”
At the cry from behind, she turned reflexively.
A group of children was throwing stones at one child.
The child being pelted covered his face with his arms, his small body curled inward.
“We have to drive the demon away! Throw stones!”
What on earth were they doing?
Without thinking, fire blazed in her eyes as she stepped in front of the child taking the blows.
“Justitia!”
One of the children’s stones flew toward her, but she caught it without effort.
The children throwing stones froze, their eyes wide with shock.
“Wh-what? The stone stopped.”
“Yes. I stopped it.”
She narrowed her eyes and rebuked them sternly.
“What do you think you’re doing? Why are you throwing stones at your friend?”
“He’s not our friend! He’s possessed by a demon!”
“That’s right! His face is terribly ugly. He must be cursed!”
She turned around and saw the child, his face wrapped in cloth to hide it as much as possible.
She crouched to meet his eyes and spoke as gently as she could.
“Would you mind if I looked?”
“It’s… it’s hideous…….”
“It’s all right. Fixing things like that is my specialty.”
She spoke with deliberate confidence, and the child seemed encouraged—he slowly lowered his arm from his face.
Carefully, she unwound the cloth covering his face and discovered severe burn scars covering the child’s cheek.
Certainly, it was a scar thoughtless children would mock as monstrous.
“C-can you really fix it?”
“Of course. I told you—it’s my specialty.”
Ordinarily, scars of this size would have been difficult, but…… with her Holy Power suddenly increased, it should be possible, shouldn’t it?
She immediately cradled the child’s cheek and poured her Holy Power into it. The scar began to fade, growing fainter and fainter until it vanished.
After a long moment, she withdrew her hands. The child stared at her with an uncertain expression. Behind him, the other children’s reaction erupted.
“Ah, the demon is gone!”
At their cries of amazement, she turned and spoke firmly.
“Will you still bully your friend now? What was on his face was a burn scar, not a Demonic Curse or anything like that. You’ve done something very wrong.”
The children’s faces fell and they lowered their heads.
“Apologize to your friend.”
At her stern words, they exchanged glances before approaching one by one. Hesitantly, they offered their apologies.
“S-sorry. For bullying you…….”
“We really thought it was a Demonic Curse…….”
“It’s all right.”
The child whose scar had vanished accepted their apologies with stunned surprise. Then, seeing her, he bowed deeply at the waist.
“Th-thank you. I don’t know how to repay such kindness…….”
“Children needn’t worry about repaying kindness. Just grow up healthy and strong.”
She ran her hand gently over the child’s hair, offering a blessing, and the child soon ran off to join his friends.
As she watched them go with quiet satisfaction, she felt eyes upon her.
“You’re a saint, aren’t you? How wonderful—can you really heal scars like that?”
“Forgive me, but might I also ask for your assistance with treatment?”
A makeshift clinic had spontaneously materialized on the street.
At any rate, not wanting to stand alone, I glanced sidelong at Alfonso, and after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded.
‘Well, he is king, after all.’
I smiled warmly at him as a gesture of gratitude for his consideration.
Alfonso regarded me quietly for a moment, then suddenly turned his head away.
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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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