The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 97

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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 Tells Lies So Well! Episode 97
There were so many people waiting in line that treatment didn’t finish until much later.
Perhaps because they’d seen me treating scars, most of those queued were people for whom scars had been a source of shame.
It was my first time using Holy Power to deliver laser treatment like a dermatologist would, and I was nervous, but fortunately everything went smoothly without major complications.
“You’ve been waiting so long. Why don’t you visit a café nearby?”
Feeling embarrassed, I suggested this to Alfonso, and he furrowed his brow in response.
“You want me to rest comfortably while my fiancée works herself to exhaustion?”
“No… I just mean you don’t need to suffer alongside me.”
“Well, I’ll accept the concern.”
Alfonso replied flatly.
“If you feel that guilty about it, let’s just go get dinner. I’m hungry.”
So we ended up having dinner together and then boarding a carriage.
I gazed absently at the darkened streets as the sun had already set, then felt a stare and turned my head.
Alfonso was looking at me intently.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just because.”
Alfonso answered without letting his gaze leave me.
“I’m beginning to wonder if your righteousness might not have been an act after all.”
“You suspect far too much, Your Majesty.”
I laughed dryly as I pointed this out.
“I understand you must be this way by necessity, but if you treat everyone with such constant suspicion, no one will remain at your side.”
“Does anyone need to be?”
“No, not if you don’t feel loneliness.”
“There’s the queen.”
I scoffed.
“You don’t even trust me, so why speak of the queen? Besides.”
I asked with eyes that had grown colder.
“What guarantee is there that I’ll remain by your side forever?”
“What do you mean?”
“I could die first.”
“Spouting nonsense despite your youth.”
“No one knows what the future holds.”
I looked at him squarely as I spoke.
“You could cast me out first as well.”
“I doubt that would happen.”
“Why?”
I asked with a smile.
“Is it because you love me?”
“…That’s absurd.”
“Of course. You don’t love anyone.”
“Love is a poison.”
Alfonso said, wrinkling his brow.
“When you hold someone in your heart, you become foolish. You’ll do things without hesitation that you’d never do in your right mind.”
He murmured as if swearing an oath.
“I won’t sacrifice myself for the sake of love.”
“True—once you find someone you care for, you end up putting them before yourself, even if it means you lose…”
The moment those words left my lips, a sudden, thunderbolt realization struck me.
How could I not have thought of that? No… surely he wouldn’t go that far….
“Justitia.”
At the sound of Alfonso’s voice, I came back to myself.
His face, when I looked at it again, had grown even more rigid than before.
“Why do you have that expression?”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re thinking of someone with a look like that.”
“Oh.”
I shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
Suddenly Alfonso rose abruptly from his seat. Then he leaned toward me, bringing his face close.
“Who do you think it is who can’t be honest?”
Alfonso’s voice had a growling edge as his expression hardened with anger.
“I told you. Even if you harbor other thoughts, don’t let them show. Do you think I’ll listen unless I have to be cruel?”
“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you’ve had, but I was thinking of women, so please forgive me.”
“……Could your tastes actually run that way?”
“No. Ah…… your imagination is as fertile as your suspicion, I see.”
“You’re certain?”
It hardly seemed worth answering, so I simply looked at him in silence. Alfonso had no intention of avoiding my gaze. “Then I suppose it would be all right if I kissed you.”
“Just because I favor men doesn’t mean I’ll kiss any man.”
Alfonso’s brow furrowed.
“Not any man—your betrothed.”
“Even so, you shouldn’t kiss me without my consent. I don’t wish to do that with you right now.”
“Then when would you?”
“I couldn’t say.”
I laughed softly and lifted my chin. He flinched, apparently not expecting me to move from that position.
“After we’re married. Then you can speak your mind.”
“Very well.”
Only then did Alfonso step back.
“How wise. You know how to torment me.”
So I’d become a temptress, then.
I said nothing more and looked out the window. If Lumiel truly moves as I suspect……
‘She’ll regret it.’
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

