A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke

Chapter 145: Rabiennes Invitation (VI)

“Yes. It seems to be the clearest day in recent years.”

“A good sign.”

Smiling softly at the maid, Rabienne agreed with her.

‘I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.’

She kept smiling at the thought that the problems that had been bothering her would soon be resolved.

“Could you check once more to see if the tea party is ready?”

She had already checked several times, but it didn’t satisfy her worry, so she sent another maid.

“Let me know as soon as the guests I invited start arriving. Especially the grand duke’s daughter.”

“All right.”

After giving a few more instructions to the other maids, Rabienne went into her own room to dress up for the party.

Inside, the madam of a famous dressing room was waiting for her.

She was attached to the Brions family and was always called on important occasions. Rabienne shared a deep bond with her.

“What should I do today?”

“Please make me as bright as possible.”

Ever since Rabienne became the saint, she always kept her makeup and clothes modest because she cared about what other people thought.

However, for some reason, she wanted to dress up to the fullest for today.

‘I have to show her clearly.’

Rabienne had the mindset that Esther had stolen the saintly abilities that should have gone to her.

Maybe that’s why she didn’t want to lose anything to Esther. Even if it was appearance.

In a while…

“What do you think?”

After completing the dress, the madam asked in a very nervous voice, fearing that Rabienne would not like it.

“Mmm, I like it.”

Rabienne smiled enchantingly as she glanced at her own face in the mirror of the dressing table.

Her painted red lips curled softly as she intoxicated herself with her own lavishly made-up face.

“…I miss these clothes.”

“I brought a few dresses just in case. Would you like to change? Wouldn’t it be okay since it’s a tea party?”

Rabienne, who only ever wore subtle white dresses as a saint, looked at the hanger in conflict.

On the hanger brought by the madam hung several dresses in primary colors that she loved to wear before she became a saint.

However, she shook her head, overcoming the temptation.

“No. I can’t overdo it, so this is enough. You can stop.”

“Call me again anytime.”

The madam went out with the maids, who had been praising Rabienne incessantly in order to impress her.

Once they were gone, Rabienne erased the smile from her face.

Then, brushing her hair behind her ear, she slowly opened the drawer of the nightstand.

Inside was a piece of paper folded so small that she could barely see it even when she held it in her hand.

“I’ll bring it in advance.”

It contained sleeping pills that could deeply put one to sleep even if the person ate a little.

Rabienne carefully placed the sleeping pills into her pocket and closed the drawer.

She glanced at the clock.

“They are not here yet.”

30 minutes until tea time. The time was drawing near.

Rabienne heard that the other noble ladies were almost arriving, but there was still no news of Esther. She pursed her lips.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

“Come on in.”

With wide eyes, Rabienne looked at the doorway, wondering what was going on.

The person who opened the door and rushed in was High Priest Lucas. His face was extremely flushed.

He gasped, wiping the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve. It seemed he ran a great distance.

“S-Saint. There’s trouble.”

“What the hell is going on?”

What a fuss on a good day. There was a slight frown between Rabienne’s brows.

However, as it was a day in which she was in a particularly good mood, a bright smile still lingered on her lips.

That smile was erased without a trace by Lucas’ following.

“The test… The date of the qualification test has been moved forward.”

“What do you mean by that… all of a sudden? When is it shifted to?”

When the word ‘test’ came out, Rabienne’s expression hardened in an instant and her eyes sharpened.

“Oh, uh… today.”

“Nonsense.”

Rabienne shouted without realizing it.

She doubted her ears, thinking she had definitely heard wrong. Then she got impatient and muttered, crossing her arms.

“Sir Lucas, today is the day of the tea party. You misunderstood.”

“It’s not like that.”

Frustrated, Lucas told her that the elders had already gathered.

“I saw it clearly. Godmother and the other elders have gathered and are talking about the test.”

“They could have come for something else, right?”

Saying that it could not be, Rabienne tried to deny it somehow.

“Anyway, the way things are going is unusual. How about preparing in advance…”

However, when she saw Lucas’ serious expression, she realized that this was not a prank or anything similar, but a real situation, and she grabbed her forehead.

“What time?”

“They were far away so I couldn’t hear it properly, but it seems like it’s lunchtime.”

“Ah.”

Rabienne groaned and gripped the table hard. Her hands, which she had put her strength into, were trembling.

It was the worst situation for Rabienne. Esther had not yet come, and the test was brought forward.

‘No, there is still time.’

But Rabienne, trying to regain her senses, closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them.

Even if everything started to go wrong, there was still time.

With her arms folded, she paced around the room nervously. Then she turned her body around with her heart set.

“Nothing will change. That kid, that girl just needs to come.”

“Wouldn’t there be not enough time to get some of her blood?”

“I will do something about it.”

Originally, she was going to have a quiet chat with all the noble ladies, and then take Esther to another room separately.

But since time was running out, she decided to give Esther sleeping pills once she arrived, regardless of the tea party.

Rabienne first called the maid outside to check again as to whether Esther had arrived or not.

“You didn’t enter the temple at all, did you?”

“Yes. I even asked the paladins who are standing guard today, but there is no news yet.”

It was now 10 minutes until tea time.

Rabienne was uneasy, and she instinctively bit the side of her fingernails.

“Sir Lucas, what if it continues like this and she doesn’t come? What should I do then?”

For the first time, fear began to creep into the eyes of the always proud and confident Rabienne.

She thought that she could do something once Esther came, but when there was the possibility she wouldn’t even appear, her eyes went dark.

“Then, inevitably, you have to take the test with the divine power you possess.”

Rabienne, who knew better than anyone that her own divine power was not enough to become a saint, staggered and pressed herself against the wall.

At that time…

One of her maids returned.

“Saint, the other young ladies who were invited are said to be waiting for you.”

Without Esther, the tea party was pointless.

Rabienne wanted to send everyone back right away, but Esther might come in the middle, so she decided to go.

“I’ll be there.”

Now, Rabienne’s face was bloodless and white. But even in such a state, her mind was running calculations.

“In the meantime, Sir Lucas, please crush a few holy flowers and make as much juice as possible.”

There was a limit, but drinking holy water and holy flower juice had the effect of raising one’s holy power for a short time.

“Okay. I will get it ready as soon as possible. And… Just in case, how about pretending that you are not feeling well today?”

In the worst case scenario, which was failing the test, she would have to somehow get out of the tight spot under the pretext of being sick.

“That’s a good idea.”

Rabienne sat back in front of the dressing table, repeating mentally that if it didn’t work out, she must fake an illness.

Then she quickly wiped off as much of her makeup as possible.

In particular, she rubbed her lips, which madam had applied with great care.

The image of Rabienne which was reflected in the mirror had angry, unbearable eyes like she was under heavy medication.

★★★

Eventually, the tea party started without Esther.

While Rabienne was laughing and chatting with the other young ladies, she couldn’t concentrate on the conversation and kept glancing at the door.

“Who are you waiting for?”

A young lady of a lower rank openly questioned Rabienne’s behavior.

“Oh, actually, I’m not feeling well today. I’ve been waiting for the maid to bring some medicine.”

“Oh my goodness! No wonder you don’t look well.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’ll go out and see you for a while, so we can talk comfortably.”

Leaving the young ladies behind, Rabienne went out into the hallway. When she saw the maid, she quickly approached and grabbed her arm.

“How is it?”

“Not yet.”

“There’s no word that something came up and she couldn’t come?”

“Yes. Not at all.”

Sensing that Rabienne was upset, the maid lowered her head as much as possible in an attempt to avoid any displaced anger.

“I shouldn’t have trusted her.”

As she let go of the maid’s arm, Rabienne muttered a small curse.

‘Did you trick me? Why?’

No matter how simple the tea party was, a promise to the saint was not light enough to be broken without contact.

Rabienne couldn’t understand what Esther was trying to achieve by committing the rudeness she could hold the grand duchy accountable for.

“Now what?”

Rabienne let out an extended sigh as she stared at the door of the room where laughter continued to leak out.

Just then, Lucas entered the hallway. He intended to meet Rabienne.

“Is she there?”

“It’s frustrating. What happened to the juice?”

“I brought it.”

The two of them whispered in low voices, then left the hallway and entered a nearby empty room for a while.

After making sure no one was around, Lucas took out the bottle he had been carrying in a basket.

“Drink everything. It will definitely work.”

Rabienne nodded with a hardened face and gulped down every drop of liquid from the bottle.

However, she didn’t feel much of a change in her divine power.

“This isn’t enough. Will I be able to fool the Council of Elders…”

Rabienne was feeling suffocated and confused when the hallway suddenly became noisy.

As the paladins walked, the sound of their armor resonated, and soon someone knocked on the door of the room where the two were sitting.

“S-Saint!!”

Tension began to build up in Rabienne at the urgent call of the maid standing guard outside.

“They are coming in a while.”

And the door opened.

“I guess it’s about to start.”

Recognizing that they were the paladins of the Council of Elders, Lucas took a sharp intake of breath.

“It’s too fast. It can’t be like this.”

Rabienne bit her lips hard enough to make the lower lip bleed.

The representative of the paladins walked forward and went down on one knee in front of Rabienne.

“I have come to see the saint.”

“What is going on?”

Rabienne asked, pretending to be as calm as possible, but she couldn’t hide the slight trembling in her voice.

Ame: Call me a sadist, but I’m loving all these Rabienne pov we’re getting now ^^ sooooo exciting!

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