As I descended from the carriage, Formoso was watering the flower beds—apparently he’d been waiting for me here.
Just as he had at the last Debutante Ball, he’d likely been fretting over when I would arrive.
“See you again, Justitia.”
Alfonso kissed the back of my hand and disappeared in his carriage.
I watched until it was out of sight, and then felt a cool gaze from beside me.
“Your attire is quite unlike you.”
At his measured tone, I turned with a broad smile.
“His Majesty gave it to me. It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
“I wonder. The Saint’s taste has never been so ostentatious. His Majesty was rather thoughtless.”
“On the contrary, I rather liked it. It felt as though His Majesty saw me as so cherished.”
I said whatever came to mind, and the gauge shot up noticeably. This status window, which I’d scarcely seen until now, was almost dear to me.
“His Majesty means so much to you.”
“In truth, there was a great reason behind my return as Saint. His Majesty would never receive me as Queen if I were not Saint.”
“……”
Formoso’s expression grew conflicted, and I felt a thrill run through me.
So this was what you felt when that affair scandal broke, wasn’t it?
“That is why I feel profound gratitude toward the Archbishop for aiding my return.”
“How fortunate then. Now do go inside and rest.”
“May you have a peaceful night as well, Archbishop.”
I walked on in an excellent mood when a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
Cassandro was lingering about. I smiled and acknowledged him.
“Making your rounds?”
Cassandro stopped abruptly, his eyes meeting mine squarely.
He stood fixed in place as though he didn’t know I would come to him.
So I went to him instead.
“I didn’t manage a proper greeting before. But as you might have guessed, I’ve returned.”
“I thought you wouldn’t come back.”
“You didn’t wish for me to return, did you?”
“That’s not it. But your sudden change of heart……”
Cassandro stopped abruptly. I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why did you stop speaking?”
“I think I understand now. It was an unnecessary question.”
“Is that so? What do you think it is?”
“You returned to become a Queen befitting His Majesty, did you not?”
What—had he overheard my conversation with Formoso?

I flinched for a moment. It wasn’t wrong to admit it, but……
“……That’s not it.”
As always, I found myself unwilling to lie in front of this man.
“I’ve formed a plan. To see it through, I need to become a saint.”
“Is it a dangerous plan?”
“No. I’m all about safety first. It’s murky, certainly, but not dangerous.”
Without meaning to, I found myself reassuring him. Well, it truly wasn’t dangerous.
“I’ve come back solely for myself. I’d like you to believe that.”
“Is there nothing I can do to help?”
“Help me? I appreciate that, but……”
I shook my head with a slight smile.
“There won’t be anything. It’s something only I can do, only I should do. Though if I had to find something……”
Suddenly, I recalled the moment I’d encountered Cassandro while with Alfonso during the day.
“Don’t assume everything I appear to be from the outside is real. There’s a high chance it’s all part of the plan.”
“I’m not sure why you would tell me such a thing. I’m not entirely certain, but it sounds like a secret plan.”
“I need at least one person here I can be honest with. And you strike me as someone quite trustworthy.”
I’d told Alfonso to be honest with me, so it would be strange if I didn’t do the same.
After Cassandro acknowledged my words, he suddenly removed the jacket he was wearing.
I flinched at the memory of Alfonso abruptly stripping off his upper garment in the carriage earlier, but Cassandro draped the jacket over my shoulders instead.
“Nights can be cold. Take care not to catch a chill.”
“……Thank you.”
Leaving behind the now-familiar, pleasant scent of wood, Cassandro departed.
I stood there for a moment before making my way back to my room.
“Shall I draw you a bath first?”
“Not yet. There’s something I need to do.”
I wrote a letter and handed it to Nora.
“Nora, I know it’s late and I’m imposing, but would you deliver this letter for me? In person, if you can.”
“……At this hour?”
“Yes, please.”
I can only hope my suspicion proves unfounded.
But bad premonitions always seem to come true in the end.

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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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